RAW diet

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

Hey all,
I was thinking of starting Luca, my Golden Retriever on a raw diet?
I've done my researched and talked to other pet owners who does it and my vet. But I'm just wondering what you guys think. Oh and is RAW is the same as BARF?I still have to persuade my dad first but I'm just wondering weather other dog/cat owners here think about it? Do you think RAW is better or you know commercial dog food? Its just i can't seem to find any good dog food where i live. How much would i have to feed Luca? He is right now 41kgs but his target weight is 35kgs (he's on a diet) and he gets 1hr a day of exercise but he's not very active, more of a cuddler!

And for those who don't know what raw is this is a good site to check out.
http://www.skansen.com/nutrition/diet.htm
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://leerburg.com/diet.htm

So my questions are:
What do you think of this diet?
Anyone else online does it?
Is RAW and BARF the same??
How much should i feed Luca?
And
how do i start?

Thanks i just want whats best for my dog.

 

[okiron]

Mine are partially raw, partially grain free kibble. Since we're only part-timers we don't have to worry as much about them getting enough of each nutrient. I don't really trust myself to do full raw. I know I'll end up lacking in something.

 

[SweetSassy]

Sounds expensive. if u can afford it and the dog likes it.

 

[DeniseJP]

I have a friend whose dog - A giant schnauzer - who is on a raw diet... she researched it and the dog is thriving and has been for 7 years - I use a kibble here but make sure I get the kind not preserved with BHA or BHT as I heard that can cause cancers - the kind of kibbles preserved with tocopherols (a vitamin E derivative, I think) is what I use.

Denise

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I think RAW is a great diet.
I did have my dogs on the BARF diet for almost a year. I went back to kibble for a few reasons. One of them being that on ground meat, their teeth were not great.
There are a few different methods to RAW feeding. Most of the pre packaged ones are ground meat with or without veggies. It is better to have whole meats with some bone. They Prey Model is modeld after what a wolf would eat. It is basically raw meat, bones and organs. Most people avoid large bones and give things like chicken necks, ribs and similar smaller bones. Chicken bones are fine as long as they are raw.

You feed about 2-3% of your dogs ideal body weight. There are calculators that can help you figure out how much to feed. If Luca is a bit on the heavy side, feed for the weight he should be. At his target weight, you would need to feed about 800g per day. You can give less if he needs to lose a bit more weight. That is the total amount of food a day including the bones and organ meats.

I would start with something small. Get some chicken legs or something similar and give it to him. Do one and see how he reacts. Watch for soft poop or diherrah. If that does happen, don't be discouraged, just try a smaller amount while he gets used to the new food. If he is already used to some fresh food in his diet, give it to him raw and see how he does. Gradually increase the amount he gets until he is having the amount he needs.

Many people who feed raw get the meat from a butcher. You can ask them for some of the scrap meats and bones. Some stores have discounts on meat that has been about to expire. If you buy that, you need to feed it soon or freeze it. If you can buy in larger amounts and have the space to freeze it, you can save money.

Many vets do not fully understand a RAW diet and will try to get you to not feed it. You have to remember that they did not get a great education on nutrition and what they did get was taught by a pet food company. They are also paid to promote certain brands. Some vets will change how they treat you dog when the find out that you are feeding raw. If that happens, you should try to find a vet the supports your decision, or at the very least is ok with it.

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

Thanks for the answers so far.
What's the best bone to give? as in like... not messy, no small bits, etc? There's so many different bones i dont know what's safe to give and etc.. :biggrin2:
I have a feeling Luca won't like raw but i'll give it a go
I got a sample box of Jimbo's might introduce him to it. anyone feed jimbo's
I'm just stil not sure so, i'm gonna do more research I don't wanna harm my dog, i wanna know what i'm doing

 

[bunnybunbunb]

What do you think of this diet? Love it if you can keep up. It is hard work.
Anyone else online does it? I feed raw meat here and there. Before my surgery they had raw at least a few times a week.
Is RAW and BARF the same?? I believe
How much should i feed Luca? I can't answer that
And
how do i start? Slow. Some dogs can not handle some types of meat. I say get a whole chicken and slowly give her diffrent parts to try, watch her pooh and such.

Meat is easy to get, it is the offal that is not. Here I can get chicken livar, chicken gizzards and sometimes they put hearts with the gizzards. Besides that and cow livars that is all.

Even if you find you can not feed all RAW even a meal every other day or just some raw meat, bones and offal every day or so is much better than none at all.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Buying specially made raw food is so expensive, I suggest just buying animals whole and cutting them up and feeding them. It is messy but much less expensive.

 

[CKGS]

The BARF diet worked very well for my two dogs a few years ago. BARF= Biologically Appropiate Raw Food, so yes same thing. It can be very intimidating and very difficult at first but it becomes easier as you learn what is and isn't appropiate for your dog. You must monitor your dog closely and make sure he/she is getting the appropiate nutrients. It isn't easy but well worth it for the results I had with my pets. I owned a German Shepherd Dog and a Rottweiler. Both thrived on it. My vet wasn't thrilled with the idea but knew I wouldn't harm my dogs so went along with it and I think was actually pleasantly surprised with the results. Remember there are different types of vets out there too who can help you start and maintain a barf diet. Hollistic vets and Homeopathic vets do exist. They can be wonderful supporters. Just do your research and this can be a great choice!

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

I feed pre made raw in 50% of phoenixes diet.

Bravo

I would feed whole chicken but she does not understand and I dont have time to pre make meals. If you feed home made raw its about a quarter of what kibble cost but they same goes for me I dont trust myself to do 100% raw.

Phoenix get 2 suirts of omega three fatty acid and fish oil and 1 200mg vitamin E capsel a day also the vitamin is human grade they sell dog grade but its cheaper to do human.

It is 2 to 3 percent of there ideal weight.

Take for instance phoenix is 27 pouns

She gets half of pound of pre made raw at everyother meal she would get a pound if she ate all raw.

To getto that I took

27 times .02 then divided that by two thats her meal.

Leerburg is a great website for raw but the site is all searious. They dont joke around on there but they are full of great information thehead person breed and raised german sheperds for fourty years. He feeds a all raw diet and has mademany training videos. They also feel very strong about a few things so read around.

Hope thats helps

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

Thank you bunnybunbunb and CKGS

 

[okiron]

SweetSassy wrote:

Sounds expensive. if u can afford it and the dog likes it.

It's actually cheaper than good kibble depending on where you live.