Feeding a Raw diet

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polly101

Member
Sep 25, 2009
374
2
18
Shropshire
Hi,

After reading an article about dog food, I am thinking of swapping my two dogs on to a raw diet.

But looking on internet it seems to me that if i was to buy complete pre packaged raw meals it was cost me about £8 a day! I would rather do this than make my own dog food, as one i dont think i would have time and two i would like to know that i was feeding my dogs correctly.

Does any one feed that dogs a raw diet, if so would you mind sharing what you feed, would you recommend any companies ie natures menu or similar?

many thanks

Oh by the way the hounds are 1 lurcher who struggles to keep weight on and one hyperactive greyhound ha.
x
 
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I don't feed my dog raw - she gets kibble, but I did try with my cat. I gave up because I was not organised enough ie food was still frozen because I had forgotten to get it out of the freezer! It also takes up a fair bit of space in the freezer, so that's something to bear in mind too, but if it fits in with your lifestyle I definitely think it is good for them.
 
Some butchers and pet shops sell cheap fresh meat. Variety is good: too much of anything (bones, liver, etc) will not be balanced. Watch out for chicken as too much raw chicken carries a risk of something or other I don't remember what.

The biggest shock for me on a raw diet is how little they need. Fed twice a day, my hard running English Springer would need just three fist sized chunks of meat to keep her in trim. Not a lot!
 
I have a Great Dane cross ( think 70kgs of tall labrador ) who came as a stray with skin, ear & tummy problems. Vets diagnosed low thyroid & he is on 4 tabs a day. This helped , but he was never right - same probs bubbled up - just a bit less severe for 5.5 years. Lovely alternative Vet covering practice at W/e suggested raw diet after we took him is passing bloody stools.

That was 18 months ago & we have never looked back. Skin, ears & coat - no more probs. Tummy flairs only when he gets too much carb/sugar (nicks toast off table). Most tinned food & kibble is packed with carbs! He is a lovely happy bouncy responsive healthy dog.

We get mince remains from our local butcher & vary it frozen packets of tripe, rabbit, lamb, etc from "pets are us". He has chicken & lamb bones. Eats about 1.2kg meat & some bones a day. We are gradually moving on to meat chunks - he wouldn't eat lumpy bits to start with! I would never hesitate to put a new dog on this diet. They just don't need the volume, just the right nosh. Oh & his persistant limp ( vets could not fix) cleared up in weeks!!!
 
I think it depends on the animal really needing a special diet? Just like humans really. Ive read all the information and articles on how bad dog food is but my old boy is 14 this year and you could easily take years of that, Hes not been sick or sorry a day in his life and is regular as clockwork! He gets fed what is on offer at the supermarket or the cheapest there, along with table scraps after dinner. He has also won in local dog shows classes for best condition and shiniest coat !

If there was a problem with him I would of fed him accordingly, like you do with any animal

If its not broken dont fix it :giggle:
 
I get a bit irate about sensationalist journalism - these articles only tell half a story! Have read articles recently in a Permaculture magazine and in the Daily Mail. Both about "how pet food is killing your dog" kind of stuff. This is simply hogwash, and is irresponsible worrying folk. I agree with Jane - a bit of moderation in everything.

There can be some issues with raw feeding too. Vets deal with issues caused by bone splinters, digestive blockages and the rest when people feed raw carcasses. This method of feeding is not cheap either. Some canines can cope with it, many can't. We have bred animals away from natural feeding over the last 50-60 years.

Cheap dog food is stuffed full of poor quality grain, fillers and water - pretty much like cheap human ready made food. It's NOT filled with diseased meat, floor sweeping, etc..That's just scaremongering and simply untrue. While you can't rule out the possibility that some producers are cutting corners, what folk should REALLY be told is the facts regarding legislation for pet feed, namely:

"The material of animal origin used by the pet food industry comprises those parts of animals which are either deemed surplus to human consumption or are not normally consumed by people in the UK, and derived from animals inspected and passed as fit for human consumption prior to slaughter. This rating requires that the material be free of any transmissible disease, which therefore excludes material from dying, diseased or disabled animals." End of.

I reckon people have enough to worry about in the current climate without being scared about what they feed their pets! We personally steer clear of tinned food. Buy a decent quality dry feed and I don't think you go too far wrong. Some animal management actions we take for our own human convenience - such as handiness of storage, ease of transportation, consistency of digestion and processing. I much prefer picking up well-formed, properly digested stools to whatever comes out of dog eating raw food. Not to mention the chucking up I suspect you sometimes get with this form of diet. Not getting at anyone who chooses the raw food option - it's just not for me....

I really object to 'sensationalist' journalism - can't you tell? Wet, windy and miserable here. I have not much work to do - hence having time to rant about this kind of 'half the story article'.......!

Do what suits you, and do what suits your dog.
 
Thanks for the replies, Interesting.

Yes it was the article in the daily mail that got me thinking lol!

I think it will work out a it too expensive for my two and time consuming, and I would worry I wouldnt be giving them a balanced enough diet as different meat contains different requirements etc.

There currently on csj with a tiny bit of natures diet mixed in, seem to do well on this.
 
totally agree Selside !!

Ah the Daily Mail ! says it all lol Polly

Ive never fed any of my animals 'posh stuff' My first horse lived till he was mid 30's ( still ridden till he was 31!) My old cat Tinks, she lived to be 22, the only difference when she had all her teeth removed in her late teens she had mashed fresh chicken mixed in her with tinned grub to aid her appetite.

If anyone scoffs at me or thinks I am cruel for buying 'tescos own pet food' or what not, I would like them to show me the evidence in my animals of any cruelty lol :wink: Non of them are obese either, My old boy is fit, glossy with great teeth and very active ( a bit deaf nowadays!)
 
Did you watch that program last night on what goes into dog foods. I feed mine on a raw dog food. Both my two dogs, have issues.
My terrier cross came to us with terrible problems. Belonged to a relative who unfortunately passed away and we are next of kin. Licking her bottom and scratching her ears continuously. It drove them insane. She was on a plain biscuit. Had been to the vets on several occasions and no cure. Since we had her shes been on steroids, wormed, creams etc. We've changed the protein base on the biscuit as well. She now wears a bonnet 24/7. Which seems really cruel, but its been the only way to stop her licking her bottom, and scratching her ears. Although she now has a new trick of rubbing her bottom along the floor to alleviate the itching but its less damaging than licking. A friend of mine feeds raw dog food to theres and he looks great on it. Anyway swapped mine on to it sometime ago, initially her issues seemed to ease but now sees broken down again badly and her issues have spread to her back foot as well, which in spite the bonnet she can still reach to chew.

My collie used to be on biscuits but she developed stomach issues, and would go off her food completely and cough and was even sick or had upset tum. Vet recommend trying her on a different protein biscuit, but the ones they recommended she wouldn't eat. Anyway we found a fish based one. Her stomach does seem to be more settled. But she doesn't always want to eat it plain so im now mixing in some raw dog food. Her coat looks healthier for it. And people have commented that she has put on more weight. She was very underweight.

Yes it can be expensive but I have lots of chest freezers so I buy bulk which gives me free delivery. The one I buy comes frozen.
 
Yes I did watch that, Theres risks attached to feeding raw also, some I didnt realise such as pets carrying salmonella in their coats! ( I Cant have that with small child in the house!) or bone fragments become lodged/built up in their tummys.

Whatever works best for your animals I guess! If mine looked poor, or were sick I would change/feed accordingly. I certainly wouldnt be influenced by TV adverts or the horror stories in the papers I prefer to work with what I see in front of me, They both have good stomachsand a good variety.. including bones from Sunday roasts etc! a:)

I was quite alarmed to see some of the raw food being fed on the TV as chicken legs etc, Ive always avoided bird bones for dogs, believing they can splinter easily and become lodged and piercing tissue within.???:unsure:
 
As with all things, a bit of moderation and commonsense is needed. It would be somewhat dangerous to suddenly and completely change a dog's diet (or a cat's for that matter). I am a Small Animal and Equine healer and have studied nutrition quite extensively. Yes a raw food diet is the closest to what the animal would have eaten in the wild, but there is no point in people feeling guilty because they buy commercial pet food. You can always improve an animal's diet by adding some fresh (or cooked) food. A tin of sardines is a cheap "superfood" for cats and dogs. The addition of vegetables to the animal's diet is very beneficial, as are eggs, yogurt and some brown rice.

One more thing - vets will often "prescribe" a particular proprietary brand of dog or cat food. Don't be fooled! They are not impartial, as they are usually tied in to lucrative deals with pet food companies.
 
After a bit of research im going to stick with the food there on now! with the addition of the occasional egg, a sardines as a treat ha.

As Gimp says, if its not broken dont fix it ha
 
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