[Sue’s Zoo]

Thanks RDM! The temperament is so sweet. They really want to please and are very smart. Good luck with your decision. I couldn’t be happier. Though I pretty much love all dogs so it would be hard to disappoint me :).

Sharon, how are things going? I keep reading about the 80/10/10 ratio, etc. but I kept wondering how do you determine the amount of bone they’re getting. Finally found a few links that help and here’s what I found (reposted from a FB group I belong to)

Chicken:
Broiler or Fryer whole, meat and skin and giblets and neck 31%
back, meat and skin 44%
breast, meat and skin 20%
drumstick, meat and skin 33%
thigh, meat and skin 21%
leg, meat and skin 27%
neck, meat and skin 36%
neck, meat only 75%
wing, meat and skin 46%
wing, meat only 68%
Capon 27%
Cornish Hen 39% no neck/giblets
Roaster 27%
Stewing 32% ( 27% bone, 5% separable fat)

ribs (pork or lamb) – 45%
ribs (veal) – 35%

Lamb:
Shoulder – 25%
whole leg – 15%

Pork:
Feet-30%
Tail-30%
Shoulder-25%
Butt-10%

Turkey:
Turkey Back – 41% bone (with skin removed 51%)
Turkey neck – 42% bone
Turkey breast – 10% bone
Turkey wing – 33% bone
Turkey leg – 17% bone
Whole turkey – 21% bone

To calculate the amount of bone in a piece of meat you multiply the weight of the whole piece by the percentage of bone. For example, if you are feeding a 5lb whole chicken, you will multiply 5 x the percent bone for that piece. So 5 x .31= 1.55. That means there is 1.55lbs of bone in that whole chicken. You don’t need to calculate this for every meal, but a good rule of thumb is that 30%-50% of your dog’s diet should be made up of meat with edible bone. More if you are feeding meaty pieces like leg quarters and breasts and less if you are feeding bony pieces like ribs. (Written by Briana Alford)