[ButterflyBlue]

Just a few questions about raw food. How much freezer space does it take up? Who has fed raw and what difference has it made to your dog? Also how costly is it and are they getting the right vits/veg etc if not have you added any vits into their food or supplements?

 

[Freyja]

I feed raw to my greyhound Button and my whippets have half raw half dry for tea and just dry for breakfast.

Even though the whippets are not completely fed on raw you can see the difference in their coats. Button's coat is not so good but she has been grieving the loss of her friend William. She was chewing her coat but now she has stopped you can see the new growth coming through.

I have a small chest freezer which is half full of our food and the rest is dog meat. I buy 40 400g blocks of chicken mince every 10 days and use 4 blocks a day. Button has 1 block in the morning and 1 block at night the whippets get 100g each at night with complete food. All are fat some a little too fat and when we are shows people always comment on their condition.

 

[Lyceum]

As soon as I can get my hands on a small chest freezer I'l' be switching to raw. I spoke to my butcher and he's agreed to make me up bags (I'm veggie, no way could I chop up raw meat daily lol) containing 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% offal. And he said he can do that for £10 per 10kg, so it'll cost me under £1 per day to feed two dogs.

I was going to buy from Natural Instinct - High Quality Natural Dog Food because it's all done, but it's over twice the price as the local butcher.

 

[ButterflyBlue]

I'm assuming that the food needs to obviously be defrosted before feeding raw, how long does this take? How do you know how much to give and whether they are getting the right nutrients? Also what are their teeth and coat like?

 

[Acacia86]

I can not feed raw :frown: my boy just will not have it (not sure i could do it either in all honesty). I have tried! He does have raw but only as supplement. He refuses to eat a fully raw diet.

I give him raw meaty bones, these he might eat other times he turns his nose up! And i can not keep them down for him too long as i have a young daughter and do not want her touching things like that!

He also has minced meat, steak (all kinds, rump, sirlion, fillet, braising etc), chicken, Salmon and Tuna too. All fresh all raw.

He also has fresh vegetables, and a handful of brown rice and chicken and veg once a week when i do it for my daughter.

But these are literally supplements, he has a quailty diet of dry and wet dog food.

P.S i just can not bring myself to feed him heart and kidneys etc etc Eurgh. I would not never ever touch that stuff! So in all fairness i couldn't really feed him a complete raw diet :lol: i use gloves to handle any 'normal' raw meat as it is! Let alone organs :scared:

 

[ButterflyBlue]

I can not feed raw :frown: my boy just will not have it (not sure i could do it either in all honesty). I have tried! He does have raw but only as supplement. He refuses to eat a fully raw diet.

I give him raw meaty bones, these he might eat other times he turns his nose up! And i can not keep them down for him too long as i have a young daughter and do not want her touching things like that!

He also has minced meat, steak (all kinds, rump, sirlion, fillet, braising etc), chicken, Salmon and Tuna too. All fresh all raw.

He also has fresh vegetables, and a handful of brown rice and chicken and veg once a week when i do it for my daughter.

But these are literally supplements, he has a quailty diet of dry and wet dog food.

P.S i just can not bring myself to feed him heart and kidneys etc etc Eurgh. I would not never ever touch that stuff! So in all fairness i couldn't really feed him a complete raw diet :lol: i use gloves to handle any 'normal' raw meat as it is! Let alone organs :scared:

i know a friend who keeps fish who have beefheart as a part of their supplements so when he has any scraps or left over beefheart i get it from him for free and give it to my dog she wolfs it up i also do the same, but i have heard from many other owners that their dogs are very healthy whilst on a raw diet so i was wondering if i should change over but then i have a very tiny freezer so i doubt i could fit that much food in.

 

[Acacia86]

i know a friend who keeps fish who have beefheart as a part of their supplements so when he has any scraps or left over beefheart i get it from him for free and give it to my dog she wolfs it up i also do the same, but i have heard from many other owners that their dogs are very healthy whilst on a raw diet so i was wondering if i should change over but then i have a very tiny freezer so i doubt i could fit that much food in.

I have the space but not the stomach :lol: :lol:

He won't accept it (nor will the cat!) but if i am being utterly honest i just do not think i could feed them both a fully raw diet that met both their needs!

I have tried and neither will take it, so i guess its a blessing in disguise!! Although i will always supplement their diet with raw foods.

I do admire people who can do it, and i also (in a strange way) which my pets would accept it. But we are all happy with our feeding regime and everyone is extremely healthy :thumbup:

Although i have always wondered whether feeding raw really is as ''natural'' as it seems :lol: My dog certainly could not bring down a healthy Cow and kill and eat it :lol:

 

[ButterflyBlue]

I have the space but not the stomach :lol: :lol:

He won't accept it (nor will the cat!) but if i am being utterly honest i just do not think i could feed them both a fully raw diet that met both their needs!

I have tried and neither will take it, so i guess its a blessing in disguise!! Although i will always supplement their diet with raw foods.

I do admire people who can do it, and i also (in a strange way) which my pets would accept it. But we are all happy with our feeding regime and everyone is extremely healthy :thumbup:

Although i have always wondered whether feeding raw really is as ''natural'' as it seems :lol: My dog certainly could not bring down a healthy Cow and kill and eat it :lol:

that's true, i sometimes wonder if because we have kept dogs for so long that they are no longer so natural and so there diets have changed too like a lot of people say that bakers isn't good for dogs because its full of additives and fillers - my dog was on this so i switched when i got her. but she still looked very healthy whilst she was on it. perhaps they're just used to these kind of diets now

 

[Nicky10]

Dogs do a lot better on raw. My dog was on a good quality commercial food I switched to raw he got a lot calmer, always good with a terrier, and his coat got much better. Dogs do not need additives and a raw diet can easily fulfill all their needs. Well done for taking him off Bakers there's very little actual food in it. Dogs are carnivores bred to eat meat for millions of years they've been on commercial food for what 30-40 years digestive systems don't change that fast. Make the change you will see the difference. it doesn't cost that much I get a lot of it cheap or free from the butchers and I don't add anything to it you don't need to. He's fed 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% organ

 

[Acacia86]

that's true, i sometimes wonder if because we have kept dogs for so long that they are no longer so natural and so there diets have changed too like a lot of people say that bakers isn't good for dogs because its full of additives and fillers - my dog was on this so i switched when i got her. but she still looked very healthy whilst she was on it. perhaps they're just used to these kind of diets now

There actually is a huge write up about all this somewhere on the internet! I will try my best to find it.

It is true that dogs have changed so much over the many years just like humans have, and some dogs can not ''do'' raw feeding anymore.

My dog refuses it, and the old Lab could not stomach it. He was sick on it. So guess it really does depend on the dog.... and the owner :lol:

Some dogs do amazingly well on it, and yet others it does not agree with them.

I have known of a couple of dogs who also had problems with peices of bone stuck.

This did not put me off trying. But as with most people i never left him alone with a raw meaty bone!!

 

[Acacia86]

Dogs do a lot better on raw. My dog was on a good quality commercial food I switched to raw he got a lot calmer, always good with a terrier, and his coat got much better. Dogs do not need additives and a raw diet can easily fulfill all their needs. Well done for taking him off Bakers there's very little actual food in it. Dogs are carnivores bred to eat meat for millions of years they've been on commercial food for what 30-40 years digestive systems don't change that fast. Make the change you will see the difference. it doesn't cost that much I get a lot of it cheap or free from the butchers and I don't add anything to it you don't need to. He's fed 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% organ

The bit in red:

You are generalising. Not all dogs do well on raw. A lot of dogs highly probable.

 

[Nicky10]

Ok a lot of dogs do well on raw some obviously don't

 

[Freyja]

I forgot to add mine also get bones every weekend. Button and Zoe have big nuckle bones and the whippets get lamb bones when my friend can get enough. She gets them for here own whippets and told her butcher she has 2 big dogs too so he gives her big bones too which she gives to me and any extra she has for the whippets.

I took me 6 years to persuade William to eat raw meat and he would only eat raw chicken mince. If you gave him anything else he would hide it under his bed. The only time I ever saw him chewing a bone was the weekend before he died.

 

[Sleeping_Lion]

I raw feed, mine get 1lb of green tripe with blended veggies and any left overs on a morning, and they get chicken carcasses/lamb bones or offal on an evening. Twice a week they also get a boney meal for their breakfast. They also get raw eggs and tinned sardines once a week.

I get supplies in weekly because they are local to me, and only fill two freezer draws (I've got two upright freezers). I blend veggies with extras in (such as turmeric and apple cider vinegar, fenugreek and mint) and freeze it in used takeaway plastic cartons, slicing off what I need each morning before I take them out for a walk, that way it's as fresh as possible. I know some raw feeders don't put in the blended veggies, but I do think they are a good source of minerals and vitamins, so don't supplement my dogs' diet with tablets at all, except Indie, who gets a glucosamine/chondroitin tablet twice a week to help with her arthritic joints.

It's worth remembering with the minced meat with bone in, that this doesn't have the same cleaning effect on their teeth, so it is good to give them one or two whole bones per week if you're buying it prepared in this way. It should have the same effect on clearing out the anal glands though, as it will contribute towards firmer stools still.

I don't claim that my dogs do better on raw, but I am happier feeding them this way than any other. I've helped quite a few people switch over onto raw, and always tell them to get their suppliers sorted out first, I get quite a lot of bones for free from the butchers, which makes up for the expense of giving them free range eggs. Everything they get in their diet is sourced locally, I even buy their veggies from a green grocer rather than a supermarket, so I'm happy that I know what they're getting. Something you can't really be sure of exactly with commercial foods.

 

[sid&kira]

Kiras almost 15 months and has been fed raw since she was 8 months old

her energy levels are fantastic, no more mad moments lol, will just chill out for most of the day except if I initiate playtime or we go for a walk

She concentration has improved, she can do longer training sessions, is more attentive, picks up things quicker :thumbup:

She's in perfect health, her dental health is great and she's perfect weight/condition and never has the runs (except when she stole leftover chili! ) :lol:

Shes fed: heart, lamb breast, lamb mince, chicken mince, tripe, liver, kidney, spratts, chicken carcuss, chicken wings, and beef mince.

I don't suppliment or give veg, except as a treat when she will sometimes get a whole raw carrot.

I dont always defrost it, if she has mince she has it frozen 9 times out of 10

I order for 2 dogs, lasts a month, fills up about 4 shelves in an upright freezer, and costs about £36 for both dogs

 

[ButterflyBlue]

from what age do you think dogs can be fed raw onwards? and when you made the change were they sick or anything? how did you make the change? slowly mix in raw with the processed food? then throughout a few weeks completely change to raw?

 

[Nicky10]

People wean 4 week old puppies onto raw it can be fed at any age. I fed a 7 week old cavalier on it and my next puppy will be on it as soon as possible. I just switched her over I refuse to feed a dog bakers and Cesar

 

[ButterflyBlue]

People wean 4 week old puppies onto raw it can be fed at any age. I fed a 7 week old cavalier on it and my next puppy will be on it as soon as possible. I just switched her over I refuse to feed a dog bakers and Cesar

what is the change like when you make them eat raw? i mean do they get sick or anything for a while?

 

[Nicky10]

There can be a bit of digestive problems which you need to keep an eye on especially with a small puppy as they dehydrate so fast. But it settles down quickly

 

[Lyceum]

that's true, i sometimes wonder if because we have kept dogs for so long that they are no longer so natural and so there diets have changed too like a lot of people say that bakers isn't good for dogs because its full of additives and fillers - my dog was on this so i switched when i got her. but she still looked very healthy whilst she was on it. perhaps they're just used to these kind of diets now

I don't think that's true at all.

There's a huge difference between looking healthy and actually being healthy. Humans have eaten junk food now for centuries and our bodies still haven't adjusted, hence there's now huge problems with obesity etc. A kid who eats maccies every single day but gets plenty of exercise will look healthy, but god help them in later life when it catches up to them. I imagine the same to be true of dogs, feed them junk food all their life and it will catch have a detrimental effect eventually.

That said, wasn't the oldest living dog fed a veggie diet, lived to 29 without a scrap of meat.