HarvestMoon

I am planning to convert Gidget, our new puppy, over to raw in the near future. I am trying to determine how much to feed her and have been looking for guidance online, as Gidget's breeder does not feed raw so was not able to assist on this one.

I've read several places to begin feeding puppy 10% of his/her weight a day. Once 10% of his/her weight exceeds 2% to 3% of his/her IDEAL ADULT weight (not present weight), feed the 2% to 3%.

I am not sure how much Gidget weights right now, so will have to weigh her tonight. However, for the sake of argument if I assume she is presently 5lbs weight, then 10% of that would be .5lb or 8oz. So then, I would spread that 8oz across 3 meals and she gets not quite 3 oz per meal? We feed pre-ground raw that has mixed in veggies, bone, etc. It's bought from a local place that sells raw for dogs...

Would greatly appreciate any suggestions from folks who have experience/knowledge about feeding puppies raw.

Many thanks!

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vivienne00

That is what I would do and did do for my last 3 puppies. Keep a close eye on how fat she is and how fat you want her to be. Remember to make sure you have 10% bone, 20% organs (kidney, liver) and 70% meat with fat. If you have less than 10% bone, or the bone is not getting digested (because you see it in the poop and puppies are not the best at digesting all forms of bone), then add in ground eggshell at the rate of 1 teaspoon for each cup of food without bone (I would halve that if the bone is not all getting digested). I would feed 4 meals and reduce to 3 meals around end of teething. Reduce to 2 meals when she is due to come into heat (8-10mths).

To grind eggshell, I dry them in the oven and use a cheapo coffee grinder to grind to fine powdery sand consistency and then store it in small plastic containers in the fridge.

I feed yogurt, egg and ground chicken necks plus supplements for breakfast and I add in the ground eggshell to balance the yogurt and the egg. I add in Nzymes and Icelandic Kelp - and mix it all up - they all love it and they stay on that for the rest of their lives for breakfast (the amount of ground meat diminishes as they mature until they get maybe a tablespoonful).

And I wouldn't wait to switch over - just do it cold turkey - I have yet to see any puppy really have a problem if the diet is not outlandish and is balanced.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

HarvestMoon

Thank you so, so much! This is perfect. The pre-ground meat we are buying should have those ratios - I know I discussed with them when I first put Lucy on raw a few months ago. Raw feeding is a whole new world to me...

Thanks for all the suggestion on 4 vs 3 meals, other supplements, etc. I will weight her tonight and then confirm how much to spread across the 4 meals. She has not been overly thrilled with the kibble the breeder sent her home with and I am really hoping she likes raw as much as Lucy does. She's eating but not as enthusiastically as I would like. Although puppy does not seem quite as food motivated as Lucy is or my last Dobe for that matter.

Thanks again!

p.s. Vivienne - do you also feed fish oil, vit E or ACV? I give these to Lucy along with probiotics. Just wondering if the little pup can digets that stuff yet, or I should wait a bit...

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vivienne00

I feed B100, VitE and Fish Oil from the start. No ACV. They can digest it and mine line up, keen to get their "pills". I also give Lana a CLA every day until she has her 1st heat. I just doubled the dose to 1500mg when she hit 40lb. The CLA is either Tonalin or Myoleptin - I switched from Tonalin to Myoleptin when I ordered more from Puritan's Pride. The breeder wanted me to give this to her every day to ward off mammary cancer - some study that she was privy to. You start around weaning time and continue thru 1st heat. Lana started a few weeks after weaning but I had been feeding her pasture fed beef which has higher CLA than feedlot beef.

I feed frozen raw sardines twice a week to each dog - they get 2 each about 8" long - Jill needs to be reduced to one fish since she is getting a little heavier than I want.

I like that with raw food with the lower protein levels and the balanced (over time) bone:meatrgans you get even growth without the high end stuff happening. You can also add VitC if you want since they just pee out the excess. I don't give puppies much credit for being able to do everything right like digest or even eat until they are in their teens.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

chasroth

I just started my puppy on raw. I am feeding prey model raw. He is doing well. He is 4.5 months. I have him on chicken. I was told for him to estimate his adult weight and feed 2 to 3%. If your is younger than I do believe you start them out on 10%. So far I am very happy with it.

Troy929

What are the benefits of feeding raw??


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

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Kane

HarvestMoon

I am really brand new to feeding raw (started a few months ago), so am not an expert or best equipped to answer your question. I am sure there are several threads on here on the topic if you search and there are many websites out there that summarize the benefits, pros, etc. Here is an articlce online that describes a number of the health benefits that you might find helpful. I'm not in full agreement on the part about introducing slowly, as several people on DT and other places have said it's OK to transition at once. My Dobe did not have any issues switching to raw. And she loves it. She still gets one meal/day of kibble though. Will probably transition her fully to raw shortly. I'm just getting my 9 week old Aussie puppy set up on raw now.

Healthy Pet Journal - Natural, Holistic Health Care for Dogs & Cats

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Hank

A raw diet provides a range of benefits that commercial dog diets can never hope to even closely match.

These benefits include:

1. no doggy odour
2. naturally cleans teeth - no need for toothbrushes, de-scaling jobs, or gum disease
3. the time it takes for a dog to chew a raw meaty bones give their stomach adequate time to get the acids moving
4. much less stools produced - and they are firm, and turn chalky after a couple of days
5. decreased or non-existant vet bills (your dogs are healthier!) 6. less cost for dog food - commercial dog foods are ludicriously expensive
7. mirrors what a dog would be getting in the wild - and certainly even the modern day dog has a digestive tract exactly the same as a wolf
8. puppies develop at a more appropriate rate -and quick growth spurts are avoided. A GOOD breeder will want to stop fast growth in any pup.
9. the ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles of the dog. Commercial dog foods will never assist in this important muscle development.


People who have switched their dogs to a raw diet from commercial dog foods have found the following:

dogs who were previously un-energetic, and sluggish become completely new dogs once the raw diet feeding begins
allergies their dogs previously had on commercial foods, disappear once they start with the raw diet
arthritis has significantly reduced or disappeared in some dogs switched to raw
better weight control
no more doggy odour!
their dogs are living longer on a raw diet than what their other dogs previously had survived on commercial dog foods
that their bitches managed their pregnancies better better weight and survival figures in puppies


Raw Feeding FAQ

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Anton-Caesar

im looking to get Caesar onto raw eventually, he is eating Orijen at the moment, its not the cheapest but my personal view is that it is brilliant, he has loads of energy and his coat is brilliant, i know there may be a bit of placebo in it but he was on Eukanuba and i will never give a dog it again after the improvement that i have seen from Orijen.

I was considering a mixed diet of Orijen + some raw added, is this a good thing to do or is it best to stick to one or the other as i feel the other non meat ingredients in Orijen are great and i dont want to have to buy multiple additives when i could mix.

Also what about the calcium levels when feeding raw? i know poultry bones have good calcium in them but of course i dont want to give him too much and Orijen has calcium already so if i was to do a mixed feed would there be potential for too much?

HarvestMoon

I have been told that it is not good to mix raw and kibble in same meal, as the digestion rates differ. However, I think it's OK to feed raw in one meal, and kibble in another. That is presently what I am doing with my Dobe, but am going to switch her to full raw.

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vivienne00

This is a great thread to read ^^^^

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

HarvestMoon

[quote=vivienne00;1190411]I feed frozen raw sardines twice a week to each dog - they get 2 each about 8" long - Jill needs to be reduced to one fish since she is getting a little heavier than I want.
QUOTE]

Vivienne, this may seem like a dumb question, but do you cut the sardines up at all? Do you give your puppies the sardines? From your post, it sounds that you do.

I've had a bag of six or so that I picked up when I bought some raw food and have not fed any to Lucy yet. I wasn't sure how messy they would be! LOL. So I guess I've procrastinated trying them... I was contemplating giving one to Gidget, the puppy, but was concerned about whether I should cut it up into pieces, and whether she would be able to digest the bones OK.

Thanks!

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vivienne00

[quote=HarvestMoon;1191459]If the puppy is a good careful chewer like Jill, or an adult like the rest, then I just give them 1 or 2 depending on size. But if it is Lana, then I put on a gardening glove and pick up a pair of those wide mouth adjustable pliers and I put the fish in the jaws of the pliers and expose about 3/4" to 1" of fish at a time. I hold the bulk of the fish with my right hand and the pliers with my left and I aim for the molars so she understands to chew thru the head first off (just some of it). We literally inch our way along the fish until the tail is left and then I just flip to the other side. Then we start on the next one. I give them frozen. I used to defrost the fish for Lana and cut crossways into 1/2" slices but that was not teaching her anything and she would gulp the whole lot down. Now she has to work for it.

I alternate between the left and right molars. I have been do9ing this for a couple of months now and have not been bitten and we just did a section of emu spine this way. Also we do pork ribs - anything - including chicken backs. This is my moment of embarrassment - a gulper with a small throat that easily gets food stuck. I lost Boris from choking at 13 mths so you know I have reason to be fearful. He stole a chunk of meat from my husband while he was cutting it up, when I wasn't home - he choked and died. Yoda is his littermate and he is not naughty like that. That is why I am teaching Lana. We'll get there. Very sad...

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.