Newbie Raw Feeder HELP! - Page 1

 Hi - I need some help - we have a 4 month old GSD - Kai - we've just started giving him raw (on 7/31)- and were advised to feed chicken necks - 7 a day, along with mid day meal of Chicken Blends (1 cup) - He just seems so hungry - can I up it to 1/2 a chicken Once a day and necks at the last meal?  

Kai's granny

hi kai's granny,

how much does your pup weigh?
what is the chicken blend?

donna

 Thanks for your response - Kai is 30 pounds, the Chicken Blend is by a company called Bravo - it's a raw food company.

Hi:  I have read a lot about raw feeding;  at 30 pounds of body weight the puppy at 4 months probably should be getting at least 5 percent of his body weight in meat so l & l/2 pounds minimum.  You need to keep him extremely lean while growing and throughout his life so adjust accordingly.  If he seems really hungary I would drop the necks and go to leg quarters which have more meat and fat along with skin the help to satisfy him.  I think he should be able to handle leg quarters;  try to get young chicken, quarters that are smaller if possible.  Also I would fill him up with some yogart, cottage cheese and give him at least 2 eggs per week along with some meaty bones to chew and play with.  Be sure you watch him for a while after giving  the chicken quarters to make sure he doesn't choke.

I also learned about puppy feeding raw from Vom Lotta GSD's;  they have an excellent feeding table that they use as to what they give their puppies from birth through 15 months.  I found it very helpful.  And once he is used to the chicken;  start giving him some variety on a daily basis;  beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish (I steam the fish) for safety.  You can also use chicken wings, and all the innards with the whole chicken.  He should be getting plenty of mixed heart, liver and other meats like that but start in small amounts of all the organ meats;  I buy a blend of heart,liver, kidney, have the butcher grind it for me and given my adults l/4 pound of that 2 times per week.  You can also order organ meats from green tripe.com and have it shipped (i don't know where you live but they will ship everywhere I think).   Green tripe has lots of good digestive enzymes for the puppy.  I found it to be too costly for me to order and ship so I went with the butcher that grinds the heart mixture for me fresh then freeze it.  I usually get 15-20 pounds at a time.

Good luck, Ihope this helps and if I can be of any further assistance please pm me.  Nanci

 Nans-have you ever heard of problems feeding those thigh & leg bones?  I've been reluctant to do so after hearing of gut punctures resulting in peritonitis.

Skidoo,
My dog has been eating raw since he was 4 weeks old.  He was started on chicken wings at 4 weeks.  I currently feed him 2 1/2 to 3 lbs of raw a day.  I feed chicken quarters (which weigh about 1 1/2 lbs each), chop meat, liver, whole raw eggs in shell, yogurt and cottage cheese (4% fat, not low fat).  I will occasionally puree broccoli, carrots, kale and beans.  He currently weighs about 80 lbs and is solid muscle, ripped with no fat on him. 

My 11 year old female gets about 1 1/2 lbs a day of the same raw diet.  Raw bones do not splinter and I have never had a problem feeding this way.  If I get chickens on sale, I'll give the male 1/2 of a chicken cut down the middle. 

kai's Granny,

I do not bother with necks or backs as I get leg quarters for about 64 cents per lb.  There is no reason to feed necks or backs when I get the quarters at almost the same price.  I was feeding my male almost 4 lbs a day when he was a pup, around 7 to 8 months and he was still lean.  I was feeding twice and three times a day. 

The 3 to 5 % of body weight is a good average rule, but you must monitor the dog and adjust the ratio accordingly.  I would monitor the dogs body weight, energy level and stool every day.  Loose stools could mean too much food or even too much fat in the food.  As the dogs go through growth spurts they need more food, then you can cut it back.  I feed more in the winter as well.  I worked my dog everyday, so he burns a lot of calories.

FWIW,

Jim 

Thanks to all of you - for all your advice and help - tonight I gave him 1/2 of a chicken - since we just started Saturday night I wanted to stick to the "straight and narrow" of what I had been told to do - I've been sort of worried - but he's been doing so great on the raw I've been giving him - tummy is for the first time ever NORMAL!! But he inhaled that 1/2 chicken (I took away the frame - don't know if I should have) - like he'd been eating it his whole life.  I'm amazed and very happy - now I'll just keep hacking away at those birds!! Since he's doing so well with chicken - we'll try some other protein next week.  Keep your fingers crossed - he's growing so fast and has tree trunk legs!!

nice posts nans and slamdunc.

kai's granny - the pup can be eating anywhere from 1.5 to 3 lbs per day depending on his activity level and waistline/ribcage.  i would also go to leg quarters with occasional bone-in chicken breasts for more meat.  you don't want to give to much bone back to back.  and if you're buying chicken make sure it's "all natural" with no enhancements whenever possible (doesn't necessarily need to be organic either $$).

an easy way to feed is to get whole chickens, and either feed whole for a portion size and then take away, or cut into the 4 parts to feed (2 whole legs, 1 whole breast, and 1 back with neck and wings attached).  don't feed him small parts, like wings on their own, unless you are going to watch him like a hawk.  pups tend to swallow things that just don't quite fit down their throats.  the bigger the piece, the better for the pup.

chicken parts will fill him up more than the chicken blend.  i wouldn't necessarily try to fill him up on yogurt and cottage cheese at this age.  just feed him as much as he will eat, but just enough to keep him slim (when looking from over the top of the pup, you will see a defined waist).  

eggs are a great addition.  you can even smash the shell in with the rest of the food, many dogs will eat it, some pick them out, lol.  whenever possible, try to get pastured eggs as they are much more beneficial (and usually cost less that supermarket eggs).

and then you can start gradually adding organs.

troubleshoot - if your pup starts having loose poop or diarrhea, it could be one of the following reasons:

the skin on the chicken - too much, take some of it off
too much food in general - reduce the portion sizes
egg - too new, feed it with a boney meal

skidoo, it's possible but not likely.  in my experiences, i have never had that issue come up.  what you should worry more about is feeding too much bone back to back.  leg quarters typically don't have the back to back bone issue for larger dogs as say chicken backs.

Just for illustration, here is Pharaoh's first whole chicken pieces at eleven weeks.  I had been feeding him ground chicken.


These were also his first lessons about keeping his food on the place mat.

Michele

Skidoo:  no problems;  anything is possible but  I feed some ground meat in am with a scoop of yogurt (not too much yogurt maybe 1 heaping tablespoon) which think helps pass things through the intestional track.  I do monitor the stool of course and watch for any significant signs of trouble.  If mine have something that doesn't want to go through they usually bring it up so I don't worry.  For the most part all have done very well.  And it sounds like this puppy is thriving on the raw diet.  Love that.  Good luck all,  Nanci