New at raw, my routine and experience :)

[Waffles]

Hello!

I noticed my EM Waffles who was already small to begin with was losing weight and also developing allergies. Her allergies got so bad she was scratching her ears raw and also scratching her muzzle quite often and had to be put on medication and ear drops. She went from 106lbs in March to 92lbs earlier this month. I am not sure if that was her just losing weight for the summer or maybe she stopped eating because her kibble could have been giving her allergies, but I felt like it was time to give raw a shot.. and she loves it.

I opted to buy a meat grinder ( Amazon.com: STX INTERNATIONAL STX-1800-MG Magnum Patented Air Cooled Electric Meat Grinder and Tomato Juicer with 3 Cutting Blades, 3 Grinding Plates, Kubbe and Sausage Tubes: Kitchen Dining ) because she does NOT chew her food. She snarfs her food down like a hoover vacuum. I know that chewing bone is good for her teeth and muscles, but she chews on nyla bones daily as well as toys and her teeth have always been clean because of it. I grind leg quarters in this with no problems, but I probably wouldn't try anything tougher.

I find it extremely messy for myself to grind, but very clean for my dog when eating. I have to do a lot of washing, washing the chicken, the boards, knives, the grinder, the sink. I think I do like it better than worrying about her not chewing the bones enough and it makes it easier for travel because she eats in my office at work. I also don't want her touching her food with her paws and getting it all over her face or on the floors sooo its a trade off. I ground 9 days of food and keep some in the freezer and some in the fridge and rotate them in/out. So far its working out, but I am trying to figure out a cleaner more efficient way of doing this as I found a lot of my ziplock bags tend to leak chicken juice... but its good for saving space in my fridge/freezer =\

I fasted her for about 20 hours. Then I just went straight to ground up leg quarters. I did not go with chicken backs because I could not find any in my area. She did not get diarrhea or the farts at all! It was a very easy transition thank goodness. She loves the raw chicken so far.

Her poop has reduced SO MUCH. She used to poop 2-3 times a day and they were GIANT poops, like double bag handed poops. Now she poops maybe 1-2, but they are smaaaalllllll HARD cat size poops. Are they supposed to be very hard or is this a sign of possible constipation?

I feed her about 2.5 % of her " ideal weight" which is only 100lbs (2.5lbs a day), but she seems to eat it all up so fast and seems like she is still hungry... I wanted to start off slow, but I think I might add more food in her next grind this weekend.

All the chicken takes up SOOO much space. We are trying to save up for a secondary freezer, but for now we will just grind it weekly. I love that my dog loves eating healthy. Now.. if only I could train myself to eat healthy..

It was kind of stressful thinking about the measuring and balancing and everything, but it turns out its actually really easy.

 

[Liz_M]

I have a friend who went to raw about 15 years ago because she had a Dane girl with allergies and chronically underweight. Worked a charm for her Dane and she's been doing it ever since.

Small and odorless poops are normal. If all you are feeding right now are chicken quarters it is unlikely too much bone or constiption...consistently dry, powdery white poops equals too much bone over time (chicken backs are extremely boney.)
Gulping is normal and OK, but l understand why it makes people nervous! All a dog's digestion happens in the stomach though, so inhaled bones are really not an issue. I have fed raw since 1999 and never ground anything and have had a few "inhalers" but never an issue.

Hopefully you will be adding more than chicken quarters going forward because those alone do not constitute a complete diet. I admit to feeding plenty of quarters beause cheap, but you really need to add some more proteins and organ meats.

 

[Waffles]

Oh thanks ! I do already add chicken liver, but we've only just started so I will eventually introduce other meats and different organ meats too.

 

[GnosticDog]

My boy (5) has been raw fed since we got him as a 9 1/2 week old puppy, and while I can't compare what his poops would be like on kibble, his raw fed poops are not huge at all. Dogs have the anatomy and stomach acid to digest raw bones, so I wouldn't worry about that. Chew ing meaty bones is a wonderful activity for dogs, it offers them mental stimulation and promotes clean teeth and gums.

 

[BAMCB]

I also started grinding due to a picky eater. It is quite messy but I use a hand grinder so not sure how an electric one works. I put a plastic bendable cutting sheet right under the grinder which keeps the juices off the counter for the most part and also lay towels down under everything so clean up is much easier. I grind all the meat and organs then add saw scraps for the bone content and mix up a 10 lb batch(end up doing 2-3 batches each time) and do 8 lbs meat, 1 lb saw scraps, 8 oz liver and 8 oz offal. I then scoop out 1 oz balls and freeze them to store in plastic bags. Then at each feeding I will do add ins for balancing out what each dog needs such as 1 chicken back at dinner for the puppy to keep stools formed or green tripe in the morning. I change up feedings some too like a whole fish or add in satin balls for one who needs some weight gain. Feeding time is a breeze now!

 

[tmricciuto]

I put a plastic bendable cutting sheet right under the grinder which keeps the juices off the counter for the most part and also lay towels down under everything so clean up is much easier.

Have you tried putting the cutting board on a cookie sheet? The cookie sheet should catch all the juices as it has the small lip, and then you could just lift the cutting board off the counter.

 

[tmricciuto]

I can't wait to start feeding raw. We are going to purchase a larger standing freezer, as I hate my chest freezer, and make purchases when items are on sale and supplement with some of the premade blends offered by a local dog food maker. This will allow us to keep costs down and get a good blend as she already makes sure there is the right blend of Offal/organ meat. I keep a spreadsheet of what her prices are and what I can find in the stores that way I know what is less expensive. Her beef/duck blends are very reasonably priced.

Thanks for sharing what's working foryou.

 

[Waffles]

ahh meat balls ! great idea!! why didn't I think of that . I think I will try the cookie sheet next time as well. great ideas thanks!

My electric grinder is really fast and seems to work great so far, but it is REALLY loud so I actually do it in the shed in the back. It also splashes on my shirt sometimes so I will come out of the shed with blood all over like a horror movie haha. Oh, and because the opening to feed the meat through the grinder is so small, I actually had to buy a little hatchet to cut up the chicken so that it fits in the whole. Works SO much better than a cleaver.

I've also started a spread sheet with prices and the right amount of meat/bone/organ meat. It is really helpful I would definitely recommend making a spread sheet to anyone that compares prices and needs to see things in numbers and not just by eye.

 

[DennasMom]

I love the small hard poops!

But.... the downside is that Denna starts doing the boot-scoot-boogie if I don't bulk up her poops every once and a while. This is the first dog we've ever had that's needed her anal glands expressed. The vet said some dogs just have weirdly placed glands that don't empty on their own easily. I can minimize the boot-scoots if I add veggies every once and a while. Makes for a bit larger and somewhat softer poops... but I think that's what helps with the glands. I get the big frozen mixed veggies at Costco ('normandy mix' - broccoli, cauliflower and carrots), and just toss a handful in her breakfast a few days a week.

Denna gets a mix of ground beef with bone ground in (we can purchase it that way), and then pork ribs for additional bone. This month, she's also getting whole ground rabbit... so all sorts of goodness in that! (also purchased already ground).

I'm also a spreadsheet person.

 

[TricAP]

The small poops are fantastic! One of my favorite benefits of feeding raw - much less to clean up. Although the time I spend cleaning up the kitchen and the floors after prepping doggy meals is more considerable.

 

[TricAP]

ahh meat balls ! great idea!! why didn't I think of that . I think I will try the cookie sheet next time as well. great ideas thanks!

My electric grinder is really fast and seems to work great so far, but it is REALLY loud so I actually do it in the shed in the back. It also splashes on my shirt sometimes so I will come out of the shed with blood all over like a horror movie haha. Oh, and because the opening to feed the meat through the grinder is so small, I actually had to buy a little hatchet to cut up the chicken so that it fits in the whole. Works SO much better than a cleaver.

I've also started a spread sheet with prices and the right amount of meat/bone/organ meat. It is really helpful I would definitely recommend making a spread sheet to anyone that compares prices and needs to see things in numbers and not just by eye.

What brand grinder do you have? We've been looking but haven't found on that grinding bones does't void the warranty.

 

[Waffles]

Really you have to express the anal glands once in a while??? Yucky ! is this normal with feeding raw? I have never had to do that before... one time my EM needed to and she wiped her butt on my sofa!! so I left her outside for most of the day cuz she stunk so bad but she ended up being able to express it herself (phew).


Oh mine voids the warranty lol its the STX 1800 magnum. it works great with chicken bones.. I am not really sure it'll work for anything else harder than that.

 

[BAMCB]

Anal gland expressing is less common for large dogs but some do need it. I had 2 JRT(litter mates) and one ended up with an infected anal gland and the other never needed them expressed. Varies dog to dog not necessarily breed or size. I have heard recently, from my groomer, that overweight dogs seem to have more issues. Not sure if it's true or why but the one Jack was always a bit overweight and the other was ideal weight. Who knows

 

[Liz_M]

Really you have to express the anal glands once in a while??? Yucky ! is this normal with feeding raw? I have never had to do that before... one time my EM needed to and she wiped her butt on my sofa!! so I left her outside for most of the day cuz she stunk so bad but she ended up being able to express it herself (phew).


Oh mine voids the warranty lol its the STX 1800 magnum. it works great with chicken bones.. I am not really sure it'll work for anything else harder than that.

Had family working (sheep) dogs and then personal dogs for over 40 years and only had one dog - a spaniel mix - who occasionally needed his anal glands done. And that was about 20 years ago, so he was kibble and not raw fed.


Look up Northern Tool grinders. They seem to have a big following with raw feeders who grind.

 

[AZ Boerboel]

If you give Waffles chunks of meat larger than her mouth she has to chew. My older dogs used to be the same when they were used to kibble, but when we switched them to raw they figured it out. I just gave them pieces they had to work at to get used to the new method of eating.

TricAP, as far as grinders go LEM is the only brand grinder I have ever seen continue to work without issue when grinding chicken back and neck type bones. It voids the warranty but it doesn't hurt the machine unless you run something like a turkey neck or lamb bone into it.
Mine has also done a small batch of Duck necks and chicken leg and wing bones. No problems so far with it. 1hp-1.5hp does it. I have seen other grinders do it well for a while but eventually their gearing gets worn down and they fail, or they have plastic or cheap metal gears inside that break. Mine has done roughly 100-160lbs of food a month, every month, for the last 4 years. No problems ever other than Jamming it up once with a Turkey neck but it didn't cause any damage. I have never seen the one that Waffles has in person so I can't comment on it, hopefully it's also built well and works for years.

 

[Waffles]

Over the weekend I did try giving Waffles an entire leg quarter without grinding it and she basically only chewed it in 3 and swallowed the whole thing in 3 gulps. She was done eating within 6 seconds. It does worry me a bit, but it didn't seem to cause any issues except that she ate super quick. Another day I held the leg quarter to make sure she chewed it lol, but I definitely cannot be hand feeding her every day.

 

[tmricciuto]

I've been doing a lot of reading as I'm starting my girls on raw soon and basically they just need it small enough to swallow because all the processing is done in their stomachs which are highly acidic. So only three chews is fine as long as she doesn't choke.


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[DDSK]

My youngest, Abby likes raw meat but my oldest Zoey will not eat raw at all.
I fostered my sons Lab, Sierra for a year and a half and she too would not eat raw meat.
Zoey and Sierra would both eagerly snatch up raw pieces of meat then both would spit it out.
Microwave it or cook it and they would gobble it up.
This was so weird to me.

 

[Liz_M]

Over the weekend I did try giving Waffles an entire leg quarter without grinding it and she basically only chewed it in 3 and swallowed the whole thing in 3 gulps. She was done eating within 6 seconds. It does worry me a bit, but it didn't seem to cause any issues except that she ate super quick. Another day I held the leg quarter to make sure she chewed it lol, but I definitely cannot be hand feeding her every day.

That's how it usually goes with my dogs, crunch crunch crunch GULP.

Some people feed their dogs raw meals still frozen because it slows them down. I don't think it's necessary myself but you could try that.

Oddly enough Booker inhales his kibble and ground raw meals with a frantic ferocity, to the point where I am mentally reviewing the doggie Heimlich maneuver (there is such a thing and worth looking up actually) but if I hand him a chicken quarter or slab of pork, he lies down and really takes his time to thoroughly chew it.

 

[TricAP]

It depends on the dog - Angus - we're lucky if with chicken he gets 3 crunches in before he swallows. We have tried feeding frozen but that doesn't make a difference, it does seems to give him indigestion - we notice him groaning after a meal that's feed frozen. He also has a tendency to bury the frozen items if he's fed outside and we look away. Holding the items does help slow them down -not necessarily with how a many chews though in our experience doesn't take much longer than if he eats out of a bowl or off the floor as usually happens with bigger items.

He will however chew on a meaty beef bone for hours so go figure - just a personal preference for the dog I guess.