[InkedMarie]

The Whole Dog Journal did a series on home made diets for dogs, I think they had raw in there too but am not positive.

[InkedMarie]

thats the one, Shibasenji!

[AnnieluvsPoms]

My Poms love to chew any variety of True Chews bully sticks- they have pretzels, barbells, twisted bully sticks, etc. Does anyone else get these? They are for dogs up to 20lbs. They are made in Independence, Iowa by Tyson Pet Products. The package says they are 100% natural and have no fillers and are rawhide free. Is there anything I need to worry about if they are chewing these everyday?

[DogFoodie]

Holy moly Shibasenji! Watch yer fingers, eh? Those pictures are great! The picture of your Shiba Inu clearly shows the dental benefits of raw meaty bones! Those teeth are spotless!

[shibasenji]

Hmm, so apparently img src links don’t work, and you can only edit a post a certain number of times.
I’ll just link the pics:
http://shibasenji.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/bowdu-chomp.jpg
http://shibasenji.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/bowpi-chomp.jpg

[shibasenji]

@InkedMarie, do you mean TinkerWolf and her project to collect pictures of 1000 raw fed dogs?

Here’s a couple of mine.

Shiba Inu and duck drumstick

Basenji and turkey neck

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Marie,

My dogs generally get 1-2 grain-free biscuits or freeze-dried raw treats per day. Right now I have Nature’s Variety Instinct biscuits, I also frequently use Darford Zero-G and the grain-free Cloudstar Buddy Biscuits (I’ve ordered the Sojo’s grain-free biscuits before but they’re way too small for my dogs). For freeze-dried I have the Wysong Dream treats right now, I also use the Nature’s Variety Instinct and Stella & Chewy’s freeze-dried raw medallions.

After their evening walk every day they get a “kongsicle” – they each have a large kong that I layer with a 4 or 5 star grain-free kibble and the canned Fruitables Pumpkin or Sweet Potato supplement and freeze it. I use whatever kibbles I can get samples of or buy trial-sized bags of. Right now I’m using Orijen and Petcurean. It keeps them out of my hair while I make dinner lol

For training treats I use ZiwiPeak food (I buy the 8 oz. trial sized packages).

Every night before bed they get a dried trachea, bully stick or pig ear.

The only day they don’t get treats is Sunday (they fast on Sundays).

[Devilbrad]

Thanks! Once the intro section is up (patiently waiting!!) I’ll post pics of all the dogs in the house.

[Hound Dog Mom]

As everyone probably knows, I’m going to be totally obsessed with this new raw food topic area 😉 – anyways I’ve been checking out other forums for some good discussions to get going and got a great idea from the German Shepherd forum. They have a topic area where raw feeders can post their menus. I think this would be a great tool for newbies to see what experienced raw feeders feed their dogs and also a great opportunity for knowledgeable people to comment about what others are feeding and make suggestions (maybe they’re feeding something they should, not feeding something they should, etc.). I know when I first started raw I was always looking for menus – the only place I was able to locate a good menu was on Leerburg Kennel’s website.

• This topic was modified 13 years, 3 months ago by Mike Sagman.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hmm…now that I see the body it looks like there could be some bloodhound in there (definitely not all bloodhound, too small and bloodhounds don’t have that tick pattern she has on her chest and leg). If I had to guess I’d almost want to say half bloodhound half red tick. Well, whatever she is she’s adorable!

[Devilbrad]

I don’t know what she is, ha ha. Some people say bloodhound, but she is too small. Maybe an american fox hound? I may DNA test her some day. She’s roughly 4 years old and I just adopted her back in April. I don’t remember how to use image code, haven’t needed to do that since the old myspace days, LOL

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/422288_10151143425002316_1002570275_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/135424_10151139800822759_744323160_o.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/210837_10151027201957759_1441610830_o.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/665814_10151123323852759_1014112304_o.jpg

[Hound Dog Mom]

Thanks devilbrad! 🙂

By the way – what kind of hound do you have? Kind of looks like a red tick (?) but I can’t tell for sure from the picture..

[BryanV21]

Wet food is not bad for teeth. You should be cleaning the dog’s teeth fairly often anyway, whether that be with brushing or using other teeth cleaning products. I’ve read that giving dogs raw meaty bones is a great way to keep teeth clean as well.

And if you’re being told that dry food is good for teeth, as it cleans them while chewing then ignore it. It’s a myth. Dry food crumbles when bitten down on, especially by the dog’s conical shaped teeth, so it’s not “scraping” the teeth at all. And a bad dog food is going to have ingredients that are more “sticky” and keep the mouth dirty anyway, whether it’s dry or wet.

[Devilbrad]

That pic of Baby Mabel is adorable!

[Shawna]

Many people did have an issue with Greenies and like Aimee said, they were reformulated. I can’t fault them for dogs choking as 2 have mine have choked multiple times and it wasn’t due to Greenies. And one of mine is a long time raw bone eater but if someone in the house drops a piece of food several of the dogs will snatch and swallow.. And a few times the food item has been too big to go down..

I found the below — take from it what you will 🙂

From Veterinarynews.DVM360
“During a Feb. 22 teleconference with media, Joe Roetheli, Greenies founder and chief executive officer, says the company financially compensated or reimbursed veterinary expenses for no more than 20 fatalities allegedly tied to the bone-shaped dog treats.” http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=322331

LATimes
“KANSAS CITY, MO. — The maker of Greenies, one of the nation’s best-selling dog treats, settled a class-action lawsuit by pet owners who claimed the teeth-cleaning product injured or killed their dogs.” http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/18/business/fi-dogs18

Setteling a lawsuit could simply mean that they didn’t want the negative publicity a trial would bring but the reformulation makes me believe there WAS a problem.

Comsumer Affairs
“The dental chews were reformulated to be “more highly soluble and thus safer, yet effective as a daily preventive of oral disease,” the company said in a November 2007 statement.”

“A division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied that it is investigating NUTRO Products Inc., whose pet foods are the subject of more than 700 complaints from consumers who say their dogs and cats became ill and, in some cases, died after eating NUTRO products.” http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/05/nutro_greenies.html

[Hound Dog Mom]

Thanks Alexandra! 🙂

[theBCnut]

I thought she looked like one of mine that got a frog. YUCK!! It had been dead a while.

[Alexandra]

Great photos HDM. They are beautiful!

[DogFoodie]

Oh my gosh! That picture of Gertie with the whole quail is gonna stay with me for a while! LOL!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Sandy – I don’t know how to do it on shutterfly (I’ve never used it) but on photobucket you use the direct link code.

[pugmomsandy]

Hmmm…I’ll need to figure the picture thing out!

[Hound Dog Mom]

That’s actually what gave me the idea to get some picture sharing going on here! 🙂

[InkedMarie]

Even though I only feed a pre made raw for one meal, I do think it’s the best way to feed dogs. I can’t comment for cats because even though JohnandChristo has a cute little one, I just don’t do kitties. One day, I will take the plunge and try “real” raw.

[InkedMarie]

This reminds me of that website with the hundreds of raw fed dog pictures!

[BryanV21]

Yeah, if a food doesn’t have that much protein or other nutrients, or has inferior ingredients, then it doesn’t matter whether it’s dry, wet, dehydrated, freeze-dried, raw, or whatever.

I don’t think kibble is best for dogs by any means, but I totally understand the cost and convenience of it being more attractive to dog owners. But I like that you top the food like that.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Sophia –

Are you talking about real bones or dental chews?

As far as real bones, most are quite high in fat due to the marrow. I’d stick with turkey necks, chicken necks or duck necks (raw) with the skin removed. You may be able to find some lean beef neck bones, my butcher carries them sometimes.

If you’re referring to chew type treats, bully sticks are pretty low fat. If your dog likes antlers, they’re very long lasting and since most dogs actually can’t “eat” them you wouldn’t have to worry about fat content. Himalayan chews are low fat and long lasting as well.

[sophia]

My dog had a very mild pancreatitis reaction about two months ago. She just had some gas and loose stool, but tests showed elevated pancreas enzymes. Since I have been so careful with her diet, she is on low fat food, she gets boiled chicken or carrots as little treats, and that’s about it. However, the other day someone gave her a rawhide. She loved it and chewed on it for hours, but after I researched how this might affect her I had to take it away (apparently raw hides are no good for any dog, much less one with her history). What I am wondering is if there are any bones safe for dogs with her history? She’s an older girl, so something a little softer (like the softness of a rawhide) would be great. Thanks!

[Hound Dog Mom]

I thought it would be fun for us raw feeders to share some pictures of our dogs eating raw and/or any interesting looking raw meals. I shared some on another thread, but I’ll share again to get this thread started off. I’ll likely have more to come in the near future.

Gertie eating a whole quail:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/369-gertie.jpg

Gus eating a beef marrow bone:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/367-gus.jpg

Baby Mabel teething on a raw beef trachea:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/368-mabel.jpg

Gertie eating a raw beef trachea:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/IMG_1834.jpg

[janus69]

Exactly HDM, although I am guilt of giving the dog the bone from the roast. He won’t eat pigs ears though for some reason. Love bulwinkles, freeze dried liver treats(non-chinese) and sweet potato treats as well as raw carrot, sweet potato, turnup, brocolli stems, tomatoe…

[Hound Dog Mom]

As for the qustion at hand of “Are Greenies Safe?” – I think they’re just as safe as any other chew. Obviously there’s always a risk of choking or intestinal blockage, but that’s with any chew type treat. My issue with them is not their safety but their ingredients. Very low quality, like feeding your doggie a candy bar. Stick with raw bones or natural chews (bully sticks, dried trachea, pig ears, etc.).

[Hound Dog Mom]

janus69 – As long as poultry bones are raw they’re safe. Raw bones are safe, all cooked bones are dangerous (even bigger non-poultry bones).

[janus69]

” I offer my advice and opinion for free” If it is incorrect it can be dangers if not fatal to ones pet and anything that is opinion should in fact be marked IMHO or some such to show it is NOT fact. The only person or persons with a responsability to post fact are those from DFA? What rock did you crawl out from under? The whole site is about the health and well being of ones pet. If you wish to kill or improperly care for your pet that is your option, to post it and encourage it here is inhumane and could be seen to boarder on criminal. If you feel DFA is the only ones that have to post fact and correct info then maybe they should appoint moderators to delete posts that do not do so.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Okay guys, here are my recipes!

Typical Morning Meal for my crew of three bloodhounds. Makes 3 portions for large active bloodhounds – will make more servings for smaller or less active dogs (I usually use red meat in the a.m. so I can feed poultry rmbs in the p.m.):

-3 lbs. Whole Ground Prey Animal (Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore)
-1 C. Whole Milk Kefir, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt or Raw Goat’s Milk
-1 C. Cooked & Pureed Veggies or 3 Pouches Organic Veggie/Fruit Only Baby Food (Like Peter Rabbit Organics)
-1 1/2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral (Recipe Follows)
-1/2 tbs. Sardine or Anchovy Oil
-1/2 tbs. Cod Liver Oil (Carlson)
-1/2 tbs. Coconut Oil
-1 Capsule NOW Foods Gamma E Complex

Typical Evening Meal (per dog):
-Chicken Back
-Chicken Foot
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Whole Egg

Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (1/4 tsp. per 10 lbs.):
-4 oz. Kelp Powder
-4 oz. Alfalfa Powder
-4 oz. Wheatgrass Powder
-4 oz. Spirulina Powder
-4 oz. Chlorella Powder
-4 oz. Bee Pollen Powder
-4 oz. Turmeric Powder
-2 oz. Garlic Powder

The next recipe is my dogs’ all time favorite because it has lots of green tripe and organs…the good stuff (because it’s a little heavy on organ meat I’d recommend excluding organs from your dog’s next meal):

-1 lb. 90% Lean Grass-Fed Beef
-1 lb. Green Beef Tripe (I generally order from My Pet Carnivore)
-1 lb. Beef Organ Mix (equal parts: heart, liver, kidney, lungs, trachea and gullet – I purchase from Hare Today)
-2 C. Urban Wolf Pre-Mix
-1 C. Kefir, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt or Raw Goat’s Milk
-1 tbs. Sardine or Anchovy Oil
-Capsule NOW Foods Gamma E Complex

When I feed this in the a.m. I generally feed an organ-free meal such as this in the p.m. (per dog):
-2 Turkey Necks (Approx. 12 oz.)
-6 oz. Turkey Hearts

[janus69]

You know what Bryan, it is peoples job to post correct info. The whole purpose of this very site is correct info. The info in the forums must strive to be as correct as the review of food or the warnings of recalls or it all is for not.

And Guinessandi, as it states in the link I posted, there is NOT enough info, the examples you posted have no vet statement and in two show the treats were unsupervised. The same can occur with rawhides or nylabones if unsupervised.

[pugmomsandy]

This is the very first raw recipe I tried:

5.25 # chicken with bones
3.25 # boneless chicken thighs
1/2 # (1 cup) chicken heart
1/2 # (1 cup) chicken liver
1/2 # (1 cup) chicken gizzard
2 # pureed veg/fruit (canned pumpkin, pineapple, mango, strawberries, blueberries, coconut flakes, it varies)

Grind all meat and bones and puree all veg/fruit ingredients. Mix together. Store in portions according to preference.

I then give at feeding time (couple times a week): green supplement, krill oil, glandular supplement.

[pugmomsandy]

Using one of the premixes might be a good place to start while doing further research and gathering recipes.

http://www.dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html

http://www.dogaware.com/diet/dogfoodmixes.html

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/real-food-for-healthy-dogs-and-cats-cookbook.aspx this book has cooked and raw recipes. This is the one I use. Even if you don’t end up making homemade, the info in the book is great and covers food, supplements, and fats, and nutrition. I thought homemade was difficult until I did it. Alot of meat, some veggie/fruit, done. And some supplements.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Okay I’m still figuring this forum thing out – pictures attempt #2:

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/369-gertie.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/367-gus.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/368-mabel.jpg

[Hound Dog Mom]

I feel that it’s the healthiest and most natural way for a dog to eat. All my dogs love raw and are thriving!

[IMG]http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/369-gertie.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/367-gus.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/368-mabel.jpg[/IMG]

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi chynamae!

Are you interesting in homemade raw or homemade cooked?

I feed my three bloodhounds a homemade raw diet. It’s really pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

You want 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat (5% liver, 5% other organs) and 10% bone – if you don’t want to include bone in the diet or are making a cooked diet you would use 90% muscle meat and 10% organ meat + 800-1,000 mg calcium per 1 lb. meat. You’ll want to keep the meat portion around 80% of the diet the other 20% will be vegetables (cooked and pureed) and supplements. Fruits and extras (i.e. cottage cheese, eggs, kefir, etc.) can be added if you want, but I’d keep it to under 10% of the meal.

For supplements you’ll need to add some trace nutrients. You can get a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, but I think whole foods are preferable. I mix my own supplement for my dogs with equal parts, I rotate ingredients but the mix I’m currently using is: kelp, alfalfa, spirulina, chlorella, wheat grass, barley grass, bee pollen and garlic powder. You’ll need to add vitamin e as vitamin e is hard to supply in adequate quantities through food alone – for a small dog I’d recommend 50-100 i.u. every day or every other day, medium dogs 100-200 i.u. every day or every other day and 300-400 i.u. every day or every other day for large dogs. I’d also recommend adding a high quality animal-based omega 3 supplement – fish body oil or an oily fish such as sardines.

To keep it even simpler there are pre-mixes available in which all you need to add is meat – THK’s preference, Sojo’s, Birkdale, Urban Wolf, Dr. Harvey’s, etc. Or you can purchase meat/organ/bone grinds (primal, bravo, hare today, my pet carnivore) in which all you need to add are supplements.

Be sure to feed an even mixture of red meat and poultry and feed as much variety as possible. My dogs get a ground red meat meal in the a.m. to which I add their supplements and poultry rmb’s in the evening.

A sample daily menu for my three would be:

a.m. -1 lb. Red Meat Grind (80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat, 10% Bone)
-1/2 c. Cooked & Pureed Veggies
-1/4 C. Kefir
-400 i.u. Vitamin E
-1/2 tbs. Sardine/Anchovy oil blend
-1/2 tbs. supplement

p.m. -Chicken Back (approx. 8 oz.)
-Chicken Foot (approx. 2 oz.)
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Whole Egg

*When feeding RMBs you want to add about 8-12 oz. boneless meat for each pound of RMB.

Hope that helps! 🙂

[Alexandra]

I think it is the best way to feed out pets. No filler and everything they need for a species appropriate diet.

[Mike Sagman]

In August 2012, the American Veterinary Medical Association passed a resolution recommending against the feeding of raw and uncooked food to cats and dogs. Some believe that “going raw” is the ideal way to feed a pet. Yet others worry the feeding method is medically unsafe for pets and their human families. How do YOU feel about raw diets for cats and dogs?