2 RAW Questions

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#1
Argon is doing well with the diet, but I have a few long term concerns:
1) He needed a probiotic for some truely explosive poop last week. How long should he continue taking it? Just until he's better, or until he's used to different meat sources? He is only eating two different sources at the minute
2) This is less of a question. Right now he's getting straight meat and bones (no organs yet). Can someone more experienced post a week guide of EVERYTHING thier dog eats? There is plenty of really good stuff about starting, but not so much about what you will end up feeding. I feel like I could be more confident if I knew exactly what I was working towards.
Thanks Chazzers!
 

Gempress

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#2
Sorry, but I can't help with the probiotics. I've never used them. But here's an example of the average week for me. I feed the "balance over time" philosophy, so it varies from week to week. My boys eat about 2 lbs of food apiece, every day.

Monday: chicken quarters

Tuesday: chicken quarters

Wednesday: pork neckbones

Thursday: turkey necks

Friday: Canned salmon mixed w/chicken liver and yogurt (Zeus won't eat organ meat unless it's with yogurt)

Saturday: chicken quarters

Sunday: Eggs from free-range chickens (great source of Vitamin E)

In addition, they also get trimmings and meat scraps from the cutting board as I prepare dinner for the humans, and the occassional bit of leftover cooked veggies. Admittedly, I do tend to feed a lot of chicken. :eek: Probably 50-75% of their diet is chicken. But it's cheap, has the right proportions of meat-fats-bones, and my dogs are doing great. I also don't feed beef because it makes Zeus sick.
 
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#3
Mine also varies by the day/week. I feed whatever I can get cheap. Lately it's been a lot of chicken. I have a lamb/goat supplier that I use, and she's pretty cheap, but the meat has to be shipped. I need to place a new order with her. The only supplements I'm using right now are glucosamine/chondroitin and salmon oil.

Just a sample week diet:

Monday: chicken backs, ground turkey meat
Tuesday: Chicken quarters
Wednesday: Chicken Quarters, tripe
Thursday: Pork Neck Bones, Lamb organs
Friday: Pork Neck Bones, eggs
Saturday: Turkey wings
Sunday: Chicken Quarters

I can get chicken from $.40/lb.
Pork Neck bones usually run about $.99 per lb, sometimes around $.69/lb
I buy my organ meat at about $.99/lb or less.
Ground Turkey is $.99/lb


My dogs eat 1/2 - 1lb per day per dog. I have 3 dogs. so roughly 1.5-3 lbs per day depending on how hard they have been worked that day.
 

sprintime

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#4
Mine are fed mostly wild game that I get from hunters but I do buy chicken quarters, backs and wings. They get a mixture of veggies at least 3X / week, in which I throw in all kinds of veggies with liver and yogurt and egg shells if I have saved them up and not fed with the egg, cottage cheese, yogurt. I also stock up on organ meats, sardines, salmon and mackerel.
They get a bone to chew with every meal, I especially love the side ribs as they are soft and do such a great job of cleaning teeth.
For the explosive diarhea you could have tried pure pumpkin, not the pie mix, just the pure in cans. It seems to work great on most dogs.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#5
Mine are always on probiotics (thanks for the reminder, I need to order them asap :eek: ).

What we feed is really a grab bag.... chicken is a staple here, though, do to it's price.

An example of a week may be:

Monday: chicken leg quarter, tripe, organs

Tuesday: chicken leg quarter, tripe, organs

Wednesday: lamb, tripe, organs

Thursday: turkey neck, ground beef blend with organ meat

Friday: chicken leg quarter and ground turkey

Saturday: whole chicken

Sunday: whole chicken (well the other half of the whole chicken from Saturday)
 

Great Dane

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#6
Here is my weekly menu, just the basic outline as sometimes they get added extras or I'll switch it up.


Monday AM - Turkey with ground bone
Monday PM - Venison/Beef/Buffalo/Duck

Tuesday AM - A whole Chicken Back
Tuesday PM - Venison/Beef/Buffalo/Duck

Wednesday AM - Turkey with ground bone
Wednesday PM - 2 Cans of raw Salmon, 1 can of Green Tripe, Beef Liver, Beef Heart, Kidney

Thursday AM - A whole Chicken Back
Thursday PM - Venison/Beef/Buffalo/Duck

Friday AM - Turkey with ground bone
Friday PM - Venison/Beef/Buffalo/Duck

Saturday AM - A whole Chicken Back
Saturday PM - 2 Cans of raw Salmon, 1 can of Green Tripe, Beef Liver, Beef Heart, Kidney

Sunday AM - A whole Chicken Back
Sunday PM - Venison/Beef/Buffalo/Duck
 
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#7
I'm new to the board here, and am sure this info is on here somewhere, but if your dog is having loose stool, add a little more bone, if the stool is too runny, add a little more organ or meat. It's a balancing act. I don't use probiotics, as I don't feed my dog anything toxic to kill the good bacteria in the first place, and only vaccinate what the law requires. If you are just starting on raw, the first week or two can get pretty runny, if your dog is really sick, you can give canned pumpkin (not the pie stuff) and that will help. I don't give my dog veggies as part of her diet, but do keep that stuff on hand in case of emergency.
My dog is only 9months old, and has been eating raw since birth, so really didn't have a problem with it. I do find too much organ meat or pork makes her poos runny, so I then give her a bit more chicken. (which is really bony and shouldn't be used as the only source of meat because of this) If I see that she is getting too bony, I give her a little bit more, and if I ever see that she is getting too fat (with a pointer, I doubt it) I'll give her a little less. Right now she is eating about 2lbs a day, which should be less as she gets older. Here's a calculator for you that is fun: http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

I tend to not change things up daily, it's easier on the fridge to only have one thing going at a time. I'll feed her chicken for a few days, then pork, then fish, then beef. This also allows me to buy larger pieces, which saves money. I just got a deal on pork legs for .99$ a pound, and I'm going to find a way to fit it into my freezer, so that I can get a few of them.

Once I have a read around the forum, I will see if there's any other info I can give you that I don't see in here. Any BTW, I feed whole prey model, not BARF, no veggies, no ground meats or bone. My dog's favourite meal is green tripe, and she also loves offal. Sprintime I am so jealous of you, feeding game and wild meat is awesome!! I am thinking of getting my hunting liscence so that I can take my dog out for some grocery shopping!
 
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#8
I don't have a good cheap supplier, so the cheapest I can get is usually whole chicken or turkey on sale.

Cut Chicken into 4s. Freeze. He gets his organs with whatever quarter they stick to and get bagged with. Turkeys are a bit more work, since they need to be "eighted" or more. Organs might be a bit low this way, so you might consider adding a few livers to each weeks meal.
 

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