A Dogs Breakfast

[Yonjuro]

I thought I would post what I give my dog for his brekky...

I went from part kibble part raw to full prey model raw a few months ago. Ronins eye boogers have gone away which were quite bad when he was on Sunday pets but not when on TOTW? It was always by intention to go fully raw, but when Ronin was younger and needed three meals per day it was just a bit too much.

Here's what I do to make brekky simple and easy for my wife to take a meal sized parcel out of the freezer for the morning meal. (the Mrs does the morning feeds and she thinks the whole raw thing is a pain in the butt :laugh: )

1 Kg of regular butchers beef mince (can use cubed steak if cheap and it is probably better) You could use any meat or fish you like dependent on your dog.

500g Beef Heart -cut into cubes

200g kidney (lamb or beef) -cut into cubes - you can use a bit less if your dog gets the runs

200g Liver (lamb, beef or chicken) -cut into cubes - you can use a bit less if your dog gets the runs

5 teaspoons of organic turmeric (optional)

5 teaspoons of organic kelp (optional)

6 teaspoons flax meal (optional)

I simply get a big bowl and thoroughly mix it all up together, use gloves if you hate the squishy blood and guts :D

Get a bunch of small freezer bags and weigh out the meal size portions, I normally weigh the first one and then roughly judge the amount for the following meals

When in the freezer bag, I just pat them down to a patty as they will stack easier in the freezer and thaw quicker when you take them out. If I forget to pop one in the fridge to thaw overnight I just feed it frozen, he will chew it so It is not a bad thing.

I also feed either a frozen raw chicken wing or a couple of chicken necks at each brekky, so this additional food must be taken into account when working out your volumes. If Ronin has had more bone in the evening I will substitute the chicken wing/necks with a fresh frozen sardine. If you have a very small dog then maybe half to one chicken neck or a wing every second day.

So that is basically it, it costs around $1.50 per meal.

I do more meaty chewy things and bones for dinner as I have more time to select what I want to feed. I also add AA super boost in the evening with a teaspoon of coconut oil. You don't need to add the supplements but I like to :D

So that is basically it, very simple and easy for a great morning meal, I will admit that mince is not the ideal component, but it is very easy and convenient to make up the meals. But you can improve on this with a bit of good shopping and prep.

Also, I don't stress about exact measures you basically want to get the ratios of meat, bone and organs roughly 80:10:5:5 over a week or so.

I don't do vegies but I see no problem in adding what you like and tailoring the diet to your specific needs.

Oh and importantly... if your dog can't effectively chew bones you will need to grind up some to add to the food. Maybe pop a chicken frame or two in a blender on chop, or bash a few lamb flaps (covered with a tea towel) with a hammer. Roo tail could be bashed up for those on special diets.

... there is lots I could add to this post but it is getting quite long already :D but one thing I would like to add, is that regular beef mince is quite fatty, so unless you have a relatively active dog you should substitute this for something like kangaroo or perhaps turkey.

[brightstar123]

Just curious about the reasoning behind the addition of coconut oil? Do you add it as an extra source of saturated fat in the diet?

[Guest crazydoglady99]

An interesting thing about coconut..

In the 1940s farmers tried feeding cattle coconut products to "bulk them up".. it had the opposite effect hence why beef cattle are fed corn and soy instead!!

[Yonjuro]

I add the coconut oil has omegas and plenty of health benefits and it great for the coat.

[brightstar123]

Actually I don't think coconut oil has any omega 3 and very little omega 6 :)

I know some of the benefits for people e.g. high smoke point when cooking, but obviously that doesn't really apply to raw food! I've also heard owners mention that their dog's coat is nice when feeding coconut oil, but I've also heard this with evening primrose oil/borage oil and krill oil/fish oil too. Just curious as I like cooking with it (like the flavour!), but logically can't really find a good reason to add it to my dogs' raw diet. Any extra feedback appreciated :)

[Yonjuro]

try these links for more info

http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/47127324583/coconut-for-pets#.VFi6TYdLoy5

www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/

www.dogingtonpost.com/benefits-of-coconut-oil-for-dogs/

edited to add a better link.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Yonjuro

[denali]

Sounds a lot like my feeding regime Yonjuro

I feed my dogs coconut oil, and fish oil (alternate days) and since doing so their coats are lovely!

More so than when just on fish oil. And as its relatively cheap so I just continue with it. No harm in it.

One of my dogs is prone to dry skin, so i use it topically on him time to time too :)

[Yonjuro]

Sounds a lot like my feeding regime Yonjuro

I feed my dogs coconut oil, and fish oil (alternate days) and since doing so their coats are lovely!

More so than when just on fish oil. And as its relatively cheap so I just continue with it. No harm in it.

One of my dogs is prone to dry skin, so i use it topically on him time to time too :)

Great One of the reasons I chose coconut oil was that I feed Ronin a fair bit of raw whole fish so I figured he was covered in the omegas from that as well as the flax seed meal even though the fish oil will be more concentrated than fresh fish. I think alternating oils as you mention is a good idea. I will probably add fish oil when he is getting close to senior years :)

I don't buy into miracles from coconut oil, but I do think it is a good supplement and as you say it is not expensive.

[ari.g]

How much does your dog eat a day? Just a suggestion, but my girl gets a chicken frame and a 1 or 2 beef bones in the morning and then a bit of mine etc at night time. You might need a few more chicken wings/necks etc to keep bone/teeth cleaning properties up? Each to their own and just a suggestion :)

[Yonjuro]

How much does your dog eat a day? Just a suggestion, but my girl gets a chicken frame and a 1 or 2 beef bones in the morning and then a bit of mine etc at night time. You might need a few more chicken wings/necks etc to keep bone/teeth cleaning properties up? Each to their own and just a suggestion :)

Ronin eats around 700g per day, the bone content he requires is around 70g. A chicken wing is around 40% bone. For evening he will have either half a very small chicken + organs, or something like a chunk of steak, organs and then a piece of beef neck. Sometimes it is whole fish which has the correct balance of bone.

The recipe I suggested above is simply his brekky meal which is around 300g. :)

Vet said his condition is excellent and his teeth are perfect, so I guess I must have the balance pretty okay :)