I am switching my dogs to raw (Need people with experience)

Okay, yet another question. So, the random boxes of meat scraps we got were mostly fat. I picked through it and ended up with plenty of meat, and then we threw out the box of fat, which I would feel bad about except for that the butcher said they just take the scraps out to their hunting club and throw them out for the raccoons (actually, us coming and getting the trimmings is convenient for them, too). Anyways, I was pretty sure that the fat isn't good, but wanted to ask anyway. So, does fat count as muscle meat?
Also, does anyone know of any good raw feeding forums?
 
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If I am correct, you are just starting prey model, correct? If so you don't need it just yet, but fat is essential in a dogs diet. With raw, they use it for energy the way carbs do in kibble. I would keep scraps with fat. Just freeze them and if nothing else, you can add it to their diet during deer season if you are feeding a lot of deer. Meat like that is really lean and you will probably need to add fat. Fat is also good for the coat as well. A lack of fat can contribute to a rough dry coat.

The best raw site I know of, is preymodelraw.com. I believe it also has a link to a forum, dogfoodchat.com also.
But preymodelraw.com has the most in depth info on raw I have found yet, and I have seen several.
 
Yes keep the fat!!! I have a freezerbag full of fat chunks to give my dogs in winter when they need the extra calories. Or, if you don't want it, you could put it on craigslist and I'm sure someone will snatch it up in a heartbeat.

As for it being muscle meat, I wouldn't count it that way but a 1"X1" chunk a day wouldn't hurt unless you see the dogs gaining weight. Its especially helpfull if you are feeding a lot of lean cuts of meat.
 
Alright, cool, next time I'll save some of it. They will definitely be getting lots of deer scraps since we usually end up with at least three deer in our freezer for us to eat, and everybody we know who hunts just throws trimmings and organs out in the woods and probably wouldn't mind giving them to us.
 
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Venison is a highly nutritious red meat, it just lacks enough needed fat. Thats when you will want to keep the extra on hand.
 
Are there any ways to get a dog to slow down eating? Jackie likes to gulp her food and is done in about 30 seconds when there is no bone in the meat, which seems like it wouldn't be good. When there is bone she's fine, but...
 
I had to freeze chicken quarters for a few of my dogs to make them slow down and learn to chew it, otherwise they'd crunch it twice and "try" to swallow it. That wouldn't work for just meat though and I wouldn't worry about it. You could always cut it into small pieces for it to digest faster.
 
Are there any ways to get a dog to slow down eating? Jackie likes to gulp her food and is done in about 30 seconds when there is no bone in the meat, which seems like it wouldn't be good. When there is bone she's fine, but...

Feed large enough cuts that she can't swallow it whole. When I buy beef hearts, find roasts on sale or whatever, I will cut them into really large chunks to be sure they chew. And when I say "chew" I don't mean like you or I. Dogs chomp chomp just enough to get it down, so they will be swallowing "chunks" to some degree.

Another poster mentioned feeding frozen, which can also be done too. Sometimes frozen or partially frozen will work, so you could try that.
 
It would be hard to feed bigger chunks, especially since she is eating 1/2 pound of meat a day divided up into two meals so bigger chunks would probably be too much, but frozen seems like a good idea, I'll do that tomorrow
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You guys are really helpful, thanks! I didn't expect to learn so much about raw feeding dogs on BYC, seeing as it is a chicken forum
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Sorry I didn't think of it sooner but here's a link to a raw food subsection of another forum I'm on. Its a pit bull forum but almost everyone there is friendly and there are several members who don't have pit bulls so feel free to join and ask questions, there's lots of good info on anything dog related and there's also a subsection for backyard pets with a few members who have chickens
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http://www.pitbull-chat.com/forumdisplay.php?132-Raw-Food-Diets
 

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