RAW Feeders

[BlueHorse17]

I know! And it makes me really irritated when people say, "I just think its to expensive for me to spend that much money on a dog". You spend that much money on your kids, more even, why don't you think of your dog the same way? Its cool to have a thread full of people who get it.

Exactly. I’ve gone to numerous vets who are opposed to the idea, and honestly the vet they go to now has been pushing me to put them on Purina or Hill’s Science. Animal nutrition has always been something I’ve enjoyed, and I’ve seen a few documentaries on how dog food is processed. It’s horrid! Not to say that us humans have it good, too…

 

[BlueHorse17]

I'm a raw feeder! Jsut saw this thread or would have joined easier!
I have two dogs, Comet our 5 year old Yellow Lab, and Ember, our new addition 14 week old Yellow Lab.
I use Dogs Naturally as my guide. They have a handful of FDA approved raw recipes for puppy's and adults dogs. I have also learned TONS of other good info for homeopathic treatments, and a lot about vaccines as well.
Right now, I'm feeding a Beef recipe, consisting of-
93% lean ground beef
Chicken heart
Lamb, chicken, or Beef liver
Broccoli
Kale
Dandelion greens
Eggs
Mixed berries (antioxidants)
Hemp hearts
Bone meal
Green Lipped Muscle powder
Himalayan salt

Its quite a process to say the least lol! I have to make a new recipe every week, and cutting up liver isn't exactly pleasant. I can't say I've noticed a huge change since the switch, (probably about 5-6 months ago for Comet, and as soon as we got Ember) but it makes me feel really good about the health of my dogs.

Considering switching the cats to freeze dried raw, but for now I'm using the Dogs Naturally guide to make kibble more nutritious. This is a super cool thread! Nice to meet other raw feeders out there since not a lot of people believe in, can do, or support raw feeding especially vets.
I'm concerned about the day I have to go to the vet and they ask me what I feed. That'll be interesting.
Pictures coming!

Can’t wait to see the photos! I originally had my dogs on Nulo, which is grain free, and then I found out it is possibly linked to heart issues in canines. I also noticed my dog’s stool was smelly, they were pooping all the time, and drinking tons of water.

So then I switched over to Purina Pro Plan Sport. It was kibble, but it was better than what they were on before. So many vets were telling me to do Purina, or Hill’s Science. I’ve heard about recalls for both products, but I was also told by a lot of breeders that they swear to Purina.

Their gas got better, and their coats got shinier, and then I stumbled upon this guy on YouTube and it changed me (and my dogs, in a way). I just enjoyed how he was so casual and treated the dogs more like family than pets. I saw that he fed his dogs raw and I did more research on it.

I also watch this person who helped me break down the percentages and get visuals of how some meals look. She goes a little too in depth for my liking, but I still find her videos interesting.

Since my pack has been on raw their coats have improved, they are more active, their poop doesn’t stink, they don’t drink as much (because moisture in their food), and they are excited when it comes to mealtime. Lately I have been feeding mine chicken meat/bone, fish oil, their MSM supplement, chicken gizzards, chicken heart, chicken liver, pumpkin, spinach, and eggs.

This reply was just suppose to be a paragraph…sorry I get excited about this stuff!

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

I know! And it makes me really irritated when people say, "I just think its to expensive for me to spend that much money on a dog". You spend that much money on your kids, more even, why don't you think of your dog the same way? Its cool to have a thread full of people who get it.

100% like my parents think of our dogs as part of our family. We have spent nearly $30,000 just fixing Wilbur to date and he’s only 2! (That’s including the chemo he has yet to undergo)

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Happy to see this thread, our two dogs (switched one year ago when two kittens arrived) and two cats (right after weaning) are also raw feed, basically prey model raw, the dogs will often have some reasonable amount of veggies and fruits.

They are all very healthy and enjoy their food very much.

For the preparation, I will source the meat from online BARF shop as well as the supermarkets. Averagely every 8-10 days I will prepare a batch of different kinds of meat, meat bone and organs and put them in the deep freeze.

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

This is our dogs food.
It’s got beef, beetroot, kale, spinach, broccoli, apple, carrots and raspberries. Note it’s topped with a sprig of parsley (this is the final product):

This is the mixture of blended greens/berries and I know it looks gross but it’s really healthy. We also add healthy mushroom powder and other supplements such as vitamins:

Overall our dog gets Fresh (organic) veggies & fruits, beef mince, chicken mince and pork mince depending on the day, and we were originally going to go with a raw diet to start with but the vets said to feed raw might introduce extra bacteria. That’s why we changed but the content is the same, it’s just cooked so he doesn’t have to fight off any extra harmful bacteria because due to chemo his white cell count will come down A Lot.

 

[lomine]

I think Purina and Science Diet must have some kind of deal with most vets. When Luc was in for his first visit at my vet, the vet asked about his diet. I still had him on kibble but said I planned to switch to raw. She was very against it and recommended I stick with kibble and specifically said "I like Pro Plan." I knew I wasn't going to give Luc that but out of curiosity I looked up the ingredient list. Three of the top 4 ingredients are rice, wheat, and soy. If I was going to feed kibble it certainly wouldn't be Pro Plan.

The specialist vet that helped me with my other dogs (she also does acupuncture so I was there several times a month for nearly 4 years) does support raw diet. I trust her knowledge and judgement much more than the regular vet. One thing she told me that really pushed me away from kibble was that the number 1 killer of dogs is kidney disease and the low water content of kibble is a major contributor to that.

 

[Weeg]

100% like my parents think of our dogs as part of our family. We have spent nearly $30,000 just fixing Wilbur to date and he’s only 2! (That’s including the chemo he has yet to undergo)

Poor guy! You should look at teh Dogs naturally articles about medical mushrooms for cancer. They also have lots of homeopathic treatments to help with cancer, and an article about chemo as well. I can link some of the articles, but its really worth the read.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/holistic-cancer-treatment-for-dogs/
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/cancer-in-dogs-3-herbs-to-fight-back/
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/medicinal-mushrooms-for-cancer-in-dogs/
Theres another one to that explains Dianne's journey with her dogs cancer. Her dog couldn't' be treated though, but it gives tons of really good information on keeping the cancer at bay.

 

[BlueHorse17]

100% like my parents think of our dogs as part of our family. We have spent nearly $30,000 just fixing Wilbur to date and he’s only 2! (That’s including the chemo he has yet to undergo)

It will be a rough ride, but I bet he is a strong boy!

 

[BlueHorse17]

Happy to see this thread, our two dogs (switched one year ago when two kittens arrived) and two cats (right after weaning) are also raw feed, basically prey model raw, the dogs will often have some reasonable amount of veggies and fruits.

They are all very healthy and enjoy their food very much.

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For the preparation, I will source the meat from online BARF shop as well as the supermarkets. Averagely every 8-10 days I will prepare a batch of different kinds of meat, meat bone and organs and put them in the deep freeze.

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Look at all that dedication! I love it! I am currently using the barf method but might switch over to the prey model just to see how it goes. Regardless with them being on raw it’s absolutely beneficial! I know that’s my opinion but I’m really strong about it. I love the photos that you took! Fine dining is what I consider raw feeding!

 

[BlueHorse17]

This is our dogs food.
It’s got beef, beetroot, kale, spinach, broccoli, apple, carrots and raspberries. Note it’s topped with a sprig of parsley (this is the final product):

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This is the mixture of blended greens/berries and I know it looks gross but it’s really healthy. We also add healthy mushroom powder and other supplements such as vitamins:
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Overall our dog gets Fresh (organic) veggies & fruits, beef mince, chicken mince and pork mince depending on the day, and we were originally going to go with a raw diet to start with but the vets said to feed raw might introduce extra bacteria. That’s why we changed but the content is the same, it’s just cooked so he doesn’t have to fight off any extra harmful bacteria because due to chemo his white cell count will come down A Lot.

That makes sense about it being cooked. It’s also less processing the body will have to do when digesting it, and I like how it is fine so easier to eat. What supplements do you put in there for the vitamins?