Raw Feeding

[kim21]

Hi guys,

I have some questions about feeding a predominantly raw diet...

I am currently feeding 3cups of royal canine and one barf patty a day in two meals. I am esentially happy with this diet and he is looking good (glossy coat, good weight, no smells... lol) but wanting to swap this diet to a raw diet

Main reasons being:

1. I think it will be better for his health

2. Hopefully it will be a cheaper option

.....but I dont know how much to feed

and I have lots of little questions like...

is the actual bone included when you are weighing out their daily portion?

Basil is a boxer and he is fairly small, and although I havn't had any problems with him losing weight in the past, he has always been lean so should I feed him just the 2-3% of his body weight or should I give him a bit more?

I guess what im worried about is that if I feed him approx 500-700g (which is approx 2-3% of his body weight) he may lose Kgs since that is less than i am feeding him now and to my knowledge aren't dry food and Barf patties concentrated so actually like im really feeding more?

Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers Kim

[Christina]

Raw meat is great. All my cats & dogs are on it but I do cook some things I mix in for the dogs.

No more smelly poos either.

Not sure on dry, I only use a little but they do need less raw meat than say meat in a can as it is more concentrated.

The amount recommendation based on body weight is not always accurate for individual animals, its trial & error, some can get fat on a little & others stay lean on a lot.

2 of my cats are similar weight & size but one eats at least a third more than the other.

Give a little extra & see. If he starts to get fat you can always cut back a bit.

I wouldn't include bone in the daily weigh in unless its ground up like frames or raw wing or necks.

Big ones that are for teeth & to chew on can last ages. I dont know whats in patties as I dont use them.

[Nekhbet]

if its working why swap it? Dont fiddle with a dogs diet for the sake of it, if its working stick to it. You can introduce some raw meaty bones for the sake of his teeth though and see how he copes with daily bones.

[LoveisGolden]

THe prey model diet (which doesn'tinclude fruit & veg) recommends feeding 2-3% of your puppy's ideal ADULT body weight (not thier current puppy weight). This could be as much a 10% of their puppy weight depnding on the dog. This is just the starting point and you adjust up or down as necessary to maintain a good weight.

Bones are included in the calculation as your puppy will eat the bone. It's usually recommended to start with one type of meat such as chicken for the first couple of weeks, and introduce new meats and offal slowly after that. You shouldn't feed marrow or knuckle bones as these are too hard and dense and can damage their teeth.

The prey model recommends 10% bone, 80% meat and 10% offal (of which about 5% should be liver). Liver can give loose stools so I suggest you start with small pieces every other day after a couple of weeks and build this up slowly. 10% of bone is not a lot so you don't need to give bone in every meal. If their faeces is chalky and whitish it means they are getting too much bone and need more meat.

As I said the prey model down't include fruit and veg but there isn't a lot of calories in them so depending on how much you're feeding I don't think you need to adjust the meat by too much to compensate.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your raw feeding. It's fun to watch them eating this way too.

[jamie]

if its working why swap it? Dont fiddle with a dogs diet for the sake of it, if its working stick to it. You can introduce some raw meaty bones for the sake of his teeth though and see how he copes with daily bones.

Because you can always do better!

[jamie]

Hi guys,

I have some questions about feeding a predominantly raw diet...

I am currently feeding 3cups of royal canine and one barf patty a day in two meals. I am esentially happy with this diet and he is looking good (glossy coat, good weight, no smells... lol) but wanting to swap this diet to a raw diet

Main reasons being:

1. I think it will be better for his health

2. Hopefully it will be a cheaper option

.....but I dont know how much to feed

and I have lots of little questions like...

is the actual bone included when you are weighing out their daily portion?

Basil is a boxer and he is fairly small, and although I havn't had any problems with him losing weight in the past, he has always been lean so should I feed him just the 2-3% of his body weight or should I give him a bit more?

I guess what im worried about is that if I feed him approx 500-700g (which is approx 2-3% of his body weight) he may lose Kgs since that is less than i am feeding him now and to my knowledge aren't dry food and Barf patties concentrated so actually like im really feeding more?

Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers Kim

Have a look at the Raw Meaty Bones website.It's got lots of good info.I'd also really recommend you get Dr Lonsdale's book "Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health"