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Old January 12th, 2010, 02:43 AM
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cassiek cassiek is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: High River, AB, Canada
Posts: 622
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Welcome, CLV to pets.ca and raw!

As a new raw feeder myself, who has been feeding it for only 3 months or so, I can appreciate how confusing raw seems at first since I was there myself! But, I think if you stick with it you (and your dogs) will love it!

I don't think there is anything wrong with starting with raw frozen patties. They are simple, easy, and though they are generally more expensive, they are kind of a nice "transition" step into what I call "real raw". What worked for me was gradually adding more of my own meat from farmers, grocery stores etc. while still using the patties until I became completely comfortable with the idea. I still use the patties once in awhile when I am leaving my babes with friends or family, to keep everything simple!

I'm not sure where you are located, but I am in Alberta and regularly use Mountain Dog Food and Urban Carnivore. Both seem to work great with my dogs, and MDF actually sells bulk packs of chicken w/ bone in (so you still need to add organs and veggies or whatever extras you like) for about $1.00/lb. Urban Carnivore works well for me as they make some really different proteins (i.e. duck, rabbit etc) that work well for my little guy with allergies. I also really like Legacy, which is made out of Calgary. They are organic - antibiotic free, local etc. and this may be worth looking into for you since you mentioned you would like to feed organic (although Legacy is more expensive because it is organic!). I am not familiar with the raw companies you mentioned.

You mention your dog Leo has allergies. In my research on dog allergies, I have discovered that most dogs seem to have allergies to poultry (incl. eggs) and grains. This certainly is not true for every dog, but especially with the grains, alot of dog owners whose dogs have allergies seem to disappear entirely when they get away from all the grains in normal dog food kibble. Raw is a wonderful alternative where you eliminate the grains, and while it is usually more expensive to feed meat besides poultry (since it is usually cheapest - again, depends where you live), but I have found with the raw it is quite simple to rule out allergens in the food since it is so simple and pure!

As for diarrhea, it can be avoided with raw quite easily if your careful. One mistake I made was adding too much, too quick. Split a tin of sardines between my kids and all three had explosive diarrhea for the next day! Not fun! Keep it simple, add proteins and different items slowly, and you should be okay!

Also, if you read through this BARF board there is a TON of valuable information! And you will become more comfortable with it, but it does take an initial adjustment as it is a whole new way of thinking! I bet you and your dogs will just love it though! Keep us posted.

Oh, one last thing, yes 2-3% of body weight is ideal, however this is a very broad guideline and depends on your dogs breed, activity level, current body condition etc. I think I started around 2.5% and have adjusted it accordingly and "tweaked" it... especially in the winter when me and my furkids are lazy and don't exercise much!!
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