Recipe - raw meatballs .....
 

I took the plunge. Decided to make my own raw food. I have a VERY picky eater. I'm hoping this might be the answer?!

I have had Brody on Nature's Variety raw chicken medallions for over a month now and he's doing OK on them. He's not thrilled with them, but he's not thrilled with ANYTHING having to do with food. I have been researching a raw diet and specifically looking for a balanced recipe, similar to the NV medallions that would be easy to feed.

I did try a raw chicken wing with him several times and he wouldn't eat it. He buried it in his bed. He would eat little pieces of raw chicken if it was cut up.

After much research, I decided I wasn't enough of a scientist to create a total balanced meal for him that I could feed exclusively. But I wanted something that I could give him as a meal once a day that incorporated raw foods. I created this recipe based on the 80% muscle meat, 10% organ, 10% bone model. If bone is included, the calcium/phosphorus ratio is not as critical. I didn't want any grains as that would defeat the purpose, but did want to add a carb and fiber source so I used baby carrots and canned pumpkin to help hold it all together.

The recipe:

10 chicken wings
1 pound ground sirloin beef
2 large gizzards, 2 large hearts, one piece of liver
1/2 can of pumpkin
1 can of baby carrots in water

Put the wings through the grinder, including skin and bones. Add in the organ meats, ground meats, and the pumpkin and mix. Grind the carrots and add them. Mix well and completely. I picked out any larger particles of bone or tissue. The grinder made everything about hamburger consistency.

Then I made one ounce meatballs. This recipe made about 90 meatballs. I froze them and then put them in ziplocks. Will take out a few at a time and he will get them for dinner in place of the NV medallions. He will still get a commercial food for breakfast... either Orijen or Wysong Archetype.

Here's a pic....

So what do you raw feeders think????? Very interested in opinons!! Thanks!

Nobody has an opinion on this recipe?? Hmmmm..... well, I did a little more research and for the next batch I'm going to replace the carrots with egg and add a can of Merrick's 100% tripe. I will tweak the recipe as I go along.

The reason I ground it up is because Brody won't have anything to do with whole chicken wings or backs or necks. He absolutely refuses to eat them. So I thought that if I ground them up, at least he'd be getting the nutrition. Not the chewing that he should have, but I'll work on it and keep offering them.

Good for you! I use the Unstew Mix listed on this page. In fact I just made a batch for the month yesterday. I use all organic meats and veggies. Yesterday's batch was sweet potato, butternut squash and zuchinni. I don't have to crush the bone as Lola will eat wings/backs no problem. The only additional item I used was crushed flax seeds. I also add a probiotic. Check out this site. Lots of good info.

Healthy Homemade Dog Food Recipes | How To Make Your Own Dog Food | Raw Dog Food

Thanks for the link!! That gives me some new ideas. Thanks so much.

The meatballs look good, but I don't know anything on dog nutrition.

Well, I feed PMR and since you asked, I'll add my opinion. Let me first start off by saying that while I think my way is the best way for me, I don't say that it has to be that way for everyone. Whatever works best for you and I definately think what you're doing is better than any kibble out there!
Personally, I would ditch the pumpkin and the carrots. I don't believe your dog gets any nutritional benefit from those. In addition, while I wouldn't be opposed to using this type of thing sometimes or even most of the time, I don't think your going to benefit from the teeth cleaning that a whole chicken breast/wing etc would give you. I do know that sometimes it's hard to get them started with raw and especially when you have a picky eater like you have. I have found having more than one dog often helps with this. Maybe this is your excuse for another baby? :D

Thanks so much for your reply!! Yes, I think I'm going to put egg in place of the carrot next time. So dogs don't need any fiber at all? I had the pumpkin in there for fiber and regularity. But if he doesn't need it, I'll leave it out.

I'm hoping that he will get used to the taste of these meatballs and then transition him slowly over to raw wings. I've tried and tried and he won't have anything to do with them. I don't think he recognizes them as food. I even held it in my hand like a bullystick and encouraged him to chew on it. YUCKY. :)

Sometimes I have to trick him with the NV medallions and call the cats and act like I'm going to give it to them to get him to eat it. He is soooooo picky!!!

Humans may need vegetable fiber, but dogs don't. Their intestines
are short and their transit time is short. Here is a great site that talk about this and other myths. Myths About Raw: Are dogs omnivores?
I also recommend this group for info. RawChat : Raw Chat
Sometimes you can do things like feed the food a little frozen and they will like it better or slightly seared in a pan is another trick to try.... Good luck with this!

Wow, I think it's so cool that you're making your own! Btw, what kind of "grinder" do you use?

tjdmom has some great comments, as always, and I know she does so well w/ PMR and would help you if you want to go that way.

I feed the pre-made too and may consider making my own someday, if I can stop being lazy :p. My boys' teeth are gorgeous, partly bc of the enzymes in the raw meat, and I think the rest is from the Bully Sticks.

Just as an aside, if you ever want to add a probio/dig. enzyme product to the food (at meal time, not with the pre-made as the freezing wouldn't be good for it) - I like this one: Nature's Farmacy - Store - Product Details

Thanks for all the help, links, and encouragement. I'm kind of afraid of the raw feeder groups .... they will think I'm a wimp for grinding his food!!! :( Well, I am working on progressing to wings but if he won't eat it, at least this way he will eat and he's getting the benefit of the raw (except for the jaw and teeth workout which he gets on his bullystick multiple times a day) so I don't feel too bad about it. I'm trying to do the right thing. :)

I just have a cheapy metal hand crank grinder. I didn't want to splurge for the good northern tool one for $100 until I knew this was going to work!

I know absolutely nothing about feeding like this. I am interested though. I think the idea makes me squeemish but I'm willing to set that aside and at least educate myself on it. I have a couple of questions, and maybe I should post them elsewhere. 1. Can you mix or alternate feeding raw and dry kibble or should you just do one or the other. 2. You can just give them a raw chicken wing and let them eat it? Is it just wings or what other parts can u give them? 3. Does it make their poo stink? 4. If they eat that and get it in their hair and you kiss them not knowing it's there can u get sick?
Do you just give the dog the meatball raw?
Sorry for sounding so dumb but on this topic I admit that I am completely uneducated.

Ok, I'm definitely not an expert as I am a newbie to this type of feeding too!! But there's a TON of information available on prey model diet.

1. The general concensus is not to feed raw and kibble together. Space them out. Like if you want to do just 50% raw, then feed kibble in the morning and raw for the evening meal.

2. You want to feed raw meaty bones. The key is raw. Never cooked. Start with a chicken wing tip and progress from there. Chicken wings, backs, and necks are good sources of RMB's. You can also feed raw chicken (and other meats) in chunks. The key is to strive for a 80/10/10 mix which is 80% muscle meats, 10% bone, and 10% organs (liver, kidney, etc.)

3. NO! Their poo is not stinky at all. You may notice some loose stools at the beginning of a change to this diet, which is expected. But once they are acclimated to a raw diet their poo is small and nearly odorless. It disintegrates quickly.

4. I haven't heard of people getting sick from their raw fed dogs. Just be careful in cleaning up before and after they eat. Just like you would if you were preparing food for your family to eat. Some people wipe their dogs faces after they eat.

5. Yes, these meatballs are made to be eaten raw. Just thaw and feed. Similar to the Natures Variety medallions.

I hope other raw feeders chime in here! As I don't feel "qualified" to answer a lot of questions since I'm just starting off myself! But set aside some time and do some research. There's so much information out there on feeding our dogs in a healthier way!! :)

I just wanted to add that if your little guy isn't going for the chicken wing you can try another part. The skin is very tough and for a dog not used to eating it it can deter them. My puppy really likes chicken legs. She's small so I cut off about 75% of the meat and then let her get all the meat off and chew on the bone. This meat (since the skin has been cut off) is not nearly as difficult for her to eat.

Ok, here's a question from someone else who knows NOTHING about feeding raw. I thought chicken bones were bad for dogs. The bone is fragile enough to be splintered and damage throat/mouth. True or not???

Cooked chicken bone shouldn't be fed...actually any bones that have been cooked shouldn't be ever fed to dogs.

As long as they haven't been cooked chicken bones are fine.