Question for dog owners

L Sass

Cathlete
Hi Cathletes. I've asked over on FB but thought I'd try to tap the wisdom here as well. We have an 8-month old golden retriever. This is the first dog we've had with which we've decided to follow a raw meat diet. I've spent a lot of time researching and understand the ins and outs of it. But I'm looking for source ideas. This time of year I'm fortunate to be scoring deer hearts and innerds from a lot of friends who are hunters.

Do any of you feed raw, and if so, where do you get your meat? Any suggestions or recommendations? Many thanks for ideas on leads.
 
Hi Lorrie - We raise our own animals, so we give our dogs the bones from those - but in the UK a butcher will give you beef bones for free. I don't know whether it's the same over there (I'm assuming you're in the US)? I find a decent beef bone to have plenty of substance in it for our dogs (we have big, working dogs - lurchers and pointers). They get the marrow out from the center of the bone. Great for their teeth, too.

HTH
Justine
 
Hi Justine - and THANKS! Yes, I'm in the U.S. Our pup loves his beef bones and gets all the marrow, etc from them. I'm aiming to feed 80% muscle, 10% organ, and 10% bone. I find that what I'm looking for the most is the muscle meat. Relying on various livers and tripe for the organ source, and bones I am able to find relatively easily. I've got an in with a restaurant meat supplier/butcher to get things like beef heart. Since I'm relatively new at this I'm wondering what other sources I might follow.
 
The muscle is the tricky bit, as it's rarely considered waste. I've fed this Natural Instinct - Frozen raw human-grade meat dog food, the dog breeders' choice. to mine whist travelling. And this Barf Pet Food | BARF Diet Raw Dog Food, Cat Food & Pet Health Supplements - but they're all UK. Do you feed veggies as well? I often make a meat broth with veggies in it for the dogs (good for me too!) They get the tough, outer stems and leaves (and slightly manky bits) - eg broccoli stalks etc.

They get our scraps, too - everything from a bit of porridge to the skin off a roast chicken!
 
raw dog food

Hi Lorrie,

I feed my german shepherd a raw diet as well. My last shepherd, Harley, lived to be 12 years old and was a very healthy guy! I have a female gsd now who gets a raw diet. I feed Vital Essentials. They do not include veggies in their meat so if you want to feed veggies, you would need to puree and add them. Dogs cannot digest whole vegetables. I like the comments from raw feeders who say, 'go ahead and feed a dog a raw carrot and it will come out the same as it goes in' :eek: Some places say dogs need veggies, some say they do not so it's just a matter of opinion. I add a veggie mix to the meat (kale, celery, sweet potato and/or pumpkin, green beans, broccoli, etc.) A very good online magazine is Dogs Naturally; great articles on raw food and the holistic approach. If you want to contact personally please feel free [email protected] Hope this helps.....
 
Thanks Tina. I'm in a little co-op of raw feeders so it works well, but we're always looking for more ideas on sources - primarily for muscle meat.

My Brantley gets mostly kale and asparagus in terms of veggies. He begs for asparagus every morning when I put it into my breakfast smoothie. And every 3rd of 4th night he gets some chopped kale, but that's about it. I mix 1 tblsp coconut oil into his food most nights, but every now and again give him a whole egg instead.

I'm just so amazed at how he doesn't have doggy smell or doggy breath! HA. Thanks for your tips!
 

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