Prey Model Diet

[Guest Tiggy]

I want to change from a BARF diet to a Prey Model diet. I've done alot of research online and have read Tom Lonsdale's books. If fellow Prey Model feeders could give me a sample of what they might feed in a week that would be great. From my understanding a whole carcass is best but since I don't have access to whole carcasses the second best option is meat, bone and offal in that order. :rolleyes:

[laffi]

I want to change from a BARF diet to a Prey Model diet. I've done alot of research online and have read Tom Lonsdale's books. If fellow Prey Model feeders could give me a sample of what they might feed in a week that would be great. From my understanding a whole carcass is best but since I don't have access to whole carcasses the second best option is meat, bone and offal in that order. :rolleyes:

woolies sells whole chicken carcasses (frames)

meaty bones are the best: like necks or wings :D

[wylie]

Hi Tiggy

If you have read Lonsdales book then there are plenty of examples in there of whole prey.

Things like a whole chicken with innards preferably depending on the siz of the dog, whole rabbits. Meaty meat is the basic concept. Lamb hearts, ox heart etc are considered muscle meats so they are good value.

Be careful on too much liver and kidney.

Sometimes you can pick up sides of lamb fairly cheaply and they can be good value as well.

Pork can also be a good one as well. Meaty Pork ribs not the American ribs.

Imagination is your key.

Depending on where you live you may be able to pick up meaty lamb flaps, turkey tails etc. Actually whole turkeys are another good option.

Whole eggs shell and all are a great protein boost. My guys go hunting for them themselves, they know how to crack them open and devour them.

[Purple Julie]

I feed Jyra a prey model diet.

Her menu consists of raw meaty bones, muscle meat, organ meat, fish and egg.

She has her fish and egg once a week. Usually a tin of mackeral in the morning and a tin of sardines in the afternoon, plus her egg on the same day. She gets the whole egg, with the shell, but I cut it up in her bowl for her.

Jyra's food for a day weighs 1.6% of her body weight. It was about 2% but she has put on weight recently, so I have reduced her diet by 100g. She has approximately 500g of food a day now.

I buy chicken frames and other bits of chicken bone with meat, pork soup bones, lamb flaps and lamb necks for her raw meaty bones component of the diet, and these comprise 60-70% of her daily food.

I buy ox tongue, ox heart, ox cheek and lamb heart for her muscle meat component, which is 25-35% of her daily food. Sometimes I buy pet quality beef or kangaroo steak for this. Everything else is human quality, but inexpensive. People on DOL often say something like, 'isn't heart an organ?', but the heart is actually a muscle, so that is why I give it to her as muscle meat and I haven't had any problems.

For the organ meat, Jyra gets lamb liver, lamb kidneys, lamb brains and chicken giblets. This works out as 5% of her daily intake, but instead of giving her 5% every day, I will give her about 3 days worth at a time, which is only 75 grams at a sitting anyway, so it is not too much, as wylie said, you don't want to give too much organ meat at a time. I cycle through the organ meat, eg On Tuesday, she might have liver, then a few days later she'll have giblets, then after a few days she'll have a kidney, then she'll have brains, then the next time, she'll have liver again. It's not as complicated as it sounds!!

I would include chicken liver in the organ meat, but Jyra doesn't like it. I have also tried spleen and clean intestines, which Jyra also won't eat.

LOOK FOR A CHINESE BUTCHER! These are the best places to get your meat! I used to get Jyra whole chickens (minus the organs, head and feet) from a Chinese butcher for $2.20/kg. They were called 'boiling chickens'. I used to get them cut in half and give Jyra a half chicken for a meal. I don't get them anymore, because they were often too big and I have reduced Jyra's food intake.

Hope that's helpful, and I didn't bore you too much with all my waffling!! Congratulations if you got this far!

[Guest Tiggy]

Do you feed once or twice a day? I like to feed the main meal in the morning and if it's a big meaty bone like a lamb neck/kangaroo tail they don't need dinner to.

[Purple Julie]

I usually feed twice a day. The main meal is in the morning and that is the raw meaty bones. Her afternoon meal is the muscle meat. On organ meat day, she has three meals - the usual two, plus the organ meat. I like to feed different meats at different times. I wouldn't mix chicken and lamb in one meal.

On fish day, she has three meals, as I described above. 2xfish, plus egg. If organ meat day has fallen on the same day as fish day, then she has four meals that day. But the egg and organ meat are very small meals.

[hopenfox]

My dogs all eat a prey model diet.

14 year old Nicky (Cavalier) is fed three times a day, Hope (Koolie) and Fox (Kelpie) are fed one main meal and a small snack.

Fox's average weekly diet;

Day one; am - stuffed Kong (raw/maybe frozen mince or meat)...pm - chicken frame.

Day two; am - raw duck/chook egg in shell...pm - meaty lamb neck.

Day three; am - stuffed Kong...pm - raw whole fish or large fish head.

Day four; am - stuffed Kong...pm - very meaty roast beef or pork.

Day five; am - raw egg in shell...pm - turkey drummette & piece of liver.

Day six; am - nothing...pm - meaty lamb shank & piece of kidney.

Day seven; am - stuffed Kong...pm - half a rabbit.

I try and feed as much variety as I can with quail, pheasant, guinea fowl, duck, goose, emu, kangaroo, buffalo, deer, goat, etc. added when I can find a bargain.

I get most of meat at marked down 'close to use-by' at supermarkets, some from butchers, and some like rabbits, kangaroo tails and meat chunks at pet food supply places.

My ferrets are also fed a prey diet and for them I collect freshly killed birds and animals (freeze for several weeks to kill any parasites) and they love these. I regularly get baby birds thrown from their nest, and the occasional fresh kill made (before I can stop them) by my or friends dogs and cats.

I'm so glad to see you giving the prey diet a go and also that there are other's here who feed prey model!

I can't believe there are still so many out there who think dogs are omnivores when they are scientifically, and without any doubt, known to be carnivores!

I've attached a few photos of my dogs enjoying their meals...

Edited January 5, 2008 by hopenfox

[VintageDiva]

Hi Tiggy,

I also don't have ready access to whole prey, and make do with what I can find. I'm always looking for something new! I don't measure exact percentages or amounts with Bean's diet (meat/bone/offal); I simply keep a mental check on what he's eaten during the week and adjust things accordingly. I've had no real problems with weight control (he seems to burn it off quickly). However, if he does look heavier, I simply reduce the meal size for a couple or days. Bean also gets a fast day once a week or so.

An average weekly diet for my 20kg, 23-month-old Staffy would be:

Monday:

Half a beef neck (this inedible bone gives Bean something to chew on throughout the week while I'm at work) in the morning AND small homemade offal/organ patty with a couple of chicken giblets for dinner.

Tuesday:

Kong stuffed with two chicken necks/chopped boiled egg for breakfast AND large turkey frame for his main meal.

Wednesday:

No main meal (semi-fast day due to the big meal the day before) AND small homemade offal/organ patty with a raw egg for dinner.

Thursday:

Kong stuffed with two chicken necks for breakfast AND large lamb neck or pig trotter for his main meal.

Friday:

Kong stuffed with two chicken necks for breakfast AND a large, fresh salmon head for his main meal.

Saturday:

Raw egg in shell for breakfast AND half a rabbit for his main meal AND small homemade offal/organ patty with a couple of giblets for dinner.

Sunday:

No breakfast AND a good sized section of goat for his main meal AND small homemade offal/organ patty for dinner.

Feeding a raw diet is a lot of fun! I always enjoy finding great meat bargains and thinking up new things to stuff in his Kong. It's also always nice when people comment on Bean's shiny and fresh-smelling coat, sparkling white teeth, and odour-free breath! Feeding raw makes so much sense.

[Guest Tiggy]

I'm hoping to find a bigger variety of raw meaty bones to feed. At the moment I feed chicken frames, lamb necks, kangaroo tails, beef ribs as a slab and pork trotters. I use to feed turkey wings but can't find them anymore :D . I've seen one butcher has pig heads so I might give them ago :rolleyes: . Thanks for the advice.

[Jed]

If you ever go by Woolies, it is worth going in to see if they have any turkey chops or turkey necks - sometimes they have them reduced - close to the use by date - I 've picked up the chops for $1.99 kg, and the necks for slightly less, but it doesn't happen all the time. I wont go there specially now, but if I am walking by, I check them out. Where I shop, turkey chops are in the deli.

[VintageDiva]

I'm hoping to find a bigger variety of raw meaty bones to feed. At the moment I feed chicken frames, lamb necks, kangaroo tails, beef ribs as a slab and pork trotters. I use to feed turkey wings but can't find them anymore . I've seen one butcher has pig heads so I might give them ago . Thanks for the advice.

Just keep searching through supermarkets - it's amazing what you can find! I came across a supermarket in my local area recently that stocks quail, goat (at just $3.99 a kilo!) and rabbit. Butchers are also good, as they may throw out exactly what you're looking for (turkey pieces etc). It's worthwhile speaking to your local butcher and seeing what they can do for you.

[burginthorn]

Whats a stuffed Kong?

[hopenfox]

Whats a stuffed Kong?

A Kong is a strong rubber toy with a hole in the middle you can fill with food - It's fun and interesting for the dog to empty.

So a stuffed Kong is a Kong with the food stuffed in, making it harder to get out!