Raw food diets for dogs?

You receieved a few inaccurate answers here. Ultimately, you will need to do your own research and decide what is best.

1. Grocery store is fine if there is a variety of meat, meaty bones, and organs. One of the organs must be liver.

This is the prey-model feeding guideline:

80% of the diet is meat of proteins that should be varied as much as possible and half should be red meat such as beef, pork and lamb.

10% of the diet is bones, which must be covered by meat, such as a chicken quarter. The only bones that should not be fed are meat-less bones and weight baring bones of large mammals (for example, beef marrow bones aka soup bones, should not be fed)

5% of the diet must be liver, where beef is more nutritious than chicken but you can mix it up.

5% is made up of other organs, most commonly kidneys (there is one exception to organs: heart, stomach, tripe, lungs and gizzards don't count as organs for this percent. but they do count as meat.).

Raw feeders can also buy from local butchers, or join local co-ops or find distributors through http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-S...

2. Pros- it's the least processed, most nutritious way to feed and you know the real source and quality. No cons except perhaps putting more thought into the diet. (I for one do not think that is a con however)

3. No more risk of disease than feeding kibble ( http://rawfed.com/myths/bacteria.html ) Actually if you look at FDA food recalls, there is more of a risk feeding kibble.

4. Cost will depend on your area, availability and storage. If you have extra room in your freezer, or better yet an extra freezer, you can buy in bulk for better deals.

Answers Raw Dog Food

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Here's a good site with info on raw feeding. http://rawdogranch.com/

I used this site when I fed my dogs raw diet and there are things I learned about what they tolerated and what they did not. I ground their raw meaty bones because I had gulpers and they'd throw up unless it was ground. For convenience sake they are now on a quality dog food and a second meal that is home cooked. None of my dogs got diseases from their raw diet, but I did handle the meat as if I was picking out meat I'd feed my kids. Lots of people do not do this. What it will cost weekly depends on what meats/parts you purchase and what you have available where you live. For example, you might get fresh meat from farmers, or find a butcher shop that sells parts like chicken backs, necks, wings for cheaper than area grocery stores.

Edit: I just noticed that the site I referred you to is being re-vamped but there is an e-mail contact posted. I see that others here have posted info on raw feeding.

I'd just really emphasiize again, to grind the raw meaty bones if your dog gulps food or has a real sensitive stomach.

someone else posted this link for raw food quantity calculations, not sure how reliable it is, but u can take a look. http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

hmm try typing raw food diet, some good website should turn up.

i recall that experienced raw feeders recommend to feed some amount of organs & bones as well, not just e meat.

How much i'll cost depends on how much u feed it. but its definitely gonna be more expensive than kibbles. btw u should also give it some fruits & veggies but just a ~small~ quantity. e veggies should be "processed" by either steaming and mincing/blended, and fruits should be given occassionally. Contrary to what most people says that dogs cannot digest or absorbs the nutrients in fruits & vegetables, they can, so long as they are "processed". a very slight amt of carbs like cooked rice could be given too if u like, again probably occassionally is enough.

Rather than analyzing pros and cons, e simple answer would be how much time & effort (& money) u be willing to give your dog. I mean the pros & cons depends on e dog itself; how well each dog do on a raw diet, a homecooked diet or a kibble diet is different. u could give it a very good quality kibble diet coupled with a raw bone treat every now and then, or incorporate into its food, and who is to say it could not be as healthy as one who only eats raw meat? i guess what im trying to say is different dogs respond differently. any type u choose as long as ur dog looks good, healthy and happy, thats all matters =) of course exercise & other things also play a part.

Good luck. =)

Check out B-Naturals (google search for it). There are recipes in the newsletters. Lew Olson (owner of the company) also has a raw feeding book available. She's a great resource!

There are also raw feeding groups on Yahoo Groups - do a search and see if you can find on in your state.

Yes, you can get the necessary stuff at a grocery store but I will tell you from experience that it can be expensive.

Also, check out the pages for BRAVO dog food - they have great information on their raw diets.

I have a 65 pound rottweiler that eats a raw diet (Bravo) and I have to supplement the food with a digestive enzyme, fish oil and pro-biotics. I spend approximately $100 per month feeding one dog, NOT including the supplements - that is ONLY for the Bravo raw dog food.

Bravo can be costly - it is a finely ground mix of muscle meat, organ meat, bones and some veggies - I pay about $20 for a 10 pound roll, or chub, of food - which lasts me 6 1/2 days.

Pros - you know exactly what you are feeding your dog, your dog will be much healthier (but should still regularly see the vet)

Cons - it can be expensive, some dogs won't touch raw food, can be a pain in the butt to store and prepare the food (I have a freezer that specifically contains dog food!), can sometimes be hard to find a retailer for prepared foods (which is what I recommend for newbies).

Delicious Raw Food Recipes : http://www.rawfoodhappys.com/Service

Did you tested Eating for Energy (120 raw food diet recipes) technique? Try in this website : http://stayeatingraw.com/Tutor . This will probably save yourself!

Feeding RAW is a hell of a lot more than just going to the store and buying some lamb!

There is nothing wrong with feeding a raw diet IF YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST ! !

What I personally object to is people using their dog for a test tube.

What is funny is that every time I give this link, the RAW feeders TD like crazy, but the reality is that it contains every thing you need to know about feeding a RAW or BARF diet as well as feeding commercial products.

http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10668

edit:

My vet, like many others, will no linger even see a dog that is being fed "pray model". He says it just isn't worth the argument that is inevitable.

Just like with any diet, there has to be a proper balance of protein, fat, carbs, fiber, and minerals & vitamins, or you are not doing your dog any favors.

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