New to Raw

Submitted by Adam76 on December 26, 2010 - 12:40am

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Hello everyone, we will be getting a new bully in about a week and after looking and reading about what food to feed him I'm thinking about trying raw. Of course I am nervous about it but it seem like everyone who feeds raw had had great results. I've been reading and reading about but its still alot to take in, seems like people do alot of things differently. So some starting questions I have are the puppy will be around 8 weeks old, so do I switch him over right away to raw or is it a gradual change, mixing some kibble and raw together. What are the better raw foods to start puppies out on and how much and how many times a day will I feed him. What are the pros and cons of grinding the food and which is more favored. I know you need meat and bones and some organs but how much of each and do they get all of these every meal, also I see yogurt and eggs are added too, but how often, every meal or not. Sorry for all the questions, I'm glad to have joined here to get the help I need.

Thanks

Adam

Hi Adam,

Submitted by Carol and Griffin on December 26, 2010 - 1:48pm.

I have been feeding Kofi raw since June. It has been a great choice for us.

I found Raw Dog Food Make it easy for you and your dog, by Carina Beth MacDonald very helpful to give me reliable info when beginning. She does address all your questions.

Kofi was three when we began. I hesitate to give much advice for the reasons that you stated above.

We do a combo of grinding and rmb. It's trial and error in the beginning, but if you do your homework, relax and enjoy you should do great.

Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

__________________

Kofi and Carol

Thanks

Submitted by Adam76 on December 26, 2010 - 10:04pm.

Thanks for writing in, after reading more I think I'm gonna start with chicken wings and see how that goes and them after a little while go onto drumsticks. Does everyone think thats good to start with or should I try something else. Also should I grind up the wings in the beginning or smash the up or just feed whole?

Thanks

barbara and myka

Submitted by barbara and myka on December 27, 2010 - 7:55am.

I raw fed for over 15 years. I always started with chicken necks. Order a case from your local purveyor or supermarket. This can be the basis of your bone. You can buy raw frozen pre made food (Bravo makes nice varieties of lamb, duck, beef and pork) which are expensive but contain meat and ground bone. Buy a pair of poultry shears for $20. You can cut the wings into two smaller sections, otherwise the whole neck will (I guarantee you) at first feedings get swallowed without them chewing and get regurgitated which is scary and incredibly messy. Just my 2 cents.

Good feeding,

Barbara

chicken wings

Submitted by bullymama2four on December 27, 2010 - 1:10pm.

I have been doing raw for about 6mo now, I have 4 bullies. 3 can do the whole chicken wings and one gulps them to fast and regurgitates them and chokes (scary). So with her I now hold the chicken and have her bite/crunch from my hand. It's kinda gross, but that is the only thing that works...Just have to watch my fingers-they have very strong jaws and would hate to have her accidently bite on my fingers!!!

If it was a puppy, I personlly would do ground meats or grind the chicken wings up...just me tho!!

Thanks

Submitted by Adam76 on December 27, 2010 - 5:01pm.

Yeah I was originally thinking of grinding up the chicken wings in the begining, but I've been told about everyway to feed them from different sources. Some say just give it whole, others say smash it up with a mallet and some say grind it up, so I'm confused about which way. I know all dogs are different in how they eat I'm just not sure how to start.

I would give it

Submitted by Katie and Chumlee MN on December 27, 2010 - 7:31pm.

whole but be right there with the pup. Take as much skin off as you can. If I remember right your pup is coming home in the next few days right? I would have on hand to start so you can experiment:

Meat hammer

6" Cleaver

Family Pack of chicken wings (young ones 3"-4" size) try to get 3% or less sodium or > 70 mg

A pack of "cut of fryer" chicken try to get 3% or less sodium or >70 mg This way you can see different cuts and again experiment

Chicken necks 5-10 lbs (sometimes you don't have a choice of weight from the butcher/meat market I paid $1.39/lb if that helps)

You can also soak the chicken for 10 minutes and rinse rinse rinse if you are having a hard time finding nonenhanced or can only find 100 or 110 mg. Sometimes they hide this information on the bottom of the package too.

__________________

Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!

Katie & Chumlee

When I feed Kofi chicken wings,

Submitted by Carol and Griffin on December 27, 2010 - 7:39pm.

I give them partially frozen. This encourages her to chew them more.

__________________

Kofi and Carol