[Rescue-mom]

Is there a set amount to raw feed a dog?I am waiting for my delivery of meat so i can raw feed,My dogs are 70pounds,40pounds,25pounds.I just do not know,eg.feed 1/3 the body weight type thing....Or how many pounds of raw per body weight.
I have been reading about raw and wanting to feed raw for awhile now and know i am ready.Does the type of meat i feed have anything to do with the amount being fed?I am getting Buffalo,Beef,Pork.

 

[FourIsCompany]

I have been reading about raw and wanting to feed raw for awhile now and know i am ready.

I think if you were ready, you'd have the answers to your questions. Feeding raw takes some research.

I don't feed raw. Here are a few sites that might have the answers you're looking for.

Diamond Paws BARF page

Raw Feeding FAQ

Raw Feeding

 

[DobManiac]

There are also a couple of stickies at the top of the food forum on raw. One gives a list of websites for research the other gives sample menus.

Can I ask how you plan on transitioning your dogs to raw? And why did you choose beef, pork and buffalo to start with?

I haven't been feeding raw for that long so hopefully someone more experienced will chime in. But it doesn't seem like you've done your research.

 

[BoxMeIn21]

Sounds like you need to do more research. Check out the sticky at the top of the feeding forum. There's lots of good information there. The meats you are getting in your order are probably not the best to start with. In the beginning you want to start with one protein source, like chicken or turkey and feed that for at least a couple of weeks before slowly adding a new protein.

 

[Rescue-mom]

Thank you all for your help.
My dogs have been eating hen for the past 2 months and kibble(hen is very easy to get ,along with pork,buffalo,beef)the last 3 are ones that i wanna add to give more of a variety.So i was just wanting to do a full raw,and most people i talk to say let my dogs looks and weight be my guide...Well i was hoping to get more of a direct answer.
Maybe in my first post i should have been more exact but i just thought i would ask 1 basic question with out needing to go into full detail and maybe get 1 answer.

 

[DobManiac]

Multiply your dogs weight by 16 to get the number of ounces he weighs.
Multiply that by .02, which gives you 2 % of his body weight.
Multiply that by .6 to give you the weight of RMB you should feed. That is chicken necks, wings, backs etc.
Go back to the 2% of his body weight again and multiply that number by .4 to get the weight in ounces of vegetable patty mix you should feed.

For example: One of my Boxers weighs 70 Lbs. Here's the formula I used to calculate the daily food intake when I started:

70Lbs x 16 = 1120 ounces
1120 x .02 = 22.4 ounces of food per day
22.4 x .6 = 13.44 ounces of RMB -----60% RMB

This is the basic formula most people use as a starting point. You can vary it depending on your dog. For instances, if one dog has always had a much higher metabolism than normal start him on around 3%.

The 60% RMBs and 40% veggie patties is based on the BARF diet. If you are going with prey model, then its 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organs.

The meats you have chosen are also going to be hard on their systems to start. Even if you have been feeding hen with kibble, once the kibble is removed from their diets the might go through detox.

I would feed them just hen for at least 2 weeks before adding another protien source. And then just one additional protien source a week.

 

[Rescue-mom]

That was what i was planning since my other stuff wont be here for about 2 weeks just the hen plus weaning off the kibble the first week,The hen will be the staple meat.The other stuff i will be getting is just something different(like once a week or every 2 weeks)I am getting all 3 just to see if there is a preference with what the dogs like(with my luck all something different).
Thank you Dobmaniac for the calculations and such that is great.

 

[DobManiac]

I would switch them cold turkey and just get it over with.

It’s really difficult to feed kibble and bones in the same meal. Kibble digests a lot slower that raw food. They could end up only half way digesting the bones and poop out solid bone fragments. Are keeping the raw food in their stomachs for too long could allow bacteria to grow. This might result in E Coli or Salmonella poisoning. You should let their systems concentrate on nothing but the raw meat and bones.

 

[reynosa_k9's]

Ok DobManiac, you have been doing your homework! Good answers.

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.

 

[DobManiac]

Ok DobManiac, you have been doing your homework! Good answers.

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.

LOL

I have read pretty much everything I can find. Nutrition is nothing to take a chance on.

 

[ioreks_mom]

i agree, go cold turkey (or hen haha!) and take the kibble away. when we switched iorek he had kibble for the last time on dec 19 and dec 20 he had raw and hasn't looked back! i feed the prey model, 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs, evening out over a week or so, so some days he gets more bone and some days he gets more meat, but it works out. i was under the impression that you feed 2-4% of the dogs ideal adult weight in raw. that is sort of like the formula above, but i do it in pounds and not ounces. so, iorek is 50 lbs and 2% of that is 1 lb, so he gets 1 lb/day. he is actually leaner than i would like so i am planning on upping his food to 3% of his weight, so that is 1.5 lbs/day. that is what they mean by letting the dog's looks and weight guide you. if the dog is super active and on the lean side then i would do a higher %, but if the dog is older and not so active i would do a lower %. if you chose a % and the dog is gaining, then lower it, and if the dog is losing, then up it. it really gets easier as the time goes, i promise!

i would definitely stick with just the hen for a few weeks. get rid of the kibble altogether. then slowly add in the next protein source. the stickies at the top of the food forum really are very helpful.