How little do they eat?
less than my guys. That was a concern of mine too, which is why I stopped feeding whole animal parts. One chicken back was 2 meals for Scandal. Not very balanced lol.
Hmmm. I used to do the whole mixing/grinding think like you do. But it is a LOT of work with dogs this size. Then I read some raw plans that say that the point is balance over time, not a balanced meal every day, and I decided to try it.
That's what I do with my guys. Here's what a week of their meals might look like (this is per dog):
Monday-chicken quarters, with ribs and back attached.
Tuesday -chicken quarters, with ribs and back attached.
Wednesday- 1 lb pork neckbones and 1 lb pig's feet
Thursday- 2 lbs turkey necks
Friday- chicken quarters, with ribs and back attached.
Saturday- ground beef mixed with diced liver and an egg or two
Sunday- canned salmon w/veggies
That's kind of a rough idea. I change it up a based on what's on sale, and what I see they haven't had in awhile. For example, they may get beef or chicken hearts for one meal. Or tripe. Or a bit of lamb, reduced for quick sale. Or even leftover mashed sweet potatoes and meat trimmings from our meals.
It's ridiculously easy to feed this way. I love it! I don't worry about bone percentage, organ percentage, etc. I figure that as long as they get a decent variety, they'll be healthy. So much easier than all that grinding and chopping! I just toss whatever's for dinner out on the lawn and let them have at it. Except for canned fish, eggs and veggies---those are seved in bowls.
They're doing great on it. The vet oohs and aaah over them and says they're in fantastic condition. I'm not sure how practical it would be for JRTs or if you're even interested, but it has worked wonderfully for me.
I'd think something like this might work better for smaller dogs like chis? If they don't eat much, maybe it would be easier to give them one food item per meal, rather than trying to mix a bunch of itty-bitty pieces together.