Hi All,
My name is Kevin Jackson and my dog Kace is 6 month old female GSD that weighs 55 pounds. I have been contemplating converting her to a raw food diet and after a lot of research I have decided to take the plunge and see how she likes it. I have read through the forums here and have gained ALOT of knowledge but I was wondering if I could be a little needy and ask if anyone has like a week long regime I can base her meals off of. There is similar stuff on here but it was sort of confusing. If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it....Also I cannot for the life of me figure out how to upload a picture of Kace for everyone to see, HELP!
Thanks so much everyone!

Kevin

Look at getting this book, it has a month long diet regimen towards tha last chapter. That's what I try to follow.


http://leerburg.com/935.htm

Best wishes and welcome!

Hi Kevin,

Kace is going to love this switch and it does seem VERY intimidating at first but a few months down the road you won't be giving it a second thought.

Getting started is really easy, imho.

Most people will tell you it is best to go cold turkey and not mix kibble and raw. (They take different amounts of time to digest and when fed together, give different bacterias the opportunity to develop - I believe is the reason).

Start with chicken backs, skinned and with any excess fat removed. That is all you are going to introduce for the first 3 - 4 days. If poops are fine and she is doing okay, you are then going to add ONE new item to her meal. So she might have her chicken backs in the AM and then the new item for dinner or you can give a bit of the new item with each meal. An example of the next item to add could be a turkey neck. Give that 3 - 4 days. You simply repeat this process, slowly adding new things, slowly leaving the skin on the chicken backs, gradually introducing organ meats, etc...

My menues change from week to week depending on what I get on sale. They include chicken leg quarters, chicken backs, turnkey necks, hamburger, pork feet (not a favorite but it got eaten), sardines - a BIG hit, chicken heart/gizzards, beef heart, liver. I add an egg once a week, Salmon Oil (Grizzly Oil sold on this site is great), vit. e, and yogurt slopped on every so often too. Some folks do veggies, I haven't done that yet.

When I started I weighed every meal to the ounce, bagged it separately, etc... Now I have a a medium sized container in the fridge which right now has leg quarters and hamburger in it. Last week it had leg quarters and turkey necks. At meal time I simply grab what I think is close to the correct amount - no more weighing! (It did help at first but you won't need to do that for long)

This is getting wayyy too long. Connie and Michael are the resident "go to folks" on feeding RAW and I know they will chime in.

I think you will find it very satisfying to feed your dog the food she is designed to eat... I really enjoy doing so.

Hi, Kevin,

For the first step in following the regimen above, I'd go get some chicken backs, a pound of ground chicken, your fish oil and vitamin E, and maybe a plain unsweetened yogurt with live cultures. (Actually, for at least two days, all you probably need are the backs.)

Then that's all you need to worry about for now, and you could focus on those items and ask any questions if you can't get them or need to know more.

Then the organ meat, produce, and protein varieties will be slowly added as you see "perfect poops" (welcome to poop-watching club).

PS

Even though this 6-month-old dog may eat 2.75 or more (up to maybe 4 pounds) a day, I'd start that first day with half-size meals.

Yeah, what she said.

The first few weeks are going to be adjusting the diet and adding new, so a menu doesn't really work.

Just to repeat what Barbara said, because you can't hear it enough, start with a simple item, like totally defatted/skinned chicken backs and slowly work out from there.

After she has had good poops for a few days with skinned chicken backs, you can leave a little fat on. Next poop or two is good, leave some more.

Then maybe add a little of a new protein source.

You will only move forward to something new in the diet when she has shown tolerance of the current item(s) on the menu.

New items added in small amounts. Especially any organs, but they will be way later.

All this probably sounds like it takes a long time, but it really doesn't. Just as soon as she has a good poop or two, and you are confident she's adjusting, you can add a small amount of something new and then build up to the desired amount.

Some dogs, you can add a new item every day. Some take a little more time. You've got to do things slow enough that you can read your dog and be able to tell what to do next.

It also won't hurt things to start out with 3 small meals a day. The smaller meals seem to be tolerated a little better at first. That will be the same protocol as above. When you know she is taking to the diet, you can start to move toward 2 meals a day.

Got all that?

Feel free to post every step you take as well. Let us know what she is eating and how she is doing and we can help you decide if its cool to add something new.:smile:

Ahhhh....Connie beat me.

But:

 Quote: Michael_Wise

you can't hear it enough, start with a simple item, like totally defatted/skinned chicken backs and slowly work out from there.

Amen.

And there is a good chance that someone else will tell you the same things.

yes--backs are the remains of the carcass after the legs, thighs, wings, and breast are removed. They aren't much good for eating by humans because there's little meat on them (they are good for making stock). But as raw dog food, they are great.

It can sometimes be hard to find just backs sold by themselves since there' so little call for them by most folks. But any butcher counter will know what you mean. Over here, they can be ordered in bulk boxes.

Backs are also very cheap, which makes them a good option for dog food.

But if you cannot find backs by themselves, whole chickens are also a fine choice. You can cut them up yourself--saving the "good parts" for yourself if you are so inclined, and feeding the rest to the dog.

Thanks Tracy
love your photo

Edited by Jack Gingell (08/13/2010 02:24 PM)
Edit reason: spelling mistake