ok, thanks, i will get at it

I sense your apprehension so I'll share with you what I feed but please note that much of what I started out feeding was based mostly on the links that Connie provided on the first page. Being new was scary for me so I'm hoping to help alleviate some of your fear. I feed only RMBs in the morning and then everything else at night. Everything else consists of muscle, organ, vegetables and supplements. My RMBs consist primarily of chicken necks, chicken backs, turkey necks and at least once a week I give pork necks. My dogs seem to like the pork necks much more than the chicken and turkey. I tried beef ribs for the first time today which they loved but the meat to bone ratio didn't seem right - it seemed like there was way too much bone (if any of you experts can comment on that I'd appreciate it - did I buy the wrong kind?). The muscle I feed is primarily ground beef and ground turkey - again they like the beef way better but the fat content is higher in beef and I have a plump GS so need to incorporate more turkey. The organ varies - I use chicken gizzards, green tripe, chicken liver and beef liver. This is dependent upon what is available at my local grocery store or what I buy through my co-op. The co-op only sells cases so it feels like way too much to buy 40 lbs of organ. Vegetables depend on how I feel when I go to the grocery store. Last night I made a veggie glop that consists of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bananas, apples, sweet potato, lettuce, egg, ACV and molasses. I've recently got my sister to switch to raw and I think she is going to buy the Honest Kitchen food that is vegetables only so she doesn't have to deal with making a glop. I have fun doing it. For supplements - Kelp, Alfalfa, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Salmon Oil, Probiotic. I can't remember exactly the percentages I feed but it came out of the Raw Dog Food book - http://www.leerburg.com/970.htm. I have a spreadsheet that helps me know how much of what to feed. I'm anal and weigh the food - I'm not comfortable yet with eyeballing as many others are. It is not my intent to scare you away because I know it sounds like a lot of work, and it is. Maybe I just haven't mastered it yet. I happen to enjoy it. This is probably way too much information but I hope it helps.

Raw is the best thing, IMO. But some dogs continue to have substantial amounts of plaque even with raw recreational chew bones.

I have been told by a vet dentist (someone certified in vet dentistry who is not a vet) that it is not possible to scale a dog's teeth while the dog is alert. I thought ... hmmm... that's funny because I've been doing it for years. (Same person is always amazed how clean my dogs' teeth are...duh!)

Anyway, I'm guessing you're not quite as ambitious as I am so there's a product only available from your vet. They are rawhide chew treated with chlorohexidine for cleaning the teeth. Some people have very good results with them, I don't use them as I brush my dogs' teeth often and scale as needed.

There is a totally awesome dog toothbrush that makes the job much easier! If you're interested, I can PM the info to you.

Anne, can you PM me too with the dog toothbrush?

Thank you !

I buy whole chickens and cut them up.

I buy whole rabbits and ask the butcher to cut them for me.

I bought a duck and cut it up. I trimmed excess fat before I fed. Not sure I'll be buying duck too often.

I buy Cornish Game Hens and cut them up.

I buy ground beef and feed.

Still haven't bought turkey (no space in freezer). I think I will this week and eat half and give dog half.

I give an egg every other day. He's not a big fan.

I give liver every other day, once a day.

I give hearts and gizzards almost every day. I'm using small pieces of gizzards as treats at the moment.

I don't feed fish, but started giving Omega 3 supplements last week.

I've fed kidney once.

I give a couple of licks of plain yogurt after almost every meal.

I give very tiny amounts of fruit (banana, pear, apple, melon, or whatever fruit is on sale) once a day or as treats or inside Kong (banana in this case).

I don't feed vegetables.

I don't weight the food. If I think my pup is too fat, I'll give less food the next two days and take him to the beach or park to burn off a few calories. Everybody says he looks very healthy (some say he's a bit chubby).

So far so good, although he pooped a bone last week. It was a wing bone, so I'm being careful when I feed those.

This is a 10 week old puppy I'm talking about, and he crushes those bones like a real champ. After a couple of days, you'll be much more relaxed about feeding your dog. Try it for a week.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 Quote: Anne Vaini

... There is a totally awesome dog toothbrush that makes the job much easier! If you're interested, I can PM the info to you.

Is it the fingertip one? That's the one I love. :>

Nope. It has three brush heads that are angled. The dog can chomp on the brush and it won't slide off the tooth you're brushing. It makes the job three times faster too!

Is it necessary to brush a dog's teeth if you feed raw with bones? I used to brush my last dog's teeth, but she was on kibble and canned. I thought raw was supposed to take care of the brushing part, making it not needed?

 Quote: Anne Vaini

There is a totally awesome dog toothbrush that makes the job much easier! If you're interested, I can PM the info to you.

Why the PMs? Can you share with the rest of the class? I want to know, too!

 Quote: amber morgan

Why the PMs? Can you share with the rest of the class? I want to know, too!

Yeah, Anne why would you PM the info?
I thought the whole point of this board was PUBLIC discussions
Besides, it seems a little unfair to address someone's question with "I HAVE THE PERFECT SOLUTION!" but not to share it with the rest of us! Otherwise we'd end up with a discussion board full of questions but with no answers available... Hee hee.

I agree that a raw-fed dog (on a REAL raw diet, not ground up mush) would probably never need to have its teeth brushed, but I certainly know a lot of people around here who spend a fortune looking for products to keep their dog's teeth clean (kibble-feeders, go figure).

If there's a super toothbrush out there for dogs, I'd love to know so I can share the info with other fellow dog owners that I know