I'm slightly fascinated by feeding a RAW diet but... (border collie, how much, lab)

[DawnMTL]

... every time I read about it on the Internet, I get confused, give Artie a cup of Taste of the Wild kibble (with all of his obnoxious add-ons of hot dog and chicken and green beans and, and, and), and put the idea of raw out of my head.

Artie is 9 and a half years old. He's a Lab/Beagle/Corgi/monster mix. He weighs 37 pounds.

Can someone tell me, in checklist form, how I'd go about feeding him a raw diet? In this checklist, can you tell me what to feed him in the morning and how much... and what to feed him in the evening and how much?

Thanks!

ETA: Please don't give me a link to "the easiest website to learn about feeding raw." I've read a lot and my head is going to explode from all the information and I *still* don't know what to do. I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me, based on Artie's weight, WHAT I should feed him at each of his two meals, and HOW MUCH of it at each meal. I know, I'm asking to be spoon-fed (no pun intended) this information but I just can't for the life of me wrap my brain around what needs to be done. It's information overload... everywhere.

[chiroptera]

Boy this is a tough one since there are so many ways to feed raw.

But I'll give you my two cents. I feed three dogs currently (a 120 lb Rottweiler, a 70 lb black Lab, a 25 lb terrier mix.) I have fed raw since January of 2000 to...well, lots of dogs. My own and fosters. My dogs have always been extremely healthy. For the record, the first dog I started on raw was 11 or 12 at the time. Her teeth got so clean within a couple of months my vet asked where I'd taken her to get her annual dental cleaning.

First: it is not that difficult. Way too many sites (and several books) make it appear complex and requiring gazillion supplements and careful weighing. To which I say, pshaw.

I get food from several sources: From here. A little spendy but a good friend is a distributor and gives me wholesale price. Mostly what I get from there for the dogs is tripe, goat and mutton, beef organ mix (equal parts liver, kidney, heart).
Also from the grocery store - cheapo nasty chicken quarters and whatever is on sale. The butcher at a smaller, independently-owned store saves cases of meat that are near expiry that he might not be able to sell and calls me, and one other guy in the area (someone who does competitive sledding and mushing with several Malamutes.) That's free.
Also other "ghetto stores" near where I live that sell oddball things like pig testicles, lamb and turkey hearts and other goodies. When I pay money for meat at the store I try to keep it at under a dollar per pound. The lowest drawer in my fridge is usually filled with a mish-mash of meat in various stages of thawing for the dogs.

.I have never in my life weighed what I feed the dogs. I aim for having lean dogs; as long as they are lean, happy and healthy (I do get blood panels and fecal tests done regularly) it's all good. They get meals of varying sizes; I consider it weird to feed any animal (or person for that matter) some pre-weighed and carefully calculated-to-be-complete-and-balanced meal at exactly two times a day at pre-determined times. IMHO that is "kibble marketing thinking."

So I cannot help you with amounts - standard advice is 2-3% of the dog's weight in daily total food. But that is extremely variable and depending on quite a few variables, just like with feeding kibble. You have to know your dog. My Rottweiler probably averages 4-5 lbs a day, he is a beast. The Lab maybe one or two pounds, he is an easy keeper. The terrier cross maybe half a pound or so. I eyeball it. Sometimes they get a great big protein crash meal, followed by several smaller ones.

I also feed occasional kibble meals. The only supplement I add is fish oil caps. When I remember, LOL.

So. Let's see. Tonight was goat chunks + a dollop of leftover chicken veg stew that has sat in my fridge for three days. This morning was chicken and a daub of chicken liver.
Last night was also chicken.
Yesterday morning was kibble (TOTW) and a raw egg each.
Tomorrow morning will be goat again. And probably another liver chunk or three, depending on the dog.
I will probably hit the ghetto store to load up on Saturday morning. Usually there I get lots of cheap pork parts, sometimes turkey tails and hearts and gizzards and whatever else is cheap.

So, depending on Artie's metabolism and activity level, perhaps about a pound or so per day, give or take. Variety is good. Dark meat is good. Liver and kidney in smaller frequent amounts because too much at once frequently causes explody-butt. Balance over time. Not balance in every single meal.

[DawnMTL]

THANK YOU! That was a WEALTH of information and I REALLY appreciate it.

OK. He would get approximately one pound per day. That helps me tremendously. (Note to self: buy a scale.)

My biggest takeaway from what you wrote is this: "Dark meat is good." I always give Artie shredded chicken breast on top of his kibble. He loves it. Sure, why wouldn't he love the prime stuff?! I never thought of giving him DARK meat. YAY! Less cost = happy Dawn.

When you say that this morning was chicken, of course you're talking about RAW chicken. How do I, uh, "serve" this to him? Just thaw it out and plop it into his bowl? Oy. He'd better not drag that bleeding chicken part onto my living room rug. Ha!

I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon quite yet. I have some big stuff going on and then I'll have to source a supplier. (This sounds like a drug deal in the making. Hahahaha!) So, I'm probably a few months from getting on board with this, but I'm so happy to see that it's not nearly as complicated as I'd thought.

Thank you again! So much!

[chiroptera]

Bowl? What bowl? LOL.

If feeding chicken or any whole meat parts, no bowl required. Hand to dogs (outside, usually is how I do it) and let them go off and eat it. Or in a crate, or confined to the kitchen. My dogs lick the floor clean after eating inside. (Germaphobes may have trouple with this feeding system, heh.)

Darker meat in general is more nutritious. Higher in taurine for sure.

And yes, my dogs get the bones and all.

[TinaMcG]

We fed raw for over 10 years and I have to say THANK YOU to Chiro for that very reliable wealth of information! Now I don't have to say much!

How do you feed it Put down a towel and teach the dog to eat it on the towel. He's a dog and will figure it out. I held pieces with tongs at first so my dog wouldn't gulp his first few chicken wings. You will be thrilled to see how dogs take to it. It is SO natural for them.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Bowl? What bowl? LOL.

If feeding chicken or any whole meat parts, no bowl required. Hand to dogs (outside, usually is how I do it) and let them go off and eat it. Or in a crate, or confined to the kitchen. My dogs lick the floor clean after eating inside. (Germaphobes may have trouple with this feeding system, heh.)

Darker meat in general is more nutritious. Higher in taurine for sure.

And yes, my dogs get the bones and all.

Hahahaha! Artie is used to being civilized, though. Nah, who am I kidding? He's a monster!

I'm not a germaphobe. I'm neat, I'm clean, but I have no fear of germs. He -- and I -- will be fine with this method.

I'm so excited to get started on this! Now I'm cursing that I have to wait it out until things settle. But we'll get there.

Thank you again. Awesome!

Originally Posted by TinaMcG

We fed raw for over 10 years and I have to say THANK YOU to Chiro for that very reliable wealth of information! Now I don't have to say much!

How do you feed it Put down a towel and teach the dog to eat it on the towel. He's a dog and will figure it out. I held pieces with tongs at first so my dog wouldn't gulp his first few chicken wings. You will be thrilled to see how dogs take to it. It is SO natural for them.

I'm super-excited to see how Artie will take to it!

[Wendell Phillips]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/23385765-post6.html

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by Wendell Phillips

http://www.city-data.com/forum/23385765-post6.html

Thanks, Wendell! Wow, $10 per day. It doesn't cost that to feed ME. Well, actually, Artie eats better than most people too.

[lkb0714]

Originally Posted by DandJ

... every time I read about it on the Internet, I get confused, give Artie a cup of Taste of the Wild kibble (with all of his obnoxious add-ons of hot dog and chicken and green beans and, and, and), and put the idea of raw out of my head.

Artie is 9 and a half years old. He's a Lab/Beagle/Corgi/monster mix. He weighs 37 pounds.

Can someone tell me, in checklist form, how I'd go about feeding him a raw diet? In this checklist, can you tell me what to feed him in the morning and how much... and what to feed him in the evening and how much?

Thanks!

ETA: Please don't give me a link to "the easiest website to learn about feeding raw." I've read a lot and my head is going to explode from all the information and I *still* don't know what to do. I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me, based on Artie's weight, WHAT I should feed him at each of his two meals, and HOW MUCH of it at each meal. I know, I'm asking to be spoon-fed (no pun intended) this information but I just can't for the life of me wrap my brain around what needs to be done. It's information overload... everywhere.

I feed raw, to my border collie and my border collie beagle mix. The mix is now 5 and has never been on anything else, and my older dog is 15 (looks and acts half that age) .

Two things to consider. How are your dogs teeth? Many dogs on traditional diets have very bad teeth by they time they are pushing 10. If his teeth are worn, weak, missing, etc. it will be very hard to get him to a raw diet.

Second, does he, as many beagles and other hound do, wolf his food? If so you are going to have to switch very, carefully because he is older to be learning how to properly chew bones.

Also, you should NOT just switch to a new diet. This should be a gradual process especially for a senior.

I would start with a single chicken wingette, the first two thirds of a chicken wing. I would also break the bones with a mallet (in case he does not chew them well). I would offer the chicken wing, warmed up, clean and very fresh, by hand only allowing him a bit at a time and encouraging him to use the teeth on the side to grind the bones. If he cannot be fed by hand this way, or won't eat it slowly while cracking the bones he is likely to old to feed raw.

[zugor]

I know you're not much of a reader LOL but if you read Ted Kerasote's new book Pukka's Promise you'll most likely learn a lot about diet and nutrition as well as many other topics.

I know my copy will be making the rounds of all my humane society friends.