Raw Feeders - Treats? - Page 3

ZIN, I've gotten much info here and other places on the benefits of raw vs processed foods.  I just started raw so I will not pretend to be the expert but can tell you what changes I've seen in my own dog in the last two weeks.  The most noticable is his stool, much more compact and firm.  Secondly, he's always been a picky eater, leaving food in his bowl and not showing a healthy interest.  Now he's bugging me an hour before meal time and eats it up right away.  He also seems to have more energy, which right now is good and bad.  With all the snow we've had, it's hard to walk him because of the salt burning his paws.  Last week we hadn't had any fresh snow so I extended our walks to almost 2 hours.  When we got home I was exhausted, he still wanted to play, sigh... More snow yesterday and today and he's going bonkers so we're running around inside, playing tug and trying to play fetch without destroying furniture, LOL.  So far, those are the changes I've seen and I'd say that's major in just two short weeks.  He just seems happier all the way around.  As far as handling the food, well, it's actually easier than cooking for yourself.  He's eating chicken thighs, chicken backs, organ meat and 2 eggs/week.  I take it out of the fridge and put it in his bowl, done!

You don't have to cut up the raw food ?I have no problem with the extra time it might take I only want the best for healthy dog's.
How old is your dog and how did you break them in to a raw diet?
I live in Wi. so I hear you about winters. thanks for your input.
Do you just buy your food from a store or do you order anything?

I purchased my food from the grocer and the butcher.  I get chicken thighs on sale at the grocery store and buy the backs and organs from the butcher.  Green tripe, liver, kidney.  You give it to them whole, they chew it right up.  My boy just turned three and I was on the fence with raw for about six months.  I was giving him raw beef shanks and knuckles before but his main diet was kibble.  I just did it one day and no loose stool, no problems.  Any other time I changed dry food, there was always loose stool for a day or two, this was the easiest transition I've ever made.  The only thing I didn't like was the sound of the bones cruching but I've gotten used to that too.  Another thing I did notice...I wash his dish after meals and when he was eating kibble, it was always slimy.  I imagine it was saliva mixed with oils in the food.  With raw, his dish is no longer slimy, anybody else notice that?

Here's a link to a website that has a lot of info on feeding raw:
www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html

I use dried liver as a snack.  I can crack it to what ever size I wish and it doesn't spoil.  It is also quite stinky and my dog finds it wildly interesting.

You can make your own by slicing liver and using a dehydrator.  Or you can buy USDA dried beef liver from Doogiesnacks.com.  Yep, it is a plug but on the other hand I cannot find any American meat product as a snack and this stuff is good.  I wouldn't trust a commercial product unless it guarantees domestic meat.

GSDTRAVELS, I am on that fence but seem to be leaning over . I am getting so much info from everybody it has been great. Every person seems to give me a little different idea or angle I just keep enjoying all the info. I still have in my mind feeding my dogs raw and seeing them taking there food piece to the floor and knawing on it or using there paws as they stretch,snap,and shit flyes. LOL You tell me about a clean bowl but do they stay over there bowl and eat?

I also like all the ideas for treats but for me I don't want to be walking around with real food in a baggie. I also use treats when my puppies go potty outside in there spot and also when they come back into the house. So I have a bowl of treats at the back door. I use to give my puppies Bil Jack treats they are tiny little balls in a small milk container and they loved them. It would be a no-no to use a tiny treat like that for training or rewarding your dog?  

Visualizing and mentally prepairing for the change. I think it will happen

Drake has only once taken food to another room and I corrected him immediately.  All it took was "uh-uh, kitchen" and back he went.  He does crunch it in his bowl and some always ends up on the floor but not far from his dish.  If your dog/dogs are stubborn about this, I would suggest feeding in the crate or a room with a door.  I don't want blood and bacteria all over my house as I have young grandchilden who visit.  As long as it stays on a hard surfact, it's easy to wipe up.

As far as treats go, real food can sometimes actually be a benefit in more ways than one.  If it's a food that is prepared in a clean way, such as the roast mentioned, or even small pieces of liver (as long as it's something you can stand the taste of) you can actually keep some in your cheek and teach the dog to catch it when you spit it from your mouth.  It helps to keep focus as they're anticipating the spit and will look to your face!  The liver tends to get gooey and crumble so hot dogs, cooked roast or even left over steak,  works best in small peices.   Just another thing to think about.

I still haven't gotten to the store to get the knox gelatin, been busy with other things, but I plan to do it today.  Will let you know how they turn out.

We are waiting for direction from the master test kitchen!

Michele

OK. Get some organic BEEF LUNG from your local rancher. Cut them up and DRY them in your dehydrator.  MMMMMMM! Just the right texture...not too crispy, not too chewy.....

This is totally sickening. I'm a freaking vegetarian and I'm up to my neck in raw animal flesh every day! 

Vom Mar,

That's so funny!  I started cooking meat for my pup years ago when I was a veggie.  That was hard enough.  Now, I am doing raw for my dogs and every time I prep, I think how I really need to go back and do the veggie thing again for myself.  Sometimes, it is toooooo much.  But then, I look over at my dogs and see how much they loooooove what they are eating and it just becomes a happy moment.

Freemont.

BTW,  just because we do raw for our dogs I don't think means we have to keep it up in the land of snack rewards...  just sayin...

A rancher friend gave me 3 giant whole nasty black-green frozen tripes last year. I stuck them in my chest freezer because I wasn't really sure how to approach them without yakking. Then they were too big for me to get back OUT of the chest freezer. Well, yesterday I got my neighbor's husband to get one out for me, my girl being pregnant and all. So it's defrosting and I will have to do the coroner's Noxema moustache in order to hack it up. Think I'm going to use the axe. Anybody have any words of advice? If I had a table saw I'd have done it frozen (and then probably had to trash the saw), but I don't so I'm just going to have to deal. Help! They each weigh about 75 lbs.