# Please can someone help me with Raw feeding?? :(



## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

I have a poodle and feed raw. He's almost ten months old now and healthy as a horse. There's a wealth of information on feeding raw out on the net. I would start right here: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/raw-feeding/ 

Other good links:

Raw Fed Dogs - Natural Prey Model Rawfeeding Diet

Skylar, Zack, and Abby on the WEB

Jane Anderson's Raw Learning Site

Good luck! 

--Q


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Most vets know nothing about raw diets. You are doing the very best thing for your dog!


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

one of the best things i've done is to switch my guys to raw.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Another good source of information is DogAware.com: Homemade Diets for Dogs

The two key rules that everyone seems to agree upon are to feed enough bone (or other calcium source) to ensure an adequate calcium/phosphorus balance, and to feed a good mix of different meats and offal over time to ensure no necessary micronutrients are missed. The third is that green tripe (the mucky, smelly stuff, rather than the bleached white for humans stuff) is a brilliant, balanced food that dogs love - and that makes their humans prove just how much they love their dogs by putting up with the abominable smell!


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i wrote a blog post about my journey into raw feeding (i'm about 6 months or so in) 
Raw Fed Dawgs | Blog of the Fae

If i can do it, anyone can. I was pretty anti raw as i didn't thin k it to be good for them, but now i'm singing a different tune.

my guys are thriving on it.


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

That was a great blog post, faerie! Sounds like you progressed through some of the "raw stages" pretty quickly. 

--Q


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Charlie, my toypoo mix, is an extremely picky eater. So picky that DH almost want to give him up. Then this forum introduce us to NV raw. With NV Charlie turns into a monster gulping his food down like no tomorrow then ask for extras. DH really against totally raw until Charlie stops eating his NV medallion like two days no eating at all. I couldn't bear he is not eating so I dropped a chicken leg into his crate and he rushed there and down that with gusto like a little hyena. DH was so happy to see that. Since then we always have raw chicken at home, just in case he snubbed NV medallion.

Yes, his poop is also better on raw then on canned food. We also keep canned food at home for when he snubs raw and/or NV. 

Kibble is a waste of money. The next time the vet tell me to feed him kibble, I will ask for money from the vet. Honestly! I sound so forceful on NV that the vet gave up and said I guessed the processed raw sounds better. You should see his face when I say I feed Charlie raw chicken leg.

Sir Charlie is a high maintenance little pooch. His face is priceless though, he turns out to be so cute, I must say. That will be another story though.


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks faerie for the great blog! As a veg-raised girl who never saw raw chicken til my late 20s (I'm 33 now), PMR is a daunting thought to me. I'm on NV raw now, easy and just looks like a burger, but I'm excited to start adding some RMBs! Maybe someday I'll work up the cojones and just deal w the raw meat!!! 


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

sophie, my good friend is vegan and she feeds her dogs raw. it skeeves her out (sometimes i get grossed out!), but she reminds herself it is better for her dogs.

one of her dogs was so allergic and itchy she lived with a cone on because she chewed herself raw and couldn't stop. this went on for a few years. in fact, they were talking about having her euthanized because the vets, the vet school etc didn't know what to do to help the dog. they never suggested raw diet.

So, they decided to try a raw diet. now that she's raw fed, she is out of the cone and is living a good life.


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## attya (May 20, 2012)

thanks for your replies. I will definitely take a look at your blog Faerie. Thanks for the links. I have ordered a book from Amazon and am waiting for it to come. Can anyone give me an idea about how much food to give her? When they are 7months old do you go with the 10% body weight of puppy rule or the 2-3 % of body weight?

She has definitely put on some weight so far so good. 

Do you think it works out more expensive feeding them raw because meat is expensive  ?


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## stealthq (Aug 4, 2011)

attya said:


> Do you think it works out more expensive feeding them raw because meat is expensive  ?


Yep. 

One thing that a lot of people do is start their dog on pre-made raw while they learn about what they need to do to feed a balanced raw food themselves. Once they've figured that out, they buy ingredients in bulk to keep the per meal costs down. Usually they have to buy a chest freezer to keep all the meat. I don't know where you live, but I've heard there's Google groups (probably Yahoo groups, too) of people from different locations that go in together on huge bulk buys. Some are able to feed for less that kibble prices this way.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I actually find it cheaper than buying premium kibble! I used to buy in bulk - minimum order 60 lbs - which didn't leave much room in my freezer for anything else. A local kennels now does bulk orders from the same supplier, so I buy 20lbs or so at a time through them, which is much more convenient. They also source things like chicken carcasses and lamb bones that can be hard to find round here. 

I worked out that, for two toy dogs and two cats, I save around 30 - 40% of buying really good kibble, even allowing for storage and cooking costs. The per day per animal cost is less than 20p/32cents, while even something like IAMs for the cats would be nearer 35p/55cents. With four animals, it makes a considerable difference over the year - plus I know exactly what they are eating, I know it is very high quality, and they love it!


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## Love23101 (Sep 19, 2012)

Vets always try to push commercial foods. My pup was fed raw since she was a new born! She's super healthy, strong, and her poop is perfect! No gloppy messes! I tried putting her on a commercial diet, but it just gave her lose butt! 

I would cut out the rice and everything just stick with organ meat, muscle meat and raw bones. Maybe some leafy greens here and there. But nothing to fancy. 

And do about 2% of their estimated adult weight, or 10% of their current weight.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

eva my lab/x does about 2% of her body weight and maintains.

temperance does 2.5% of her body weight and maintains.

seelie does 3.5% of his IDEAL body weight and hasn't attained it. sometimes he skips meals too. le sigh


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Faerie, I finally worked up the courage to feed RMBs! The caloric situation works out well if I substitute a raw wing for a NV meal a few times per week! I can't believe I am dealing w raw meat! Shows how much I love my little Sophie 

Next step: prey model??? 


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

YAY you! 

I knew you could do it!
it helps to remember that dogs are carnivores and built that way so we need to be mindful of that as we eat. while you may not want chicken or rabbit or whatever, she does and she needs it. feeding the bone will help clean her teeth and prevent tartar and that's good to prolong her life.

don't be worried about bone in the poo when you clean her poo up as it will take a bit of time for them to digest the bone most efficiently.

I am constantly researching this as I continue on my journey and there is a lot of good information out there!


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Faerie, (or anyone else!), since I've committed to feeding a RMB 3x per week, would it be even more beneficial to sub 1 meal per day as a chicken wing? I want to make sure her diet is the old 'complete & balanced'. When we speak about dental benefits from raw bones, what is the frequency? Would I get those benefits from feeding a few times per week or would she have to have a bone every day?

Thanks!! Sorry for the deluge of questions 


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