Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog food forum > Feeding raw food to dogs & cats - B.A.R.F - RMB - Homecooked diet

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 19th, 2015, 07:08 AM
soulnate soulnate is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 30
Starting to feed Raw

Hi everyone,

I am thinking about starting to feed raw but what is the easiest way to start?
Do I just go to my local butcher? Can I go to the supermarket for some products?

Thank you
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old January 19th, 2015, 08:04 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,528
I think first of all you need to decide what kind of raw you are going to feed. Prey model? BARF? Will you use pre-prepared raw or buy your own meats and be responsible for ratios of meat/bone/organ yourself? Will you feed partly kibble as some do because it's faster in the morning when you have to get out to work?

Is there anyone to guide you? Your Vet would be great. It's pretty nice if your Vet supports your feeding raw. Hopefully you have also googled up some raw feeding websites and facebook pages. I am on one and I caution you, there is a lot of wacky information out there.

We are into our third month of raw, BARF. My dog was sick, his new Holistic Vet encourages BARF so off we went. She loaned me her Dr. Billinghurst books but honestly they are very old and I'm not sure still quite correct. My dog's recovery diet was nothing but cooked minced turkey and cooked sweet potato. Going raw was easy but slow, I simply started with the turkey being raw every second day. Then raw every day and introduced a new food every second day. I checked poop diligently since IBD was our reason for the new Vet in the first place.

I do not use pre-prepared foods, no patties or stuff like that. I buy different species and cuts, cut up my own portions (OH helps, it takes a lot of oomph to cut frozen meat and bone) package them and make sure I get a good variety and rotation. I do not grind anything. Some people buy their own meat grinder. I bought a high end blender to smoosh up the veg and fruit. There is a raw supplier near me and he is much cheaper than the grocery store. I buy the veg and fruit at the grocery store and they cost me more than the meat, but they do make up a smaller portion of my dog's meals.

Why are you thinking of going raw?
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old January 20th, 2015, 03:45 PM
soulnate soulnate is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 30
Thank-you for the details answer Longblades and I want to try what is best for Duke and I have the time to do it. The reason for my choice is Duke is getting bad gas many times a day and it seems to be getting worse so I am considering trying raw. I have read that raw can help with bad smell and it feels natuaral. Right now Duke is getting Blue Buffalo Brand with chicken.

Thank-you for the advice.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old January 21st, 2015, 12:30 AM
rhynes rhynes is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: edmonton - canada
Posts: 191
3 year old minpin in our home, always had issue with dry skin, scratching and chewing etc. Tried every high quality commercial food on the market then finally said to heck with it.

We started in on the prey model a month ago, and haven't looked back. Started off with chicken backs with the bone as it's the easiest to digest. Fasting is important as the digestive rate of commercial food is different from raw. There's alot of water in raw, you'll notice your dog won't drink as much.

Found out his issues were due to chicken allergy, and possibly beef so he's off those foods for a couple of months. He's currently on a diet of rabbit and bison with organ meats thrown in. No more scratching, his dry patches are gone, fur is growing back and his skin is amazing soft, like a brand new dog.

Wouldn't hesitate to put another dog on a raw diet. As long as it's done right, all is good. We are still trying to find a good holistic vet, current one is sort of ok with it but keeps trying to push the hydrolyzed science diet for his allergies, and it's not happening.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old January 21st, 2015, 11:37 PM
totallyhip's Avatar
totallyhip totallyhip is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC CANADA
Posts: 550
We are huge believers in the raw diet too. Our first boy Luke had all sorts of issues before we decided to change his diet. Worked like a charm.

Good luck!! feel free to ask any questions there are lots of really helpful people on here. There are also some good raw feed groups on facebook.
__________________
Owned By:
Han Solo - Male Flashy Fawn Boxer (RESCUE)
Chewie - Male White Boxer (RESCUE)
Lovey - Female Fawn Boxer (RESCUE)
Anakin - Male Brindle Boxer (RESCUE)

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Mohandas Gandhi -

~Until there are none, rescue one ~

Boxer Rescue - www.rescueaboxer.com
Scentsy - www.ilovescents.ca
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old January 25th, 2015, 09:09 AM
MarianE MarianE is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 31
Hi Soulnate.
You can get most off what you need at a grocery store, except for green tripe, I would think. It is a pricey way to do it, though, imho. Sometimes contacting a butcher is helpful, especially if you are a regular customer to begin with. Some are willing to save scraps and cut offs for you and they usually don't charge much. Before I started buying quarters or half cows, I used to go get my order and come home with 3 times as much stuff for the dogs! But I have oodles of freezer space and that is a consideration. I do buy from the grocery store for sales. That's rare, though, because I am lucky enough to be able to grow small livestock and I know people who raise larger livestock. If you're not squeamish, you could see if you have any rabbit breeders in your area and see if they'd be willing to sell you their (butchered) culls. If your local grocery store has a butcher, you might be able to get turkey necks. I used to get 10 pound boxes of frozen turkey necks from the butcher at the local grocery store he'd order in for me.

I should say HI! I'm new here. I've been feeding raw food to my dogs for about 15 years now.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old March 10th, 2015, 08:10 PM
BellaBooBoo BellaBooBoo is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Surrey, BC
Posts: 6
Feeding raw

I've been feeding my dog raw food for 3 years now. She does amazing on raw food. To be honest I prefer to buy the already prepared raw foods made for pets. They already have everything you need including ground bone, and all vitamins and minerals. It is alot of work to make your own raw food and also most people do not have the capabilities to grind bone. I also do not trust butchers to make dog food. Companies that specifically make dog food put a lot of research into their ingredients and formulas. There are many good raw dog food brands on the market. I have used Primal, Natures Variety and most recently I am using Northwest Naturals. You can get nugget size pieces so it makes it really easy for portioning. Hope this helps!
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old March 15th, 2015, 09:26 PM
Dog Dancer's Avatar
Dog Dancer Dog Dancer is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 6,667
I've been feeding raw for a few years now also, and I don't think it's a lot of work. I don't grind my dogs food, I let them chew on the bones and chew up the chunks, it's what those teeth are designed for. It's only a lot of work if you make it a lot of work. As for trusting the companies who do the research and prepare the foods, well then we'd all still be feeding Purina and Beneful if the companies were so invested in our pets health. The companies cut corners and make money. I trust in the research that I do to make certain my dogs get a balanced diet, with variety and the right supplements. It's not hard once you've done your homework. Don't get me wrong, I do buy some pre-made raw, but that makes up maybe 25% of what they get. I buy venison, duck and lamb preground (with bone and veggies) because I don't have access to it as a rule. I buy all my other meats and organs from the butcher or on sale and I measure it out. Research is key. Many vets don't like raw diets because they don't know about them or because people just dive in and feed their dogs entirely wrong. So a pre-made diet to start may be a good jumping off point, but seriously they benefit so much more when they get to actually rip into their dinner! Just my opinion though.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:14 PM.