[JohnnyB]

1) Is there a certain age you should wait to start feeding raw?

2) What does the following mean:

RBM
MM
OM

3) It seems important to rotate the type of meat being fed. How often shoud you rotate (daily, weekly, monthly)?

Edit - Max is about 4 months old.

 

[JohnnyB]

Thanks!

With starting out with just 1 meat...what is recommended and is that RBM, MM & OM?

Should you start adding in others over weeks or months?

 

[JohnnyB]

Where can I find input on the % of RMB & MM to feed my pup (4 months)?

 

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted By: Luca_stlRaw dog ranch site is down for a while...but the leerburg e-book linked above is also good.

Like Qyn, I feed pups (regardless of age) the same as adult dogs. 2% of their expected ideal adult weight--i.e. 100 pound dog eats 2 pounds of food a day. So a puppy that will grow up to be a 100 pound dog will also get 2 pounds of food a day. But every dog has to be fed based on that individual dog and how they burn food.

The ratio of RMB and MM is--roughly--half each. So, in the above example, that dog would get a pound of RMB and a pound of MM each day.

Here again, each dog may need a slightly different ratio---you can get a good snapshot of the ratio by the consistency of the dog's poop. But starting at half-and-half will get you in the ballpark.

Every RMB has a different amount of actual bone---chicken thighs have less bone than chicken backs, for example. So much of this you'll simply learn by doing it.

So a sample meal might be???:
1lb chicken quarters
1lb chicken breast

With feeding chicken only starting out for the 1st month or so, how important if variety (chicken thighs some days and chicken backs others)?

 

[JohnnyB]

So, I've been reading through the menu examples in one of the sticky threads. Based upon that, I don't think using chicking wings & chicken breasts may be the best option (pricey?).

For starting out I think chicken wings and quarters ok for the RMB.
What is good for chicken MM that isn't as pricey as breasts?

I definitely need to locate a local chicken/turkery processor.

I'm thinking my staples are going to be:
RMB
chicken quarters
turkey necks
fish
not sure what use for red meat

MM
ground beef (my local meat market sells "dog food")
turkey/chicken (once I locate a source)
deer

OM
liver
heart

 

[JohnnyB]

So...we have 3 meals under our belt now.
They have all 3 been chicken.

A few observations/concerns. For RMB I've used breast w/bone and wings/small drum sticks (like what hot wings would be). I have some prepared w/chicken legs but haven't fed yet. I have also added boneless breasts w/some of the more boney pieces.
1) He seems to eat the bonles breast very fast. A little chewing and down the hatch. I'm afraid he's eating too fast.
2) He seems to handle the wings pretty well but the smaller drum sticks take some effort (which is good 'cause it slows him down). But, will the normal legs/drum sticks be too big of bones? Remember he's 4 months.

 

[JohnnyB]

OK...so I'll try to relax on the swallowing of large pieces of MM.
Is there not a concern about eating too fast and causing the stomach issues (I can't think of the technical term right now) that I've read about being common in GSDs?

I'm monitoring the poo closely. He used to poop faithfully after each meal of kibble. Now, he doesn't poop after eating. I assume as long as he has a movement in a 24 hour span there's no worry of constipation???

If he does get constipated, what is a good "laxitive"?
I know long term I should cut back on RMB but for short term what are the options/solutions?

 

[JohnnyB]

OK...we started raw last Fri PM. 1st 3-4 days went well. We had less frequent poo & firm. Then bam, frequent runny poo starting Tue. Today it's still pretty loose but not liquidy like it was Tue.

I started him out w/chicken breasts (some boneless, some bone-in), wings, & thighs. I did give him 1 chicken liver w/his meal on Mon. or Tue AM. As soon as I saw the loose stool I upped his bone (I think) and decreased from 16 oz twice a day to 10-12 oz twice a day. Started serving all chicken leg quarters (leg & thigh). He's had 3 meals of that now.

What can I do to get his poo under control (I've already put the livers on hold and think I've increased the RMB).

 

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted By: Luca_stl
If it's just soft poop, but otherwise he shows no symptoms of being ill, you can try canned pumpkin (plain pumpkin, not pie filling). A few big tablespoonsfull will help improve poop consistency pretty quickly.

No signs of illness. It was liquid consistency at first but more like toothpaste (a bit thinner) now.

I thought pumpkin was for constipation as noted earlier???

 

[JohnnyB]

Thought I'd give an update.

The loose stool is back under control. I stick w/the chicken quarters and breast w/bone for another week or so, then intro a small amount of something new (suggestions?).