# Complete Newbie!



## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

Okay. I have had dogs my entire life and was brought up thinking that a good commercial, hard food diet was the best thing to feed.

HOWEVER, I have been researching dog foods and am shocked! 
My initial reaction was to switch to something that wasn't grain based like Blue Buffalo. But, I am wondering if we should go raw. 

If I could get the run down of what/how/amount/etc I would really appreciate it. And how should I switch? What about my chihuahua with a weight issue?

Supplements? 

Timber is 9 months and almost 80 pounds.


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## golfbum (Jan 11, 2010)

read all the threads in this section huge help! I read so much my head was spinning and I still have questions almost daily!  Good luck and I hope everything works out! 

I feed a almost 5 month old female GSD 28 oz (going to cut to 26) with 55 rmb 40% mm and just under 5% om. I have intoduced her to chicken,pork, turkey and sardines. Next week she will get some beef and tripe as well! 

I supplement with a *daily* vitamin, vit e, salomn oil, and half a probiotic each meal.


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

I feel the same way. I have read a lot. Not only here but other places as well and even belong to a group.
BUT, I don't even know where to start  

Not sure how much or what or even how to feed it. I feel like I need to forget everything I have ever known and start from scratch. 

Anyone want to mentor me through this?!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Get a good brand of food like Orijen, Evo, Solid Gold, etc. 

I put my GSD on Solid Gold Wolf Cub (4 stars in a rating) as a puppy up until 1 year old. He got 3 cups of food a day. 1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch and 1 for dinner.

He just turned a year old this month and is now on Solid Gold Wolf King (4 stars in a rating) but I think I am going to change him to Solid Gold Barking At The Moon (5 stars in a rating) I believe it's grainless?

Now that he is a year old we feed him twice a day. He gets 2 1/2 cups at 5:30am and 2 1/2 cups at 5:30pm. He is VERY active. Very lean, no fat. He is 27' and weighs 85-88 pounds. He is not neutered.

I hope that helps!


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## jennylynn99 (Mar 25, 2010)

*Dog Food*

I would recommend Hundenflocken (Solid Gold Dog Food). It was recommended to me years ago by a vet. After feeding it to my German Shepherd for a couple of weeks it cleared up his ear infection problems. They use top quality ingredients and my dog loves it.

Solid Gold Health Products for Pets - Home


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## golfbum (Jan 11, 2010)

The OP is asking about RAW, not dry dog food. 

Go to Raw Dog Ranch and read about getting started. I feed 2-3% of what I think my puppy will weigh full grown. After a few weeks adjust the amount to fit YOUR dog. I will be cutting my diet a little so I can add more MM as treats for training. If you feed to much it softens up the poop which is no fun! LOL

I started with one protein source (chicken) for the first ten days and have added one protien source ( plus on different source of treat) each week! In several more weeks we will have a 5-6 meat variety and should have a well balanced RAW diet. Our girl loves it and is doing so well! Her coat is gorgeous and I can't wait to see how she does! Read more and ask lots of questions!


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

A lot of doing a raw diet is trial and error - kinda like kibble. Each dog will need a different amount of food to maintain their weight and each dog will need a slightly different ratio of bone:meat. I would start with 2-3% of your dogs EXPECTED adult weight (I noticed your dog is still a pup). Keep feeling those ribs and see if you need to add more food or use less. Start with one protein source and slowly add in others as your dog can handle it. I would hold off on any Organ Meat while you are transitioning your dog.

General rule: poop too hard/dog constipated = dog needs less bone; too soft = add more bone (also really runny/soft can be overfeeding too)

I would also check out a lot of the older threads - lots of people have been in the same boat you are in (not knowing where to start)!


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

RAW diets are really good. I just recently switched my GSD off of it for monetary reasons. We were feeding him 3lbs a day. You would need to keep 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ balanced out over about a week. If you'd like to PM me about it, I can email you a microsoft excel document where all you have to do is enter your dog's weight into it and it gives you options for what percentage to feed. (most feed 2% of adult weight when adults, I feed 3% of prospective weight) It tells you the amounts in lbs and oz of how much bone, meat, and organ you'd need per day and per week.  QUITE nifty, and leaves no room for error.


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## hmmiller05 (Mar 1, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> RAW diets are really good. I just recently switched my GSD off of it for monetary reasons. We were feeding him 3lbs a day. You would need to keep 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ balanced out over about a week. If you'd like to PM me about it, I can email you a microsoft excel document where all you have to do is enter your dog's weight into it and it gives you options for what percentage to feed. (most feed 2% of adult weight when adults, I feed 3% of prospective weight) It tells you the amounts in lbs and oz of how much bone, meat, and organ you'd need per day and per week.  QUITE nifty, and leaves no room for error.


DJEtzel, would you mind if I PM'd you as well for that spread sheet? I am currently feeding premade raw but I really want to switch to full out raw.. lol I would greatly appreciate it..


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

valreegrl said:


> But, I am wondering if we should go raw.


SURE!! 



> If I could get the run down of what/how/amount/etc I would really appreciate it. And how should I switch? What about my chihuahua with a weight issue? Supplements?


Ok, I'll give you the Cliff notes version.

What - chicken, turkey, duck, beef, lamb, pork, venison, fish, bison, elk, emu ... 

How - 

For the Shepherd: You can feed them the stuff whole, they should be able to handle just about any bone

For the Chi - you will most likely need to feed ground - maybe a chicken neck or wing would work

Amounts - You want to feed roughly 2-3% of their body weight. Smaller breeds sometimes need more food as do growing puppies. It's just a starting point. From there you will adjust accordingly.

How to switch - I recommend cold turkey (actually, cold chicken  ). Let them miss ONE meal (so they are really hungry) then start them on the raw. Start with one protein source so their systems can get used to that, then add another. I usually recommend going a week on each protein source before adding another.

What is your Chi's weight problem? Too fat or too thin?

I only recommend supplements if a dog NEEDS them.


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

Forgot to add - our website is Raw Dog Ranch and you can find our spreadsheet on THIS page.


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

Thanks again all!

DJEtzel: I will definitely PM you for that spreadsheet! 

*Lauri & The Gang: * My Chi is over weight. He repels exercise  I have had to put him in the basket of the stroller during walks because he refuses to go any further!

My GSD has/had HOD which is why I asked about supplements. Anyone using anything for joints? And I wanted to add fishoil also.


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

Have you had the Chi's thyroid tested? If not, it might be worth the money just to be sure.

A raw diet (without any carbs) will really help with the weight problem!

The joint issues will be helped immensely by the removal of grains/carbs from the diet. A good Salmon Oil will also help. I'd give 1000 mg per 20 pounds of body weight.


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

He has been tested. Everything was normal. His problem is that he follows the kids around and scarfs up whatever hits the floor. Couple that with zero exercise and you have one fat Chi! My thoughts with him are that he is on weight control kibble which is all fillers and very little protein. Causing a vicious cycle because he is always hungry. And then he grabs food from the kids whenever he can. 
I have listened to my vet tell me that feeding this food and limiting the amounts will work. But it hasn't. Which has brought me to raw feeding. 

My concern is that I will screw them up by not feeding sufficient quantities, etc.


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