[CorgiPaws]

Okay, so Grissom has been on rqw for about two months now... and so far he has had

Chicken
Turkey
Pork
Mackeral
Salmon
Sardines
Beef
Chicken Liver
Beef Kidney

Introduced in that order, too. My question is, is this enough variety? These are the things I can get affordibly. Anything else I am looking at over $2/lb. Even beef is costing me nearly $2/lb and that's on sale. I can only buy it on sale or I'd have to go ground, which i don't want to do. How terrible is it if I do have to give ground beef every now and then? I know it's not as good as whole pieces, but for the sake of the bank balance, and keeping variety, is ground meat the end of the world?

I'm feeding chicken every morning, and then one meal of turkey, pork, fish (sometimes two fish), and beef per week, which still leaves chicken for two dinners. I am giving a little bit of the organs per night, but no whole meals of them as I don't feel he's ready for that.

Should I change anything? Add anything? Take anything away? Am I going to hurt him in the long run if I can't add anything else? He seems to be doing well now. I intend to add Beef Liver and possibly Talapia every now and then to the mix, but as far as lamb, duck, venison, elk, buffalo, etc.. they are incredibly expensive.

Thanks in advance. :biggrin:

 

[SuZQuzie]

I personally do not feel comfortable feeding ground meat raw ever.

Think about it this way: the only areas of a steak that may be contaminated are at the surface layer. With ground meat, all of the meat may be contaminated since it all makes contact with the metal grinder during the grinding process. The potential contaminated area would then extend to throughout the entire volume of meat.

While some feel that this is a null point, I feel that it is best to still minimize the risk.

 

[jdatwood]

It sounds like a reasonable mix at this stage

Shop the meat sales. It might be every few months but when something goes on sale really cheap, stock up! Look for the racks of beef ribs to go on sale

Copy our CL ad and use it out there... see what you can find
Freezer burned meat - willing to buy

 

[whiteleo]

I will feed ground occassionally with no problem, it just isn't a good idea to only feed ground because of the bone for teeth issue. There are raw feeders who only feed ground products!

 

[RawFedDogs]

My question is, is this enough variety?

Yes, definately.

I can only buy it on sale or I'd have to go ground, which i don't want to do.

I feed ground beef from time to time. I don't worry about bacteria. If most of you could see some of the rotten meat my dogs have eaten you would never worry about bacteria in food again. A guy's freezer quit and he gave me the ruined meat. I fed it to the dogs without any adverse effects. Sometimes I'd have to use a can or room deorderizer in the kitchen and put a fan in the window to blow the stink out. Of course we would eat out that night. :smile:

How terrible is it if I do have to give ground beef every now and then?

Not terrible at all.

I'm feeding chicken every morning, and then one meal of turkey, pork, fish (sometimes two fish), and beef per week, which still leaves chicken for two dinners. I am giving a little bit of the organs per night, but no whole meals of them as I don't feel he's ready for that.

I never feed a whole meal of organs except for beef heart which techniclaly isn't an organ anyway.

Should I change anything? Add anything? Take anything away?

You might be able to find beef heart around $1/lb. Get it if you can. Its very nutritious but should be introduced slowly as it's rich. I feed whole meals of it once a week now but in the beginning just a little at a time.

Am I going to hurt him in the long run if I can't add anything else?

Nope, not at all.

He seems to be doing well now. I intend to add Beef Liver and possibly Talapia every now and then to the mix, but as far as lamb, duck, venison, elk, buffalo, etc.. they are incredibly expensive.

If you know some hunters, you might be able to talk them out of some venison but i never feed any of those other things.

 

[Ania's Mommy]

I think I read in another post that you may have a Ranch 99 Market near where you just moved to. I found whole, frozen duck there (with the organs removed :frown for $1.79/lb. A little more than I normally like to pay, but not too bad (I'm finding it very hard to keep my cost at < $1/lb like most of you do. Not sure if it's a regional thing, or I'm not looking in the right places. So the whole duck may be even cheaper for you in Vegas). Plus, my dog is big enough to eat the whole thing in one meal, so the convenience factor makes the price more worth it. :biggrin: I think your dogs are smaller, though...

But as far as the variety, Ranch 99 is great. They have some crazy stuff there! Like pig face... Didn't even know that existed...

Richelle

 

[rannmiller]

I feed ground beef to my dogs every week and they do just fine with it, don't worry about that! I mean, I wouldn't make it a staple in his diet, but once or twice a week isn't bad at all. If you can find a place in Vegas that has better meat selection and prices, you could always try just making a monthly trek there to stock up if it's worth it.

Aside from that it sounds like you're doing everything right and it's time to start posting ads on craigslist! :biggrin:

 

[CorgiPaws]

Thank you for all the replies, I feel more secure now. I just feel like there's not enough variety but I guess most kibbles offer two, mabe three animal sources total and I'm doing much more than that.
It's also good to know that I am not going to short him by feeding ground every now and then. I don't want it to be a keystone in their diet, but good to know I don't need to pass up good sales just because they're ground.... and that I don't feel like I have to buy $3/lb beef steaks anymore. woo hoo! (spoiled rotten brats)
I did post an ad on CL yesterday, and got one response today from someone whose freezer stopped working and they had about 5lbs of ground beef, but I did not get it in time, their trash was already picked up so they let it go. Darn.
Oh well, hopefully I will be able to get some other responses and stock up on freebies.
I also will check out that Ranch 99 store, but what exactly is it? Is there anything I should stay away from? Are the prices better than normal grocer stores, or do they just have more of the "weird stuff"? We will probably go check it out Monday. Their website isnt that informative.

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Ranch 99 is an Asian food store that is about the same size as a regular grocery store like Albertsons or Safeway. So compared to other ethnic markets I've been to, it's pretty big.

I tend to think that overall, they are cheaper than most stores. But the meat seems to be about the same or only slightly less expensive. The reason I go there is to get better variety, because yes, they do have a lot of what I would consider "weird stuff". :wink:

But it sounds like you're doing fine with what you have available. :biggrin:

On a side note, I think syou started feeding Grissom raw very soon after we started with Ania, so we're sort of on the same track here. Are you finding that seeking out cheap meat has become sort of an addiction?!? Everywhere I go, I try to find stuff! My freezer is COMPLETELY full, but I keep looking! Can't help it. Just wondered if I'm the only crazy here. :biggrin:

Richelle

 

[jeserf]

isn't raw salmon supposed to be really dangerous for dogs?

 

[DaneMama]

isn't raw salmon supposed to be really dangerous for dogs?

I don't think so...we just bought a whole salmon from Costco and while "butchering" it all the dogs got a good part of it. We have done this in the past many times. Not once have the dogs got sick, but I am curious where you heard that and what exactly about the raw salmon is supposedly dangerous...?

 

[Ania's Mommy]

I had heard that about salmon too. But it was specific to only Pacific Northwest salmon, as they have some sort of parasite in them that is fatal to dogs. I think that RFD said in a recent post that if you freeze it for at least two weeks, the parasite would be killed. Don't know if I'd want to risk it though... I live in the Pacific NW, so it is very likely that all fresh salmon I get would be from the region. I'm stickin' with canned for now. (Although I pretty much take all of what RFD says as gospel!):biggrin:

 

[DaneMama]

Now I remember something like that. Thanks for the reminder. I will go panic now

 

[Ania's Mommy]

I'm not totally sure, but I think that even the "fresh" fish at Costco notes that it was "previously frozen". Plus, I think it's usually from Alaska, not the PNW. It should say on the package...

Jeeze! Let us know what you find!

 

[DaneMama]

I think we're good :wink:

 

[jeserf]

yes, it's from a bacteria in salmon mostly found in the PNW. I'd personally worry about any farm raised salmon and all the problems with that, but that's because I wouldn't feed that to a human I loved, let alone a dog.

Here's a quick google search result on salmon poisoning:
Salmon Poisoning Disease

 

[RawFedDogs]

Actually, its a parasite and not bacteria. There is an important difference. Freezing will kill parasites. It won't kill bacteria. I haven't seen any problems with farm raised salmon listed anywere concerning this parasite.