raw dog food

Read and learn more about raw dog food. For more, visit the Dog Health website DoggyDogHealth.com

Q: Is it ok to feed a puppy raw dog food?
I asked a friend about dog food for my new puppy and they suggested Bravo Raw food. Is this good for a maltese puppy? Is this better for a puppy than other brands, like Canidae or Innova?

A: Raw is fantastic if you do it properly!

Here is a great resource:

http://www.basaltcanyonkennels.com/Basalt_Canyon_Kennels/Raw_Diet_%26_Health.html

Q: How do you feed a dog raw food after they have been feed commercial dog food all their lives?
I was JUST WONDERING. How do their jaw muscles get used to the new raw food, since the other dog foods don’t help with building jaw muscles in a dog.

A: I assume they would be fine with it. I have always fed my dog dog food and one day he decided to steal all of the raw hamburger meat from the counter and eat it. He was fine. I think it is just natural for dogs to eat raw meat.

Q: Has anyone ever used Nature’s Variety Raw Dog Food? What do you think of it? How does your pet do on it?
Are you’re pets any healthier on the raw food than the dry? Do you feed it to your dogs or cats or both? Have any conditions or diseases they had gotten better? Did they like it? Any other info/input is welcome. Thanks!

A: It’s a pretty good raw food, although it has some things mixed into it in the cat variety that are unnecessary. However, it’s readily available and convenient to feed, and certainly much better than dry of any kind. Dry food, by necessity, has grains in it that can cause sensitivities in dogs and cats. Our pets fed dry are much more likely to have skin issues like excessive shedding, urinary tract issues, inflammatory bowel disorders or “sensitive” stomachs. They also become obese on dry food because the nutrition is so diluted with the grains. They aren’t satiated by dry food, and eat, and eat, and eat. This may also increase the risk of diabetes, particularly in cats who as carnivores are more at risk for issues with carbohydrates.

Q: Any suggestions for a homemade raw dog food for an older herman shepherd?
I have an older German Shephard (about 10-12 ballpark age+100pounds) and he has been having trouble digesting his dog food so we’ve started feeding him rice with any random meat scraps we have, and decided to start him on a raw food diet, we really aren’t sure what kind of diet would be best for him to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs, so any type of input on this would help alot. Thanks

A: If you can afford it the prepackaged raw diets are really nice and handy.
Like Primal, Bravo, Nature’s Logic, etc

If not, please check out http://www.rawdogranch.com/ which is a great website that will walk you through just what to do.

And : ) Lauri has (and has had) German Shepherds!!

Q: What are the benefits of a RAW dog food diet?
What are the benefits of feeding my dog Raw dog food?
What has it got to offer that food from pedigree,orijen,royal canin and other high name brands cannot offer.
They hate raw?
Or they hate the others?
I had to post this.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL at pedigree bottom.

A: No fillers
No worries of recalls
YOU control what is in your dog’s food
Cleaner teeth
Stronger Jaw and neck muscles from actually chewing and tearing their food
Better coats
Better health
Smaller and less fragrant piles to pick up
Less money once you find a good supplier of food
less ‘doggy’ smell and breath
better health overall

Q: Anyone know any good raw dog food recipes and raw treat recipes?
I am looking for some raw dog food recipes to start feeding raw for only part of the time. Have any ideas? Any healthy raw treat ideas? Summer treat ideas?

Thank you!
What about fruites and veggies?
I tried feeding raw once. It made one of my bullies sick…it was not a kind I made it was a store bought kind. I want to try it again very slowly because I believe it will be better in the long run. What about eggs? I have heard raw eggs are good for them as well.

A: It is something that should be researched thoroughly. For example, you don’t want to feed too many organs or weight bearing bones. Also, to reach the maximum benefit, you should donate your bag of kibble. It doesn’t benefit the dog to have both as they digest differently in the body.

I serve my dog a whole chicken in the morning and in the evening I serve ground up meat-ground with the bones in it (whichever meat I have for that day, venison, lamb, etc) with pureed (from food processor) veggies and fruits mixed in. My dog prefers not to have the veggies, so if I don’t serve it this way, he won’t eat them.

Many people say that veggies and fruits are not necessary, but some do and I feel better knowing he has them. Dogs are omnivores and in the wild will eat grass.

I cook a box of brown rice once a week and I daily add 1/2 cup of it to his evening meal.

I am giving you some links that can go into more detail about the diet. I wish you the best and thank you for feeding your dogs the healthiest diet!

The links I have prepared for you are ones that I have researched myself as well as ones that were sent to me when I joined the yahoo group for rawfeeding. I would suggest signing up for it. It is free to register, they don’t spam you and you can opt out at anytime. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfe…

Why I chose to feed my dog a raw food diet:

I adopted my lab/pit mix at 1 year old. He had been a stray and was the most amazing dog I have ever met. It was love at first sight. When I brought him home, I fed him (quality) kibble. He had daily diarrhea, often several times a day. I felt horrible for him. We were at the vet twice in the first month for his bowel problems. My vet told me to feed Science Diet, Sensitive Stomach Formula. I knew that SD is crap food, but I was desperate to help my dog. It worked! Then I found out that not only is there no nutriton in SD, but they add stool hardeners! I was so mad. The food was only masking the problem.

I knew there had to be a better way. I was heavily reading everything I could about canine nutrition. I had my dog tested for allergies. (dogs can be sensititve to something without being allergic) I changed food every few weeks trying to fnd something nutritious that wouldn’t make his bowels expode.

I started cooking boiled chicken and rice for him and only feeding him that because that was the only way he’d stop having diarrhea and I could actually know exactly what he was eating. There had to be a better way.

I had heard of raw feeing but it sounded crazy to me. I mean, feeding your dog bones? That’s insane! They could choke! Well, after careful research and consulting with my vet, I decided that I had tried everything else and this was worth a shot. It turns out raw bones are GOOD for them! They don’t splinter like cooked bones. They clean the dogs teeth. This is what a dog’s digestive system was meant to eat!

Aside from the diarrhea, my dog suffered frequent ear infections, UTIs, and anal gland infections. He had gas, bad breath and the frequent diarrhea. All of that is now gone! He is so healthy and his immune system fights off everything on his own. There are no more monthly trips to the vet (so costly!) and he has so much energy.

I always suggest everyone should at least look into raw feeding, even if their dog is already healthy. Keep him that way, right?

My dog is almost 80lbs and he eats 2.5 lbs of raw a day. He gets half of a chicken in the morning and his evening meal varies including eggs, veggies, duck, venison, bison, beef, turkey, fish, organs, etc. He loves it! There is nothing more satisfying than hearing him crunch on those bones because I know it makes him so healthy and happy.

Keep in mind, you have to be careful with bone/meat ratio (explained in links) and what kinds of raw you are feeding. (example, too many organs or weight bearing bones can be bad)

Links:

http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://rawfeddogs.net/
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/ http://rawfed.com/myths/preymodel.html
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

I wish you the best and if I think of anything else, I will edit!

I feed him a tablespoon of yogurt a day – I put plops of yogurt on a freezer safe Tupperware and stick it in the freezer. I give him one a day as a treat. I don’t believe it is necessary, but he hasn’t had any digestive problems since I’ve been doing it. It’s used as a treat.

Other treats I have used are raw baby carrots, sliced apples and green beans. I also puree liver, mix it 50/50 with water and put it into ice cube trays as a treat.

I used to buy from www.omaspride.com but now I do it myself. It isn’t terribly cheaper but for me it is more convenient to pick up stuiff for him at my weekly trips to the butcher shop, which sells only organic fed, free range meats and dairy products. Also consider making your own jerky (or purchasing) out of venison, chicken, duck, etc.

Q: any suggestions on feeding a raw dog food diet?
I’m thinking of adopting a great dane from a rescue facility and have been hearing about the raw dog food diet. I’m really interested in feeding any future dogs this type of diet. I have done some online research and know the basics but I’m wanting to talk to people who actually own danes and feed a raw diet. I’m mostly curious as to how much more expensive this would be than feeding top quality commercial food (say, $30 for a 40lb bag), the quantitiy usually fed (I know it depends on the dog’s age, amount of exercise, ect) frequency (once or twice daily) and the different types of food fed. I’d appreciate any feedback on this! Thanks!

A: there are a TON of raw or Barf diet web sites out there. here are just 2 of them

http://barfworld.com/

http://presagirls.tripod.com/id14.html

there are a lot of yahoo groups out there too.
just do a search for BARF or Raw feeding for dogs.

I have been using it for about 3 yrs now and LOVE it.
I find it can be cheaper then the HIGH end dog foods too.

there are a lot of repackaged raw foods now too. That is how I got started then started to make my own.
http://www.katberard.com/hol_bonesandfood.htm
the above site has lots of info and also has links to prepackaged foods too…..

also a good starter book is
Natural nutrition for dogs and cats
Auther Kymythy r Schultze, c.c.n., a,h,i,

READ UP ON IT AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK

I get 40 lbs of chicken backs for $13.00. 40 lbs last me about 1 month. I am feeding 3 dogs.
I also make my own meat and veggie mix and that cost about $20.00 a month depending on the types of meat I put in it.
so I am spening about 33.00 or so a month. but this is 3 dogs
2 dogs are about 30 pounds and I have a 70 pound dog too.

just found 2 yahoo groups. You will have to join but they may have more answers.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GreatDanesNaturally/

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/WholesomeDane/

Q: Can i feed raw food with dog food to my pup?
I’m thinking of purchasing a high quality dog food such as canidae or innova but adding maybe a raw chicken leg. I’m not planning to mix them together, but maybe throw a chicken leg for breakfest then the other 2 meals would be the dog food. Is this acceptable and since it’s raw i’m thinking the pup will get some benefits.

A: Raw diets are very beneficial for dogs, my dogs used to be on complete raw diets, but with expenses and availability had to cut back to half raw half kibble (raw morning, kibble night). I’m glad you already plan to not mix them (was my first thought when i read this question), as the two substances digest at different rates and can increase their chance of getting worms and salmonella.

Though I am reluctant to feed them alot of kibble (due to the very poor ingrediants used in most), there are some high quality foods out there. Canidae was one for a while, though i’m not sure about its current rating. Taste of the Wild, Premium Edge, Fromms, Evo: red meat, Evangers, some of these foods are good for dogs and are either low in grains or grain free.

However, raw diets are not something to just jump into, so be sure to do your research on the subject before you begin. Dogs of different sizes/weights have different ratios of RMBs (raw meaty bones), organ meats, and muscle meats measured out by the ounce. For example, giving a small dog a whole chicken leg would be giving far too much calcium, etc than it’s body needs, the same as giving a large dog only a raw chicken leg will be giving it too less. Chicken necks are a better protein source as they are said to have a good balance between bone and meat on them (you can buy them from your local butcher).

Again, please do the research before you start and raw is a very healthy diet for your dog

Q: How much veggies should I give my dog with his raw food?
I feed my dog raw food, and the one he is eating right now doesn’t have the veggies mixed into it like some brands, like urban carnivore. I want to give him fresh veggies with his meal but not sure much to give him. Hes a 17lb French Bulldog X Boston Terrier and he is 11 months old.He eats a half pound patty a day.
Yes they do need Veggies!

A: No they don’t!!

While a dog may enjoy the odd carrot or piece or fruit, they have no nutritional need for them. They have no molars for grinding, amylase in their saliva or fermentation bacteria in their intestines – all proof that dogs do not need vegetables or have the ability to properly digest them.

Q: Does anyone make their own raw dog food patties?
My dogs eat raw, for patties we feed Natures Variety patties, I have heard of people making their own patties with a meat grinder and food processor. If you make your own can you tell me a recipe you follow and how you like it?

A: I feed my dogs raw, but I don’t make patties. I feed them the biggest chunks possible. This gives them a mental work out, and is better for the teeth than ground.

Occassionally they do get ground meat in their kongs, but that’s usually when hamburger or some other ground meat goes on sale.

Q: Can anybody tell me a recipe for raw dog food?
I don’t want a website, I have already looked at all of them. I want to know if anybody can tell me how much of each thing to put in the food.

Eg.
1 cup raw chicken
2 cups vegetables
and so on.

If anybody could help me that would be great, but I’m thinking of mixing it with kibble, so if anybody can tell me how much of kibble and how much raw would be awesome!

Thanks

A: 75% – 6 ounces (3/4 cup) coarse-ground or chopped meat, raw or cooked. A variety of meats, poultry and fish (organic is better) should be rotated: Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Turkey, Rabbit, Venison and their organ meats. Salmon (no skin) Sardines, Smelt and other whole fish. Ground meat mixes better with the vegetables. Chopped meat is also excellent.

25% – 2 ounces (1/4 cup) ground, mixed vegetables, raw or cooked. Any and all of the following vegetables can be used. The more veggies you combine in one meal the better. Feed what’s in season. Asparagus, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicory, Green Beans, Greens (at least one of the following per day: Dandelion, Kale, Swiss Chard, Parsley), Kohlrabi, Okra, Parsnips, Peas, Pumpkin, Sprouts, (Alfalfa, Bean, Sunflower), Squash (Winter and Summer), Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Turnips, Rutabagas.

Optional Ingredients: Whole eggs (including shell) Alfalfa, Kelp, Barley or Wheat Grass, Garlic, Chlorella, Spirulina, Apples, Pears, Bananas, Parsley, Nettles, Walnuts, Almonds, Sunflower seeds. 2 ounces (1/4 cup) purified water (especially if you are going to freeze.

Q: What is the best brand of premade raw dog food?
We have been feeding our dog Nature’s Variety raw but our local store also carries Stella & Chewy’s. They seem to be pretty comparable (in comparing the same protein source) but Nature’s Variety has slightly more crude protein, more carbohydrates and less crude fat. Is there a different brand all together we should be considering? I’ve seen Bravo mentioned occasionally in doing research as well but I’m not sure if any of the brands are actually superior to the others. Many thanks!

A: They are pretty much the same but you have to find one right for your dogs system. Watch your dog and if he is having a bowel movement more that 2 times a day he is throwing the nutrients off and not absorbing them as he needs to for proper nutrition. Of course it may take a week or more for the dog to adjust to a new food, so after changing to a new food, observe your dog and keep track of how many times a day he is pooing.
It also depends on what kind of dog you have. If you have a dog like mine-a mastiff, large breed, you do not want a diet too high or too low in protein for proper bone development and growth. My mastiff was basically on the B.A.R.F. diet(bones and raw food) for the first 1 1/2 yrs or until he had most of his heigth growth.
So just do some research online for your type if breed and watch how the foods adapt to your dog.

Q: Any advice on supplements to add to my raw dog food?
I have been feeding my dogs a raw diet for a couple of years. I give them a fish oil capsule daily but am wondering if I should be adding something else. Does anyone have any recipes to share? Thanks.

A: This is the exact recipe I have used for years but I do not add grapes:

http://www.homestead.com/VonHapsburg/Barfdiet.html

It has always worked well with my dogs!

Q: Recommend me a brand of commercial raw dog food?
I don’t have the time and effort to spend to find meat sources, prepare everything, add supplements and such.

Someone please recommend me a pre-prepared raw diet?

A: I started exactly the way you did. I work, go to school, and try to give my spare time to my dogs. I didn’t think I had time to make meals either.

I used Nature’s Variety and Bravo for the most part. I like them both (and still occasionally add some to my home-made meals today).

More than likely, you will begin to find that throwing together portions yourself is really not difficult. Not to mention, having bone-in meat is much better for teeth than totally ground raw diets.

If you want to use prepared foods to get started, those were ones I liked. But, remember, don’t discount making your own. I actually spend less time feeding my raw fed dog every day than I do with my kibble fed old man (he gets a couple different supplements with his food).

Q: I want to feed my dog Raw food instead of junk from bags! I need recipes and how to plz!?
How do i make meals for him. He is a French bulldog about four months. What are some good foods to feed him that are raw. and how do i do this. Do you have any recipes or anything like that? Please help me i don’t want my dog eating that nasty stuff that comes hidden in dog food.

A: Google raw feeding. Start with BARF. There is so much. It’s a commitment.

Because you won’t go cold turkey, begin to mix foods with kibble to slowly make the transition:

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#reference

Here are more references:

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

http://www.justamere.com/newsletter/rawfeeding.asp

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