What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

Raw Diet for puppy 101

Bane'sMama

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone :)

I'm new to this forum (please bare with me) and would love all insight and help with setting a solid raw diet routine for my puppy. I got my 10-week old Presa Canario on Sunday, who has been on a high premium dry diet at the breeders before arriving to us.

We made the cold turkey switch to green tripe and he finishes it all up without hesitation. I add a tablespoon of whole milk yogurt to his breakfast and plan on giving him a whole egg once a week. I'm still unsure if I should include supplements or not, but my boyfriend insists that we should at least give him probiotic and salmon oil just for the next few months.

I'm happy that he enjoys the tripe but I know it cannot be his main source of food. This is where I am a bit confused..

I plan to incorporate bones but then I read that bones too early can be harmful to him, just until his adult molars are in. But then I'm hearing that it's fine.

Should we just have him on ground meat until his teeth advance or he should be fine on chicken necks, backs and thighs?

If you can provide a sample menu of what your pups were eating- my life would be 100x easier :)

Please help.. all answers, suggestions and advice is greatly appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • photo 1.jpg
    photo 1.jpg
    92.1 KB · Views: 72

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Feeding him just the tripe will possibly give him lots of diarrhea. He needs to be on meat with bone in it, as you suggested. Do not start organ meat until at least 2-3 weeks on raw diet. Tripe is usually given 2-3 times a week, usually.

Check the raw feeding sub-forum for more info.
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Forgot to mention, you will become a poop expert. The pup's poop will tell you if you need to add more meat or more bone to his diet.
 

Bane'sMama

Well-Known Member
I was worried that leaving him on a tripe diet alone would be bad for him. Thankfully, his stool is solid and not watery yet. If I start him on meat with bone in it, is it safe for his little teeth? Which meat with bone shoud I get and how should I have the pieces cut up?

My BF suggests going to a butcher and having them grind the meat and bone together into ground meat for us.
 

angelbears

Well-Known Member
Tripe is one of the very best things you can feed your pup. However, your pup needs variety. Feeding to much of one thing can cause a deficiency. Most of us on here feed a Prey Model Raw diet. Which is 80% meat chunks, 10% bone in meat and 10% organ meat, 5% liver and 5% other(spleen, kidney, pancreas, ect).

I would go ahead and add bone in chicken, chicken neck or chicken drumstick. Personally, I would do the drumstick. At first you may want to hold it and make sure he knows how to chew. If you do necks make sure they are not small enough that he swallows it whole.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
I think there's a link in the raw feeding sub-group... posted in a number of threads on "getting started with raw".
If you can find that, it should have all sorts of good info.

I also posted on your "welcome" thread what our menu is... but we didn't start feeding raw until Denna was 6 months old.
Hopefully some puppy-raw people will chime in with some example menus.

If you get a while chicken (25% bone overall), you can always take a hammer to the bigger bones and crunch them up a little, until he gets the hang of chomping through them on his own.
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Tripe is one of the very best things you can feed your pup. However, your pup needs variety. Feeding to much of one thing can cause a deficiency. Most of us on here feed a Prey Model Raw diet. Which is 80% meat chunks, 10% bone in meat and 10% organ meat, 5% liver and 5% other(spleen, kidney, pancreas, ect).

I would go ahead and add bone in chicken, chicken neck or chicken drumstick. Personally, I would do the drumstick. At first you may want to hold it and make sure he knows how to chew. If you do necks make sure they are not small enough that he swallows it whole.
I agree, try drumstick first and watch him while he eats it to be sure he's ok with it. Do not fret it he chomps chomps and swallows.
 

Kahuna

Well-Known Member
A 10 week old will be able to eat any chicken bone you throw at him. Occasionally he may leave the end of a bare drumstick but those little teeth are more than adequate for tearing flesh, crushing the bones and segmenting chicken before swallowing the chunks whole. Drumsticks are ok to start but I would prefer to give him the whole legs which he would have to work a bit and not be able to swallow without crushing. You would probably need to feed him 3-4 full legs per day so it would make a correctly sized meal for him.

Where in NYC are you?
 

DMikeM

Well-Known Member
Really good looking pup BTW. If you want to up the meat to bone go with a chicken breast every other day, leg quarter odd days and breast even days, then start adding thick muscle meats, like a 1/4 of a pork shoulder or some beef chuck roast.
I give a Chix Leg, 1/4 lb pork, and 1/4 lb beef to Jade every morning, then at night I give another 1/4lb of muscle meat and she is a little heavy for her height because she is not active enough to need more than that.
 

Kahuna

Well-Known Member
Our pup is now 5.5 months and has been on raw since we got him at 8 weeks. Let me know if you need any help with raw feeding (not that I'm an expert!) or want to have a puppy play date. We are just near Prospect Park.
 

NYDDB

Well-Known Member
Another welcome from NYC. :)

I have also had my dog on the raw diet since I brought him home at 8.5 weeks (he is now 2 years.) In the beginning, I was using the expensive frozen ground raw stuff (along with wings and tripe mixed in), but soon after, I made the full switch to buying meat/bones/organs from the butcher shops (as well as ordering tripe online.)

Now, being almost full-grown, he eats about 2.5-3 pounds of food per day.

Congrats on your handsome pup-- and he will thank you via great health by going raw, I am sure.
 

Bane'sMama

Well-Known Member
Another welcome from NYC. :)

I have also had my dog on the raw diet since I brought him home at 8.5 weeks (he is now 2 years.) In the beginning, I was using the expensive frozen ground raw stuff (along with wings and tripe mixed in), but soon after, I made the full switch to buying meat/bones/organs from the butcher shops (as well as ordering tripe online.)

Now, being almost full-grown, he eats about 2.5-3 pounds of food per day.

Congrats on your handsome pup-- and he will thank you via great health by going raw, I am sure.

Thank you. We fall more in love with him each day. He's doing great! Right now, his diet consists of green tripe and ground chicken. I went out and bought him chicken drumsticks today that I'm going to try in the morning. Additionally, I had the butcher cut a large piece of bone from a cow with marrow for him to play with- I've only given it to him on two separate occasions. What else should I be including in his meals?
 

Bane'sMama

Well-Known Member
Our pup is now 5.5 months and has been on raw since we got him at 8 weeks. Let me know if you need any help with raw feeding (not that I'm an expert!) or want to have a puppy play date. We are just near Prospect Park.

That's awesome! I'm very impressed how my little guy enjoys the raw diet- I was dreading a hard switch. A few more weeks and hell have the rest of his shots and well be needing the playmate :)

What did you have him eat in the beginning?
 

Kahuna

Well-Known Member
Initially I bought whole chickens and cut them into 5 or 6 large pieces. Then I realised I should just feed them whole and take it away when he has had a bit, trying to make a 5lb chicken last 2 days. He is teething at the moment so I am cutting lots of slashes into the breast and legs so it is a bit less of a a struggle for him.

He also has beef and we are newly onto pork. I will try him on mackerel within the next few weeks. I supplement with chicken and beef organs and a green tripe meal here and there along with daily fish oils and probiotics.
 

Hank DDB

Well-Known Member
Initially I bought whole chickens and cut them into 5 or 6 large pieces. Then I realised I should just feed them whole and take it away when he has had a bit, trying to make a 5lb chicken last 2 days. He is teething at the moment so I am cutting lots of slashes into the breast and legs so it is a bit less of a a struggle for him.

He also has beef and we are newly onto pork. I will try him on mackerel within the next few weeks. I supplement with chicken and beef organs and a green tripe meal here and there along with daily fish oils and probiotics.

For the teething try ice cubes made with liver blood and water.
 

Bane'sMama

Well-Known Member
Initially I bought whole chickens and cut them into 5 or 6 large pieces. Then I realised I should just feed them whole and take it away when he has had a bit, trying to make a 5lb chicken last 2 days. He is teething at the moment so I am cutting lots of slashes into the breast and legs so it is a bit less of a a struggle for him.


He also has beef and we are newly onto pork. I will try him on mackerel within the next few weeks. I supplement with chicken and beef organs and a green tripe meal here and there along with daily fish oils and probiotics.

We ate our first chicken drumstick this morning and I couldn't be any more happer at how well he ate it. He took his time with the skin and meat and when got down to the bone, didn't rush. I feel a lot more confident giving him meat with bones. Thanks for your advice - it helps a lot. I will look into whole chickens and start slashing them as well.
 

musicdeb

Well-Known Member
we ate our first chicken drumstick this morning and i couldn't be any more happer at how well he ate it. He took his time with the skin and meat and when got down to the bone, didn't rush. I feel a lot more confident giving him meat with bones. Thanks for your advice - it helps a lot. I will look into whole chickens and start slashing them as well.
yea!!!!!