Raw taking the plunge
Well I decided to go raw and took the plunge, I first started out with the premade raw, but like most individuals my pocket-book did not like that approach so I had to do more research. From what I discovered there are numerous groups of raw feeders. The big two on the block, are the whole Prey model, BARF, there are of course a few other subsets. As like most things in life you need to pick what works well for you, because there is research which supports all. I have also found it may depend on your breed of dog. I decided to not do whole prey, as odd as it sounds, it makes me sad to feed my dogs something with a face. I do much better with getting meat from the butcher.
So what do I feed?
What I have found is there are a lot of great starting points in raw feeding, but it will depend on the individual dog and you become a poop reader…lol. From their poop you can tell if you are feeding too much bone, too much organ meet ect. The Facebook groups have become invaluable to me.
Below you will find a few links of helpful starter guides I have received from the various Facebook groups.
I have found the percentage of organ meat was right on for my dogs, however I had to increase the amount of bone and total percentages of food each day, as they are all very high energy and we exercises a lot.
If you are thinking of making the switch, the best advice I can give you, is this: There is NO such thing as an ideal diet for dogs, look at dog food brands, they all differ. By making the switch you are already choosing to feed your dog high quality food. Do your research and do the best you can. I feed pork and beef. I also throw in duck feet and peasant pieces. I use lamb, goat and salmon for my training treats (freeze-dried raw). My dogs won’t eat most organ meat unless it is freeze dried as well, so I use that for training too. Most research suggests 5 different protein sources which I do try my best to do, however there are just somethings that are too expensive or simply they do not agree with my dogs.
Next week, the natural ways I handle parasite control.
