? for raw feeders - Page 1

Do you feel it necessary to feed fruits & vegi's with the raw meat diet? 

And do you use any supplements like vitamins/mineral supplements or probiotics or fish cap's?

I have just started feeding raw after a lot of questions on this board and much research. I have found that yes you can feed veggies and fruit but verry little and only 1-2 times per week because most feel it is not needed but averyone seems to agree that is ok and will not harm your dog. Although I would advise you to do a search and you will find out which ones are ok to feed and which ones are not.

As far as supplements go many people supplement salmon oil or other qualty oil for the benefit of omega 3 which should always be given with 400iu of vitamin E. In the case of your dogs age and health you may also want to supplement glucosamine and chondroitin which you can search also. Those I feel are the main 3 supplements dogs benefit from the most but your question ask's  "do you use any supplements "  so you will get a ton of oppinions on that question but I feel giving to many supplements can possibly cause additional problems you don't need.

The problem with fruit is that it is sugar and feeds yeast. I feed it only very sparingly, or when my damn plum tree is dropping all over the yard. And I only feed veggies if I have them out and my dog pesters me for broccoli or carrots. Seem to be the only  ones they are interested in.

If your looking to supplement a raw diet with DHA Omega3, flaxseeds would be my choice above all. Flaxseeds have 145% DHA Omega3.

I don't have to supplement anymore, but if I had too, I would supplement with DHA Omega3 only if I see signs of itchy or dry skin. This is the first sign of being DHA deficient with too much Omega6. Think Omega3 reduces immflamation and Omega6 promotes immflamation. They need to be balanced.

Once you balance your Omega3 and 6's .. your dogs will be more healthy, alert, think more, over all more brainy and have better physical functioning. The results will be noticeable.

Although I would do some serious research regarding balancing Omega 3 and 6 because too much 6 will give a dog seizures.

JMO. Good luck.

 I supplement with gluco and chondroitin and a supplement called Canine Complete by the wholistic pet.  It is an excellent supplement to cover all bases.  I feed some veggies not alot.  I do not feed fruit.

I don't feed any fruits or veggies as part of their meals, but they tend to get some on their own anyhow :-) They usually get at least a few of the apples & plums that fall (summer/fall) or some of the cabbage & sugar beets left out for the deer(winter).
We do lots of fishing all year long, so the dogs get a huge variety of fish as a regular part of their diet. So I haven't had to add any oil supplement as of yet.
I also try to give them at least 3-5 different types of meat protein each week, in addition to the eggs & fish they get. I feel this gives them the balanced nutrition they need without supplementing.

So what do  you all feed in AM & PM.  Or do you feed PM only for meats??  I am trying to eliminate feeding raw meats in AM due to cleanup.  Maybe I am missing the boat but as for what I have read if you feed fish a couple times a week you should not need to supplement to any fish caps??  And most do not use any vegi's and fruits.  From what I have read about glousamine/condtroiton (forgive my spelling) it doesn't work.  And it doesn't work for humans either according to the study information I have read recently.??  This is why I question using it.  I also got the canine complete vit/min supplement in case I am missing anything as I am just getting started with raw and I have an almost l year old to raise so don't want her to be missing any vital things in her diet at this age.

And I also read by VM I believe which made a lot of sence to me is that the balance from feeding raw comes in time it is not necessarily a daily balance that they need. 

PS:  My 11.3 year old that I was worried about chewing up the bones,  well let me tell you she has no problems with the bones and she has also STOPPED limping completely and absolutely trucks on her walks of about 1 l/4 every other day.  I am so happy and my husband is elated as it is HIS GIRL. 

Thank you all this is very helpful.  I really hate to supplement.  Although some consider fruit/vegi's supplement also??  Not too sure about that.

Nans, you're welcome. Good for you for making the switch. FANTASTIC that the old girl feels so much better! That was my experience as well about 7 years ago. Also I recently got a 13 year old rescue, and he's turning 14 next month....of course I switched him instantly to raw, and he's one happy, healthy old dude!

I feed twice a day, maybe because I just like to do the togetherness thing with my dogs. Some people feed mass amounts like every three days; some people feed once a day. I think in fact the prey model, where you let them pig out once every few days, is the most beneficial, but they do get really gassy when they eat like that so it's best for kennel dogs! My girl once stole and completely ate a 13 lb turkey defrosting in the sink (well it was for her anyway!) but BOY was she putrid! 

PS. I cannot substantiate this statement, but I did hear that flax is not good for dogs.

Cottage cheese mixed with flaxseeds it prolly the most healthy dish as a supplement. They both work together. IMO.

Some of my breakfasts are a bowl of cottage cheese, bacon bits, celery, green peppers and flaxseeds.  lol