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Location: Bulgaria
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 583
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Originally Posted by
scarter
I'm having trouble building up confidence to give her bones (other than a big marrow bone).
That's perfectly normal and understandable. I have yet to meet a rawfeeder who wasn't extremely nervous in the beginning, myself included! Don't worry about the bones for now, since she's on kibble as well, she'll be fine.
When you do get the courage, I would start with softer bones - chicken breasts with bone in i.e. the soft ribs still attached. Chicken frames without the wings and legs are very soft too. As long a there is plenty of meat on these bones she will manage them easily.
Originally Posted by
scarter
Beanie is pretty much full size. She's just over 10kg now (at 10 months old) and will probably only get to 10.5 - 11kg (she's a small framed Beagle).
I would take the 11kg weight then and probably go with 2.5% of body weight and then adjust according to how she looks on it. That would mean 280g of food, then halved to allow for half kibble diet, so 140g of meat/bone per day.
Originally Posted by
scarter
1. 150grams of raw minced beef (top quality)
2. half a chopped garlic clove
3. a teaspoon or so of probiotic yogurt
4. 2 chopped fresh green runner beans
5. a small amount of thawed frozen mixed veg (carrot, cauliflower, brocoli).
6. Fatty acid supplement (prescribed for her itching)
For tea she will have 100 g of Wafcol salmon and potato adult kibble.
My first reaction when I saw all your ingredients was "can I live with you!" ..... it all sounds perfect. My only comment is that minced meat, even top quality, tends to have a higher fat content and also she loses the jaw strengthening and teeth cleaning benefits of chewing, so I would prefer to see stewing beef chunks in that menu, as it's nice and chewy, perfect for dogs.
I don't feed veg, so I'm not an expert on this. However, my understanding is that it is best if very finely chopped or puree'd as dogs can not digest cellulose - that's not a problem tho; it just means it will come out the other end exactly as it went in, so she would lose any of the benefits of it!
Angied - how much veg were you giving as a percentage of the diet? It could have been too much too soon if their tummys were upset.
Originally Posted by
scarter
There have certainly been no adverse affects, and in fact today we both thought she was even more energetic than usual in the park. Also, she wasn't pestering people for treats so much. It could of course just be coincidence, but so far so good.
A change in condition and some behaviour changes are often noticed when adding raw to the diet. Commercial is a great convenience food however, even the best quality commerical can never be as good as totally natural food as nature intended. It's kind of the equivalent of you or I living off TV dinners for our entire life. You can get healthy TV dinners and unhealthy ones, yet neither are a perfect substitute for the real deal!
From a behavioural perpsective, it's kind of the same as kids and E numbers and all the publicity that gets. It's no secret that lots of sugary drinks get kids bouncing off the walls for example. Same with commercial dog food - even the best quality ones, still have to have some additives simply to keep the food fresh for a prolonged period of time. Most also have colourings purely for human benefit too (dogs don't see colours in the same way we do, so it's certainly not for them!)
Originally Posted by
scarter
As for the coming week....
I've bought in a big bag of Tescos Value frozen white fish, I have pink salmon and Tesco value choppped turky thighs and bags of cheap frozen mince in the freezer. Also a big bag of carrots, runner beans and a nice dark green cabbage. And plenty of frozen veg. And both yakult and powdered probiotic. Obviously I plan to get her on to cheaper meat once I'm confident about this, but for now I'd rather stick with stuff that we'd be willing to eat!
As above really, absolutely no problem with any of it. Start slow with the veg, don't make it a significant portion of the diet - meat, meat, meat and a little bone is the key. Again, try to stick to chewable meat rather than mince that will just be swallowed as is.
Fish is excellent too and can be fed up to 3 times a week. The oily fish is best - small mackerels, small herring, sardines etc, and Salmon not caught from the west coast of North America (San Franscisco to Alaskan border). For the oily or other fish, choose small fish, as small fish haven't had time to absorb as many toxins from our polluted oceans/rivers/fish farm waters.
If you would like to read up on raw and all the benefits behind it, particularly regarding the feeding of bones - take a look at "Work Wonders" by vet Dr Tom Lonsdale - £6. It's an excellent and easy read and I'm sure will totally put your mind at rest.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Work-Wonders.../dp/0975717405