We have our new 8 week old puppy who came to us on Saturday. The adoption kennels were feeding her raw and we would like to keep this up but we are a little unsure as to exactly what we should be feeding her.

She has been having some mince for her breakfast as she is taking tablets for a throat infection and we have been putting the tablet in the mince. We have also been giving her scrambed egg in the evening (with a ball of mince with the tablet in). She has been having raw meaty bones mid day (chicken so far as that is what the rescue centre gave us and I havent been food shopping to stock up yet!!).

She has now finished her tablets and we want to move away from feeding her too much raw mince! I have brought the book "Work Wonders" and although it has answered some questions I am still not 100% what I should be giving her when.

Can I give her pork ribs, pork bones, lamb bones as well as chicken carcus and wings (I am avoiding chicken legs - I know that the book says that she will be fine with them but I am still worried about her choking on them so I would be happier just not giving them to her).

I read that we can give her liver once every couple of weeks but how often can we give heart, etc?

She eats quite slowly at the minute and as I would like to be around when she eats (until I convince myself that she isnt going to choke on the bones) and I would find it easier not giving her bones in a morning - I was thinking of weetabix or scrambled egg in a morning whilst she is still little - is this okay do you think?

Also, when feeding her scraps I assume that I shouldnt give her any raw meat but can give cooked potatoes and veg. Is there anything that I should avoid giving her?

I also read that I can give her raw fish but I am worried about the bones - will she be okay with them?

Sorry to come across completely neurotic - I am new to raw feeding but am very keen for it to work.

Thanks.

Debbie

hi debbie if you trawl back through the health and nutrition posts you should come across lots of threads on raw feeding and some good books to buy. mine have chicken, beef, organ meat, tripe, lamb etc. this comes ready minced from a supplier, you will find their names on some threads. vegs can make up 20% of the food but they should be pulped first. hope this helps but if you can't find the info, post again and ill try to help more.
i also give glucosamine and green lipped mussel as a supplement.

Can I give her pork ribs, pork bones, lamb bones as well as chicken carcus and wings (I am avoiding chicken legs - I know that the book says that she will be fine with them but I am still worried about her choking on them so I would be happier just not giving????????


hi Deb yes u can feed all the above. the important thing to remember is bones are ok as long as they are not cooked.

The golden rule with bones is not to feed weight bearing bones of the large animals as they can sometimes break teeth. Pork & Lamb ribs / neck / chop bones are perfect. Any poultry carcus, wings, legs and necks. If you are worried about choking, as some dogs do gulp these then just watch them to see how they go, sometimes holding one end of the wing etc whilst they chew wirks well (depends on how enthusiastic your dog is)

Offal (liver, kidney, gizzards, tripe) should make up 10% of a raw diet with liver at leats 5%. Feeding a large amount at one go can cause runny poos' so most people just add it in the main meals 4 or 5 times a week. Heart is considered musle meat and you can feed as much as you want.

I'd skip the weetabix and continue with the mince in the morning replacing with with scrambled egg or fish every few days.

Raw or cooked meat scraps are ok. Most people who feed veg liquidise it. so that it is easier to digest. But many people don't bother with veg at all. Most fruit and veg is ok, large quantities of grapes / rasins can cause problems but other than that whatever your dog will eat.

You should try to give oily fish once a week to increase the Omega 3 and essential fatty acids. This isn't really nessecary if you are feeding organic or you know that your main meat is grassfed as the Omega 3 levels are high in in grassfed animals.

Don't worry it is daunting at first and I'm sure, like everyone, you have a million questions but want to feed the best for your pup. Just bear in mind the Golden Rule 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% offal and you won't go wrong. If your pups poo is a bit runny increase the bone and reduce the offal, if its a bit firm (chalky) this indicates too much bone, If he starts to open the fridge get a child lock!!!

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Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats


www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding

Thank you. That has been really helpful.

Debbie

Good advice already on this thread. I'll only add no onions whatsoever, either raw or cooked as they can cause a form of anaemia.

Sgurr

Debbie

I don't disagree with the Raw Meat Bone [RMB] diet to pups but if my experience of a dozen guide dog lab pups is anything to go by i'd stick to a meat and mixer diet introducing to a marrow bone and chicken wings every so often. Build this up over a year to RMB is that is your intention.

I have used a guideline for many years
2 parts meat : 1 part veg-mix (1/2 veg and 1/2 mixer) for dogs of all ages but quite honestly you can go for quite a bit of variation. A good start is feed 2% of the bodyweight and this is good for a RMB diet or what i call raw meat and mixer. So weigh your pup every month and adjust accordingly.

My lurcher came to me end of Feb and won't eat something like a chicken wing or touch bones. Now he has got used to me and knows he's with me longterm he is growing in confidence.

For a pup you can overfeed as they'll burn off a fair bit with exercise. Whether you stick with my diet or go RMB will transpire as the pup develops. This will allow you to have a good stable regime and identify like/dislikes as you go along. What is important is to stick to raw meat (or tinned Chappie or another decent one) rather than kibble to avoid health problems. Importance of a bone is keeping their teeth clean which you should get for nothing from a decent butcher. It definitely pays to find one that has their own dog! I get given quite a bit for free and he's is only too happy to help with a RMB 80-10-10 diet later. When i say meat i include fish... for a pup a tin of pilchards with soft bone is good or cod fillet - contrary to RMB fans fish is excellent for dogs, they love it and is easily digested - 100% safe should your pup have the odd upset stomach.

The ideal is to have a lurcher who'll provide all meat for the household! [free]. I got a bit annoyed with the fanatical 80-10-10 brigade - i believe in natural feeding and natural provision.

Thanks.

She is having more meat than bone at the minute - she seems to prefer it. We did buy some mixer biscuits to go with any mince, etc that we give her but she didnt seem keen on them but it was the first time we introduced them.

She has munched her way through some chicken carcus this morning and I am going to try her on a tin of pilchards at lunchtime.

I brought plenty of meaty bones/mince/pork chunks yesterday and we have portioned them up and frozen them and have decided that we will continue to feed this way until that starts to run out and if we are still finding it a hassle (I know it isnt really a hassle but you know what I mean) then we will look at changing her onto tinned food. I would prefer not to have her on tinned but we will see how we go.

Whats the point of the mixer? The introduction of mixer was to bulk up the meat component of the meal during the 30's and 40's when meat was expensive. This has evolved into dry pet food. Definiatly not natural!

I also used to raise guide dog puppies and the reasons for not feeding raw meat are to do with behavioural, training and the future owners, not diet. The behavioural one was always a bit of a red herring as the association thought that the dog could become agressive if fed real meat. The training and futue owners issues are correct as you need to make feeding easly for a blind person.

Although I feed raw I don't class myself as part of a fanatical 80-10-10 brigade. However, every living aminal needs a number of essential nutrients to survive and live a long and health life. 80-10-10 is based on the percentages that you would find in prey. It is incorrect to assume that all dogs need the same ratios. Highly active dogs need a slightly higher meat content, dogs with diabetes content of IBD need a lower fat content.

__________________
Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats


www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding