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What are some meats I can/ should feed my dogs?
I have been trying to add fresh meat to their diets at least once a week. I usually give them fish (whatever is on sale at target- frozen individual filets) and just bought a few pounds of beef that I am giving to them in small portions. I will occasionally buy them bison marrow bones from the feed store. They LOVE all of it.
I am a long time vegetarian, and really know nothing about meat. I had thought about pork, but you guys pointed out that it's fatty. I used to give them chicken, but that causes nothing but problems for Heidi.
What else can I easily/ inexpensively find at a grocery store that would be good for them? Extra points if it can be frozen and given in small portions- like I don't know what I would do with a whole turkey or anything like that.
Re: What are some meats I can/ should feed my dogs?
Are you looking to feed raw? If so, turkey legs were a hit with our dog when we could find them at the grocery store.
We can't afford raw now (due to allergies chicken & beef are out) so I feed a high quality kibble and supplement that with 2 canned foods....Tripett Venison (green tripe) & Ziwipeak Venision (meat, organs & mussels)
You can't get it in the grocery store but I have it on autoship from petfooddirect.com for a good price.
You can purchase boneless turkey breast and cut into appropriate pieces. You could try pork, but I'd find a leaner cut (loin goes on sale often, just trim off any visible fat). Many grocery stores carry buffalo now, but I don't know how much it costs. Lean lamb tends to be $$$, but is an option for an occasional treat. Same for duck.
Have you seen my monkey?
I'd make sure you're keeping fish to 1 or 2 times per month. We feed fish once a month that has been frozen for at least 2-4 weeks.
We feed pork, buffalo, venison, elk, beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, chuckar, pheasant, quail, and duck. Basically, whatever we can get our hands on. I know Whole Foods will cut the meat up for you, so if they ran a special on something you wanted to buy for the girls, you could have them cut it to the appropriate size.
Also, make sure you feed the raw food as a meal by itself. For example, if you're giving them meat Friday night, make sure you only give them the meat that night, and no kibble until the next morning.
Why? I have no vested interest, just curious
)
Thanks for the tip about Whole Foods.
I'm curious about not feeding them raw and kibble together. I usually only give them a small amount of meat at a time, as they don't get it too often, and not enough to be considered a meal. How would you work that? Feed kibble first and feed meat a little later? Or just give them cooked meat?
They do get fish at least 2 times a month, but I am curious why this is especially good?
Turkey is pretty easy to find. I also feed duck (Keefer loves duck necks), beef, bison, fish, elk, and pork. I've had a harder time finding things like pheasant and quail.
I don't feed lamb but that is another option. Also venison might work for you.
I also think for supplemental feeding that green tripe is a favorite.
With fish, I meant not to increase it, but to feed it at a minimum, and only after having been frozen for 2-4 weeks. With cats, it can cause thiamine deficiencies, I believe. With the dogs, we keep it to a minimum because of potential parasites (we feed a little wild caught, but frozen, salmon).
As for how meals would work-you generally want to feed raw and kibble about twelve hours apart. Kibble digests a lot slower than raw, and you don't want the two mixing due to potential issues with bacteria. I would try and make the one raw meal a week big enough to be "a meal". I would hate to see you cook the meat, but that's coming from a raw feeder.