I haven't read the whole thread because I'm anxious to ask a couple of questions. Please read my whole post, this is NOT an anti-raw comment in any way.

Every so often, I think about feeding raw, then let it go for a couple of reasons.

If I'm being completely honest, the first reason is the ick factor. I won't cut up a raw chicken for my human family...can't do it without gagging. The thought of chicken heads, feet, whole fish, necks :eek:and other animals parts....ugh. I'm truly a product of the processed food generation:rolleyes:

So, I think I'll end up spending hundreds of dollars a month buying pre-cut meats and then I'll just have to stop, because I certainly can't afford that.

Next, if I get past the ick factor there is the question of how much. I've got big yorkies (13 and 17 lbs give or take) How do I figure out how much to give them. Waiting to see if they are getting fat then cutting back, or if they are getting thin then adding will truly make me a basket case. Is there a guideline or rule of thumb?

If I could get over these couple of hurdles, I would more seriously consider raw. I want to do the best for my furkids and that includes feeding them the best way that I can.

Sorry, if these questions have already been dealt with on here, I'm going back to keep reading.

Poop Report
 

This is awesome news!!!! It always makes me so happy to hear when I hear the stories about how much the dogs like their food and do so well on it!
You mentioned white, crumbly poop; I hope you meant that the poop you found in your yard looked that way, it's not coming OUT that way from the rear of your dogs, is it?

Nadia

My qualms with pesticides
 

Hi and welcome to this thread! I hope you find it informative! We're a happy bunch with happy dogs and one of us is usually around to help answer any questions you might have regarding prey model! :)

Heart Worm Prevention; No offense, but the actual number of occurences of infestations has been grossly inflated by our dear Veterinarians as they receive their data from the pharmaceutical companies, wanting Vets all over the country to push and sell their product. The same is happening with flea and tick prevention. These products are toxic pesticides, not just some harmless sugar pills! Instead of scaring people with close up pictures of worms inside a heart, what about posting pictures of dogs that have been taking these pills for a while? What about long term studies on the effects? Where are these studies???
My 12 year Yorkie boy was given these pesticides every month for about a year and he got so sick on them that I stopped giving it to him because I was afraid that it was killing him! He is still dealing with the effects of that time as he has a pretty severe condition called chronic systemic yeast infection. His immune system shut down and his skin looked like minced meat!
My dog has never had fleas or a heartworm problem and we even lived in Europe for the first 4 years of his life. However, I have a problem with exposing my dogs to doctor prescribed toxins on the premise of prevention. Do we routinely amputate the limbs of little boys around the country because we can guess that at least 10% of these boys will have a fracture at some point? This example might be extreme but you get my point....
There are natural remedies that work very well! These remedies won't kill our dogs, don't cost a fortune and are safe to be around people, too!

Nadia

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Raw Eggs
 

Raw is the way to! That includes eggs.
The first time my dogs had raw egg, one of them vomited as well. But I figured out that one whole egg was just too much for a small dog. By freezing the mixture in small cubes, YOU control the portions. ;)

Nadia

Welcome!
 

Hello and a warm welcome to you! I applaud you for wanting to explore your options!
No need to tip toe around, we actually welcome all opinions and don't crucify opposition. Knowledge is power! No question is stupid! We understand that newbies are nervous! I was a newbie once and I had a mentor to guide me through this all. I had tons of questions! Looking back, I can't believe how nervous I was and how simple this way of feeding really is! It's about dropping all of the pre-programmed stuff in your head and just letting go, putting yourself and your pets back to a natural way of living! Please do all of the reading you can, there are excellent posts on here by all of us and some great learning/info links have been posted as well. Research, read and go into this completely informed and fully confident!
Keep it simple and I promise you, as you go on you will lose the ick factor! Having the help and support from another member in the household/significant other could help as well! When you become a witness to the great changes this diet provokes in your pets, you will actually become excited to find livers, gizzards and heart on sale somewhere! No need to disembowel anything just yet. A pack of simple chicken drumsticks or bone-in breasts from the grocery store is just fine! Too much variety too soon is a mistake many newbies make!
But to answer your question about how much to feed; A dog should consume a daily ration of 2-3% of his perfect weight. Whatever the dog weighs, divided by 2 or 3 percent. That's just a guideline though. I never went by that but it gave me an idea. I know my dogs and how they should look. I also know how much each can and should eat every day. Not because I'm some kind of dog whisperer but because I watched over their progress a lot in the beginning! Poop patrol, weighing them every week, feeling their bodies, watching them walk/run/interact with each other, touching their fur. Remember, a dog can lose or gain weight very fast so the weight watching issue is not the same as that with us humans! If a dog was over weight one week, by cutting back his daily rations a little and walking him more often, by next week he has most likely shed most of that excess flab! A morbidly obese dog or cat will take longer of course. I hope this was a start for you!

Nadia

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I have meaty pork neck bones for Marley tomorrow. Does she eat the bones? They look pretty big. Are these good to give her?

Pork neck bone is too dense for toy breeds imo.

Here is Abigail's approach to PMR. Abbie starring in No-RAW-on-my-paws !

Yeah, it comes out small and light colored and changes to white and crumbly! Sorry for the confusion! All are doing well in the poop department which is good!

Poop
 

Eh, ideally, it should be dark to black when it comes out. Your dogs might be getting too much bone. Have you noticed your dogs straining a bit when they poop? You can try feeding some boneless meat for a meal then the meaty bone for another meal. No worries though, you're not doing anything wrong! In fact it's just the right thing to start out just the way you were doing! Sounds to me like you got the consistency of the poop right already, just have to tweak your dog's diet a little. Remember; 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organs.

Nadia

Lol
 

Great vid, Ada! Thanks for that one! Wish mine would do that (much cleaner and neater) but nope; they will make use of their feet! Your girl has such long hair! I just wanted to pull my clippers out, lol! But that's because I always snip around on my dogs, hehe :p
Oh, btw.;
Every time I use smiley's on here, I get that problem with that "IMG" on the bottom of my posts!!!! :mad:

On the pork necks; well, my 10 pounder has no problems with chewing it but it's also very fatty and it gave him the runs one too many times so I just don't feed that anymore, which sucks because pork necks are so cheap!!! :(
Other people just don't seem to have that same problem with pork and their dogs at all! I also wanted my dogs to eat rabbit when I heard how much some other dogs seemed to LOVE rabbit! But both of mine have flat out rejected it more than once, had to give it away! :mad:
I haven't tried it on the puppy yet....

Nadia


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Thanks Nadia :). Oh, she was FAR from clean and neat...lol...you should have seen her beard from all the chewing and manipulating to keep her feet clean. "NO!"....she'd much rather it be all over her face! My bad, though, as I did not pull it away, and then I was filming, so just let it go......:confused: Well, is that not just weird?
Yeah...I only feed the lean meat of pork, and the softer bones. Same here! And, for the price of rabbit in the market, I can't say I'm very sorry they don't like it! WE don't even get rabbit. Too pricey for our budget!

Did anyone notice that their dog's eyes got goopier after switching to raw? Marley's eyes were never really goopy, but they are now.

Also, has a list been posted of good raw foods to feed yorkies? I keep buying her the wrong things, and it would be so much easier if I actually knew what some good things were.

Runny Eyes
 

The runny eyes that you're describing are not a side effect of raw feeding but a symptom of detoxing as there are no negative side effects on a species appropriate diet other than maybe constant, pesky myth swatting....
Detox *can* be a somewhat lengthy process if the dog is older and/or has health problems. Detox will sometimes show in the dog's short term behavior as flu like symptoms, runny stools, mucous in stools, temporary flare up in skin problems and things of that nature. My oldest used to have goopy eyes so badly when he was k*bble fed that I could actually pull the muck out of his eyes with my fingers daily! He doesn't have that problem anymore on prey model. But goop is not always just goop. If the eye(s) seems irritated, red, swollen then there's something else going on especially if the dog keeps rubbing it, could be an eye infection! If it's simply just goopy then give your dog some more time to detox! ;)

As far as good things to feed; for most prey model feeders, anything goes! Anything that used to be an animal is considered prey and good to feed to our dogs. Yorkies might be a small toy breed but none the less 100% carnivore but with a smaller bite and appetite. As it proves (most of the time) difficult to locate prey that wolves in the wild usually feast on especially in the whole carcass form, it is more practical for us city dwellers to feed more readily available and cost effective meats commonly found in meat markets, hence the term Prey *Model*.
I'm posting again the "recipes" link;
Raw Feeding Recipes
Click on each item on that list to view pictures of dogs actually eating these things that have been posted.



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...... :biggrin:

Raw feeding changed my dog's lives. My first dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, had colitis and chronic diarrhea until he was six months old. We had tried everything else and at a friend's suggestion, I tried raw (starting with pre-made formulas). The day after eating raw, my dog had his first semi solid poo. Now, his stools are normal, his tummy isn't upset and I am not spending hundreds on vet bills.

My rescue Yorkie Mix was severely malnourished & hypoglycemic when she came home. Her tail was infected, she had a horrible hacking cough and she was MEAN! She also didn't have much hair. I switched to raw and started to see instant improvement. Both the shelter and my vet expected her to die. I credit raw feeding with saving her. She is so healthy now, with a thick, shiny coat.

The detox for both wasn't wonderful, ear/ eye discharge, skin irratation, etc. but now I have the healthiest dogs in my neighborhood. Their coats shine, eyes glisten and are the very definition of vitality!

After switching to raw, it also opened a whole new world of nutritional and holistic knowledge to me and I can feel confident caring for my pets in so many health situations.