I want to start RAW feeding the dog

[PuraVida]

And of course I've googled but I'm bewildered

Could anyone just tell me what to buy and how much / what to feed her?

She's a miniature dachshund so weeny and prone to obesity!

As a rough guide about 2% of dog's weight a day, so a 30kg dog would have total of 600g a day.
See how dog goes with that amount, if needs to gain wt give a bit more.
Nutriment really suits my 2 large dogs, although works out expensive compared to DIY raw.
If you phone them for feeding advice they're very helpful.
I also give chicken legs, wings etc (large cheapo bags from Tesco) and frozen mince from PAH.

There are almost no articles on raw feeding because the feed companies won't sponsor it: they would lose their profit

Yet there are a number of raw feed food companies. Hmmm. That argument doesn't really work.

That argument does actually work because all raw food companies are 100 times smaller than giants like Pedigree or Bakers. They can't afford to fund large enough studies that would be accepted. They operate more on word of mouth and groups online who can provide evidence of how much good raw feeding has been for their dogs. I fed it to both my foster dogs and they absolutely loved it. Hygiene risks are minimal, just what you would follow if you're handling raw meat for yourself. Most of the time I fed them outside (obviously weather permitting) so the food was never in the house anyway. If you buy the pre-prepared packets it's even easier and not really much more expensive.

Jacobbay this website dogsdinner2.webs.com/ is very useful, with tables showing quantities needed per dog's weight. Glad he liked his raw food. You can add eggs, sardines, tripe (big frozen packs at P@H) which is very good for skin/fur/teeth.

If you join this FB group, they have a list of UK suppliers in their Files section. Lots of companies will send you trial packs etc.

Thank you Alco and Bagel.

Gosh that would work out expensive if he needs 600g a day. However, I'd rather he thrived than kept leaving tinned stuff. I'll have a look at that website right now. Not on Facebook.

Jaccobay... What does he weigh? Giant breeds tend to be much heavier than 30kg, you could be looking at twice that amount of food TBH.

Jacobbay, I have a working lab - not quite as big as your dog but v active and needs a high quality diet to not lose condition
She is fed Natures Menu frozen blocks, which are 80p for a 400g block
I supplement this with chicken wings which I bulk buy from the butcher, plus a carrot and occasional yoghurt or cottage cheese
All in, it works out at about £1 a day, which is roughly comparable with good kibbles

She is in fantastic condition, has spotless teeth and doesn't smell 'doggy' (and MIL would tell me in a heartbeat if she or the house did...)

I find vets are 50:50 between telling me they think raw feeding is great, and giving me the hard sell on a feed they stock and telling me it would be better for her (although they all admit she is in great condition and can't articulate what is better about the kibble other than the inclusion of random herbs, vitamins or minerals)

I've never had any stomach problems from handing raw meat, although it wasn't totally compatible with morning sickness...!

My boy is raw fed he is 34kg and floats between 700g -1kg a day but is very active (talking 5/6 hours of walking /running /working a day some days more

so most dogs won't eat that much

I use natural dogs direct but also stuff from Aldi or occasionally top up from PAH plus stuff when deer are culled locally
Admit he does have a large chest freezer all to himself

I find vets are 50:50 between telling me they think raw feeding is great, and giving me the hard sell on a feed they stock and telling me it would be better for her (although they all admit she is in great condition and can't articulate what is better about the kibble other than the inclusion of random herbs, vitamins or minerals)

Our vet wasn't too keen on raw but the fact was that none of the kibbles or drugs he sold us worked, and all he could offer was more drugs. Habibi was still sick until I got her on raw. I know she's a cat, but look at her before and after pics:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2530051-Bibi-then-and-now

Last time my by was weighed he was 43kg.

That should read 'my boy'

At 43 kg you'd be looking at between 850g and 1250g a day.

Ah thank you. The Nutriment packs are 500g each. So if he has two of these a day, plus the three eggs he already has plus perhaps some chicken wings ( once his stomach has adapted) that should sound about OK? This is just for starting off. The Nutriment cartons work out at £2 each.

Jacobby,
That sounds about right, but maybe alternate eggs with cottage cheese?

I know the Nutrimeat packs are complete, but for variety, you could add in a bit of veg - mine gets bits of whatever we are having with dinner, so peas, courgettes and carrots mostly (obviously avoiding onions and anything from the onion family) and seems to enjoy crunching on them

Has he had chicken wings before?

I have to give them frozen together in threes or mine doesn't chew them...don't know if it's a large dog thing, or just that mine is a numpty, lol, but if he's not had them it might be something to watch for.

No, he's not had chicken wings before. He's a very dainty eater but I'll watch him closely, thank you for your advice on this, I'm going into it with absolutely no knowledge previously.

Ah he'll probably be fine then...there's nothing dainty about my dog eating, lol.

Mine isn't raw fed, I did try it, but there were a load of meats he wouldn't eat and I found the pre-prepared stuff too expensive.

But I do give him chicken backs and wings and the odd rib or neck.

Is it ok to give dogs chicken bones then? I thought they were too sharp, or is that just cooked chicken bones? I don't even put chicken bones out for the foxes because I'd heard they would puncture their stomachs etc.

I would love to feed my pup raw but I think it would work out too expensive, I am on a limited budget. At the moment he is eating Aldi kibble. I feel terrible about that after reading this thread - is it really so bad to give them processed food? He is going to be a big dog so I don't want to start him off on food that I won't be able to afford when he's grown. How does the price of raw food compare to that of supermarket kibble?

Raw bones are fine, they don't splinter.

Cost - it depends how you feed them, prepared stuff I found so expensive compared to dried.

But it can be done cheaply if you can use a butcher for cheap leftover bits and order not prepared frozen things online.

cooked and frozen bones should be avoided because of risk of spintering.

Tabularasa... hold the chicken wing, or start by using chef/butchers knife to break the bones into many bits before the dog eats it, then graduate to whole wing. its breaking the bone that matters not chopping the whole thing into pieces, as all the dog does is crunch the bone into manageable portions.

Don't forget to include the family's leftovers for ddog too! most nutritious as long as no onion and checked for the other things they don't tolerate well (salty/sugary things amongst others).

Dogs guts not designed for converting carbs/sugars to energy but proteins. So no pots/grains/bread

So. Day three of the raw diet for my boy. He's now eating a tray of prepared raw food in the morning. Three eggs for lunch and three pieces of chicken in the afternoon. His poo seems ok - you can see the bone in there, in small pieces, and he's not had an upset stomach which is something he was prone to. He's not shovelling down the raw chicken - he's savouring it in the garden.

I was going to suggest Nutriment too, but I see you have already started your dog on it. My dog loved it, and if I had another freezer, she would still be on it.
As an aside, if your dog stops liking it, and you want to go back on kibble, try putting on a small amount of olive oil. My dog wouldnt eat hers so I did that and she scoffs the lot. Salmon oil from Fish For Dogs is excellant though expensive.

just a word of caution about adding oils/fats to an already carefully measured amount within the product itself as the type and amount of fat can trigger stomach problems particularly easily, especially those prone to pancreatitis

what pieces of chicken are you giving? it is chicken wings, which contain the correct proportions of calcium/enzymes/protein?

is it not it is

By tiny amount, I mean 1/2 a tsp, so should be ok. For a smaller dog, a quarter tsp should be fine.

Yes,chicken wings