[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?