raw diet experts please advise!

[kari_dawn]

I live with my sister at the moment, she has one 20lb dog, and a brand new puppy who will probably be around six to seven pounds as an adult. So, she is feeding roughly 30lbs of dog. We feed high quality kibble, and I give mine (a five pound rat dog, okay, just kidding. He is a long haired chihuahua) raw meats regularly.

The problem is, we are sharing the buying of the food. I buy every other bag. It is a very high quality kibble, so very expensive. Six pounds lasts Bacardi (my dog) six months on his own, and I have never breached the subject of my buying one bag for every two she buys, though her dog is more than double the size of mine. It just seemed petty. Well, now that she has TWO dogs, both of which will out weigh and out eat mine, I no longer feel it is fair to continue buying every other bag of food, when I am also feeding and carring for her two polish chickens that I got for her cause she was dying to have them.

This has also come about by other issues that are not to be aired here. Suffice to say, she is three years my junior, and severely sheltered.

Anyway, I have been considering going raw with Bacardi, and I need to know the formula again...I can't seem to remember it. I also need to add that my dog is epileptic, and his seizures seem to be triggered by chemical exposure and low blood sugar. I can manage his siezures by removing chemicals (which also unfortunately includes heartworm prevention) and ensuring that he has free choice food...which may be hard with raw diet. He keeps himself a little thinner than I would like him to.



Just a fun picture of the little rat as a juvie (yes, that is an easter egg on his collar)...man his hair looked so short then!

So, can someone please tell me how to provide him a ballanced raw diet, and wether I can suplementally leave dry kibble down for him due to his hypoglycemia issues?

 

[annageckos]

I feed my dogs, cats and ferrets 100% raw, and have for going on 8 years now. This site, http://www.rawlearning.com/ will have all the info you need on raw feeding and links to others.

Oh, and your dog is cute. His weight looks good to me, but I keep my dogs on the thinner side for health reasons.

 

[kari_dawn]

Thanks! He was young then...under a year. He really hasn't filled out any more than that though he has gotten much longer hair. He has always had free choice food, and seems to do okay, so I just continue letting him take care of himself in the food department.

 

[kari_dawn]

I guess Im a little slow tonight, but all I can see on the link is the benefits of feeding raw...can you link me to a formula? I thought I read somewhere that it is like 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat and 10% something else or something like that?

 

[annageckos]

I find that when fed raw animals that need to gain weight do. And animals that need to loss weight will too, if fed properly. It is not hard. With my guys if they are getting thinner or when we are more active I feed more. When we are not as active my dogs will eat less on their own. I like to be able to see the last two or three ribs and easily feel them. I also think most people are use to seeing overweight dogs, so when they see one at a good healthy weight they think it is too skinny.

 

[watchdogps]

I guess Im a little slow tonight, but all I can see on the link is the benefits of feeding raw...can you link me to a formula? I thought I read somewhere that it is like 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat and 10% something else or something like that?

The other ten percent is bone. At five lbs, he really shouldnt have hypoglycemia. Thats usually just the super tinies. Has that been confirmed via blood test? Either way, no on the kibble. Kibble in the gut with raw will slow the digestion, which can allow for bacteria to breed. Raw alone is in and out before that is a risk. Also, if you need to remove chemicals from his diet, then leaving kibble is not going to accomplish that. I would just feed several small meals a day if you are worried, although hypoG doesnt seem to be an issue on raw. If you are gone long peroids of time and cant give him the meals, there are dishes with timers you can set, and you can even freeze the food so it stays cold/fresh till he gets it. Lots of cat people do this when they are gone for a day.
I moderate a smaller rawfeeding group on yahoo called rawk9s, if you want to join and ask questions.

 

[annageckos]

Yup, it is 80% meat, 10% organs (with half that being liver) and 10% bone. It doesn't have to be exact though. I don't measure or weigh anything anymore. I know what works for my animals, it just takes a little time. Here is a photo of one of my dogs at what I feed is a healthy weight for him. This is Vegas, he is a lab/pointer mix.



https://www.hare-today.com/feed.php?osCsid=8c9ce554e40d8fae8932bad38f1d0edc here is a link to a calculator, to get a base line on how much you should feed per day. Remember it is only a guide line though, so dogs need more or less food depending on age, health and other factors.

 

[kari_dawn]

By chemicals, I am talking more flea powders, heartworm preventions, and other chemical I guess pesticides/poisons would be a better description. Food chemicals do not seem to affect him. He has not been tested, but my vet is monitoring him. She says that because his siezures have become so rare (maybe once every six months if even that often) to just keep an eye on him. She is the one that suggested that he may be hypoglycemic, though you are right, he is a bit on the large side for blood sugar issues.

Oddly enough, he did not start having them till he was almost two years old, right around the time he was microchipped...it has always made me wonder if his chip is somehow affecting him, but I have never heard of a microchip causing seizures. The fact that he didn't have his first one until such a late age also suggests that it is not hypoglycemia, but on the other hand, when he doesn't eat frequently he is more prone to seizures.

 

[AquaEyes]

Google "BARF" and you'll find plenty of links.

 

[kari_dawn]

Thank you for the formula. I have done a lot of research on raw diet (and of course still have a ton to learn), but I wanted to ask people who are currently implementing it. I firmly believe that dogs were never designed to eat cereal, and should not be fed such. I also needed to make sure it would work for my "special needs" dog

I think I may give it a try for a while and see how he does.

If I feed a kibble that is all meat, except for I think sweet potatos, is that still a no no? I also give benebac, and a seaweed extract to maintain clean teeth if that makes any difference.