Raw Feeders-How much does your Yorkie weigh and how much do you feed per meal??

[gracielove]

Well, there are different types of raw diets. Some are just raw meat and vegetables with ground bones. Some are more complete and have vitamins added. To have a healthy coat dogs need the omega's. I would not advise anyone to make their own raw diet. Nutrition is complicated. The idea of feeding raw is that it is more natural to what a dog would commonly eat. It has the enzymes and nutrition in it naturally. Kibble is baked at least 3 times to make it into the dry form. By then the nutrients are about nonexistent. They add synthetic vitamins to kibble to try to put back what the high temps have taken out. They also use grain in many cases to make up for the meat that is missing. They also add various forms of glucose to get the dog to want to eat the stuff. Many feel that this artificial type of diet that the dog food industry has created has contributed to the disease that is so common in dogs these days.
What you are feeding your dog is certainly fine and will help your dog to eat his dog food.The oil may be the major factor as far as the coat getting softer. I don't think there is a problem feeding raw chicken as long as the skin is not on it and it must be eaten up right away and not sit in the dish. Of course always wash the dish and your hands is warm soapy water after use.
The bone in prepared raw foods is ground so fine that you cannot tell it is there. Raw bone is full of good nutrients for a dog but I would not advise grinding your own. Maybe a butcher could do it for you? Raw bone is good for a dog unlike a cooked bone that is dangerous. You cannot even see the bone in Gracie's food it is ground so fine. I would prefer to by frozen raw food for her but it is not available here so I have been buying the freeze dried and it has been great. The S&C's has chelated vitamins in it as well as other nutrients. The meat is from grass fed animals that have not been injected with the antibiotics, steroids and hormones that most meat has in it. There are organic fruits and vegetables and other good foods in it. I'm pretty happy with it and so is she. I guess she is so happy she wants more.
It has taken me a lot of reading and comparison to decide what food to feed her. Many foods that claim to be "natural" are not natural at all. Raw diets vary also. If you do decide to feed your own raw I would advise adding a good natural supplement to make sure your dog gets all the nutrients it needs. There is a lot of info online about raw diets, homemade as well as commercial. Read as much as you can and compare info before you make a decision.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by fzzypinkboa

Hey, I gravitated toward this post. I was just recently reading on the BARF (bones and raw food) diet and I'm assuming this is what everyone here is talking about? (clueless question)
My baby is 7 months now. I'm hesitant about "raw" and about "bones", and wanted to know what everyone else thought about this for small dogs.
I'm here in Japan and have been trying to blend just boiled chicken, eggs, spinach, carrots, and a little olive oil together into a mush. (hope this is okay...)
I freeze it in tiny portions and mix it half & half with his dogfood for now (he east Royal Canin).
His coat has gotten sooo soft (not sure if that's from the new food or not though) and he loves it. But not sure if it will be getting all the nutrients he needs if he just eats that.

Note: I started off giving him small pieces of raw chicken, and he loved that too, but then I got nervous and started cooking it.

Didn't mean to interupt the thread. Just wanted to share and I'll be listening to your further comments or suggestions. Thanks!!

In short, some people love raw and some people hate it (this group includes most vets). I don't consider the raw diet to be safe and would not feed it to my dogs. That said, there are lots of threads on YT about this (you can type it in the search box at the top or bottom of the screen). If you bump one up or start your own thread asking for pros and cons, you will probably get more answers to "how many small dog owners agree with this feeding method" question.

[tem_sat]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

In short, some people love raw and some people hate it (this group includes most vets).

I think when it comes to vets ***in my experience***, it's a case-by-case issue. I would never want my vet to "promote" any raw diet (commercial, PMR, BARF) without him or her personally having experience feeding it. If my vet stated to me, "I hate raw", I would then say, "well, I am going to teach you something!" If his / her response to my statement bothered me, I might...choose another vet. My current vet, who I love and adore, is an AAHA Hospital Member, is always updating his practice with cutting edge technology, has an extremely large client base, and is known for the taking the cases that no one else can help, etc. He has always operated under the goal of, "do what works for your pet". I totally agree with that. If whatever you are feeding now "works for your pet", then that is best you can hope for.

[salazark]

To answer the OP's original question - I feed Primal. My 4.75 pound Sadie gets one 1 oz nugget per meal twice a day. My 3.5 pound Beemer gets one and a half 1oz nuggets per meal. Since his neuter I may have to back off on his slightly. Here's how I do it. My vet helped me determine an ideal weight for each of mine. I bought a very accurate postal scale and weigh them about once a week. Each week I adjust the amount they get (if necessary) to keep them at this weight. I do supplement their meal with fresh steamed green beans and carrots - mostly for Sadie so she won't feel hungry. Again, I've cleared all of this with my vet. He's aware I'm feeding raw and is fine with it.

I will probably have to take them off of it in February. Sadie is being evaluated to be a therapy dog through Delta Society. Delta Society does not allow any dogs in the home of a Delta therapy dog to be on a raw diet. This is because they could be around immune compromised people and the risk of passing bacteria. I've decided to wait for the initial evaluation and if she passes that I'll take them both off then.

[viviansnickers]

Fabulous post and explanation!!!

Originally Posted by gracielove

Well, there are different types of raw diets. Some are just raw meat and vegetables with ground bones. Some are more complete and have vitamins added. To have a healthy coat dogs need the omega's. I would not advise anyone to make their own raw diet. Nutrition is complicated. The idea of feeding raw is that it is more natural to what a dog would commonly eat. It has the enzymes and nutrition in it naturally. Kibble is baked at least 3 times to make it into the dry form. By then the nutrients are about nonexistent. They add synthetic vitamins to kibble to try to put back what the high temps have taken out. They also use grain in many cases to make up for the meat that is missing. They also add various forms of glucose to get the dog to want to eat the stuff. Many feel that this artificial type of diet that the dog food industry has created has contributed to the disease that is so common in dogs these days.
What you are feeding your dog is certainly fine and will help your dog to eat his dog food.The oil may be the major factor as far as the coat getting softer. I don't think there is a problem feeding raw chicken as long as the skin is not on it and it must be eaten up right away and not sit in the dish. Of course always wash the dish and your hands is warm soapy water after use.
The bone in prepared raw foods is ground so fine that you cannot tell it is there. Raw bone is full of good nutrients for a dog but I would not advise grinding your own. Maybe a butcher could do it for you? Raw bone is good for a dog unlike a cooked bone that is dangerous. You cannot even see the bone in Gracie's food it is ground so fine. I would prefer to by frozen raw food for her but it is not available here so I have been buying the freeze dried and it has been great. The S&C's has chelated vitamins in it as well as other nutrients. The meat is from grass fed animals that have not been injected with the antibiotics, steroids and hormones that most meat has in it. There are organic fruits and vegetables and other good foods in it. I'm pretty happy with it and so is she. I guess she is so happy she wants more.
It has taken me a lot of reading and comparison to decide what food to feed her. Many foods that claim to be "natural" are not natural at all. Raw diets vary also. If you do decide to feed your own raw I would advise adding a good natural supplement to make sure your dog gets all the nutrients it needs. There is a lot of info online about raw diets, homemade as well as commercial. Read as much as you can and compare info before you make a decision.

[viviansnickers]

Great read!! My vet also supports "doing what is good for your dog" and has never hated my raw diet. In fact, he told me that if he could get all dogs to be as fit and healthy as Snick, it would be wonderful!! My vet supports my chosen diet with 2 thumbs up!!

Viv

Originally Posted by tem_sat

I think when it comes to vets ***in my experience***, it's a case-by-case issue. I would never want my vet to "promote" any raw diet (commercial, PMR, BARF) without him or her personally having experience feeding it. If my vet stated to me, "I hate raw", I would then say, "well, I am going to teach you something!" If his / her response to my statement bothered me, I might...choose another vet. My current vet, who I love and adore, is an AAHA Hospital Member, is always updating his practice with cutting edge technology, has an extremely large client base, and is known for the taking the cases that no one else can help, etc. He has always operated under the goal of, "do what works for your pet". I totally agree with that. If whatever you are feeding now "works for your pet", then that is best you can hope for.

[viviansnickers]

Thanks Karen, this is exactly what I was looking for. That stinks that you have to take them off the raw! What are you going to switch them to??

Viv

PS--GORGEOUS HOLIDAY AVATARS!!!!! Omgoodness!!!!!

Originally Posted by salazark

To answer the OP's original question - I feed Primal. My 4.75 pound Sadie gets one 1 oz nugget per meal twice a day. My 3.5 pound Beemer gets one and a half 1oz nuggets per meal. Since his neuter I may have to back off on his slightly. Here's how I do it. My vet helped me determine an ideal weight for each of mine. I bought a very accurate postal scale and weigh them about once a week. Each week I adjust the amount they get (if necessary) to keep them at this weight. I do supplement their meal with fresh steamed green beans and carrots - mostly for Sadie so she won't feel hungry. Again, I've cleared all of this with my vet. He's aware I'm feeding raw and is fine with it.

I will probably have to take them off of it in February. Sadie is being evaluated to be a therapy dog through Delta Society. Delta Society does not allow any dogs in the home of a Delta therapy dog to be on a raw diet. This is because they could be around immune compromised people and the risk of passing bacteria. I've decided to wait for the initial evaluation and if she passes that I'll take them both off then.

[gracielove]

I was quite upset when a friend whose dog would have greatly benefited from a raw diet was told by her vet to get her dog off the raw because it could have salmonella in it. Now to me that is just ignorance gone to seed. We all buy raw meat to cook in our homes. We have to use our intelligence to handle, cook and dispose of it properly. Dog food is not different.
Many or I might say most veternarians know nothing about nutrition. They are in business with dog food companies that supply them with prescription diets to feed their patients. They depend on an industry that has totally changed what a dog would naturally eat in order to produce a product that can sit on a shelf without going bad for months at a time.
I have worked in the human health care field for many years and I can say the same for human doctors. Most know nothing about nutrition and will send a patient to a nutritionist when they are faced with something like diabetes because they don't have the knowledge base to recommend the proper diet for the patient. They depend on drug companies to provide the research and testing for the medication that they prescribe for their patients.
The vet I mentioned above put my friend's dog on a prescription diet and the dog started having hypoglycemic episodes because the food was so deficient in nutrients for the poor creature. Putting blind faith in a physician or an industry is just plain dangerous. You cannot believe everything you hear or read these days. Sometimes it takes some deep digging to find the real facts about food and nutrition. If you look and see what the food industry is doing to both human and animal foods these days it will give you cause to wonder who is getting the most benefit from the altered from nature diet that is being created by them.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by tem_sat

I think when it comes to vets ***in my experience***, it's a case-by-case issue. I would never want my vet to "promote" any raw diet (commercial, PMR, BARF) without him or her personally having experience feeding it. If my vet stated to me, "I hate raw", I would then say, "well, I am going to teach you something!" If his / her response to my statement bothered me, I might...choose another vet. My current vet, who I love and adore, is an AAHA Hospital Member, is always updating his practice with cutting edge technology, has an extremely large client base, and is known for the taking the cases that no one else can help, etc. He has always operated under the goal of, "do what works for your pet". I totally agree with that. If whatever you are feeding now "works for your pet", then that is best you can hope for.

It sounds like you found a vet that is a good fit for your pup then. Most or all vets I know aren't going to come out and say they hate it. They certainly aren't feeding it to their dogs though. And when asked..most really do seem to hate it.

We all have to do what we're comfortable with. For my pups, if a vet really supported feeding the raw diet, I'm not sure that I could go there anymore. This has to do with the fact that the people I respect in the field of canine nutrition being against it along with what I know about it. I'd have to wonder how many other areas they deviate from board certified vets. That is JMO. But I don't want Viv's thread to turn into a debate and I have finals all week, so time for me to go.

Originally Posted by salazark

To answer the OP's original question - I feed Primal. My 4.75 pound Sadie gets one 1 oz nugget per meal twice a day. My 3.5 pound Beemer gets one and a half 1oz nuggets per meal. Since his neuter I may have to back off on his slightly. Here's how I do it. My vet helped me determine an ideal weight for each of mine. I bought a very accurate postal scale and weigh them about once a week. Each week I adjust the amount they get (if necessary) to keep them at this weight. I do supplement their meal with fresh steamed green beans and carrots - mostly for Sadie so she won't feel hungry. Again, I've cleared all of this with my vet. He's aware I'm feeding raw and is fine with it.

I will probably have to take them off of it in February. Sadie is being evaluated to be a therapy dog through Delta Society. Delta Society does not allow any dogs in the home of a Delta therapy dog to be on a raw diet. This is because they could be around immune compromised people and the risk of passing bacteria. I've decided to wait for the initial evaluation and if she passes that I'll take them both off then.

Therapy Dogs International instead?

[salazark]

Originally Posted by viviansnickers

Thanks Karen, this is exactly what I was looking for. That stinks that you have to take them off the raw! What are you going to switch them to??

Viv

PS--GORGEOUS HOLIDAY AVATARS!!!!! Omgoodness!!!!!

Aww, thanks for the compliment. Those were the pictures I took last year for our Christmas card and my first attempt at making my own avatar!

I'll probably go back to Orijen. That's what they were on before raw. They did fine on it but they thrive on Primal. One thing I really like about raw is how easy it is to feed them. Their head doesn't leave the bowl till it's empty. I don't have any trouble with who's eating whose food. I've added canned to their kibble before to get them to eat quickly but my vets not crazy about it because of their teeth.

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi Viv -- so good to see you ! Here is what I feed....which is a bit more than other feeders, perhaps, but this is where they land in terms of best body condition (they're pretty active little turds):

Wylie (7.5 lbs) - 3 oz at both meals
Marcel (3.5 lbs) - approx 1.5 oz at both meals
Pfeiffer (3.5-4lbs) - approx 1.5-1.75 oz at both meals

[salazark]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

It sounds like you found a vet that is a good fit for your pup then. Most or all vets I know aren't going to come out and say they hate it. They certainly aren't feeding it to their dogs though. And when asked..most really do seem to hate it.

We all have to do what we're comfortable with. For my pups, if a vet really supported feeding the raw diet, I'm not sure that I could go there anymore. This has to do with the fact that the people I respect in the field of canine nutrition being against it along with what I know about it. I'd have to wonder how many other areas they deviate from board certified vets. That is JMO. But I don't want Viv's thread to turn into a debate and I have finals all week, so time for me to go.



Therapy Dogs International instead?

Thanks, but no. The group I'm with here is under Delta. I teach in the training facility that supports Therapy Partners (the group here). I'm happy with the raw diet but not so hung up on it that it would make me not do this.

[viviansnickers]

Thanks Ann!!!! Exactly what I needed to know!!! Reesie is SUPER hyper (my zoomie boy) and he seems to need more. Snick is more lax....but LOVES his beef, and seems like I am feeding them correctly as far as amount.

Happy Holidays!!
Viv

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Hi Viv -- so good to see you ! Here is what I feed....which is a bit more than other feeders, perhaps, but this is where they land in terms of best body condition (they're pretty active little turds):

Wylie (7.5 lbs) - 3 oz at both meals
Marcel (3.5 lbs) - approx 1.5 oz at both meals
Pfeiffer (3.5-4lbs) - approx 1.5-1.75 oz at both meals

[princessizzy]

Izzy has been on Raw/ dry kibble since July 2010... She is now about 10 lbs ( about 1 lb too heavy for her size ) this is what I have her on now to loose a little

Morning-- 1.5 nuggets of primal
Snack-- 2 none marrow treats
Evening--1/4 cup of orijen red

About 3 times per week I'll give her a true chew USA made chicken jerky stick instead of the bone marrow treats.. By the way how are you doing

[viviansnickers]

Hi Rebecca!! Thanks for the response!! I am doing great!!! How are you!!! Looks like I am still maintaining the right amounts for Snick & Reesie. I have just bought some additional freeze dried raw for them to snack on at lunchtime as well.


Viv