Raw! Eeek!

So, I'm really nervous about trying raw, but I've been wanting to for a while. I could use some encouragement and advice. I'm about to leave work, so I won't have net access until tomorrow, but I wanted to go ahead and get this posted.

One question I have is what all do I need to feed? Some sites say just give them a chicken leg or quarter or whatever. Others say you need organ meat and vegies. The thing that worries me most is when I go to sites that have really complicated measurements, ingredients, and preparation. I can barely understand it, so I definitely don't think I could actually manage to prepare that kind of meal correctly!

Another question I have is how much do I feed her? Raja weighed 38 pounds at the last vet check. One site told me to feed her 1 1/2 pounds of meat, but I wanted to double check with knowledgeable members like yourselves.

Also, could I feed her kibble one meal and raw the next? I'm not sure I trust a cold-turkey switch just yet. Or should I feed kibble and raw in the same meal? That seems wrong because it seems like raw and kibble would be digested differently, but I don't know.

Gah! I just don't know! I'm sure I'll have more questions tomorrow, but that's all for now. TIA!

I feed prey model. No veggies.

You take 2-3% of the dogs body weight and feed it a day.

You attempt to feed as much whole prey as possible. As little cutting and prep as you can.

You you feed roughly 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ. 5% of the organ meat must be liver.

Basically, my dogs get about 2.5% of their body weight a day. I don't measure it. Some days they eat more then others. Today, they will each have about a pound of beef heart. Yesterday they each had a quarter of a chicken. Tomorrow they will had a wad of Turkey since I have one thawing. If someone looks thin I up the amount. If they look heavy I lower it.

I toss out organ meats about once a week along with dinner.

Volah. No measurements, no blends, no complications. Its ridiculously simple. The dogs love it. I'm still amazed at the excitement I have to deal with for each meal. My cats eat the exact same thing, just in smaller portions.

I'm going on 2 months of raw. Keeda has always had a shiny coat but it's now incredibly soft and she has no dander, Bailey is the same way.

I do feed veggies, but it's my table scraps bc i'm a vegetarian. They seem to love them. I dont' mask the fact that they're veggies and I put it under the meat so the dogs dont' have to eat them if they don't want, but they always seem to eat them first.

I also don't measure, I guestimate about 1 1/2lb of food daily, and they're staying at an ideal weight! I do add suplements that red had given me the link to...

I've been told(on here and in research) to stick to one protien base for a while(ie chicken) and then once they get used to the diet start to switch up the meats.

Start of slowly, switching cold turkey could well upset her tummy. So I'd probably start with chicken, gradually increasing the amount till your feeding mostly/all raw.

I read somewhere that the reason some dogs get sick when people start raw is not because of bacteria in raw, but because raw digests faster than kibble, feeding kibble and raw in the same meal means the raw is stuck int he stomach for longer waiting for the kibble to digest and so thats why some dogs are upset by it.
I don't know if its true or not, I figured it would just pass through as it needed and none of our dogs have ever had issues when feeding kibble and raw in the same meal.

Buster I usually cut his big meats up a bit, he is a picky eater and there are very few times I can just give him a big hunk of meat and he'll work through it, I think its part that he doesn't like getting it all over his face, and partly because a big chunk is high value and he'd rather guard it than eat it. So with him I cut bits up, like a chicken frame will go into 4 peices, and wings sometimes get cut in half but not always.

I'm going with 10% offal, I read somewhere that your better off using the offal of the same type of meat your feeding that meal, like if I am adding offal one night, I have beef and chicken liver on hand. If I am feeding chicken, I will feed chicken liver, if I am feeding beef, I will feed beef liver.
At this stage I havn't found any lamb offal.

The general rule is 2-3% of the dogs body weight be fed, I would start there than adjust to your particular dog. Buster eats just under 2% roughly because he maintains his weight very easily. Mac eats over 3% because she drops weight fast and is on the go 24/7.

I have found "designing" raw meals is lots of fun. I go to the butcher every week and buy about a kilo of chicken necks, a couple of frames, some beef soup bones and some trim and maybe beef liver if I need more.

And everytime I am at the supermarket I check the meat section for bargains.

At the butcher I pay about $4.99kg for his trim, but its good meat and he likes it. The other day I was browsing the meat section and found lamb neck rosettes for the same price. Something a bit different and he liked it. Made me laugh when I looked over the pet meat section and saw beef tail was $7.99 a kilo (I got a small bit anyway lol)

This week I found lamb breast pretty cheap and got some, and some chicken liver.

Hmm, this is long. Sorry.

ETA:
I feed vegioes here and there, I'm also a vegetarian and I think Buster would be to if I gave him the option. I don't add them to every meal but if I have left overs someone may aswell eat them.

Thanks so much for your help! I have a few more questions.

What about eggs? Do any of you feed eggs along with their meals? If you do, do you boil them first or just feed them raw eggs?

This may be kind of a silly question, but how do you feed this to your dogs? Do you feed them outside, put a towel down in the kitchen, or just clean up the mess later?

Another silly question... When you say the butcher, do you just mean at the meat section in a supermarket?

I toss meat into crate, crack egg into bowl.

I don't feed eggs often. I pick them up now ad then and feed through the big 4dozen case. I don't think they are needed for a healthy diet since eggs are not something most animals come across constantly.

Oh, okay. I read they were really good for the dog's coat, but I guess so is a raw diet. So, they're not really needed. Thanks!

I feed eggs very occasionally

I chuck his meat on the grass or in a bowl and put it out on the lawn, mum isn't into greasy meat patches on the verandah and definetly can't have it inside.

When I said butcher I meant the local butcher shop, I prefer to support local business over the massive supermarkets plus there is one a few minutes walk from my house.

I feed a little of this, a little of that. Seems like the only thing that makes my dogs sick is commercial dog food

Look around for a raw food coop or bulk supplier- I found one in Phoenix and I can get lots of stuff very cheap and stuff I can't find at the regular butcher, like green tripe. Super Wal-mart has chicken legs and thighs for 50 cents a pound, so I get most of my meat there bc it's close and easy. I feed some mixes from the link above that provide veggies and organ meat. I feed some eggs, some yoghurt, some supplements, pork necks, beef knuckle bones. I don't really measure or keep track too close- say 70% chicken and 30% other. Also lots of leftovers and such from all my eating out and bad grocery planning. If I have a lot of oldish veggies or green tops from carrots or beets I'll cook them in some chicken broth and thrown that at the dogs with their supplements. Supplements include green powder, solid gold sea meal, glucosomine, chondroitin, msm, high EFA fish oil. I don't think you can get this too wrong as long as you feed a variety of stuff. As far as how much- start with the 2-3% rule and then see if your dog gains or loses.

Mmm yes the tripe, mine LOVE tripe. Mine get omega eggs, but I get them from the raw food co-op for dollar something per 2 dozen. (they are the outcasts, too big, too small, cracked etc. I get my offal ground, and some other meats ground (only way I can get lamb) I add the egg to the ground. Eggs have a a high variety of amino acids in them.