lilypoo

Lily is 11 pounds and 7 months. She's been on NB Duck + Potato (which is grain-free) for about six weeks, before that we had a brief foray into Orijen and before that it was Blue Buffalo puppy.

I'm hoping someone knowledgable can tell me exactly where to start. Like...exactly what to buy to get us through the first couple weeks. I'm especially scared since our chicken bone incident. I know raw bones are different, but it's a mental thing.

I've stopped feeding her from my plate per her trainer (she loves, loves, loves cooked chicken, eggs, etc.) and her tearing seems to have worsened since she's been 100% on dog food. She also has had a clear, watery discharge from her nose, which started after I withdrew the people food. Vet attributes it to mild allergy since it's cotton season here. But still. I figure now is as good a time as any to switch to raw and reap the benefits.

From my research I am liking the prey model but also can see the value in having some prepared raw as a back-up. I use freeze dried chicken liver for training treats...she adores that!

(I'm ordering a couple books on Kindle but it will take me a few days to get through them.)

Thanks!!

__________________
*Chelee*

fjm

I'm not sure what suppliers you have available locally, so will make my suggestions based on what is readily available in supermarkets. Chicken wings, ground meat (full fat versions), pork ribs, lamb ribs, eggs, canned sardines, liver, kidney, heart and any other offal you can source ... If you can get it, raw green tripe is brilliant! Many people recommend starting with one protein souce, so chicken wings, ground chicken, chicken livers, and any other chicken giblets you can find would make a good start for the first week or two. Once you know she has no reactions to that, introduce the next meats. As mine had never shown any allergies or intolerances I went for a mixture from the start.

Do keep an eye on the calcium content - If you are feeding a lot of meals that don't contain bone you will need to add calcium - ground eggshell is easy. And go easy on the liver, kidney and heart untii you know she can manage them - they can be very relaxing! I prefer to give liver cooked as treats.

Very useful advice on quantities and proportions here: DogAware.com: Homemade Diets for Dogs

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Panda

we took the plunge recently too and I have to say he is loving it. OK he is still the most fussy dog ever and can even turn his nose up "dog" chicken mince but will scoff "human" grade chicken. We are still a little scared of bones so the only bones he gets at the moment are poultry necks as he can crunch these up easily and they dont scare me

lilypoo

Thanks for the tips! My local grocery that has a butcher (Fry's) did not have any chicken necks or backs!

I guess I'm starting with chicken! I bought a whole small fryer. Is there any part I *shouldn't* feed her? I was thinking I'd hack it up. So I can give her the wings...what about the drumsticks, ribs, etc.?

I have a 50# mixed breed too...can she eat the bigger stuff?

I will look for chicken offal as well. I'm currently trying to find a local source of pastured poultry and hoping I can buy the necks, etc. there!

__________________
*Chelee*

fjm

If you work out what a meal for her should weigh (my guess would be around 5 ounces a day), and chop up and weigh the pieces, I suspect she could eat the whole chicken over a few days. I'm sure your bigger dog will love "helping out" with any pieces that are a bit too big! The most difficult step is giving them that first raw chicken bone - we have been so thoroughly taught the dangers of cooked chicken bones that it is a big leap of faith to hand a dog any chicken bone. I hunted the internet high and low for weeks for any report of injuries caused by raw bones before I started - and the only ones I could find were from hard, weight bearing bones from large mammals.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Carley's Mom

I looked yesterday for some Chicken backs or necks for Carley. I did not find anything. I also ask the butcher about beef ribs, no luck there either. I went to the pet store, they only had dried, no meat bones. I did not think about a whole bird. How about deer? My husband is a hunter, he gives the meat away, but I might be able to get my hands on some deer ribs...

Good luck with Lily, she is so cute. How do you get the pictures to come up with your post?

Rowan

I'm not sure where you guys live, but are there any working farms nearby? For example, I'm in northern Virginia and these are a couple of my options:

Meats (including necks, chicken backs, organ meats, etc.):
https://www.fieldsofathenryfarm.com/content/order-form

Vegetables:
Main Page | Arganica Farm Club

The first is around an hour away but easy enough for good quality meats. The second place actually delivers. I didn't know about these opportunities until a friend clued me in (she lives close to the Fields of Athenry).

I hope that helps!

fjm

I would imagine venison would be excellent - ribs, spine, neck, shoulder - I would avoid the leg bones, perhaps. Deer offal would also be good - you would have everything, including the tripe (paunch?). In the UK there are several companies supplying human grade meat especially for dogs - it is frozen, but that makes it easier to manage.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

CharismaticMillie

This is exactly what I do! I have been feeding (my variation of*) Prey Model Raw for nearly a year (it will be a year on Thanksgiving).

I always keep pre-made raw on hand. I like Vital Essentials brand as it is prey model based. No veggies are added. Just meat, bone and organ. It is AAFCO approved for all life stages, so I know they are getting what they need.

Lately, because student teaching and grad. school has taken of my life, I feed a mix of Vital Essentials pre-made and different varieties of ground whole prey from My Pet Carnivore. Prior to this, I never fed anything ground because I felt that I was losing the dental benefits. I have compromised on that, for now, because it is easier.

On the weekends, I feed a raw meat bone each AM with organ meat and I feed a whole chunk of boneless meat for dinner.

(My Pet Carnivore is a wonderful small company that delivers raw meat to various cities in the midwest once monthly. All of their meat comes from small farms that they work with. They offer whole prey, ground whole prey, bulk boxes of turkey necks or whole lamb hearts, whole beef hearts and a HUGE array of organ meat. They also have tripe from various animals. They even have "supermixes" where they take the whole prey and add more heart and organs so that it is "balanced". It is a known fact that grinding meat reduces the taurine, so it is necessary to add heart to counter that. Alpaca and ostrich are the latest specialties that my poodles will be enjoying from MPC.)

*I say that it is my variation of prey model because I do do some things that are not typical of a prey model raw diet. Ie - some supplementation of the diet. I do experiment with veggie glop. I supplement with probiotics, digestive enzymes and fish oil. I throw some Vit. E and Kelp in their food every now and then. I am not opposed to a little bit of yogurt.

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Happy tailwags from Peckerwood's Thoroughly Modern Millie, CGC and Ch. Safari's Specter, CGC!

CT Girl

The one thing I would be cautious with with any meat you have obtained from a hunter is parasites. I have heard that freezing it for a week will take care of this. Deer ribs would be great RMB. Chicken necks are a really handy size for a toy. Have you asked at the butcher? Sometimes they don't put these out but you can purchase them for a song. Another option is if there is an ethnic store in your area. Oriental, Italian - almost any type of ethnic store will do. They will often have more exotic things like chicken feet, necks ect. I have used fryers too. I will separate out drumsticks, back, wings, ribs. Swizzle did not need any help he ate it all with gusto but you will have to see how your dog is. I keep hearts and gizzards frozen and on hand. If Swizzle's poop is getting a little too hard I just give him some of that and it moves things along. You might want to hold off on the heart as fjm states. Swizzle has had no issue but as with everything you need to see what works for your dog. I am excited for you. It is scary trying something so new and different but Lily will thank you for it with better health, clean teeth, and a shiny coat.