I am sorry to do this to you all but I am considering feeding raw.
I have some specific questions as well as general advice needed. I have read much of the information on the site as well as forum but there is a lot to process - have ordered books too.

Are raw eggs safe for dogs - I have read that they inhibit the absorbtion rate of some type of chemicals?

Is there a benefit to feeding organ meats a few times a week in larger quantities (as suggested in the diet plan I read) rather than small amounts daily?

Is it really necessary to add vitamins and oils - if so what and how much? Male 40kg and Female 35kg

Do you switch to raw immediately or mix in with kibble? My bitch is prone to digestive upset, so either way she'll probably get a runny tummy.

Are some organ meats better than others?

All the info. says ground turkey / hamburger etc. - is minced meat somehow preferable to chunks of meat?

When you freeze - do you freeze a meal in a bag or freeze different meats in different bags and take out a number of bags per meal?

Chicken quarters have more meat on than bone - do you class that in the amount of RMB or add wings etc. to bump up the amount of bone while reducing the muscle meat portion?

Things like heart / liver (natural chunks of meat) do you chop up or feed whole?

Do you feed drumsticks / wings etc. to a GSD sized dog or larger rmbs?

I have read about feeding whole chickens as an occasional meal - would that not be too much meat?

Turkey legs are huge and would probably add up to a whole days food for a dog - are they suitable to feed?

If you were feeding tripe - how much would you feed? Cut into chunks?

Thanks for your help

A lot of what you ask is answered here:

http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm

http://leerburg.com/diet2.htm

For some of the questions, the dog's age and approximate size are needed.

Which book(s) did you order? I congratulate you on reading before switching.

I also congratulate you on switching to a raw diet.

I ordered the natural nutrition for cats and dogs - and the one with a cartoon dog on the front. Have read the Schultz one yesterday but will do so a few more times.

I have 2 GSDs, a 7-9 year old bitch about 35 kilos and a 3 year old male about 45 kilos (I want him a bit thinner though).

I've got about 20kg of kibble left, so plenty of time to finish research and find out where to buy backs / necks etc.

 Quote: Tanith Wheeler

Are raw eggs safe for dogs - I have read that they inhibit the absorption rate of some type of chemicals?

Too much raw egg whites will prevent the absorption of Biotin. It is needed for the breakdown of proteins to urea, and the conversion of amino acids from protein into blood sugar for energy.

I feed eggs regularly, but not in excess.

 Quote:

Is there a benefit to feeding organ meats a few times a week in larger quantities (as suggested in the diet plan I read) rather than small amounts daily?

No, not really. It does not matter how often it is fed, as long as you achieve balance after, say, a week and a half. Just know that a lot of organ at once can really mess up a tummy...

 Quote:

Is it really necessary to add vitamins and oils - if so what and how much? Male 40kg and Female 35kg

All dogs should have Vit E and fish oil added to their diets. Kibble or raw. I don't give any additional supplements, but some give Vit C, kelp, alfalfa, and others.

 Quote:

Do you switch to raw immediately or mix in with kibble? My bitch is prone to digestive upset, so either way she'll probably get a runny tummy.

I never recommend mixing the two in one meal. As for weaning them off slowly vs. all at once, the choice is yours and what works best for your dog.

 Quote:

Are some organ meats better than others?

I feed liver and kidneys mostly, but all if they are available.

 Quote:

All the info. says ground turkey / hamburger etc. - is minced meat somehow preferable to chunks of meat?

I don't know where you read that, but I like as large a chunk as possible for my dogs to gnaw on, for their pleasure and jaw strength.

 Quote:

When you freeze - do you freeze a meal in a bag or freeze different meats in different bags and take out a number of bags per meal?

I freeze one meal per bag and thaw (or not) for each meal. This includes all meats, bones and organs.

 Quote:

Chicken quarters have more meat on than bone - do you class that in the amount of RMB or add wings etc. to bump up the amount of bone while reducing the muscle meat portion?

I add nothing to quarters. Typically, my dogs do best at that meat to bone ratio. You need to find out what works best for your dogs.

 Quote:

Things like heart / liver (natural chunks of meat) do you chop up or feed whole?

I feed all hearts whole (it is a rich meat, so learn what your dog can handle...) and liver in 0.5 lb chunks, again as whole as I can get them.

 Quote:

Do you feed drumsticks / wings etc. to a GSD sized dog or larger rmbs?

Not much meat on either, so they only get fed while attached to the rest of that quarter (leg or breast.)

 Quote:

I have read about feeding whole chickens as an occasional meal - would that not be too much meat?

My 105 lb male can handle it, and I do on occasion feed him whole chickens. Again, some dogs will not be able to handle it at all.

 Quote:

Turkey legs are huge and would probably add up to a whole days food for a dog - are they suitable to feed?

I do...

 Quote:

If you were feeding tripe - how much would you feed? Cut into chunks?

I like to feed 2 lbs at a time to my 105 lb dog, as minimally processed as I can get it.

Thanks Jessica.

Nice looking Rott BTW.

Concise and to the point. Well done! That could actually be a printout. (For me to use...)

Would also tend to agree with Jessica with the exception of one point.

 Quote:

All the info. says ground turkey / hamburger etc. - is minced meat somehow preferable to chunks of meat?

I too would feed chucks but also feed ground when the price is right. When I add in ground it is usually with RMBs as part of the main course. The ground beef or ground turkey (meatballs) are a side dish of muscle meat to adjust the ratio of muscle to bone.

Overall I don't think there is any real difference between the chunks vs ground EXCEPT for the gnawing ability that some dogs will have when they eat the chunks. Mine gets his gnawing done on the RMBs so I often supplement with ground.

Here is what I do for the freezing issue. I usually freeze about 2.5 - 3 lbs of each type of rmb or muscle meat or whatever in separate bags. Then I pull out a bag of whatever I need when it's getting low. I keep it in the fridge in a tall plastic container - all the dog food goes in the same container in bags. This keeps the rest of the fridge clean and in case a bag leaks the leak is contained in the container.

Hope this helps and congrats on making the switch !!

 Quote: peter marek

Would also tend to agree with Jessica with the exception of one point.

 Quote:

All the info. says ground turkey / hamburger etc. - is minced meat somehow preferable to chunks of meat?

I too would feed chucks but also feed ground when the price is right. When I add in ground it is usually with RMBs as part of the main course. The ground beef or ground turkey (meatballs) are a side dish of muscle meat to adjust the ratio of muscle to bone.

Overall I don't think there is any real difference between the chunks vs ground EXCEPT for the gnawing ability that some dogs will have when they eat the chunks. Mine gets his gnawing done on the RMBs so I often supplement with ground.

That is fair. There are so many different ways to feed raw.

The question was is ground preferable to hunks.

Granted, from a pocketbook standpoint, ground is cheaper. But there are other reasons I don’t prefer to feed ground.

Grinding increases the surface area of the meat and thus exposes more of the "good stuff" to the air. This results in oxidation, and while not as significant with dogs as it is for cats (they can’t produce their own taurine), I like to keep that in mind. If I have to feed too much ground for any reason, I add an extra beef heart to the rotation that week. Additionally, grinding creates the perfect environment for bacteria growth, not too important either as the dogs can usually handle all kinds of gross stuff in their guts, but I like stacking the deck in my favor.

If I need to be adding supplements (like the pup right now won’t eat his Vit E pill) I will use ground “supplemental meatballs” but I personally don’t feed ground much more than that. If I have to feed extra muscle meat, it will be in as large a hunk as I can get. Generally though, as I feed prey model, I don’t need to add any. My typical feedings are a whole chicken or rabbit quartered, quick, easy and balanced (and less work!)

Tanith, I was purposely succinct with my post. If you would like me to explain any of the above in further detail, I or many on this board would love to help. There is a LOT of information to learn, and not all is really necessary to understand if you follow the basic rules, but as I love to learn and understand the whys, I would be happy to share as well. And thank you for the complement on Quinn!

So we made the switch a few days ago - no issues at all. They love the food and have been really sensible about the bones.

Few more questions, mainly relating to puppies.
New pup is 8 weeks, raised on raw chicken with some frozen minced prepared raw and kibble. She doesn't want to eat the minced stuff or kibble (autarky), would it be ok just to switch her onto 'proper' raw?

The breeder gave me chicken necks which she likes and said she had had wings. She seems to take a long time eating wings maybe they are a bit big at this stage??
What bones do you give pups? When do you move onto bigger ones?

What is the recommended amount daily for a pup? Different books and websites tend to vary - I don't want to do the wrong thing.

There are a few really good bones for pups; necks (from a chicken or maybe a small turkey), chicken/rabbit frames (backs) and breast bones. All are small and easy to chomp and digest. When Hav was really little, I would often feed him Cornish game hens as well. All of the bones in the body are small enough to easily eat and I found that in general, one was a perfect meal for a day (cut into parts to spread it out).

Breasts can be expensive, but not too bad when they come attached to the rest of the chicken (with the wing attached as well). I slice down the middle of the backbone and breast bone, and then cut off the leg/thigh half. I get four chunks that way that are conveniently meal size for my dogs. As a warning, watch the amount of meat left on the breast, some have a hard time eating that much early on; just cut it off and eat it yourself! For my pups, I would let them eat as much as they wanted, then pick up the leftovers and put it back in the refrigerator for the next meal. The rest of the chicken can be fed to the other dog, or frozen and saved for a couple of months for when the pup is able to eat the leg quarters.

As for the amount… Each pup is different. Typically, I have found that watching body condition to be the best way to gage the food intake. Hav would eat half a Cornish game hen in the morning, half in the afternoon, and half a chicken breast in the evening. If he was getting a little thick, I would just give him less (cut the breast in half myself instead of allowing him to eat what he wanted). The standard food weight for pup though is 5-10% of their body weight (pretty vague huh? That is what I mean by each is different) OR 2-3% of the estimated adult body weight (but I found that to be easier to feed at around 4 months; much earlier and they just can’t do it).

As each is so different, you have to find what works best for the individual. Hav thrived on game hens and I happened to find a cheap ($.89/lb) source so bought a million of them. When they ran out, I gave him breasts. Throughout all of it I would give him a meaty beef or pork neck to chew on, and he always got some (about a teaspoon) liver and a kidney (1/2 a teaspoon) with a dab of tripe (teaspoon-ish) with his fish oil swished in with.

Watch the dog (and pups!) weight and adjust. You will find what works for you guys.