Switched dogs to raw diet...WOW

[PSDBowhunter]

The raw food diet definitely interests me with my 3 dogs: 12 yr old lab, 3 year old pointer, and 1 year old dalmatian.

Two questions for those of you who have made the switch:

1. Do you transition them incrementally like you would a new dog food? Or do you just switch cold turkey (no pun intended)?

2. How many pounds of meat per dog are you going through in a month? a year?

 

[sndmn11]

I didn't read through all this or do any research yet.

Is there any issue with a combo raw and kibble diet?

No necessarily ever meal is mixed, but if a person were to primarily feed raw but use kibble when raw might be in short supply.

 

[Cameron.25]

I didn't read through all this or do any research yet.

Is there any issue with a combo raw and kibble diet?

No necessarily ever meal is mixed, but if a person were to primarily feed raw but use kibble when raw might be in short supply.

Any kind of kibble or low quality treats seem to give my dog gas or diarrhea nowadays, but I think some dogs might not have an issue switching back and forth. You'd probably just have to see for yourself. We keep a large supply of freeze dried raw dog food just in case we cant get the meat for a few days or something, we also use it when we take her on backpack trips and she seems to do good on it. The freeze dried raw stuff is widely available now but spendy. I havent run out of actual raw meat yet so far the whole 7+ years we've been feeding ours raw though. I just make sure to pick up more before that freezer gets too low

FWIW, i think the cost/extra hassle, especially for 3 dogs, would be the only reason not to try it. We only have one dog but she is super healthy and we mostly attribute that to the raw diet, we feel like she looks and acts half her age

 

[Cameron.25]

The raw food diet definitely interests me with my 3 dogs: 12 yr old lab, 3 year old pointer, and 1 year old dalmatian.

Two questions for those of you who have made the switch:

1. Do you transition them incrementally like you would a new dog food? Or do you just switch cold turkey (no pun intended)?

2. How many pounds of meat per dog are you going through in a month? a year?

Depends on several factors, like the size of your dog and activity level. My dog is 82lbs and active, we feed her 2 lbs per day, so its a lot over a year. Over 720lbs of meat and 1000+ of our farm fresh eggs(only costs us chicken feed) per year lol

 

[ianpadron]

The raw food diet definitely interests me with my 3 dogs: 12 yr old lab, 3 year old pointer, and 1 year old dalmatian.

Two questions for those of you who have made the switch:

1. Do you transition them incrementally like you would a new dog food? Or do you just switch cold turkey (no pun intended)?

2. How many pounds of meat per dog are you going through in a month? a year?

I'd definitely ease them into it. Takes a few days for the gut microbiome and associated enzymatic activity to adjust.

We did a few days of 50/50 b4 switching and still had some mud butt issues. A little extra fiber in the form of bone or veggies remedies that too.

Our dogs both (40# and 65#) eat roughly 1.5 pounds of meat a day. So 3 pounds a day total, 90# a month, about 1000# a year.

Half is game scraps, half is chicken drummies at 99 cents a pound from Costco, so 45 bucks a month for the meat/bone, bout 50 bucks extra for a Hodge podge of organs, sardines, eggs, etc.

I had 6 antlerless tags this year and will buy more next year. Gotta feed the dogs and eradicate the whiteys off the muleys winter range anyway.

The main result of the raw switch is my .243 likely needing a barrel swap a few years sooner

 

[Koda_]

The raw food diet definitely interests me with my 3 dogs: 12 yr old lab, 3 year old pointer, and 1 year old dalmatian.

Two questions for those of you who have made the switch:

1. Do you transition them incrementally like you would a new dog food? Or do you just switch cold turkey (no pun intended)?

2. How many pounds of meat per dog are you going through in a month? a year?

IMO it depends on the dog, mine can eat anything on a whim but most people do follow a transition plan. There are some good raw feeding resources online to follow: https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/transition-dogs-to-raw-step-one/

I average around $120/month to feed raw but I think inflation has increased that. Ive adapted by learning what I can change in the ingredients I buy, typically lowest cost pork loin going on sale regularly, petite sirloin in the cheapest beef but that price in my area has skyrocketed so Ive supplemented with lean hamburger when needed. Keep in mind a properly balanced raw diet needs more than just meat. Here is a really good guide to estimating costs for each dog: https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-fe...lculate-meal-amounts-calories-for-adult-dogs/

 

[Koda_]

I didn't read through all this or do any research yet.

Is there any issue with a combo raw and kibble diet?

No necessarily ever meal is mixed, but if a person were to primarily feed raw but use kibble when raw might be in short supply.

It depends on the dog. Mine can switch anytime. I do keep a bag of dry kibble on hand for emergency prep, traveling and occasionally if I havent had time to meal prep raw ingredients. There are some people that do a mixed diet exclusively to reduce the cost of raw feeding.

Forgive me for all the links to the same source, I have no affiliation except its simply been my go to resource for learning to feed raw, everything in one place.

Add Fresh Raw Food to Processed Dry Dog Food Feeding Guide

Learn how to select ideal raw ingredients to add into a processed dry dog food diet to increase moisture, add fresh protein, improve fats!

perfectlyrawsome.com

 

[ScreamingPotato]

What do yall do when you're on trips, particularly extended camping trips? We're only home about 50% of the year, weeks here and weeks there between different outdoors activities and I'm concerned about flip flopping back and forth.

 

[Cameron.25]

What do yall do when you're on trips, particularly extended camping trips? We're only home about 50% of the year, weeks here and weeks there between different outdoors activities and I'm concerned about flip flopping back and forth.

They make freeze dried raw food, i get it online but ive seen it at petco too. Thats what we use for longer camping and all our backpacking trips

 

[Koda_]

What do yall do when you're on trips, particularly extended camping trips? We're only home about 50% of the year, weeks here and weeks there between different outdoors activities and I'm concerned about flip flopping back and forth.

Raw food in the cooler with mine or transition your dog to eat both and feed dry food on trips.

 

[ianpadron]

What do yall do when you're on trips, particularly extended camping trips? We're only home about 50% of the year, weeks here and weeks there between different outdoors activities and I'm concerned about flip flopping back and forth.

The boys have their own meat stash in the cooler. Couple 3 pound tubes of beef, tins of sardines, and some chicken drummies are available just about anywhere

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

What do yall do when you're on trips, particularly extended camping trips? We're only home about 50% of the year, weeks here and weeks there between different outdoors activities and I'm concerned about flip flopping back and forth.

I’m fortunate enough to have a freeze dryer at home. I highly recommend it for a plethora of reasons; dog food included. It was expensive, but worth every penny.

 

[TSAMP]

Saw an ad and took 5 minutes to fill this out on the farmers dog website. Thought id save the rest of you the trouble. With my 50% off coupon. Feeding my 68 lb active dog was $14 bucks a day, $96 per week.

the bottom dog is the new pup.

 

[Cameron.25]

Saw an ad and took 5 minutes to fill this out on the farmers dog website. Thought id save the rest of you the trouble. With my 50% off coupon. Feeding my 68 lb active dog was $14 bucks a day, $96 per week.

the bottom dog is the new pup.
View attachment 670235

Thats expensive! My 82lb GSD dog eats local, organic, balanced stuff 2lbs per day and i think its less than half that cost

Edit to add: i just looked and it seems i spend about $400-500 every 3 months. Prices fluctuate and sometimes i go for more beef vs chicken but its from a local restaurant meat distributor plant and im buying in bulk to fill a small deep freezer. I live in portland oregon and the place is called willamette valley meat if any locals are curious

 

[AlBeartoe]

Yer dog don't want no damn sweet potatos!!!! I just tossed my lab some frozen and uncooked silverskin, tendon, fat scraps from last falls moose. In general, it's safe to assume feeding edible game meat is illegal, it is in AK. If you are feeding big game scraps to your dog don't feed them them anything bloodshot unless you are shooting copper. Don't need to give your dog lead poisoning.

 

[roosterdown]

Late to the parade, as usual.

Any issues with feeding my dog raw, whole pheasant legs with the bones?

 

[ianpadron]

Late to the parade, as usual.

Any issues with feeding my dog raw, whole pheasant legs with the bones?

Seems like the bird bones are a case by case basis. If your dog chews their food before gulping, should be a none issue.

I know the local coyote population sure doesn't have any issues with slurping down a whole phezzy!

 

[ztc92]

For those who are on the fence about a raw diet or think that raw food may be too much time/effort, there are some hybrid options that split the difference by providing dehydrated raw food that is similar to kibble but made with whole ingredients.

We travel and camp a lot so having shelf-stable dog food we can easily bring along is a big plus.

We use a brand called “Sundays” and have been very happy with it for both our dogs. Our first dog (a rescue that is Aussie/Beagle) was lethargic and overweight at 2-3 years old with lots of GI issues. It improved a bit using purina pro plan but still lingered. Switching to Sundays led to complete resolution and gave us a lean, energetic dog once more. She’s almost 8 years old now and still doing great!

Here’s some info on Sundays for anyone curious about the process or ingredients:

Sundays Air-Dried Food for Dogs Ingredients

When it comes to the best dog food, it's what's on the inside that counts. That's why Sundays Dog Food ingredients only contain human-grade protein, fruits and veggies.

sundaysfordogs.com

 

[shavezchavez]

Always curious about doing this. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[roosterdown]

Reporting back....

Feeding my dog whole, raw pheasant legs has been a huge problem.

She now won't eat her kibble and wants nothing but raw pheasant legs.