# Slowly but Surely



## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

Damian has been on 85% NV RAW and 15% Orijen LB puppy food. I haven't started doing my own RAW because I just haven't felt comfortable doing it. 

I just got back from the grocery store with a bunch of chicken leg quarters. I peeled all the skin off and most of the fat I cut off. 

I'm just curious on how much to feed. If I were to feed by calories, he would get one chicken quarter and one NV RAW patty per meal (three meals a day). 

By the looks of it, those quarters are huge and thats a alot of food. Is that normal?


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I'd leave on the skin and the fat. both are very important parts of the diet.
I've never fed RAW by calories, only by weight. One quarter was a big portion of Rayden's meal at 75lbs. I would think it would be all for a puppy


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

The dog needs the skin and fat! Don't remove it, it has many benefits and omegas.
I would read the threads here a bit deeper. 
A leg 1/4 may weigh a pound and that would be a meal portion for a grown dog, or a growing puppy(getting 2 meals a day)
Or it may weigh less and you'd need to feed a bit more muscle meat and a bit of organ meat. 
I have no idea the NV patty equivilants so can't comment on that.
For puppies on 3xs a day, it would be best to separate the leg 1/4, and add some breast meat and a bit of organ meat (to make up about 3/4's of a # for a meal) as it is best to stay with one protein source when transitioning.


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

Just as one point of reference: Ike is 5 months, 45-48lbs. He eats 1.5 lbs of food a day, split into two 12 oz meals. If he is tracking that day, he gets - in addition to his normal food - a hotdog and one piece of string cheese as baits but I'm not sure how much that adds to his intake.

Every dog is different. Watch their waistline and watch their poop. Those two combined will usually tell you if you are feeding too much or not


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## Martie (Jun 3, 2008)

Use weights, not calories! You'll drive yourself nuts doing that and chicken quarters can vary in weight a lot. Visit http://www.rawdogranch.com/GettingStarted.htm. Lauri is on this list (and I'm sure will jump in here) and her website is full of great information. I admit I take off the hard fat "blobs", but I am concerned about Luther's sensitive digestive system. You should definitely leave the skin and fat on.

Good for you for going raw - it's great. We've been feeding raw for about a month now and it's amazing. Please ask any questions you have - there are great people on this board who will help in any way possible.


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## thaliasmom (May 3, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Jason LinJust as one point of reference: Ike is 5 months, 45-48lbs. He eats 1.5 lbs of food a day, split into two 12 oz meals. If he is tracking that day, he gets - in addition to his normal food - a hotdog and one piece of string cheese as baits but I'm not sure how much that adds to his intake.
> 
> Every dog is different. Watch their waistline and watch their poop. Those two combined will usually tell you if you are feeding too much or not


And as another point of reference, my 4 month old eats 2-2.5 lbs a day+treats. And we're thinking about bumping his food up again.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

Skin and fat is part of the balanced diet- leave it on.







You should not go by "one leg quarter per meal" as they vary GREATLY in weight. In one package I had a quarter that weighed 2.25 pounds and another that weighed 8 ounces. Keyzah is eating roughly 1.75 pounds/day now and Jethro eats two pounds a day. Raw feeding is based pretty much on weight, 2 to 3% of his estimated adult weight.


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