[spookychick13]

But I'm looking for some advice.

Flip and Jack are on Orijen in the evenings (I recently bought new bags, doh!) and Flip gets a raw Stella and Chewy's patty in the morning for breakfast.

I am OUT Of Stella and Chewy's as of this morning, and rather than spend $25.00 on another bag, should I start him on raw chicken backs or necks or quarters in the morning? I want to finish the kibble in the evening because frankly it was expensive!

Any ideas/advice?
I wanted to wait until I got some raw feeding books to start, but...I may as well do it I suppose?

Flip is 40lbs and 10 months old, not sure what would be the best thing to start him on.

 

[malluver1005]

I am OUT Of Stella and Chewy's as of this morning, and rather than spend $25.00 on another bag, should I start him on raw chicken backs or necks or quarters in the morning? I want to finish the kibble in the evening because frankly it was expensive!

I would just start him on chicken backs in the morning and the evening. Before I started raw, I also had a lot of kibble left. Some wonderful raw feeders on here told me to donate it to a shelter, and I did. Those dogs need it more. And it was Evo, also expensive!

Any ideas/advice?
I wanted to wait until I got some raw feeding books to start, but...I may as well do it I suppose?

I don't have any books. There really is nothing to it once you start. And you can always come here and ask away.

Flip is 40lbs and 10 months old, not sure what would be the best thing to start him on.

I would start him on backs. I think chicken necks might be too small...

 

[RawFedDogs]

Yes to everything malluver said. :smile:

 

[spookychick13]

What about leg quarters?

Can I just ask the butcher for backs?

 

[malluver1005]

What about leg quarters?

Can I just ask the butcher for backs?

I have Aspen on quarters in the evenings and he did perfectly fine in the beginning. You can try asking the butcher for backs.

 

[lovinmylabs]

I was in the same boat...I know how you feel.

I also donated 1/2 of EVO to a shelter thanks to the advice from these wonderful people.

I started with nothing but chicken backs for the am and pm feedings. I ordered these from a local butcher. $20 for 40 LBs.

As for reading books...I agree 100% with what was said....the people on here are experienced and very knowledgable....they are better then any book because as soon as you have questions someone is always at the other end of your computer waiting to help you!!

I say give it a try...you wont regret it and your doggies will be forever greatful...you wallet will be too!!:wink: GOOD LUCK!

 

[DaneMama]

I am so happy to hear that we are albe to help so many people out on here. It really does make my day to see that people are happy for our help! Its even better that its just something that we all enjoy doing anyways :biggrin:

As far as books go...I would recommend getting these two...at the very least. I have been raw feeding for a long time now and have just NOW gotten around to reading the books LOL. But I do recommend reading them, there is always room to learn something new and increase your knowledge. So everyone here can be just as confident and knowledgeable to the point where they feel comfortable to walk some newbie through every step in the process! You can all see from malluver1005 how confident she already is with giving advice. Keep up the great work :wink:

Here are the two books that I recommend you read. "Work Wonders" is kinda the raw for dummies version and "Raw Meaty Bones" is the sciency version. Both are wonderful...I own both. They are both written by the wonderful Dr. Tom Lonsdale and are very affordable on Amazon...

Amazon.com: Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones (9780975717400): Tom Lonsdale: Books

I've thought about buying like 10 copies of Work Wonders to hand out to friends and family to read through if they are interested, on temporary loan of course! Just anything to help spread the word!!!

Amazon.com: Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health (9780646396248): Tom Lonsdale: Books

 

[spookychick13]

I ordered the 'Work Wonders' book and this one as well:
Amazon.com: Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog (9781929242092): Carina Beth Macdonald: Books

 

[DaneMama]

^^^ Hmmm...well you will get a differing opinion from that book and from Lonsdale's books. That book follows the BARF diet, not the PMR diet like the others do. BARF includes fruits and veggies and other things, whereas the PMR diet is nothing but raw meats, bones and organs (which is what MOST of us do on here).

I have heard from Jem that this book is not as helpful as the others, but it doesn't hurt to read up on all different aspects of a raw diet.

 

[CorgiPaws]

I am OUT Of Stella and Chewy's as of this morning, and rather than spend $25.00 on another bag, should I start him on raw chicken backs or necks or quarters in the morning?

I personally started my dogs on quarters, because they are readily avaliable, so I didn't have to do any special ordering or anything. I like the quarters because they aren't as fatty as backs. I always cut the faty parts/ some of the skin off when starting to avoid loose stools. With backs, I feel like there's more to throw away. But, either way, it's better than the pre made or kibble, so you can't loose.

I want to finish the kibble in the evening because frankly it was expensive!

Understandable. I finished my Boxer's Innova before going raw, our shelter won't accept opened bags, and no one I knew wanted it. *shrug*

I wanted to wait until I got some raw feeding books to start, but...I may as well do it I suppose?

IMO, MOST raw books will be useless because most of them are in support of a BARF diet and do nothing but controdict the fact that dogs are carnivores.
I prefer a forum like this one, that can answer questions directly, and be interactive, rather than a book that leaves you questioning things. But you have to do whatever you are most comfortable with. :biggrin:

Flip is 40lbs and 10 months old, not sure what would be the best thing to start him on.

2-3% of his ideal adult body weight. bone-in chicken only for the first two weeks. Which cut you pick is unimportant really. I'd go with whatever is readily avaliable and affordable.

I love new people with lots of questions! Gives me something to do. lol:tongue:

 

[spookychick13]

Yes, one of my friends told me to get that book to help with the 'courage' aspect.


The pet store just gave me whole duck necks.

 

[spookychick13]

I love this forum, just saying.

I think I am going to start Flip (the standard poodle) on chicken quarters and Jack the Cav on drumsticks then.

 

[DaneMama]

I love this forum, just saying.

I think I am going to start Flip (the standard poodle) on chicken quarters and Jack the Cav on drumsticks then.

Woot!! I love this forum too :biggrin:

Glad that you are going to take the plunge! Keep us posted.

 

[CorgiPaws]

I love this forum, just saying.

I think I am going to start Flip (the standard poodle) on chicken quarters and Jack the Cav on drumsticks then.

Yayy, keep us posted, and I'm glad you're enjoying it here.

TIP: quarters tend to be much cheaper per pound than packaged drumsticks, at least here they are. For my smaller dog, I still buy the quarters, and just cut them in half with kitchen scissors (Mine are Kitchen Aid, I think I paid like $8 for them) and give a drumstick for a meal, and the thigh for another.

 

[spookychick13]

Thanks for the great tip, I bought a 'kitchen shears' and leg quarters over lunch.
I checked for sodium content and we're good to go!

 

[jdatwood]

Sheesh, you girls have been busy today. I guess it's all been said really...

Congrats on making the move! You won't regret it

 

[spookychick13]

We are pretty much dead at work. :/

Should I expect any loose stools this weekend?

 

[CorgiPaws]

We are pretty much dead at work. :/

Should I expect any loose stools this weekend?

Hit or miss. If you see any, just trim the skin off, and that should do the trick.

My corgi had a flawless transition. My boxer had to have the skin trimmed off for a couple days.

 

[DaneMama]

We are pretty much dead at work. :/

Ha! Me too LOL...wish I could be at home cuz I have SO much to do...

Should I expect any loose stools this weekend?

Yes. Expect the worst but hope for the best. If you do see diarrhea, its no big deal. This is normal. Most people freak out a lot when they see diarrhea, but you have to know that this is a normal body function, and if your dog is still eating and drinking water there really is no concern and it should clear up on its own.

Make sure that when you are starting out that you provide bone heavy meals, because bone is what firms up their stools and in the beginning more bone is better than less. Chicken quarters are a good mix of meat to bone ratio but you might find yourself having to cut some of the muscle meat off of a quarter to get a higher bone to meat ratio to firm up their stools. That is if you see a lot of diarrhea for a few days in a row. Chicken backs can also be a good thing to feed at this point because they are very bone heavy.

Very occasionally newbies will see some vomiting at the beginning...again, this is normal. We did with 2 of our dogs. If you see bone fragments in it, that is normal too. Sometimes the bone can be a bit irritating to their system since they are not used to them. But over time you wont see this often. A lot of people call this the "detox" phase, but in reality it is just the bodies way of reconditioning itself to digest something 100% different than what its used to.

 

[spookychick13]

Again, awesome info, thank you.
I am undecided if I want to trim skin right away or not.

Should one drumstick twice a day be enough for my 11lb cavalier (am and pm).

Should I give the poodle (40lbs, 10 months old) a quarter for breakfast and one for dinner as well?

And I wanted to add, no one had chicken backs around here. :O