An Intro To Raw Feeding

[sashadog]

Can you give those amount in oz or cups. I really would like to get my puppies on this. Our male still has runny poo they are currently only Wellness puppy food. This raw diet sounds best though. With all the health issues a Boxer can have this sounds like the best choice.

[sashadog]

Another question, when it comes to chicken, what about their bones. We have been told for years and years that they are bad for the dogs because the splinter and with the raw diet what about fruits or vegetables.

[AussieGirl]

Originally Posted by sashadog

Can you give those amount in oz or cups. I really would like to get my puppies on this. Our male still has runny poo they are currently only Wellness puppy food. This raw diet sounds best though. With all the health issues a Boxer can have this sounds like the best choice.

Here is a link to a conversion calculator
http://www.convertunits.com/from/kg/to/lbs

RAW chicken bones are fine , I would avoid wings if fed by themselves as they can be a choking hazard but if attached to a quarter or whole bird they are usually fine. Cooked chicken bones can splinter so never feed them cooked. You can add vegies and fruits if you like but it is not needed. You DO have to make sure you include offal and bone as well as meat these three are the MUST HAVES, vegies and fruits are more if you want to. Some use the fruit and veg as treats so that is another option.
Keep the questions coming if you're unsure, there are a few raw feeders on the board who I am sure would be more than happy to share their knowledge and experiences, I'm happy to help any way I can.
If you do change over you will be so happy you did, I have strangers and friends (including those who have been involved or had Boxers for years) comment on our girls condition. Strangers on the beach often approach us and are amazed at the shine and condition of her coat.

[AussieGirl]

Should have added this to the last post, read the link I've added to this post, it covers the myth that raw bones splinter/are dangerous
http://rawfed.com/myths/bones.html

[leohall]

One thing that needs to be remembered is that dogs are not wolves and after 1000s of years of domestication you can not compare a domesticated dog and its needs to a wolf and its needs.

I do know of breeders who have used raw food with their dogs and some have had success but equally as many have had dietary issues. I think the same goes for breeders who use commercial foods, some have success and some have horror stories.

What it boils down to is this, there are good quality commercially available diets out there and not all of them will be suited to your dog but one will. Ideally, if you purchased your dog from a reputable breeder you will be able to obtain information on the diet they use and you should have success sticking to the same diet.

[AussieGirl]

Originally Posted by leohall

One thing that needs to be remembered is that dogs are not wolves and after 1000s of years of domestication you can not compare a domesticated dog and its needs to a wolf and its needs.

I do know of breeders who have used raw food with their dogs and some have had success but equally as many have had dietary issues. I think the same goes for breeders who use commercial foods, some have success and some have horror stories.

What it boils down to is this, there are good quality commercially available diets out there and not all of them will be suited to your dog but one will. Ideally, if you purchased your dog from a reputable breeder you will be able to obtain information on the diet they use and you should have success sticking to the same diet.

Respectfully disagree.
Yes we have domesticated dogs but this means we have tammed them, made them accustomed to home life it does not mean that we have changed the way that their bodies function. I will also admit that through breeding we have changed dogs BUT we have only changed their external appearance and temperament, NOT their internal anatomy and physiology.
The only truth in the claim that dogs cannot handle a raw diet because they have been domesticated for so long is that WE have made their systems run ineffectivley because we have been feeding them commercial diets for so long, a diet that is not species suitable.
The section below is taken from Myths About Raw
The result of feeding dogs a highly processed, grain-based food is a suppressed immune system and the underproduction of the enzymes necessary to thoroughly digest raw meaty bones (Lonsdale, T. 2001. Raw Meaty Bones). This does NOT mean, however, that the dog does not "have" those enzymes. Those enzymes are present, and once the dog is taken off the grain-based, plant matter-filled food those enzymes quickly return to the proper working level that allows for optimal digestion of raw meaty bones.

This next quote is from Robert K. Wayne, Ph.D., and his discussion on canine genetics (taken from www.fiu.edu/~milesk/Genetics.html).



"The domestic dog is an extremely close relative of the gray wolf, differing from it by at most 0.2% of mDNA sequence..."

That means that dogs and wolves share 99.8% of their mitochondrial DNA. Dogs and wolves can freely inbreed and produce fertile offspring. Dogs have been used in wolf studies as a physiological model for wolf body processes because they are so alike. So saying dogs are too different from wolves to need similar dietry requirements is just factually untrue.

I respectfully disagree with the following statement too.

Ideally, if you purchased your dog from a reputable breeder you will be able to obtain information on the diet they use and you should have success sticking to the same diet.

So many breeders out there are feeding Purina and Eukanuba crap it's not funny, while reputable breeders are on the most part good at breeding the foods that alot of them feed their dogs makes me want to throw up. Boxers are a breed that is prone to food allergies so why would a breeder feed them foods where corn (which is believed to be the cause of most dietry related allergies and issues) is the number one ingredient? The only reason I could see is that they KNOW NO BETTER, otherwise why would you put so much time and energy into showing, health testing, finding a suitable breeding partner, whelping etc and then just feed them food that is made from leftovers that is not fit for use in any other way. Also just because pups are from the same breeder doesn't mean they are all going to be exactly the same, need exactly the same things. So a commercial diet that may work for the Dam isn't necessarily going to work for all of her pups.
A veteran raw feeder once said to me: "You could live on MacDonalds everyday but you are not going to thrive on it, it is the same with commercial dog foods dogs can survive on it but they wont be thriving on it."

[whitedaisy]

Originally Posted by leohall

What it boils down to is this, there are good quality commercially available diets out there and not all of them will be suited to your dog but one will. Ideally, if you purchased your dog from a reputable breeder you will be able to obtain information on the diet they use and you should have success sticking to the same diet.

there are good quality kibbles, I don't think we would deny that at all. But they are not ideal for the dogs diet. If you ate at McDonalds every day you'd still live and function fine, but it's not best for you; it doesn't meet all your nutritional needs.
I actually know (of) several breeder that feed or recommend raw. Poppy's breeder was thrilled that I was switching her to raw.

By the way, I think kibble like we know it wasn't even made until like 1955 or something... what do you suppose dogs ate before then??

[daisy'smom]

OK I am going to start raw feeding soon. I don't have a freezer yet so I will have to shop more often for now. What should I buy to get started? Should I start "cold turkey" or should I raw feed one meal and do kibble the next? Do you usually feed inside or out? Do you just put whatever they are eating in their dog dish. (I know that is a dumb question but I figure that if you are giving them stuff that takes a while to eat the dogs will take it out of the dish and lay down to eat it). Any getting started help will be appreciated. Also what about the cost?

[whitedaisy]

Yay!!! We got another one!! LOL
Cold turkey is best. I feed inside on a rug - I wash the rug once a week. I put it in a bowl and it ends up on the rug. Usually you start with one thing, chicken, for 2 weeks to let them adjust. Just very important to make sure you have meat, bone, offal (liver,heart etc..)

I'm headed out now but will pop in later to talk more about it. Yippy, another raw feeder!!

[Ron]

after all is said and done, how does feeding RAW compare in cost to feeding a high quality kibble?