Not much to say

I don't have much to say today, I've been busy at work and haven't had much time to think about what to write about.. So I am just going to show you some photo's of Chloe. =]

This one we just thought was hilarious =] so we tagged it

Question of the Day:

What should I start with when I switch my dog to raw?

A mistake many people make when switching to raw is feeding too much too soon. By this I mean proteins, people get excited when they feed raw and want to see their dog eat all sort's of different meats, from Fish, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb, ect. Little do they know, this excitment of over feeding different protiens can cause loose stools for your pup. Making many people shy away from the idea of feeding raw. You will hear a lot of "Oh my dog can't eat raw, they get the runs!"

You will hear many raw feeders tell you to pick one protein source and stick with it for a week or two.

Many people reccomend chicken, because it's bland, it usually doesn't cause upset, it's accessable - you can buy chicken anywhere in the world, and the bones are edible - even for a 3lb dog.

When feeding raw, you should always feed big. When I mean big, I mean, size of your dog's head big. This is so that they can't swallow it and choke.

Always watch your dog while they eat - this includes kibble. It doesn't take much (or a lot) for your dog to choke - and they can choke on anything!

Remember:

1. Feed Chicken first - it's bland, easy to get, and easy to digest!
2. Stick to one protien source!
3. Feed bigger than their head!
4. Always watch your pooch while they eat!

How many ways can you feed this diet?

Here is a question I get often, How many 'types' of raw diets are there?

Well that depends on a few things, Why do you want to feed this diet? What benefits do you want your dog to take away from it?

There are premade options that you can get from the store, These are usually grinds, but there is also 'dehydrated' raw, and lastly raw bones for pets.

There are also the do it yourself raw diet, These include things like prey model, (or frakenprey) and whole prey. This is the type of diet I do. Prey model includes cuts of meat from the butchers, or grocery store. It's different types of proteins and cuts to make up 100% of the diet. The guideline is 80% meaty meat, 10% edible bone, and 10% organ (5% secreting organ, 5% non-secreting organ)

Chloe and a Chicken leg (part of frankenprey)

What are edible bones?
There isn't a specific answer to this question, it really depends on your animals, cat or dog. It depends on their weight, and their jaw strength. My 9lb Chihuahua won't be able to bite through the same thing your 70lb Rottweiler can. There is obvious differences in structure and strength there.

As a reference though, I will post a few things here. Keep in mind, some dog's can't get through these items, while some will breeze through before you can blink.

Edible bones:

1. Chicken, All things Chicken (raw of course!) Drumsticks and quaters are the starting point to this diet.
2. Turkey, or any other bird (I've heard goose has sharp shattering bones, I've never fed it though - so that is heresay)
3. Lamb bones (Even some leg bones are edible, I haven't tried it and would be nervous too. Although everything else in a lamb is edible)
4. Pork Ribs (I haven't found anything else pork that my dog can get through)

Non-Edible bones:

1. Beef (I've had some luck with some beef ribs, but everything in this house otherwise is OFF LIMITS, beef has a lot of weight baring bones, which are ment to keep a 1000lb cow standing... Odds of you biting through the bones? slim to zip! Stay away! Also beware of all 'smoked dog bones' these are the weight baring bones also known as wreck bones known to wreck teeth (chips, breaks, ect.)

A lot of the premade grinds, aren't that bad, they are good for convienence, or if you aren't able to feed a large, long meal like a whole chicken. I sometimes use these when I go camping or during a road trip so when it's hot and chloe doesn't want to eat it's a quick meal to just fill her up. That's the issue though - It only fills her up. It's not a very good work out mentally or physically, it also does nothing for teeth which is a reason many people feed raw. To clean teeth. Mentioned in my post yesterday, I said how dogs are not omnivores, even though they are carnivores premade foods are usually something like 35% vegetable puree.

There is also dehydrated raw, which I don't think is raw at all -since it's dehydrated... (cooked at low temperatures for hours and hours..) key word cooked. Makes good training treat though! But it's generally very very expensive - to feed Chloe Ziwi Peak (top brand of dehydrated raw) it's about $40 dollars for a 2.2 lb bag. That probably gives Chloe about ~2 weeks of food (give or take) or a large dog, 4-6 meals..

Raw bones you can buy from a pet store are usually just bone with a TINY bit of meat. You are paying for a bone that is generally dangerous for your dog to eat. AVOID THESE they are a waste of money. Go to the grocery store and buy a bone in roast, or a whole chicken.

Chloe and a rabbit (Whole prey)

Now Whole prey, is well, whole prey. Take a rabbit, and feed it to your dog, take a chicken, and feed it to your dog, Quail, Duck - same thing. =] 100% balanced

Chloe and a cornish hen (whole prey)

Hmm, hopefully I never missed anything. Sorry this is so long!!