# Are vegetables necessary?



## Little Wise Owl (May 12, 2010)

I personally don't believe they are but I could be wrong.


We feed a raw prey model to our dogs and I was wondering if we NEEDED vegetables. We do the 80% muscle meat 10% bone and 10% organs but no veggies (as of right now). We feed Green Tripe too.


Any input would be great.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

veggies are one of those things where it depends on who you ask. Some people say absolutely not some say you have to some say it doesn't matter but if you do make sure to either cook them or puree them because dogs systems are not designed to break down the cell walls to get the nutrients from the veggies.

Quite honestly green tripe gives them the veggies they would get in the wild.

Others that have more experience can probably give you a better ratio as it's been a few years since I've fed raw but I definitely think your portions are off. Should be closer in MM and RMB and definitely should not have the same amount of organ as bone.


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## UConnGSD (May 19, 2008)

I agree with Holmeshx2 -- the % for RMB seems too low to me. Is there a specific reason for that? I do 50% RMB, teeny tiny bit OM and the rest MM. I give raw green tripe with every meal, no veggies.


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

My belief is that dogs need a certain array of nutrients and those nutrients could be fulfilled by vegetables if the dog tolerates them and the owner chooses them. My personal experience is that my two do better with potato added then without it and I use the food source to supply potassium and magnesium, without which I would need to supplement those.


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## Little Wise Owl (May 12, 2010)

I was just trying to follow what I've read almost anywhere... Getting a bunch of people's different opinions really throws me off. :S

Mostly, what I try to do is replicate a whole animal with the materials I have on hand. Here I have half a meaty chicken carcass, hearts for extra muscle meat, a small amount of liver for that day's organ, a fish head just because that's what I had left over from my cats and a chicken foot because my chicken had no feet. lol I throw in tripe every now and then too.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

UConnGSD said:


> I agree with Holmeshx2 -- the % for RMB seems too low to me. Is there a specific reason for that?


Its the way the poster wrote it, 10% bone not 10% rmb. So its still correct.


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## Little Wise Owl (May 12, 2010)

I'm becoming so frustrated. 

I apparently am not doing this right according to some people but no one can give me a straight answer. 

I could cry right now.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

don't get frustrated. you'll
find the answer here.



Little Wise Owl said:


> I'm becoming so frustrated.
> 
> I apparently am not doing this right according to some people but no one can give me a straight answer.
> 
> I could cry right now.


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

Little Wise Owl said:


> I'm becoming so frustrated.
> 
> I apparently am not doing this right according to some people but no one can give me a straight answer.
> 
> I could cry right now.


As per Lin's post your ratios are fine, it is just the interpretation made by some people of what you have written. RMB contain both meat and bone and depending on the RMB the % of actual bone will vary. You have just taken the bone component by itself and some people interpreted that as the RMB component. 

As far as vegetables, I don't think they are really necessary but I do give them (cooked) occasionally for two reasons; firstly, my dog does like eating them and secondly, to bulk up her meals with minimal calories. Green tripe does contain a digested vegetable component anyway.

The only thing I can add is that, to me, that looks like a large amount of food compared to what I give my dog (she would be enormous if she ate that much) but yours may be more active than mine and the photo could also be misleading.

It looks to me as if you are doing very well with your raw diet. All the best.:thumbup::hug:


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## Little Wise Owl (May 12, 2010)

I'm feeling a lot better now and Juno is doing fine.

The meal you see isn't as big as it looks too.

Thank you for the replies.


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## DrDoom (Nov 7, 2007)

I do not personally feed veggies, or even tripe, honestly, but I do use a couple supplements that have nutrients Bear might get in veggies. I also feed an egg a day, and he's done quite well on these diets. I started all my research with this site Raw Dog Ranch - Welcome!. It's the homesite of "Lauri and the Gang" a frequent poster and knowledgeable person regarding raw. Check it out.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I am not feeding veggies but I am going to start adding tripe in.


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