# Do you have lives?



## JaimeZX (Jun 12, 2012)

Okay - there MUST be a more time-efficient way of doing this!

Our first week of raw involved some chicken RMB/MM and ~20% veggie-mash. We didn't measure it out or anything, just eyeballed the percentages.

So today we go shopping.

In fact, we went to FOUR DIFFERENT SUPERMARKETS in as many hours.

We took notes on the relative prices of various cuts of meat. Who knew oxtail and beef tongue could be so expensive?

AND - (jackpot) - on one of the threads in this forum I got the idea to get the butcher's bandsaw "dust" collection. SIX POUNDS OF FREE pre-pulverized bone and meat mush. Heck yeah!

So we come home, break out our knives, cutting board, scale, etc. I do some math and figure out each serving for our puppy should be about 175 grams. (Conveniently, it's also about that for our 5-y.o. lazy 35 pound mutt.) 

I do more math and figure that's 100g of RMB, about 10g of OM, and 65g of MM per serving.

So we dole out a scoop of saw-mush, cut up chicken backs, lamb necks (broke the cleaver on the lamb neck. Dangit.), chicken wings, chicken thigh bones, etc., for the RMB.

Chicken thigh meat, pig heart, ground beef, and chicken hearts for the MM.

Pig liver for the OM.

As we add the ingredients to little sandwich baggies we are weighing the whole way so each baggie is 175g +/- 5g. 

WE SPENT ANOTHER THREE HOURS DOING THIS.

In the end we had 46 bags, which will last us... nine days.

HOW CAN WE SPEND 7 HOURS ON DOG FEEDING EVERY WEEK AND A HALF? I HAD NO SUNDAY.

It's nuts! 

Please somebody tell me there is a better way...


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## NWHeather (Oct 29, 2010)

I feel for you! This is why I lean towards premade raw (Darwin's or Common Sense are the two options I have readily available), even though it is more expensive, I don't have to worry about the time of gathering all ingredients, portioning & packaging.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

You are a dog slave. You might as well get used to it.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

At first, it took me a very long time, too. 
Now I breeze through in half an hour.

My method is this:
Go to Korean market and get a few packages of beef heart, chicken necks, backs, chicken heart, some sort of liver or other organs, and whatever beef is on sale. 

Drive home, get my huuuuge stainless steel bowl I also got from the Korean market, which is about 2 feet across. 
Dump all chicken hearts into a ziploc bag, flatten it, and freeze the whole thing.
Dump everything else in bowl.

Grab sharp knife and cut the beef heart and beef into hunks. 
Smear sunflower oil on a nonstick baking sheet
Place meat pieces, not touching, on the sheet, then put in freezer until they are set.
Chicken necks get placed in clumps of two or three on the sheet and frozen for easy portioning.

When set, tap the sheet on a hard surface to dislodge the pieces, then place in ziploc.
The night before, I grab a variety of these goodies from the bags, and put it into a container to defrost in the fridge overnight. 

When I need to make a meal for him, it literally takes 60 seconds to put together. I also feed a few tablespoons of Darwin's at every meal, plus some sort of dehydrated beef or venison as a topper.


PS-- I used to weigh things, too, but quickly learned how to eyeball the portions, and weighed them just to check my estimate, which was very close.
Also, I have no idea who said it was great, but I would steer clear of bone dust. Not only does it breed lots of bacteria very quickly, but it does nothing for cleaning teeth, which is part of the reason to raw feed.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

lol....order in bulk, spend 1 weekend every 6 months bagging food.


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## JaimeZX (Jun 12, 2012)

Appreciate the replies so far! Definitely giving us some ideas...


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

Lol, I remember when I used to portion everything out... it took ages. Now it doesn't even take 1/2 an hour one day every few months. I don't bother with weighing anything anymore.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Order in bulk - get a friend to help bag and cut up meat.

Takes about 1 day every few months to do this.


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## ShenzisMom (Apr 27, 2010)

Elisabeth, where do you order bulk from? I'm thinking of switching over...


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

NWHeather said:


> I feel for you! This is why I lean towards premade raw (Darwin's or Common Sense are the two options I have readily available), even though it is more expensive, I don't have to worry about the time of gathering all ingredients, portioning & packaging.


I'm with you. We use Nature's Variety, there is also a brand called Primal, and I like have the dehydrated around from Honest Kitchen. I do not have the patience for what was described by the poster.


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## Mcap (Mar 31, 2012)

Does everyone's dog consistently eat their meals. I am really having a hard time with this and it is really xxxx-ing me off (more frustrated than anything). I started with the pre-made. Rocco eats it one day and then nothing the next. I try beef, fish, lamb, venison, turkey and sardines....nothing! Ive tried NV, Bravo, Darwins, JJ Fudds...all of them. I then start buying prey model stuff (turkey necks, whole mackerel, rabbits, tripe). One day he might eat a whole mackerel, the next day nothing. I gave him a rabbit yesterday and he ate about 2 lbs of it. He hasn't eaten today with the exception of some Sundae Sundae, organic honey, yogurt allergy concoction. I tried searing some beef on the grill. He ate is one night and now won't touch it. I have thrown out so much food in the last few weeks. I'm not sure if it's the allergies or Rocco missing Milo. It's probably a combination of both. I am hoping that the honey/quercetin plus Sundae Sundae helps.

Sunflower, he did wolf down that Vital Essential freeze dried beef, but that is way to expensive for me to feed every day. 

I am hoping that his appetite picks up when the new puppy arrives tomorrow night. Nothing like a little competitve eating I used to feed Rocco and Milo in their crates which were side by side. I would put each of their bowls next to each other but in separate crates. Most of the time they finished everything, but if not, all I had to do was open their crate doors and the would quickly switch crates and finish the others food. It was hilarious.

We really miss not having Milo around, but we can't wait to bring home our new addition. It will be good for everyone.

Mike


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Mcap said:


> Does everyone's dog consistently eat their meals. I am really having a hard time with this and it is really xxxx-ing me off (more frustrated than anything). I am hoping that the honey/quercetin plus Sundae Sundae helps.
> 
> Sunflower, he did wolf down that Vital Essential freeze dried beef, but that is way to expensive for me to feed every day.
> 
> ...


Hi, Mike.
Sorry to hear Rocco is still having food problems. I am certain it is because of the loss of Milo combined with the medication that is messing up his appetite.
How many meals a day are you feeding? We are still doing three here. 
The Vital Essential is great, and Hans loves it. We use it as treats and I put four or five pieces on top of his other food, as a topper. I agree that it is crazy expensive to feed as a meal if you have a GSD! :crazy:


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

Mcap said:


> Does everyone's dog consistently eat their meals. I am really having a hard time with this and it is really xxxx-ing me off (more frustrated than anything). I started with the pre-made. Rocco eats it one day and then nothing the next. I try beef, fish, lamb, venison, turkey and sardines....nothing! Ive tried NV, Bravo, Darwins, JJ Fudds...all of them. I then start buying prey model stuff (turkey necks, whole mackerel, rabbits, tripe). One day he might eat a whole mackerel, the next day nothing. I gave him a rabbit yesterday and he ate about 2 lbs of it. He hasn't eaten today with the exception of some Sundae Sundae, organic honey, yogurt allergy concoction. I tried searing some beef on the grill. He ate is one night and now won't touch it. I have thrown out so much food in the last few weeks. I'm not sure if it's the allergies or Rocco missing Milo. It's probably a combination of both. I am hoping that the honey/quercetin plus Sundae Sundae helps.
> 
> Sunflower, he did wolf down that Vital Essential freeze dried beef, but that is way to expensive for me to feed every day.
> 
> ...


Are you watching him eat or you walk away? 

My other non-GSD was very picky and since getting the GSD who's always ravenous the non-GSD suddenly became much more open to food he previously wouldn't give a lick. Since the GSD came, the non-GSD has gained weight from 8 to 10 lbs. That's 25% of weight gain. 

Have you tried having others in the family feed him instead of yourself?


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## Mcap (Mar 31, 2012)

If I feed him something whole with bones, I watch him. If not, I put it down and usually stay in the same room. I know he's not going to starve himself, but I am more concerned with him getting the nutrition since he is only 7 mos old.

Sunflower, I will try the Vital Essentials as a topper. He really loves those.

Thanks

Mike


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## Mcap (Mar 31, 2012)

I broke down and bought a bag of the vital essential freeze dried nuggets and put a 3 cups in his bowl. 3 minutes later is disappeared. I figured if I just fed him this it would cost me about $300 per month (LOL). Thinking about crushing some up and putting it over a raw patty to "trick" him We'll see if he falls for it.

Mike


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Mcap said:


> Sunflower, I will try the Vital Essentials as a topper. He really loves those.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Mike


Great at the vet's too.Today Hans had blood drawn and didn't even know it because he was too busy hovering some of those that I had smashed with a hammer so they would last longer


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

I keep a stock of everything Mikko eats in the freezer (yay we finally have a freezer in the garage) and figured out how much of the different types of meat he would need on the computer. I defrost meat in the fridge as I use it. I try to only use meat that doesn't need to be butchered (chicken necks, chicken thighs, ground meats, etc) and so I put his bowl on the scale and turn it on throw in whatever RMB-usually necks, then fill the rest with MM to get to the 11-11.5 ounces he eats each meal, then I add his supplements, it really doesn't take long at all since I don't have to cut any meat.
The MM grind he gets has OM in it, but if I use other ground meats, I add up to 2 ounces of OM after the RMB and then fill the rest with MM.


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

Jaime:

Go to ethnic grocery.
Buy two of the 20 lb. rolls of ground beef
Buy several packs of cut up pork necks or beef necks with bone
Buy whole frozen tilapia
Buy liver/kidney
Buy poultry legs, thighs, wings, quarters, whatever is cheap
(Omit either beef or poultry if dog doesn't eat that)
Buy the small cheap sandwich bags (150 for $2)

Come home. Put on headphones and music, and apron.
Eyeball the ground meat portions (if you already know the correct amount per the BARF formula available elsewhere on this website) and bag each one. Don't worry if they're not exactly of uniform size, dog will not get sick or die.
Separate/cut chicken, and bag each piece separately
Leave whole tilapia in original bags and freeze them (each will be a whole meal itself).
Bag pork neck in baggies, again, varying sizes is ok.
Slice liver/kidney into thumb-sized slices, freeze 4 or so in each baggie.
Separate it into the plastic grocery bags it came in, freeze it all.
Clean the whole area with antibacterial cleaner.
Total prep time: about 30-45 minutes

Feeding: Vary the bags. Get out the next day's meal(s) the night before and allow to thaw in the refrigerator. One meal will be ground beef + pork; one meal is chicken +pork; one meal is a whole tilapia, etc. Stick roughly to the 50/40/10 proportions each day but don't obsess as it will even out over several days.

Each week pull out and keep in refrig one or two of the baggies of 4 pieces of organ meat. If your dog eats organ meat, feed it with the above several times a week. If he doesn't eat it, put a piece down his throat like a pill, he will swallow it.

Mcap:
Finicky dog: 
Put out the bowl of food and tie him so he can't wander too far from it. They sometimes will take the food and bury it, and when you return you're fooled into thinking they ate it.
Give him 30 minutes. If he doesn't eat it, pick it up and refrigerate it. He will see that same bowl again at the next meal.
NO snacks, table food, rawhide chews, etc. in between meals if this happens!!

Dogs will eat when they're hungry. They will not starve themselves if edible food is placed before them. Liesl has gone two days sometimes without eating--and been active, alert, running, etc. I think it has to do with the heat. But when her appetite kicks in, she will polish off a bowl of meat and bones like nobody's business.

If available, work in some variety such as venison bones, small cleaned animals, etc. depending on what is available to you.

If your inner OCD is just too much, buy some multivitamins and fish oil pills, and put a couple of pills down the dog's throat before mealtime and feed him a vitamin. Then relax and enjoy your dog.


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## Mcap (Mar 31, 2012)

Well...I think the eating problem is over  We picked up little Sonny at the airport and brought him home. Rocco was acting like his mother and herding him around the kitchen...all kisses and an ocasssional "humping" on Sunny's part. I can't believe that a 8 week old puppy is trying to mount a 70 lb dog (LOL).

Anyway I put some food down for both of them. The breeder feeds all her dogs raw and a little kibble. Even little Sonny has been on raw for a week already! Anyway Rocco proceeds to devour everything in sight. I think he ate about 3lbs of raw tonight. His appetite is back and he was sure excited to see Sonny. He was a perfect gentleman with the new puppy, but I'm sure that will change over time 

Now we need to get the itching under control and hoping the honey combo gives him some relief.

I will take some pics tomorrow and post them.

Mike


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## Tankin (Feb 7, 2012)

I spend about an hour or two a month bagging Tank's food. I buy in bulk, everything is thawed, weighed, and put into a bag, which then goes into his freezer. Bag of RMB in the morning, and bag of OM/MM in the evening.


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