# please add to our raw menu!



## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

We have been transitioning Molly to raw for the past 4 day and it seems to be going great but she is constipated. Here is what we`ve been feeding her Sun she had 14oz of back ribs for supper
Mon she had 14oz for breakfast and again for supper
Tues she had 2 chicken breast for breakfast and again for supper
today she had 2 chicken breast for breakfast and 14oz of rib for supper
We have also been feeding her 1/2 a cup of Orijen daily (finishing the last of the kibbles)

This weekend we are planning to pick up turkey necks, ground beef and pork, chicken back wing and drumsticks, liver, hearts

Should we add anything daily with all that meat? Any suggestions are well appreciated


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Back ribs are very boney, did you give any muscle meat to balance the bone?


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## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> Back ribs are very boney, did you give any muscle meat to balance the bone?


 boneless chicken breast on Tuesday and this morning


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Tongue and heart if you can find a butcher


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## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

Jax08 said:


> Tongue and heart if you can find a butcher


 thank you I will add that to my shopping list


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I believe you really need to balance the meal as far as bone/meat/organ ratio goes, especially when transitioning the dog from kibble.
I don't weigh out my portions but I don't feed one boney meal then one meaty meal...as you see constipation results(or runny if you aren't balancing the ratios) If you do find a butcher or processer w/ tongue & heart, I'd see if they would grind/mix it for you. Tongue is really tough and if they will do a grind it is an excellent MM. I was getting a dog food grind of this with a bit of liver added.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Jane, I don't grind the tongue. Is there a reason for it?

OP - Yes, you need to have the correct ratio. I feed a mixed meal with RMB, MM and alternating OM. You may have to add a bit more MM or less MM depending on the RMB. 

You can add pumpkin also!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I just hate touching that nasty thing! Rather have it in a nice scoopable grind! One of these days, I'll splurge for a grinder...my DH asked me if I wanted one for my birthday. I said no and he got me earrings that cost more than the grinder. I wish I'd said yes!


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

Constipation is usually from too much bone in the diet. She needs more boneless meat. Whatever model you're following is a guideline and individual dogs may need different proportions of mm/bone/organ. Some need more bone, some need less. You can add canned pure pumpkin to help with the constipation. Unless I'm reading your post wrong (then please ignore this sentence entirely), I think you're going for too much variety way too fast with a dog new to raw. Since you've just started the transition I would stick to one protein (typically chicken is the starter protein of choice) until the stool has stabilized. By stabilized that means NO constipation and no runny stools. Formed and firm. Figure out how much meat/bone your dog needs at this stage to maintain that nice stool. Chicken quarters are great starters because usually the meat/bone balance is good. 

Once stools are stable for a week start your 2nd protein OR start introducing organs. Organs are VERY rich and can quickly cause runny stools if you aren't introducing slowly. I would start out with a bit of organ no bigger then your fingernail and go up in size incrementally. Liver should be half of the allotted weekly organ amount. Once stools become or stay stable for another week, introduce a new protein. Rinse and repeat. Don't worry so much about balance in the beginning; there will be balance over time, which is the big picture. It's much more important that your dog is able to handle the new foods in the beginning. Also, don't buy too much meat at once unless you know your dog isn't picky. 

Raw foods to consider adding later on:
rabbit, venison, variety of boneless beef cuts, pork, duck, lamb, green tripe, liver, spleen, kidney, pig feet, raw eggs w/ shell, marrow bones, sardines, salmon, chicken gizzards, chicken feet, buffalo, pork necks, pork/beef ribs, trout, elk, goat, tilapia, bison, tongue, heart, pheasant, quail, brain.... the sky's the limit really.  (Just don't do bear unless you cook it)


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## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

Verivus said:


> Constipation is usually from too much bone in the diet. She needs more boneless meat. Whatever model you're following is a guideline and individual dogs may need different proportions of mm/bone/organ. Some need more bone, some need less. You can add canned pure pumpkin to help with the constipation. Unless I'm reading your post wrong (then please ignore this sentence entirely), I think you're going for too much variety way too fast with a dog new to raw. Since you've just started the transition I would stick to one protein (typically chicken is the starter protein of choice) until the stool has stabilized. By stabilized that means NO constipation and no runny stools. Formed and firm. Figure out how much meat/bone your dog needs at this stage to maintain that nice stool. Chicken quarters are great starters because usually the meat/bone balance is good.
> 
> Once stools are stable for a week start your 2nd protein OR start introducing organs. Organs are VERY rich and can quickly cause runny stools if you aren't introducing slowly. I would start out with a bit of organ no bigger then your fingernail and go up in size incrementally. Liver should be half of the allotted weekly organ amount. Once stools become or stay stable for another week, introduce a new protein. Rinse and repeat. Don't worry so much about balance in the beginning; there will be balance over time, which is the big picture. It's much more important that your dog is able to handle the new foods in the beginning. Also, don't buy too much meat at once unless you know your dog isn't picky.
> 
> ...


Thank you we are so worried we are doing this wrong, I will take your advice and just feed chicken and start adding later


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