can a dog eat too much meat(raw)

luvamutt · 11-14-2009, 03:05 PM

hi every one. i am confused about how much to feed my dog. i did the calculator for raw diet and it suggested i feed .84 pounds once a day. my dog typical diet is morning 1/2-1 cup br.rice/quinoa/couscous mix with raw and cooked veggies and app. 1 pound of meat. cooked chix and raw beef.on busy days(for dog) he gets lunch with about 1/2 pound of meat. and dinner he gets 1 cup breakfast carb mix with about 2 pounds combined raw cooked meat.He is completley healthy. he is 16 inches at the withers and weighs 42 pounds.my question is am i feeding him a balanced enough diet. can one give too much meat.He does have 3 fish meals a week with bones for obv. reasons. he REFUSES to eat raw chicken including chix bones. also what other RMBs are good to feed. thanks

MafiaPrincess · 11-14-2009, 03:29 PM

What breed of dog? Unless it is a dog that is meant to be stocky and low slung like a corgi.. 16"and 42 pounds sounds.. hefty.

My American cockers are 14.5 and 15.75" at withers.. and 21 and 23 pounds respectively. They eat about a pound a day as we do agility and a lot of hiking. The amount you are feeding sounds like way more than needed.

RedyreRottweilers · 11-14-2009, 03:49 PM

Am I reading this right?

You are feeding a 42 lb dog over 3 lbs of meat per day, PLUS grains and veggies?

Why would you be doing this when the calculator advised you to feed less than 1/3 that amount?

You are overfeeding this dog to an EXTREME degree, to the point where I would be very concerned about the health of the dog, not only with regard to obesity but pancreatitis too.

This is way more than I feed a very large male Rottweiler puppy in the rapid growth stages. My 110 lb male eats less than 2 pounds total in a day.

May we see a photo of the dog.

ioreks_mom · 11-14-2009, 03:57 PM

i feed my 55 lb samoyed and my 35 lb growing puppy 1.5 lbs of meat a day. that is it, no veggies/grains, that is it. it really sounds like you are over feeding.

as a comparison to your doggy, my sammie is 25 inches at the withers and 55 lbs.

DobManiac · 11-14-2009, 04:44 PM

Yes, a dog can eat too much meat.

Why did you start out feeding this much? And how long has he been on this diet?

luvamutt · 11-14-2009, 05:43 PM

ahhh i didnt know that people would have such strong opinions. my dog looks like a small lab but really has cocker,beagle,min pin, poodle in him. i keep trying to attach a pic.(if anyone can help???) i will. he is not over weight at all. in fact his ribs still stick out but NOT in an emaciated way.he was really skinny when we adopted him and thats how i started with a homemmade diet.then i went to this dog day and the police dog ( a big GSD) owner said he ate 2 poiunds of raw meat d day and very proud of that. thats when i started wondering about how much to feed my dog. he is VERY active. he runs and goes to day care and has class 3 times a week. he does agility/rally.he has gotten an A from the vet so its not parasites. i was just concerned i was giving too much protein and what else i can do. maybe he doesnt have enough fat??? i was/am worried about pancreatitis?? what is too much fat???ok i attached. sorry if i attached the whole file of pics.

luvamutt · 11-14-2009, 05:48 PM

im gonna try to get a pic of him standing. ok well? this is a recent pic. he is not fat> but any info to help with his diet would be appreciated. i am going broke feeding him.lmaybe i am measuring him wrong??from the shoulder blades right??

RedyreRottweilers · 11-14-2009, 07:21 PM

He surely does not look over weight, he looks in very good condition! I wonder if you are perhaps measuring incorrectly, because wow that is a LOT of meat for a dog that size, if not.

trumpetjock · 11-14-2009, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedyreRottweilers

He surely does not look over weight, he looks in very good condition! I wonder if you are perhaps measuring incorrectly, because wow that is a LOT of meat for a dog that size, if not.

Yeah.... 3 pounds would be insane. Rocky only gets fed 1.25 pounds a day, and he's an incredibly high energy 55 pounds.

42 should be getting about .8 - 1 pound a day

MoosMom · 11-14-2009, 08:36 PM

That does seem like much, but he looks in good shape. may I ask are you using a kitchen scale or guestimating the amount you are feeding. Yoshi(my mal) is 24 at the withers, 70lbs and he's getting about 2.75lbs a day with no sign if getting fat. (he's also 7 months and still growing).

luvamutt · 11-15-2009, 08:43 AM

yeah i weigh using a scale and i only started doing that because it seemed like he was eating a lot which was getting very expensive. i have learned how to shop deals but????i never thought he would eat so much when i switched to a homemade diet.so if everyone is in agreeance that i am NOT torturing him with gorging

then does anyone have any suggestioons about how to maybe alter his diet a little. he mostly gets muscle meat. organs make him vomit. egg yolks give him diarrhea. i have not tried other types of egg besides chicken. he gets marrow and rib bones raw. any thoughts on the fat componant? thanks everyone.

skelaki · 11-15-2009, 09:31 AM

It sounds as if he's getting a decent diet although I'd probably eliminate all or most of the grains (dogs don;t need them), as long as he's a good weight and getting a variety of meats and bones, I wouldn't worry to much about his not liking raw chicken bones. Will he eat other poultry raw?

trumpetjock · 11-15-2009, 09:32 AM

Honestly, unless your dog is pulling a sled 20 miles a day, he should not be getting that much food if he is healthy. This is the equivalent of a 160 pound person eating 6000 calories a day and staying at 160 pounds. I know people like this, but they are some of the athletes I train. Ultramarathoners and iron-men who are exercising 3-5 hours a day every day. If your normal semi-active 160 pounder were eating 6000 and not gaining weight, there would be some serious concerns for their health.

He also should not be vomiting from organs and having the runs from eggs.

I suspect some type of GI problem. Have you had a feces sample checked for parasites lately? There are some parasites that could easily cause all of the symptoms you are talking about.

luvamutt · 11-15-2009, 10:58 AM

yeah he had a fecal flotation about a month ago.is it possible he is just active enough. how much activity does he have tyo do to be considered a working dog. i would say on average he gets 3 hours of exercise a day.some days more and some days less. i know i know it seems so weird. this dog has done nothing routine since we got him. i dont think i am exagerating about the exercise since for example today he had a 40 minute walk at 8:30 am and then went for a 20 minute bike ride at 10. then he had breakfast and then ran in the yard and did some agility stuff for 30 minutes. it is now almost noon and he has a play date at the park and will prolly have one more bike ride and 1 more walk and 2 more play/training sessions before the day is over. . maybe i just needed to write it out.so with this being an example day does it seem he is still eating too much. is there a more effecient way to feed a very active dog.

trumpetjock · 11-15-2009, 11:51 AM

I don't think that activity level warrants the amount of calories he is intaking. Rocky gets about that level of activity most days, is much heavier than your dog, and only gets 1 and 3/4 pounds of meat per day. Even that amount is enough to make him a little chubbier than I'd like.

RBark · 11-15-2009, 12:49 PM

Dogs are strange about what they eat. Ollie ate 3-3.5 pounds of raw per day at 60lb. I got him tested multiple times and nothing ever came back saying he was sick, so I gave up and just accepted he's a heavy eater.

Kobe, at 90 pounds, eats ~400-500 calories a day of kibble (about 1 cup). Spicy has a couple dogs like that, where they eat on two different extremes.

Some dogs are just odd about that sort of thing, I guess. Ollie did run 8 miles a day or pull 6 miles a day, with other activities and sometimes small walks thrown in. But that doesn't quite explain the intake, and explains Kobe, who had the same routine, even less. He was doing all that on 1 cup of food a day.

*shrug*

luvamutt · 11-15-2009, 03:56 PM

thanks everyone. i guess i just need to listen to my dog. he is happy healthy and not overweight. i will just cntinue to hone my shopping skills and call it a day. am always open to suggestions though on this issue of crazy eater that does not include a lot of commercial dog food. there are times i will give some dry kibble (like when i am tired and dont want to shop)otherwise will just be aware of what he is telling me.?does any one know how to teach back up or should i start a new thread.

and what would i gain if i ommited all grains and veggies/friut. i read i should but then thought he would only eat more and i cannot afford any more meat than i already give(3-4 pounds meat a day)

ioreks_mom · 11-15-2009, 04:11 PM

dogs cannot digest fruit/veggies unless they are pulverized. they do not have the enzyme needed to break down the vegetation. adding fruits/veggies is just added bulk which means more poop. grains are also not digested which means more poop. i do not give my guys any vegetable matter or grain. i am pretty sure that one of my dogs is allergic to grains so that is an added reason for me not to feed my dogs grains. also, i do not feel that dogs need it since they cannot digest it. they do get the occasional carrot or piece of apple when we are eating them but that is just a treat and it comes out the same way it went in so that proves it cannot be digested

maybe you could cut out the fruits, veggies, and grains and see how he does on only the meat?

i would start a new thread in the training section to learn how to teach back up. i taught it by basically walking into my dog's space so he did back up and when he was backing up i said "back it up"

that is probably not the best way but that is what i did because i did it without thinking about it. i am sure there are lots of people who can help you with it if you post there

luvamutt · 11-15-2009, 05:36 PM

i do process his vegiiis/friut grain mix. the only reason i added those things was because of the amt of food he was/is eating.so thank you to all who cared about hw much i was feeding and for all the info. will let you know. i may play around a bit with his diet.ok off to training as i want him (me) to be ready for the jan. shows in our area for rally

briteday · 11-15-2009, 07:40 PM

Have you tried all species of organs? And what do you consider organs? Organ meats contain micronutrients that are important in the diet. If you aren't going to feed organs then I would find a good multivitamin like Missing Link or such to fill in the gaps.

Eggs are not essential to the diet. And grains/ veggies / fruits are just fillers.

Are you feeding the right amount of phosphorus to calcium? If you have too much phosphorus going on that could account for the loose stools and vomiting. Is your dog eating bone at every meal?