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Talk to me about the raw diet
Hey all--
I have the most beautiful 10 month old Shih Tzu, but she is a total pain in the azz about eating. I have been through countless types of dog food, and finally found that if I mixed a wet food (it's a certain Swedish brand that doesn't have all the filler crap in it, but is still cooked) with her dry she would eat it. At least for a couple of months. Now, she could care less. I also added yogurt after I read it was good for her digestion. At first, she loved the yogurt. Now, she's turning up her nose at it.
So, now I'm thinking of going raw. While I've done some reading, I'd really like to hear what you guys are doing and how much time it takes, etc. Keep in mind, that I do live in Sweden, and don't really have a network that would allow me to get in touch with butchers, farmers, etc. I would probably have to buy things from the store.
Thanks so much!
Re: Talk to me about the raw diet
First of all, I think it's awesome that you're considering feeding raw. I have been feeding my dog raw for over a year with no problems.
In a month, I spend about $30 shopping and 1 hour packaging my 65lb dog's meals, and it doesn't inconvenience me at all since I know I'm giving my dog the best nutrition possible. So, for your little one, it will be even less expensive and time consuming
First of all you need to read, read, and read some more about what makes up a complete diet, truth vs. myth, and establish yourself in a group of other raw feeders. Joining a group or forum (like this one) comes in so handy when you just have a quick question or help with the diet. It is NOT complicated, but you do need to learn ratios (I feed the 80/10/10 model, which is 80% Meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ) and which supplements (like fish oil) to add if you can't feed oily fish.
Here's a list of resources I used when researching feeding raw:
This website has a quick start guide for feeding prey model raw (PMR), and this is the way I feed my dog... it's my favorite website for raw: http://www.preymodelraw.com/
http://www.skylarzack.com/rawfeeding.htm is another good one
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oldrawguys/ (for older dogs and cats)
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawChat/
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
I use these forums all of the time, so if you have any questions the people are really good about answering them:
http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/raw-feeding/
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet
As far as finding resources in your area, I'd search for wholesale meat distributors, go around to local groceries and ask for their scraps, and quite often ethnic markets will have great prices on meat.
It's a bit overwhelming at first, but after a couple of months it is a breeze. I could never go back to feeding kibble now!
Good luck! Post if you have anymore questions
Wow!! Thank you SO MUCH! I will start asking at our local grocery for scraps. You're right. She's only 4kg/8lbs so how much she eats won't be a problem, really! haha
Wedding stuff.
Wedding stuff.
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Don't worry about the turkey. I hardly feed it because it's so expensive, but of course if you can find it then that's awesome. If chicken is too expensive to start out with, I think pork would be a good mild protein to use instead. Just remember to start slowly with more bone and add in meat incrementally.
As far as dairy goes, it isn't a necessary part of a dog's diet at all. My dog gets to lick plain yogurt off my spoon every now and then, but other than that he's not really a fan and his body doesn't utilize it like ours does. Same goes for veggies. Dogs can utilize veggies for nutrition, but their bodies aren't built to break them down so you'd have to puree them for every meal. Personally, my dog hates veggies and I've never wasted money on buying them for him when I see it as pointless- he gets fed meat because he is a carnivore
Miko is fed only meat, bone, organ, raw egg twice a week (with shell, and if he doesn't eat the shell I smash it up and hide it in peanut butter), and a fish oil caplet every day. Some people supplement with coconut oil, seaweed, etc. but after doing my own research I don't see why it's necessary. Like I said, you can determine what you think is right for your dog, this is just what has worked perfectly for us. As we like to say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it
Also, have you looked for a vet who knows about/supports feeding raw? That is always a great resource to have!
5 cats. 1 baby.
Thanks guys. I will look into maybe getting some frozen chicken legs and wings. Those are readily available, as is pork (super cheap).
As for a vet, well, as I said, they don't really get into the whole raw diet. It's weird because they have so many protectionist laws about pets in general (all pets must be microchipped, can't be left alone for more than 6 hours, illegal to dock tails or ears) but they just... raw diet is considered a little bit hokum here right now.
Wedding stuff.
Oh my god. Your dog is SO FLUFFY!! I love it.
I'm going to go ahead and start her on chicken wings and see what happens!
Wedding stuff.
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I buy in bulk through Texas Tripe a lot. Mainly chickens, pig heart, and tripe. I get beef hearts from H-E-B, whole chickens from La Michoacana and Kroger depending on who has better prices (I call around), the Asian market here has chicken paws that I use as treats every now and again. I also call the local meat markets and ask if they have scraps for sale (stuff leftover on the slicer after they've cut meat). It's easier in some areas than others, and I've found it rather difficult to find suppliers here.
What general area are you in? I know there are raw feeding coops in Houston and Austin that have established resources with wholesale meat sellers in their respective areas.
I'm in the New Orleans area now (can't get my profile to change). We always talk about needing to bring an ice chest with us when we go back to Texas. We're going next week and I might check out Michochana and HEB.
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I take an ice chest when I pick up meat in Austin!
Also, I've scored up to 100lbs in meat off of Craigslist and Freecycle ads. I just advertise for any unwanted/freezerburnt meat. Some people advertise that it's for their dogs, but I don't. I take any and all meat that people want to get rid of and feed any that is unseasoned to my dog. Freezerburnt meat is still perfectly fine, it just has a funny taste (to us).
1. yay for raw feeding, but we can't promise switching to raw will solve the eating issue. your pup sounds like a picky eater that's used to being catered to, and refusing fodd = new, better food. feeding raw MIGHT solve the issue if you feed a variety of protein sources, but it might not. i don't have the patience to deal with picky eater, so i put food down, give them 10 minutes, and take it away if they don't eat. repeat at the next mealtime.
2. i bought meat from a wholesaler, but each of my dogs is about 10 times the size of yours. for a small dog, i'd just watch the sales. some grocers mark down meat by a ton right before it goes bad. buying that and immediately freezing anything you dont need right away would be economical. you can feed a variety of meats, depending on what's on sale and available. my dogs didn't do well with enhanced chicken, so that wasn't given often. duke also doesn't do well on pork. turkey, beef, and lamb were staples here. if fish were more affordable, i'd feed that a lot...EXCEPT wild caught PNW salmon. parasites in raw PNW salmon can be problematic. i do not know about potential parasite problems in europe, so i would recommend doing extensive research first.
3. my dogs didn't do well on dairy, so i don't give it. i gave probiotic pills rather than yogurt.
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