I understand exactly what you are saying. There are raw feeders who have to do everything by the numbers. They swear by a 80-10-10 ratio of meat, bones and organs. Problem is, no one measures their own diet that close. You feed mostly meat, some bone, and some organs. Exact ratio's don't matter. If you don't measure the exact amount of nutrients in your diet, why do it for your dogs?
I've been feeding my dogs raw for 8 years. I NEVER pay attention to ratios. I feed chicken backs every morning. I feed chicken leg quarters about 3 evenings a week. I've been doing this all my raw feeding life and my dogs are healthy and show no signs of any nutritional deficiency.
80-10-10 is an arbitrary number someone came up with years ago. Like a lot of things, she said it, a couple of people repeated it and all of a sudden it became carved in stone. Baloney!!! This person took a few wild prey animals, cut them up, tried to debone them as well as she should. She then weighed the bones, organs, and everything that was left and came up with the ratios. As far as I know, no one else has attempted to verify these numbers. I can't remember for sure what animals she cut up. Seems like it was a deer, a goat, and a rabbit but I may be all wrong about that.
I have never paid any attention to the ratios and my dogs have not suffered from it. One of my Danes is 10 years old and after a blood workup a few weeks ago, the vet said she had the liver of a 3 year old.
Mostly meat, some bone, and some organs. A variety of animal parts from a variety of animals. If their poop is too soft, feed more bone. If their poop is white and powdery right out of the chute, feed less bone. If they are constipated, feed more organs. Feed pieces large enough that they can't swallow them whole. If the dog gets two fat feed less. IF the dog gets too thin, feed more. There ... thats all you need to know once you are through the adjustment period. This is not rocket science. It's feeding a dog. If you can feed your family, you can feed your dog. :smile:
One more thing you need to understand ... you can interview 100 different raw feeders and you won't find any two who feed exactly the same way. The paragraph above tells you all the essentials. Everything else is what feels good to you and your dogs. In time you will get a routine worked out and all will run smoothly.