I feed my 2 GSD Eagle Pack. They do quite well. My older girl grew slow and steady. she did great. My male is 12 weeks. He is so far doing great. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 Quote: Shawn Reed

Thank you everyone! I am checking all this out info out. I had a scare two nights ago with Gabbie. She was jumping up trying to play bite with my brothers dog. She came down on her left hock joint and brused it bad. It looked like she dislocated her hip at first. Needless to say I was extremely worried (hip dysplasia). I took her to his vet right down the street. Luckily he was open till nine that night. Right away he said it wasn't the hip(Thank God). He then said her leg might be broken. I thought that's better than the hip!! The next morning X-Rays showed no break and he said it was a severe bruse.

So I am even more eager now to get her on the BEST DIET I can!

Thanks again!

That's good news! And as far as the BEST DIET - please read the links you have been provided on a Raw Diet. You can't do any better than what nature had intended for dogs!

So I read all the links that were provided. I still feel lost though. My boxer is now almost 6 months old. I am currently feeding her the all natural Now! which is from the company Go that is 1 of the 7 kibbles that are reccomended on here.

If I were to switch to Raw what would a typical day look like food wise to start off with? What should I feed her? Chicken Necks or backs at first, she is still a puppy and I don't want to get the wrong things

 Quote: Shawn Reed

So I read all the links that were provided. I still feel lost though.

What exactly are you lost on?

 Quote: Michael_Wise

 Quote: Shawn Reed

So I read all the links that were provided. I still feel lost though.

What exactly are you lost on?

What should I get for the first week. Would it be chicken necks? I understand the equation to how much the dog gets. I see that since she is a puppy it should be 5-10% of her bodyweight daily. What about supplements? What about organs(Liver, heart, kidneys, etc.)? Or should I just focus on RMB for the first couple of weeks? I guess I am a little nervous b/c I want to do it right and not get off to a bad start.

I still like to see new raw feeders get a hold of some of the many raw feeding books out there.

Mainly these 3:

http://leerburg.com/935.htm
http://leerburg.com/970.htm
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/book-ww.php

The bottom one is actually available online. http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/images/ww.pdf

Reading these books before you jump into the raw diet will help ensure that you've got an understanding of how a raw diet works and how to proceed and troubleshoot.

They aren't a waste at all, and I promise that reading them will help. A lot of it is the same thing repeated, but in a different manner. You'll understand more with every different book linked to.

And you are right in your concerns for wanting to get it right. Especially for a puppy.

Since she is a puppy, you are right about the 5-10% of her weight in food daily. You will want to split the daily ration over 3 or more meals a day. It would be best to start on the low end of that percentage for the amount of food, and gradually increase if you feel more food is needed.

I'm not sure how long you need to feed that amount before moving to 2-3% and once or twice a day feedings. Hopefully some of the puppy folk will answer that.

Chicken necks are a good first food to switch with. I prefer chicken backs over necks for the switch, but that is strictly personal preference. This is the only thing that you will feed for about a week. Maybe shorter.

For the first few days you'll want to remove the skin and excess fat. When she has had perfect poops for a few days you can start leaving some of the fat and skin on in small amounts. Gradually increasing the amount as long as perfect poops continue.

The only supplements that I would say she needs to have are a fish body oil(salmon oil) and vitamin E.

The dosage for salmon oil is 1000 mg per 10 pounds of body weight. Grizzley Salmon Oil, sold here, has the dosage labled on the bottle that will come out very close to that amount.

Vitamin E would be about 100-200 IU for a small to medium dog. Depending on how big she gets 200 IU may be fine when she is full grown, or maybe 400 IU. We'll figure that out when she is full grown.:wink:

Organs will be added later on in the diet. They will take up roughly 10% of the daily ration. Organs added to the diet too soon, in too large of an amount, will cause diarrhea. Don't worry about them now.

When it is time to add them in, they will be done like the skin and fat listed above. In tiny amounts, gradually increasing to the desired portion.

So yes, you are dead on with wanting to focus only on RMB's for a week or so.

The main causes of diarrhea during the switch are overfeeding, too much fat, skin, or organs too soon, and too much variety. Too much variety meaning that instead of only chicken RMB's that beef, pork, turkey, deer, etc. were introduced too quickly.

Every different food will be added in slowly in gradually increasing amounts.

The reason for adding ingredients one at a time in small amounts is so if the dog gets diarrhea or some other problem you will have a damn good idea as to what the trigger was.

Make sense?

Post back if I need to clarify anything. Sometimes I ramble too much and lose any sense of clarity.

Thanks Michael!

I will get the books. Now why do you like chicken backs better than necks to start? I am currently feeding her Now! an all natural, grain free kibble(which as of late she has been getting diahrea).

Great info. I already have a better understanding.

Shawn

Based on my limited experience with my dogs, I think backs are easier for them to digest. Little more meat on them, too.

Lots of people switch with necks, so I'm not saying there is anything wrong with them at all for switching.

Strictly my personal preference, and probably makes absolutely no difference.:smile:

 Quote: Shawn Reed

I am currently feeding her Now! an all natural, grain free kibble(which as of late she has been getting diahrea).

Watery diarrhea? Or soft pudding?

Make sure that you aren't over feeding.

Sometimes the grain-free kibbles do not have to be fed in as great an amount as the cheaper foods.

That would be my first thought. Besides dropping off a stool sample with the vet.

How many times a day do you feed? 3 or more feedings a day may help if you aren't already.

 Quote:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1325&cat=all

I tried to find Honest Kitchen on this website...it didn't come up. Am I doing something wrong?

I'm reading here everyday. Thanks.