Help with raw diet options?

[vhrocks323]

Ok, so my puppy is 4 and a half months old. He is a GSD\lab mix (im sure you've seen some pictures of him..he looks like an all white shepherd!) and i'm really considering doing a raw diet for him. My uncle gives his dog strictly a raw diet and the coat on that dog is GORGEOUS! He gives him stuff like eggs, steak rounds, chicken necks, venison, carrots, olive oil, and Diamond kibble. So here's my thing...my puppy is getting some nasty diarrhea, and a lot of times his stool is pretty soft, so i'm thinking that maybe i should just get him on a raw diet. I've heard that dogs usually do quite well on them. And it's not like i'm giving him bad food, i've been giving him 4Health puppy. However, my vet did give us a package of "prescription food" made by, of course, Purina. He's had more diarrhea on that crap than he did before! Ugh. He also had a night in the PetsHotel at Petsmart, so that may have caused him a little stress. So far i've taken away the kibble and just given him white rice with some pumpkin stuff i get from a pet store. But when his stomach clears up, i'm highly considering doing the raw diet with some mixed in Orijen. My only problem is...don't you guys ever worry about buying your meat from a grocery store?? They have all the added hormones and what not, and they are made with the intention that people will take it home and COOK it. So..i'm kind of concerned when it comes to feeding my dog that meat. And is there any risks of giving raw stuff to puppies? I mean, should i wait until he's older to start this??

What should i do? Should i just ignore my worried mommy side for my puppy and go with the raw meat from the grocery store? Or should i cook it and give it to him? Does it even make much difference? Also, i would have considered getting the meat from the pet store out here...but it's ridiculously priced


Sorry for this being so long! I hope you guys have some great suggestions for me.

Thanks,
Kelsey

[Angela]

At 4 1/2 months he can eat the same raw meaty bones as an adult dog. We started our GSD puppy on raw meaty bones we ground ourselves using our meat grinder but she transitioned to regular pieces pretty quickly. Yours will be fine. You can start with chicken pieces like backs, legs and thighs and then gradually alternate other meats like beef and lamb and pork.

Do not cook it. Dogs bodies are designed to eat raw meat and raw bones do not feed cooked bones. As far as the comparison to the meat in kibble to raw. First off the meat you are buying at the grocery store is human grade meat, most dog foods are not made from human grade meat, they are made from downed animals not fit for human consumption. Except for top brands, Orijen is one that claims to use human grade meat, but did you know that per US law pet food companies have 6 months to change their packaging to reflect ingredient changes? Besides the fact that it's processed food how can you really know what is in those kibbles? With raw you know exactly what you are feeding your dog. It's not a mystery brown kibble. Have you looked at the list of pets food recalled in the last few years?

Not sure if you are a vegetarian or not but if you are a meat eater yourself why would you think the meat you eat is safe for you but not your dog?

[DunRingill]

Originally Posted by vhrocks323

My only problem is...don't you guys ever worry about buying your meat from a grocery store?? They have all the added hormones and what not, and they are made with the intention that people will take it home and COOK it. So..i'm kind of concerned when it comes to feeding my dog that meat. And is there any risks of giving raw stuff to puppies?

added hormones in people food, heck they don't take the hormones OUT of the food before making dog food out of it. I'd rather feed my dogs whole ingredients from the grocery store than take a chance on the mystery meat used in dog food. The truth is, more processing is not necessarily a good thing. and that goes for people too.

[Mac's Mom]

If it worries you - you can always go organic.

[vhrocks323]

Originally Posted by Angela

At 4 1/2 months he can eat the same raw meaty bones as an adult dog. We started our GSD puppy on raw meaty bones we ground ourselves using our meat grinder but she transitioned to regular pieces pretty quickly. Yours will be fine. You can start with chicken pieces like backs, legs and thighs and then gradually alternate other meats like beef and lamb and pork.

Do not cook it. Dogs bodies are designed to eat raw meat and raw bones do not feed cooked bones. As far as the comparison to the meat in kibble to raw. First off the meat you are buying at the grocery store is human grade meat, most dog foods are not made from human grade meat, they are made from downed animals not fit for human consumption. Except for top brands, Orijen is one that claims to use human grade meat, but did you know that per US law pet food companies have 6 months to change their packaging to reflect ingredient changes? Besides the fact that it's processed food how can you really know what is in those kibbles? With raw you know exactly what you are feeding your dog. It's not a mystery brown kibble. Have you looked at the list of pets food recalled in the last few years?

Not sure if you are a vegetarian or not but if you are a meat eater yourself why would you think the meat you eat is safe for you but not your dog?

Ha, i'm definitely not a vegetarian! I think you got the wrong impression of what i meant. I was basically trying to say that i was thinking the hormones and what not in the meat were ok for people because it was intended for people to eat it...however, not EVERYTHING people eat is ok for dogs. That was the reason for my concern. Also, i've heard from a few people that they don't give their dog raw meat from the store because you risk giving a dog salmanilla. Is this true? Like is it really THAT high of a chance that they could get sick..or is this another myth and dogs can handle it? Aside from all that though....how do i give all that meat to him? You mentioned like chicken backs, legs, and thighs...what about the bones? I definitely don't what him swallowing whole pieces of bone..so my only guess is i'm supposed to pull all the meat off the bone, then give it to him like that.

[vhrocks323]

or actually i suppose i'll need to buy a meat grinder...hopefully those aren't expensive. The next thing i'm wondering is if there is anything that should be added as an "extra" for my growing puppy? And are there any foods that i should avoid? So far i haven't researched anything that an adult dog can have that a puppy shouldn't.

[Verivus]

Read the PM I shot you. It should provide most of the info you're looking for. A grinder is a waste of money unless you have an old dog who's missing teeth or a dog with health issues that require it. Just feed it whole, it's better for their teeth anyway. A properly balanced raw diet will require no supplements, but some like to supplement anyway. The only meats I would avoid is wild caught pork and wild caught salmon from the Pacific Northwest.

[Mac's Mom]

The bone is great for them...also reduces puppy breath and keeps teeth sparkling white. Raw bone only...don't serve cooked raw meaty bone

[Tbarrios333]

I wrote this in a different thread. You shouldn't just start feeding raw; do your homework first.

Raw really isn't rocket science. I started my puppy on raw since the day I got her. You DO want to get your ratios right and start feeding based on weight/percentage. An incorrect ratio can lead to constipation or runny stools. An incorrect percentage can leave you with an underweight or a fat puppy.
The best place to read up is on Lauri's website. Read everything and then come back and ask more questions. Here is the link : Welcome to the Raw Dog Ranch

I started with chicken necks. Puppies can easily crunch up the bones in necks. When we cook wings for ourselves, we usually cut off the wing tips and that serves as a meal for one dog.
Right now, my dogs eat chix necks, beef hearts, tripe, and chicken liver until I can get my hands on some other proteins.
I also have pork hearts in the freezer, which they will be eating soon. I usually can't provide more than 3 proteins a week for them. Turkey I won't get until Tday and lamb I can maybe get every few months.

Get some raw green tripe and feed it every few days as half the portion of the muscle meat.

Buy some chicken, lamb, or beef (etc) liver and start feeding a small portion of that. Organ meat (liver, kidneys) is very nutritious and is an important part of feeding raw. I feed it every other day.

Try to find cheap tilapia or canned mackerel and feed that as well. Some dogs may eat it, others will not touch fish.

For diarrhea, buy some plain canned pumpkin and feed about a tablespoon. Use this when introducing new proteins or when you have messed up the diet somewhere.

Invest in a large jug of fish oil from your local Costco, or buy some Salmon oil off ebay and start giving him some of that.

Some people like to give their dogs multivitamins, but I don't bother to do it regularly.

Chicken feet are good for joints. I'll feed them veggies and oatmeal when I have nothing defrosted. You can also add raw eggs; some will eat the shells, others won't.

I don't agree that a crappy quality kibble is better than unbalanced raw. My dogs do better on raw meat than any kibble; even the highest quality. Kibble companies love to advertise the fact that dog diets are extremely complicated and that they have it down to a science. If that were true, my dog wouldn't shed twice as much and have 4x the amount of poop. Their teeth wouldn't be yellow and I wouldn't have to deal with "powder coats" and stinky doggy smell.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by vhrocks323

Also, i've heard from a few people that they don't give their dog raw meat from the store because you risk giving a dog salmanilla. Is this true? Like is it really THAT high of a chance that they could get sick..or is this another myth and dogs can handle it? Aside from all that though....how do i give all that meat to him? You mentioned like chicken backs, legs, and thighs...what about the bones? I definitely don't what him swallowing whole pieces of bone..so my only guess is i'm supposed to pull all the meat off the bone, then give it to him like that.

Your dog is not at risk for salmonella, they have the digestive system meant to eat raw meat and they will and do eat meat that would make us sick because it's started to go rotten.

You dog will chew up the bones no problem and eat them, the bones are good for them. The only dog we have that we cut the pieces up a little for is one of our older dogs. Our other adult dog and the GSD puppy ( currently almost 6 months) gets whole chicken drumsticks, thighs ect.