Hi Guys

Just after a bit of advice. Sammy seems to be going off his dry food since i started giving him raw chicken wings (couple days ago). Are they safe and also how many are ok for him per day?? At the moment im only giving him one with his first meal and one with his last and he pushes the kibble away after eating the raw wing.

Can't blame him 'eh - a nice meaty chicken wing or a bowl of boring biscuits?! I know what I'd choose!

Raw food should never be fed with cooked food such as kibble - they digest at very different rates, with the cooked food taking 16 hours or more whereas raw food passes through in about 4 hours. Feeding them at the same time can result in the raw food 'being stuck' behind the cooked food digesting and sitting in the gut for longer than necessary, giving harmful bacteria a chance to build up which can result in funny tums.

If you are going to feed part raw/part kibble, do so on alternating days.

As for how much he needs, it all depends on his weight

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''Dogs are like chocolates, you can never have just one!''

He is 40kg now

So up to 1200g a day, probably somewhat less unless he exercises massively or is super skinny.

Chicken wings alone could be a fab breakfast.

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Transplanted Geordie
RIP Jake, my best dog. 10.8.10
RIP Boomerang, beautiful horse. 27.5.08

Kilo gets 1.2Kg / day and weighs 43Kg; he is still growing and just a month or so younger than Sammy I think (I seem to recall Sammy is 11 months?)...so maybe just slightly less than that.

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The change in their enthusiasm for their food is amazing isn't it!
I think the best advice I've had is poo watch!
So chicken wings are providing the bone component for you, if he becomes constipated you need to hold off on the bones, if his poo is too runny you give more bones. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

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I have a 40 ish kg 20 month old GSD and I feed him just over a kilo a day of minced lamb (inc bone) and turkey necks. I have fed him raw since he was a few months old and got fed up with the diarhorrea when he was on the kibble diet recommended by his breeder. He absolutely loves it. Meals are woofed down whereas he always used to leave half his kibble and graze on it for ages. I very often substitute with chicken wings/chicken portions/turkey legs/bones from the butchers etc sometimes give him a bit of minced raw veg too in with his meat - he loves it. And the diarhorrea is definitely a thing of the past!

Don't forget, if you go totally raw, the ratio is generally 10:10:80 bone, offal, meat. Variety is key, IMO and I try to give them something different every day. Find a decent supplier and portion/freeze as required.

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Transplanted Geordie
RIP Jake, my best dog. 10.8.10
RIP Boomerang, beautiful horse. 27.5.08

Yeh he is gonna be a year on the 15th Kilo's gonna be massive isnt he

Wish Sammy would grow some more. Bit on the smaller side for an Akita lol.

What kinda veg do you guys mix in? Also What other bones are good? Sorry im a vegi myself so i dont know lol.

Could someone give me an example of 10:10:80 ratio meal please?

If you give say 1000g a day, then over two meals, you could give maybe chicken wings, liver and green tripe (my staples) in the 10:10:80 ratio. Vary everything but introduce any new food very slowly. Sleeping_lion has a raw feeding guide-ask her. There are stickies in the health bit: read them!

Any veg is fine, but not too much dark green leafy stuff.

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Transplanted Geordie
RIP Jake, my best dog. 10.8.10
RIP Boomerang, beautiful horse. 27.5.08