Dogs do not get worms from raw meat, there is a risk of internal injury when a dog has eaten a raw bone but is not high it is very low,do you know what meat and animal derivatives are derivatives of vegetable origin are, and do you feed this to your dog.

Hiya - it really isn't so bad once you get going honest - as you saw I only really got going this year in the Summer!

Weekly I purchase 7-8 bags of butchers waste - 2 of those are for a friend - these are £1 per carrier bagful

£5 per week of butchers waste

Then I monthly order through www.landywoods.co.uk (but they have a min. delivery of £50) I share with a friend - which is about £30-40 - this is tripe - tripe and organ meat - tripe and veg

So per month I spend £60 which equals £15 per week I guess! V. rough figures - THIS IS FOR 5 SETTERS!

I do add supplments - I use Keepers Mix from Dorwest Herbs and also give a capsule of Evening Primrose Oil a day.

In terms of the butchers waste I spoke to a traditional butcher and listed the type of things that we were looking for.

Other suppliers are anglian meat products - sure someone will know the link!
My biggest worry when I started was the amount per dog to feed - but someone sent me a great Excel sheet which helped me to calculate per dog - but now (which I never thought I would do) I do it by sight. I sometimes check to make sure (i.e. if someone is looking a little bit heavier or leaner etc.) to increase/decrease but that isn't that often.

One of my boys was the fussiest eater ever - he never turns his nose up - unless he thinks he should be fasting (I don't personally fast but sometimes two of my boys decide to fast themselves for the odd meal - but it's only usually the one meal!)

Hope this helps - I think things you need to be wary of is if your dog should be on low protein (some breeds do) and to really make sure your research as much as you can about the type of foods that are ok!

I know I have never looked back since fully switching - the dogs are happy and so am I.

I haven't kennelled my dog so can't say on the feeding but I think when (if we ever) get a holiday I will look for either a petsitter in our home or they go to someones home who can continue to raw feed for me!

good luck Hectorsmum

Re Bones: if you are really worried about the bones you can buy meats from suppliers with them already ground in or even buy a meat grinder that can handle stuff like chicken bone and grind them yourself.

Or you can find plenty of rmb with 'kind' bones...stuff like chicken necks if you have a small dog, turkey for large....Just the chicken carcass alone without the wings or legs has very soft bones...breast of lamb...ox tail...all very non splintery and non sharp.

Bacteria = forget it, so long as you are feeding fresh meat just don't worry about it...handle it in the same way you do your own...the bacteria has to be one of my least worries when I see them drinking out of stagnant water from puddles in the forest and coming to no harm.

Amounts = 2 to 3% of an adults body weight daily. If they need to add some weight then the same percentage of what you think is the ideal weight...If they need to loose a few pounds do the same but vica versa. Puppies = the same percentage of their expected adult weight. Use that as a guide then make your own adjustments from there as and when needed.

Cost = for me about the same as one of the more expensive brands of kibble but I know I could do it much cheaper but for me it is a bit more expensive because they get everything from the butchers wholesaler sold for human consumption. But for instance on a breast of lamb day it cost about £1.30 for the day to feed my 42kg boy (he gets 1kg of food a day)

Forgot to add...Re Kenneling: We haven't left them anywhere yet but if they wouldn't feed the bones (because I know that's what most of them have a problem with) then we would probably get one of the premade 'complete' raw diets with the bone ground in, if they had a freezer to store it and if they didn't I guess nature diet or something...I wouldn't really want to use kibble temporarily because it would probably send there digestive system haywire cuz they never did very well on it in the first place.

Re: raw meat and worms. Even if that's the case, you worm your dogs anyway don't you?

a few more questions...........

do you also feed fruit and veg in the same meal?

how do you prepare it, ie: pulped, chopped.

i think i need to buy a book. LOL

Hi again,

I don't worry about Fruit and Veg separately - too lazy! But that is why I buy the Landywoods mixed in with veg - they also get Fruit as treats and the peelings from the Sunday lunch.

I heard the Kymmy Schultz book (sorry spelling?) I'll see if I can find the name - was a very good book to read for beginners. I will pm you a couple of websited that I found really helpful too - this probably won't be until later now though!

Rach

OOOOOOH, please, thank you.:smt023 :smt023

Personally I don't feed any veg or fruit that is on a regular basis...I mean I give them some here and there, scraps or when I'm sharing...lol

They are fine with or without...If you wanna give it a go it should be at around 10% of the diet and shouldn't take over the meat part of the diet, meat is more important.

How do you feed it?...The veg you will either need to cook and just give it to them or puree it if it is raw. If you feed it raw and whole they can't break it down like true omnivores do and don't get the goodness...Don't do them any harm but a bit pointless nutrition wise, fine if you are just chucking them a carrot to play with and help clean the teeth etc.

There are loads of posts of a similar nature on this forum that you could search for or you could even join one of the specialist lists like britbarf. I sort of read the book mentioned above it isn't bad...but other than that I didn't read any books just asked lots and lots of questions in the right places to help build my opinion etc. I find I learn more by asking and doing than I do with lots of books.

Hi there Msychievous

I agree the raw fruit and veg I give generally are for fun - not a big part of the diet for me at all. I agree britbarf is a good place - that is where I asked heaps of questions. I too haven't read a book at all tbh - that was one recommended - I also looked at a couple of sites recommended though too.

the britbarf peeps are really helpful and knowledgeable too.

Rach