More On Feeding Raw to your Dog

While embarking on feeding raw it is easiest to start off feeding ground mixes and plain meats. Dogs do not need bones at every meal when they are adults.

Your dogs won't get bored with their food if you give them a variety. You can start off with one protein source like chicken then slowly add a second and a third. I like to feed a red meat twice a week. If you have a large breed dog it is cost effective to buy the larger rolls. You can thaw them as long as you keep them cold. We suggest portioning them out so you can pull out one serving or container at a time. Remember to bring all meals to room temperature. Microwaving is not advisable, it will make the raw bones brittle. Nor should you ever cook any of the products with bone, those cooked brittle bones will cause damage to your pet. The frozen logs are best kept in the fridge for no more than 2 days, otherwise please keep frozen. Note: Logs can defrosted, cut and packaged into portions then refrozen.

For the convenience of traveling with your pets we have most of our products available in freeze-dried that can be rehydrated and consumed.

For an adult dog you should feed them twice a day. I would advise adding a digestive enzyme to the raw meat meals. It is not terrible to feed the same protein twice in the same day. If you want to feed half and half, we advise feeding kibble in the morning and the raw mixes or meat at night with any supplements. So if you are feeding them 3lbs a day you would feed 1.5lbs in the morning and 1.5lbs in the evening. If you are feeding them 3 meals a day you would feed them 1lb per meal.

If your dog has a dry coat you might want to add some Salmon Oil (avail. At Oma's), extra virgin olive oil or safflower oil. If your dog has persistent skin problems I would advise getting some extra virgin coconut oil from the health food store. Please take note of any excessive itching, as your dog may be allergic to one protein source, hence you might want to eliminate that from their diet.

Supplements & Additional Facts

We do not put any supplements in our product, as each dog is an individual and has its own needs. You can mix an egg in with their food, raw with the shell twice a week. If you are concerned with the size of the shell pieces, get yourself a dedicated coffee bean grinder and store any unused shells in the fridge.

There is nothing that says you cant try something new all the time. You can give your dogs yogurt, cottage cheese or probiotic (kefir) every so often. Some people believe dogs can't digest dairy but that is not true.

You can have one evening of the week dedicated as the fish night. I always advise people to keep a couple of cans of mackerel in the house if they have forgotten to thaw something for dinner. Fresh frozen mackerel is available from Omas as well as freeze dried. We also carry frozen salmon and tuna.

Once you have been feeding your dog raw you might want to give them a bone for breakfast, ie turkey necks, chicken necks, ducks necks, chicken backs, frames, pork necks etc.

If you need to feed your dog 3lbs a food a day you would feed 3 - 4 turkey necks for breakfast and 1.5 lbs of food for dinner (mix). Generally about 10 chicken necks equal 1-turkey neck. There is nothing to say that you can't hand your dog a Cornish hen for a meal. For small dogs chicken necks are great, watch them get sparkling white teeth.

Now that you're a pro at feeding raw you may be willing to introduce them to some Green Tripe (not the white bleached tripe available at the supermarket). Personally, I like feeding tripe with one meal every day but some prefer to feed it for a meal in itself. Please warn everyone in your home of the smell. You can try feeding it outside the first couple of times till everyone gets used to the smell. Tripe is a staple in many of the European dog meals. It is available frozen or freeze dried, but it still smells. If you want to feed it every day, you might want to try the sliced tripe. The crushed tripe is ideal for sprinkling on meals for small dogs and to get finicky dogs to eat. If you want to get the tripe meal over quickly, you can have a dedicated night just for tripe.

For recreation it is a good idea to give your dogs marrow bones or knuckles (whole or split).

To make your dollar go even further, if you see any great meat buy at the supermarket don't hesitate to pick them up for your pets.

For treats we have an entire line of freeze dried, check out our O'Paws freeze-dried and Supplements. Turkey hearts are great treats fresh or freeze dried, they are full of Taurine for the heart. You can even buy a beef heart and make it like a roast with some garlic powder for treats. Freeze small amounts in zip lock bags for quick thawing.

Fresh fruits are great - dogs love melon, apples, bananas strawberries etc. remember to limit the amounts of fruit as their are sugars in all fruit.

Onions are not good for dogs but Garlic is a wonderful flea and tick repellent.

For those dogs that have some joint problems we have our joint supplement Mobility available

Now you ask yourself, how much I need to buy for a week? If you have to feed 3lb of mixes for a day you will need 21lbs of raw food for 7 days.

As you do some reading you will take note that some people fast their pets one day a week or half a day. If you do this be sure to supply lots of fresh water. This helps to cleanse their body. No, your dog wont starve for half a day. Not everyone does the fasting.

It is a good idea to pick up a cheap kitchen scale till you are comfortable with feeding raw.

Additional Reading

If you still are perplexed about feeding raw you might want to get a copy of Switching to raw by Susan Johnson.

Billinghurst wrote several books on feeding raws,

The Ultimate Diet (they only feed once a day in this book)

A great link is www.njboxers.com