Oh my God! That's so awesome!!! She's jumpin like 4 ft in the air. Amazing!

Well... I've been doing alot of research on this lately as well, and decided to get Piggy off of the "poison" (as most referred to kibble as, lol), and get her headed in the right direction to a long healthy life. I always knew kibble foods weren't the greatest for dogs, but didn't know just how bad until I started digging a little deeper... YIKES!!

So today (sun), was Piggys first day on her new RAW meaty bones diet! As recommended by everything I've read, I started out very simple: plain chicken quarters. Everyone said don't add variety just yet, just pick one meat and stick with it for a couple weeks and let the dogs body get used to eating and digesting "real" food, then start adding variety, organs, etc.

I got her a 16" pizza pan too to eat off of, so there's room for her to pick stuff apart without getting it all over the kitchen floor.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/05d170e3.jpg

Small doses to start off with until I know everything is going well. I fasted her yesterday to let everything else work it's way through first

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/480ded18.jpg

At first she looked a little confused, like "ummm what do I do with this??" LOL. She kept looking up at me, then back down at the chicken, then up at me again, then she just started licking it, hahah

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/6dbfa87f.jpg

After a few minutes though, she was going to town on it. I watched her the whole time to make sure she didn't try and gulp it (she usually tends to eat pretty fast cuz of the other dogs always coming around her food bowl). But she did great... took her time and chewed everything, crunched all the bones, and all was good. Took her probably 15 mins to finish both pieces. She didn't leave so much as a crumb behind, hahah

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/9f7675ae.jpg


She has hip dysplasia and very dry itchy skin in the winter time, and from what I've read, this should help out with both of those. She had a yeast infection in her right ear recently too, but that seemed to be just a one time thing and hasn't happened before that or since. A little maximum strength Vagisil took care of it no prob anyways, lol

So, we'll see how it goes! I'm cutting her feeding down to 1 meal per day and will watch her weight carefully. Hopefully it goes well! Never heard a single bad thing about a raw diet though

Well... day one was excellent success! No vomiting, no hershey squirts.... no abnormal effects at all!

Day 2 has also gone very well...

She always gives me the most pathetic, "but dad, it's torture!! Can't you see I'm dying here??", look you've ever seen, lol. Tail wagging at full speed the whole time, heh. But she knows that she's gotta sit there until I say "go eat", and she does very well with that!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/b1936b30.jpg

Then she had to give it the sniff test
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/7071d116.jpg

And then the lick test
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/9a444032.jpg

Bah! F**k it... I'm eating
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...i/72d53e17.jpg

I gave her a little more tonight (3 quarters) since it seemed to sit well yesterday. So far so good! I'll give it a couple weeks and then start adding other stuff. I'm glad to hear so many great success stories feeding this way!

Luck man!! Really!

Sadie still has signs of being an older dog - she still drags her back feet after the walk up to the park to catch the ball. But, as you can see, she has her vertical back - the first part of the video wasn't even as bad as it got... I just couldn't video her falling down. :(

She is completely on the mend though - and the ONLY major change we did was food. She takes no suppliments and doesn't need her teeth cleaned or scaled. The funny part was - the vet didn't believe she was the same dog. :lol:

Hey Moira, what 'butcher' are you visiting? (if you don't mind giving up your sources)
Think HEB would work with me?

Oh, and can you guys recommend any forums with diet and meat suggestions?
Beef, chicken, and fish are the easy answers... but I've heard recommendations against pork and possibly turkey.

I now go to the one in the Randalls on our corner - the other one was too far away and they hired a new manager that didn't like giving things away [boo! :lol:]. We alternate between getting the thigh and the drumstick super-packs. Then, package them up when we get home to one serving and freeze what won't be used in the next two days.

I stay with chicken with her. Occassionally I will get a pack of fish and give her a fish day. But, I have noticed mixing meats doesn't settle well with her... I personally don't do turkey because it's usually hard to come by in easily packaged sets. And, pork can a bit expensive. I will get her a pack of beef soup bones though - those are like crack. I can't imagine her hunting cows though :lol:

:lol I couldn't imagine Piggy hunting cows either, or, really anything for that matter, lol. I mean she catches and PLAYS with bugs and flies, for christs sake, lol. Seriously she'll catch one, pick it up with the end of her mouth without killing it, and then toss it across the room and chase after it again, and keep doing it with the same poor bug, hahahah. So yea, definitely could not see her chasing down some prey to eat.... she'd just try and play with them, lol

Thanks :dthumb:
Chicken is definitely the easy option.
I'm also looking at those beef spare ribs. Decent amount of meat, flat bone that should be easy to crack, some nice chewy connective tissue.
As for fish, I need to find out who has fish that aren't already gutted.
Maybe Quality Seafood?

My pug does that with crickets :lol:

Keep us updated Jarod. I may consider it this summer with my dogs.

(this is Z, once again, too lazy to log the Hobbit Footed one out=see shoe thread)

omg Moira I'm so glad she's doing so well. I remember you telling how she wasn't doing well and you didn't know what you were going to do w/ her, and then WOW look at that video! that's so freakin' awesome!

Hey guys, stay away from raw pork, can give your dogs worms I believe.

I'm not sure about worms but it can certainly give them the squirts!

Where are you getting the worm info?

Pork hearts were actually recommended by our dog's nutritionist.

Yes, I said nutritionist. :gofurslf:

That's true, I didn't think about that.
It's also possible that she might not even finish it, just gnaw the tissue off of it.

As for freezing fish and some other meats for safety, I'm reading a little about that now. A couple of sources say freezing pork for ~3 weeks can kill trichinella (and, I'm guessing, some other worms).

Still going really well on the Raw diet. Converting more and more people - my daughter brought Sadie to the park by our house for an after school thing, and fed her chicken at the park. She got yelled at by "grown ups" for feed her dog chicken bones. All these adults are now looking for more information from me.

My vet is looking at more information as well. Here's the start of a diet revolution.

Thanks Josh.

Our update:

Our boy Duke (APBT mix) is 84lbs. Vet says change nothing with the diet.

Our girl Dutchess (Staffy/Boxer mix) is a portly 114lbs. (Thyroid problem). She definitely has her energy back, and is back to bowling over any kiddies (or flyweight adults) who dare get in her way at full boogie.

When we get a dog... I'm totally doing this... these stories are AMAZING.

Of course, I'm going to be the skeptic... I've checked this thread from time to time and I don't know all of the particulars. Do you only feed your dog meat? Has anyone tried doing both or supplements? Dynabite, etc. What do you do if they don't eat it all in one sitting? You don't leave raw meat laying around, right? This goes against everything I've ever been told about giving a dog anything but dog food. I'm also not sure how raw meet is "cheaper" than dog food. I buy a bag maybe once a month or so... Not a major expense.:idk: Believe it or not,I am interested but have a bit trepidation as my dog is home alone for 10 hours... would not wish to come home to a nasty mess...:idk:

It's not cheaper Amber... that is for sure.

i don't know about the other questions.

My dog has been doing great on a diet of raw chicken (mostly just thighs, with skin and bone) and veggies, and a little unflavored yogurt.
Occasionally canned salmon, as I haven't found a good source of fresh, ungutted fish (for any price I'm able to pay on a regular basis).

I've tuned her portions to as much as she will eat in a sitting... actually a little less, because her activity level doesn't demand a heavy food intake.

I took her in for her vaccinations and physical week before last and her primary vet was very pleased with her coat and energy level. Her bloodwork and her fecal sample all came back clean and indicating good health.

Unfortunately, later in the week she developed a stomach issue and I had to take her back in. The vet on duty that day was not as pleased with the raw diet as her primary vet, and suggested cooked food and this supplement (BalanceIt?).
She's since recovered and has been doing fine. Per vet's orders, I gave her only cooked chicken and rice for a few days and treated her with an antibiotic. Now she's back on her regular raw food and seems plenty healthy and happy to be doing that again.

Hmmm... I understand that processed dog food has it's limitations for sure, just like our processed food does for us. I can't help but wonder if there isn't a better, EASIER, cheaper way... I've heard several similar stories about Dynabite. :idk:

Our dog gets mostly meat. They are naturally carnivores. A few of the meals she gets are "medleys" which have certain veggies or berries in them that aid digestion.

With a properly varied diet, supplements shouldn't be necessary except in extreme cases. The dogs get all the nutrients from the food just like their ancestors did in the wild.

We have switched from leaving dry food out for her to graze on to two feedings per day. She'll usually finish it within 10 seconds. On the rare occasion that it is not gone, we usually throw it away. We have left the raw meat out and left. It is gone by the time we get home.

It is definitely not cheaper than kibble. Our raw diet costs about 2X's what dry food would but we aren't bargain shoppers. Convenience > cost.

A raw food diet is the better, easier way. It's not cheaper though.

If you don't want to deal with the preparations that some of these guys go through, do what we do:
We have a local "Pet Deli" that prepackages all meals into individual packages. They are kept in the freezer. When the dog gets her dinner, we pull tomorrow's meals into the fridge to defrost. The next day, open the package and serve. Can't get much easier than that. :idk:

I can give you my answers on these, but I may not be doing it like everyone else.
1. My dogs get meat [on the bone], eggs, and vegetables daily. Yogurt every other day, and a whole fish once a week (in place of meat).
2. I don't give them supplements normally
3. I have no problem with them not eating it all in 1 sitting. Hasn't happened yet.
4. I don't leave raw meat laying around.
5. It isn't cheaper (or more convenient), from what I can tell. Although my beasts used to go through quite a bit of bag food anyway, and that wasn't exactly cheap either.

Basically, every Sunday I do all the major prepping for the entire week. I usually just buy whole chickens and portion them myself. In a pinch I will use leg quarters.

Compared to a Premium brand or compared with Pedigree/Puppy Chow/Other nasty shit?

Feeding our three dogs on the raw diet does come out to be cheaper than it would for "quality" kibble, which usually runs $1.50-2 per lb.

I'm one of those that believes supplements, especially when recommended by most vets, are a complete scam. I think my dogs health tests and rejuvenation in the case of my older Labrador are proof that a raw meat diet does not require any supplements or snake oils. Its DEFINITELY not more convenient, and without an electric grinder it can be a major pain in the ass. I only feed my dogs raw bone (whole chicken, thighs, legs, etc.) every other day. On the days in between they get a ground up meat medley of goodness. I've found that my Lab is too stupid to eat bone everyday because she doesn't chew them up right, and I'll find some puke laying around somewhere.

That wouldn't be an issue with a dog who was raised on raw, like my Pit Bull.

The good stuff through her former vet (kibble). The cheapest raw we get is about $1.99/lb.

The difference in cost comes down mostly to convenience.

We buy all of our raw food at the local "Pet Deli". It is preground, individually packaged, and delivered to our home. That kind of convenience comes at a price.

Keep in mind, our dog is less than 7lbs and eats a 1/4lb a day of food. If we had a Lab, Rottie, Shepard, Pit, etc. I'd probably be a little more cost conscious.

Right on, that makes perfect sense. I'd do the same if I didn't have three large dogs to feed. I hate feeding them $.59 a lb leg quarters and $.80 lb whole chickens, cause I know how those chickens are raised and what's in them...yet I have to assume that it is still much healthier than feeding kibble.

1/4lb of food a day :lol: That must be nice! Mine eat between 1.5 and 2.5lb a day, depending on what leftovers and extras are in their food for that day.

For me its always been more about bonding with my dogs than their health, as my dog's sole purpose in life is to protect my family. Our feeding ritual definitely put us on another level of training and understanding. You may be able to bypass a Brinks...but you won't get by my three without waking me up.
I know, I know, there's a pet picture thread...
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g8...09bikeride.jpg

Thanks for taking my questions seriously guys. My dog is healthy and happy but I want the best for him, of course. I won't lie. I work 6 days a week and barely ever cook/prepare food for myself. I don't think that I have either the time nor the inclination for this type of feeding.

As far as "in the wild" goes, I've seen wild dogs/wolves/coyotes...yea, I rather have my dog look much better than that.

As I've said, I've seen hundreds of ranting reviews for Dynabite. I might try that. My dog's only "problem" is shedding.

Excessive shedding could definitely be a sign of poor nutrition but of course all dogs shed some. A lot of us perceive our dog as healthy, because that is the status quo, when they're really not. For example, a lot of people think their Rottweiler or Boxer, etc, has genetic hip dysplasia and nothing can be done, when in fact it is their body failing after years of eating shit food and worthless supplements.

Even very well meaning, intelligent dog owners, who really care about their pets fall into this trap that "dog food" is what dogs eat and that's pretty much it. Because that's the way its always been for us, and because the dog food industry sponsors pretty much EVERYTHING pet related from your local Vet, to dogs shows to agility trials and so on. So its integrated into us...but even the most expensive dog foods fall short of providing the kind of nutrition a dog needs to be as healthy as they are meant to be.

Likewise, most Vets absolutely shun raw diets as dangerous, risky, inadequate, etc. etc., and of course in turn recommend that you buy a 50lb bag of Science Diet and some supplements like "Missing Link" or "Dynabite." Then they'll want you to come back for teeth cleaning, check-ups, and regular sick visits. Money in their pocket, but all completely unnecessary for a dog on a raw diet.

The first time I saw my Vet with my dogs he asked me how I kept them so healthy, as he said even my 8 year old was in perfect shape, teeth superclean, all that. I told him raw diet, and he was apprehensive at first....but I finally sold him on it during our last visit last month. I told him I've never brushed my dogs teeth, and he couldn't get over how white they were. He's going to put his Pit/Rott mix on a raw diet now as well. :lol: .....but don't tell Pedigree, or they might pull their sponsorship!

There is no way my Boxer could tow 200lbs over 8 miles at 15mph if he was eating kibble, I know that for a fact.

You may be right, personally I think that the exercise and the fact that you spend all day with them doesn't hurt matters. Lots of rave reviews from customers, http://www.k9healthsolutions.com/dinovite-reviews.html

No doubt, but their excellent health can be solely attributed to the diet. As I've mentioned, when I got my Lab from the shelter she had a lame shoulder...Vet told us she'd never be able to run.

Now here it is 2 years later and she runs agility, retrieves over 100yards at sprint, pulls 150lb load until her nails wear to the quick and swims like a beast!

I'm with Josh on his sentiments. I know it's not cheaper. But, I also know she wouldn't be alive today if we would have stayed with her kibble diet. That fits into the category of "priceless."

I also know I won't get another dog after Sadie is gone. The whole process is a lot of work.

Okay guys, well again I appreciate your sentiments and I am happy that your dogs are better. I still don't believe that this is the only way towards a healthier dog.:idk:

My dog vs. your dog. Anytime, anywhere. :lol:

My dog has a working master, which equals little to no exercise... I don't have hours to spend at the park unfortunately and only post here in between jobs now. You want a real test, get two puppies from the same litter, raise them the same except one eats premium dog food plus Dynabite and the other eats raw meat. Give it a year and lets see.

Lame. My dogs were in every bit as good a shape when I was working 50hrs a week as they are now that I'm working more like 20.

But you're right, that would be a cool test. I'd be VERY interested to see how it turned out. You'd have to give 'em more than a year I think though, it would be a lifetime measurement and would have to be done with numerous litters. Hard to control something like that.

Yea well I work almost 70....

Anyway, what I'd like to do is feed each dog one way for the first year or two and then perform some tests THEN switch them for a couple years and perform the same tests.

You know, it's funny, I have to be careful sometimes.
I find myself putting more thought into what Lilly eats than what I eat.
And in a given grocery store run, may have more in the basket for her than for myself. :lol:

The "in the wild" argument is a conditional one as far as prey-model diets go.
Naysayers argue that most wild canines don't live as long as a well kept domestic dog. True, but they also aren't feeding with the regularity a domestic dog is, on the sort of quality meats (or whatever you choose) that we can feed them. Wild dogs don't get vet care, vaccinations, secure shelter, aren't kept out of fights with other animals... the list goes on.
It's not about looking at a wild dog and saying "He's living the dream!", it's about finding human quality equivalents to the foods on which evolution has designed them to subsist and providing them in synergy with all the care, exercise, and protection that we can offer.

There are probably at least a few kibbles which can satisfy those conditions, at least in terms of quality of ingredients. They might be better balanced and Swiss watch consistent as far as protein, fat, and fiber ratios... scientifically over-engineered with trace minerals you can't even pronounce let alone know why a dog might need them.
And certainly there's no arguing the convenience issue. There are times that I've pondered putting Lilly back on one of the designer kibbles just to free an hour or so of my time during the week. She'd probably live a long healthy life on it. I just know I get a feeling of satisfaction seeing her engaged in eating something "real".

If I had kids, I wouldn't want to see them growing up on a steady diet of processed food rather than real meats and vegetables in a recognizable form.
Since I have none, the dog gets the benefit of my desire to be a good provider.

Are you raw food meat with bone people still giving your dogs bones (rawhide, cow femur, etc) as treats or what not? Or do they have little interest in that after eating their raw chicken?

What do you think a 150# mastiff would eat? one whole chicken a day or 3 leg quarters?

For the treats, yes. She still gets them and is as excited now as when she was on a super-bland kibble diet.

The rule of thumb with raw foods is about 2% of body weight per day. That means Brinks would need about 3lbs of food, give or take.

Hopefully Kaneman will chime in on the best way to make that happen. It takes our dog almost 2 weeks to eat that much food! :lol:

It may be explained and I over-looked it... how often are you feeding the dogs? Once/twice a day?

We feed twice.

Once in AM, once in PM.

The weight percentage shmike mentioned is a good rule of thumb, and then you just vary it based on your dog's metabolism. My big guy weighs 90lbs and eats about a half a chicken a day, plus "fixins." He has a very high metabolism, I don't think a 150lb dog would eat a whole lot more. A whole chicken a day seems like a lot, but if you're talking a small chicken, like 2.5lbs...then that might be good.

I would find a Mastiff forum, most dog forums these days have a Raw Diet sub forum so you can see what other breed owners are doing for their dogs.

I don't give my dogs anything to chew on, no raw hide or anything. Its too hard to keep an eye on them with stuff like that laying around for me, but they don't chew up any of my stuff so its all good. The raw diet is supposed to satisfy that urge they have to chew stuff, seems to work.

I feed once or twice a day, depends on what food they're getting. Raw meaty meals are fed once, ground meals twice.

We feed twice a day every other day - evening only the other days.

Sadie isn't interested in chew-toys [or anything to chew for entertainment]. She now consumes any bones we give her... her favorite seems to be the soup/stock beef bones we get. They are gone in about 15 minutes.

I think the important thing to remember with this type of diet, there are good guidelines to stick to. But, each dog is different in what their needs are. It's much like each of us have our own personal diet needs, same goes for our dogs.

Lilly gets fed twice a day most days, though I periodically fast her for one meal, or sometimes a full day if she's not eliminating properly or shows hesitation eating (which is rare).

She annihilates small things like beef kneecaps and will strip those rib bone treats down to bare bone in a matter of minutes.

And how much does your average whole chicken or leg quarter weight?

I can't do this now as we still have our live in "inlaws" who have 2 dogs. Just not going thru all that. But maybe after they live in another month.

Other things I consider...

Do you still feed them random table scraps?

What do you do if you have a dog sitter, cause you're on vacation???? Further, what your dog stays at a house with other dogs that eat kibble? Feed your dog outside away from others? How do you keep your dog from their dog's open kibble? Or don't worry about it?

Brinks' main vet already said he understands the raw meat diet. He said he has seen it first hand transform a dog that needed extensive teeth work/scrubbing and was over weight to healthy and clean teeth. He said the biggest thing he sees. People don't stick with it. It's a great deal more hassle than kibble feeding.

I've done it before, but it was a chore. I kept my Dad's two boxers for the summer last year, and despite their health problems he has refused to try my diet. At feeding time I put them out back with their kibble and fed my dogs their meat inside. If I brought out the meat first my Dad's male boxer wouldn't eat, expecting a tasty chickeny treat instead.

I feed all the random table scraps I can get my hands on. Nothing with onions or cooked bones though.

Obviously nothing too spicy or cooked bones. That's standard issue caution.

I'm just wondering how it would be for a long weekend type Brinks over at the inlaws or somin. They have dogs and that would make it harder. Plus their dog food (kibble) is usually out.

Will have to get wifey to check this thread out...

I am way too lazy for this guys. .. I'll keep buying the "good stuff" and hope for the best.

Switching back and forth between kibble and raw tends to make them sick. Dogs don't adapt to sudden variety for some reason.

I travelled with Sadie to Minnesota over the Christmas holiday last year for 12 days. It was so much easier to just stop into a grocery store and get cut up chicken then to schlep her food with.

If I'm out I have friends stop by and take care of her - or she goes to a private kennel close by that doesn't do cement kennels.

Even when we fed her kibble, we didn't keep it out all the time.

The whole chickens we usually get are usually betweem 2.5 and 3.5 lbs.
I really don't think I have to worry about my dogs eating kibble. (Unless they haven't been fed in a day or two).

Yeah I get that. I'm just worried about the dog sitting angle.

Yeah so one whole chicken per day for Brinks...

The wife says she tries to feed Brinks' little pieces of raw chicken... he has a face of disgust and spits it out immediately.

Is this common?

Your dog is gay. Feed him tofu.

IDK... in law dogs love the raw chicken... brinks spits it out like you put poo in his mouth.

Like children, it takes time for them to adjust to it.

Ruff bout if he don't even like it.

He may not. I don't like okra.

When we started ours, they got their usual before we left for work. They didn't eat anything all day, until just before we ate. They fucking destroyed a 3lb chicken each. (At this time I was unsure about portions).

But did they like the raw chicken from the get go?

One did, one didn't.

And how did the one that didn't go with the program?

hunger would be my guess...:lol:

Yeah tts of coarse always an option.

She only ate a small piece. I honestly think it was because she had teeth/gum problems at the time, and it was difficult for her to chew the bones. For the first month hers went into a grinder - it is no problem now, she gets it whole.

That's how my parents got me to eat liver...:lol:

Yeah I'm really not sure about it all.

I can't/won't do it but I think that it makes a lot of sense.

I am slowly converting my dog to raw, he INHALES chicken breasts...I gave him a 1.5 lbs breast and a few gizzards/hearts and he loved them. I got the "dont fuck with me" look when he was eating them lol

Also, from my calculations, it will be slightly more feeding raw per month vs kibble

Puggy doesn't do raw meat. She went through a phase when she didn't even want to eat cooked meat. She would eat all the rice and veggies in the bowl and would leave the meat. She'll eat fish though.

I remember having her over at Tommymac's at a BBQ and he gave her some rare steak. When she realized what it was she spit it out and backed away from it. and looked really irritated. She nearly took a finger off though when someone else gave her some salad fixings.

She'll eat kibble though, which is where she was getting her protein. I have her on a cooked meat and other non kibble stuff and she does well on it. I think she mostly eats the meat because there are veggies mixed in :lol:

You've ruined that dog. :nee::lol:

Bumped this to update my experience with the raw diet.

My 2 Schnauzers are loving the new diet. My prissy Schnoodle-still on the fence.

I have a 14 YO Schnauzer that I basically thought she would be doing great if she lasted until Spring. She now bounces around like a pup. Her eyes bright and clear. Middle Schnauzer has lost 5 lbs and is in great shape. Schnoodle is starting to be a dog and eat meat.

Wife is totally on board now that she sees the dogs improvement. We just spent a good part of the day shopping for dog food in the meat and veggie dept. Color another skeptic a believer.

I know when we try to feed brinks some raw chicken he wants nothing to do with it. But I'm sure hunger has a great deal to do with that.

That's awesome. Older/unhealthy dogs being revived by the raw diet is a very common reoccurring theme. Congrats man.

That's only because its so foreign to him as he's used to kibble. My dogs were like that too, they were like "WTF am I supposed to do with this? Now, a couple years later, if you were to put a bowl of Pedigree in front of them they would literally weep for your soul. :lol:

Yeah I'm sure. But with the pure size of Brinks, the undertaking this diet would be, is just a bit much for me at this point.

Sadie is still doing tremendous. We are her pack, we hunt for her. I swear, that's how she acts. :lol:

She turns 14 in a month. Still doing really great. We've added a pat of butter and peanut butter to her breakfast, it's been so dry and this helped with her coat.

The one book I bought- the woman fed her wolfhound a half a turkey every day.:lol

He would probably eat around a half a chicken a day, so around $2. I'd expect Brinks to cost around $70 a month to feed with meat and add-ons like liver/peanut butter/scraps, etc. They actually require less weight when they eat raw vs. kibble.

I feed 3 large dogs raw, so you won't get a lot of sympathy from me. :lol: A 10lb bag of chicken quarters ($5.90) lasts two days for three large dogs.

As I've said, I think its cheaper or around the same price as kibble (unless you're feeding your dog Ol' Roy/Pedigree) but it's definitely more "trouble."

The behavior changes they go through on a raw diet that you provide for them is what amazes me. Yea, of course they're healthier when they eat real food, that part is a given. But the way the bond with them increases is what really motivates me to continue feeding them this way. Well, that, and the fact that I only have to scoop poop once a week now instead of every day.

She now *talks* to us in the morning. I think she sounds like a wookie :lol: It's funny, I can have a conversation with her.

I don't think this is any more trouble than kibble. Sure, it's more work than putting your hand in a bin and scooping out the amount you need. But, I buy chicken thighs in bulk then split them up to two thighs to a tupperware and stack them in the freezer. Then, just have two in the fridge to thaw - open and drop in her bowl in the evening. Breakfast takes the most time - cracking an egg is the most time consumption. :wink:

But, you're right. The bond we have now is worth all of it. And, it's less work in the long run. I don't even scoop poo unless we are out on a walk. In the yard it turns to dust.

Wow that's actually pretty amazing to read. Our dogs all talk to us now in much the same way, whereas they didn't before being fed real food consistantly. They really put a lot of theater into it too, I always feel like they're so close to being able to say what they want you to hear....but they just can't quite vocalize it. I always thought I was just stoned. :lol:

We actually make a "glop" which is a bunch of raw veggies,eggs, yogurt, and a bit of molasses and freeze it. We have it sectioned out so its easy to just transfer a container of glop to the fridge to thaw before feeding.

I have beef and chicken sections separated into organs vs. Muscle so it's very easy to put a meal together for the dogs. We shop at the local Amish market so we get all fresh meat. We can get fresh duck and rabbit as well. It's fun to shop for the dogs as much as for us.

Lesson learned. Serve beef bones with marrow outside unless you want to mop the floor following feeding.

Are you guys running chest freezers or something?

I don't grocery shop more than once every 3 weeks. Simply don't hv time to do it more than that. Which is why I say I don't hv much time to dedicate towards something like this.

Let me give u another example. I don't have a free weekend at this point tt I'm not either working or priory engaged on till july. No joke. I have days off in there sometimes and have fun non working things as well. But when I tried to plan something today with my FIL it was insane to notice tt.

I understand what you're getting at.
When I was raw feeding Lilly, I found myself doing more shopping for her than for myself. :lol:

We have a stand up freezer, but it's only wife and I so lots of room for doggie stuff. I do have to say we upgraded to a professional food processor to deal with larger portions. All in all, I guess we figured we spend about an hour making glop and an hour shopping for 4 weeks of food.
I was a serious skeptic until we found out we had a local dog food store that specialized in raw diet (store named Bark!). We bought some of the food they had there to try it on the dogs. I highly recommend you find a similar store-because we did find that one dog HATES lamb. :lol

So you can buy pre made food, but it will cost you an arm and a leg. Very expensive.

A freezer is almost a must for raw diet...otherwise you'd spend a ridiculous amount of time getting food ready. But with the freezer its a snap.

What these guys said.

You don't have to do it yourself but it will save you money. In my case, it's not worth my time.

I spend 0 hours per week on our dog's diet.

The local raw food retailer calls me on Sunday to ask if I need an order. If I say yes, it shows up at my door Monday afternoon pre-packaged in daily feeding sizes. They have a standing order and my CC on file.

I pull out 3 day's worth for the inside refridgerator and throw the rest in the freezer in the garage (normal fridge, beer in bottom, frozen junk in freezer).

It's as easy as kibble (actually easier because Science Diet doesn't deliver).

Of course I can afford this because my dog eats in a month what your hosses probably inhale at each sitting. :lol:

Do you guys know of any online particular company that does this I could order online from?

I have started my 2 Danes on raw finally. It's slow and they still get expensive kibble, but I wanted to introduce the raw to them first to make sure they could handle it.

I also decided to do it after getting my emaciated second Dane, Lexi. It was a perfect opportunity to start her on something GOOD compared to the damn Old Roy shit she was eating before.

Lexi just turned 3 and Andre just turned 5.

I started them off on turkey necks and we alternate between those and half chicken breasts without the skin for now (poop is not runny when taking the skin off).

Never had any throw up issues, choke issues, nothing.

They are both doing fantastic on it and I can see it is doing a lot for Lexi and isn't taking her as long to bulk up on raw than it did for Andre on kibble.

They also get raw egg (she gets all including shell, he gets just the egg as he refuses the shell), peanut butter, and some cheese and garlic powder.

Hadn't heard of the pat of butter thing. I'll try it as it is dry here lately and both have dry skin.

This month I will slowly be moving them to raw-only. :rockwoot:

Primal dog food.

Amazon actually carries it.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...food&x=11&y=22


Nevermind- They all say unavailable.

Brinks has earned himself some possible allergies. They got him on meds, shampoo, wipes, and allergy pills. It's some hair infection on his chin with a secondary yeast infection over that. He also popped positive for yeast between his toes. So those get washed daily with med shampoo. Found some info on his breed that said it could be caused by a thyroid issue. Thinking of stopping by the vet for a blood work up.

I'm thinking if this may help. End the kibble, the meds, etc... when you factor, in those vet costs, and secondary bones to chew. I bet this may be cheaper.

I'm also thinking about contacting a organic farmer about getting chickens wholesale from them. Cheaper? What you guys paying now?

Then maybe picking up a cheap small fridge/freezer for this storage. That would allow me to keep frozen and use the fridge for thawing.

Again, how much should I expect to feed a 160# dog?

Also, lay out the plan for conversion and/or any tips.

I found an all organic meat farms... not that I'm into organic stuff, but thought it may be an easy access to farmers of chicken. Cut out the stores...

whole chickens for $3.50-$4

Dogs are luxury items.

I dont have dogs, I have kids, would this diet work good for my kids? Will they become more energetic and get whiter teeth? One is 5 the other is 10. I'm also thinking about getting them spayed and nuderred

So are brain cells for a lot of folks I've met on a daily basis.

Yes, please... :nee:

The best part of the whole raw diet is the lack of dog landmines everywhere. :rockwoot:

I'll have to see what the wife paid for food today. I know they won't be eating rabbit unless they catch one. Friggen $18 a bunny !!!

So far their typical diet is for a 20 LB dog-5 ounces of meat tissue, 2 ounces organs, 8 ounces of vegetable glop X twice daily. Just multiply by 8 for a 160 LB dog. :lol

They get a raw egg three times a week. Shell and all.

Its cheaper before you add in the meds, vet costs and bones to chew. Raw meat is cheaper than premium dog foods per lb, and certainly more healthy.

I'm paying $.59 - $.89 per lb for leg quarters and whole chickens. I buy cottage cheese and the other supplemental on sale every week. How much you have to feed Brinks depends not only on his size, but his activity level as well. Start with a half a chicken's worth a day and go from there. Pay attention to his ribs and amount of body fat. If he starts getting too skinny, feed him more.

As far as known allergies and issues like you mentioned with his thyroid, everything we know medically about dogs is based on them eating food that they can't process correctly. For example, Rottweilers are known to have hip displasia "because they're so big", however it could just as easily be degenerated hip bones, tendons and muscles from 10 years of eating shit food that causes them to be crippled.

I don't like the slow conversion because when you feed raw and kibble combined the kibble slows the digestion down and allows bacteria from the raw meat to grow. Although I have mixed them before and had no problem I prefer the cold turkey (get it) method and switched all mine over in one day.

Thanks for the info. We have discussed it before but with the new complications we are looking into the switch more in depth.

He's gg in today for a thyroid blood work. I requested it. He really hasn't had a complex adult blood work done. So we'll get that done. His thyroid test will be done at MSU.

And I plan talking to the vet about this as well. The Sr vet said in the past he likes it but most people don't stick to it. That most prefer the hassle free of kibble.

I wasn't thinking of gradual conversion but more so ideas on doing so. I thought somebody didn't feed em for 2 days before switching? I know right now he won't even consider raw chicken. How do you work around that?

If you have a set feeding time then just put the chicken out for him at that time, give him 5 minutes or whatever and if he doesn't eat it put it back in the fridge and repeat the next day. He'll eat it eventually... My Boxer/Mastiff was pretty skeptical at first, but he came around and now gives the same reaction if you try to feed him kibble. :lol:

Maybe put some other stuff he likes in there with the chicken, or you can feed raw beef instead the first day....I bet he'll eat that.

Switch cold turkey. Your dog will love you for it. You'll love not cleaning up mountains of dog shit. My old Schnauzer's teeth are just about rid of all the plaque on them. She acts like a puppy again.