am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Theo400

am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Hi

I would be very greatful if you could give me some advice. I own a 2yr old German shepherd Dog and have always fed wainwrights but he has in the last 4 months has been having very loose poo. I took him to the vet who said it was the food he was on and he told me to give him hills science plan :roll: but after 2months was the same and was fed up of listing to my vet so decided to do my own research and found out about raw and after lots, and lots of research in September this year I received my first order of natural instinct and he loved it and in 1 week was pooing normally again and was able to pick his poo up again :D but it cost me for a months worth for September £92 :shock: so I decided that, that was a bit to pricey and after more research I found Manifold valley meats in leek which was great as I live in leek and I had read loads of good reviews so last week drove up to pick up my order and it only cost me £48.90p for a month so was very pleased with my £43.10 save a month. anyway what I want to ask is that the MVM don't have any veg or supplement's in them like natural instinct MVM just provide the meat here's a link if you want to have a look http://www.manifoldvalleymeats.co.uk/ba ... -products/

Theo loves this food and actually for the first time looks if there is more and wags his tail which he has never done before.

Anyway I just want to make sure that Theo's weekly menu looks right for a raw diet as this is my first time doing it all my self from scratch.

Monday / breakfast- chicken dinner (10% bone, including heart and liver) and dinner- haddock , veg and sweet potatoes

Tuesday/ breakfast- minced lamb (boneless) / dinner- diced duck, butter nut squash with veg

Wednesday/ breakfast- sardines and fruit / dinner- minced chicken and tripe (20% bone) with veg

Thursday/ breakfast- diced duck, raw egg and fruit / dinner- lamb dinner (60% shoulder, 20% tripe, 10% bone, 10% kidney) with sweet potato

Friday/ breakfast- minced turkey and offal (approx. 10% bone and 10% offal) / dinner- cooked salmon fillet with butter nut squash and veg

Saturday/ breakfast- minced chicken carcase / dinner- minced beef, sweet potatoes and veg

Sunday/ breakfast- pheasant, raw egg and duck necks / dinner Sunday roast ( raw chicken fillet with veg and potatoes)

so dose this sound right is he getting everything he needs?
( I don't feed the same fruit or veg every time I like to give variety with fruit and veg as well as meat and fish)

many thanks
Sarah and Theo
delladooo
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by delladooo »

Hi, I'm new to raw myself (nearly 3 weeks) and from my research, your menu sounds about right. In a healthy dog supplements aren't needed with some people adding things as / when if a dog needs them. Fruit and veg isn't a necessity but some people do feed - if it's for nutrition it's best blended and slightly steamed to release the nutrients but raw, whole green veg is great for something to keep them occupied.
The only other thing I think I can really add is that the salmon doesn't have to be cooked and he'd get more value from it raw most likely. If it's caught yourself or your unsure of the origins I'd freeze for a couple of weeks first but as far as I know, if it's from a supermarket, it's safe to feed as is immediately.

I'm sure someone much more knowledgeable will be long soon to correct me if I'm wrong :D
JudyN
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by JudyN »

I've just moved to Manifold Valley from a supplier that sold great quality food, but was much more expensive, and I'm happy with their products :D You're giving a really good variety of food there. Just a few things to think about:

1) You're not giving any whole bones apart from the duck necks - whole bones aren't necessary nutritionally as the mince has bone in, but they are great for dental health, which is very important. I would be including a something bony every day or two - there's plenty of choice on MVM's website.

2) I'm wondering if you're giving the recommended amount of liver (5%) & other offals (5%) overall. You really don't need to start a spreadsheet or anything to work it out (though some people do :lol: ), and I don't know if there's actually any solid scientific evidence to back up the guideline. But if you think you're giving way less, you could try upping it a little. You might need to spread it through the week as giving it all in one meal could mean you won't be picking the poos up so easily :wink:

3) Not everyone agrees on whether fruit & veg are needed. But as Delladoo says, if given, it is best for them to be lightly cooked or thoroughly pureed for the dog to get the nutrition out of them.

But these are really minor tweaks to consider :D Be guided by your dog's health and his poos - if they're too hard, he needs less bone & more offal, if too soft, he needs more bone & less offal.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Hi

thanks for your reply. I get my salmon from adli as I get the frozen bag for £3.99 for about 4 fillets which last a month for him so I will see if he likes it raw and will let it defrost.

im glad I don't have to add supplements as I read that I needed to add probiotic yogurt a few times a week and olive oil and organic apple cider vinegar a few time a week as well. which I was a bit confused about as I thought he would get all the nutrients he needs from the meat, fish, egg, veg, fruit, sweet potato and butter nut squash.

thanks for replying Delladooo and I look forward to hearing from others to see what they think as well
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Hi

thank for your reply Judy N . I forgot to mention that I do feed other than the necks I do give him meaty bones 2 a week his favourites are the lamb ribs. is this ok?

I also puree his fruit and veg in either the blender or food mixer but put it in raw and then blend is this ok?
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

hi again

I have just realised I have done 2 of the meals wrong :lol:

Mondays dinner is either haddock or sardines and Wednesdays breakfast is turkey and offal

I forgot to include the offal meal. am I feeding enough offal now I have corrected the mistake?

many thanks :)
Sarah and Theo
JudyN
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by JudyN »

Theo400 wrote:I forgot to mention that I do feed other than the necks I do give him meaty bones 2 a week his favourites are the lamb ribs. is this ok?
Yep, that's fine! I've no idea what the optimum amount of bone is for dental health though - my dog has carcasses every day but that's just what works for us.
Theo400 wrote:I also puree his fruit and veg in either the blender or food mixer but put it in raw and then blend is this ok?
Yes, pureed raw is fine.
Theo400 wrote:I forgot to include the offal meal. am I feeding enough offal now I have corrected the mistake?
Honestly, it would take a fair bit of label-reading and calculating to work it out, you're best off just making a rough guesstimate for each day. You would need to know if, for example, the pheasant includes offal. I think I give way under the guidelines myself, as Jasper isn't keen on liver :oops: Then again, Nettle on this forum has said that liver isn't necessary at all, and she has waaaaaaaay more experience than me!

It's a bit like feeding humans really - we all have a vague idea what a healthy diet looks like but don't worry about balancing everything exactly. And the more people you ask, the more opinions you'll get...
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
delladooo
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by delladooo »

Theo400 wrote:im glad I don't have to add supplements as I read that I needed to add probiotic yogurt a few times a week and olive oil and organic apple cider vinegar a few time a week as well
I know what you mean, Judy's right, the more people you ask the more opinions you get. Personally I don't add yoghurt or olive oil. We do have some ACV in the cupboard as Laufey can be very itchy and we have some tree bark powder as he's not been well but I wouldn't add anything extra unless there's a specific need to purely because it's one less thing to think about (and buy) :lol:
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Thanks Delladooo and JudyN for your reply's :D
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Hi Everyone

just to give you an update I have changed my vet this morning as I have found a vet clinic that believes raw is best and they don't sell kibble or canned food at all. as it opened this morning and invited dog/cat/rabbit etc owners to come and have a look (as they have been advertising for weeks. there is only one vet but she also owns the practice and she was telling us all that she spent an extra 3 yrs studying nutrient for animals and believes that cats and dog should be fed raw as there was complete silence :lol: when she came to the diet part and that she believes in raw. im happy though as I have someone else I can talk to.

with the meaty bone part of the diet she said that it was not a good idea to feed and adult shepherd chicken wings or necks as she said they are to small and that Theo needs larger bones what would you recommend.? I feed him duck necks and lamb ribs and also a stag bar

many thanks
Sarah and Theo
JudyN
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by JudyN »

Ooh, you are lucky to have a vet who fully supports raw feeding :D

Chicken carcasses and lamb ribs will be fine - I haven't fed duck necks but I guess they would be big enough. I don't give my dog anything harder as he's a guarder (I also don't feed lamb ribs as he doesn't digest them well - most dogs have no trouble, but keep an eye on his poos for large fragments of bone) Others may be able to advise on bones that last longer.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Hi

UPDATE:

Theo is doing great on raw and my friend and I were walking our dog and when we got home I waited 2hrs and fed Theo (we went out at 5.30am for a long walk) and I fed him at 8.30am as we got back by 6.30am, anyway when I fed him my friends dog Zeus (Great Dane) was really interested in Theo raw food as Zeus gets Bakers :x . so the good news is Zeus might not be staying on that rubbish :D but neither of us could figure out how much she would need to feed him he weighs 80kg and she has another Dane who was going to work with her husband (that's why she was not with us on the walk) and she weighs 70kg how much would she need to feed both dogs?
JudyN
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by JudyN »

The general guideline is to feed 2-3% of bodyweight a day. That works out as:

80kg: 1.6-2.4kg per day
70kg: 1.4-2.1kg per day

I'd probably start around the middle or towards the lower end, and gradually increase if they seem to be hungry or lose weight - or reduce if they put on weight, of course!
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Theo400

Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Theo400 »

Hi

I fed Theo his meaty lamb bone yesterday and he ate the whole thing which he has never done before I just wanted to make sure this is normal is it ok for him to eat the whole of the lamb bone.



Thanks
Theo and Sarah :)
JudyN
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Re: am i feeding raw right please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by JudyN »

Yes, he should be fine :D Just keep an eye out for any signs of abdominal pain or bone in poo, but that's just a precaution as he's not eaten that much before.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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