RAW Feeding (BARF/RMB) for newbies

[goodwin1234]

I've always fed my dogs on a mix of tinned meat and a 'complete' dry food of some sort. But at the same time if im cooking chicken ect for dinner i'll always save a bit to give to the dogs at feeding time.

I'm intruiged by the idea of a BARF diet now after reading this thread, but i honestly cant see any of my dogs devouring a whole rabbit if i bought one home for them tonight!?

Also are there any guidelines anywhere about exactly how much (in weight) specific breeds would need to eat on a completely raw diet? I assume it would vary depending on the meat they were eating as every animal will have different nutrtional values?

Thanks, Kieron

[LoveForLizards]

Some dogs take longer then others to get onto a raw diet. Somebody from dogforum.org tricked their dog into trying raw by throwing a few treats they were used to in the air then throwing a piece of raw, otherwise they wouldn't taste it. After that they ate BARF happily.
You can also use the soup method to get them to taste it or mix it in with the tinned food. Generally wont take them long to catch on, though.

There is no set amount, it all depends on the amount of exercise, age etc
Generally its 2-4% of the body weight.

[jadelee]

My dog eats raw food with pleasure. So we haven't such kind of problem.

[Shelley66]

Originally Posted by goodwin1234

I've always fed my dogs on a mix of tinned meat and a 'complete' dry food of some sort. But at the same time if im cooking chicken ect for dinner i'll always save a bit to give to the dogs at feeding time.

The idea of calling tinned stuff meat makes me smile, have you actually seen what the "meat" content in the tin is? It is mainly made up of cereal which is processed and coloured to make it look like meat!

I'm intruiged by the idea of a BARF diet now after reading this thread, but i honestly cant see any of my dogs devouring a whole rabbit if i bought one home for them tonight!?

So chop it up!! I have a very fussy GSD, she will only eat meat that is cut into small pieces she won't eat anything that is bigger than a chicken wing... Even though she has my other dogs and cats eating meat all around her! She loves rabbit, but the butcher cuts one rabbit up into eight peices for us.... I wouldn't go out and catch one myself. And of course it comes to me all cleaned out and minus a head and fur. She is fine with bones though, whatever the size.

Also are there any guidelines anywhere about exactly how much (in weight) specific breeds would need to eat on a completely raw diet? I assume it would vary depending on the meat they were eating as every animal will have different nutrtional values?

If your dog is fully grown they need about 2.5-3% of their weight in meat/bones daily. It is different for pups and growing dogs. Also some dogs will happily eat more than others, so you just adjust to what is right for them. As I say my GSD is an odd little madam, my Cockers would dearly love to eat her food as well as their own!

With a raw diet you don't need to be nutrionally perfect everday, or week. So long as the food balances out over a month the dogs are fine. The main proportion of the diet should be white meat. So lets say my dogs get chicken and pork for 5 days a week, on the other days they would get beef, lamb, tripe, liver, kidney, heart, fish etc. I give each dog a couple of eggs each a week, they tend to have them in the morning.... I just throw them a raw egg in the garden, mine let the shell smash on the floor and then eat them.... Well the two biggies just take their eggs off me and break them themselves, but the others never break the shells. I don't give my dogs any suppliments either, well apart from garlic powder to keep the fleas away. But they don't have veg or anything else added to their food, it is just meat and bones.

Thanks, Kieron

The breeder I had my GSD off has written a book called " The Dog's Dinner", her name is Ann Ridyard, on the back page it says blurb.com, so I don't know if you can buy it from there, but you can buy it direct from her. It is well worth a read if you want to change to a raw meat and bone diet, as it is really easy to understand. She also has a website where she explains how to raw feed...Krisannrio's Raw feeding site - Why feed Raw?

Hope that helps.

[beardedlady]

right guys i have just started feeding my 2 staffies on RAW an they love it, been on it for 4days now, just one thing tho bailey's backside is like a tap when will he stop having the runs? dutchess is fine no problems with her what so ever.

[Fuzzball]

Did you change the diet over gradually or just overnight?
Also what are you feeding, in my experience too much lamb and offal (heart, liver, kidney etc) can give them the runs

[beardedlady]

did a straight swap, which i would have expected a couple of days of runs, also they have had just chicken(not liver etc) as every where i have read says to stick to one sort of protein for a week or so

[LoveForLizards]

Originally Posted by beardedlady

right guys i have just started feeding my 2 staffies on RAW an they love it, been on it for 4days now, just one thing tho bailey's backside is like a tap when will he stop having the runs? dutchess is fine no problems with her what so ever.

Give it another day or two, if they will eat bones then offer plenty, this is part of the detox period...

Originally Posted by beardedlady

did a straight swap, which i would have expected a couple of days of runs, also they have had just chicken(not liver etc) as every where i have read says to stick to one sort of protein for a week or so

Try adding beef instead, little easier on the stomach.

[beardedlady]

Originally Posted by LoveForLizards

Give it another day or two, if they will eat bones then offer plenty, this is part of the detox period...


Try adding beef instead, little easier on the stomach.

thank you, i have just made my first order but dont get here till friday so i shall go get some beef from the shop, thanks again

[shiprakaul]

Great piece of knowledge! I currently have 2 dogs and am practising almost the same diet chart for them. But I did not have any idea about it anyhow. One of my dog eats vegetables and fruits too where as the other doesn't sniff it even. Great parallel diets. One eats all the time if given a chance and the other is so calorie conscious! Anywaz your piece was really great!