[beckalexis]

Hi everyone!

I am new to raw; about 1 month in. I have three dogs: a 7 year old Terrier mix (Heidi), 4 y.o. Pembroke Welsh Corgi (Titus), and a 8 week old Black Russian Terrier (Sirius).

About 3-4 months ago on the anticipation of adding Sirius to the family, I began to research raw feeding since BRT's tend to have allergy problems.

I am now feeding 100% raw to all three dogs but I have a few questions:

1. I want to confirm how much I should be feeding a large breed puppy. I have read that I should feed 2% of his expected adult weight (around 130lbs if not bigger) in 2-3 meals a day. Should be really be getting approx. 3lbs of food a day? Or should I be feeding him 4% of his current body weight (approx. 15lbs which would be about 1/2lbs of food a day)?

My two smaller dogs are "easy keepers" and tend to stay a consistent weight easily. However, I am worried that I maybe underfeeding my BRT puppy since he seems a little skinny but I don't want to overfeed him which can be detrimental to his joints.

2. I bought ground beef, chicken backs, and a "kennel mix" of beef organs. I know organ meat should be fed maybe once or twice a week (please correct me if that is wrong) but I was reading that ground beef maybe not the best choice because of bacteria issues. Is that true?

I currently feed chicken backs 4-5 days a week with ground beef, and the organ mix 2-3 days a week with ground beef. As you can see the ground beef is the "main" staple in the diet.

If ground beef is not good constant, can you recommend a non-bone meat? I like to feed non-bone meats in the morning and RMB's at night since I can monitor them more closely.

Sorry for the long winded questions but I appreciate any input!

 

[whiteleo]

Yes, this will be quick so sorry about the reply.
You want to feed you BRT approx. 3 lbs a day three feedings would be ideal.

Ground anything other than the organ mix is not ideal because of the bacteria facter and also not alot of chewing is required which is what is great about a raw diet, dental benefits.

Please read the signature in RawFedDogs signature and he pretty much gives you a great go to, how to and read through alot of the raw threads as they are a wealth of info.

Glad you decided to go raw, you'll be happy you did and so will your dogs. Sorry I didn't have much time to explain but had to leave the house.

 

[JayJayisme]

If ground beef is not good constant, can you recommend a non-bone meat?

Ground beef is not an ideal constant for reasons stated by whiteleo.

For my money, trying to stay under the $1/lb average cost of food for my dogs, I find pork roasts to be a great non-bone meat for the price. I often buy shoulder or butt roasts for anywhere between .59 and .99/lb which I de-bone and cut into chunks appropriately sized for each of my dogs.

Of course, once you remove the inedible bones the cost per pound of meat increases significantly. But I still find most pork roast cheaper than buying boneless beef or chicken, pound for pound.

 

[RawFedDogs]

Hey, Welcome to the board and welcome to raw feeding. Your dogs are going to love it. :smile:

1. I want to confirm how much I should be feeding a large breed puppy. I have read that I should feed 2% of his expected adult weight (around 130lbs if not bigger) in 2-3 meals a day. Should be really be getting approx. 3lbs of food a day? Or should I be feeding him 4% of his current body weight (approx. 15lbs which would be about 1/2lbs of food a day)?

I would feed an 8 week old puppy at least 3 meals a day and maybe 4. They just can't handle a lot of food at once. I think I would feed the little bugger 10% of his present weight UNTIL that amount is more than 2 - 3% of his ideal adult weight. So presently I would feed about 1 1/2 lbs. I think you will find that amount going up most every day. :smile:

However, I am worried that I maybe underfeeding my BRT puppy since he seems a little skinny but I don't want to overfeed him which can be detrimental to his joints.

By all means, keep him skinny.

2. I bought ground beef, chicken backs, and a "kennel mix" of beef organs. I know organ meat should be fed maybe once or twice a week (please correct me if that is wrong) but I was reading that ground beef maybe not the best choice because of bacteria issues. Is that true?

Ground beef is not a real good choice to feed regularly, not because of bacteria. Bacteria doesn't bother me. It's lack of chewing action and lack of dental benefits that keep me from feeding a lot of ground anything. I have no problem with feeding 2 or 3 meals of ground stuff a week. Bones do wonders on dog's teeth.

I currently feed chicken backs 4-5 days a week with ground beef, and the organ mix 2-3 days a week with ground beef. As you can see the ground beef is the "main" staple in the diet.

I feed backs every day. They are breakfast for my Danes. Each gets one back which is no more than a snack for them. They get most of their food in the evening.

If ground beef is not good constant, can you recommend a non-bone meat? I like to feed non-bone meats in the morning and RMB's at night since I can monitor them more closely.

As I said, my dogs get a back every morning. It takes them about 10 seconds to eat it, so monitoring them isn't a big deal. The best non-bone meat you can feed is beef heart. Be careful with it in the beginning as it is very rich with nutrients and CAN cause digestive upset if not introduced slowly. I wouldn't feed a whole meal of heart in the beginning. Feed small amounts with something else. Over time, you can feed whole meals of beef heart. I feed one meal a week of heart.

I would be a little suspicous of the beef organs "kennel mix". Exactly what is in it. Does it contain liver? About half of your organ feed should be liver. Actually liver is just about the only organ I feed my dogs. I feed others when I find it.

Check out my web page linked in my sig. It should help you some.

 

[beckalexis]

Thank you for the insight! I enjoyed that article and the advice on correct meal weight.

The only reason I even consider ground meat is that Sirius is a puppy and is has difficulty eating the chicken back. It takes him about 30-45 minutes to strip a 1lb chicken back clean. He can't chew through all the bones yet (although this may be a mute point in a couple weeks). Even my adult terrier mix (22lbs) can't get through a chicken back in 20 minutes. Hence, the monitoring at night and the ground in the morning. Once the BRT is able to chow through the bones with ease, I figured I would feed him everyday instead of just 4-5 says a week. What is normally done when they are puppies?

Do you think I should do chicken necks instead of chicken backs until he can chew through bone easier?

The kennel mix, I was told, was an all beef organ mix. I am not sure of the ratio of liver to other organs. I will ask my meat supplier when I see him next.

 

[DaneMama]

What you can do is whack the chicken back a bit with a hammer before giving it to him because he needs to eat the bones. That is what we did with our Dane pup and what we will do with the new dane pup in about 6 weeks. Just whack the chicken back less and less as you notice him chewing better. You don't want to cut bones up because then they can be a hazard so crunching up the bones with a hammer better mimicks chewing.

Welcome to the boards :wink:

 

[xxshaelxx]

I didn't have any problems with my newest dog when we put him on raw in terms of bones. It just takes some getting used to, and some dogs are very dainty with their food. Kuso, the pup, ripped through his salmon head today in about ten minutes. Ryou snarfed his in about twenty, and I don't know how long Amaya took on hers, but I know that I fed them before I started getting ready for work, and she had only made a small dent in it by the time I had left (husband was home to monitor them), and that was a good forty minutes. Sometimes I wonder if I'll have to chop her stuff up just because she's such a dainty eater.

 

[beckalexis]

a hammer to the chicken backs worked like a charm! Thanks everyone!