# Amount of Raw to feed



## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Hi everybody,

I've been a lurker on this website for about 2 years but have never found the need to create an account and post until now.

My dad is about to go elk hunting, and he always has tons of meat leftover to feed his 3 GSD's, so I thought I would take some of that elk and feed it instead of kibble to my 2.5 yr old spayed female GSD.
Currently I feed her 2 cups/day of Nature's Domain salmon and sweet potato ( 360 kcal/cup and also grain/yeast free as she is allergic to one of those, although not sure which )
She cannot eat much more than that as she will start getting porky. She never used to be like this until the past year or so.

So my question is, how much elk do I feed her a day so that she maintains a good weight and doesn't get fat? Is that all I feed her ( does she need veggies/fruit etc or anything else added)? 

Thanks for any help!


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## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Also, she is about 72 pounds and could definitely lose a bit more.


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## mkinttrim (Jul 3, 2011)

I started feeding mine raw yesterday but mine is 4 months old.
Early am I give him one pork rib, They have a softer bone for his newly sprouting adult teeth.
Early PM I mix 2 eggs and a cpl tablespoons of plain yogurt along with some seaweed minerals and some omega fish oil every other day.
Late pm I give him a chicken quarter.

As he gets older I plan to change up some of the meats, and add organ meat.

I'm just starting out on this but have a good coach in my PSA club.

It's my understanding that most veggies are hard to digest for dogs so they have to be pre mashed . I used a blender to grind up green beans whenever he had the runs with his kibble. Works good.

Theres a ton of info on here and you'll be doing your dog a big favor healthwise.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Plan on feeding her about two pounds a day - so one pound twice a day as a general figure. She may need less since she is a good keeper, to borrow a horse term. At the same time, Elk is probably a nice lean meat and will probably help her loose weight and muscle up. 

Some people add veggies and supplements - that is a personal preference. What you will need to add to round out the raw feeding is organ meats - liver, kidney, spleen. Also, depending on long the elk you have will last you, throw in some variety for a more balanced diet. But if you only have enough to feed her for a couple of weeks, than sticking with the elk only won't cause any long-term diet deficiencies. If you have months and months and months worth of elk in the freezer, look at getting some other sources of raw protein meat to round out the variety.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Also, I love your user name.


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## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Castlemaid said:


> Plan on feeding her about two pounds a day - so one pound twice a day as a general figure. She may need less since she is a good keeper, to borrow a horse term. *At the same time, Elk is probably a nice lean meat and will probably help her loose weight and muscle up. *
> 
> 
> Thank you . This is great as I think she could lose 3 pounds or so maybe more ugh.
> ...


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

Give her 1 lb in the morning, see how she likes it, then the other pound at night. Feed her JUST elk meat, no chicken/beef/etc. 

Get this book, it's very helpful
Dr. Becker's Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats Cookbook


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Snarly said:


> So my question is, how much elk do I feed her a day so that she maintains a good weight and doesn't get fat? Is that all I feed her ( does she need veggies/fruit etc or anything else added)?
> 
> Thanks for any help!


A 72 lb dog should get roughly 1.8 pounds of raw food per day.

That includes *raw meaty BONES*, muscle meat and organ meat.

Since it sounds like you are getting *ONLY* muscle meat it's going to be much harder to calculate how much to feed.

If you feed your dog 2 pounds of muscle meat only you WILL have problems.


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## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> A 72 lb dog should get roughly 1.8 pounds of raw food per day.
> 
> That includes *raw meaty BONES*, muscle meat and organ meat.
> 
> ...


How will I have problems? 

Well he will give me the organ meat and bones if I want them...
why does she need them?


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

A BALANCED raw diet must include edible bones (not the big cow bones), muscle and organ meat.

To feed only one item will cause nutritional issues in the dog.

To feed NO bones and only muscle meat will cause the above AND loose stools.


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## Snarly (Sep 7, 2011)

Okay, well what bones of the elk should I feed her?
Maybe I should just give her kibble and a bit of meat on the side, I don't know enough about raw and I would prefer not to cause deficiencies :S


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