# Feeding Raw but cant keep weight on



## Jess04 (Feb 7, 2011)

I have a 22 month old German Shepherd Male and ever since I put him on a Raw diet i have the hardest time keeping his weight up. He is a very active boy and my friend says he has a fast metabilism to boot. 
Im new at this and been having a hard time finding anything that i can regularly feed to him without dropping weight. 
He should weigh between 70-75 and he weighs about 63-65 pds. 

Thanks in advance.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

How much are you feeding him? I feed Jax about 2% of her ideal weight per day which equals 1.25 lbs or 10oz per meal plus eggs, pumpkin, liver, yogurt, tripe.

And what are you feeding him? How much fat is in his diet? My vet told me that dogs do not need alot of fat so you don't want to overdo it but he should have some.


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

If he should weigh between 70 - 75 pounds you should be feeding him about 30 ounces per day.

If you *ARE* feeding him that much and he's still losing weight, you need to increase his amounts.

Not all dogs are the same. My boy Remi ate almost twice what Riggs did and still maintained his weight!

Wish I had that type of metabolism!


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## Jess04 (Feb 7, 2011)

Breakfast hes getting a cup of oats soaked in water, with 1TB Honey, 1/2 fruitsand and 1 1/2 cup of muscle meat or chicken leg quarter.
snack - kong with natuarl peanut butter
Dinner is a leg quarter with veggies and everynow and then a little bit of cottage cheese. or 1 1/2 cup hamburger with veggies.
(the leg quarters i buy are a pretty good size)
When i first started him he was a hamburger mixer (eggs, pumpkin, garlic, veggies, fruits, instant potatoes) he got a little more than a 1/2 pd of that for breakfast and dinner.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

I had to switch one of my dogs from raw to kibble because I couldn't keep weight on her with raw. It happens sometimes. Try googling "Satin Balls", and you will find a recipe that is supposed to work great for weight gain in dogs.


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

If I were you, I'd feed high quality kibble in the morning and raw at night until he gains weight.


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

Jess04 said:


> When i first started him he was a hamburger mixer (eggs, pumpkin, garlic, veggies, fruits, instant potatoes) he got a little more than a 1/2 pd of that for breakfast and dinner.


That is *NOT* a balanced raw diet. Where is the calcium? Why are you adding starch? And unless he was a small puppy when you started that is nowhere *NEAR* enough food for a 70 pound dog (and would be why he's losing weight).

Also, you cannot calculate the amount to feed based on the number of things – it must be based on the *WEIGHT* of what is being fed.

I can get a chicken leg quarter from one local store that weighs about 14 ounces. Another store just down the street – their leg quarters only go about 8 ounces. That is a BIG difference!

For a 70 pounds dog of average activity level you should be feeding the following:

*28 Total Ounces of Food each day broken down by the following*:

14 ounces of Muscle Meat (any meat without bones)
13 ounces of Raw Meaty Bones (like the chicken leg quarters)
1 ounce of Organ Meat

No veggies, no fruits, no starch, no sugars. Just meat, meat with bone and organs.

Buy yourself a scale that measures in ounces and a good pair of kitchen shears (for cutting through the bones) because you’ll most likely need to cut up the leg quarters to get the right *WEIGHT*.


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## Jess04 (Feb 7, 2011)

wow!! Thanks Lauri that really helps me alot.  I dont feel so frustrated anymore.

The way i am feeding now and then were recipes from people i know and I still dont know alot of raw feeding.

I am still new to this and learning and this will put me in the right direction. and you are right about the leg quarters i have noticed that as well. 
I will be buying a scale and getting myself on the right track.

but would 28oz be enough? Should I go ahead and see how it works out for him and then add accordingly? Hes a busy body at home, he doesnt really have a walking speed lol.
Just curious whats your opinion on not adding veggies and fruits?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

btw..Lauri has a great spreadsheet to help calculate weight of food based on weight of dog!!


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

It doesn't sound like you're feeding him enough, and what you are feeding him has a LOT of indigestible content - fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. Even pureed they are really used for little more than fiber content. They can get a little more nutrients out of them than if you fed them whole but not a lot - they're carnivores, it's not the kind of stuff they are designed to digest.

If you are not comfortable feeding bones, I would leave SOME fiber content from fruits/veggies in so that he can still pass stools comfortably, but I'd up the weight of what you are feeding him, and up the ratio of _digestible_ nutrients you are giving him.


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

Draugr said:


> If you are not comfortable feeding bones, I would leave SOME fiber content from fruits/veggies in so that he can still pass stools comfortably, but I'd up the weight of what you are feeding him, and up the ratio of _digestible_ nutrients you are giving him.


If you are not comfortable feeding bones it is *CRITICAL *to include some other type of calcium source!!


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> If you are not comfortable feeding bones it is *CRITICAL *to include some other type of calcium source!!





Yes, yes, this exactly :X. Should have mentioned that, hehe.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Chicken bones are soft, soft, soft! They can easily be cut with kitchen shears, or if you are crazy enough to try it, I experimented and tried to bite a chicken bone (leg bone) in half - it crunched as easily as chomping down on a cracker! I felt VERY comfortable feeding raw chicken bones (any raw bone) after that. 

Bones don't just provide calcium, but a number of other nutrients and minerals needed for optimum health, and all in the correct ratios. A person would be hard pressed to try and achieve that balance otherwise. 

If you want to do raw, this is a great book that started me off:
Give Your Dog a Bone: Amazon.ca: Ian Billinghurst: Books

Also check out the Raw Dog Ranch, the link is in Laurie's signature. 

Once you get familiar with the different ratios of meat/bone/organs, it is a breeze to keep it up.


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

I do feed bones, just to be clear, and I've never been uncomfortable with feeding raw poultry bones because I do consider them necessary for an _optimal_ balanced diet - but barring calcium (and the "roughage" and teeth-cleaning benefits besides), what nutrients do they provide that the organs do not?

I know at least one raw feeder who does not like the idea of feeding bones, and supplements the dog's calcium source instead (along with doing pureed veggies to keep the fiber content up so she can eliminate normally). She doesn't appear to be suffering from any nutritional deficiency, and her owner has been doing this awhile. I'd be uncomfortable with doing that myself, but there you have it =/.

I suspect whatever they are missing is in the bone marrow? I know that stuff is pretty nutrient-rich.


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## Jess04 (Feb 7, 2011)

He is already eating chicken leg quarters, so bones are no problem for me. 

I do go to the butcher and buy a raw cut up femur bone for my dogs about once a month or so for them to chew on. so they are getting some nutrients from that I would suspect.

I just am not sure the amount to feed him. I will start with the 28 ounces a day like Lauri suggested and go from there.

I appreciate all the help


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Castlemaid said:


> Chicken bones are soft, soft, soft! They can easily be cut with kitchen shears, or if you are crazy enough to try it, I experimented and tried to bite a chicken bone (leg bone) in half - it crunched as easily as chomping down on a cracker! I felt VERY comfortable feeding raw chicken bones (any raw bone) after that.


Never tried eating raw chicken bones, but whenever I eat chicken, I munch down on the bones--especially the leg/thigh and wing bones. I start munching the end of the joint and as far down as I can go. Tastee. Yep, I'm a weirdo.


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## Jess04 (Feb 7, 2011)

Freestep said:


> Never tried eating raw chicken bones, but whenever I eat chicken, I munch down on the bones--especially the leg/thigh and wing bones. I start munching the end of the joint and as far down as I can go. Tastee. Yep, I'm a weirdo.




lol hey everyone is there own person


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