# Need an Idea for an Outside Raw feeding Platform



## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

I am planning on feeding my 4 month old GSD on a raw diet for evening feedings.
And I would love to keep the mess outside!!
Right now he eats all his meals in his crate, and there isnt a spec of food ever left---but of course he drags the raw meat around on the floor and walks in the smears left behind. I mop with disinfectant after leading him outside to clean off his paws with some good old fashioned dirt (LOL).
I would like to get some ideas of what others are doing to have an area outside that can be hosed down easily far enough away from the house not to attract ants and vermin.
I thought an old bathtub with a stopper would be great! pour in some bleach then let 'er drain. also can use as a kiddie pool.....
*SO*---what indoor/outdoor raw feeding stations have you rigged up to cut down on the inevitable mess of juices etc.
This is my first post on the forum.
Thanks a lot!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Welcome FlowersGSD!

I feed my dogs outside and they don't drag around their food. I have a large yard, though so they take their RMB's to their chosen spot to eat.
I don't see a reason to disinfect where they've gone because they leave no remnants. Inside, I feed them in stainless bowls and they still keep the food in their mouth or in the bowl. I don't feed bones they can't consume.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

You shouldn't need anything special to feed outside as, even if she does drag her food around, there won't be any left over food in the yard to attract anything.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

FlowersGSD said:


> I mop with disinfectant after leading him outside to clean off his paws ...........pour in some bleach


I'd be more worried about what these chemical are doing to your dog than your concerns about germs. Cancer is not a cheap disease to treat. I know. 

I taught my dogs to eat on towels indoors, and outdoors they can eat where ever they want. Warm soapy water is all you need to clean up after them.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I wouldn't worry about the raw attracting stuff outside - usually the dogs don't leave anything behind, and the natural bacteria in the environment will take care of the nasty bacteria that you might be worried about. I agree that using disinfectants and bleach could be a greater potential risk to your dogs and the environment than the germs from the raw food. 

Outside my dogs can eat anywhere, and inside they are in their crates or on towels that get washed. If you feel you need to contain the mess outside, I like the bath tub idea, but I would use soapy water to clean it out and let the UV rays from the sun act as a bleach/disinfectant.


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

Clean up after raw?? Gosh my kitchen floor must be filled with bacteria. My dog eats her meal out of her stainless bowl. Her chicken back she drags out of the bowl and onto the floor. Licks the floor clean. I dont usually follow up with cleaning it myself, just when I am doing regular cleaning, and only then hot water with dish soap.


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## DeeMcB (Nov 28, 2010)

I feed in the crate and OCCASIONALLY wipe down with vinegar & water.


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## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

thanks all...guess i am a bit of a germ phobe---but i do not use the fancy shmancy cleansers. i use mostly bleach water -10%, vinegar, baking soda, and environmentally friendly cleansers sometimes.
i also dont like the idea of the smeary raw meat stuff getting on the carpets in the next rooms from the dog's feet..
beleive me- i am not a crazy neat freak-but I just wanted to respect the bacteria load in the raw meats , and it getting on surfaces that people also contact. 
no-we don't eat off the floor-but u know what I mean I hope!


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

JUST WANTED TO SAY HELLO AND WELCOME! :greet:


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## DeeMcB (Nov 28, 2010)

If you feed them in crates it won't get in the carpet...that's what I meant. I started feeding in the crates because of the same problem. That and I HATE finding cow hearts buried in my couch cushions.


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

I have 7 dogs eating raw in my house and they never leave their bowls.

It's a training issue. TEACH her to eat at/over her bowl; that she is not allowed to take food out of the room.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

onyx'girl said:


> I feed my dogs outside and they don't drag around their food. I have a large yard, though so they take their RMB's to their chosen spot to eat.
> I don't see a reason to disinfect where they've gone because they leave no remnants.


Ditto. I feed outside most of the time. When I feed inside, its in crates or the bathtub. Easy to spray the tub down (handheld shower thingy) after, and has the plus that when its bath time my dogs rocket into the tub.


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## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

Flowers - I'm not a neat freak either...not by any stretch of the imagine according to my husband  But, I've always fed raw outside. Mac will eat muscle & organ meat out of his bowl inside but insists on taking the raw meaty bones out of his bowl...that grosses my husband out. 

I just toss the RMB in the yard. Haven't had any issues with bugs or rodents. Good luck and good for you for feeding raw!


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## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

When I feed inside, its in crates or the bathtub.

i love that idea...i have only one tub in the house and an upstairs shower stall.
before the dog-i had the litter box in the tub..hidden away. i have moved all the cat stuff upstairs while they learn to live with a "beast"in the house. haha.
am tempted to move the litter box down to the tub again and out of my home office.
maybe i will feed in the shower!!


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## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

after i get the backyard fenced in i am gonna throw all the food outside...winter included! thanks for all of your sage advice!!!
this is actually my first dog of my own.
growing up we had all manner of mutts and kitties that found us...never a purebred(is that the right term?) .
but i made this decision after a lot of thought. 
Ben is a working line Sable and i think GSD's are the BEST!!!
anyone agree?
LOL


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

Last summer I gave the dogs a Kong filled with some sort of treat, in the kennel outside, when I left for work. That evening, when I picked them up they were covered in sugar ants, which I have had problems with ever since I moved into this house. So I do not feed raw anything outside. I feed them raw in their crates, wipe down with hot soapy water once in awhile. Wash their crate blankets once in awhile. I am totally not a clean freak and never worry about the germs from the raw foods.


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## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

yeah- i would love to throw it on the deck...but i have LOTS of ant problems around my house. they go for microscopic food particles with ant radar.


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## shell nyc (Jul 19, 2010)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> It's a training issue. TEACH her to eat at/over her bowl; that she is not allowed to take food out of the room.


Agreed. My dogs were taught to eat at their towels. They learned pretty quickly that food does not leave the towel. Of COURSE at first that meant standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room keeping a sneaky pup from sneaking past, but they caught on.

The dogs lick the towel pretty darn clean after each meal...I wash it once a month or so, when I think about it. It’s work fine for us for 4 yrs now.

Good luck!


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## DrDoom (Nov 7, 2007)

Yeah, I tried feeding Bear outside at first. We have a deck that's about perfect height for him to stand beside and eat, like an elevated feeder. Unfortunately, we live in the south, and it's too dang hot, muggy, and bug-infested to want to be out there at feeding times (morning and evening) so we built him a little table with pre-cut wood from Lowe's, and a two-quart stainless steel bowl sits on top. He eats out of that, and when he's done it gets washed out with hot water, then doubles as his water dish the rest of the day. When he gets pork necks he DOES tend to take them out and lay down in the laundry room, but I let him. He tried to bring stuff into the livingroom in the beginning, but I stopped that. If there's anything left on the floor in the laundry room (There almost never is) we just use hot water and a shamwow.


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## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

i love ur idea of a table just for him! -do you have a picture?
i am not very handy, but maybe i could build something.


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## Dejavu (Nov 11, 2010)

I feed my dogs outside, and while I don't use their food bowls anymore (cause I hated washing them so often) I hand them the food and they eat at that same spot, and I usually give them piece by piece depending on what I'm giving of course, but there's no food dropping or dragging.

I like it that also know what exactly is the spot for each of them and never try to invade the other's space and they all know to wait for their turn patiently, so no fighting for food either.


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## DrDoom (Nov 7, 2007)

Sorry, I didn't come back for a couple days. I don't have a picture (I'm at work) but it's just a round table (ALMOST looks like a stool with no apholstry) with four legs we had them cut from a round piece of wood. Screws go through the top into the legs, and there's rubber feet that slip over the feet on the bottom. I think the total cost was under $20, and it doesn't break like a lot of feeders.


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## FlowersGSD (Feb 27, 2011)

thanks drdoom,
I am really intrigued. i will look around for a peice of wood ...if u get around to it -you know what they say...
"
a picture is worth a thousand words"!


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