Barf/ Raw Feeders

[huski]

Hi everyone

Just a quick question to pick the brains of the raw feeders out there!

Daisy is getting a bit on the chubby side so I am cutting her daily food intake down - so I need to watch how much I am feeding her including training treats.

The thing I am wondering about now is how much food I feed Daisy when we are training.

I need to use high value food (so soft cooked meat is usually the winner), I can't use dried food. But because I am cutting her daily meals down, I don't want to feed her too much in treats. I've been using things like kabana, sausage, 4legs food, any left over cooked meat we have (i.e. roast lamb, steak, pork etc). But now I'm wondering if she is getting too much of the "treat" food? They are not things I would feed as part of a normal diet, but she is getting a mixture of the above each day when we do a training session.

I only use very small chopped up pieces of food, but I still worry it might be too much. What do all the BARF/raw feeders out there use as training treats? I like to stay away from overly processed treats. Would using things like cooked meat (I often boil chicken to use as treats) and left over meat like I mentioned above be the best 'healthy' alternative for treats?

[anniek]

The only ongoing training I do is for recall and I use tiny pieces of dried liver.

I can interrupt two greyhounds having "chase the rabbit" thoughts by using their "secret words" and dried liver. It is the only time they get it which makes it more special.

And I figure dried liver is sort of part of their raw diet, ie. it is dried not cooked

[huski]

The only ongoing training I do is for recall and I use tiny pieces of dried liver.

I can interrupt two greyhounds having "chase the rabbit" thoughts by using their "secret words" and dried liver. It is the only time they get it which makes it more special.

And I figure dried liver is sort of part of their raw diet, ie. it is dried not cooked

There are a few reasons why I don't want to use dried food, largely that it isn't as high value for Daisy as meat.

I have considered using vegies like pumpkin or carrot cut into little cubes, she will eat anything and that would be good for her diet, but again - not as high value as meat.

[WreckitWhippet]

Dry or semi dry your own liver

I've also dehydrated chicken

[huski]

Dry or semi dry your own liver

I've also dehydrated chicken

Warls, do you think boiled or steamed chicken would be ok too? Just thinking that chicken is soft and lower in fat than other meats. I don't want to cut her meals down only to bulk her up again with fatty treats.

[anniek]

I dunno then - I guess you have to balance the high value of the food. Cooked chicken would probably be the best, although any cooked lean meat would also be better than 4 legs/cabana, which although yummy is also (I think) higher in fats and other junk.

Can you incorporate more activity (running) into her training to burn off the extra calories?

Would apple or pear be yummy enough for her?

[huski]

I dunno then - I guess you have to balance the high value of the food. Cooked chicken would probably be the best, although any cooked lean meat would also be better than 4 legs/cabana, which although yummy is also (I think) higher in fats and other junk.

Can you incorporate more activity (running) into her training to burn off the extra calories?

Would apple or pear be yummy enough for her?

Hmmm, I could try mixing the apple or pear in the container with the cooked meat so it has the juices/smell on it. She loves fruit and that might work to bulk it up with healthy/low fat treats!

The last two days I had tiny pieces of cooked pork that I was using as we had a left over pork chop, never again - Daisy has been doing the worst farts I have EVER smelt, obviously pork is a big no no!!

ETA: I also don't want to use dried food because it means it is something she has to chew to swallow, it either becomes distracting as she has to stop training to chew, or she swallows it whole and coughs it back up again.

Edited April 3, 2009 by huski

[Just Midol]

I cut up some of their dinner & weigh it.

Or if I use some other kind of meat, I usually use 50grams of treats and dock their dinner by 50grams.

[huski]

I cut up some of their dinner & weigh it.

Or if I use some other kind of meat, I usually use 50grams of treats and dock their dinner by 50grams.

So if you are feeding a RMB you cut some of the meat off? Raw food is definitely very high value for Daisy.

[puggy_puggy]

Dried liver & cut up raw veggies & fruit.

[TerraNik]

Ahsoka is really food driven and chopped up carrot works well for her - she is a little chubby too!

Jedi gets dried liver and other 'special' treats (cookies, cheese, meats)

[Red Fox]

I've been using roo sausages for Kei lately, he seems to love them and the scent is quite strong so easy to get his attention.

Just boil them up whole and then chop up into little bits once cool. They are very low in fat and cheap too.

[luvsdogs]

I've been using roo sausages for Kei lately, he seems to love them and the scent is quite strong so easy to get his attention.

Just boil them up whole and then chop up into little bits once cool. They are very low in fat and cheap too.

Where do you get them?

[Leema]

You could get diced beef or roo and feed that as treats (nice and small pieces). A bit messy, but at least it's raw.

How many treats do you need each day for training (do you estimate)?

How about making up a meaty broth and soaking veggies in it? Not that I've tried this but, if it's a strong smelling meat, or something like liver, it may be quite appealing.

[huski]

You could get diced beef or roo and feed that as treats (nice and small pieces). A bit messy, but at least it's raw.

How many treats do you need each day for training (do you estimate)?

How about making up a meaty broth and soaking veggies in it? Not that I've tried this but, if it's a strong smelling meat, or something like liver, it may be quite appealing.

Hmm haven't thought of roo meat. Will definitely investigate it! And soaking the vegies in meaty flavours is a great idea too, thanks Leema

I probably use half a small handful? Not very many but enough to make a difference if it's fatty and considering Daisy needs to lose weight.

[Red Fox]

I've been using roo sausages for Kei lately, he seems to love them and the scent is quite strong so easy to get his attention.

Just boil them up whole and then chop up into little bits once cool. They are very low in fat and cheap too.

Where do you get them?

From Foodland/IGA. They're called Kanga Bangas

[Just Midol]

I cut up some of their dinner & weigh it.

Or if I use some other kind of meat, I usually use 50grams of treats and dock their dinner by 50grams.

So if you are feeding a RMB you cut some of the meat off? Raw food is definitely very high value for Daisy.

Yaha.

I mostly feed kangaroo tail for the sibes. Kangaroo tails and chicken wings basically make the bulk of Gizmos diet (and lily is mostly chicken). The roo tails I usually just slice 50grams of roo meat off and then either cut that up and use it for treats or grab some chicken or whatever - if I get chicken then the 50grams of kangaroo will usually just get frozen for treats for another day or the cat gets it. For some reason they love roo tails but occasionally won't be interested in the actual meat.

ETA: I find Kangaroo a pita to feed raw, especially if you feed similar sized treats to me. It's not the best thing to cut up so if I use roo I generally partially cook it first. It's super lean though which is why I use it.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Just Midol