Switching to Raw Feeding

[Mitzi50]

I am thinking of switching to raw feeding. I have a greyhound (44kgs) and a staffie x (13.7 kgs). Both are rescue dogs (both were found in a very poor condition) and both have little interest in food. They are currently on dry kibble and tinned food but often do not eat what is put down. The staffie x is still slightly underweight and is quite hyperactive - rarely just lies and usually paces - despite being walked regularly and attending agility classes.

Raw feeding is significantly more expensive (and messier) so I'd be interested in hearing MNers experiences. Also recommendations of a supplier of complete frozen raw food and any other tips. Thanks!

He was diagnosed with SLO and although there are opinions both ways most research says that there could be an issue ,particularly with raw chicken ,he didn't eat lamb / pork anyway ( fussy git) so we are erring on the side of caution . He is very settled on Barking Heads ( two small poos a day) and cooked chicken to take his pills in !

When i first swapped over i really panicked about getting the balance right. I thought it was going to be so time consuming and difficult.

We now get it all ready for us minced. We also give then a chicken/turkey leg or wing a few times a week and add in some organs!

It is really easy. When we first started we fed too much bone, so their poop was quite crumbly. So we just decreased the bone.

Mitzi, if he's a grey, you should be able to clearly see at least the last three ribs. A greyhound should be lean, with good muscle tone. Once they come off track, they can comfortably gain between 1 - 3 kg (depending on size) from racing weight. If you have his tattoos, you can look up his racing weight on hte greyhound database, that will give you a starting point.

If your in the SE than I can highly recommend Albion Meats, excellent quality and one if the cheapest suppliers of free flow and prepared raw I've found.

I can send you a PDF of a price list if you want or you can call them direct :-)

(Including delivery it costs me about £30.00 for a month for my Lab)

Hi Hotpink. Wonder if you could send me the price list please. 30 quid a month for a lab is really cheap. Do you get mostly mince from them? I get chunks of filets from my supplier and then add organs and meaty bones, that way I know exactly what's in their meal. The frozen blocks of filets work out roughly 2 quid per kg.

No problem, it's a PDF so do you want to pm an email address that your happy for it to be sent to?

The free flow works out about £1.80 per kilo, and I know the meat chunks are cheaper agin.

Has anyone tried Landywoods?

I've been looking at their website and it seems good value and they deliver to the SE. Just phoned and they deliver monthly to where I am in Surrey... minimum order of £30.

Can anyone recommend them? Thanks

Yes I used Landywoods with no problems.

The only reason I swapped to TPMS is they deliver weekly, and if I ran out mid month or missed a delivery with Landywoods I was fucked

They are reliable and cheap, and the meat is fine.

For a complete raw food try Nutriment, Honey's or NatureDiet or Natural Instinct.

I should think your Staff will certainly calm down. Your grey will certainly gain weight. You may find you feed less than you expect and the poos will be easy to pick up. No more sloppy ones.

Ignore the comment above from itsbetterinabox. Utter nonsense.

I tried Landywoods too, but preferred Albion, which deliver weekly to most areas.

Well I have just got a week's supply of a raw food so I will start feeding tonight and let you know how it goes.

I've just fed them some minced chicken and miraculously both of them cleared their bowls for the first time since I've had them! They are now in the garden happily chewing on a couple of beef ribs.

Great news. If you've got freezer space it prob works out cheaper to do an order, but if you've got some local butchers and a Morrisons nearby, you should be fine.

If you feed just from complete raw meals check if it contains liver. If not then you may have to supplement.