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by hallix on 07 October 2009 - 00:10
Hi, I just had a few questions.
1, is there anything that you should or shouldn't feed more of in a raw diet with a pregnant bitch?
2, Should you have a larger percentage of organs or of regular meat?
3, what is the percentage for food to dogs? If what I've read is correct, my female should have 1.66lbs of food a day. She's 55lbs.
4, Does anyone know where I can get a reasonably priced scale to weigh the food?
Also, I'm curious what everyone else puts in besides meat. What kinds of vegetables and such do you use?
Thank you,
Haley
1, is there anything that you should or shouldn't feed more of in a raw diet with a pregnant bitch?
2, Should you have a larger percentage of organs or of regular meat?
3, what is the percentage for food to dogs? If what I've read is correct, my female should have 1.66lbs of food a day. She's 55lbs.
4, Does anyone know where I can get a reasonably priced scale to weigh the food?
Also, I'm curious what everyone else puts in besides meat. What kinds of vegetables and such do you use?
Thank you,
Haley
by gsd39mr on 07 October 2009 - 01:10
Haley,
I have been feeding raw for 7 years and never weighed food. One pound of food is about 2 cups (that's ground meat). I feed meaty bones (chicken or duck necks) in the morning and a ground mix with veggies at night. I would also do turkey necks but one of my dogs is allergic to turkey. I also mix in ground organ meat and tripe, salmon oil, and Olew. I always go by how the dog looks, too heavy-less food. My older dog gains weight easier and only gets about 4 chicken necks, the other (2 yrs old) gets about 8; some of the necks are bigger than others. My older dog (9 yrs old) is now spayed but she has had 3 litters. I didn't change anything until the last 2 weeks when I slightly increased her food. The last week I stopped the whole chicken necks and increased the organ meat. The big change is after whelping when the food volume really increases, especially if a large litter. With a litter of 9, I was feeding her 4 times a day. I start the puppies at 4 weeks with some ground chicken (no bones) and goats milk, at 5 weeks I start the chicken necks. Try not to over think it-you don't need to weigh out 1.6 lbs. The biggest mistake people make is not enough variety or meaty bones. Don't overlook tripe-one of the best things you can feed your dog. But it is VERY stinky and unpleasant to handle so people avoid it. My dogs eat tripe everyday, sometimes it's the only thing I feed them. They never have digestive system issues like diarrhea.
Jo Ann
I have been feeding raw for 7 years and never weighed food. One pound of food is about 2 cups (that's ground meat). I feed meaty bones (chicken or duck necks) in the morning and a ground mix with veggies at night. I would also do turkey necks but one of my dogs is allergic to turkey. I also mix in ground organ meat and tripe, salmon oil, and Olew. I always go by how the dog looks, too heavy-less food. My older dog gains weight easier and only gets about 4 chicken necks, the other (2 yrs old) gets about 8; some of the necks are bigger than others. My older dog (9 yrs old) is now spayed but she has had 3 litters. I didn't change anything until the last 2 weeks when I slightly increased her food. The last week I stopped the whole chicken necks and increased the organ meat. The big change is after whelping when the food volume really increases, especially if a large litter. With a litter of 9, I was feeding her 4 times a day. I start the puppies at 4 weeks with some ground chicken (no bones) and goats milk, at 5 weeks I start the chicken necks. Try not to over think it-you don't need to weigh out 1.6 lbs. The biggest mistake people make is not enough variety or meaty bones. Don't overlook tripe-one of the best things you can feed your dog. But it is VERY stinky and unpleasant to handle so people avoid it. My dogs eat tripe everyday, sometimes it's the only thing I feed them. They never have digestive system issues like diarrhea.
Jo Ann
by hallix on 07 October 2009 - 01:10
Jo Ann,
Thank you very much for replying. When you say 8 necks, do you mean you give them 8 each every morning? Just making sure.
Thank you,
Haley
by Mum of Zoe on 07 October 2009 - 12:10
Mine loves carrots, both cooked and raw (she'll eat them raw like she would a bone, om nom nom), sweet potatoes, chopped spinach (a GREAT source of vitamins!), yogurt and cottage cheese, eggs (raw, scrambled, hard-boiled), squash, peanut butter, etc.
I want to say that I've read somewhere that's it's bad to give a pregnant bitch too much Vitamin A, which is found in orange veggies like carrots and yams. I could be wrong though.
Anyways, it's better to give more meat than veggies anyway. 75/25 ratio. Offer your dog as much as she can eat in 20 minutes. A small meal in the morning is good, and a slightly larger one in the evening. High in protein and fat. Be choosy in your organ meats...some are better for your dog than others. Beef and chicken heart is an awesome protein, but beef kidneys and tripe are high in cholesterol. My girl loves chicken backs, which have all the good stuff on them--meat, fatty skin and bones. She'll eat two for dinner, and I'll give her a couple of necks if she's still hungry. Liver is very rich in Vitamin B12, so you should limit giving it to one ounce a couple times a week. Rotate your meats, so your dog can get all of the vitamins and other essentials without overdoing it on the bad stuff that a few have in them.
On a side note, hot dogs may seem like an easy and cheap source of protein, but beware! Those things are SUPER high in cholesterol! Just one hot dog has a 36% DV for a person's cholesterol intake! Yikes!
Just do a search on Nutrition Data www.nutritiondata.com/ like "Beef heart raw" and it will give you all the info you need on it.
I want to say that I've read somewhere that's it's bad to give a pregnant bitch too much Vitamin A, which is found in orange veggies like carrots and yams. I could be wrong though.
Anyways, it's better to give more meat than veggies anyway. 75/25 ratio. Offer your dog as much as she can eat in 20 minutes. A small meal in the morning is good, and a slightly larger one in the evening. High in protein and fat. Be choosy in your organ meats...some are better for your dog than others. Beef and chicken heart is an awesome protein, but beef kidneys and tripe are high in cholesterol. My girl loves chicken backs, which have all the good stuff on them--meat, fatty skin and bones. She'll eat two for dinner, and I'll give her a couple of necks if she's still hungry. Liver is very rich in Vitamin B12, so you should limit giving it to one ounce a couple times a week. Rotate your meats, so your dog can get all of the vitamins and other essentials without overdoing it on the bad stuff that a few have in them.
On a side note, hot dogs may seem like an easy and cheap source of protein, but beware! Those things are SUPER high in cholesterol! Just one hot dog has a 36% DV for a person's cholesterol intake! Yikes!
Just do a search on Nutrition Data www.nutritiondata.com/ like "Beef heart raw" and it will give you all the info you need on it.
by gsd39mr on 07 October 2009 - 17:10
Haley,
Yes, that is 8 chicken necks-but it depends on how big they are. I buy them in bulk and some are small or in pieces. Then I might give more pieces. Chicken backs are good but my dogs tended to get constipated with that much bone.(I even had to give my bitch a Fleets enema once when she was pregnant-not fun!). I use the freeze-dried carrotts (Olewo) because you only use a tablespoon. You just have to start somewhere and adjust as you go along-all dogs are different. I was so impressed by how vigorous and healthy my puppies were from birth compared to my breeder friends who feed kibble.
Jo Ann
Yes, that is 8 chicken necks-but it depends on how big they are. I buy them in bulk and some are small or in pieces. Then I might give more pieces. Chicken backs are good but my dogs tended to get constipated with that much bone.(I even had to give my bitch a Fleets enema once when she was pregnant-not fun!). I use the freeze-dried carrotts (Olewo) because you only use a tablespoon. You just have to start somewhere and adjust as you go along-all dogs are different. I was so impressed by how vigorous and healthy my puppies were from birth compared to my breeder friends who feed kibble.
Jo Ann
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