# Trying raw for my 5 month gad & 2 cavalier King Charles again but lost in info!



## sherbertshelly (Oct 3, 2013)

Hi, I think I've probably googled too much! Most sites say to feed brown rice/pasta and veg along side the raw meat..........I'm so confused with all the info that's out there, the working out of percentages (maths is NOT a strong point of mine!) my german shepherd was on just meat when I got her from the breeder, she was so much happier on it compared to dry so now at 5 months I want to get back on to raw for her and my 2 cavalier King Charles spaniels but I can't for the life of me work it out, HELP!!!


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## Flutter (Aug 2, 2013)

What is a Raw Diet?


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

GOOD for you!!!!

Here is a great & easy way to feed raw while getting all of the nutrients your baby's need! Just measure, mix and feed! You add Steve Browns Homemade Dinner Mix to your own ground meat! Steve is an EXPERT in the science of raw feeding! See Spot Live Longer™ Homemade Dinner Mixes | Product Catalog
Info: Healthy Dog Food Dinner Mixes

"When mixed according to directions, See Spot Live Longer™ Homemade Dinner Mixes are formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for adults and for all life stages."

Good Luck!
Moms


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

There are so many different schools of thought when feeding raw, better to pick one well-known source and follow that until you get comfortable and then try to expand into different raw feeding models. Some people say that a dog is a carnivore, and does not need fruit, vegetables, or grains in his diet, others say that dogs have evolved to need those items - so who to believe? 

Fruit, veggies and grains certainly won't hurt your dog in limited amounts, but I don't believe they need them. A dog does not have the enzymes to digest cellulose, the material from which plant-cells are made - so if they can't break down the plant cells, then they can't get the nutrition in the plant out - fruit, veggies and grains are all plants, and thus fed raw and unprocessed does not offer any nutritional advantage to the dog. Veggie and grain foods need to be ground, cooked, pureed, or otherwise changed in physical state for the dogs to be able to get any benefits from them. 

As a rule of thumb (just to get a general idea), a growing pup needs to be fed as much as an adult dog - for a GSD, that is about 2 lbs a day. They need a mix of MM's (muscle meat - chicken breast, ground beef, cubed pork, etc), RBM (raw meaty bone - chicken thigh WITH bone, turkey necks, pork ribs), and OM (organ meat - liver, spleen, kidney)

Different reference sources for raw feeding will give you different ratios. For example, I've seen from 80% MM, 15% RMB, and 5% OM, to 50% MM, 40% RMB, 10% OM. 

To be safe, I like to find some middle ground, and stick to those ratios. An average meal would be a chicken leg quarter, and a chunk of liver (about the size of a ping-pong ball), for example. Or a turkey neck, about half-a pound of ground beef, and 1/4 of a pork kidney. These are just examples to help you visualize what a raw meal looks like. 

I do give my dog leftover veggies, or throw a few noodles at them, but I consider those as extras - some people after reading up on raw feeding feel that their dogs NEED fruit, veggies and grains, and make them part of their regular diet. As long as your dogs are healthy, have nicely formed poops not to hard or too runny, then I don't think that it makes that much of a difference in the long run.

Lots of info and recommendations on the BARF forum here. You will see that some people are spread-sheet measure-EVERYTHING type of people, and some are just-throw-them something type of people when it comes to feeding their dogs - find what works for you, and have fun with it - unless you really mess it up for over a looooooong period of time, you won't harm your dogs. By messing up, it usually means: not feeding any bone at all, because you are uncomfortable in feeding bone. Not feeding any organ meats, because liver and kidney stink (sorry, you'll just have to deal with it, we all do  ), and not feeding any variety, because your dog is doing well on chicken breast meat only so why change a good thing (over time, such a diet will be hugely deficient). Feeding cooked rice with raw veggies only and calling it a raw diet (someone on this board told of a person that did this). 
etc, etc, etc. 

So basic recap: 80 to 90% of their diet should be muscle meat and raw meaty bones with small enough bones that they can eat it. Your GSD and Cavaliers should have NO problems with chicken or smaller rib bones from other animals. About 10% HAS to be organ meats. Heart is a muscle meat. Different meats have different nutritional profiles, so to have a balanced diet, you need to feed VARIETY: chicken, turkey, pork, beef, fish. Add novel meats like venison, buffalo, duck, goose, goat, etc. and you are on your way.

I also add raw eggs on a regular basis, and canned sardines as one of my dogs does not like the raw fish, but loves sardines and other cooked fish. 
Better to feed cooked fish than none, and better to feed cooked liver than none, in the case that your dog does not like raw liver.


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## E.Hatch (Sep 24, 2013)

Lucia,

What a great, concise and informative post for a new raw feeder


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