[SaharaNight Boxers]

I'm guessing Dehydrated is part of Alternative feeding so I'm posting here.

I'm looking to feed my Boxer dehydrated raw food. I've found a few brands, but was wondering what you all feed. I would like to feed 100% meat if possible, but will do a few veggies if absolutely needed. I want it to be as close to freash raw as possible. I want to do fresh raw but at this point we don't have the time to commit to it right now and let him eat at his own pace.

Thanks,
SaharaNight Boxers

 

[magicre]

I'm guessing Dehydrated is part of Alternative feeding so I'm posting here.

I'm looking to feed my Boxer dehydrated raw food. I've found a few brands, but was wondering what you all feed. I would like to feed 100% meat if possible, but will do a few veggies if absolutely needed. I want it to be as close to freash raw as possible. I want to do fresh raw but at this point we don't have the time to commit to it right now and let him eat at his own pace.

Thanks,
SaharaNight Boxers

you don't have to feed veggies....or you can if you want to. it's your choice..

most of the people on this forum feed a prey model raw or a modified version.

even still, we have transition to concern as a first......and generally people start with chicken which is most easily digested.

that's what i would recommend....

i presume you have a boxer.....i would feed 2% of his or her ideal weight....for a few weeks....and i would use a bony chicken part to do so....watch the stools to make sure he's stable...

i would stay on chicken for two weeks, slowly adding chicken meat without bone, but giving bone with every meal...or every other meal if the stool gets too chalky...

if you want to add veggies, that is, of course your choice.....if you want to feed a barf diet vs a pmr diet.....i still wouldn't introduce veggies until you have the dog used to eating raw protein.

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

I guess I should've been more clear. When I say dehydrated I mean something like the Honest Kitchen. Not just freeze dried raw meat. The only reason is because we fear eating a fresh raw meal will take too long. We have a very tight schedule and don't have time for half hour feedings. Plus not everyone is on board the raw wagon....


And I REALLY don't want to feed veggies or fruits, but I can't find a dehydrated meat only dog food.

 

[DaneMama]

The only reason is because we fear eating a fresh raw meal will take too long. We have a very tight schedule and don't hav time for half hour feedings.

Our "slow" eater takes about 10 minutes on average. The others eat in under 2 minutes most of the time. I'd say that truly slow eaters are very few and far between, most dogs would be long since done at a half hour.

The time consuming part would be packaging and preparing whole fresh foods. Most people who have lots of mouths to feed do "meat prep" once monthly. Spare an hour or so one day a month to get all the food ready.

 

[luvMyBRT]

I'm confused....why do you feel that because you feed a raw meal it will take half an hour for them to eat? My 12 year old GSH Pointer eats a pork rib, turkey neck, chicken quarter in less then 5 minutes. And, most times it's even less then 3 minutes. She's never taken 30 minutes to eat a meal, even when she was transitioned.

Now, I do understand "not everyone being on the raw wagon". My husband was like that in the beginning. I have heard good things about The Honest Kitchen, but aren't you just adding raw meat to it? Why not just feed only the meat and forget the rest? If you don't want to feed veggies then don't.

I hope you can find something that will work for you and your dogs. :smile:

 

[BrownieM]

I guess I should've been more clear. When I say dehydrated I mean something like the Honest Kitchen. Not just freeze dried raw meat. The only reason is because we fear eating a fresh raw meal will take too long. We have a very tight schedule and don't have time for half hour feedings. Plus not everyone is on board the raw wagon....


And I REALLY don't want to feed veggies or fruits, but I can't find a dehydrated meat only dog food.

Half hour feedings? LOL!

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

Wow! I didn't think they would eat that qickly! It seems like it would take a long time to munch and crunch their way through. But the only problem is everyone isn't on the wagon for raw. I made a slideshow literally 15 slides of why raw is great. Still no budging...any ideas on that one? lol If that can happen he'll be on raw soon. I feel bad for him because he's soo itchy all the time and I know that will help a lot and he has such a sensitive stomach that he's eaten the same kibble since he was little. He's 20 months now.

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

Well, we had a mini meeting on raw and absolutely refusing raw. Dehydrated maybe. No budging here.

 

[luvMyBRT]

My husband was freaked out at first and was very hesitant. I made him a deal to give it a try for a month. He agreed. He was totally for it after 2 feedings. Maybe give that a try? :smile:

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

My husband was freaked out at first and was very hesitant. I made him a deal to give it a try for a month. He agreed. He was totally for it after 2 feedings. Maybe give that a try? :smile:

I was thinking the exact same thing....I'm gonna try it. Hopefully it works! And the idea of lower vet bills...

 

[DaneMama]

What are his main concerns? Tell him to write them out...and we will all tell him why he shouldn't be worried because I'm fairly confident that his concerns are nothing new to us. Most people have the same issues to being fearful of feeding a raw diet, which we are all well versed in how to dis spell these concerns :thumb:

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

Main thing is just too much going on, too much work, not enough time...

Just has a problem with raw in general

 

[CorgiPaws]

Guys, I'm just throwing it out there, and as much as I want every dog in the world on PMR, some dogs really DO take a long time to eat. Things that take my Danes two seconds, might take Annie an hour or more. So, she usually gets fed in her crate so I'm not waiting on her. A chicken quarter alone might take 10 minutes. A turkey neck can take 40. Throw in a fast Boxer metabolism requiring upwards of 6lbs a day.... Eating is an hour event sometimes!
Is this typical? No, probably not. From what I've seen tho, it's certainly not abnormal with smushy face dogs.

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

Guys, I'm just throwing it out there, and as much as I want every dog in the world on PMR, some dogs really DO take a long time to eat. Things that take my Danes two seconds, might take Annie an hour or more. So, she usually gets fed in her crate so I'm not waiting on her. A chicken quarter alone might take 10 minutes. A turkey neck can take 40. Throw in a fast Boxer metabolism requiring upwards of 6lbs a day.... Eating is an hour event sometimes!
Is this typical? No, probably not. From what I've seen tho, it's certainly not abnormal with smushy face dogs.

6 pounds! I know they have fast metabolisms but I was thinking 2 or 3 at most!

 

[CorgiPaws]

6 pounds! I know they have fast metabolisms but I was thinking 2 or 3 at most!

Don't let that scare you!! My dogs all have insane metabolisms, I'm not sure why. I wouldn't say she's normal!! Lol

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

Don't let that scare you!! My dogs all have insane metabolisms, I'm not sure why. I wouldn't say she's normal!! Lol

Ok, I was scared for a moment!

 

[DaneMama]

I'd say Annie is the only raw fed dog that I know that takes an hour to eat LOL

 

[CorgiPaws]

I'd say Annie is the only raw fed dog that I know that takes an hour to eat LOL

I know a pack of 4 boxers, 3 of which are in the same boat.

It's simple to just put her in a crate with her dinner tho, and then it is no more time consuming than kibble at meal time!!

 

[gorge77]

before switching 2 of my dogs to home made raw, i tried commercial raw like Honest Kitchen (dehydrated raw), Dr Bs (frozen raw) & Primal (frozen raw nuggets).

My feedback:

1) Honest Kitchen
- messy. looks like mud after being rehydrated with water. both my dogs have long beard & it took me very long to wipe the mess off their beard. n they didn't like it after a few feedings.

2) Dr B patties
- both my dogs had regular diarrhea. as much as i would like to think it isn't related to the food, but their diarrhea stopped after i changed to home made raw. also, one of my dogs turned her nose away from the food after few months of feeding.

3) Primal Raw
- as much as i would like to believe this is frozen raw, it looked nothing like it. so i stopped after trying a few packs.

some time ago i was fostering a dog for a couple of weeks & her new owner asked that i feed her k9 natural (freeze dried). it has to be rehydrated with water as well, though not as messy as honest kitchen. similarly, it didn't look like raw meats either. i've also heard of many dogs not wanting to eat it after a few feedings.

conclusion : home made raw is still the best.

 

[SaharaNight Boxers]

We have decided to go with the Grandma Lucy's PUREFORMANCE as a liason between freeze-dried and raw. I know for sure we'll progress to all fresh PMR after this and am looking for any info on it or experiences. (In a new thread) Thanks!