Started feeding raw! How am I doing?

2109 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Dejavu, Dec 7, 2010

Dejavu

Discussion Starter · Nov 30, 2010

I finally switched my dogs to raw, thank you all for your helpful advice!

I started all my four dogs, and so far they've been eating like this:

Day one (dinner)
Lobo (GSD mix male, adult) - 1 chicken quarter
Sirius (mini poodle male, senior) - 1 chicken wing
Negra (GSD female, adult) - finished her kibble, started raw til next day
Lulu (GSD female, 13 months old) - finished her kibble, started raw til next day

Day two (breakfast)
Lobo - 1 chicken quarter
Sirius - 1 chicken thigh
Negra - 1 chicken quarter
Lulu - 1 chicken quarter

(dinner)
Lobo - 1 chicken thigh
Sirius - 1 chicken wing
Negra - 1 chicken thigh
Lulu - 1 chicken thigh

Day three (breakfast)
Lobo - 1 chicken quarter
Sirius - 1 chicken thigh
Negra - 1 chicken quarter
Lulu - 1 chicken quarter

And next is today's dinner. I don't know if I should continue feeding them chicken quarters and thighs only or if I can now add chicken half breasts with bone? Or would the addition of extra meat be too much for them now?
I also don't want to feed them too much since I have just switched them and they might not handle it well.

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Miss Molly May

· #2 · Nov 30, 2010

I am a newbie also here was last weeks feeding schedule(second week feeding) something you can compare your feeding schedule hope its helpful
Molly is 68lbs and is 1 year old pretty active
Monday 6:00am 14oz of chicken leg quarters
6:00pm 14oz the same

Tuesday am 14oz a mix of ground chicken, mackerel, eggs and garlic
pm pork back ribs

Wednesday am 14oz of boneless skinless chicken breast
pm 14oz of pork back ribs

Thursday am 14oz of a mix of ground chicken, mackerel, eggs
pm 14oz chicken quarter

Friday am 14oz chicken leg quarters
pm 14oz beef back ribs

this morning a mix of ground chicken, mackerel, eggs, and garlic
__________________

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Lauri & The Gang

· #3 · Nov 30, 2010

Ruth said:
Day two (breakfast)
Lobo - 1 chicken quarter
Sirius - 1 chicken thigh
Negra - 1 chicken quarter
Lulu - 1 chicken quarter

As a beginner you really should WEIGH the food - not count it. A chicken quarter can vary greatly in size depending on the brand - anywhere from 6 ounces to over a pound!!

You also need to add muscle and organ meat. If you want to stick with chicken as the protein you can add chicken breasts (boneless) and chicken livers.

I shoot for about 56% RMBs (depending on how boney they are), 45% MM and 5% OM every day.

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Dejavu

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 30, 2010

Thanks so much, Miss Molly May!! I really love seeing others menus to compare.
I just have to ask, it's your second week feeding, and you're giving chicken, beef, pork and mackerel. Was it easy for your Molly to adapt easily?

I ask because I thought you should stay with the same protein for one week and then slowly add in another one, I didn't know you could add all those so soon.
Not that I'm planning on feeding pork anyway, hehe.

Lauri, I am weighing the food, I just didn't add it to my post. I feed around 400 grams (aprox. 14 oz) for the big doggies and 100 grams (around 4 oz) for my small poodle in each meal.
I just listed the chicken parts I've been feeding so someone could tell me if I could already add "meatier" parts.

This is my very first week of feeding raw, and as I said, from what I have read, I was certain you could start adding muscle meat and organs after a couple of weeks only (some even advised after 3 or 4 weeks). So then it's ok to start adding them now?

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Dejavu

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 1, 2010 (Edited)

And this is what I continued feeding.

Day three (dinner)
Lobo - 1 chicken thigh 14 oz
Sirius - 1 chicken wing 4 oz
Negra - 1 chicken quarter 14 oz
Lulu - 1 chicken quarter 14 oz

Day four (breakfast)
Lobo - 1 chicken quarter aprox. 14 oz
Sirius - 1 chicken thigh 4 oz
Negra - 1 chicken quarter aprox. 14 oz
Lulu - 1 chicken quarter aprox 14 oz

Day four (dinner)
Lobo - 1 chicken bone-in breast - aprox. 16 oz
Sirius - 1 chicken wing + 1/8 chicken boneless breast - aprox 5 oz
Negra - 1 chicken bone-in breast - aprox. 16 oz
Lulu - 1 chicken bone-in breast - aprox 16 oz

Forgot to say, during the first 3 days I gave them a tablespoon of canned pumpkin to each of them after every meal.

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Miss Molly May

· #6 · Dec 1, 2010

Ruth said:
Thanks so much, Miss Molly May!! I really love seeing others menus to compare.
I just have to ask, it's your second week feeding, and you're giving chicken, beef, pork and mackerel. Was it easy for your Molly to adapt easily?

I ask because I thought you should stay with the same protein for one week and then slowly add in another one, I didn't know you could add all those so soon.
Not that I'm planning on feeding pork anyway, hehe.

Lauri, I am weighing the food, I just didn't add it to my post. I feed around 400 grams (aprox. 14 oz) for the big doggies and 100 grams (around 4 oz) for my small poodle in each meal.
I just listed the chicken parts I've been feeding so someone could tell me if I could already add "meatier" parts.

This is my very first week of feeding raw, and as I said, from what I have read, I was certain you could start adding muscle meat and organs after a couple of weeks only (some even advised after 3 or 4 weeks). So then it's ok to start adding them now?

The first week Molly was a little constipated(probably from mixing things up?) but the second week she was doing perfect I haven't added any organ meat yet and not for one more week)

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silvertongued17

· #7 · Dec 2, 2010

You are doing a great job thus far, but remember you're not feeding kibble. This isn't an "ok each day you get 3 cups of kibble" idea. Variation is the key to keeping your pups healthy on raw. I know many friends who go all out with the spread sheets and vitamin/mineral ratios; doing the strict percentage RMB and muscle/ organ. That is fine and dandy but just remember variation is key. A varied diet makes it much more easy to lessen the fear of malnutrition. And don't worry too much about getting the exact percentages, I mean

45-50% Raw Meaty Bones (meat with edible bone – chicken or turkey necks, chicken backs, etc.)
45% Muscle Meat (meat without bones)
5% Organ Meat (liver, kidney, lungs, etc.)
0-5% Miscellaneous items

is a great guide to begin, and a scale may help with the whole 2-3% of your dogs adult weight, but think about your diet. I mean feel it out. If your dogs are getting a little fat cut it back, couple days with no organ meat alright, but just keep it varied. Have fun with raw it's a great experience for both you and your pups.

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Verivus

· #8 · Dec 3, 2010

Ruth, the one week thing is a guideline and can (and should) be modified to the individual dog. Some dogs can handle new foods better then others. Just keep an eye on the stool and introduce something new when you think your dog is doing well.

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Dejavu

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 4, 2010

Thanks again, Miss Molly May!
I noticed my 2 adults got a bit constipated, I'm thinking it was because I didn't have time to go buy more food and all I had were boneless chicken breasts for dinner. Maybe they needed the bones.

silvertongued17, that's a great tip! I like varying their food. I can't add or change too much as this is my very first week with raw, but I try to at least to rotate the pieces I give them.
Thank you!

Verivus, thanks again so much! I always appreciate your advice

I'll be adding ground beef to their dinner tonight!

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Mac's Mom

· #10 · Dec 6, 2010

Ruth - I wonder if we can explore the question about mixing muscle & raw meaty bones together in one meal in this thread? What do you think?

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Verivus

· #11 · Dec 6, 2010

Ruth said:
I noticed my 2 adults got a bit constipated, I'm thinking it was because I didn't have time to go buy more food and all I had were boneless chicken breasts for dinner. Maybe they needed the bones.

Ruth, constipation is caused by too much bone in the diet. Too little bone will cause loose stools.

Mac's Mom said:
Ruth - I wonder if we can explore the question about mixing muscle & raw meaty bones together in one meal in this thread? What do you think?

There's no problem with mixing muscle & RMBs in one meal. I typically feed MM/RMB/organ one day and MM/organ the next. If my dog gets RMBs everyday she gets constipated.

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Dejavu

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 7, 2010

Verivus, I always appreciate your comments!! Thanks for replying <3
Yeah, I have noticed that adding more meat the constipation was gone. Since they've doing great for the first week, I'll slowly reduce the RMBs and add more MMs.
I'm currently adding ground beef to the chicken quarters and breast that I continue feeding, probably for the rest of this week and maybe the next one start adding beef liver or chicken gizzards.

Should I also add beef heart as MM? It's very rich from what you told me previously though.

Mac's mom, I've continued feeding RMBs together with MMs, what I do is first give them the RMBs and when they finish add the MM, mainly to avoid scares like the one my pup gave me swallowing a "small" bone whole.
So far it has worked fine for me.

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