Volume of raw

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diinin

Forums Regular
Okay, so I'm doing my first day of raw here with my 20 pound, 9 month old active pup. I don't really think he's growing that much anymore (well, my daughter says, "He is too--he grows more handsome every day") but he's very active. He doesn't just bum around the backyard. He's running, chasing squirrels, pouncing on moles, running some more, etc.

What percentage of his weight do you think I should give per day? An adult is like 3%, right? So he's not quite an adult. He's not at all an overeater with kibble, but raw may be different.

I'm starting with rabbit, and plan to feed him this maybe two days a week to start. The lady who sells me this stuff (who also has a Sheltie) didn't recommend doing kibble and raw even on the same day. I may go to kibble just on weekends and do raw and canned during the week (I work on weekends).

The other thing, besides the amount of raw, is adding canned. I was hoping to find Innova EVO canned rabbit, but they didn't have it. So that means introducing canned something else. Can I do that at the same time I'm introducing raw? He's been getting mostly chicken based foods, and they did have chicken/turkey, so maybe that's more safe. He's got a pretty strong stomach, has weathered enough changes as I've been reviewing the literature on this whole food thing, but I don't want to stress him too much. From his perspective, he loves variety.
 
Hmm...I'm always thinking the same thing. With the amount if raw I give Caliber, it almost doesn't look like enough...I mean, he does look to me for more, but I think that's just because he actually LIKES his food now that I've switched him to raw. I usually give him less in the morning and more at night, because he obviously doesn't run around at night. And he's only 7 1/2 months and 20lbs...i think that's a BIT overweight. Or maybe not?? Who knows. My question to you would be...if you're going to do raw, why not completely switch him to raw?? ...Unless of course you have lots of kibble left and want to use that all up, which is fine too :smile2:. I switched completely and he's fine...i just kept a bit of kibble in case I run out and don't have time/a car to go get him more. From my understanding, it's fine to feed kibble and raw in the same day, as long as you feed them at a minimum of 8 hours apart. I really don't see any problem with feeding canned and raw in the same day either...but of course I'm not an expert, and just started feeding raw almost two weeks ago...so I still have a bit to learn as well. You should go to GeeRomes page and check out her website...she knows A LOT about raw feeding, the do's and don'ts....etc. Sorry I couldn't be more help, but I'm sure someone can point you in a better direction! Glad to hear you made the switch! You'll see results almost right away! I don't have to deal with that nasty breath anymore!!
 
You pose some good questions, TaraLynn, like why I don't switch totally to raw.

My initial reason for doing raw in the first place was just to clean his teeth. I was just going to do it a couple times a week for that. As I've looked into it more, I've become little more open to making a near total switch, but just don't know enough about it yet to be comfortable. Also, I'd like the convenience of doing either dry or canned sometimes when we are just too busy to mess with raw, or when I'm working (I only work 2 days a week, but very long shifts, so I just can't mess with this then).

Here's how our first meal went: He really wanted that meat, but didn't like having to pull it off. He just kept licking it. This surprised me, because he had a lamb femur recently that he ripped and tore at, so I thought he'd love it. I ended up having to tear off pieces of meat for him, which he eagerly ate for awhile, but the problem is, he gets no calcium that way. He finally quit and just stood there and whined. What a weenie! lol.

My supplier sells course and fine ground raw too (which includes bone and organs), so I may have to get him that, and just use the lamb femurs for his teeth. It would be a whole lot easier to measure out the ground, too.
 
TaraLynn said:
I really don't see any problem with feeding canned and raw in the same day either...
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I think canned and raw in the same day is okay. I'm just worried about introducing both at the same time. It may be too many changes at once. I've got some pumpkin here, though, so I'll coax him to eat that (have to add green beans, or he won't).

The changes we see in him might not be as dramatic as others have seen when they switch to raw. He had dramatic change when we switched to 6-star kibble, so some of it has already happened. (No more dog smell and shiny, soft coat). The raw fed Sheltie we saw yesterday had a coat much like ours--very soft and shiny--and he didn't smell either, so I can't imagine how much better it could get! I'll be surprised if we see much more.
 
diinin said:
Okay, so I'm doing my first day of raw here with my 20 pound, 9 month old active pup. I don't really think he's growing that much anymore (well, my daughter says, "He is too--he grows more handsome every day") but he's very active. He doesn't just bum around the backyard. He's running, chasing squirrels, pouncing on moles, running some more, etc.

What percentage of his weight do you think I should give per day? An adult is like 3%, right? So he's not quite an adult. He's not at all an overeater with kibble, but raw may be different.

I'm starting with rabbit, and plan to feed him this maybe two days a week to start. The lady who sells me this stuff (who also has a Sheltie) didn't recommend doing kibble and raw even on the same day. I may go to kibble just on weekends and do raw and canned during the week (I work on weekends).

The other thing, besides the amount of raw, is adding canned. I was hoping to find Innova EVO canned rabbit, but they didn't have it. So that means introducing canned something else. Can I do that at the same time I'm introducing raw? He's been getting mostly chicken based foods, and they did have chicken/turkey, so maybe that's more safe. He's got a pretty strong stomach, has weathered enough changes as I've been reviewing the literature on this whole food thing, but I don't want to stress him too much. From his perspective, he loves variety.
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Raw is much easier than you are trying to make it :smile2: I would start with about 3% of his body weight and keep an eye to see if he is gaining or losing. Adjust his meal sizes accordingly. Honestly, I don't see the need to add canned or to feed anything else on the weekends. You can make it easy enough to fit into your work schedule. Some suggestions would be to plan ahead the weekend meals and bag and freeze them in meal size portions. You can defrost a few hours (over night or while at work depending on feeding time) and have the meal ready when time to eat! Also, some people choose to feed a lot for several days and then fast for a day or two. Mine don't do well with that so we eat every day....I mean really...a whole day without food LOL I like to eat and assume they do too :smile2:

Some important things to remember when starting raw is to not give too much food at once. Don't give too many new foods too soon, stick to one meat source, let him get used to it, then move on. Don't add the organs in too quickly or too much. And remember, if you forget any of these suggestions....you won't kill him, you'll just have some fun messes LOL

Please don't be obsessed with the poop when starting raw. They sometimes get loose stools....it's not an issue (as long as he isn't acting sick). Just watch to make sure he isn't constipated but don't over analyze it!

I've been feeding over 20 dogs raw for about 5 months. We still have not added in tons of organs but they have had lots of different kinds of meats. I've completely weaned one litter on raw and they were the healthiest pups I've ever had! We have loose stools, constipation, and some horking up too big of peices, BUT, it all seems to resolve itself and I have great teeth and coats, nice weights, and happy healthy puppers!!!
 
Crestlynn said:
Raw is much easier than you are trying to make it :smile2:
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No doubt!! :biggrin2:

So 3% is enough for a puppy? I've heard puppies can get up to 10%, but he's not SO pup anymore.

If I do mostly ground, that will be easy, and we could go 100% raw. I don't know about whole prey, though. This morning was a chore! Of course I was making it harder than it had to be. That's what I do! Ü

We were planning to do rabbit for a couple weeks, and then add either chicken or turkey, and then something else two weeks after that.

Outside of not getting a workout for the teeth, is there any reason not to do ground?
 
Instead of dealing with the whole "puppy" thing, just feed 2-3% of the IDEAL ADULT BODY WEIGHT. So what do you predict he will weigh when he is fully grown? Feed 2-3% of that. That takes into account that he is a growing pup so will be getting more food than his current body weight dictates. Then you don't have to keep switching up your measurements as he ages, because, in theory, 2-3% of the ideal adult body weight will be the same now as it will in 2 years. Of course, still tweak up or down if you see him gaining fat or losing weight.

To get him used to chewing bones, you might want to pick up a couple whole fryer chickens. Quarter them yourself and feed the wing quarters. Wings alone are too small to feed, especially to dogs new to raw, but if they are still attached to the rest of the carcass you are fine. The wing bones are softer, more cartilage than anything, and a great way to introduce chomping to a new raw dog.

Just be sure to go slow. Pick one protein source and stick with it for 1-2 weeks to ensure that he has adjusted before adding a new protein source. As another poster mentioned, don't freak out over odd poops right in the beginning. A little diarrhea or constipation is normal in the transition. Don't worry unless it lasts for multiple days, or he begins to show other symptoms like lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, etc.
 
GeeRome said:
Instead of dealing with the whole "puppy" thing, just feed 2-3% of the IDEAL ADULT BODY WEIGHT. So what do you predict he will weigh when he is fully grown? Feed 2-3% of that. That takes into account that he is a growing pup so will be getting more food than his current body weight dictates. Then you don't have to keep switching up your measurements as he ages, because, in theory, 2-3% of the ideal adult body weight will be the same now as it will in 2 years. Of course, still tweak up or down if you see him gaining fat or losing weight.
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Exactly!! And keep a close eye on his weight for the first month or so until you get it just right and he will thrive :yes: :biggrin2:

Puppies get 10% but it ends up being approximately 2% of their IDEAL ADULT BODY WEIGHT in the end. Titan is being fed now (at four months) probably what he'll get as an adult but I'm watching his weight closely, checking his ribs and backbone, checking his poop, etc.
 
diinin said:
No doubt!! :biggrin2:

So 3% is enough for a puppy? I've heard puppies can get up to 10%, but he's not SO pup anymore.

If I do mostly ground, that will be easy, and we could go 100% raw. I don't know about whole prey, though. This morning was a chore! Of course I was making it harder than it had to be. That's what I do! Ü

We were planning to do rabbit for a couple weeks, and then add either chicken or turkey, and then something else two weeks after that.

Outside of not getting a workout for the teeth, is there any reason not to do ground?
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Technically, I'm still not doing whole prey since I haven't added the organs regularly. But they are on total raw. They do get some organs but that is the chore part for me :smile2: I can't seem to find a good system for my many dogs to get the right amount of organs on a fairly regular basis without it being a huge ordeal! I do give some chicken or beef liver when I remember to buy them and I just got a whole cow so she did come with some organs in her. I'm still somewhat of a city girl though and am not real sure what some of the parts are when they aren't labeled in the store LOL

Trust me...it does get easier once you get an 'eye' for portion sizes and realize that the measurements don't have to be exact and if they get more bone one week then feed more meat the next etc. Same with organ when you start. And the one thing that I always try to remember that raw feeders will remind you over and over again "Balance over time!"
 
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