Raw feeding


Tikki

Active Member
Is there anyone who feeds their dog/s on the BARF or PREY diet? I do not mean dehydrated "raw" food but raw meat/bones/vegetables.

If so, do you add extra supplements to make sure that your furkid has sufficient, and did you study exactly what was necessary?
 

Tikki

Active Member
I guess not and that people prefer the ease of putting some kibble in a bowl or opening a can, rather than bother to worry about proper food for their dogs.

And then worry that their dog is overweight - which is why people who live on tale-away foods such as McD'd are.

Why of why do people get dogs but expect them to live on similar rubbish?
 

Karen

New Member
A lot of people don't understand that giving raw food is not going to kill their dog and it's not all their fault. Most traditional vets believe that and push the food they get money to sell. A lot of people also don't have the resources, time or freezer space to dedicate to feeding raw. I am in raw feeding groups on facebook and see a lot of people bashing pet owners for feeding kibble, I don't think it's anyone's business what people feed their pets as long as they are giving them a happy, healthy life. People who let their dogs get fat are another story. It is possible to feed the right quantity of a high quality kibble and see to it that their dogs get good exercise :) ... especially doxies who are so prone to back problems.
That being said... all my animals (3 Persian cats and 2 doxies) eat raw. I give a good variety of protein but add dog bloom and salmon oil to their ground beef meal. They also get some pumpkin, coconut oil and raw egg from time to time.
 

Tikki

Active Member
I do not "do" Facebook but even if I did I would never bash anyone for feeding kibble or tinned food. Unfortunately the majority of vets were never taught about diets and are pushed by companies to sell their food. My vets do not sell dog or cat food and my primary vet, the practice owner, was rather shocked when I learned about and started feeding my epi girl on raw. Raw? You mean raw chicken wings, backs and necks? Oh yea - bought fresh and frozen by me, and given straight from the freezer.

Actually all the raw meat, mainly poultry, is from my poulterers and I eat the same - only I cook mine!

My epi girl is no longer with me and my little Tikva, who was not even weaned when she came to me, once I had stopped bottle feeding her and weaned her, she went onto raw. Doxies have incredibly strong jaws once their teeth come in!

Freezer space? - so I bought a freezer for my epi girl as her food was taking up so much space in mine, but I do not have a dishwasher which so many people seem to think is a necessity, so I did have the space.

But just as I gave my epi girl supplements, so I give my little Tikva. Her first meal at ~10am is a frozen chicken wing or neck - her second meal around ~8pm is raw meat and vegetables - and her supplements to in that. She is very slim but a rock solid bone and muscle little girl, weighing ~ 6 kilos at 15½ months old. Due to my age and disability Tikki will be the last wubble to ever share my life, but for as long as she does she will be raw fed with supplements that I know help to give her what she needs.

I will not eat food with this that or the other added unknown supplement, so no way will I give such to my wubble.
 
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In reply to your second post:

My husband and I work in medical offices (a surgery suite and an immunology/allergy/asthma center). I don't have a lot of time to prep a fancy raw meal for our wiener, especially when she just goes and eats petrified cat turds in the back yard. We feed 90% dry, 10% wet, and have home made apple/bacon treats for training. She's got a sensitive stomach so anything else has resulted in colitis and $500 trips to the after hours ER for meds and a sub-q "water hump" (raw = vomiting. bones = colitis and vomiting. rawhides are STRICTLY BANNED due to severe colitis after 1. All wet food = diarrhea.). Not everyone's furbaby is the same.
She's very lean, healthy, and spry. She's 3 years old, 9.5lbs, super shiny, and her teeth and very clean.
 

Tikki

Active Member
I give up 10 seconds to take a frozen chicken wing from the freezer to give my puppy takes too much time? A few minutes to put some raw meat and vegetables for evening meal takes too much time?

This is not preparation for a fancy raw meal now YOU tell me that you spend such a short tiime to make food tor yourselfand your husband? Have you ever had to look after an epileptic dog: And no I did not work in medical offices, nor did I study to be a veterinarian. But I did study and and qualify as a doctor, so please do not imply that I do no know what I am talking about.

Oh am I glad that I am not your husband, or any of your furkids.

It is your prerogative if you cannot be bothered to raw feed. Just as it is my prerogative to do so.
 
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Karen

New Member
They need some variety and at least 2 organs. Mine get lean pork in the morning; chicken wing, fish or rabbit for lunch (they will go to 2 meals once Piper is 2) and a ground beef mix that has chicken, beef, liver, kidney, green tripe and their supplements. Buying in bulk to keep it cheaper takes time to weigh and portion. We did have to buy a freezer to put in the garage. I don't think that that is for everyone. But, i'll never go back!
 

Tikki

Active Member
I apologise for typos which I have now corrected. Might have missed some but hey ho that is how it goes. Raw feeding requires knowledge and yes, does take more time than just putting a measure of a vet supplied kibble in a bowl.

Working in "medical offices" does not mean that you know anything about what a dog does or does not need.
 

Tikki

Active Member
They need some variety and at least 2 organs. Mine get lean pork in the morning; chicken wing, fish or rabbit for lunch (they will go to 2 meals once Piper is 2) and a ground beef mix that has chicken, beef, liver, kidney, green tripe and their supplements. Buying in bulk to keep it cheaper takes time to weigh and portion. We did have to buy a freezer to put in the garage. I don't think that that is for everyone. But, i'll never go back!
A lot depends on whether you feed BARF [Bones And Raw Food] or the PREY diet, ie whole small animals. Skin and all. Tikva, once I had weaned her, has a frozen chicken wing or neck around 10am. I buy fresh, human quality, pack individually and she has it straight from the freezer. I cannot get pet quality food and definitely not a ground beef mix that has chicken, beef, liver, kidney, green tripe in it. I should be so lucky. I would love to be able to get green tripe but it is not available here. Turkey kidney and heart are things I will eat - in other words she and I eat the same things, but she has hers raw while I cook mine. Tik has meat and vegetables for her second meal - some sort of turkey gizzards or ox lung [very healthy] and turkey liver about once a week. Her evening meal is around 8pm and she has been on just two meals a day since she decided that was enough and her supplements are mixed in with that. I call it her wet meal as the meat, what it is, and vegetables, are defrosted before she has them.

I spent a long time learning about raw feeding for my epileptic dog, which taught me so much. Basically BARF is 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% offal, but I learned with my epi girl what suited her, and once weaned I started feeding Tikva the same way, just the amount suited to her weight as she is so much smalller. The easiest way was to buy some much smaller bowls so I did not have to weigh anything. If it looked right in the bowl then it was the right amount for her. And believe me, she is a very strong and happy little dog.

But as I have said, and will say again, it is the owner of any dog to feed them as they want and is what is convenient for them. All I will do is give advice as best I can, for those who want to feed their dogs raw. And which supplements they should have to make sure that they are not missing anything.

This is most important with cats. who cannot get Taurine from raw meat, which is why is is added to cat food.
 
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Tikki

Active Member
They need some variety and at least 2 organs. Mine get lean pork in the morning; chicken wing, fish or rabbit for lunch (they will go to 2 meals once Piper is 2) and a ground beef mix that has chicken, beef, liver, kidney, green tripe and their supplements. Buying in bulk to keep it cheaper takes time to weigh and portion. We did have to buy a freezer to put in the garage. I don't think that that is for everyone. But, i'll never go back!
A lot depends on whether you feed BARF [Bones And Raw Food] or the PREY diet, ie whole small animals. Skin and all. Tikva, once I had weaned her, has a frozen chicken wing or neck around 10am. I buy fresh, human quality, pack individually and she has it straight from the freezer. I cannot get pet quality food and definitely not a ground beef mix that has chicken, beef, liver, kidney, green tripe in it. I should be so lucky. I would love to be able to get green tripe but it is not available here. Turkey kidney and heart are things I will eat - in other words she and I eat the same things, but she has hers raw while I cook mine. Tik has meat and vegetables for her second meal - some sort of turkey gizzards or ox lung [very healthy] and turkey liver about once a week. Her evening meal is around 8pm and she has been on just two meals a day since she decided that was enough and her supplements are mixed in with that. I call it her wet meal as the meat, what it is, and vegetables, are defrosted before she has them.

I spent a long time learning about raw feeding for my epileptic dog, which taught me so much. Basically BARF is 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% offal, but I learned with my epi girl what suited her, and once weaned I started feeding Tikva the same way, just the amount suited to her weight as she is so much smalller. The easiest way was to buy some much smaller bowls so I did not have to weigh anything. If it looked right in the bowl then it was the right amount for her. And believe me, she is a very strong and happy little dog.

But as I have said, and will say again, it is the owner of any dog to feed them as they want and is what is convenient for them. All I will do is give advice as best I can, for those who want to feed their dogs raw. And which supplements they should have to make sure that they are not missing anything.

This is most important with cats. who cannot get Taurine from raw fiood, which is why is is added to cat food.
 

Tikki

Active Member
Oh dear - I am now not just making typos but doubling up on post. Oops. Bad me. I do have a minor excuse though having been bitten by a rat at 5am
 

Tikki

Active Member
I think there might be a bug in the system because some of my posts come up twice. Apologies for that.

Anyhow, after having learned about raw feeding for my epi girl, as suggested by another owner of an epi, the first time I offered my girl a raw chicken wing she sniffed it, licked it, and snatched it from me! And yes, I know she was on the couch [which has since been replaced] with it but she soon learned to eat it on a piece of oilcloth on the floor.

 

Tikki

Active Member
For anyone interested or who might need advice about any type of food, whether it is kibble, canned, wet, home-cooked or raw, also questions about supplements, there is a new sub-section "Feeding" in the "Dachshund Specific Chat" section.
 
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