RAW food diet ideas - Page 1

hi i've a 5 month old working line shepherd i've been feeding him on beta dry mix but afew people have told me to try him on some raw meats and i was just wondering what would be best for him at his age

Depending on how big he is, you could feed him chicken necks, if he's smaller, chicken leg quarters, if he's above 35-40lbs. Give him some in the am, then at night you can purée raw vegetables, and mix in some ground beef. Make it so there's about 80% meat and 20% veg in his meal at night. Do some of your own research to find out how much you should feed, according to his size etc. good luck

I agree with Cullin.  In addition to the ground beef also add in beef liver, tripe, beef heart, raw egg with shell, yogurt and occasionally pureed vegetables.  You will need to add in organ meat as that is very important to the overall diet.  If you are concerned start with necks and chicken thighs with the bone, raw of course.  I would feed between 3 and 5% of body weight and watch his weight.  You will also need to monitor his stool, if it is too loose you are feeding too much or have too much fat in the diet.  If it is very solid then there is too much bone in the diet.  It takes a little experimentation to get it right.  I do not add any carbs and I use 80 / 20 ground beef but 70 / 30 is fine also.  IMO, the organ meat is more essential then the vegetables, but pureed spinach, kale and broccoli are high in calcium and vitamins.  I do drink a pureed vegetable "glowing green smoothie" every morning with spinach, kale, apple, pear, and lemon and will add some into the dog's morning meal.  The dog will only eat it if it is mixed in with his other food. 

My male is now 7 and has been on raw since he was 4 weeks old.  His diet now is chicken quarters about 1 1/2 lbs, ground beef, organ meat (about 10%), tripe, yogurt, cottage cheese, and 2 or 3 times a week a raw egg is added.  He is currently eating between 2 1/2 to 3 lbs a day.  Most days I feed 2 x a day.  On working days he gets about 1/2 lb a couple of hours before work and the rest after we are home.   I watch his condition and adjust the amount fed each day.  He is generally around 82 lbs of lean, solid muscle.  You can absolutely see his rib cage when he s working and breathing hard, you can easily run your fingers down his side and feel every rib.  Looking down on him you can see a waist line, the dog is kept in excellent condition and I do not like fat dogs, I like athletic dogs that are in shape and capable to perform.

And to add to the above posts;  VonLotta's website has some great ideas for menu's for a young puppy like yours to be assured you get his balance right.  They have a daily menu from 0-18 months old and great ideas for variety;  also you can read great informative stuff on Jane Anderson's website about prey model raw and actually she has been feeding raw for over 20 years with great luck.  Kind of takes the mistification out of the picture somewhat.  Also some great ideas for variety and balance and of course SOS has a great website on raw (Save our Shepherds).  Good luck  Nan

PS:  Slam it is hard to believe Boomer is 7;    Jesus time goes too fast.  Are you training your next dog?

Nan,
I can't believe it either!  Geez, time does fly.  I am starting to look for my next dog or two...  I'm going to talk to Jody again very soon to see what breeding she has coming up.  She may do a close repeat breeding to Boomer's litter and I want in on that.  I need to start soon, so I can have enough time to get him trained to try and fill Boomer's shoes (or pads.)

Yes Slam;  I was in the process of finding myself another service dog to work with my boy as it is much easier to train a puppy for me using a doggy model that has been already trained, kind of like training by watching another dog.  Works for me.  Well anyway my boy died before I could get another dog started, now I am without anything as I cannot find what I am looking for.  Have to completely start over.  Not as easy as it sounds as you probably well know.  The Baru von den Furstenbrunnen boy puppy I looked at was $7500.00.  About cra- - - - ; and of course could not afford to buy him but was everything I wanted in a puppy and handsome to boot;  much like his s/l father.  Oh well, like I said have had to start completely over and can't find or afford what I am looking for.  Good luck in the process of finding a new guy.  Nan

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your dog.  Good luck with your search, I hope you find exactly what you are looking for. 

Jim

thanks for all the comments feeding is going well and he loves the raw foods