Feeding your Dog Raw Meat and Bones

[K9Dave]

Grape seed oil is great for the digestive system as well as kelp.

ACV goes into about every meal as well (forgot to mention it as it's just reflex for me now) this is why I said if update as things come to me.

 

[subhanalah]

I use grape seed oil to cook my food.
My dogs ate my tub of coconut oil. They pooped really well after that :/

 

[wyoDreamer]

I am interested in the Raw diet for dogs - hubby says no way, but I think it would work well. Does anyone feed the dogs animals that they raise for this purpose?

K9Dave, it kinda sounds like you just feed meat, bones and some oils. Oh yeah, you mentioned hearts, kidneys and livers. Do you ever feed the skin and fur/feathers? how about feet and heads left over from butchering?

 

[K9Dave]

I am interested in the Raw diet for dogs - hubby says no way, but I think it would work well.  Does anyone feed the dogs animals that they raise for this purpose?

K9Dave, it kinda sounds like you just feed meat, bones and some oils.  Oh yeah, you mentioned hearts, kidneys and livers.  Do you ever feed the skin and fur/feathers?  how about feet and heads left over from butchering?

All of my chickens are young so no butchering yet. I don't list everything I feed because I try to keep adding new things into their diet. They get chicken, oil, table scraps, enzyme powder, intestines, fish heads, raw egg (shell and all), pork hip bones, etc.

Why is your husband against it? It's the way they SHOULD be eating. Wolves don't haul around bbq's and such so they can't cook their meals. Lol. That's what I'd ask when clients ask "won't it hurt them eating raw bones?" I always ask how many wolves/coyotes/fox they've seen cooking their food in the wild? Commercial dog food has only been around since the 50's or so. Before that people fed raw or table scraps. Bagged dog food has been heated and cooked so much that all of the good stuff that was in the food is cooked right out.

You'd be amazed at the transformation that will happen for your dogs. Healthier coats and they will bulk up with muscle as well. Energy levels go up as well as immune system to fight off disease.

Hope I can help,
Dave

 

[wyoDreamer]

I hate to say it out loud, but he is a cheap son-of-a-gun and wants to only buy the cheapest dog food out there. I buy the best quality I can without him getting on my case too much. But I really don't like to feed that junk to the dogs. I can tell the quality of ingredients has deteriorated over my lifetime. I can smell the difference when I open the bag of food and in the smell of the dogs themselves.
Right now, we only have one dog, and he is getting a little older. Doesn't seem to handle raw meat very well - only getting little scraps right now as treats now and then but throws up almost every time he eats raw chicken. When we got him, he was in a household that had a dog that was allergic to something and they were feeding the special diet food to all the dogs. I brought a little home with us to ease him into what we fed, he flat out refused to eat the special food once he saw the "real food" (ordinary Purina Chow) in his bowl. My lab also refused to eat that special food and she was my Mikey - she ate anything. I think it messed up his digestion somewhat, he has always had a sensitive stomach so since I found something that doesn't make him vomit, I will stay with it for him.
We recently purchased some land, so raising food for the dogs can be one of the activities "at the ranch". I would like to start a new pup off on raw diet if I can convince hubby.

 

[K9Dave]

I hate to say it out loud, but he is a cheap son-of-a-gun and wants to only buy the cheapest dog food out there.  I buy the best quality I can without him getting on my case too much.  But I really don't like to feed that junk to the dogs.  I can tell the quality of ingredients has deteriorated over my lifetime.  I can smell the difference when I open the bag of food and in the smell of the dogs themselves.  
Right now, we only have one dog, and he is getting a little older.  Doesn't seem to handle raw meat very well - only getting little scraps right now as treats now and then but throws up almost every time he eats raw chicken.  When we got him, he was in a household that had a dog that was allergic to something and they were feeding the special diet food to all the dogs.  I brought a little home with us to ease him into what we fed, he flat out refused to eat the special food once he saw the "real food" (ordinary Purina Chow) in his bowl.  My lab also refused to eat that special food and she was my Mikey - she ate anything.  I think it messed up his digestion somewhat, he has always had a sensitive stomach so since I found something that doesn't make him vomit, I will stay with it for him.
We recently purchased some land, so raising food for the dogs can be one of the activities "at the ranch".  I would like to start a new pup off on raw diet if I can convince hubby.

I'm cheap too but I still want them to have the best food I can afford. Believe it or not, you're gonna save money by switching. They eat less of the food because there's hardly any waste. Table scraps and supplements will add to the bill slightly but I pay around $16 per month for 2 large breed dogs. Just have to know where to shop. You can't get that price with even bagged food and it be worth anything.

If you want that older dog to have a new lease on life and a newfound energy and health, switch it over. I can't say it enough. I have switched most of my past clients over and they continually thank me to this day. If he is vomiting it's not because of the raw meat. It's something else. It's in their DNA to eat raw food. Try beef or another protein. Even fish is great for them. The Asian market I shop at gives me mackerel heads whenever I go. I freeze them if there's a surplus.

When switching foods I've found that with fussy ones, all you have to do is fast tem for 24 hours and ten usually they'll be ready to eat. Fasting is done in the wild and of/when you switch over you will see your dogs do it to themselves. It's their natural way of resetting their digestive system. Their digestive tracts are much shorter than ours so food borne disease is not a worry when you handle the meat and bones properly. I have all my stuff set up so that once a day, my wife or I can feed in about 3 minutes. She hates touching it so we have tongs for her.

My friend just wanted to switch his dog over. I've been on him about it for like 4 years and finally he did it. Buddy his dog is getting older and they hike ALOT. Buddy was slowing down and he was worried. Switched over and he's like a puppy again.

I've been doing everything with dogs (training, competing, etcetera) for a long time and I will tell you this. I have never seen a bad reaction to it. Not once. Switching from raw to bagged on the other hand, you will have a dog with diarrhea.

If you decide you want to do it, PM me and I can help you find the cheapest food to feed them.

Dave

 

[wyoDreamer]

More energy is NOT what I need - he is an english setter. LOL!

But really, if it is raw meat - there is a 50/50 chance he will vomit it up. So far he has vomited chicken, beef, veal, pork, venison and he won't even touch anything fish. But, he is a good boy and really spoiled, so he will continue to get his bagged food that he likes and doesn't throw up. If I were in a better situation to do this, I think he would eventually be OK with the raw, just right now it makes him puke - or he makes himself puke because there doesn't seem to be any stomach acid with it when it comes up, just saliva. One of those "spoiled kids" tricks I think.

We are in the transition of selling a house and moving to another state, so doing anything right now is out of the question. The new place is in the countryside, so finding the ingredients won't be that bad, plus I will be able to raise most of it myself.

What propotion of meat to bone would you say you are feeding? If you are feeding trimmed leg bones, there isn't much meat left on those is there?

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I posted some info on this other thread for people who are interested in switching to a raw diet. I'm not against raw, but I do believe people need to research. I've seen far too many issues caused by improperly fed (as well as properly fed) raw diets. Just yesterday we treated a dog with enteritis from salmonella. It can be very, very nasty, even in otherwise healthy individuals.

I've seen some dogs do fine on raw and others do terribly. Some dogs do fine for years and don't show clinical signs until they are older.

Remember, wolves have an average lifespan of 5-8 years in the wild. I'm sure many factors play into this short life span, but many domestic dogs live over ten years on commercial diets, with many living longer than that.

I think all people should be educated about both their own and their pets diets. When it comes to raw though, I think too many people base their opinion off of a small number of experiences which may not be representative of things that can actually happen, or the things vets see when these diets don't go as planned.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/846595/just-changed-to-a-raw-meat/30

 

[K9Dave]

I posted some info on this other thread for people who are interested in switching to a raw diet. I'm not against raw, but I do believe people need to research. I've seen far too many issues caused by improperly fed (as well as properly fed) raw diets. Just yesterday we treated a dog with enteritis from salmonella. It can be very, very nasty, even in otherwise healthy individuals.

I've seen some dogs do fine on raw and others do terribly. Some dogs do fine for years and don't show clinical signs until they are older.

Remember, wolves have an average lifespan of 5-8 years in the wild. I'm sure many factors play into this short life span, but many domestic dogs live over ten years on commercial diets, with many living longer than that.

I think all people should be educated about both their own and their pets diets. When it comes to raw though, I think too many people base their opinion off of a small number of experiences which may not be representative of things that can actually happen, or the things vets see when these diets don't go as planned.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/846595/just-changed-to-a-raw-meat/30

I'm not a vet but went to school for it before I decided it wasn't right for me. They have no schooling on the diet of a dog besides what the dog food company tells them. I have no doubt that they're not a fan of the raw because it's taken money from their pockets. They don't sell raw food and if the dog is healthier, it doesn't need to be seen by the vet. So when the bagged food industry came to be, everyone's dogs started living 6 years longer? I don't think so.

I have real world experience with this diet on a lot of dogs. My own and clients. I've never seen salmonella or any other serious thing. Never. This is a rare happening. They must've really not cared for sanitation.

 

[knittychickadee]

What propotion of meat to bone would you say you are feeding? If you are feeding trimmed leg bones, there isn't much meat left on those is there?

I was wondering about this too. Your diet seems really bone heavy?