Raw food diet for dog?
I have a new boerboel and i want to feed him a totally raw diet. Don’t judge me im not making some fightin dog or doing this because i think it’s cool. He’s an indoor dog. I believe raw diets are healthier and have owned malamutes and molassers before. I just want to make sure that he gets ALL the nutrition he needs from this raw diet so should i give him raw nuts too? So could someone just tell me a raw diet for dogs thanks.
Tagged with: boerboel • nutrition • raw diet for dogs • raw diets • raw nuts
Filed under: Raw Food Diet
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Bare in mind that a dog this large will be eating a lot of meat if you choose to go raw. It could get really expensive.
Raw diets are not necessarily better. A good quality dog food, not the kind you get in the grocery store, gives a dog exactly what it needs to healthy and happy.
If you do choose the raw route – make sure you understand just how much you should feed this dog. There are several good sites on the internet that tell you what you can and can’t feed raw.
When I do feed raw on occasion – not an everyday thing, I feed beef and chicken, eggs, a few vegetables and a bit of cheese. I feed raw about once a week.
Nuts are toxic to dogs, so don’t bother.
The most appropriate diet for a canine is the raw prey model diet.
Here are some great websites to get you started: http://www.rawfed.com/myths/ , http://www.rawlearning.com/responsetopeck.html , http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/
The basic idea is to feed 2-3% of your dog’s ideal adult body weight. The ratio is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other organ meat, in addition to whatever skin/fat/tendons are naturally included.
You can feed any number of food – fowl such as chicken, turkey, quail, pheasant, duck, goose, etc. Ungulates such as cows, deer, goats, sheep, antelope. In Australia they often feed kangaroo.
I hope this is helpful to you, and good luck with your new dog! : )
EDIT:
@ 1clyde: Raw poultry is absolutely fine. HUMANS have a digestive track that is very long and we do not have the acidity of a canine, thus we should not consume raw poultry. Dogs, of course, are not humans, and have been eating raw birds for millenia. I don’t personally eat pork, but a healthy dog without a compromised immune system can eat any kind of raw meat out there, including decayed meats and meat with worms, etc.
Also, for the millionth time, dogs are canines, and canines are CARNIVORES. They have NO nutritional requirement for vegetable matter or grains – they are filler and will only stress the digestive system, as it is a foreign food that cannot be broken down.
Cheese is fine but dogs don’t naturally consume dairy, so I would leave cheese as a high-value treat only. And again, no nuts.
Just wanted to clear that up – I hate to see so much misinformation on here.
no one can tell you how or what to feed – but we can give suggestions – and my suggestion is that you need to do the research, and not the cliff notes version of a raw diet. it’s important that you feed a variety of protein (muscle meat), raw meaty bones, and offal. Buy some books, read, join a Yahoo group that talks about raw feeding.
and raw nuts? calf nuts or the kind that comes in a shell? do not feed your dog raw nuts from a shell, however, they LOVE fresh cut calf nuts!
FWIW – attention raw feeders – the general public does not automatically assume that you are raising a fighting dog just because you feed raw meat and bones..LMAO…sorry..but I love the assumptions associated with a well balanced raw diet!
ETA – even if this dog was 120lbs, you are only feeding 2% of the dogs body weight – I don’t think that 2.5 – 3 lbs of rmb’s and muscle meat is that much. It’s like feeding two 70lb dogs every day.
First let me start by saying I applaude you for feeding your dog naturally. Raw is definatly better. I would feed him raw beef, venison. However DO NOT feed him raw poultry, or pork. This could be dangerous. Dogs digestive systems are designed for proteins, and grains. So meat, cheese, and grains. I am not sure of what grains they can eat, but look it up. You can give him nuts, but I don’t believe they would be very benifical. I am sorry I don’t know much about raw food for dogs, but I do know they need protien and grains, not vegatables, they cannot digest them. Good luck, and again I applaude you.
Excellent choice! Dogs are carnivores and NEED meat, bone and organ. I belong to several yahoo groups and when new raw feeders ask for help getting started I send them this information. It’s long, but will help you with the basics on starting. Good luck!
You want to feed 2-3% of your dogs IDEAL adult body weight. There is a handy calculator here… http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm You may want to start at 2% and adjust as necessary. I know it really doesn’t sound like a lot of food and it may not LOOK like a lot but remember they are getting everything they need with this diet, without fillers, vegetables and grains.
You want to stick around 80% meat, 10% EDIBLE bone, 5% liver and 5% other organ (this can be adjusted as you learn what your hound tolerates comfortably). Stomach/tripe, heart, gizzards and tongue are considered meat, as they are truly muscles (the white tripe you find in the grocery, honeycomb tripe, is bleached and processed and is NOT suitable to feed). All other organs – brain, lung, pancreas, kidney, gullet, spleen, trachea, etc – are the other 5% of the organs. If you feed a very bony meal today feed an all meat meal tomorrow. If they are getting too much bone, you will know by their poop (see below and YES, you need to watch their poop!). It’s not a concern, you just need to adjust the diet a bit for a day or two. The 80/10/5/5 is simply a guide. Some dogs need 20% bone because they have consistently soft stools. You will know what looks correct with just a bit of time.
Most people start with chicken as it is easily digested and affordable. Stay away from enhanced meat as it has added sodium. Plain old chicken has about 90 grams sodium in it which is acceptable. Enhanced meat will have several hundred more and can cause loose stool and sometimes vomiting in some dogs. Some are not bothered by it tho. Throw your dog a chicken quarter or bone-in breast and stand back and watch. Some dogs don’t realize it is food and may lick it, play with it or bury it. Let them have it for 15-20 minutes. If they don’t it eat, pick it up and save it til the next meal and repeat. By the third time they WILL eat it (and will not starve in the meantime). As you may know, dogs digestion starts in the stomach, not the mouth like ours does, so some may chew, chew and swallow it almost whole but don’t worry. It will either stay down or they will yack it back up and try again. Stick with chicken for 2-3 weeks but follow BMs. They may have runny stools or stools with a bit of mucous at the very start as their bodies get used to a new diet but it should clear up within a few days. If it continues longer, fast for a day and start over. BMs should be firm and small. They will most likely have fewer BMs too so don’t be alarmed if they don’t poop for a day or two.
By this time, you may be noticing changes in them…fresher breath, less itching and scratching and coats may look better. Yes, it really DOES happen in just a couple weeks.
Once they are doing fine with chicken, try a new protein; pork maybe. Buy a pork picnic, a huge one, and cut it appropriate sizes and toss it down. By now they know it is food and their jaws have become stronger so they will have a fun time chewing it up. Some dogs are gulpers and some, like Piper, eat like a lady. Feed pork for 2 weeks then introduce a new protein like turkey (which, by the way, IS different than chicken).
After about 5-6 weeks of their first raw food, start adding some organ meat but in SMALL amounts. Liver is very rich and can cause loose stools if given too much too soon. Some people feed organ and/or liver every day, some every other day, some a couple days a week. Its not a life or death situation to feed EXACTLY 10% organ. I usually feed liver for maybe 5 days then some other organ for 5 days then back to liver; sometimes Piper doesn’t get any organ for a week, it just depends on what I grab out of the freezer. Its really up to you and variety is created over time. Don’t feel like you need to feed 80/10/5/5 every meal.
Now you repeat with a new protein. You can feed pretty much any animal under the sun, including fish. Feel free to feed chicken and pork in the same meal, it doesn’t hurt. Mix and match your proteins.
You do not need to supplement with anything expect possibly fish body oil but make sure it does not have soy in it as some pets are very sensitive to it.
So, to sum it up…open refrigerator, remove chicken quarter, toss to dog, dog eats. End of story. Yes, it is that simple.
Now on to the FUN stuff!!
Some good reading material when you have the time…
http://www.dogtorj.net/id51.html
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html VERY good info
http://rawfed.com/myths/honest.html
http://www.skylarzack.com/rawfeeding.htm
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1
http://www.rawlearning.com/supplementmyths.html
I belong to several groups relat
Lot’s of great answers here. Just remember there are some things your dog should not eat: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/slideshow-foods-your-dog-should-never-eat