Raw Feeding - For Puppies

[wonder]

I moved my mini Schnauzer onto Raw when he was about 8 months old, and initially it was bought from a local company in Bayside, Melbourne who sold raw food following BARF guidelines. Since then, I have moved onto making my own and tend to include 10% organ meet, 10% veg, also throw in a bit of turmeric, greek yoghurt, whole eggs, and some added vitamins. He gets either fish or coconut oil with his morning meal daily, and evenings he gets frozen chicken necks with a frozen wing (he's super active and very slim, so throw that in to add some fat - just enough, and not too much as they are a breed prone to pancreatitis)in the evenings which are varied with meaty bones a couple of times a week. He is in superb condition, gorgeous coat, healthy in every way, so is doing well on it.

We are getting another mini schnauzer puppy in a couple of weeks when she is 8 weeks old, and I just wanted advice as to whether there is anything specific to add for a growing puppy? To the raw mixture more than a discussion on the dangers of puppies and chicken necks please, I know about those, and it will be managed to ensure that she can be trusted to chew and break them down rather than try swallow them whole.

I am specifically just interested in guidance on raw feeding for puppies. Thanks in advance for your discusssion!

[persephone]

a bit more fat to grow on ..and some more calcium-containing food is all I would do .

Edited February 25, 2015 by persephone

[Yonjuro]

You need to keep the bone content around 10% - remember that chicken necks are around 80% bone and I think wings are around 50% bone. Make sure there is sufficient food that is high in phosphorus to balance out the calcium from the bones.

I recommend some red meat. I prefer big meat on the bone but for a puppy you might want to try some mince, regular butchers mince will have more fat than the premium one, so the cheaper may be better for a puppy. Whole frozen sardines are also excellent and completely balanced so you may want to substitute the odd chicken wing for this on occasion. You could get 1kg of human grade roo mince, 1 kg of regular beef mince, 100g of liver and 100g of kidneys and mix it all up - add you pureed or mashed veggies if you want to and freeze into meal portions. I flatten them so the stack in the freezer and they will thaw out quicker. I used to feed it frozen as then they need to chew it off the patty. Then all you need to do is add the edible bone to balance out the meal...simples :D Also you don't need to balance out every meal, just try and get your rough ratios okay over the course of a week.

Make you quantities up based on what is required for the weight of the adult dog and divide between the 3 or 4 meals you intend feeding per day - taking into account the meaty bones.

You shouldn't really need the fish oil for a puppy, especially if you can add some fish to the diet.

My unfounded philosophy on feeding a puppy is to introduce small amounts of every type of meat and organs you can find as soon as possible. My belief is that early exposure to a wide variety can reduce the likelihood of the dog developing intolerances to various proteins later on. I also don't mind the odd loose stool that may come from a different food. I believe that some minor upsets may in fact build a dog with a greater ability to self regulate. Having said that you need to make sure the food is from a clean source and generally frozen for a week or two beforehand and never let chronic diarrhea go unchecked.

Anyway, that is a snapshot of what I did for a while. Each dog is different and no doubt people will disagree with my ideas :)

Edited February 25, 2015 by Yonjuro

[wonder]

Thank you both for your posts. @Yonguro, yes to all the red meat suggestions - what I didn't post is that the rest of the raw mixture I do alternate between roo meat, beef, venison, and sometimes some turkey - I do tend to stay away from pork and lamb for various reasopns.

Will try and get some sardine's in - hope that it doesn't make their schnauzer beards too stinky :-), occupational hazzard with a beard! But freezing it should do the trick!

Thanks again.

[Yonjuro]

Thank you both for your posts. @Yonguro, yes to all the red meat suggestions - what I didn't post is that the rest of the raw mixture I do alternate between roo meat, beef, venison, and sometimes some turkey - I do tend to stay away from pork and lamb for various reasopns.

Will try and get some sardine's in - hope that it doesn't make their schnauzer beards too stinky :-), occupational hazzard with a beard! But freezing it should do the trick!

Thanks again.

:D Oh yeah, I know the stinky Schnauzer beard very well. My 14 year old Schnauzer passed away almost three years ago so I have some experience there. Frozen sardines should be less stinky than fish oil :D It should be no worse than with the other raw food you are feeding. I think fresh/frozen whole is much better than tinned ones.