[caleb v]

I have a 12wk old black lab who right now is eating orijens puppy food which i believe is BARF.

I want to switch him to raw foods that i prepare for him.

To give some background i plan on starting him on chicken only. I have a hookup for organic free range chickens for good prices.

I plan on only feeding him just the meat parts and then if his stools are doing well and his energy levels don’t change in a bad way then ill introduce some organs to him. A week after I introduce organs i will slowly add different meats. such as pork, duck, turkey, beef, lamb, and etc.

Once organs are introduced his diet will be 80% meat 10% bone 5% liver 5%other organ(green tripe, lungs, etc.)

Could someone please let me know if this seems like a good way to do this and my last question is Should I be grinding up his meats and bones together and feeding it to him this way or should I feed it to him whole?

Thank You!

[caleb v]

Another question while I got the attention. If I give my dog a turkey neck to chew on will that replace a meal? or would that just be a supplemental food?

[InkedMarie]

BARF stands for one of two things: Bones and raw foods or Biologically Appropriate Raw foods. In any case, Orijen is not BARF.

I suggest you go to Hare-Today dotcom and cliclk on the Raw Food education link. Email Tracey, the owner, with questions. She is full of information.

[pitlove]

Hi Caleb-

If you are dead set on doing a raw diet for a large breed dog like a Lab, you will want to contact a veterinary nutritionist to help make sure your diet is formulated safely for a large breed. Large breed puppies have extremely strict dietary requirements during growth to allow for slow growth. They are at high risk for devasting orthopedic disorders like OCD, HOD, Pano, Hip Dysplasia, Wobblers Syndrome etc. I have seen raw diets gone wrong with large breed puppies and it is horrible. They can barely walk, are in horrible pain, lethargic etc. Consider going through a website like BalanceIt.com for help.

[Rene P]

Tripe is not an organ meat, it is considered a muscle. Also, I would not just feed chicken (even for a little while). It was recommended in “Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs” by Lew Olson, that you vary the meats in order to maintain a healthy diet. She recommends feeding tripe 2x weekly, beef, 1-2x, chicken(meat) only 1x, and lamb/pork/rabbit the other days. Her book is full of great info for the raw food neophyte and I HIGHLY recommend it. I’ve been transitioning my dog to raw for the past 10 days and he is already partial to his raw meals and bones. If you get the book but would prefer to make your own supplements (instead of purchasing hers), I can provide a good recipe for that. Hope this was helpful. René

[Rene P]

My question to the group: Is it okay to mix types of meat and organs in one meal? Example: Beef muscle meat with pork or chicken organ meat, or vice versa

Thanks for any guidance on this, René

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