Switching our dog to a homemade diet

[Weeg]

For tonight, I followed the recipe as best I could with the ingredients I could get.
The recipe was-

• 3 pounds 93% lean ground turkey
• 3 pounds turkey or chicken necks with skin removed (be sure to weigh your necks but this is about 3 to 6 turkey necks or 33 chicken necks)
• 1 pound turkey heart
• 1 pound turkey liver
• 5 pasture-raised eggs without shells
• 8 ounces (3 large stalks) kale
• 8 ounces (2 stalks) broccoli
• 8 ounces (4 chopped cups) dandelion greens
• 12 ounces (2 small clamshell packages) blueberries or mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and cranberries)
• 2 ounces raw pumpkin seed powder

I was able to get-

• 3 pounds 93% lean ground turkey
• 3 Chicken wings (for bone) and Gizzards
• 5 pasture-raised eggs without shells
• 8 ounces (3 large stalks) kale
• 8 ounces (2 stalks) broccoli
• 8 ounces (4 chopped cups) Spinach
• 12 ounces (2 small clamshell packages) blueberries, strawberries
• 2 ounces raw pumpkin seed powder

So I did the best I could. I assume he will be fine without organ meat for a fe days until we got the "Guts and Glory", and then the roosters on Saturday. Everything above he got tonight for his first raw dinner! Yay! I have to say, I am somewhat surprised how not excited about it he was lol!
He's a picky eater, do pulled all the chopped chicken wings out of his dish, and spread him across the floor haha! He ate the rest since we combined it in one big dish, but he's not to sure about the bones yet.
He'll get used to it! Hahaha!

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

His instincts should kick in He will definitely be fine for a few days without the organs. It’s long term that can be damaging. So happy for your perp!

The meal prepping can be somewhat complex for a bit, but once you’ve figured out the ratios it will be simple. Are you bagging/containing the meals and freezing?

 

[Weeg]

His instincts should kick in He will definitely be fine for a few days without the organs. It’s long term that can be damaging. So happy for your perp!

The meal prepping can be somewhat complex for a bit, but once you’ve figured out the ratios it will be simple. Are you bagging/containing the meals and freezing?

Yes! Last night at 9pm when we got home, I whipped up about 9-10 lbs of dog food haha! Hoping it will last him about 16 days, or at least that is what it said on the website. It rationed it into 14oz proportions, trying to bank a little less then a pound per meal which seemed like to much, (3% of his body weight was 2lbs a day) and higher then 2% of his body weight since he's a very active boy. (2% being 1.5lbs a day, which seemed like to little with how active he is. He's 70lbs.)
So in the end, it was about 10oz of veggie, berry, ground turkey mixture, then one chicken wing. I didn't actually weight out exactly 12% of his diet in wings, (wings for the bone) last night, but I figured 1 wing would be close enough. Then I could get it exact today, and chop a bit of wing off or whatever when I serve him.
I'll get pictures of his breakfast! I'm so happy to finally ditch his kibble, and give him the healthy, raw nutrients he needs. Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate it, and will continue to keep you posted on how it goes! Thanks again!

 

[Weeg]

Hey guys!
I'm happy to inform that today counts the first week that Comet is on his raw diet! I'm still struggling to get him to like it, hahah, and have to chop up all the boney meats into small chunks to get him to eat it, instead of place them random across the whole kitchen floor lol!
Otherwise, he enjoys the mash of ground turkey and veggies.
A friend of ours actually commented on how good Comets gait looked yesterday, so maybe he's already showing some progress with his limp. I haven't been paying much attention to it, but haven't been paying to much attention to it lately.
We only have one dinner left, so today its priority I get another batch done for him. We haven't been able to go to the store, since we live an hour away, so I'm planning on directing the 3 chickens we butchered.
I have all the parts thawing in the sink now hahah! Once their thawed, I'll separate boney meats, meat chunks, and organs. Then, just measure with the food scale the weight and substitute specific ingredients, ground chicken, chicken necks, etc, for the directed pieces lol!
I figured it will be fine since that is what a wild dog would eat. Once we can go into town I'll get proper ingredients though.
Tell me what you think! Especially if you think its to willy nilly.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

So glad you were able to do it

Keep up the updates!

 

[Weeg]

Update:
Hey guys! Thsi Wednesday is week 3 of Comets raw! This last week, his diet has been willy nilly with random mine chunks from the chickens we butchered, and chicken thighs we were able to get at out little convinces store. We haven't been to town, so chicken, egg, veggies, that'll have to do!
Today were going into town to pick up the correct ingredients for him, and grocery's.
Everything is going great, he's started enjoying bones more, and I've stopped cutting up his meat! He eats it just fine, though I'm sure that when I switch to turkey necks or whatever bone I use, I'll need to cut it up to get him used to some thing new. Lol!
Picky eater.

Other then that, were still trying to find the cause of his limp. He wan't limping this morning, which was a first, but after he jumped off the golf cart he did start limping worse. Could the jump off the cart have irritated his inflamed joints? (inflamed joints from the kibble).
My other idea is allergies. He obsessively licks his paws if he's laying down. He'll put his whole foot in his mouth, and chew on it. We're looking into seeing a holistic vet as well, knowing that all a traditional vet will want to do is bloody tests. THey'll also advise against the raw diet, and my dad will take note of it. Any other ideas?

 

[Ebony Rose]

Paw licking and chewing, if not brought on by chemicals in his environment, is another indicator of allergies.

 

[Weeg]

Paw licking and chewing, if not brought on by chemicals in his environment, is another indicator of allergies.

I Highly doubt it’s chemicals in the environment. We live In a small town in the country and use all natural cleaning products. Everything we use in the house is natural and outside as well. No weed killers etc. etc.
Ideas on what the allergen may be?I know it could be a lot of things but suggestions are welcome.

 

[Ebony Rose]

https://www.pethealthnetwork.com/do...s-a-z/why-my-dog-excessively-licking-his-paws

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

Update:
Hey guys! Thsi Wednesday is week 3 of Comets raw! This last week, his diet has been willy nilly with random mine chunks from the chickens we butchered, and chicken thighs we were able to get at out little convinces store. We haven't been to town, so chicken, egg, veggies, that'll have to do!
Today were going into town to pick up the correct ingredients for him, and grocery's.
Everything is going great, he's started enjoying bones more, and I've stopped cutting up his meat! He eats it just fine, though I'm sure that when I switch to turkey necks or whatever bone I use, I'll need to cut it up to get him used to some thing new. Lol!
Picky eater.

Other then that, were still trying to find the cause of his limp. He wan't limping this morning, which was a first, but after he jumped off the golf cart he did start limping worse. Could the jump off the cart have irritated his inflamed joints? (inflamed joints from the kibble).
My other idea is allergies. He obsessively licks his paws if he's laying down. He'll put his whole foot in his mouth, and chew on it. We're looking into seeing a holistic vet as well, knowing that all a traditional vet will want to do is bloody tests. THey'll also advise against the raw diet, and my dad will take note of it. Any other ideas?

Glad it’s working well on your end! The knee/joint issue could be a tissue problem or lack of tissue where it needs to be. My bosses old yellow lab had one “knee” replaced at an early age, then the second started to go. They did stem cell treatment (stem cell injections) on the second knee and problem solved! It was a lot cheaper doing the stem cell vs knee replacement. The veterinarians who treated him wrote it up as a genetics issue. Something that Labs are unfortunately prone to having issues with.

The red, itchy, constant licking of the paws is a tough one. We’ve been battling that with Mallace, the Dogo, for a couple years. It seems she’s allergic to grass. The vet put her on antihistamine meds and it did work for a bit. But the dosage had to be upped so much that we pulled her off of it. Try soaking his feet in an Epsom salt bath for 20 minutes or more. It’s very relieving for them.

For Mallace we’ve tried taking certain things out of her diet. For her the diet changes made no difference. The past two weeks they’ve had just beef related raw and no chicken or poultry. Still chewing the feet. May be different for your perp, so wouldn’t hurt to experiment with different meat sources to see if it solves any of his foot problems.