Right!! I'm going to do raw

[AustinsMumma]

Indeed. He's had calcium once.
Oh, and he had a full egg today, shell included

He hates sardines & mackerel So they are out
Can't wait to start chicken wings next week!

[wobble.gob]

My Ozzy is 8 months old, and I can tell he is getting bored of his meals (he is currently on Naturesdiet). From reading yourposts and notic ing Austin is around the same age, it really has made me tempted to feed Ozzy a raw diet.

Where do you get Austins food from? I am swaying towards Nutriment as it has everything in it (meat, bones and veg).

The supermarket
So far he's only had raw egg, raw beef mince, chicken and kidney
He has about 2 handfuls per meal with veg thrown in now and then
Also vit e, calcium (as he's not on bones yet) and fish oils (but not every meal)

I am going to get a few natures menu bits and bobs (such as treats) too for healthy variety
I don't really want to go down the packaged pre-made route though

I can imagine eating the same stuff every single meal twice every single day can get a bit dull. God knows Austin never used to eat some days!
I don't have to wash his bowl now lol! He nibbles it clean

Going to work up to heart and chicken wings next week. Can't wait!!

J x

Hahaha I don't know why I didn't realise you got the meat from the supermarket haha!!

I think I'm going to take the plunge and try Ozzy of the raw diet, and I am swaying towards Natural Instinct http://www.naturalinstinct.com/all-dog-food/ purely because I will find it easier because everything he will need is in the packet.

I understand it should be a gradual process of changing his food - how do I go about doing this? Do I mix it with his current food or do I wait a certain amount of time before I start him on it, and only feed him a small amount?!

He is 20kg, so should I feed him about 400-600g a day?

Sorry for all the questions!!

Debs & Ozzy

[AustinsMumma]

I'm not an expert, just started this myself
I'm sure someone who has been doing it longer can help more than me
Looking on the nature diet website this morning, it said a 20kg dog should have 875g of their food a day?
So not too sure. Maybe your company has a similar guide?

One good piece of advice I have been given on here was not to mix kibble and raw foods together as the kibble digests at a slower rate 'holding up' the raw food, thus giving bacteria more of a chance

With Auz I just more or less switched. No adverse reactions yet. Tbh he wasn't eating his kibble anyway, so....

Good luck!
J xx

[wobble.gob]

Thank you, I'm going to give it a go as I want the best for him and I want him to enjoy his food.

Goodluck with Austin, although by the sounds of it - he is enjoying it so much already!

Debs & Ozzy xxx

[My2Girls]

My 10kg Lucy is on 250g a day while Sally (24kg) is on 600g a day. It works out at 2.5% of their body weight but I suppose it depends on what you're feeding them.

I buy the mince already prepared and if they're having a chicken wing (twice a week) I deduct that weight from the weights above. They have an egg on a Sunday! Such spoilt dogs As I've said previously - if I weighed my own food out so religiously I'd be a size zero

They don't even go out first thing of a morning for their wee - they sit and wait by the freezer as they know what's coming. They don't lift their heads from the bowl and they've NEVER turned their nose up at any of the raw they've been fed. Plus Sally has calmed down an awful lot and their coats are lovely

[AustinsMumma]

My 10kg Lucy is on 250g a day while Sally (24kg) is on 600g a day. It works out at 2.5% of their body weight but I suppose it depends on what you're feeding them.

I buy the mince already prepared and if they're having a chicken wing (twice a week) I deduct that weight from the weights above. They have an egg on a Sunday! Such spoilt dogs As I've said previously - if I weighed my own food out so religiously I'd be a size zero

They don't even go out first thing of a morning for their wee - they sit and wait by the freezer as they know what's coming. They don't lift their heads from the bowl and they've NEVER turned their nose up at any of the raw they've been fed. Plus Sally has calmed down an awful lot and their coats are lovely

This is good to know Clare. I can't wait for Auz to reap the benefits of all my money
I'm going to weigh out my 'guesstimation' of Auz's dinner this evening to see if I am on target for 600gms a day

A question for seasoned raw feeders... are wings the only done thing, or can I give drumsticks and thighs etc?

J x

[Liz!!]

One good piece of advice I have been given on here was not to mix kibble and raw foods together as the kibble digests at a slower rate 'holding up' the raw food, thus giving bacteria more of a chance
J xx

Eeek, who was that?
We have loads of Orijen left for the cat and the dog, but i have just ordered a load of raw food for them.... from Nature's menu. I was going to do half and half..

[Liz!!]

Ok, phoned them up, they said with a cat it's fine, they eat raw often by catching stuff and loads of people use it as a top up on kibble.

With the dog it's also fine as the strength of the stomach acid will kill bacteria most anyway. However, we can give cooked pouch in the morning with kibble and raw in the evening - and she has cooked Nature's Menu in the morning with kibble anyway.

[Bid]

Re the amount question, the 2-3% applied to adult dogs, and will vary depending on the dog and the amount of exercise it gets. My Daisy gets 2 hours walk a day but inbetween she sleeps. She has a littel under 2% of her body weight - any more and she piles the weight on.

Puppies need up to10% of their bodyweight as they are doing a lot of growing. Obviously as their weight slows they need less food.

Do pay attention to the wise words of Frosty - she is the raw food guru and knows what she is talking about! The balance of calcium is so important with growing pups!

If you are on Facebook, have a look at the group "A Raw Start Explained". Not only do they have a great acronym, but they have been set up specifically to help people who are new to raw feeding, and have some excellent files all about it, plus a holistic raw feeding vet on hand to answer any questions they don't feel qualified to answer.

[AustinsMumma]

Just an update:
Auz is doing great on this diet
He's bright, alert, begging for his dinners and his poos are lovely and firm (sorry)
I was worried about a runny bum, but he's taken to it like a duck to water
Me too!

I find it so easy, like feeding my child really!
In the process I have found out he loves all types of veg, meat and offal, but doesn't like apples

J xx

[Helen & Rigby]

Aren't they funny! Rig is apple mad, and pear and banana! He loves peas and green beans, but doesn't like carrot!

[AustinsMumma]

Auz used to like bananas... now he doesn't
My old dog used to eat carrots like bones. Auz nibbles it then looks at it in disgust
Fickle buggers

Someone mentioned on her about no 'trumps' on a raw diet
Austin likes to trump Cabbagey ones lol

[Liz!!]

If you are on Facebook, have a look at the group "A Raw Start Explained". Not only do they have a great acronym, but they have been set up specifically to help people who are new to raw feeding, and have some excellent files all about it, plus a holistic raw feeding vet on hand to answer any questions they don't feel qualified to answer.

Well, i joined, and asked my question, and got a repeat of the info already given - not a great start, I'm hoping that it isn't the case that if you aren't going to do all raw they aren't going to talk to you!

The reason given (on the site, and to me, twice!) for not mixing kibble and raw is that the kibble slows down digestion and changes the PH of the stomach acid - the kibble takes a long time to digest and slows down the digestion of the raw and because the stomach acid isn't as acidic it cannot kill the bacteria effectively in the raw meat.

They say the acid takes 12 hours to recover, and the kibble hours to be digested.

My question has been, and I'm genuinely interested in the answer, is whether it's ok to have one kibble and cooked meat meal in the evening (at about 6pm) and one raw meal at 9-10 am. That leaves 15 -16 hours between the meals and the stomach acid should be fine.

[wobble.gob]

cabbagey trumps, that did make me laugh!!

I'm glad Austin is enjoying it so much, it really has convinced me to start feed Ozzy raw, I just hope he takes to it as easy as Austin has

Debs & Ozzy xx

[AustinsMumma]

cabbagey trumps, that did make me laugh!!

I'm glad Austin is enjoying it so much, it really has convinced me to start feed Ozzy raw, I just hope he takes to it as easy as Austin has

Debs & Ozzy xx

He should do! Auz is so enthusiastic these days
This from a dog who would eat once every 2 days if forced! Now he BEGS for food

I was getting a bit worried about him. Now I know,... he just doesn't like kibble!!

He will eat anything but it!
Says something??