New to Raw diets...where do I start?
 

I would like to start feeding my pups a raw diet. I have two pups that are 1.5 years old and an older pup that will be 10 in December. How can I be assured the yare getting a balanced diet. Do you buy the ingredients from the store and follow a diet...or do you buy the premade ones...if so which brand is best?
Thank you so much ;)

I was wondering the same thing. We're on Acana now, and they get NV raw for a couple of AM meals. I still haven't had the guts to go all out with raw lol:)

I buy the pre-made and they follow AAFCO - so, they're already balanced. I prefer Primal over Nature's Variety. Other good ones are Stella&Chewys, Bravo.

Here is a thread from the Library, with links about raw: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...-learning.html

If you are just starting out on it - it is recommended that you lightly cook the food until the dog gets used to it - gradual is always best. We homecook now for our four yorkies, but we occasionally throw in some pre-made raw (lightly cooked for our guys) and they love it. Here is one brand they really seem to like ... Products We usually get the lamb variety.

I do the same thing. I have one that refuses raw, period. But, I give my other 1/2 a nv patty for breakfast most days.

Mine like to graze on their kibble so I don't know how happy they would be with just 2 meals of raw a day.

I'll tell you how mine do w/2 meals of raw a day...I tried to get them to have one raw meal and one kibble (lots on here do that)...My little brat, Buzz went 8 days w/o his evening meal, because he refused to eat kibble...When his ribs started showing, I gave in, and gave him his raw...That boy is not about to eat kibble...only raw...Apple is all about raw, kibble, veges, treats, things that fall off the counter, etc. etc. etc. lolol...

If you're going to go raw, go all the way! Cooking it kinda defeats the purpose ;)

I'm new to raw- when you say already balanced does that mean a complete meal? Is NV not a complete meal? As of now we're only doing raw a few days a week for AM meals.

I feed prey model raw which means I buy all the meat and balance it myself. I do, however, keep both prey-model raw and kibble on hand for convenience purposes. We love it! Since going raw, both dogs have been at optimum health. They have fresh breath, clean white teeth, bright eyes, tons of energy, silky soft coats, and small, firm, odorless poops. For pre-made raw I prefer to use Primal, but have also used Bravo in the past. I don't really trust Nature's Variety anymore. If you're interested in going prey-model, let me know and I can help you get started!

I was saying that most pre-made raw foods are certified AAFCO-balanced - similar to the way kibble, canned etc. adheres to the AAFCO recommendations. So yes, it's considered a 'complete' meal as per AAFCO. NV follows AAFCO as well.

yes i agree; i also feed aunt jeni's homemade raw food; however since my dog has IBD jeni the owner and nutritionist told me to cook it slightly until my dog gets better. she's doing great on it and loves it. i feed the turkey and rabbit formulas.
by the way my dog can't tolerate any dog food; except this one; because it's fresh, organic and made from human grade ingredients.

It was cold turkey for my babies. I didn't feed them for entire day and started on bravo next day without any problem. I add : standard process "canine whole body support" and wholistic pet organics "acidophilus" which is probiotics. I rotate btw beef, rabbit, lamb, and duck. I sometimes add quail, ostrich, and elk as well. So far, raw diet has been the best for my babies!!!:D

It's actually pretty simple to start. Buy some raw meat, cut it up, and watch your dogs eat happily!

Ok....not quite that simple, so here's what I've been doing. I have two yorkies, Vinnie & Alex. I adopted Vinnie from a local shelter about 7 years ago. He had major tummy issues for two years, and I tried all sorts of different kibbles and diets. On top of his tummy troubles, he was EXTREMELY picky. I walked into a new local natural pet store one day about 6 years ago, lamenting about Vinnie's poor eating habits. The owner of the store gave me a free bag of Nature's Variety (raw frozen medallions) to try. I was skeptical, but agreed to try it. Within a week, Vinnie was eating like a champ, had gained weight, and had no more bouts of diahrreah. He has been eating Nature's Variety raw medallions ever since with continued success.

I adopted my other little guy, Alex, from a local rescue. He came to me with serious allergies (all environmental, confirmed by allergy testing). He is on allergy shots and we're waiting for those to kick in (they take about 6-8 months to worK) and in the meantime I'm doing everything I can to make life better for him, which includes a full raw diet. I opted not to do Nature's Variety with him because it contains carrots and some other ingredients that, in some dogs, can supposedly aggravate environmental allergies. So, here's what his raw diet consists of:

--Raw beef, chicken, salmon, or bison (all cut up into small pieces)
--Organ meat (beef liver or chicken liver, chopped)
--Plain canned pumpkin
--Plain full-fat yogurt
--An occassinoal raw egg (just open it up and dump it in the bowl)
--The following supplements: Bone meal, salmon oil, acidophillus, and some whole body support supplement I got from my vet.
--I give both my guys raw marrow bones for treats twice each week. They love to lick out all the marrow and then chew on the bones. Great for their teeth.

Here are some tricks I've found to help to make feeding raw less time-consuming:

I buy meat from the grocery store and break up each package of meat into small freezer bags. Each freezer bag contains about enough meat for 4-5 days. Because yorkies are small, they don't eat a whole lot, so this is important. Otherwise, you will be throwing out a lot of meat. I put small portions of different meats into small tupperware containers. Each morning, I pull out all the containers and dole out Alex's food into his bowl.

I keep all the doggy tupperware containers on one dedicated side of the refrigerator. That way, I lessen the liklihood that I will contaminate my own food.

I use a dedicated cutting board that is only for raw meat (never for human food!)

I wipe down the counters and floor with antibacterial soap/spray when done.

I keep all supplements in a dedicated container.

Keep in mind that cross-contamination when feeding a raw diet is a problem (for humans, not dogs). So it is important that you keep things clean, clean, clean.

Including raw bone in a diet is VERY important when feeding raw. It is important that you only give your dogs RAW bones, never cooked bones. Also, make sure to only give them bones under your supervision. When you leave for the day, throw the bones away.

The biggest thing I've found with feeding raw is the need to be organized. Because I keep everything so organized (dedicated tupperware, small freezer bags, etc), feeding my guys first thing in the morning when I'm trying to rush out to get to work is not that time-consuming. Yes, it is more time-consuming than dumping some kibble in a bowl, but the happiness I get from it and the money I save on vet bills is worth every minute of my time.

Feel free to contact me with questions. I hope this helps!