Just want to add my own personal experience with Primal nuggets. I have both my girls on the Primal and have for quite some time. They are doing great and I don't add anything else to their food.

Kalina weighs 6 pounds. She gets 1 oz. in the morning and 1 1/2 oz. in the evening and she is pretty solid, could probably stand to lose a few ounces. Matty, on the other hand, is 3 1/2 pounds and eats the same exact amount and she is thin. She is, however, still growing. I'm thinking metabolism has something to do with it, although both of my girls are extremely active and enjoy walks at least once a day and run in the yard quite often.

To the OP - what is the difference between feeding raw and feeding Prey model?

Just Plunging in! Start by donating your kibble!
 

It's best to start out with chicken parts. For your Lab it should be a bigger piece. Whole chicken leg quarters. Always feed bigger than the dog's mouth. Digestive issues are sometimes unavoidable and I won't lie to you about that. The good news is, those are short lived. The dog needs to detox the old commercial diet out of his body. I highly advise you to joing the RAW support group on yahoo. I have put a link for that in one of my other posts to lilyorkiemomma. Newbies are welcomed with open arms, no questions are too small or stupid and there are many experienced prey model feeders on there willing to help! I'm also here for you off thread. You can PM me and also email me! chickendido@cox.net
I work from home on my laptop and usually reply pretty quickly! That offer goes out to anybody who wants to email me! Did you get a chance to read through some of the info posted? I don't want to run the risk of repeating things to you that you may or may not have already read....

Hey :wavey: So...where were you when I was begging the small breed feeders to ''come out, come out, wherever you are!" ....? LOL How long have you been a member of the egroup? It moves so fast over there, I rarely ever post. But, they are so very essential - especially for early stage jitters! I completely empathize, here. My senior mix is who gave me the nudge to switch to prey model. Lengthy story; but, somewhere on this thread, as I recall.

simply....prey model is giving, say, a chicken leg to your pup, instead of an already processed and ground up medallion for the prepackaged meals. read over the original post to see why it is more beneficial to feed prey model over the pre packaged raw. its all great info!! :thumbup:

Difference of pre mdae and prey model
 

RAW is referred to as the general idea of feeding a diet of, well, RAW foods to our pets. Primal and other similar brands are formulated to the BARF diet (biologically appropriate raw food) This diet is fed by grinding meats, bones and organs. It also adds pureed veggies/fruit and advocates supplements. The prey model method of feeding mirrors what wild dogs would be eating in the wild. Whole animal carcass, fish, eggs. No veggies/fruits or supplements. For "most" prey model feeders, it's more practical to feed animal parts aka chicken legs, pork chops,beef riblets and things of that nature than a whole carcass. But people who run a rescue for example that have multiple large dogs to feed, usually feed pretty large! I know of one guy who throws half a deer into his back yard and his 12 dogs just have a field day with this!
Not to go on a pre made diet bashing, but I COULD post the down sides/up sides to a pre made diet vs. prey model if anybody is interested?

Whare ya been????
 

LOL, I don't know:confused::confused::confused:
Maybe I was out, hunting or something, rofl

I've been a member over there on yahoo for over a year now and I also rarely post these days. I guess over time, the usual beginner's issues and questions go away but none the less it's still great support when needed! :)
I'm now mostly active on my local group and OF COURSE I'm VERY active in the supplier's and sources list! That's how I scored 10 pounds of organic goat and offal from a local source to the tune of $1.99 per pound!
We should form a prey model club on YT!!!! How would we do that??? :cool::cool::cool:
Nadia




quote=abbie's mom;1949701]Hey :wavey: So...where were you when I was begging the small breed feeders to ''come out, come out, wherever you are!" ....? LOL How long have you been a member of the egroup? It moves so fast over there, I rarely ever post.[/quote]

Nadia ~ done. Click here. :)

btw, TOTALLY envious about the goat score!

Prey Model Club!!!!!!!!!!
 

Wow, I'm impressed!!!! :D:D:D
I'm a new member now! This is just so totally cool! :cool:
Thanks, Abbie's Mom!!!!!!!!!!:thumbup::love:

LOL, yep yep yep, don't I know this site like the bottom of my shoe! VERY good link to post btw., I'm hoping that more members read it and "maybe" chose to re-decide or to re-think pre-made! However, I still feel that it's a good way to get started, sort of like a layover to prey model town! ;)

Yes...well, certainly a step up and away from k*bble!

I would definately be interested. I think it's obvious that I want what is best for my girls - hence the premade raw at least!! :)

I also worry about them getting enough of the nutrients, etc. that they need. I am constantly trying to expand my horizons, so to speak, with regard to feeding my girls what is best. Matty is so tiny at only 3 1/2 lbs that I would worry about feeding her certain bones. Kalina, on the other hand, can pretty much take care of herself. I think my neighbors would go nuts if I threw a deer carcass in the back yard however.

Regardless, thank you for the info. Very interesting stuff. :)

K*bble kills!
 

I'm rolling over here!!!!! K*bble! That reminds me of the yahoo groups, lol. K*bble is a bad word and I'm comitting myself to spell it that way here on YT, too! :rolleyes:

I just wanted to say that my collie has always had a very sensitive tummy. I'll never forget the time we were camping with my sister and bil and he felt sorry for her so he fed her all the leftovers from breaksfast. Mostly leftover eggs. Needless to say, the tent was a mess. I've always been so careful about what I give her but decided to try this cold turkey. I'm not saying that you will have the same results but wouldn't it be nice?


Also, for you other experienced raw feeders.... I was just thinking about this, we have a camp we go to some weekends and bringing raw would probably not be feasible. What do you guys do in situations like this? Any suggestions?

The Cons of pre made raw???
 

Abby's mom posted an excellent link, here it is again;
Jane Anderson's - 10 reasons not to feed pre-made raw foods
I agree that it might be worth it to just post the pros and cons from a "personal perspective" and I shall do so later on today ;)
Sookie, while you're on the above link, might as well check out the rest of this excellent site;
Jane Anderson's Raw Learning Site
Especially of interest is the "Boo hiss" section on the far right side of the page, highlighted in yellow.
Have fun reading! :)

I just got bak from shopping and I'm totally going to try it.

*runs to join the club*

The lab just spent the last 18 months with my DS while he was going to school and living with his father.

He came back bloated, stiff and I found out they were over feeding him IAMS.

I had at least been home cooking for him and supplementing with organs.

Ugh.

I bought some lamb ribs, chix thighs and chix legs. That was all I could find that was organic for them.

I would think a dedicated cooler just for their raw and packed all around with ice would work for a couple days?

Traveling with prey model!
 

While we don't go camping (had enough of that as a kid, lol), we do take our dogs on all day trips/vacations and just got back from one late last night. Wherever you go, as long as there's a freezer/fridge combo, at least a fridge, then all is good! You can take your dog's rations with you solid frozen and keep them in an insulated ice box with gel packs. Even thawed out completely (as long as it's kept cool) meat is alright and should be alright for at least 3-4 days. You can always feed freeze dried which is ok in a pinch, or use dehydrated meat. For example, I bought a dehydrator and now make my own training treats at home vs. having to buy those. ;)
We have a little weekend condo in Mexico and go there at least once a month. Not only do I take our own food supplies with us but the dog's too! I eyeball how much I'll be needing and take everything frozen solid. I keep an extra Xpen/old sheets at our condo and just feed them on the patio. I let them eat at the beach before but somehow sand got all over it and the having to ignore the onlookers was just awkward! Most of us prey model feeders live in the closet :(, lol. That should change!!!!!!! :cool:
Many prey model folks just feed in the backyard on grass, I just never liked that idea.....


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I rarely need to leave my dogs, and we're pretty much homebodies; but, I'd already decided if I need to leave mine again, I'll try to find the pre-packaged with the LEAST amount of veggies/fruit. This way, their care givers will not be nervous, and they will still be (somewhat) on raw. If I were traveling, or camping, I think I'd take a small cooler, and take along a frozen supply.

She did it!!!!!!!!!! She plunged!!!!!!!
 

LOL, I got so excited when you said you were going out to buy meat for your critters!!!! :thumbup:
Packed in ice should be fine.
I broke down and finally purchased an upright freezer for my Yorkies, "The Yorkie Freezer", lol
I found it for less than half of the new price on craigslist from a lady whom accidentally had two delivered and the store was too lazy to go and pick up the extra! I have it on my covered patio.

Well, your precious Lab will thank you with good health now! The bigger the dog, the bigger the cuts should be as we don't want them to swallow the RBM's whole; they should spend time on crunching, chewing, ripping, tearing! Easy on the organ meats in the beginning. You should be able to feel the dog's ribs-not see them.

See you at our club! :D:D:D:D:D




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I'm weirdly excited for feeding time tonight.:p

When my son moved out I sent him with lit from the vet and a pic of a healthy weight dog with a "waist".

Alas, they think a healthy dog is an over stuffed dog.:rolleyes:

At his age, any extra weight is a terrible burden for him and shortens his time on earth playing fetch and snoring in front of the fire.

Pre made with NO veggies.....
 

and without other useless crud; Primal Frozen Grind Chubs
Just ground meat, bone and organ! :thumbup:

Sorry, you must never have met SoCo, the picky dog! :p If we feed chicken too many meals in a row he takes longer and longer to eat until he just won't eat chicken. We have to switch him to something he likes better like gizzards & hearts or pork. Then he'll start eating the chicken again.

Tara :)

Bummer... I wish I read this thread before I bought Nature's Variety. I bought a bunch of other stuff that was recommended at the petstore that I probably don't need.

Don't open any....
 

...as you might be able to return you NV for either a cash refund or store credit you can then use for something else! ;)
Depending on where you bought your supplies, they may even offer you a refund on OPEN bags of food! The Pet Store where I sometimes buy my freeze dried from has a great store policy; "If you ain't satisfied with anything you purchased here, return it for a full refund or store credit"!

:lol tearsYeah, them Yorkies sure have quirks, don't they! My Gia won't eat any heart unless it's cut up a bit, she's afraid of it whole! LOL. Toy wants me to sit and watch him eat for a while! NEITHER likes rabbit and the puppy Mahli loves the bones the other dogs had instead of her own and tries to steal theirs!

Mine won't have anything to do with rabbit, either. I think maybe too 'gamey' for them. Anyway, since I can't hunt for them, I'm saying thank goodness they don't like rabbit, because it is pri$ey in the stores!

Okay~ first meal fed.

Zack, the lab, had a chix thigh and a lamb rib.
He was all shy at first and ate the thigh in a few munch & crunches. Had to be chided to eat the lamb but did so with gusto.

Milo had a lamb rib. He ate a bit more than half. He never questioned it, just started right in. He then asked to go out and came back in and curled up and is still napping.

Interesting thing, this is Milo's usual manic time of the day waiting for daddy.

So far so good.:cool:

I would be interested in how much you feed a small Yorkie and what you feed on a weekly basis - if anyone is interested in posting. That would be a great start for me.

While I'm still in learning stages here.... I have been told 2-3% of adult weight per day. :)

How much to feed?
 

How much does your dog weigh currently? Would you say that your baby is over or under weight? Or just right?
Traditionally it's been advised to feed 2-3% of your dog's estimated healthy weight. I find this guideline more useful for large breed dogs however not so much for my Yorkies as they eat more than those %'s but are NOT fat! Prey Model feeders often refer to this question as "tweaking". Tweaking a dog's diet until it's just right where the dog doesn't get fat from it nor gets skinny. I also don't feed the same amounts every day as prey model fed dogs do what's called "self regulating". They voluntarily will not eat anything for a day or so (once a week, more or less) to give the digestive system a rest. This is normal behavior and is linked to the behavior of carnivore pack animal's in the wild as it's been observed there as well. I let my dogs guide me as to how much because oddly enough, since Toy eats this way, he never over eats. He eats what he needs and leaves the rest so that's how I figured out which amounts are just right for him to consume in one sitting! With kibble, I could've fed him all day and he probably would've just tipped over like a pig! LOL
My Toy is 10 pounds and he typically eats one chicken drumstick completely and a side of (a quarter of a yoghurt cup) chicken livers for breakfast. For dinner he can put away one pork rib with another tiny serving of beef kidney or green tripe. Gia is 5.5 pounds and she will leave a little of her drumstick and she gets less organ meats. Mahli is 23 ounces and all she can consume in one sitting is maybe half the size of a human thumb (sorry for the comparison, I couldn't think of anything else :eek:, lol) and her organs serving is like a thimble full. Not so active dogs will eat less I suppose, but my dogs are very active and get walked 3 times a day for 30 minutes or so each time while the tiny one gets carried a lot of course, she'll never be able to keep up with the rest as she's not expected to even reach 2 pounds fully grown! In the summer it gets brutally hot here in Arizona and I'm putting them on a threadmill this year! :rolleyes:


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