# How much raw food to feed an 80 lb GSD Hybrid?



## mfj

I just switched my Balto to a raw diet, that MAINLY consists of chicken leg quarters, and some organ meats thrown in here and there. I started about two weeks ago and I feel that I might not be feeding him enough. He is 80lbs but he's extremely tall (not quite Great Dane status but still tall) and he is extremely skinny. I can still see his ribs and plevis sticking out. Currently feeding him 2 leg quarters a day. Should I up it to 3 a day? Thoughts? Thanks for the help.


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## Bear L

I don't know what's right for your dog but 2 leg quarters is the minimum amount I feed my 45lbs GS puppy. And my puppy is not big or fat, she has a nice tummy tuck and you can sort of see the outline of her ribs (not the rib itself... not sure if I'm describing it well). Maybe puppies need more than adults.


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## mfj

Your post is going to make me UP his portion. Thanks lol. Perhaps I am grossly under feeding him. I guess at least 3 leg quarters a day. But I would like more opinions. He is an active 2 year old.


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## Sunflowers

Calculate


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## TimberGSD2

How much do your leg quarters weigh? How active is your dog?


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## Wolfgeist

He needs more than just leg quarters. He needs organ meat and muscle meat daily with raw meaty bones. He needs 50% raw meaty bones (quarters, necks, wings, etc) 45% muscle meat (heart, ground meat, meat chunks, etc) and 5% organ meat (liver, kidney, etc) a DAY. 

Welcome to the Raw Dog Ranch


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## qbchottu

2 leg quarters a day for an 80lb GSD is not a balanced diet. 

Read over the Raw Dog Ranch website and start to introduce a more balanced diet with different protein sources if you want to feed raw.


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## mfj

You obviously didn't read my first post very thoroughly.


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## mfj

Wild Wolf said:


> He needs more than just leg quarters. He needs organ meat and muscle meat daily with raw meaty bones. He needs 50% raw meaty bones (quarters, necks, wings, etc) 45% muscle meat (heart, ground meat, meat chunks, etc) and 5% organ meat (liver, kidney, etc) a DAY.
> 
> Welcome to the Raw Dog Ranch


And no. He doesn't need all of that in one day. It can be spread over a week at least.


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## mfj

I didn't come here to get preached on what a balanced raw diet consists of. I just couldn't find much literature about portion size so that's what I am asking about. I'm not a moron.


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO

mfj said:


> And no. He doesn't need all of that in one day. It can be spread over a week at least.


 
Well you're right that variety and nutrients can be spread throughout a longer period of time than a single day, but how can you expect someone to properly answer your question when the info you provide only says you mainly feed chicken quarters with organ meat thrown in here and there and you feed 2/day- should you up it to 3? Could you please provide how much of everything he is eating?


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## phgsd

You need to weigh your chicken quarters...but if he is skinny you're not feeding enough. You can use the calculator to estimate how much to feed and then adjust from there. One of my JRT's eats 6% of his body weight and doesn't gain an ounce and one of my old GSD's eats about 1.5% of her body weight, no more, to stay trim.

And a diet consisting of "mainly chicken quarters" is not balanced. I try to feed at least 3-4 protein sources each week. Feeding raw is much more than tossing the dog chicken quarters. At least in the beginning it's important to weigh your food so you have an idea of how much you're feeding. Then you can start to eyeball proportions and amounts.


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## qbchottu

mfj said:


> I just switched my Balto to a raw diet, that *MAINLY consists of chicken leg quarters, and some organ meats thrown in here and there*. I started about two weeks ago and I feel that I might not be feeding him enough. He is 80lbs but he's extremely tall (not quite Great Dane status but still tall) and he is extremely skinny. I can still see his ribs and plevis sticking out. *Currently feeding him 2 leg quarters a day. Should I up it to 3 a day?* Thoughts? Thanks for the help.


How did we perceive your post incorrectly?
Based on your original post, members suggested greater variety of protein sources (you can't just feed chicken) and different types of meat. Angel's post with the rawdogranch link is a good source of info.


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## mfj

** Comments removed by ADMIN**


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## lhczth

Since the OP just started this diet it is not uncommon for him to be feeding just one protein source. Also the diet does NOT need to be balanced daily. 

I do not weigh what I feed. If the dog is too thin they get more food. If they are too fat they get less food. Your dog needs more food so I would increase the leg quarters to 3. 

If everything is going OK then you should be able to start introducing other protein sources.


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## Lauri & The Gang

mfj said:


> Currently feeding him 2 leg quarters a day. Should I up it to 3 a day? Thoughts? Thanks for the help.


You cannot feed by the NUMBER of things - like 2 or 3 leg quarters - as the items can vary greatly in size.

For example, when I order in bulk I get 'Goldenrod' leg quarters. Each one weighs roughly 6 oz. When I buy leg quarters at my local grocery store they weigh roughly 9-12 oz.

BIG difference.

If your dog weighs 80 pounds and is currently on the thin side I would suggest feeding the following each day:

Raw Meaty Bones = 17 ounces (this would be the leg quarters)
Muscle Meat = 19 ounces (anything WITHOUT bone)
Organ Meat = 1.5 ounces​
Feed that for about a week and see if there is any weight gain. If not, increase the RMB and MM by about 1-2 ounces each. Give that a week and see if he gains weight.

I *HIGHLY *recommend those new to raw feeding weigh the dogs food each day. That's the best way to know exactly how much you are feeding and, if you need to adjust, to know how much to adjust.


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## Bear L

lhczth said:


> Since the OP just started this diet it is not uncommon for him to be feeding just one protein source. Also the diet does NOT need to be balanced daily.
> 
> I do not weigh what I feed. If the dog is too thin they get more food. If they are too fat they get less food. Your dog needs more food so I would increase the leg quarters to 3.
> 
> If everything is going OK then you should be able to start introducing other protein sources.


This is the approach I take as well. I go by what I can see and feel. Raw feeding doesn't need to be complicated and even if the OP is feeding leg quarters only for a few months (not saying he is, just making an example) it is still better than feeding it some other form of food and people can learn as they go along.


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## mfj

Thanks so much for the info guys.


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## Draugr

For just starting out I'd definitely recommend weighing at first. It helps you to better "eyeball" things later on.

My dog's diet is not balanced daily. It's "sort of" balanced weekly. I portion out organs on a weekly basis (1lb of liver one day, 1lb of kidney or pancreas another day), feed extra bone content on those days, and just mix and match stuff on other days. Works pretty well.

He is 2.5 years old, intact (some claim this means they need more, I'm not sure I'm convinced of that but I figured I'd throw that out there), and 85lbs last I checked and gets 3-3.5lbs a day. However he also appears to be hitting another growth spurt, so this is up from 2.5-3lbs a day a month ago.

Let your dog tell you how much he needs. If he's too skinny, give him a bit more. Too much weight, give him a bit less.


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## mfj

How long does it take to tell if I am feeding him enough food. I presume that I would be able to tell in a month?


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## nitemares

i'd say with in a week.. if i feed to little one day i can honestly tell the next. you get used to watching and understanding your dogs body. but since he's already on the thin side, i'd say a week is enough to notice if he's getting enough.


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## Bear L

mfj said:


> How long does it take to tell if I am feeding him enough food. I presume that I would be able to tell in a month?


For me, within a week or so. Depends on how much you increase the food by and how under weight the dog may be. Just play it by ear. If he's not gaining enough weight within a week then just add a bit more. It's not hard for a dog to lose weight either if you accidentally go over.


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## mfj

Just an update, Balto is now on 3 lbs of chicken, 1lb of beef(chuck roast) and less than 1/4 lb of chicken livers a day. He is starting to gain weight. I'll update in a week to let you know how much weight he is picking up. As of two days ago, he is at 78.3 lbs. (He hit an all time low of 70.xx about two months ago, which was horrible to see).


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## mfj

5 days has passed since he hit the scales at 78.3lbs. He is now at 79.2lbs. And this is using the same exact scale at the Banfield clinic at Petsmart. We are making progress. I suspect that within a week, he will finally eclipse the elusive 80lbs that he has never surpassed. He is still super skinny, and I'd say he's got a good 20lbs to go before he is acceptably full. Even at 100lbs he will still be on the thin side. He is just shy of 30 inches at the withers.


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