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Originally Posted by MarleysMama Money was my number one concern, I would love to be able to do that...but never thought I could afford to. |
I buy several hundred dollars' worth of frozen every six weeks or so to feed 3 adult Rotties. (Male, about 96 lbs. 6 or so yo (moderate energy level); 65 lb 8 yo (very energetic); and 82 lb 9 yo (moderate energy).
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Originally Posted by MarleysMama I am definately very interested in feeding a raw diet... Was there a particular book you refered to, or did you and the vet work on it? I am absolutely clueless as to where to start. |
After my vet told me putting Sailor on a raw diet was likely the only thing for him, I started doing research. Dr. Donna and I didn't work out a diet--she just told me to put him on a raw diet and left it at that. (Perhaps she had enough confidence in my ability to do research and if I needed help, knew I'd ask her.)
I did alot of research before making the switch. I talked to all the raw feeders I could find, went to a presentation on grainless kibble/raw, read alot of web sites, and joined some raw feeding groups.
Those I found most helpful include:
rawfeeding, a Yahoo! group
Raw Diet Basics Raw Fed Dogs RawFed.com Myths About Raw Feeding Raw Feeding FAQ Raw Meaty Bones
I follow the raw prey model, tho when my distributor includes veggie mixes (at NC) in my order, I'll give that to the dogs and I will give them pieces of fruit I'm eating. Our two personal bitches and the foster get as wide a variety of meat and meaty bones, organ meat, and fish as I can find. I also feed tripe. I don't supplement, based on the assumption that supplements mean something is lacking in the diet, so rather than supplement, change the diet to make it complete.
Just as I don't worry about eating a perfectly balanced meal everyday, I don't worry about a perfectly balanced meal for the dogs everyday. The balance in my diet and their diet is achieved over time.
I feed based on weight and activity level. I knew how much kibble to feed, but had no idea how much raw to feed so I started feeding 2-3% of each dog's weight. If the dog started looking porky, I tweaked back the food. If the dog looked thin, I fed more.
A big help was an electronic scale. I had been using an old kitchen scale which was a hassle.
I don't know how people feed raw to big dogs if they don't have a freezer. Our 10 cubic ft freezer is now almost completely turned over to the dogs' food.
An extra fridge is nice, too.
Ironically, my DH who's a big meat eater (unlike me who infrequently eats meat) couldn't stomach the 30 lb blocks of frozen chicken or duck or turkey or the tripe defrosting in our upstairs fridge, so he booted me to the downstairs fridge (which we used twice a year for big parties).
Oma's Pride provides much of what I feed. The dogs' diet also includes vension parts hunter friends give us, freezer burned meat (no processed meats) from friends, and meat, organs, and bones from friends who raise and slaughter animals for their tables. Finding these outside sources went a long way in making me feel confident I was feeding the dogs a balanced diet because what I buy from Oma's Pride is tripe; a beef mix; chicken, duck, and turkey necks; hearts; livers; and sardines. (They sell a wide variety of meats, but buffalo, quail, ostrich, kangaroo, and the like are pricey.)
Even tho I did alot of research before switching, I was nervous doing so. I'm sure much of that had to do with being brainwashed over my decades of dog ownership by advertisements, conversations with other dog owners, and just being surrounded by a culture where manufactured is touted as being "better." Now that I've been feeding raw for awhile (since June 26, 2007) and seeing how good the dogs look--especially our foster who looked like GARBAGE on kibble and now looks and feels like the "Velveteen Rabbit"--I've relaxed and am confident the way I'm feeding my dogs is the best for them.
I plan to feed raw to any personal dogs in the future.