How much do i feed and what would be best?

Hiya everyone...

First of all thanks for the welcome and support with our new lurcher pup..

We've settled on the name Brin and He's answering to it!! smart dog!!

His old owners fed him on cheap "chappie" dry biscuits and while we aren't sure lol we're thinking it probably isn't IDEAL for him.. but at the same time we dont want to just POOF take away everything he's use to!!

also we're not exactly sure how much an 8 month old lurcher needs to be eating a day and how often??

so... could i ask for some advice on his diet?

we feed our ferrets a mixture of raw meats/whole prey with a high protein ferret food as a top up.. 24/7 ... but they dont bolt their food the way this guy does lol

any advice appriciated!
thanks

Heather

I'm not overly sure if you're asking about a raw diet in your post or not? If not, I apologise, if you are... here goes!

Personally I would prefer a new-to-raw-new-dog owner to do a bit of background reading as well before switching to a raw diet.

This is the book I favour - Work Wonders by vet Dr Tom Lonsdale £6 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Work-Wonders.../dp/0975717405

In the meantime also take a look at his factsheet:

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf

In very loose terms for raw you would be looking at between 2%-3% of expected adult body weight; starting off with lots of small meals to get the stomach used to digesting raw and then building up to 2 meals a day until 1 year old; and 1 meal a day thereafter.

Also, here's a post I wrote a while back that details the RMB diet: http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php...95#post1427595

Alternatively, if you already have a diet plan in mind I would be happy to look at it.

Mine are one dried ...Burns Active at the moment and doing great. I would look around locally and see what is avalible.

I have also never looked on the side of the packet...if the dog looks thin give it more...if it looks fat give it less. I have a 30kg entire male GSDX (very lurcher like) who eats 1/2 a medium (8'' diameter - 31/2'' deep) bowl twice a day. This is quite a lot but he is entire and VERY active.
I like to be able to feel the ribs of the dog with a bit if a covering over the top.
Did the rescue center/previous owners give you no idea as to what he is eating?

we're certainly open to feeding raw or at least incorporating raw into his diet, as i said we already mainly feed raw to the ferrets... the 16 yr old eats whatever we can manage to GET her to eat which is currently a canned food ...

i think its going to come down to "the best bang for the buck" in other words.. the closest to ideal we can without breaking the bank lol...

guess we'll have to weigh him to see what sorta weight he IS.. though i'm not sure on how much more he has to grow at 8 months??

is there anything to AVOID when looking for a good dog food for him ? wet, dry, proper balance in nutrience etc ?

thanks

Heather

For raw, Landywoods seem to have good prices:
http://www.landywoods.co.uk

Or perhaps getting trim/offcuts from local butchers. I also get lung, heart, liver, green tripe and kidneys from an abattoir for the cost of a few drinks.

I think for raw it can be as cheap or expensive as you want to make it - if you're willing to be creative it can be an extremely cheap way to feed!