Prey Model.

[darkchild16]

I want to start feeding the boys preymodel because I have a way to get it here that I can afford. We tried doing something like Gravy Train and raw chicken and eggs and that didnt work, Scirocco lost close to 20 pounds in a week and a half.

So I need some input, the requirements are nothing over 2 dollars a pound, something I can get at a grocery store. Other then that bring it on.

i found this website what do people think
Getting Started

minus the venison and the mutton.

[cricketsmygirl]

How much chicken were you feeding at a time and how many times a day? Also how much of it was he eating?

You have the general concept there but you have to have more then one type of meat when feeding raw and make sure that you feed plenty of organ meats and bone as well.

Liver, gizards, hearts, I actually have diesel at my side eating a Beef heart as we speak.

Here is our Menu for the week to give you an example, this is the menu for all my dogs.

Monday: Breakfast - Chicken necks, Peas, Carrots, and banana chunks. Lunch - Pork Lung Dinner - Slop (my own little thing, not sure if any other people do it or not) Slop consist of some vegetables and dog safe fruits blended in the food processor to baby food consistency and poured over some Kibble.

Tuesday - Kibble with some scraps of meat mixed in. (I'm not full time raw)

Weds. - Turkey backs for breakfast, Butterflies for lunch (venison) and Beef liver for dinner.

Thurs. - Kibble

Friday - Friday they have kibble for breakfast and RMB's for dinner.

I haven't planned Saturday and Sunday because I need to go through my freezer and see what I have. I'm assuming you aren't going full raw? If you are I could give you an example menu for a full raw diet.

[darkchild16]

Yes I am as for now its usually a thigh and either chicken or beef heart and chicken gizzards. I bought some neck and back strips today along with honeycomb tripe and ground turkey. I dont want them on kibble because the cheap stuff does no good for them.

The other night they got a half chicken a peice as well.

[BabyDane]

Ok, I think this is the best way that you can get started on a raw diet. It sounds like you may have started wrong if your dog was losing weight....starting the correct way on a raw diet is key in making it successful.

Feeding nothing but chicken for the first 2 weeks is the general rule of thumb when making the switch. Alternate between at least two different chicken "cuts" like quarters, backs, etc.

Then gradually adding in different meat sources. Starting out with turkey. Feed that alternating with chicken every other day for a week. Then add fish or pork in the same way, alternating with chicken. Then add in beef for a week in the same way. So on and so forth. When you are finished adding meat to their diet (depends on how many meat sources you are going to feed on a regular basis-the more the better), you should be giving a different meat source everyday. Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish, lamb, venison, etc. Variety is very important.

As far as adding in organ meat, kidney and liver are the two most important and should be fed the most, this must be done VERY slowly. This is because organs are very rich and can shock your dog's system and cause serious diarrhea. Add only a very small portion into a meal of chicken (don't feed all by itself at first), once a week-either kidney or liver (alternate the two). Increase the amount of organ meat you feed slowly until you can feed an entire meal consisting of only organ meat without serious diarrhea. By that time you should be able to feed two organ meals a week-one of kidney and one of liver. That is all you need as far as organs go to be balanced.

Remember that with prey model...a balanced diet happens over time, not with individual meals. You want to feed some bone(~10%), some organ(~10%), and mostly whole, fresh meat (~80%). Thats it. Don't worry too much about the percentages, balance comes over time.

This should answer all the questions you have and if not visit the forum below as well (join it anyway cuz its a lot more active than on here in regards to food/nutrition...)

Skylar, Zack, and Abby on the WEB

Dog Food Nutrition Forum

[darkchild16]

Since Ive started them roughly on raw he has gained a pound or two but i wasnt trying to start them on raw before just supplementing.

SO far they have eaten chicken thicks or breasts with every meal along with either chicken hearts and gizzards or beef hearts.

In my freezer right now is chicken back and neck peices, honey comb tripe some ground turkey and a few thigh and beef heart meals.

Why the strict chicken jump off point??? and I will join those thanks.

[BabyDane]

Basically chicken is fed exclusively at the start because it is the easiest meat source out there for dogs to handle. Feeding it exclusively for 2 weeks ensures enough time for them to make the switch as easy as possible. You will most likely see diarrhea during the first few days, some call this the detox phase, as others believe that its just the transition time while their bodies get used to digesting whole, raw, fresh foods rather than and grain or potato based diet.

If you start adding too much too fast you can't tell what is causing their system upset. You don't want to bombard your dogs system with to much all at once.

Are your dogs handling the diet that you have them on now? IE having good stools (best way to know)?

FYI-there is debate on whether tripe is really important or not. We only give it on rare occasion...gives the girls gas. It doesn't have anything in it that the other more important organs have, so we don't see it as a necessary thing.

[darkchild16]

I have just heard about it and it was cheap so bought some.

They are doing great they arent farting (which the week they were on gravy train OMG*puke*) They have solid poops but they have gotten stuff like this as treats before but not 24/7.

Can you usually get kidney at the grocery store?

[Zoom]

If you look at some of the ethnic stores, you can find it. The grocery store back in KC near my house had a huge Mexican population around it, so they carried all sorts of bizarre things you didn't normally find. Aside of the prices, it would have been awesome to feed raw out of, just because of the variety.

Once you get back to Tallahassee, look for a local meat company. That's going to be the best route.

[darkchild16]

what would i use for now in place of it though???

[Zoom]

Liver. I think by the time you get to feeding the larger quantities of it, you'll be back in FL. Who knows, you might be able to find kidney at the store, I just never look for it.