RAW Diet Questions

[Miss_Critterized]

Hi everyone,

How are you all? I have a few questions about raw feeding. Up till last week I have been feeding Alvar Holistic Select Kibble for breakie and lunch and meat for dinner. Once I got to a quatar of the kibble bin being left I swapped over completely to raw, the rest of the kibble I mix with peanut butter in his KONG when we go out which is maybe 2 days a week. Any way all of last week his poo was very hard and mostly white, I figured it was due to his body detoxing from the kibble and also I think I may have given him to much in the way of bone. This week its on the softer side (kind of the same consistancy as tooth paste maybe a little softer) and almost black. Is this normal?

I did a heap of reading before I changed over to the raw but still have a few more questions just to make sure I'm feeding the right portions. From what I read I should feed him 2-3% of his weight a day or 1% of his possible adult weight, 80% of it should be meat, 10% bone and 10% organ (5% of that should be liver)? I weighed him for the first him on the 6/6/12 he was 18weeks old on that date and 22kg/48.5lb and 50.7cm/20inch at the shoulders. So 2-3% of that would be around 700grams a day? I decided to feed him 1kg a day over 3 feeds as 700gm didnt seem to be enough for him.

For breakfast I'm feeding him 50grams of liver, 25gms of kidney, 25gms of heart and 300gms of beef or kangaroo meat/mince. For lunch he gets 200gms of beef or kangaroo meat/mince. For dinner he gets a big turkey leg or 400grms made up from chicken breast, thigh and drumstick or necks. Plus every 2-3 days he gets a pig hock or other types of big meaty bones to chew on through the day/night.

Does this all sound about right? Should I give him any supplements ? some of my research siad I should give culcium and others said no I should avoid them. Any tips or advice would be great, I want to make sure he is getting everything he needs. Im going to go and weigh him again on tuesday, I was meant to do it this week but we have been sick. I'm hoping to try and do it weekly as I have been measuring his hight weekly.

Thank you in advance for any help, tips or advice you can give

Some new pics for your viewing pleasure

 

[ruthcatrin]

Well, the hard-white poo was from to much bone (easy to do), not sure about the extra dark, keep an eye on that (to much organ meat maybe? you might back off the liver a bit if the dark poo continues, btw, heart counts as muscle meat not organ).

80-10-10 yes BUT 2-3% of his adult body weight and as a growing puppy he may need more, especially as a growing pup don't be afraid to feed more. I know of folks who feed up to 6% of their dog's adult weight due to the dog's high activity level.

If he's getting bone in teh proper proportions (and it sounds like he is) then you don't need calcium supplements. And based on what you're saying your feeding she shouldn't need any other supplements either unless your vet does bloodwork and says something is deficiant.

---------- Post added at 09:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 AM ----------

Also, what you're doing is fine, so this isn't critiscim, but once you get a bit more comfortable with the portions and schedule, you don't HAVE to do an exact 80-10-10 every day.

For example if today something happens and you get rushed and he only gets meat and a little bone, tomorrow up the bone content a bit and add in a extra dash of organ meat for a couple days and no harm done.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Also, what you're doing is fine, so this isn't critiscim, but once you get a bit more comfortable with the portions and schedule, you don't HAVE to do an exact 80-10-10 every day.

For example if today something happens and you get rushed and he only gets meat and a little bone, tomorrow up the bone content a bit and add in a extra dash of organ meat for a couple days and no harm done.

 

[Miss_Critterized]

Thank you for your reply, I will keep an eye on the colour of his poo and drop back on the liver a bit and see if that changes it. I was wondering if it could have been the Roo meat also? I know it is a darker colour then beef and also a richer flavor meat. Up till this week he has had just chicken then beef, so the Roo is new to his diet. I just didn't expect the poo to go almost black, which made me think I might have done something wrong.

I read conflicting info on the heart so I wasn't sure if it was concidered meat or organ so thank you for helping to clear that up for me. So I could actually feed him more? I thought maybe 1kg a day was to much for him but any less and he was starving and no stop looking for food, now he is quiet content for at lest an hour after a meal before he starts to go on a food search again. I'm worried about over feeding him. At what point is he getting fat? Ive read if I can't see his ribs but can easy feel them he is fine, but others say I should clearly be able to see his last 2 ribs. At the moment I can make out the last rib but only just lol sorry for asking so many questions.

At lest a plus is he doesn't clear the room anymore he still puts a grown man to shame but your eyes no longer water lol

 

[ruthcatrin]

Not having Roo availible to me I can't make that judgement, its possible though, chicken causes a different color so why not Roo? Just keep an eye on it.

My prefered "fatness level" in a growing pup would be to not nessecarly be able to SEE the ribs, but to be able to find them when I run my hands down his sides, but NOT be able to actually slot my fingers in between them. Note: I've never had a bull mastiff or an english mastiff, so if someone who does says different go with theirs. With Apollo his coat is so thick, even in summer weight, that SEEing his ribs is impossible. What is his estimated adult weight?

If he's still hungry go ahead and give him a bit more, just watch him closely, he starts turning pudgy cut him back again. On the other hand pups expend a HUGE amount of energy, so use your own judgement, if you think he needs more some extra muscle meat isn't a bad thing. You might rotate the organs to the lunch or supper and up the muscle meat content of breakfast, that'll give him more to work on for the day, and might help with some of the looking for more.