Can you feed just raw meat, nothing else?
 

Hi folks,

All rigth I am very green at this, the last dog I had was fed kibbles and that was it. Lived long and happy! :-)

As we are looking for a WL GSD, I want to make sure we feed him good.

A company here sells meat for dogs (improper for consumption by humans) that is packaged in blocks about the size of a pound of butter, sealed.

That's what a breeder around here gives his dogs and from what I gather, it is even cheaper than to buy any kind of kibbles.

My question is the following: Do dogs really need to eat other things than meat? If I would go with the aformentioned option, would I need to start adding veggies, yogurt, vitamins or else?

If so, I just don't think it would realistically work for us and I would probably buy the Kirkland brand at Costco, which apparently ranks better than many supposedly high-end brands (or brands marketed as such).

I don't know, I figure dogs, if they lived in the wild, would probably not eat carrots, veggies, fish oil or even fishes, they would eat MEAT.

What is your opinion? Am I completely off track?

Thanking you in advance for your educated advice.

As long as you feed different cuts, types, and various sources of protein, all meat diet is fine. Organ, muscle, bone meat should be fed in proper proportions and protein sources should be varied.

B.A.R.F./Raw Feeding - German Shepherd Dog Forums
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...ding-faqs.html
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...ogs-menus.html

Yes, dogs can eat just meat and survive as long as you feed the right amounts of muscle meat, organ meat, and (raw) edible bones. No veggies or whatever else needed.

Thank you for your reply. Much appreciated!
Assuming that the meat the company sells is a combination of meat, fat, bones tripes, etc. (I would be surprized that it would be 100% meat, and lean), would this be considered acceptable (I will for sure inquire to this company to see what it is and if their mix is consistent over time)?

It depends. Some mixes are complete and some are not. Some mixes are too high in bone content, some are too low. Do not assume it is complete; ask for the ratios and ingredients in the mix.

Which company and what are the ratios? Remember the ratio has to be correct - bone to muscle to organ meat so the dog gets complete nutrition. And variety in protein is very important.

I will need to call this breeder back to have the company's info. When I visited him, we were still debating the breed we wanted and at that point, diet was not even on our mind. Now that we have decided we wanted a WL GSD, the conversation about the raw diet resonated.