Raw Feeding

Raw Diet:

I get lots of calls from people wanting to know what I feed with the raw diet. I have fed raw for over 9 1/2 years since my fourth Rottweiler had cancer throughout her body. I changed her over to raw at 12 yrs. old and she lived another 1 1/2 years and had a stroke at 13 1/2. I vowed to feed my Presas different as well as minimal vaccinations. I've summarized my basic feeding below. You are welcome to email me if you have further questions and I'll be happy to talk to you about my experience.

First you will notice that on raw the dogs must have bone with their meat. I have a bad gulper who has swallowed a whole turkey neck as well as a chicken neck with back attached so......I grind everything for my own piece of mind. It is best to start out with 2% of your dog's weight of food per day; ie. a 100 lb. dog will eat 2 lbs. per day. If dog is losing weight increase by a few ozs. and of course if dog is gaining then decrease by a few oz. I think weighing is important in the beginning until you find the correct amount to feed.

I use chicken necks and backs as they have a good meat/bone ratio and the price is inexpensive. I like the backs because usually the organs are still attached. I also use alot of chicken leg quarters and the meat is different than the backs/necks; more lean and red. My adult female dogs get a total of 12 oz. per serving (dogs are 98 & 102 lbs.). My pups and adult males get 1 1/4 lbs. per serving. I feed twice a day. I use chicken necks/backs/leg quarters as 3/4 of their diet. I also give beef, emu, alpaca, lamb, turkey, some mackeral or sardines (add to meal maybe 2x a week). I try to give liver or heart a couple times per week, a small amount is added to their meal. I also add raw ground or steamed veggies (just enough to regulate stool; maybe 2 heaping tablespoons per serving) maybe twice a week. If your dogs are having any yeast problems do not feed veggies.

I also add some cottage cheese, yogurt, raw egg & shell and of course left overs. I also give each dog about 2000 mg. Vitamin C and about 4000-8000 mg. fish oil per day. They occasionally get a multi vitamin when I remember it. I only give LARGE recreational bones for chewing or "macho sticks". Many cities have a dog food coop that you can buy from and that keeps the prices pretty low. I weaned all my pups on ground chicken backs starting at 4 weeks and puppies did just fine; in fact it was only about a week or so more that they were eating whole chicken backs. Occasionally a dog will not eat raw right away. If that is the case just microwave it a bit and they usually get used to it. I suggest that people put down a bowl of raw and a bowl of kibble and see which one the dog chooses.

Good luck and if you have further questions please call or email me.

Feeding Puppies:

I start puppies out on raw at about four weeks old. They are given a little goat's milk, ground chicken and yogurt to start. The second week I add cottage cheese and slowly lower the amount of goat's milk. By six weeks I add some sardines and a little beef heart and eliminate the goat's milk. By the end of six weeks the pups are eating what an adult eats and usually a large quantity than an adult. The 2% rule is good for starting adults out. A pup can eat 10% of their body weight and you just have to measure to see the quantities that you are feeding. Obviously add more food if pup appears thin and cut back if the pup appears fat. You should not see ribs on a young puppy.

If a pup is eatin 2 lbs. per day I divide that into three meals which would be approximately 11 oz. per meal. I make sure that 2/3 of that meal is the meat/bones and the other 1/3 can be yogurt, cottage cheese, leftovers, sardines, mackarel, eggs (2-3 times a week), ground or steamed veggies.

Not to appear gross; but raw poop that is white and crumbles away

Myths About Raw Feeding

Leq quarters ready to grind

All ground; ready for the freezer

Hazards of feeding raw......THE THIEFS!!

I grind all veggies (green leafy, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, green beans, into large tub

and then package in freezer bags

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Northern Tools 1 HP Grinder

Additional Specifications Capacity: 260 lbs. per hour 3prong plug Cord is over 5ft. long Dimensions: 9in. W x 17.8in. L x 14.3in. to top of pan, 10.3in. to top of body Diameter of the two grinder plates are 69.5mm. 2in. throat Size of Knife: Diameter: 2 1/2in., Thickness: 7/16in. Stainless feed pan, discharge pan, and case(housing) Polished feed screw, hand wheel, and exterior of head (interior of head is unpolished cast) Steel arbor, cutters, and discharge plates Head size: 3in. (diecast) Per mfg. oil type is #52 gear oil

Myths About Raw Feeding

RAW FOOD COOPS:   Alabama: FloriBamaRaw covers Northwest Florida and the Alabama Gulf Coast Arizona: Phoenix Raw not sure if the co-op is active but the group is Tucson Raw Feeders Co-op 520-886-5554 California: SoCal BARF Co-Op: Probably the largest co-op around, covers most of Southern California, including San Diego, with distribution points in Fresno and Sacramento as well. Fremont BARF Co-Op Located in Fremont, California (San Francisco Bay Area). Not so well organized and mark-ups are added to the prices, but does have access to a number of hard to find items. San Francisco Raw Feeders Co-op Capital City Raw Feeders Co-op Centered in Sacramento, California, contact Berit Stavig Northern California BARF Centered in Redding BARFCentralCA Central California OCBARFCo-Op Orange County BARF Suppliers in CA Colorado: Rocky Mountain Raw Feeders Association New group in Colorado with distribution points in Colorado Springs and Broomfield Colorado BARFers Not a co-op, but can help find sources. Florida: Central Florida BARF BARF-of-Central-Fla South Florida BARF Co-op Southern Florida Raw Feeders FloriBamaRaw covers Northwest Florida and the Alabama Gulf Coast Georgia: SouthEastern Natural Rearing Not a co-op, but they do bulk buys together. Centered in Atlanta, Georgia. AtlantaBARF Illinois: BARFingChicago Not a co-op but lots of networking and some group orders in the Chicago area Indiana: OHINraw4dogs Not a co-op but talks about suppliers in the Ohio/Indiana/Michigan areas HoosierBARF NWIndianeBARF Iowa: BARF-Iowa Iowa-Barf-Club Kansas: BarfKansas KansasRawFood Kentucky Area Barfers Maryland: Maryland Co-Op New group just getting off the ground, contact Elise Sturdivant BARFers Delaware, Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania NaturalFeeding-MD_DC_VA_PA Michigan: MichiganBARFersandSuppliers OHINraw4dogs Not a co-op but talks about suppliers in the Ohio/Indiana/Michigan areas Minnesota: Midwest BARF Buyers Group Centered in Roseville, Minnesota MN-BARF Mississippi: BARFmemphisalso covers Northern Mississippi New Jersey: NJ-BARF New York: (Long Island) Co-Op: New group just getting started, contact Renee or Ken Landsman at 516-922-1626 CNYRawFedDogs, for dog owners in the Rochester/Syracuse/Ithaca triangle North Carolina: Triangle Raw  Not a co-op, but can help find sources in the research triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the surrounding area) of North Carolina QueenCityBARF Charlotte, NC and vacinity Ohio: OHINraw4dogs Not a co-op but talks about suppliers in the Ohio/Indiana/Michigan areas OhioRawDogs RAWFCORaw Feeders of Columbus, Ohio Oklahoma: OKRawFedCo-op Oregon: Pacific Northwest Raw Oregon-Washington BARF Co-op OregonBARFCoOp Pennsylvania: PAEast-BARF  This is a group for Eastern PA BARFers to discuss suppliers, sources etc. Intended to Cover Montgomery, Philadelphia, Chester, Lehigh, Delware, Bucks and other Eastern PA counties Tennessee: BARFmemphis also covers Northern Mississippi Texas: DFW-BARF Raw feeding group in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas DFW BARF Coop AustinARF AustinRawCoop CenTexRawDiet Houston Raw Feeders Virginia: SEVABarf RivaBARF Richmond and surrounding areas Washington: RedmondWA_BARF Pacific Northwest Raw Oregon-Washington BARF Co-op PSRawFeedCo-Op Puget Sound area SeattleBarfers Wisconsin: BARF-WI Networking and group orders in Wisconsin

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