Keep in Mind That Dogs Are Wolves Always Have Been and Always Will Be

Raw Feeding

Keep in mind that dogs are wolves—always have been and always will be.

Your puppy has been eating raw chicken, turkey, beef, organ meat and green tripe. This is an all natural, species specific diet designed by Mother Nature especially for dogs and puppies. We give them raw chicken with the bone. They also have been getting ground beef (with bone), ground organs, green tripe, chicken gizzards and heart. YUMMY! As their teeth come in and their jaws develop they will eat chicken quarters, pork roasts, pig necks, turkey legs, liver, venison, kidneys. Whatever is readily available is what my dogs eat. Just like the wolf. Variety, over time is the key to excellent nutrition and a long disease free life.

Starting with chicken is simplest, because the bones in chicken are really soft and edible. The general starting guideline is 2-3% of ideal adult weight per day. You can always adjust amounts when you need to, and feeding a bit less than needed is better on the tummies than feeding too much.

When they're puppies, their daily allotment should be split into several meals. So for an 8 week old, give him that amount split into three meals a day. As they get older, you can feed fewer meals. After 4 or so months, you can do it in two meals, and after 9 or so months, you can feed 1 meal a day. Keep an eye on his weight, and adjust the daily amount as needed to keep him lean. The 2-3% is just a start, you will adjust for your dog's energy level and needs.

No need to grind anything at all; all but the smallest and youngest dogs should be able to eat all the bones very quickly, as chicken bones are very soft. You can give him a head start the first few days, by cutting ribbons into the skin, but most healthy dogs should have no problem, and even those with some teeth removed can learn to eat raw.

After an adjustment period, you can add other meats. I like pork as a second meat, as it's a cheap red meat and easy to find, and it's got pretty soft bones too; all except the tiniest can eat at least some pork bones. Other good meats to look for are beef, goat, venison, lamb, veal, rabbit, turkey, duck, kangaroo, emu, pretty much anything, as long as it isn't enhanced with a saline or broth solution. Again, your upper limit will be 100mg of sodium per 4oz serving.

Your ultimate goal is going to be to feed lots and lots of meat (as much red meat as you can), a bit of edible bone, and eventually some organ. In numbers, that's about 80% meat (flesh, fat, skin, sinew, etc), 10% edible bone, and 10% organ, half of which is liver. Tongue and heart are fed as meat, not organ. Organs include liver, kidney, spleen, glands (sweetbreads), eyes, brains...

Edible bone firms up stool, organs loosen it. So does meat, to a lesser degree. Whole chickens have high bone content, but that's fine in the beginning, because newly raw fed dogs can have loose stools as a reaction to the switch, and the higher bone content can help keep it manageable. But eventually (meaning weeks or months down the road), you want to lower the amount of bone you'll feed. That's easy to do when you start adding red meat.

The bones you want to avoid feeding are bare naked bones (meaning those that aren't covered with meat), and the weight-bearing bones of large animals, such as beef, elk, moose, bison, elephant, okay you get the picture. Don't feed those bones that have to hold up a huge animal. Those will break the teeth of your pet, sooner or later. Some buzz-words to look out for-- and avoid--are soup bones, marrow bones, femur bones, knuckle bones, dog bones. Don't waste your money, and don't risk their teeth.

Once you're comfortable feeding chicken, and maybe one other meat, you can add organs. . Where to buy? Grocery stores, ethnic markets, wholesale meat markets, anywhere you buy for yourself, you can buy for them!

START SLOWLY. Liver is non-negotiable, but it need be only a small part of the diet, somewhere around 5%. But it provides nutrients that are not available in other parts of a prey animal, so it's an important 5%. Okay, so start small, like with a bite's worth of liver.

Some dogs adore liver and take to it immediately, while others are put off to its texture or taste. If you have a hesitant liver eater, try offering it frozen. Or dropping it "accidentally" on the floor. Or giving it as a treat for a difficult trick. You get the idea. Another option is to offer livers from different animals. Chicken liver, pork liver, and beef liver all taste very different and your dog might have a preference. As for other organs, feed a small amount of whatever organs you find. Variety is good, but don't spend an inordinate amount of energy searching.

Remember this is the healthiest way to feed your dog. Don’t let anybody tell you different. Sadly most vets know very little about nutrition. This is very evident by the low quality food they offer in their office. Feeding your dog processed food every meal is like feeding your kids Kraft Macaroni and Cheese breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m pretty sure none of us would do that! There's no right way to do it, as long as it works for you and your dog, Again, the beauty of raw is its flexibility, making it work for your dog and your family.

Please call me/email with any questions. I love to talk RAW.

Go to this chat group for great in-depth advice: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/