Any raw feeders on BPO??

[bhender254]

I also feed raw, just outside, that takes care of the mess. I've been feeding raw for almost 2 years. I went back to commercial about 6 months ago for about 4 weeks thinking I would save some money as we were in a tight spot financially, I actually spent more because of vet bills to take care of hot-spots caused by the food.  I learned my lesson.

[RottiMommyAL]

As was mentioned in this post earlier, veterinarian schools have their nutrition classes sponsered by major pet food corporations.  So most vets have a bias against raw feeding.  So, don't be surprised if your vet tries to discourage you from raw feeding.
I had to switch to a homeopathic vet in order to get some peace and quiet when on a vet visit.

[hugo~monster]

melissa, rottimommyal is right on the money here.  but that works for her dogs.  you may need to fine tune this to suit your dogs and your household.  but she has given excellent advice here.  also about vets not recommending raw feedings-its true they really dont.  and like was mentioned they promote science diet (as well as other dogfood brands) so why should they recommend anything but what they are trying to sell.  also if you dog is healthier, then chances are you wont need their services as often.  i have to apologize to any vets reading the board if you recommend raw feeding or are open minded about it.  i know alot of the vets i have experienced in my area do not like raw feeding.  even my own vet is not a big fan of it.  i have sorta learned not to discuss raw diets with vets because all i get is moans and groans from them.   

as far as it being messy, as long as you are clean about it and make sure you disinfect any area that the dog might drag some meat to and of course you will want to wipe down any utensils you use to prepare the food, just like you would when you cook for your family.  i feed hugo either outside or on a towel in the kitche right out of his food bowl.  i dont feed anything like tripe, brain, stomach, or whole carcass,  etc (just cant bring myself to do that) so i somewhat avoid the really icky messy raw food items.
if you know some of the ingredients in dog food you would think that was even worse than feeding raw meat.  you wouldnt even want to stick your hand down in a bag of dog food!!! 

[MommyOfSchnauzers]

Thanks for all of the answers.  I have never asked my vet about raw feedings.  Personally, I believe that if my dogs are healthy and happy and are cared for properly, then it's no one's business what I feed them.  But that's just my opinion.  As soon as Dazy finishes the little bit of kibble that we have, we will make the switch to raw.  We have slate kitchen floors, so with a towel under her bowl, it shouldn't be too difficult to clean up the mess.  Hopefully! lol  I'm not squeemish about handling raw meats.  I don't think I could do brains and such, but "regular" meats, bones, etc I think I'll be fine with. 

[doglover]

I have another question if you guys don't mind, my hubby thinks that by eating raw meat the dogs will get the bite instict to kick in. He is also wondering how it is cheaper than buying the regular dog food? I already give my dogs yogart and cattage cheese and sometime will cook some extra meat for the dogs. I was wondering what the differance with raw and cooked. and how do you know how much to feed them? I guess that was more than 1 question. Thanks for any answers.

[brigid67]

I feed raw too!!!  I love it.  I did go to a really great dry dog food and found my dogs don't do as well and the poops were much bigger.  So back to raw we went.  All I can say is that if i can do it anyone can.  I feen more of a BARF diet then strictly meat.  So my dogs get vegies and fruits also.  I also kind of a mixed veggie ground meat thing in the morning.  To this I add supplements.  At night we feed Meat and meaty bones.  I do fast them 1 day a week so their systems an purge.  I feed Willow outside or in her crat.  The mojos eat in the kitchen and I just run a wet mop around after they are finished.  I save money also feeding raw.  I buy chicken in 40-65 lbs bulk.  Other meat I watch sales. My dogs eat lamb, chicken, pork, beef and fish.  The veggies I can get a a weekly farmers market we have here.  It is all pretty easy.  It does seem overwhelming a first - I remember that

[Kermit]

I have a question for the raw feeders. I have been feeding kibble, but every now and then I love to bring home some chicken or beef for the pack. The other night I bought some whole chicken legs for Nigel and Zoot. Nigel pretty much swallowed his whole. It was incredible. I couldn't believe he got it down. Is that bad? He threw up a while later and then (this is gross) all the dogs shared what he threw up. I know "in the wild" wolves will throw up and then eat it again, but he didn't even TRY to chew it the first time around! Zoot on the other hand tore off pieces and ate his a little bit at a time. What do you guys think? Is it bad for him to swallow it whole? He just gets really excited about meat and really "wolfs it down"...
I absolutely want to switch to raw. I guess I need to get a kitchen scale to measure amounts, right?
Thank you all SO MUCH for your help on this topic. I am so inspired and I guess I have been putting it off because I am a wimp!!!

[hugo~monster]

I have another question if you guys don't mind, my hubby thinks that by eating raw meat the dogs will get the bite instict to kick in. "bite instinct" isnt brought out by eating food, raw or kibble.  if you dog is a biter then it wont be made worse by eating raw.  biting is a behaviour that has nothing to do with what type of food the dog eats.  i know what you are saying, has to do with the "old wives tale" that if a dog tastes blood it will kill (i.e chickens, goats, other livestock, etc).  this is just that-an old wives tale.        He is also wondering how it is cheaper than buying the regular dog food? it is cheaper for me to feed raw than to buy premium dog food.  it takes a little shopping around and doing some homework (hitting the sales at the supermarkets, buying meat in large quantities, etc).  of course it wouldnt be cheaper than buying some off brand junk dog food - ol roy,  trailblazer, pedigree, kibbles n bits, many other brands.   i can feed hugo for $20-40 a month raw whereas it would be at least $40 or more a month if i bought premium kibble (canidae, eukanuba, iams, wellness many others).  it does take a little planning and willingness to prepare the food vs just scooping out a bowl full of kibble.       I already give my dogs yogart and cattage cheese and sometime will cook some extra meat for the dogs. I was wondering what the differance with raw and cooked. raw-all meats are feed uncooked also all veggies are uncooked and blended to a mush consistency. also raw incororates RMB-raw meaty bones, which is a key food when feeding raw.     cooked would be meats, veggies, grains you prepare like you would cook for your family.  NEVER FEED COOKED BONES HOWEVER!  i actually do a combo of raw and cooked.  hugo eats mostly raw meat (and bones)  the biggest part of the time.  a couple of days a week, in addition to the rmb, he gets a mush that consists of brown rice, oats, cooked veggies, and supplements.  and how do you know how much to feed them?  adult dogs need 2%-4% of their total body weight a day.  there is no exact science, you will just have to wing it and see what works best for your dog.  basically if he is active feed the higher amount, if he is not active go for the lower amount.  you can tell by how well he maintains weight whether he needs + or - .    I guess that was more than 1 question. Thanks for any answers.

basically do some internet searches and find out all the info you can on feeding this way.  there are many opinions out there on this.  you will have to see what works for you and your dog.  what works for me and hugo may not be practical for you.  each dog is different.  you may find out that you want to use different veggies, or you may want to leave the grains out all together.  alot of people do just meat-no other ingredients.     

[hugo~monster]

I feed raw too!!!  I love it.  I did go to a really great dry dog food and found my dogs don't do as well and the poops were much bigger.  So back to raw we went.  All I can say is that if i can do it anyone can.  I feen more of a BARF diet then strictly meat.  So my dogs get vegies and fruits also.  I also kind of a mixed veggie ground meat thing in the morning.  To this I add supplements.  At night we feed Meat and meaty bones.  I do fast them 1 day a week so their systems an purge.  I feed Willow outside or in her crat.  The mojos eat in the kitchen and I just run a wet mop around after they are finished.  I save money also feeding raw.  I buy chicken in 40-65 lbs bulk.  Other meat I watch sales. My dogs eat lamb, chicken, pork, beef and fish.  The veggies I can get a a weekly farmers market we have here.  It is all pretty easy.  It does seem overwhelming a first - I remember that

you sound like me.  i really dont follow any kind of set formula or recipe.  whatever i have in the freezer or fridge-fruit or veggie-wise.  i base most of his meals on and around meat, adding things i think would be good for him-blueberries, veggies, etc.  just mash up and steam, boil whatever.  always feed the meat/bones raw.  it can be overwhelming at first.  seems too complicated but really its not.  just takes a little extra effort.     

doghealer, your nigel may have just eaten too fast or could have overeaten to make him throw up.  next time try leg/thigh quarters.  they are way too big to swallow whole, so he will have to chew.  you can also give it to him one leg at a time.  that way he has to wait on the next mouthful, maybe giving him time to get it down.  also, dont feed kibble with rmb.  this can cause stomach upset and possibly cause vomitting/diarhea.  as far as kitchen scales, i have one that i used when i first started doing raw.  i would measure everything, but now i just eyeball it.  like i said there is no exact science to it.  you will also learn to spot what looks like 1/2 lb legs and such.  chicken necks weigh about 2 oz each (skinless), legs weigh about 4-6 oz each, thighs about 6-8 oz each, and so on.  and there is nothing wrong with giving a bit too much or too less.  and watch out when they poop-dont be surprised that it is nearly white and almost dry! 

[brigid67]

I use to weigh everything too.  Now I just eye ball it.  I juice my veggies and fruit.  I add the pulp and the juice.  It takes like 10 min in the morning.  As far as how much - I just watch my babies to see how they look.  Then I adjust the amounts.  I find Wilow will eat quite a bit during growth spurts - then not quite as much for awhile.

[doglover]

Thanks so much. I just want to do what is best for my dogs. We use to feed hunters choice, then we switched to Pro Plan Turkey and Barley and the Proplan can food or yogart, cottage cheese (which I can't remember why it is good for them). Our pup get a mixture of the proplan giant breed pup and the turkey and Barley plus the other stuff. I just what to know everything I can about it.

[hugo~monster]

yogurt and cottage cheese, besides being a source of calcium and protein, provides the intestines with "good bacteria".  it contains "probiotics" which is the good flora that is found in healthy gut.  helps digestion, eases stomach upset, controls yeast in the body.  i think you would be pleased with the raw diet if you ever decide to switch.  it really is worth it!

[doglover]

I am now researching raw feeding on the internet. Any suggestions for must reads for good information. Thanks again for your help.

[Good Hope]

The rawfeeding group on Yahoo is something to look at, but you do need to join.  They are busy, so you'll get approved quickly if you do join.

They do encourage prey-model, which is only meat, bones, and organs, but there are probably other groups if you are interested in adding vegetables, cheese, and such to their diet.

I hope that goes well. 

Sofia

[doglover]

The rawfeeding group on Yahoo is something to look at, but you do need to join.  They are busy, so you'll get approved quickly if you do join.

They do encourage prey-model, which is only meat, bones, and organs, but there are probably other groups if you are interested in adding vegetables, cheese, and such to their diet.

I hope that goes well. 

Sofia

Thanks Sofia, I will try that. I just wanted to say your daughter is so cute and looks to be the same age as my daughter who is about to 15 months on the 19th of Nov. I am so interested in.