Fresh meat

Discussion dedicated to promoting the well-being of your dog through diet, exercise and general health tips.

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Sweetie's Human
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by Sweetie's Human »

delladooo wrote:he'll push his face in under your arm and won't stop until you move it for him :roll:
He's more 'pug' than you realise. Sweetie's favourite face resting place is under my armpit after a long sweaty run :roll: . And her morning routine involves shoving her way into OH's lap (although he loves it!) for a tummy rub / ear rub / next body part / next body part :lol:

They're all pests, and they're all 'spoiled'. But there's no point having them if you're not going to make the most of every second you get (speaking as someone who will, in all likelihood, get less than half the full time with her dog, as much as it pains me to say it). Keep going as you are. He's getting nothing less than he deserves, and you will get out of it a million times what you put in.
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Ahahah in all honesty, I'm not too knowledgable about pugs - it was the poodle side I was looking for but fell in love with him. Morning and evening he's a lap dog but in between he's an active menace.

It's very true that he should be spoilt - and he knows it :roll: I don't mind and he's certainly happy.
Sweetie's Human wrote: speaking as someone who will, in all likelihood, get less than half the full time with her dog, as much as it pains me to say it
Oh no!! Is Sweetie okay??
Sweetie's Human
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by Sweetie's Human »

Yes, she's fine! But we got her at age 6 and she'd been in a puppy mill as a breeder in terrible conditions. So we missed the first 6 years and as I understand it, dogs with that sort of start don't often make their typical lifespan. Just being realistic and trying to make the best of whatever time we do have. So 2 years in, instead of an adolescent lunatic we have a lovely dopey 8yo old girl who has funny little bursts of puppiness from time to time and loves all the attention she gets. She's our best little mate and we'd only change her start in life.
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Sweetie's Human wrote:Yes, she's fine!
Oh good! It's definitely not a good start but at least you got her out and she's now in a lovely home. In many ways being past the puppy stage is just so much better. I don't want to sound like I'm wishing their lives away but I can't wait for Laufey to grow up a bit :)


Side note, the things we do for our dogs! I've just pulled all the stuffing out of the head of a teddy so he can have the teddy back :roll:
Sweetie's Human
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by Sweetie's Human »

This has become the "my crazy puglet" thread. :lol:
delladooo wrote: Side note, the things we do for our dogs! I've just pulled all the stuffing out of the head of a teddy so he can have the teddy back :roll:
I stitch them back up and hand them back. Then I go wash my hands really really well because she gets her toys so disgustingly stinky - and loves them that way. :roll:
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Sweetie's Human wrote:This has become the "my crazy puglet" thread. :lol:
It has but oh well! I never noticed how puggy he is!

Depending on the teddy the stuffing is removed or stitched, this is only a little one so it's removed but some have extensive stitching... All Laufey's toys seem to smell too but some of them smell distinctly of cat pee.... I don't even want to think about why :shock:
Sanna
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by Sanna »

I don't have a crazy puglet, but hey.. :lol:

I changed Precious over to raw last year, took me ages to get around to it as I was completely confused and overwhelmed and the more I read and learned the more confused I got.. Like Judy said everyone's got an opinion, and then there's getting the ratio/ balance right, and putting it all together in a 'menu' that works for you and your dog..
I also didn't initially have the freezer space- this'll be a lot easier for you as Laufey is much smaller- P has around 1.5kg per day so a whole lotta meat! (P has his own freezer now, I got a second hand one for £20 so if you've got the space that's def a good option ;) )

Not sure if this helps you but this is what I did: I found a local raw food supplier, so until I sorted a second freezer I was able to collect from her weekly.
I am happy to ask her if she knows anyone near you if you want?
With the new freezer I now get monthly deliveries.
She also helped me put together a menu for the first couple of months, making sure P got the right balance. We started off with minces, which is brilliant as the meat/bone/offal ratios are all worked out for you and there is a huge variety of meats and also tripe mixes :D and pigs trotters for chewing.

Now that I'm feeling more confident with the whole thing I've added meat chunks and chicken carcasses, and if I want to go the whole hog including pigs heads etc I can.. Haven't decided on that one yet :lol:

Honestly it's been super easy and very convenient, if you haven't got the time or confidence to source it all yourself and DIY it!

It's also cheaper than good quality kibble; P was on Orijen before which was around £80 per month for his size, then treats and recreational bones came on top of that. Now I normally spend around £75 per month including bones and some training treats as well.

Re mixing kibble and raw IMO you're better off doing one or the other, apparently they do digest at different rates (makes sense), kibble takes longer; but I know some people do and I think the main thing is to not give both in one meal but rather raw one meal then kibble the next.
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Sanna wrote: I changed Precious over to raw last year, took me ages to get around to it as I was completely confused and overwhelmed and the more I read and learned the more confused I got.. Like Judy said everyone's got an opinion, and then there's getting the ratio/ balance right, and putting it all together in a 'menu' that works for you and your dog..
I also didn't initially have the freezer space- this'll be a lot easier for you as Laufey is much smaller- P has around 1.5kg per day so a whole lotta meat! (P has his own freezer now, I got a second hand one for £20 so if you've got the space that's def a good option ;) )
This is exactly why I've not just jumped into it. The food he's currently on is pretty good, it's 40% meat which is the about the best we've been able to find locally (I'm reluctant to go for something I can only find online because I am notorious for forgetting to order things on time). That is an awful lot of food for P! Although I've seen the pictures you've put on of him and he is absolutely gorgeous. With the freezer we simply have no where to put one which is really annoying otherwise I would definitely get one, which is part of why I'm worried about the cost as I couldn't buy in bulk. Currently, we're planning on moving after my brother finishes high school and I leave uni and hopefully we'll have space four one then, but this is plans for a few years time - he has three years left in school - and we'll be going wherever I find a graduate job so a lot of planning is going to be needed. Sometimes I think maybe I should have waited to get a puppy but then I also think that getting him now was the better option because I have the time to really dedicate chunks of time to training him where I'm not at uni which I won't have in a job, and I'm still going to be living with my mum so even when I do get a grad job he won't be left for long periods. I could spend all my time second guessing my life :roll:
Not sure if this helps you but this is what I did: I found a local raw food supplier, so until I sorted a second freezer I was able to collect from her weekly.
I am happy to ask her if she knows anyone near you if you want?
This would be amazing if there's someone up here! I'd be very grateful if you could ask and very excited if there is. I know our local Pets at Home does stock some raw food but I'm wary of going to big commercial raw route because I don't know anything about it so if it's better than other food or just about the same.
P was on Orijen before which was around £80 per month for his size, then treats and recreational bones came on top of that. Now I normally spend around £75 per month including bones and some training treats as well.
I've not really looked at how much I spend on food for Laufey a month - if I did I'd probably be very shocked. His food itself isn't overly expensive, the bag is £6 and I get one about every 2 weeks but then he has a lot of treats which are also improving in quality - we've gone from mostly commercial treats to cheese and just started with kidney, he does still have some commercial treats but they're more 'free treats' than training treats now.
Re mixing kibble and raw IMO you're better off doing one or the other, apparently they do digest at different rates (makes sense), kibble takes longer; but I know some people do and I think the main thing is to not give both in one meal but rather raw one meal then kibble the next.
I have heard that they digest at different rates but I've also heard people mix so I was slightly confused there, I'm thinking if I do the swap I might try it gradually as it seems less daunting to start with making all of his treats 'home made' and then see what he thinks to raw meals. Making the treats was definitely easier than I thought it would be, I've only done one tray of kidney in the oven to dehydrate but I didn't make a mess of it which is what I was expecting but I still don't think I can 'throw myself in at the deep end' so to speak.

I also have another raw question - I've read that it's bad for the dog to swallow without chewing enough and I can totally understand why... Question is, how do you stop it? I'm not sure Laufey would do it but currently he chews as little as possible and just swallows - to the point he often coughs them back up and eats them again :?
Sanna
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by Sanna »

I will ask her, you're in Blackpool right?

If your dog's a 'gulper' I would probably start off with minces for peace of mind, some dogs have to 'learn' how to eat raw foods such as chicken wings for example so if the first few times you potentially try things like that you could get a pair of pliers and hold on to one end so he has to chew as opposed to just grab and swallow.. Some people also crush them first (hit them with a hammer) to break up the bone and make it easier ;-)
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

I am in Blackpool, thank you so much.

I'll definitely try minces or holding it, I really don't want to have any incidents
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Just had my first foray into the world of liver. We've discovered Laufey does not like raw liver (he spat it out, so funny) and there's currently a load of little chunks dehydrating in the oven. It is decidedly icky to cut up but not as bad as I thought it would be. I bought a pack of 0.5kg and I've done about half of it, the rest I've sliced and put in the freezer. I was also going to do the rest of the kidney but stupid me forgot to defrost it.... I have a question though

As I'm only dehydrating, not cooking, can it go back in the freezer once it's been in the oven? (If it matters it's ox kidney and pig's liver, although I'm pretty sure that doesn't matter) :mrgreen:
JudyN
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by JudyN »

delladooo wrote:As I'm only dehydrating, not cooking, can it go back in the freezer once it's been in the oven? (If it matters it's ox kidney and pig's liver, although I'm pretty sure that doesn't matter) :mrgreen:
Yes, absolutely fine :D

Jasper doesn't like raw liver either, though he'll eat it minced up with other meats, and he likes it dried. Remember to introduce it very gradually, so as to avoid rear-end explosions!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Oh good, I'll leave the rest in the freezer for now to see how we go on with this (I've made two trays today :P) but good to know for the future.
Remember to introduce it very gradually, so as to avoid rear-end explosions!
So far it's a training treat for his recall only so it's been going well but anything on a larger scale will definitely be done slowly. I absolutely would not deal well with explosions, if it's come out of the digestive system at either end I don't cope overly well :lol:
Sanna
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by Sanna »

Have asked around for you, looks like the nearest one is The Dogs Diner, Wirral http://dogsdiner.webs.com ;) It's a bit further away than I was hoping but apparently they are very nice and helpful. Good luck whatever you decide!
delladooo
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Re: Fresh meat

Post by delladooo »

Ooo thank you!

I'll have a look later and investigate. My mum is still very opposed to the idea, she thinks it's easier, better etc to stay on kibble and loves to point out that our previous dog lived on the Asda smart price dog food and it was her favourite (ie one she ate all of it and fastest) :roll:
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