How much raw food do you feed?

[Genta]

Hii, I’m think of switching to raw. Most likely I’ll be going with a prepared one. How much percentage to dog weight raw food do you usually feed your dogs? The brand’s instruction said 2-4%. My dog is a three year old male. His activity is not that high.

 

[Genta]

Plus I was just seeing the brand’s catalog. They have basic meals (80% muscle meat, 10-15% bone (according to meat source), 5-10% organ (according to meat source)) and those with blends (veg & fruits in small portion). Which one should I go for? I’ve read somewhere in this forum to not go for the veg and fruit.

 

[Gpcoguy]

I feed Rose OC raw dog. Its frozen raw patties. I never really got into recommended amounts or percentage of body weight. I just look at her. To thin feed more, too thick feed less

 

[strykerdobe]

Plus I was just seeing the brand’s catalog. They have basic meals (80% muscle meat, 10-15% bone (according to meat source), 5-10% organ (according to meat source)) and those with blends (veg & fruits in small portion). Which one should I go for? I’ve read somewhere in this forum to not go for the veg and fruit.

The Basic Raw diet which is usually called a Prey Diet. Just Meat, Bone and Organs. Dogs there is no nutritional need for Carbs. And for sure no nutritional need for Carbs in Cats.

We feed mostly a Prey Diet. But we do add Raw Goats Milk, Omega 3 Fish Oil (not all are created equal) Anchovy/Sardines, canned sardines (in water) 2x's a week, Alfalfa sprouts or Broccoli sprouts (sprouts from seeds which have lots of nutrients) from time to time, Bone Broth, Organic Raw eggs and crushed shell 3x's a week, Organic Blueberries 3x's a week, a Banana 2x's a week.

We also do a rotational raw diet with different meat proteins during the week.

All feeding recommendations on packages are just starting points. Most of the time for Raw they do list 2-4% a starting point. Each dog has different metabolisms and activity levels. Just need to look at your dog. This is a lab but the Ideal pics you want.



Also, if you want to make your own this is a very good book to start with.



How much of meat in your dogfood?

 

[Genta]

Thank you guys for answering! Will follow your advice

 

[Kaiser2016]

We do the same as @strykerdobe minus the broccoli and banana. I add in Vitamin C daily. Premade raw can come in different sizes, like a cylinder/chub form or patties. We get the patties which are typically a half pound each. Kaiser is pretty active, male, 6 yo and has been eating 2 to 3 lbs each day depending on the activity. Bare minimum is 2 lbs. But, he does snack a fair bit during the day as we tend to share our own food with him. If we have fruit or veg leftovers, I'll puree them and freeze them as ice cubes to add on to his meals.

I’ve read somewhere in this forum to not go for the veg and fruit.

I agree with this. I used to feed the premade version that included fruit and veg, but now I do not.

Another consideration is freezer/fridge space. Once you decide on a brand of food, see if they have bulk box options. That will be most cost effective. I get 25 lb boxes which are way cheaper for a big dog.

 

[Genta]

Another consideration is freezer/fridge space. Once you decide on a brand of food, see if they have bulk box options. That will be most cost effective. I get 25 lb boxes which are way cheaper for a big dog.

This is another reason for my reluctance with raw food. The brand that sells prepared raw only has small bags (the biggest only being 4.4lbs). But after learning the raw diet further, I realized the brands’s raw food is not that balance lacking varieties in organ meat. So I’ll be trying to make my own raw food next month probably. So scared tho

 

[Ukesox]

Feeding a balanced “raw” diet can be confusing for sure but a complete balanced raw diet is 80:10:10 (meat,offal:bone) Luna is 4 years old & not that active so is on the minimum recommended amount of 2%. For the past couple of years she’s remained a stable weight on 2% of body weight which works out at about 1.5lbs a day split over 2 meals (plus training rewards & a couple of small hide chews).
I buy various “complete” (balanced) mixes of chunks or mince in 1 kilo (2.2lbs) frozen blocks which does her 3 meals. Over the course of a week the meals I feed her are 50% Green tripe & 50% of either beef, duck, lamb or oily fish (meat,offal & ground bone).

 

[Genta]

Thank you @Ukesox. I was concerned whether I can afford a balance meal as I was aiming for a 1kg per day. I think it should be enough for dog then if your girl eats 1.5lbs.

 

[Ukesox]

Genta, pleased to be able to help as raw feeding for the first time can be a worry.
After a couple of months you’ll know if you’ve got the amount right. Luna would eat double that amount if I gave it to her but she looks great on what she gets. She’s been stable at 32kg now since she became an adult.
I only buy the smaller packs as it’s more convenient & we have a great supplier about 30 minutes drive away, but buying in bulk would definitely be cheaper.
Something to bare in mind is that though the recommended “complete“ raw diet is 80:10:10 (meat: offal: bone) this ratio doesn’t have to happen every meal. So long as it balances out over a few days that’s OK. Ready prepared complete mixes are more expensive but you can juggle things. Sometimes I feed a beef & tripe mix & then a beef & offal mix (over 2 days) that doesn’t contain bone, so she gets to chew on a raw beef bone to compensate. I think oily fish one day a week is really important. I feed a tripe & salmon mince mix but I read an article a while ago by someone who’d been feeding raw for years & she just threw her dog a big whole mackerel on the fish day. I havnt felt the need to add anything else in the way of supplements, fruit or veg, but she does occasionally get a raw egg thrown in (shell included). One of the cheaper options is chicken but I discovered that Luna doesn’t get on with it but she’s fine with duck.
If you haven’t considered it check out green tripe (beef or sheep). It’s usually quite cheap, especially in bulk, & is incredibly nutritious.

 

[Genta]

@Ukesox sorry I just go to reply to you now. I actually tried the raw diet last month and still continuing thus month. Everything seems great though my dog's stool is a bit loose (maybe because I was using another organ percentage). This month I'm trying the 80:10:10 percentage and this stool is looking better. I just get super anxious if my organ variety is little but I'm trying super simple this month only 5 orhan variety (tripe, liver, kidney, heart, lungs). Sadly tripes in my country is quite expensive, almost all cow products is expensive here:'. Thank you for your help and reply! I hope you and your girl have a good day!

 

[Ukesox]

No problem Genta & best wishes to you. I was in the same position as you 4 years ago (really apprehensive) as it was the first dog that I’d fed on a raw diet. Glad to hear it’s progressing well for you Though. Raw tripe (both cow & sheep) is the cheapest of all raw animal products here in the U.K. which, besides being super nutritious for dogs, helps a little to keep the cost down for me.
Looks to me that you’ve got plenty of variety there…simple is best

 

[Mojo Doberman]

The Basic Raw diet which is usually called a Prey Diet. Just Meat, Bone and Organs. Dogs there is no nutritional need for Carbs. And for sure no nutritional need for Carbs in Cats.

We feed mostly a Prey Diet. But we do add Raw Goats Milk, Omega 3 Fish Oil (not all are created equal) Anchovy/Sardines, canned sardines (in water) 2x's a week, Alfalfa sprouts or Broccoli sprouts (sprouts from seeds which have lots of nutrients) from time to time, Bone Broth, Organic Raw eggs and crushed shell 3x's a week, Organic Blueberries 3x's a week, a Banana 2x's a week.

We also do a rotational raw diet with different meat proteins during the week.

All feeding recommendations on packages are just starting points. Most of the time for Raw they do list 2-4% a starting point. Each dog has different metabolisms and activity levels. Just need to look at your dog. This is a lab but the Ideal pics you want.

View attachment 130262

Also, if you want to make your own this is a very good book to start with.
View attachment 130263


How much of meat in your dogfood?

What fish oil do you recommen.? I purchased some from Amazon, but I am not sure if it working. Certainly not as well as the sardines

 

[strykerdobe]

We have been giving Iceland Pure for years now. We give the Sardine/Anchovy one. They do have others. Amazon has it. Can check chewy or other sites.

Home - Iceland Pure

At Iceland Pure we believe that omega oils are essential to keep your pets in good health. We are committed on delivering the world's safest, most effective omega fish oils for our furry friends never in a plastic bottle. We bottled only what we need to deliver in a weeks time, by doing so we...

icelandpure.com