Need ideas for pet diets

[SheWoff]

Okay, I know this is a sore spot with some...but...I am really concerned for my fur kids and I want to feed them something other than melamine. They run daily, hunting rabbits and whatnot, so they take care of their own raw meat needs. They are farm/working/hunting dogs...all 5 outside ones anyways...we have one in the house who was a runt and born nearly blind. We have her on cooked rice/chicken/broth and table scraps. What I am wanting to know...is this also something that would benifit my outside dogs? Will it give them enough protein? I try to keep them at least 21% now. I don't want to go lower than that because they loose too much weight as active as they are. And and all imput will be appreciated! :)

She

[housemouse]

I keep our dogs' diet pretty simple.

They get raw meat, with bones included. (Never feed cooked bones, and keep the whole prey model in mind as far as proportions of organs to meat and bone!) I do not let mine crunch away on stripped marrow bones of the larger animakls, for these can be kind of hard on their teeth. But, stripping the meat off these bones is very good for keeping the teeth sparly white and tartar free.

I have been buying the best chicken I can get at an excellent supermarket, but now am seeking local sources in our area for chicken and other raw meat for them.

If you have a farm, wouldn't it be pretty easy to grow your own?

Dogs do not gain any benefit from grains as a part of their diet. Just keep in mind that they are primarily carnivores, while they will eat just about anything, and scavenge on overly ripe fruit, some veggies, eggs, fish, healthy table scraps, etc...

All you need to do is to know is to feed them about 2% of their body weight daily for adult dogs. For my 50 lb Belgian Malinois, that means about 1 lb. of chicken a day. I usually whack a 4 lb. chicken into 4 parts, and give each dog one "part" a day.

Costs can be kept down by buying in bulk, or rasing and having your own processed. A good local slaughter house can be a resource for the parts that are not popular fare for the dinner table, too. A freezer for all this will pay for itself in no time, as your vet bills will decrease once you get them switched.

You really do not need to cook for them, and you do not need expensive supplements, if you feed some Omega-3 rich fish once or twice a week. I toss out some Jack Mackeral for them...

Take what you need, and if it doesn't figure into your life, no problem!

[Wise Owl]

The only thing I can add to what housemouse said is the need for organ meats. Liver, kidneys.....heart is really a meat type organ so can be used as such but until your dogs get used to it go easy on the amounts as it is very rich and can cause a little digestive stuff....

A good source for advice is a site called raw meaty bones.
http://www.rawmeatybones.com
You will get a good idea on what your dogs need there.
This is not rocket science and not complicated.

80% meaty meat.....10% organs and 10% edible bones like raw chicken bones, pork bones (usually soft so are edible) turkey bones, lamb bones, goat, ect ect. No weight bearing bones of large animals as they are prone to break teeth.

I usually feed organs to Luka (my 55 lb Malamute) about 3 or 4 times a week. I also feed raw eggs a few times a week as they are high in omega's. You can do the salmon oil for the same thing if you are worried about raw eggs.
I also feed her cheese, organic yogurt (her breakfast with a raw egg).
She gets beef, pork, chicken, turkey and when hunting season is on, venison, rabbit, partridge and sometimes moose meat.

Think carnavore and what would they be able to hunt and kill and eat if they were in the wild. And go from there. Your's already are hunting rabbits, ect so they already know what real food tastes like.

They don't need grain, fruits or veggies unless you want to give them table scraps but I wouldn't feed them because they need them because they don't...

[Das Boot]

i have 120lb Akita and a 50lb pit / Sheppard mix.

you should never do an all raw diet because it lacks alot of nutrients.
i feed morning meal of Nutro large breed and a night meal of chicken and steak with bones.

with eggs and fish once or twice a week its the absolute perfect , complete diet.

with of course a few concrete jungle cats to complete the circle.

[SheWoff]

Thanks housemouse and WO...I will remember to never give them cooked bones...they eat them raw when they catch a rabbit or squirrel, so I can see how that would be better...not soft and splintery. I can't get them to eat eggs...at least not raw. They just turn their noses up at that. I'll keep trying though. I don't have any qualms about raw feeding them eggs, if they would just co-operate! :)

She

[Bad Hand]

Be careful feeding raw meat because the dogs can get worms from this especially tapeworm. I had 120 sled dogs at one time and whenever we fed meat we always cooked it and we had no problems with the dogs and the bones. We served this a long with their regular dog food.

Right now I am feeding Black Gold dog food I'm not having any problems. It was the dog biscuits that I gave my dogs that were bad. I only have five sled dogs now I did have 6 but my old lead dog Wally died. The other five dogs plus my stepdaughter's dog all got sick and the two small females got the sickest.

[LowspeedHighdrag]

I've always been told giving dogs chicken bones was a bad idea. The bones being thin and splinter easily. The bone splinters could be hazardous for the dog. An old wives tale?

[Bad Hand]

I have never had a problem with feeding my dogs chicken bones but then they are huskies and not pampered ankle bitters.

[housemouse]

After 8 months, my sister's little "accessory" dog (****zu) finally decided to go "raw".

She got jealous of my sis's real big dogs (lab and golden) getting the raw chicken, and it finally dawned on her that she was missing out! She was determined to figure out how to eat real meat, but it did take her a couple of days to figure out how to tackle raw chicken parts.

Literally, she didn't know how to pull the meat away from the bone. The first day, she was sure using her front toofies would be enough. The second day, she discovered that she could hold down the part with her paw, and that gave her some leverage.

The true miracle was seeing her discover how useful those back toofies were for slicing the bone into swallowable bits!!!

The pickiest eater I have ever seen, but now she is over picky kibble stuff behavior, and getting in touch with the little "wolfie" within, and she can crunch those chicken bones with the best of them!

She is a rescue dog, who had been fed kibble for all of her 9 years, and if she can be converted, any dog can!

I don't think she even qualifies as an ankle biter, for she only weighs 9 lbs, including her long coat!

Raw chicken bones do not "splinter". Cooked bones are brittle from the heat, and they can.

A dog who is used to eating the softer raw bones is in much better digestive shape, should he come across discarded cooked chicken trash, and will probably digest them just fine. A dog fed kibble all his/her life just might get in big puppy trouble, as his digestive juices are compromised!

[Moggy]

I don't know if this information is what you need but I figured it couldn't hurt to pass it along...the list was made up by my daughter, who is a professional dog trainer. Moggy

RECOMMENDED RAW/FROZEN DOG FOODS

**Abady www.therobertabadydogfoodcoltd.com 845-473-1900

Oma’s Pride www.omaspride.com 800-678-6627

Nature’s Variety www.naturesvariety.com



RECOMMENDED DRY DOG FOODS

California Natural www.naturapet.com 800-532-7261

Canidae www.canidae.com 800-398-1600

Chicken Soup for the Pet www.chickensoupforthepetloversoul.com 800-442-0402
Lover’s Soul

Eagle Pack Holistic Select www.eaglepack.com 800-255-5959

Evolve www.evolvepet.com 800-331-5144

Hund-N-Flocken www.solidgoldhealth.com 800-364-4863
Solid Gold Health Products

Innova www.naturapet.com 800-532-7261

Innova Evo www.naturapet.com 800-532-7261

Merrick Pet Care www.merrickpetcare.com 800-664-7387

**Mmillennia www.solidgoldhealth.com 800-364-4863
**Solid Gold Health Products

Natural Balance Organics www.naturalbalanceinc.com 800-829-4493

Newman’s Own Organics www.newmansownorganics.com 800-865-2866

Wellness www.oldmotherhubbard.com 800-225-0904


**TRAINER’S CHOICE

[momof23goats]

I feed my dogs, rice, chicken, or tuna, or deer meat, cooked, and add veggies, that I have dried my self, and raw eggs, from the hen house. and some times goats milk. they are extremely healthy.

[Filas are prima]

I feed my dogs, rice, chicken, or tuna, or deer meat, cooked, and add veggies, that I have dried my self, and raw eggs, from the hen house. and some times goats milk. they are extremely healthy.
Yes, all of the above, but mackerel rather than tuna.
I make a loaf, baked up in an electric roaster, using hog grower mash. It's much more nutritious than milk bone, and with the rest of the goodies, as mom enummerates above, MUCH more nutritious than kibble.
You can use pearl barley, or for the really budget minded, rolled barley grain-it will cook up just like oatmeal, which is also relished by dogs.
To ANYTHING that I home prepare, I also add livestock minerals. If you read the back of a bag of kibble, most ingreedients listed on the vitamin side of the mix can be found in livestock mineral supplements.
Also, with the cooler weather and demise of the cursed yellow jackets, I'm again scoreing on bags and bags of butcher trimmings, available free from the local custom butcher. With our heavy snow winters, my Filas really need the high fat content of butcher trimmings to keep warm and in condition during snow time. Often the trimmings are whole livers, and kidneys surrounded by the leaf fat-dogs love it!