Kangaroo Meat

[Loving my Oldies]

I have a little dog who would eat until he burst, I think . He is slightly overweight, but not enough to be overly concerned, but I don't want him to put on anymore weight.

As he is from a pound, I don't know his breed except he definitely has Pomeranian in him and, I have often thought, maybe Corgi, because he is very solid with quite solid leg bone structure, nothing like the delicate frame of a Pomeranian.

He is fed mostly raw mixed with vegetables. However, very often his poos are very sloppy and I wonder if it could be the vegetables. I buy mixed frozen vegetables from Woolies, steam them a little and then puree. This is mixed in with his meat.

If I fed him Kangaroo, I could feed him more meat and not as much vegetable, but I am concerned that just Kangaroo won't meet his nutritional needs.

Pic of Bunter below. Grateful for advice from the experts LOL.

[~Anne~]

Have you tried him on cooked meat rather than raw?

My Boof doesn't tolerate raw meat well and when I spoke to the holistic vet she suggested I cook it. Her thinking was that at least it still wasn't commercial food and it was just as good as raw but was more easily digested by dogs with sensitivities to raw meat.

Kangaroo and game meat is more likely to cause diarrhoea than beef, chicken, lamb or goat.

Edited June 2, 2013 by ~Anne~

[Rebanne]

wheres the calcium source?

[WreckitWhippet]

Try chicken necks and small amount of roo diced or minced.

I'd scrap the mixed vegies and go with some mashed pumpkin or sweet potato , give him some tuna or salmon in spring water , the odd scrambled egg.

He needs less food and more exercise, whilst maintaining good nutrition

[Dame Aussie]

I'd cook his meat to see if that helps. Does he get bones?

[Loving my Oldies]

wheres the calcium source?

That is why I started this thread :)

Try chicken necks and small amount of roo diced or minced.

I'd scrap the mixed vegies and go with some mashed pumpkin or sweet potato , give him some tuna or salmon in spring water , the odd scrambled egg.

He needs less food and more exercise, whilst maintaining good nutrition

He is walked regularly, most often twice daily, but he will not be hurried :D

I'd cook his meat to see if that helps. Does he get bones?

Food is warmed up but I've not thought of cooking it. They all get bones (dried roo tail) which Bunter chews on for days.

[Guest donatella]

I feed my fluffies VAN complete mix in with their roo meat and heat each portion in the microwave for 30 seconds before serving (they too like their meat a little cooked and warm). The VAN bulks it up whilst giving them a complete diet.

They then get chicken necks/wings a few times a week (frozen) for breaky.

Edited June 2, 2013 by donatella

[Loving my Oldies]

Try chicken necks and small amount of roo diced or minced.

I'd scrap the mixed vegies and go with some mashed pumpkin or sweet potato , give him some tuna or salmon in spring water , the odd scrambled egg.

He gets dried chicken necks from time to time and occasionally I'll put an egg into his food.

I'll give the pumpkin and sweet potato a try. I really only give him so much vegetable to try to get the quantity up. He is the only dog I've ever had who demolishes his food in a few seconds flat.

[Loving my Oldies]

I feed my fluffies VAN complete mix in with their roo meat and heat each portion in the microwave for 30 seconds before serving (they too like their meat a little cooked and warm). The VAN bulks it up whilst giving them a complete diet.

They then get chicken necks/wings a few times a week (frozen) for breaky.

LOL I had to google to find out what VAN meant. Can you buy it over the counter anywhere, or is it only On Line?

[Guest donatella]

You can buy from a pet store, I get mine from Pet Barn. A $13.50 bag lasts a few months here as the muesli soaks in water and doubles in size, its very economical. There is a retail locator here http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=59

[minimax]

Maybe also try some real bones, not dried ones, just for better nutrition.

[Mudlark]

You can buy it at pet shops (I know that PetStock have it - not sure if that's the cheapest source though). I have used VAN and found it to be very good (though we've switched to BARF patties as they don't need any prep...mind you, the VAN doesn't need much prep either).

Oops - just saw that Donatella had already mentioned that you can get it at pet shops :)

Edited June 2, 2013 by Mudlark

[Rosetta]

VAN also have the health rolls if you didn't want to bother with the mix. They are a complete meal by themselves or would be an easy supplement.

[Alibi]

You can buy the van already mix with the roo too, mine prefers it over me making it. I think it's because they add some offal in with it, or it could be just that I'm a terrible cook lol.

[KJJ]

kangaroo is lean, but because it is lean it is low in EFA's (essential fatty acids) so is not something I would feed as the primary food source without adding things like oily fish, flax seed oil or some fish oil. Personally if I think one of my dogs could stand to lose some weight, I just feed them less and increase the amount of daily physical activity without changing what I feed them (I've just switched them to k9 natural and so far I'm pleased, it's also less hassle than preparing homemade raw), but ultimately I think it's down to what works for you and your dogs, what works for one person may not for another - so trial and error will hopefully give you the result you are looking for :)

[persephone]

dried bones aren't wonderful ..you littlies would probably do better on whole chicken wings ..that would be a good meal for some of them ..meat/fat/digestible bone :)

if you feed egg ... pound up the shell and add that too for calcium :)

Chicken necks pounded with a meat tenderiser hammer and served part frozen

Instead of giving him extra food .. so his tummy will always want more ...

give him just a (part frozen) wing ..which will take him some time to demolish ..or a small portion of roo tail - so it will take him ages to get meat off ....

see if he will chew apple rounds

[Yonjuro]

If you want to go for a Prey model raw diet, then you will need approximately 80 % meat from animal muscles, 10 % fresh bones 5% Liver and 5% other organ or non-liver offal. THis will give your dog all of the nutrients he needs.

If you are going to feed vegis then they must be cooked/steamed and pureed otherwise the dog wont obtain the nutrients from the vegis and they will simply act as a filler or roughage.

Have a read up on Prey Model RAW and BARF model diets for more info.

[Clyde]

Not sure if its been mentioned but my dogs always drop weight on the BARF patties. They're sold through Pet Barn. To mess or fuss, the dogs love them. They have roo ones or combo packs. Everything he needs is in there but keep up with the bones (chook necks etc).

[Loving my Oldies]

Thank you for all the educative suggestions. Very much appreciated and have certainly given me a lot to consider.

What I am trying to do is reduce Bunter's calorie intake, but ensure he still has all the necessary nutrition and give him low calorie bulk so he doesn't feel starved. This is why I asked about Kangaroo meat, because I know it is lean and probably would not provide all the necessary nutrients.

The last time I looked, BARF patties were about $20 a pack and, frankly, I already spend huge amounts on my dogs (I have 5) and cannot stretch to BARF patties.

I have discovered something Bunter won't eat LOL. Eggshells. I mashed a raw egg into his breakfast, but he managed to eat everything else and leave the shells. I'll have to use the blender next time. I've left them on the mat to see if he munches on them through the day :laugh:

Bunter is approximately 13 and I have had him for just over two years. He was completely blind because of cataracts, but the wonderful surgeon at Homebush Referral Hospital gave him back his sight.

[persephone]

with eggshell, DD ..let them dry , then grind them with a pestle & mortar ..or rolling pin & mix with food :)

With old tubbies , perhaps you could use a reasonable canned product - like Nature's Gift ? All in one .. and ,plus some edible bone ... might be OK ?