BARF/Raw Meaty Bones Diets for Pets

[ericad]

Ok, so after losing 2 dogs in the past 12 months (8 year old Shephard Mix and 5 year old Mastiff Mix), with a remaining 10 month old dog at home (Rottie/Doberman) and a new puppy coming home with us on Wednesday (Boxer/American Bulldog), I have been thinking lots and lots about my dogs'' diet.

I am intrigued by the BARF and Raw Meaty Bones diets and it makes so much sense to me. We currently feed our pets high quality EVO kibble and canned food, and frequently cook brown rice and chicken meals for them. But reading about the raw meaty bones diet has me convinced that this is a great option for people like us who are able to follow this type of diet for our pets.

So I''d love links to resources, advice from those of you who are successfully doing it with your pets, especially what a typical weekly feeding menu looks like for your dogs. I''m concerned about correct meat and bone to organ meat proportions, frequency (once a day? twice a day?), types of meat and bones you feed your dogs, particularly meaty bones that are readily available at most grocery stores (I don''t have access to butchers, hunters, etc.)

Also, I assume this gets messy, so where do you feed your dogs? I guess we''ll have to transition their feedings to outside.

TIA!

 

[tsavvy]

Here are detailed directions from a friend who swears by the mix and his extended family will only use this mix for their various dogs. He has two boxers and one was in poor health and dramatically improved with the raw food diet. I tried it, but didn''t have the discipline to keep stocked on the raw meat. My dog loved it, though, and had more energy while on it. Now, I mix in ground raw meat/bones from time to time and make sure that I feed veggie mix regularly. I hope this helps -- the italicized bit below is pasted from directions my friend provided when I tried it out. Good luck - I hope your rott/dobie mix and boxer/bulldog enjoy the diet in good health!!

I feed twice daily. Same size meal each feeding. Each meal is 3 ingredients- Cooked White Rice, Veggies, Meat.

Veggies: Make big batches and freeze it. I fill ziplock sandwich bags about 1/2 full and put them in 1-gallon ziplocks then into the freezer. You can check ingredients online, but basically stick with leafy greens (spinach, kale, chard, etc), beets (stems and all), brocolli, carrots, apples. Add a bit of flaxseed and/or grapeseed oil and some kelp powder is good too. Stay away from bulbs (no garlic or onions), and stay away from potatoes. I run all the veggies through the Cuisinart and make a big puree mush, then mix it all together, bag it and freeze it. A few hours on a Saturday will make enough for months....

Rice: Cook white rice. I use a rice-cooker- very convenient.

Meat: You can feed beef, chicken or lamb. It is important that bones are included. I don''t like feeding whole bones, so I feed ground bones- the butcher grinds the bone right into the meat I buy. Chicken is the easiest to buy (also cheapest) and you can use only chicken as your meat of choice. Roseville Meat Co. and Orangevale Meat Shoppe will grind chicken neck and back for dog food and will also grind lamb with bone in it upon request. Usually you can walk in and get 30 pounds. Any more than that, and you should call ahead. They will grind any amount you want . They freeze it into rice-crispie size cubes, then portion it into 5lb bags. Both places charge between $1.25-$130 per/lb. I use this as my "staple" meat. If you are feeding the chicken, doggie is getting plenty of bone, so you can mix in ground beef for variety. I go to Costco and buy the 10lb boxes of standard (full fat) ground beef hamburger patties. Great to mix into the chicken diet. Over the course of a week- feed about 70% chicken and 30% bone (or anywhere thereabouts...) Tell them the lamb is for dogs, and they''ll know what you mean. They charge $1.89/lb. I just started folding this into the diet a few months ago. They got "the runs" for a few days, but are totally adjusted now. Stay away from pork.

Portions: These are the portions I feed my dogs. Yours is bigger, but mine have a higher metabolism... You may want to start with this amount and pay attention to your dog, then adjust appropriately. Rice: 1/4 dry cup (then cook it of course.. I cook a cup at a time and just cut in in 1/4s for meals). Veggies: a heaping tablespoon of mush. Meat: about 1/2 thawed pound per meal (2 costco burger patties, 2 "rice-crispie" chicken cubes, etc... you learn to eyeball it). Add a healthy bit of water to each meal.

Tips:

Keep 3-4 days worth of meat in the fridge. It leaks, so keep it in a tupperware. I also put the veggie bags in a tupperware in the fridge. It is convenient to buy the meat in bulk, but you need freezer space. FYI- Costco sells a chest freezer for $199.... You should transition into the diet over the course of a week. Start with 70% regular food/ 30% raw diet and work your way to 100% raw by day 7. The "runs" will happen. Don''t stress it. If they last longer than a week, give her a couple of tablespoons of pure pumkin puree each meal for a few meals (it comes in a can- not the pie mix!)

A few things you will notice: Your dog will drink less water. This is because the new diet has much less salt and water absorbing ingredients, plus you add water to each meal.... Poop will change. It gets smaller and breaks down much quicker. It also wont smell as bad (it still ain''t roses though.. You will start to notice improved coat and skin in a month or so. I''ll also bet good money that your dog gains energy and generally starts feeling noticably better (even if she feels fine now..)

 

[Haven]

We feed all of our pets raw food. Our kitties eat out of little dishes on our hallway floor. The pup eats on the back patio during the warmer months, and off of a cutting board on the hallway floor during the winter months.

I''ll ask DH for the resources he uses to plan their diets. I know he researched for a few months before we switched, and he used a lot of different resources.

We''ve only been feeding our animals raw for about ten months, but so far so great!

 

[whitby_2773]

hi erica please forgive me if i say things here that you already know...

we feed our dogs (show, breeding and rescue dogs) fresh also, but not the same ingredients tsavvy''s friend uses.

we use 1/3 meat, 1/3 carbs and 1/3 veges.

the meat is low fat ground beef. just a side note - dogs MUST be kept at a good weight; a 50% increase over recommended weight can lead to an up to 50% decrease in life expectancy. dogs should NOT be ''straight'' from shoulders to butt - they must have a waist (ie cut in once past the rib cage). if they dont cut in behind the rib cage, this is the canine equivalent of a person with a big gut. (sorry erica - you sound like a great dog owner but i just cant help myself on this issue - pet owners who keep their dogs overweight are the same as people who maltreat animals in my book)

the carb we use is brown rice. don''t use white rice - it has virtually no fibre in it and is too close to sugar in composition. never use potatoes for the same reasons.

the veges we use are always half carrots and half greens. we use broccoli and celery and most other greens if they''re to hand - but be careful with the broccoli as dogs'' stomachs are sensitive to it. never make broccoli more than 10% of your dog''s diet or it will give them an upset stomach (it''s poisonous to them in large amounts, tho good for them in small) dont give onions, chocolate, garlic or grapes - all also poisonous to dogs in large amounts.

we add omega 3 oil and vitamin B 12.

we also give 2 large marrow bones a week and a whole lot of water is always available - in more than one location; dogs are exactly like people in that they''ll drink water if it''s right in front of them but are often too lazy to go look for it.

hope this helps - we find it keeps coat and skin in good condition, teeth clean, and weight down. we have very happy, healthy dogs

 

[Haven]

Here''s Bailee''s feeding schedule. She weighs 45 lbs.

We feed her between 1/2 and 3/4 lb per meal. (The figures below are for 3/4 lb per meal.)

Her weekly diet consists of:
- 7.5 lbs RMB''s (3/4 lb/lone meal)
- 1.0 lb organs (1/2 lb X 2 meals)
- 1.0 lb veggies (1/3 lb X 3 meals)
- 0.3 to 0.5 lb canned fish or whole raw fish (1 meal)
- .5 lb fruit (apples, bananas, etc.)

Sunday
Breakfast: fish, veggie mix, egg
Dinner: non-chicken RMB, beef liver occasionally

Monday
Breakfast: chicken
Dinner: chicken

Tuesday
Breakfast: Chicken
Dinner: non-chicken RMB, veggie mix, Omega 3

Wednesday
Breakfast: Chicken
Dinner: 1 wing, organs

Thursday
Breakfast: Chicken
Dinner: Chicken feet, veggie mix, Omega 3

Friday
Breakfast: Chicken
Dinner: non-chicken RMB

Saturday
Breakfast: Chicken
Dinner: 1 wing, organs (Sunday beef liver = skip organs and add wings)

* Cornish hen every 2 - 3 weeks
* Pumpkin occasionally
* Yogurt occasionally

This is the schedule DH uses and has posted up on our fridge. The chicken is usually wings, backs, necks, etc. The non-chicken RMB is oxtail, turkey necks, etc.

This is the diet that is working for our little girl. We manage her weight by changing the amount we feed, hence the 1/2 to 3/4 lb per meal stipulation. She gained a couple pounds in the winter so we adjusted.

If you have specific questions let me know and I''ll have DH respond!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Question - is this something that would work for every size dog? DH and I plan to adopt a Yorkie down the road and if this would be good for him/her, I''d love to try it.

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 7/14/2009 8:50:31 PM
Author: MonkeyPie
Question - is this something that would work for every size dog? DH and I plan to adopt a Yorkie down the road and if this would be good for him/her, I''d love to try it.

absolutely, monkeypie!

it''s a very healthy diet, and i can tell you for sure, dogs WAAAY prefer it to kibble or tinned dog food. if you''re interested, i''d suggest you try it for one meal a day; it would then give your pup most of the nutrients they''d normally get through a diet like this, while still maintaining some of the ease of dry dog food. i also think it can be smart to keep feeding one meal a day as dry dog food, so if you have to board them, or they have to go to the vet for an extended stay for health reasons, they won''t totally turn their nose up at the dry dog food they will inevitably be fed.

just make sure that the omega 3 and the B12 gets added to the fresh meal and that they get the bones every week. if you''re talking about a puppy, make the bones raw chicken bones till he''s mostly grown (think - about 12 months) then swap to beef bones.

 

[lyra]

Date: 7/14/2009 8:50:31 PM
Author: MonkeyPie
Question - is this something that would work for every size dog? DH and I plan to adopt a Yorkie down the road and if this would be good for him/her, I''d love to try it.

You have to watch protein intake on some dogs, so consult a vet before switching a dog to the raw diet. My inlaws were doing this diet for their Yorkie and he ended up with some allergic type reactions and gained too much weight. He''s now on a kibble only diet. They had been feeding the meat/veggie/rice diet.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I have been feeding raw to my two Newfoundlands for 6 months--our older dog, Byron, was previously on Orijen's 6-fish formula. Our pup, Bosun, was raised on raw.

I use the book "Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats" by Kymythy Schultze as a guide because she is a newf owner herself. She has a monthly menu sampling in her book, which I leaned on in the beginning.

My biggest concern was simply screwing it up, especially for Bosun because I really want to keep his growth slow and even for the first year, which means lower protein, correct calcium to phosphorus ratios, etc. I couldn't be happier that I made the switch.

I feed them both 2 meals/day. This is what we feed:

around 3 lbs. of ground beef, turkey or chicken each per day (muscle meat)
2 turkey necks, pig tails or pork necks each per day (meaty bones)
gizzards (3 per meal) or liver (beef or chicken) or an egg (organ meat)
quarter cup of veggies (optional) per meal--I usually make these in the food processor 1x per week. I use carrot, broccoli and sweet potato, usually

I tend to avoid any weight-bearing bones, so I don't tend to feed whole chickens or chicken legs, but I will give them a whole catfish as a meal when I can find them.

I supplement their meals with Vitamin C, a probiotic for digestion, kelp, alfalfa, glucocomine and chondroitin and salmon oil. I know many use flax seed oil instead, I just prefer salmon oil.

It takes me about a half of an hour a day to make the meals--I make all four meals in the morning, so it's not so bad. We do have an extra freezer in the basement, which is essential...I still have to remind myself to take out the meat at night to defrost.

I used Oma's Pride for a short time and really loved the convenience of pre-packaged raw, but there isn't a distributor anywhere close.

ETA: We feed our dogs on the patio in our back yard. I've had to feed them in our kitchen in a pinch, but I disinfect afterward and it's just a pain.

 

[ice-queen]

It''s weird to see this question right now, because I was just speaking with my Vet about this today! Our dog is about a year old, and from the beginning, we wanted to feed her the best possible diet. We heard good things about raw diets, so we looked into it, and decided to go with it. Well, at the time, we checked with our Vet (where we used to live) and he said that it''s ok if thats what we want to do, but he is not particularly fond of it and does not believe it to be any more beneficial than any other high quality dog food. We went with the raw diet anyway, because of all the positive info there is about it. Anyway, at our new Vet today, I mentioned the raw diet and the Vet (Internist), and he said that he is extremeley opposed to it. He also does not think it is more beneficial, and said that it can be downright dangerous (salmonella, etc). Furthermore, an x-ray (done for other reasons) showed tiny specks of bone all throughout her system, which he said can possibly build up over time and become a huge problem. He said a lot of the info for the raw diets is misleading, and they have gained popularity mainly due to "great marketing." This was at the Animal Medical Center in NYC, which is among the top veterinary hospitals in the nation.

 

[vip0802]

Date: 7/15/2009 12:10:55 AM
Author: ice-queen
It's weird to see this question right now, because I was just speaking with my Vet about this today! Our dog is about a year old, and from the beginning, we wanted to feed her the best possible diet. We heard good things about raw diets, so we looked into it, and decided to go with it. Well, at the time, we checked with our Vet (where we used to live) and he said that it's ok if thats what we want to do, but he is not particularly fond of it and does not believe it to be any more beneficial than any other high quality dog food. We went with the raw diet anyway, because of all the positive info there is about it. Anyway, at our new Vet today, I mentioned the raw diet and the Vet (Internist), and he said that he is extremeley opposed to it. He also does not think it is more beneficial, and said that it can be downright dangerous (salmonella, etc). Furthermore, an x-ray (done for other reasons) showed tiny specks of bone all throughout her system, which he said can possibly build up over time and become a huge problem. He said a lot of the info for the raw diets is misleading, and they have gained popularity mainly due to 'great marketing.' This was at the Animal Medical Center in NYC, which is among the top veterinary hospitals in the nation.

i'm so happy to see a lot of PS'ers that are into feeding their pets a raw diet!

BF and i feed our cats a raw diet and we absolutely swear by it! if you do the research and prepare the food correctly, i feel it's the best diet a pet can have. we don't have a dog but the basic principle is that dogs and cats are carnivores and are meant to eat meat. their teeth and internal systems weren't meant to digest carb laden dry food, and i just don't trust the quality of ingredients used in most commercial pet foods.

it makes me angry when vets look down on feeding a pet a raw diet. Anne from catnutrition.org said it best: "But isn't it troubling that many vets are relying on the pet food industry rather than scientific principles and common sense when it comes to something as essential as what the carnivores under their care are eating every day?" some vets (not all) will recommend feeding commercial stuff like Science Diet (which is crap IMO) since they get a kick-back from the company for selling it. i don't believe for a second that a raw diet isn't any more beneficial than a commercial diet. it's like your own doctor saying it's ok to live on a McDonald's diet rather than a healthy balanced one. sure, they're fast food joints that are "healthier" than others but, doesn't it just make sense to eat healthy food? for example, the first 2 ingredients in Science Diet's Mature Adult Large Breed are corn meal and chicken by product meal. the rest are just fillers, artificial meat flavors and traces of the essential vitamins. sorry, i don't see how this benefits a dog or a cat health-wise.

if you're careful with safe food handling procedures and if you purchase high quality meats, the risks of getting e coli, salmonella, or other bacteria is slim. besides, a cat for example, has a different digestive system than us humans and are able to handle raw foods that we can't.

as far as bone pieces go, cooked bones are obviously more brittle and are more prone to splintering. raw bones are much softer and BF and i make sure the bones are ground up well. plus, bones are an excellent natural source of calcium and contain excellent trace minerals that are difficult to duplicate synthetically.

man, i could go on and on but i'll stop my ramblings here.

ETA: i forgot to add some links for you ericad!

http://www.diamondpaws.com/health/barf.htm
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-diet-for-dogs/
http://www.seefido.com/natural-pet-food/html/tips_for_preparing_raw_diets1.htm

here are some useful and informative links for PS cat owners:

http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php
http://catinfo.org/

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 7/15/2009 12:10:55 AM
Author: ice-queen
It's weird to see this question right now, because I was just speaking with my Vet about this today! Our dog is about a year old, and from the beginning, we wanted to feed her the best possible diet. We heard good things about raw diets, so we looked into it, and decided to go with it. Well, at the time, we checked with our Vet (where we used to live) and he said that it's ok if thats what we want to do, but he is not particularly fond of it and does not believe it to be any more beneficial than any other high quality dog food. We went with the raw diet anyway, because of all the positive info there is about it. Anyway, at our new Vet today, I mentioned the raw diet and the Vet (Internist), and he said that he is extremeley opposed to it. He also does not think it is more beneficial, and said that it can be downright dangerous (salmonella, etc). Furthermore, an x-ray (done for other reasons) showed tiny specks of bone all throughout her system, which he said can possibly build up over time and become a huge problem. He said a lot of the info for the raw diets is misleading, and they have gained popularity mainly due to 'great marketing.' This was at the Animal Medical Center in NYC, which is among the top veterinary hospitals in the nation.

Vets have a serious lack of knowledge when it comes to nutrition--even the best vets. This is why their walls are lined with Science Diet (as VIP mentioned). I'm always interested to talk to vets about how many cases of bloat they see with kibble vs. raw...then talk about how dangerous the raw diet is.

I think it's great to see some cat owners also feeding raw--I feel like research on cat nutrition often lags behind dog nutrition, so it's good that cat owners are seeing the benefits of raw.

 

[Haven]

It is frightening how little the vets here in Chicago seem to know about animal nutrition. DH was taking the cats to Chicago''s best-known veterinarian clinic (Oprah and other celebs take their dogs there, he didn''t know that until after he chose them,) and the doctors there recommended Science Diet.

Our current vets don''t know much more, but they do admit to what they don''t know, if that makes sense. When we told them we''re feeding the little guys a raw diet they simply suggested that we come in for bloodwork and a checkup once a year for a while to make sure everything is running smoothly. That, we can handle.

We feed our cats raw, too. We feed them the Nature''s Variety patties, though. DH did get a meat grinder (from a butcher''s widow that we''re friendly with) and attempted to make our own patties for them, but it is much better this way. The cats didn''t eat raw until about two years old, and we''ve seen serious improvements in their health. Their coats are gorgeous, and they have more energy now, too.

 

[ericad]

This is all so helpful! Especially the menus - I just feel like I need a menu to follow before I can begin because I'm also scared to somehow mess it up!

There are lots of good food quantity calculators for raw diet that you can find. Basically I've read that 2.5% of your pet's body weight/day, split over 2 meals, for weight maintenance (more or less if weight gain or loss is needed, the animal has higher than normal activity, different for puppies who have higher caloric needs, etc.)

As for vets, it's important to research all angles and perspectives before making a decision. Many vets who also sell pet food are biased, whether consciously or not. They also make their living from sick animals - if there's a diet that might keep your pet healthier, they lose money in 2 ways - vet bills go down and they can't sell you food. Cynical, I know! Of course this doesn't apply to all vets! And many proponents of raw/BARF diets are also for-profit, so it does go both ways.

I read this very basic idea somewhere and it really resonated with me. If your dog or cat got lost and wandered into a field of wheat, a fruit orchard, etc. and became hungry (and a family of rabbits hops past), would he instinctively gnaw on the grain husks? Eat fruit off the ground? Or would he hunt down a rabbit?

The one thing I'm trying to research, which is important to the discussion, is how does the lifespan of RMB/BARF fed pets compare to pets who also eat grains/fruits/veggies/nutritional supplements? There's no denying that the natural diet of wild canines is raw meaty bones and occasional small amounts of vegetation. But does adding in all the "extra" (let's assume no hazardous chemicals, processing problems, etc. you get from store bought foods - let's assume home made organic prepared meals from scratch) add to the pet's health and lifespan, or detract from it?

Our dog Eddie, who recently died, ate home made dog food that consisted of organic brown rice cooked with chicken and veggies for about the last 2 years of his life (he was 5). Our older dog, Joey (died last year at age 7.5) ate kibble most of his life, but we noticed a dramatic improvement in his health after switching to home made food. But when Eddie died, the pathology reports determined that he had inflamed stomach tissue, which indicated that he had some other stomach problem that contributed to the damage caused by the anti-inflammatory he was on (he did not have cancer). Could it have been a food allergy? Was he grain intolerant?

In combination with the rice meals, the dogs also get store bought food in between batches of home made food, and we recently (after losing Joey and all the scary pet food recalls) switched from the Kirkland (Costco) dry food to "high quality" kibble (California Natural and most recently, EVO, because Eddie needed to lose weight so a low-carb food was recommended). I'm now reading that Nutro and Canidae are being investigated for food problems resulting in pet illness and death (still researching as there's conflicting info about this) and these are high-end foods! So maybe Eddie was intolerant of the EVO, which is very high protein (though he showed no symptoms until it was too late). Maybe by trying to do everything right, we inadvertently contributed to his death.

It is all of these legitimate fears and the basic common sense premise that a pet left abandoned in the wild would revert to the wild dog instinct of hunting prey for food, that has led me to a raw diet in the hopes of a different result in their health and lifespan. We have a 10 month old dog and the new puppy comes home today (yay!) so it's the right time to make choices that can dramatically impact their health. We just have to figure out which is the right choice.

 

[ericad]

And FWIW, we also want to put our 3 cats onto a raw diet, so would love tips, since my cats have lived their whole lives on kibble and canned food. Seems it would be harder to transition cats to a raw diet?

 

[misskitty]

Don''t mind me...just parking a reply in this thread so I can find it more easily later. We''re looking into a raw diet for the puglet; the vet we see is really into holistic care, and I''m interested in her opinions on these diets.

 

[vip0802]

Date: 7/15/2009 1:09:02 PM
Author: ericad
And FWIW, we also want to put our 3 cats onto a raw diet, so would love tips, since my cats have lived their whole lives on kibble and canned food. Seems it would be harder to transition cats to a raw diet?

oh, I can totally help you out here! The links I posted earlier is a good starting point to get a general idea on how to transition your kitties to raw. Every cat is different so it's hard to say how easy they'll transition but it can be done! Our cats took to it right away, but then again they were only 4 months old at the time. If you need any help with anything else, let me know. Sorry, I'm at work now it's hard to write more in detail.

Btw, I love, love, love your website! I stop to drool at least once a week

 

[Bia]

Big proponent for this. Been giving our pooch raw since we got her and it''s done wonders. She has tons of energy, her breath is sweet, she rarely has gastro trouble (in fact I can only think of two times, and once involved her eating part of a plant when she was puppy and getting into everything) and she glows her coat is so shiny.

Her diet is very similar: part meat, veggies, and carbs--although slightly more meat & veggies than carbs--along with omegas.

 

[ericad]

This morning, DH gave our dog Buddy some raw chicken breast with his breakfast, just to see how he''d react and he happily reports that Buddy ate his food with 10x more gusto than he has in months! He seemed to really enjoy it. Good start! Will transition him to meaty bones slowly, and eventually phase out the kibble.

Thanks everyone, for the links and helpful advice. I will do my research for the dogs and cats over the next few days and report back with progress, questions, etc.

I fee really good about this!

 

[ericad]

Date: 7/14/2009 7:15:27 PM
Author: Haven
Here''s Bailee''s feeding schedule. She weighs 45 lbs.


We feed her between 1/2 and 3/4 lb per meal. (The figures below are for 3/4 lb per meal.)


Her weekly diet consists of:

- 7.5 lbs RMB''s (3/4 lb/lone meal)

- 1.0 lb organs (1/2 lb X 2 meals)

- 1.0 lb veggies (1/3 lb X 3 meals)

- 0.3 to 0.5 lb canned fish or whole raw fish (1 meal)

- .5 lb fruit (apples, bananas, etc.)


Sunday

Breakfast: fish, veggie mix, egg

Dinner: non-chicken RMB, beef liver occasionally


Monday

Breakfast: chicken

Dinner: chicken


Tuesday

Breakfast: Chicken

Dinner: non-chicken RMB, veggie mix, Omega 3


Wednesday

Breakfast: Chicken

Dinner: 1 wing, organs


Thursday

Breakfast: Chicken

Dinner: Chicken feet, veggie mix, Omega 3


Friday

Breakfast: Chicken

Dinner: non-chicken RMB


Saturday

Breakfast: Chicken

Dinner: 1 wing, organs (Sunday beef liver = skip organs and add wings)


* Cornish hen every 2 - 3 weeks

* Pumpkin occasionally

* Yogurt occasionally


This is the schedule DH uses and has posted up on our fridge. The chicken is usually wings, backs, necks, etc. The non-chicken RMB is oxtail, turkey necks, etc.


This is the diet that is working for our little girl. We manage her weight by changing the amount we feed, hence the 1/2 to 3/4 lb per meal stipulation. She gained a couple pounds in the winter so we adjusted.


If you have specific questions let me know and I''ll have DH respond!

Haven, when you feed egg, is it raw egg, or cooked? Shell or no shell (many, I''ve read, mash up the shell and throw it in too). I assume raw egg, but want to double check. Does Bailee like the fruits/veggies? Do you do a puree, or does she actually eat them in chunks?

TIA!

 

[ericad]

Date: 7/15/2009 3:21:57 PM
Author: vip0802

Date: 7/15/2009 1:09:02 PM

Author: ericad

Btw, I love, love, love your website! I stop to drool at least once a week

Awwwww, shucks. Thanks

 

[whitby_2773]

erica -

just in case haven doesn''t see your question...

cooked egg - definitely. raw egg yolks is one of those foods dogs mustn''t eat. and even cooked eggs have their limit. read up on it and speak to your vet; i work very closely with my vet and it''s a good partnership.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Also, in terms of shell vs. no shell--eggs are high in phosphorus, so I keep the shell on, which is high in calcium to keep the calcium to phosphorus ratio in balance, especially for our pup. A whole hard-boiled egg works.

 

[Haven]

DH feeds Bailee raw eggs in the shell! Do you lovely ladies have any links to info about this???? I''ll be sure to get his resources to share with you, too, but until I hear more we''re going to start cooking her eggs. (DH did all the research into her diet, can you tell?)

Erica--Bailee loves the veggies, DH blends a mixture up once a week and freezes it so they end up looking like green ice cubes. She loves ice, anyway, so I''m not sure if she likes the veggies because of the taste, or because they''re just like big ice cubes.
She eats the fruit whole, her favorite is apple.

 

[Haven]

Just told DH about the eggs and he said he''s aware of the controversy over raw vs. cooked eggs. He wasn''t convinced by the literature that raw egg whites are a problem, but he said we can cook them from now on just to be safe.
He''s under the impression that those who do believe raw eggs are potentially harmful are only concerned about the whites, not the yolks. Is this true?

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 7/15/2009 4:49:04 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Also, in terms of shell vs. no shell--eggs are high in phosphorus, so I keep the shell on, which is high in calcium to keep the calcium to phosphorus ratio in balance, especially for our pup. A whole hard-boiled egg works.

ditto this.

 

[IdLikeToBuyAVal]

Check out the forums on www.danesonline.com for really great info from people who use it for their dogs.

Great danes have to have very specific diets so people get REALLY into RAW and BARF diets, there are whole sections of discussion devoted to it. In fact, several years ago there was an issue with kibble vs. raw and they had to split the whole "food/feeding" section lol...

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Haven, I used to feed raw eggs in the shell when I could get them from a local farmer--I knew they were fresh and did not have any chemicals on them and never had any problems.

Now that I get them from the grocery store, I tend to cook them. Even the organic, free-range eggs usually have a coating of mineral oil on them to increase shelf life and I just prefer a a good boil.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 7/15/2009 11:10:34 PM
Author: IdLikeToBuyAVal
Check out the forums on www.danesonline.com for really great info from people who use it for their dogs.

Great danes have to have very specific diets so people get REALLY into RAW and BARF diets, there are whole sections of discussion devoted to it. In fact, several years ago there was an issue with kibble vs. raw and they had to split the whole ''food/feeding'' section lol...

IdLike--I used to research giant breed sites (in addition to leaning on my very helpful Newf forum) when our oldest was a pup. Do you ever go to the Great Dane Lady''s page (www.greatdanelady.com). She''s done some really great research on nutrition and its effect on growth, especially for giant breeds. A friend of mine''s dog had bowed legs from being fed large breed puppy food and I found her site very valuable.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Our Chi''s have transitioned into raw. I found a woman locally who pre-packages the meals for them. They come in little "nuggets" and in various "flavors"...beef, chicken, and so on to more exotic meats. The nuggets are mostly meat...because in the wild, dogs wouldn''t go nuts over veggies. However, we now give chunks of various veggies and fruits as treats.