feeding raw meats

I feed chicken, beef, fish, lamb, liver, beef heart, turkey...and I WOULD feed goat, emu, buffalo, just about anything that I felt would be healthy for her.

I would not give femurs or knuckle bones for her to consume. I do, however, allow her to chew on these bones.

I feed raw diets - the prepackaged kind as an afternoon treat.  I feed either Nature's Variety, Nature's Logic, or J.J. Fudds.  They come in cubes that are easy to measure out.  The prepackaged raw diet is generally much more expensive than if you prepared a raw diet at home, but I only feed it as a snack not his entire diet.

I don't judge those who feed an all raw diet, but I will not feed all raw until I have definate proof that it is the best for my dog.  I prefer to give a little raw, so my dog can still enjoy the benefits and a good kibble (Nature's Logic).

Sadly, my dogs raw is limited by budget constraints.  Last nite for dinner my crew had chicken thighs topped with hearts and gizzards.  They also get pork hocks, pork ribs and whatever other meat I can get really cheap.  Now and then I'll get beef at such an amazing price that they get raw beef, venison when someone I know gets a deer......

   I'm like jojo and feed premade raw a few times a week. I probably worry too much about parasites and bacteria and won't feed my dog raw meat unless it's been frozen for a week to kill toxoplamosis cysts and other parasites; freezing won't kill all the bacteria. Many dogs do very well on raw if it's properly balanced; it's crucial to do a lot of research before starting to feed raw if you're going to make the diet yourself. If you try premade, the diets can vary a lot in meat content and other ingredients; for example, Nature's Variety raw is 95% meat, but Steve's Real Food is 60% meat. Both diets are based on the manufacturer's ideas of what an ideal raw diet should be.

I feed raw chicken mince, necks, frames, Veal, lamb with a raw vegie mixture.
 
I also feed a can of salmon twice a week.
 
As for bones I feed lamb off cuts, marrow bones. It really depends what the butcher has when I go to get the meat.

I've been feeding raw for over 7 years now.  Never had a "balance" problem and I don't spend alot of time worrying about the details.

I feed and have fed chicken (all parts) turkey (meat, necks, heart, gizzards), fish (whole, fillets, mostly white, some salmon), rabbit (all parts - used to raise my own), beef (heart, meat, neck bones), pork (neck trim & bones, heart), lamb (neck bones, trim), deer (whatever I can get come hunting season or via roadkill), goat (meat), bison (meat, testicles - yummy, heart), duck (whole), whatever varmit they kill in our fields and more.

As for why I feed it, I'd like you to meet Neke:



That's her on the left.   She turned 14 on June 4th of this year.  When she was 9 she had hip surgery to remove the head of the leg bone.  At 11 she was diagnosed with Spondylosis - where the spine fuses together and causes lots of pain.  At the beginning of this year she started showing signs of Degenerative Myelopathy.  Two months ago she was diagnosed with a very large tumor in her belly (either stomach or bladder cancer).  And other than a small issue with the facial nerves on the right side of her face she's still going strong.  Yes, she's slower than she was.  Only runs when it's mealtime - but she DOES still run.  She still knows her tricks and will perform them for a treat (or sometimes just because she THINKS you have a treat).

All her littermates are gone.  Her litter brother, Ziggy, was owned by a friend of ours and we used to watch him when they went out of town.  At 10 yrs of age he started to deteriorate.  By 11 he couldn't run, could barely walk and had trouble with some mental functions.  They euthanized him before he made it to 12 due to lack of quality of life.

I've had at LEAST 3 years with Neke that I wouldn't have had without the diet - I'm 110% positive.  And they have been wonderful years for both her and us!

That's her on the left. She turned 14 on June 4th of this year

 
Oh, we share a birthday, only I am a few years older--well more than a few.

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

Oh, we share a birthday, only I am a few years older--well more than a few.

I won't tell!  []

Lauri one of my biggest points when i recommend raw is that hopefully it will stave off all of these diseases which are sometimes attributed to the commercial foods! Cancer being one of my biggest concerns.Perhaps feeding raw has given Neke extra time,but why did she get these illnesses to begin with,do you think? I've always believed raw fed dogs are some of the healthiest out there and they dont succumb to half as many diseases as ,say,ol roy et al fed dogs.

Perhaps i see raw feeding as the be all and end all and i do hold it very highly on a pedestal,because i thought raw fed dogs rarely get sick,and it really disheartens me to hear of nekes and of other stories like hers.


Whats your theory on this,i hope i've made myself clear enough??

You are both beautiful by the way,you are one strong woman Lauri and i really admire you I wish you both many happy and healthy years together

Our dogs get about 50% raw. They get about half of that in raw human grade mince frozen in blocks with some other yummy things. We use human grade because I don't think pet grade mince is trustworthy on the parasites side of things. A lot of pet mince here is kangaroo, and hydatid tapeworms especially adore macropods. I'm reasonably confident that the pet mince is safe for dogs to eat raw, but not confident enough that I want to test it just yet.

The other half is raw bones and organ meat. They get liver about once or twice a month, and heart, if you can call that an organ meat. They usually get chicken wings, chicken carcasses or chicken thighs, or they get lamb offcuts. For a special treat, they get pork hocks.

They don't get big marrow bones because they fight over them and because I think more meat is better for them. I avoid lamb offcuts that look especially sharp or lacking in meat. Lamb brisket is another one they get as a treat. They don't get chicken necks because they can swallow the necks whole. I've given them sections of roo tail every now and then, but it's expensive and has some sharp vertebrae in it. It's the same price as a pig hock and that's not only Penny's favourite food in the entire world, but it also gives her two feeds, whereas the kangaroo tail is just one.

I went raw/homecooked because Penny's health was deteriorating on commercial kibble. I was pretty dubious that it would help at all, but she picked up the week I started her on it, so much so that my housemates all asked me at some stage why Penny was acting like a crazy puppy all of a sudden. When she was on kibble, at 9 years old she looked on her way out. She was getting severe stomach upsets every couple of months or so, she was slow and stiff and had arthritis in her hips bad enough to need medication. Now she's nearly 11 and acts like a 3 year old. Her arthritis has vanished, as has her stomach problems. She lost weight and now she looks fantastically fit and trim. She keeps up with our 2 year old kelpie cross and while she gets stiff if she spends an hour running flat out through the bush with Jill, the stiffness goes away by the next day. I really think she should slow down, though. []

Lauri one of my biggest points when i recommend raw is that hopefully it will stave off all of these diseases which are sometimes attributed to the commercial foods! Cancer being one of my biggest concerns.Perhaps feeding raw has given Neke extra time,but why did she get these illnesses to begin with,do you think

 
 I'll be interested in seeing Lauric's answer too but it seems that certain breeds of dogs, like Goldens and English Bulldogs, have a tendency to develop health problems like allergies and cancer. Jessie is part GSD and the dermatologist I take her to said they are close to the top of the list of dogs that have allergies. Have you ever seen the video of Neke chasing and retrieving a frisbee a few months ago; very few GSD's her age are that active. The fact that her littermates are all gone and she's still active in spite of the cancer speaks volumes about the benefits of her diet.

Sad to say but goldens are prone to cancer, HD, low thyroid, and hot spots, usually brought on by allergies.  It is heart breaking on my golden forums when one posts his/her dog has just been diagnosed with cancer at age 3 or 4.  Any age is to young, but it is especially heart breaking when it is ones so young.

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom

Lauri one of my biggest points when i recommend raw is that hopefully it will stave off all of these diseases which are sometimes attributed to the commercial foods! Cancer being one of my biggest concerns.Perhaps feeding raw has given Neke extra time,but why did she get these illnesses to begin with,do you think

I'll be interested in seeing Lauric's answer too but it seems that certain breeds of dogs, like Goldens and English Bulldogs, have a tendency to develop health problems like allergies and cancer. Jessie is part GSD and the dermatologist I take her to said they are close to the top of the list of dogs that have allergies. Have you ever seen the video of Neke chasing and retrieving a frisbee a few months ago; very few GSD's her age are that active. The fact that her littermates are all gone and she's still active in spite of the cancer speaks volumes about the benefits of her diet.

I would dare to say that American pit bull terriers, amstaffs, bull terriers (any dog considered a "pit bull") are one in the top of dogs who get allergies often.
Maybe it's just because I post on a pit bull forum and I own one, but I swear owners are ALWAYS talking about their pit bull's allergy issues.

I don't know, besides this fungus on Ella's ears, since I've been feeding raw, I've seen such improvement in her appearance, her teeth, her activity level, her eyes (they are SO bright), her digestability, and since she's adjusted to the raw diet I've seen HUGE improvements in her stools.


Lauric~Neke is BEAUTIFUL.

I don't know, besides this fungus on Ella's ears, since I've been feeding raw, I've seen such improvement in her appearance, her teeth, her activity level, her eyes (they are SO bright), her digestability, and since she's adjusted to the raw diet I've seen HUGE improvements in her stools. /quote]
 


 It's great to hear that she's doing so well on the raw diet. When I changed Jessie from Eukanuba, then Nutro, to Eagle Pack I noticed a similar improvement; her stools had often been soft or loose and became small and firm. Her energy level increased, muscle tone improved, and her coat became thicker. What was Ella eating before raw? I've ordered some booklets with recipes from the Monica Segal website; Jessie will be getting some home cooked meals instead of some cooked meat on her kibble.