Ready for raw

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Hi everyone!  I think I'm ready to take the plunge and start feeding my guys raw. My agility instructor highly recommends it. And I like to stay away from processed foods myself, so it kind of makes sense to do the same for them. 

My question : HOW do I know how much they should eat?  They are mini goldendoodles. Nimbus weighs about 24 lbs but should be a few lbs less,  and Sierra weighs 18 lbs. He is 2 and she's 11 months. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I started by using this calculator.

http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

Tara is a mini and weighs 20 pounds.  She eats about 5 ounces a day split into two meals. Plus she gets treats  when I groom her and at bedtime and I use kibble for training so she is getting other calories throughout the day too. If I cut all of that out I would have to increase the size of her meals.  Just saying, there are other things to be factored in. She did get chubby one winter and had to go on the infamous green bean diet (Food Group) and I cut back the amount of food and added green beans to it for filler.  So keep an eye on their weight especially during times with less activity or more activity. 

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Thank you, Ricki! That calculator might be a good tool.

[Shari Becker]

Are you going to make your own or buy the frozen pre-made kind? It's quite easy with the pre-made kind ... they give you suggested amounts. If you are making your own, I"m not sure I can help. I know my 40lb-er eats about a 1 lb a day of straight raw, or 2 patties of Stella and CHewy or Primal large. My vet says when the price feels to high, you can do half pre-made and half another substance ... like quinoa or cottage cheese... It's very expensive, I"m afraid, but my vet says our dog is one of the healthiest looking dogs she has in her practice....

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Thank you, Shari! I want to try to go with just pieces of the animal, just like wolves would eat, with some innards thrown in. My agility trainer said to start with chicken necks and then quarters of a Cornish game hen or something like that. She breeds papillons and weans them on raw. I just don't know how to tell how much they need?

[Corinn Laitre]

Congrats on joining the raw feeding community!  It's really not hard at all.  Most dogs should receive 2-3% of the body weight per day. 

(Dogs weight x .02 = lbs of food per day) 1 lbs = 16 oz.

Really active dogs will eat 3% while the average dog would eat 2-2.5%. 

Puppies will eat 5% of their current weight or 2-3% of their estimated adult weight. (But only while they're doing lots of growing they'll go through waves of eating more or less depending on their body's needs)

This seems like a lot of information lol but really it's as easy as - if too much rib starts to show you increase the amount fed, and if you stop being able to easily feel the last few ribs you decrease the amount :)  If they have a super active day feed them more and if they have a lazy day feed them less.

If their stool is getting loose you add more bone and when their stool is too hard you add more meat and organ.  It only has to balance out over a period of 2 weeks or so.  Just like us, variety is key.  Start with chicken parts until your dogs digestive system has adjusted and then add in other protein sources (such as beef, bison, venison, turkey, lamb, mackerel) here and there to ensure they're receiving the broadest spectrum of vitamins, enzymes and minerals :)

You have a lot of support here! Ask lots of questions :)

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Thank you so much, Corinn! Would you recommend weaning slowly or cold turkey. Do you add vegetables or fruit and how much?

[Corinn Laitre]

As far as weaning them off of kibble, you could go slow if they have sensitive stomachs or have shown major symptoms from switching foods in the past. A dog on raw food produces different "stomach juices" for digesting then a dog on kibble.  Some people feed half raw and half kibble (which is fine, I've seen it done successfully on many occasions) but the digestive tract never gets a chance to work at its full potential. Kibble takes longer to digest then raw, so there is a small inherent risk when feeding both that the raw food will be trapped in the digestive tract for too long with the kibble making them more susceptible to food born illnesses. The risk is fairly small though.

**Dogs digestive tracts are very short and highly acidic compared to ours which is why things like e. coli and salmonella are easily passed and secreted by their bodies without causing harm.  Both these bacteria can be found in regular dog food and is eliminated via their stool. That's why washing your hands after preparing their meal or picking up after them is important.**

Your biggest concern is making sure they learn to chew their food thoroughly. Many kibble eating dogs can be gulpers (the kibble pieces are small so they tend to skip chewing and just swallow).

When introducing them to parts with bones, start by offering them a relatively frozen chicken neck.  For the first few times you can hold one side of the neck while they eat to ensure they chew thoroughly before attempting to swallow.  I recommend not thawing it out completely at first because the harder texture encourages them to chew more. 

The general rule is to feed bigger pieces (the size of their head) to encourage them to chew off smaller pieces and supervision is always recommended.

To introduce them to the taste of raw and/or to switch over "cold turkey" you could purchase some quality premade raw food for their first few meals and then gradually introduce the REAL stuff (chicken backs, chicken necks, chicken breats and chicken hearts!!) ; )

If you feed a well balanced diet, which eventually includes different protein sources, then dogs don't need anything more but...

I personally give my boys vegetables and fruits as snacks because they love em': 

Green Bell Peppers, Peas, Cucumber, Carrots, Blueberries and Watermelon.

[Corinn Laitre]

Haha yikes! I didn't realize how long winded that was lol I've been feeding raw now for 3 years because it was the only diet that stopped my little bichon yorkie from having small seizures and vomiting daily. I swear by it!  Our Goldendoodle pup is on it now too, and he loves it!  Their teeth are super clean and white, their coats are soft with zero dry skin, and their stools are small and firm.... All of which are great!

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

The longer the better. Thank you!  This helps me getting it right. So if my dogs are 24 and 18 lbs what would be appropriate to feed them if I feed twice a day. As in how much of a chicken for example. It would really help me to see an approximate weekly meal plan. 

[M Kol]

We have tried a little raw with our mini doodle puppy, pre-made. She loves it.  However, she's still in training, and if anything it may have made her behavior a bit over the top, so we ended up barbecuing the remainder (please don't laugh).  Barbecuing it did seem to tame her down a bit (I know every dog is different).  She totally loved both ways of preparation.  However, she absolutely does love the real meat, although thankfully she is not choosy and will still go to the kibble.  We have noticed no problems with her digestion, mainly an increase in eagerness for her food, increased energy, and weight gain.