Raw diet for dogs?

[Little Rooster]

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Yes as long as the bones are raw the dogs will be fine

 

[redhen]

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Yes as long as the bones are raw the dogs will be fine

Thanks! And welcome to BYC!

 

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

The woman who runs the rodent rescue from which I adopted some of my rats feeds whole prey (rabbit, quail, duck, chicken, etc). She's also a veterinarian and owns show Dobies. Her dogs are in AMAZING shape and absolutely gorgeous. I have no idea where she gets the meals but I'm pretty sure that she purchases them from
somewhere and they're already dead when she gets them. She gives the entire carcass to her dogs, fur/feathers and all.

 

[redhen]

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It makes sense..its what they do in the wild. The more i think about this..i'm thinking i can do it..
I can raise rabbits... and quail... I have a ton of hutches! *craigslist junkie*

even if i feed them 1/2 good dry food with 1/2 raw diet mixed..

Its just the processing of the bunnies..

Hubby has processed quail..so i know that wont be problem.....but i doubt he can do the rabbits ..

 

[Livinzoo]

I've been feeding raw to my cats and dogs for years. They mainly get chicken because I get 33lbs of leg quarters for $16. A box lasts my dogs about 10 days. My dogs are 50, 65 and 85lbs. Call around and see what you an find. Buy in bulk when you can it will save you money. If there are any processing plants near you they might sell in bulk.

 

[redhen]

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We do have some meat stores about 30 minutes away..Blue seal and another one ( Arnolds meats). I'll call them and ask what they do with their scrap meat.. Thanks!

 

[Stina]

I am currently feeding my dog raw...he gets an assortment of different meats/organs as well as some whole prey (frozen feeders meant for reptiles) along with eggs, some herbs, and a little honey. However we are getting puppy Saturday and its just going to be too expensive...so we are going to do a mix of grain free kibble and raw. Once the puppy is grown up we will give them something like Nature's Variety Instinct and Innova Evo (~40% protein)....for now with the puppy we will do lower protein foods....such as TOTW, Merrick Before Grain, and Petcurean Go! Endurance (these are still 32-34% protein).

The general rule with raw is 2% of the dog's body weight per day. My 40 lb dog eats ~1 lb of food per day.

Since puttin Foster on raw his stool is GONE within a week or two....completely... I don't even pick up poop. His coat seems a little nicer...not a huge difference there for me though. One BIG difference has been his teeth and breath. He had really bad teeth before I put him on raw...vet told me when he was 2 that his teeth should be cleaned.... Most I'd done since then was scrape them a couple times. He also had HORRID breath...since putting him on raw his teeth have VASTLY improved and his breath doesn't smell anymore.

I had always worried about food poisoning before I put him on raw.....but they have different digestive tracts than we do and they are built to handle "bad" food. That doesn't mean I'd give him anything that is obviously "bad"...but I don't worry about food that looks and smells fine.

 

[redhen]

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Thanks! I'm going to start calling around tomorrow. Also...i feed them Purina..its not toooo bad..but not good either. THats why i have to feed them so much dry..(10 cups a day each!..split into 2 feedings) But if i buy a better food i know the feed amounts go down alot. Like almost in half. So...i really dont think this is going to cost me tooo much more money a month. Also..Bernards dont live long...i want to give him every chance i can..
So..my male Saint is about 180 lbs.. at least...i think even more to be honest..

how much meat is this a day? with 1/2 good, grain free dry feed also.

 

[Stina]

I hate Purina honestly...not fond of a single food they make...for ANY animal. It's not the worst you can get...but its FAR from the best option.

If you are going to do half and half you would want to do half the amount of kibble recommended per day and then 1.8-2 lbs raw.....or you could just alternate days and do the recommended amount of kibble and then ~3.6 lbs raw on alternating days.

 

[katrinag]

I feed both raw and cooked eggs. If I am baking a cake and it has a lot of meat spots in the bowl for the dog.

As far as the fish with worms it sound like they might have fluke worms. Let me see if I can find my fish book and let you know for sure. Most worms that effect fish can not host on humans and animals.
It would be no different then them living in the wild. They would eat maggots and worms on meat.