A dog and a raw food diet?
I have been on a little of a health kick lately and trying to eat better. So, I though if I’m going to eat less processed foods why not do the same with my dog.
I have done some research and am interested in a raw food diet. Does anyone have their dogs on a raw diet?
Is it cheaper?
Is it safe?
Any good recipes?
What do you think about some of the powders used to add vitamins to the meat?
I was thinking about using this one.
http://www.knowbetterdogfood.com/
Tagged with: dogs • good recipes • health kick • processed foods • raw diet • raw food diet • vitamins
Filed under: Raw Food Diet
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Yes, I have been feeding both my dogs a raw meaty bone diet for the past 13 years – with excellent results.
However, feeding a raw diet to your dog should NOT mean feeding mostly meat – this is the mistake that many people make, thinking they are doing the best for their dogs. A raw diet should be at least 50% RAW BONES…. and only about 20% meat, the rest is made up from mushed veggies and table scraps. It is the BONE that is so all important – not the meat…. Too much meat will lead to kidney problems in the long run.
I commend you for wanting to switch to a raw diet – you are definitely on the right path… but please do read up on the subject first. I always recommend Dr. Ian Billinghurst’s book "Give your dog a bone". All is explained in there, it is written in a humourous way, and I have not yet come across a single question on a dog diet that Billinghurst could not answer.
I had a glance at your website above…. well – I admit I haven’t read it closely, but it seems to me that those people are providing meat and no bone (sorry, if I’ve got that wrong) – but the most important thing is …. it’s another commercially produced dog food. All you really need is to go to the butcher and get chicken wings, lamb bones, meat off cuts, offal …. anything that is cheap or free and feed those bones to your dog. The whole idea of a raw meaty bone diet is to NOT having to supplement artificial vitamins and minerals…. all you need is the raw BONE – although in order to do it right, you should first read about feeding this way. There are a few do’s and don’ts that would be too long to go into here.
But please do not be discouraged – you are thinking along the right lines. Raw feeding is the easiest and most convenient thing you can think of – but go back to basics – you do not need to rely on yet another industry to buy the food ready made…. just give your dog a raw chicken wing, and see what he makes of it… throw him a few raw off cuts from your own Sunday roast – see if he likes it… it really is THAT easy.
Raw tripe is good!
first, i would recommend speaking with your dog’s vet first because i dont know your dog’s history
what i can tell you is that it is more expensive,but safe for your dog. i have found that dogs that are on a raw food diet get more leaner while on this diet.
I used to have my german shepherds on K9-KRAVING, it was very expensive and mostly just lead to upset stomachs and diharhea. I really wouldn’t invest in something like this.
It is pretty safe, I guess. But maybe if the meat.. I am really not sure.
But it really is a pain to store, you’ll need a seperate freezer for it.
Good luck, my opinion, go out and buy some Beneful.
I feed prey model raw. It is cheaper than kibble (I fed Evo), but that is because I have tiny dogs that do not require a lot of meat. It is perfectly safe to feed dogs raw, just use reasonable judgement and don’t feed rancid meat. Dogs have a lower stomach pH and shorter intestinal tracts than we do, so they are perfectly capable of handling the bacteria in raw meat. I feed muscle meat, meaty bones, liver, tripe, and a dollop of yogurt at mealtimes. I supplement with Missing Link.
I tried raw food for a while, it is really good but honestly I couldn’t keep up with it. I am just so busy, kids, pets and job.
We all live healthy (at least I think we do a great job ;-)
So what I finally found for my pets is Life Abundance. I love it. They love it. It has exactly the ingredients I want in a food and it gets shipped to my door. YEAH!
You can read up on it at http://www.HealthyTownandCountryPets*com.
Good luck for finding what will suit you guys, and kudos to you for feeding your Pets healthy as well :-)