Raw Meat - Do You Feed it to Your Dog? - Page 3

Ha! that was a good one, Ill have to ask my girl if she really wants me for lunch.

I do have a question though. My new puppy is being weaned on kibble and I want to switch her to raw when I get her. What is the best way of doing that for an 8 week old puppy? Also what amount and how many times do you feed an 8 week old puppy raw? tiffae89

i think with young pups the most important thing to teach them is how to chew and to trust you. so i would start with giving her a whole chicken leg and allow her to eat it away from the other dogs so there is no threat.  this way she can learn to eat in a relaxed manner.  i would recommend that you feed her in a quiet place and that you sit right next to her, pet her or just rest your hand on her while you talk to her so she'll learn that you are not a threat to her food. 

once she's very comfortable with you sitting next to her and she's happily chewing then i would walk around her, step over her, etc. to get her comfortable/teach her that you movement around her is not a threat to her food. feed her 3x/ day and feed her whatever she'll eat, feeding cuts too large for her to finish is just fine just pick them up when she's stops eating.  this is an intense learning time.

after she's confident there's plenty of food and you are not a threat to her i would start picking her food up while she's still eating, prehaps toss her a bit of goat cheese (because it's got a nice strong smell:) praise her, pat her and return her food to her.  once this relationship is solid and she's an expert chewer than i would begin to make sure she is not getting too much food but give her a chance to regulate her own food intake first - for most dogs (when given the opportunity) this "skill" will develop naturally if allowed.  but if after a week or so it seems she can't then you'll have to intervene and regulate the quantity.  but for the first few days to a week imo it's more important that she learn how to chew and be comfortable with you & learn to trust you than being strict on the quantity.

regarding quantity: the basic rule of thumb is 10% of the pup's weight until that number equals 2-3% of adult weight (this % for adult dogs is dependent on the individual metabolism rate & activity level). so at 8 wks generally it's about 1 to 1 1/2 lb. divided between 3 meals, so approx 1/3 - 1/2 lb. per meal, just be sure to give her pieces large enough to require chewing and tearing so she can learn to not gulp or inhale her food.

one other thing we switched our pup from 3 meals to 2 at about 12 weeks, which i believe is rather young for kibble fed pups, but we've found that with raw, when it's not ground up, takes more time to eat and the pups seems to stay satisfied longer - anyway it works great for our pup.

hth,
susan

That is as silly as thinking that I will be uncontrollably compelled to chase cows or sheep.  

My dogs have eaten MANY whole chickens, and while they are extremely curious, they have never taken the necessary steps despite a well developed prey drive to kill and eat the birds that I have kept in a vacant kennel run just 15 feet from their own accomodations.

If I gave them an opportunity, they would certainly come to enjoy hunting, killing, and eating chickens (or other small animals), and become a nuisance.

I suppose this mythology is linked to the general impression of an animal tearing into fresh bloody meat as a vicious and primal killer, but is nothing short of foolish.

I suppose since I have rather a developed taste for both steak tartare and raw shellfish, I am a menace to both land and sea creatures, and likely to chase down your goldfish if left unsupervised.

It is a pretty easy transition, and your pup can certainly handle chicken wings and drumsticks from the beginning.
The big issues with transition are for a dog that has been eating several cups of cereal based kibble per day switching to PURE food which is far richer, and lacks the constipating effects of all that starch. I have switched adult dogs abruptly from kibble to meat without incident, though I would go easy with pups since their health can deteriorate rapidly with any upset.
You can, however, cut his kibble in half the first day, and replace it with about half as much meat. I prefer whole meats with bones as they will do their chewing and eat more slowly. As I said, wings are perfect puppy food. They are easy to chew, but have plenty of bone, skin, and connective tissue, all very healthy. Good luck, Jonah