RAW RECIPES - Page 1

OK, We have had plenty of bashing and b+*ching on the board lately, how about a helpful thread.

Can anyone, or does anyone care to post recipes?  What are you feeding your dog and what supplements do you use?  how do you prepare the food?  some people grind meat up, others use whole pieces

I am always curious as to how people are feeding their dogs raw, and what the monthly expense is versus regular dry kibble.

Jennifer

oooo interesting topic. I have a couple of kibble fed dogs, and 2 raw fed dogs. I USED to feed raw to a couple of other dogs several years ago but switched to premium kibble as more became available etc and my time grew limited. But my two young dogs have done much better with raw so that's what we're doing these days. I used to feed BARF but now I'm kind of doing more prey model.

Currently I am laid up so someone else is feeding my dogs for me....but generally here's what they get.

I get whole fryer chickens and cut them in half (or quarter as the case may be) and put them in the bowl. That is generally their base meal about 3-4 days out of the week. I rotate protein sources depending on what I can find. Sometimes I give turkey or lamb or beef. I am yes well aware of the "threat" of feeding raw meat with bones, but my guys are not gulpers and we haven't had any problems "knock on wood". 1-2 times a week they get some fish added, and a couple of times a week they get organ meat. Sometimes they get eggs thrown in. I got a case of veal not long ago and they get that sometimes. I feed 2 X daily and in the evening meal they usually get some beef and whatever scrap stuff I have at the time. I don't usually feed veggie mush except for the ocassional piece of veggie they seem to like. I always add vetraceuticals (www.vetrapethealth.com  yes that is my page now, but I'm showing you ingredient list from that page) which has Omega 3's (fish oil) and also things like kelp and alfalfa, coenzyme Q10, spirulina,bromelain, etc etc etc, and is given on a rotating basis (which goes along with my thoughts on "balance over time"). with vetraceuticals it is 1 scoop a day. Some would say one doesn't need the added supplements, but my guys have done very well with them so we always add it. 

I basically have been just finding whatever I can find on sale that is not poisonous or anything and putting that in the bowl. I only switched these guys to raw about 2 months ago so I don't go TOO creative yet with them, but we're getting there. 

My other dogs are on kibble. 

I am a distributor for Oma's Pride and Healthy Pet Products.. i had to in order to afford to feed this way for 5+ dogs and puppies.. Also had several friends who wanted to feed this food but didn't want to have the hassle of the ordering etc....I feed twice a day, rmb's in the am.. duck or turkey necks, chicken backs and  rotate between all the meat mixes in the pm.. have a dog with lymphoma so he gets more beef than anything else.. I also give a fish meal (usually salmon) once a week and sometimes a beef mixture called Performance dog with tripe.. stinky as all get out but they sure love it!

I supplement with Oma's Advanced Mobility, salmon oil and an Omega complex gelcap (s) containing other good EFA's.. and a vitC/E cap... will sometimes use the Herb and Ocean Balancer (kelp/alfalfa, etc) as well... 

I also raise my puppies raw and they do super!!

I have spent years gathering sources for my dogs. I buy my necks and backs in 40lb boxes, at 15.00 a box. I go to private farms, and larger farms for ostrich, buffalo, red deer, beef, turkey, pig, etc. The tripe I get from a friend who has a beef "ranch".  I get all the veggies from local organic farmers. I only grind the veggies. I gather and grind all summer long, then freeze for the winter months. My major cost is the veggies, as organic are more expensive.

I use Rawdogranch.com as my guide for feeding raw. Each of my dogs has different % requirements based on their activity level, development and medical needs (I have a dog diagnosed with CRF 6 years ago).

All of the dogs get a varied diet according to their individual needs. It is time consuming the couple of days I work on preparing the meals for several months at a time. Everything is divided out, put into zip lock bags, labeled as to which dog, and put in the raw freezer.

I buy stewing chicken from the Hutterites. They are hormone/antibiotic free. They are also not has fat has fryers, look like Olympic runners :>), and cheaper too. A 50-60# case costs $20 to $24 a case. It usually gets delivered too, so save on gas. I get a freezer full of deer/elk trim in the fall from a local butcher that does game meat, free except an occasional 12 pack for the guys. Most of the meat looks like you could make hamburger or stew meat out of it, some is bloodshot. That is the base of the meals. I do grind the chicken, my preference. For other meat sources I buy occasional hamburger, pork, and beef liver (ad liver 2 -3 times a week). I add raw eggs 2 - 3 times a week also one per dog. I also add a couple times a week canned fish, either sardines or salmon. Usually salmon. Haven't found mackeral for awhile, but use to get that. I grind veggies/fruit, usually whatever I have around, like Romaine lettuce, green peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, etc. I also have used Sojo's Europa (dehydrated veggies). They also like canned french cut (?) green beans. I ad occasional dairy products like yogurt, cottage cheese. For supplements I have gone back to alphalfa/kelp mixture, 2 1000mg fish caps per dog per day. If I run out I don't panic. I also ad Ester C 500mg and 400 IU E a few times a week. I just bought some Glyco-Flex 3 for my old girls elbow too. It was suggested here, hope it helps. I sometimes do ad pasta, rice, or make a oatmeal like muffin. I know grain, but they love it and it doesn't seem to be causing any problems. For the last year+ I sometimes feed a little Orijen to my 3 and my sons dog is on it primarily. Been doing this (raw stuff) for 4+ years and the vets hate me, very rarely have to go in and then its usually for rabies shot or xrays...

For me it's raw meat, bone and organs supplemented ONLY with salmon oil. No veggies, fruits, dairy, etc.  The four dogs are extremely healthy and energetic now. 

Recipes are not required, so it's very easy.  There's no cooking, grinding or in any other way of manipulating the food.

I buy in bulk as well.  I buy turkey, beef heart and liver in bulk.  Chicken leg quarters are purchased from WalMart or I buy whole chickens in bulk.

Friends and family have provided old frozen foods and old game (venison mostly). 

At this point I honestly don't ever see going back to kibble as an option.  I don't see how providing a confirmed carvnivore anything but meat, bone and organs can be healthful at all. 

anyone care to tell me what tripe is?  I thought it was the stomache lining, but my boyfriend said it was waste.

Look here:  greentripe.com

From their About page:  " Tripe is the stomach of ruminating animals. These animals (i.e. cattle, buffalo, sheep, deer, goats, antelope, etc.) are classified as being four-footed, hooved, cud chewing mamals with a stomach that consists of four chambers."

I have been buying from www.excelk9diet.com/home.htm and www.darwinspet.com/ and greentripe/com for some time now. From Darwin and Excel I buy 1 pound sealed packages of frozen complete meals including ground bone. I buy chubbs of green tripe, muscle meat and ground bone from GreenTripe.com as well as cow gullets and tracheas. All of these things arrive on my doorstep frozen solid.

In addition, I buy whole chickens with gizzard packets and cut them into pieces saving the breast meat for the humans.

Supplements - Dancing Paws multi-vitamin and mineral chewables and Pet Guard Yeast and Garlic chewables. Also, I use Enzymatic Therapies acidophilus pears.

Kibble - Origen, TOTW, Wellness Core and Before Grain fish formulas soaked in water (1-1 ratio).

In a typical day, my 85 pound 9.5 month old pup eats two meals per day. In the AM he gets  two-three pieces of raw chicken, 1/2 pound of defrosted excel or Darwins or Green Tripe, his vitamins, yeast garlic and acidophilus (stuck into the ground food). In the evening he get 1 cup soaked kibble mixed with 1/2 pound of ground food.

Because the kibble is soaked and mixed with the ground raw it has a faster transit time through the digestive tract avoiding "traffic jams" and bacteria growth.

He is a big boy (26 inches tall) but he is well musceled and gets lots of excercise and is not fat. Some sport people would probably keep him a bit thinner but he is trim and ribs are easily felt.

He is a very lusty eater.

Michele and Pharaoh