Going to start raw feeding Snowy, tips?

[EBDR35]

Hey everyone, I'm starting Snowy on a raw diet tomorrow, I've been reading about it for a day or two now non-stop so I think i have a pretty clear understanding.

I plan to start her off with chicken quarters / legs / thighs for the first couple of weeks as I heard this is the best source of Protein to start with. I'll also be removing the fat / skin from the chicken to begin with, but plan to add it after the first week or two if all is well.

She's about 55 pounds so I will be feeding her 2-3% of her weight. She is almost a year old so I would consider her an Adult almost so i'll be feeding her twice a day.

If all is well with the chicken in a few weeks I plan to add Venison or some type of meat that comes from a Grass fed animal since I hear those are the best but also sort of pricey which isn't a issue.

I've read that Veggies and Fruits are not necessary so I probably wont bother adding that to her meal, I'd rather just use Fruits as treats (blueberries raspberries strawberries)

I'm looking into any other raw food I can mix in with the meats, I know that raw eggs with shells are pretty healthy as well, I plan to add 1 egg to hear breakfast and dinner (if thats ok?)
If anyone has any other recommendations on what else I can add (besides meat) that would be appreciated I want her to enjoy her food as much as possible.

I know 10% or so of the meal has to be bone so that it firms the stool up, should I put bone in every meal? Or should I feed boneless in the morning then at night bone-in? I've read about people doing this, not sure if this approach is better or add a little bit of bone to both courses? Trying to get an idea of what works best!

Also I've read that after a certain amount of time if the food is out to long you have to put it away for later? Is this true? If so how long can it be left out?

Last question, do you guys just freeze the food and just leave it outside to thaw then rinse it with water then feed when its ready? I'm trying to get an idea of how long I should leave her frozen meat outside for to allow it to thaw properly with enough time.

Here's Snowy excited to start her raw diet

 

[Sherry]

Jeesh, she looks good already ....

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

[MENTION=1209]savemejeebus[/MENTION]

 

[karenben]

Sounds like your on your way,if poops are runny more bone,if poops are too firm less bone,keep researching,take it slow,don't panic,and sit back and watch your bully blossom lol,karen

 

[EBDR35]

Do you guys know if its okay to feed Rock Cornish Game Hen? Have lots of those in my freezer

I have these kinds (image) http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/5442006421_8eb86c73ee.jpg

Or is it too much bone?

 

[karenben]

Cornish hen is fantastic to feed probably better than chicken,as for the bone content it's always trial and error,you will soon realise how much bone your dog can handle,as with organs but organs are a long way off yet,karen

 

[izstigspunks]

You sound like you've pretty much got things bang on. For defrosting, I either leave it overnight and put it in the fridge before I go to work in the morning or take it out of the freezer in the morning so it's thawed completely when I get home. I don't usually rinse it with water. And for the bone percentage, you may find that giving more than 10% in the beginning ideal for her until her system adjusts to the diet. Then decrease as much as her system tolerates it after. It's also best to have some of their daily meals boneless down the road. This perception coming from how the wolf eats .... they leave the bone last, even ignore it if they feel that they fed enough. But, again, this highly depends on the dog. I know my guys will get the runs if they eat boneless for more than a day.

[MENTION=3380]EBDR35[/MENTION] - Snowy's beautiful! G'luck on the diet. Let us know how it goes.

 

[GatorRay]

Seems like you have it down pretty well. The hens are a fine food so go for it. Also, at first Snowy will likely need a little extra bone anyway. I take it out of the freezer before bed and put it in the fridge. It is thawed by morning. The rule here is if she hasn't touched it in 20 minutes, it gets wrapped up and stuck back in the fridge. I then just add it to dinner.

Good luck and keep us posted on her progress!

 

[EBDR35]

Thanks for all the tip guys, just got back from the market and picked up about 5 pounds of chicken quarters and another 5 pounds of boneless / skinless chicken meat. I'll be sure to feed her more bone in the beginning since she's barely getting used to it. I fed her a Cornish Game hen this morning for breakfast (about 1.2 pounds decent amount of bone btw), and for dinner I'm giving her about 1.0-1.2 pounds of boneless/ skinless meat.. Excited to see how this works out for her, i know she personally enjoys eating and chewing on it but lets see how her stomach feels, she hasn't pooped since yesterday afternoon so im anxious to see how it looks to start with..

I work full time so i think what i will do is put the meat in the refrigerator overnight, feed it in the morning, then before i leave to work throw another piece of meat in the refrigerator..then when i get home feed that piece.

I read that frozen meat will thaw out in about 4-6 hours if left in the refrigerator so this should work I hope

I plan on stocking up and buying a dedicated freezer as well Im looking for sources to buy in bulk, if anyone knows any good sources that sell bulk in Socal im all ears.

 

[MamaAndi]

Good luck with the raw feeding! I'm late to this thread but I'm sure you will be pleased with the results

 

[EBDR35]

Good luck with the raw feeding! I'm late to this thread but I'm sure you will be pleased with the results

Thanks! Day 2 1/2 so far and everything seems good and Snowy seems happy and very active.


Question to everyone, Do any of you guys grind your meat/bones? Im thinking of that doing that to make it easier for her. Any inputs would be appreciated.

 

[izstigspunks]

Oh look at that cute face!

In the beginning she'll struggle a bit with the bones. But give it a week and she'll perfect her technique. It used to take Stig 20 minutes to finish a chicken quarter, now it would be gone within a minute.

 

[EBDR35]

Oh look at that cute face!

In the beginning she'll struggle a bit with the bones. But give it a week and she'll perfect her technique. It used to take Stig 20 minutes to finish a chicken quarter, now it would be gone within a minute.

Ok ill give it a shot! i feel like she stops eating her food sometimes and just looks at me like she expects me to cut it, because i cut it the first few times. I hear grinding takes the fun out of the eating as well haha.

 

[LiLlilly]

I agree leave the bone. Lilly looked at me like I had 12 heads when I first fed her raw haha!! But she seriously picked it up after like 3-4 feedings and is already pro. MAKE SURE THE QUARTERS ARE NOT "ENHANCED." I made this mistake somehow and it made her poop so runny, so make sure you check whatever you're buying carefully. Sounds like you did a lot of research though so you should be good. If you do notice runny poop still, try offering chicken neck as they have a lot of bone and will firm her poop up nice because it's leaner. I personally used chicken necks first, and now I'm transitioning to backs, and then I'm going to do quarters etc. I know when I first started I used the necks, and then used a drum stick the next day and it wasn't pretty. It seemed to upset her stomach a lot more compared to the necks. But I think that's just because it was the beginning so I have no way to really know if it was the drum stick or just too early. Good luck though, and congrats in taking the plunge!! I personally love telling people I feed my dog raw. They look at me like I'm crazy, and then I tell them about it's benefits. It's kind of fun educating people about it, because I personally hate kibble now. It makes me so mad at the amount of crap they put in this food, and tell us it's all natural and great...The more people we can spread this too = more healthy/happy dogs on the planet. Which to me is an awesome thing, so good for you in doing all your research and making your pup as happy as possible

 

[EBDR35]

I agree leave the bone. Lilly looked at me like I had 12 heads when I first fed her raw haha!! But she seriously picked it up after like 3-4 feedings and is already pro. MAKE SURE THE QUARTERS ARE NOT "ENHANCED." I made this mistake somehow and it made her poop so runny, so make sure you check whatever you're buying carefully. Sounds like you did a lot of research though so you should be good. If you do notice runny poop still, try offering chicken neck as they have a lot of bone and will firm her poop up nice because it's leaner. I personally used chicken necks first, and now I'm transitioning to backs, and then I'm going to do quarters etc. I know when I first started I used the necks, and then used a drum stick the next day and it wasn't pretty. It seemed to upset her stomach a lot more compared to the necks. But I think that's just because it was the beginning so I have no way to really know if it was the drum stick or just too early. Good luck though, and congrats in taking the plunge!! I personally love telling people I feed my dog raw. They look at me like I'm crazy, and then I tell them about it's benefits. It's kind of fun educating people about it, because I personally hate kibble now. It makes me so mad at the amount of crap they put in this food, and tell us it's all natural and great...The more people we can spread this too = more healthy/happy dogs on the planet. Which to me is an awesome thing, so good for you in doing all your research and making your pup as happy as possible

Hey thanks so much for the tip. She seems to be doing fine now, just a very very slow eater. She seems to eat faster when i leave the chicken skin on. I think its tastier for her. When its just boneless / skinless she takes forever and picks up her scraps of meat and drops them back down over and over! Its a pain.

I know her food is not enhanced but whats a good way to double check and see if the meat is enhanced or not?