After wringing my hands and worrying for months over the whole raw issue and reading practically everything written on this forum about the subject, tomorrow morning my pup is starting a raw diet.

I'm cheating a bit...I purchased Nature's Variety patties since I don't yet trust myself to put together a correct diet. I wanted Bravo but the distributor was out and I've read good things about NV. I even bought a few marrow bones (Thanks Angelique!) to give as a treat.

I've got salmon oil, vitamin E, Prozyme probiotics, and every other supplement Leerburg uses with their dogs. True has fasted today and should be good and hungry tomorrow.

The only thing I don't have is a sedative for me This seems like a big step but one I'm really excited about taking.

Wish ME luck (True isn't going to need it, I think) and thanks to all for directly and indirectly providing so much good information and encouragment.

I've been feeding Natures Variety's patties for quite some time now, probably about 8 months or so, and before that, The Honest Kitchen. Both have similar ingredients but the Nature's Variety doesn't require any additional mean to supplement the diet. I do however add salmon oil, and feed the occasional can of mackerel or give my dogs a couple of chicken wings in place of 1 patty just to give them a little more variation.

I buy the Beef and the Chicken/Turkey patties, the coats are shiney n the dogs are healthy as can be. The calculator on their website is a little more accurate than the weight -> feeding reccomendations on the bags themselves, I tend to round up. My 38lb female eats 2 patties a day and my 65lb male eats 3 per day. Both of them look to be perfect weight-wise.

Once you get into the routine of thawing out the patties in time, you will never go back to kibble or canned food. Personally, I don't mind the added expense of the pre-made patties, since it's way more convenient and I know my dogs will get everything they need, and still lets me add in my own stuff like the chicken wings when I feel like giving them something else.

I did buy some natures variety canned food a while ago for portability to take on a road trip with me, but my dogs had very running poop with it. I guess they could adjust to it if I fed it more often so they are ready for the canned stuff on trips, but I think I might try the natures variety kibble next time I take a trip n see how they do with that.

Good luck! Not that you'll need it

Thanks, Mike

I was somewhat surprised the patties weren't bigger. My pup is 65lbs, still growing but very lean, and this doesn't seem like a lot of food. But then again, I'm used to seeing kibble in the bowl.

I know tossing in a pre-made patty may not seem like a big deal to many here but I know the next step is tossing in bones, which will freak me out a bit.

Besides all the health benefits related to raw feeding an added bonus will be a reduction in the poop my dog leaves around. If what I read is correct, there should be a lot less of it...Thank God!

Sarah, Good job! I feed the Bravo blends in the AM so I can add salmon oil & vitamins. The evening meal is RMB's (I rotate beef, venison, chicken, lamb & fish). Angelique told me about chicken feet, they make a great snack, my pup loves them.

And the poop turns white n turns into dust so you never have to scoop poop again if you don't want to... Unless you actually walk thru your back yard in which case you might wanna scoop it anyway

My dogs bones come from chicken wings as I said before, just toss one into your dogs crate as a treat one day, he'll like it n you'll get over your fears real fast when you see how easy it is! My pup has been eating chicken wings since she was 10 weeks old and weighed 6lbs. The chicken wings were bigger than her head I swear

They do seem small n you will feel like you are underfeeding. But remember, the dog digests the entire patty, whereas most of the grains and crap in kibble are space-fillers rather than being any benefit to the dog. How old is your pup? I fed my pup extra when she was younger, n then went to adult portions at around 8 months old n she turned into a lil pudgy furball!

He's 7 months, intact, and he looks great...not an ounce of fat on him. I did see the calculator on the NV site and will follow their directions unless he gets too bony.

About these marrow bones in my freezer...should I expect him to go through one fairly quickly or is something dogs generally tend to gnaw away on for a number of days? I'm planning on introducing them this weekend while I'm home and can see what he does with it (this will be the moment I break out the sedative...LOL)

Sue,

I saw Angelique's suggestion about the chicken feet...and I'm trying to imagine something like that in my dog's mouth. No more doggy kisses for me.

If he can handle the marrow bones then I may PM you about the RMBs.

Good for you Sarah!!! Your dog is gonna thank you and reward you with good health and smaller poops!

My dogs love chicken backs. The bones are soft and easy to chew.

 Quote: Sarah_Morris

(this will be the moment I break out the sedative...LOL)

Beer is good, too!

You'll worry less and less everyday until one day you realize that you haven't worried in days. Or maybe I'm just dumb that way.

I'm a mom...it's in my nature to worry, Michael

What is really going to be fun is when I let everyone at work know later on that he's raw fed AND fit and healthy. The reaction will be priceless.