[weimlove]

There is a local pet store that will order it for me, which makes shipping free! I was thinking about going with something like primal, but it is SO expensive!! I am giving raw another chance, but I’m just going to feed blue ridge plus added veggies and calcium and rmbs a few times a week for their teeth. For me, feeding blue ridge is so much easier than buying whole chickens, large peices, etc. I made my first batch yesterday and shadow and sunny (my 3 month old vizsla devoured it!) they were both so bored with kibble, and their poop was so on and off…just after one meal of raw last night they both had excellent poops. Sorry for all the poop talk! Lol. But I’m hoping that this will work out, because it’s pretty convenient and I’m paying the same price per month if I were to feed a high quality kibble

[weimlove]

Hi, yes it’s grass fed free range hormone and preservative free. It’s also very reasonably priced I can get chicken turkey duck quail green tripe and an organ blend all for under $2 a pound

[weimlove]

Hdm- ok thanks, what other ingredients is this recipe missing? Keep in mind that I plan on switching proteins weekly as well as vegetables.

[weimlove]

Crock pot recipe:
Would this be balanced?

1. One whole chicken (will remove bones after cooked)
2. Veggies (carrots broccoli cauliflower)
3. Sweet potatoes
4. 4 or 5 egg shells
5. 100 Iu vitamin e
6. Recommended fish oil amount (if fish isn’t included)

[weimlove]

Oh ok great tganks

[weimlove]

And thanks for the congratulations! I am so excited! I think shadow will be happier with a playmate too

[weimlove]

The vitamin e I have is a liquid. On the cover it says 20,000 iu. The serving size is five drops and that would be 100 iu. When it says drops does it mean little drops or to fill the whole dropper up? Sorry I probably am being dumb.

[weimlove]

Pugmomsandy,
I have thought about using a pre mix but it would be a lot cheaper to just make my own. What I’ll probably do I just use a crock pot and slow cook the ingredients.

Hdm-
Ok great, I’ll probably use the egg shells. If I am using liquid vitamin e an it had a dropper in it, how many drops per pound of food? I will also be feeding fish every now and then. I’ll be adding a weekly variety of chicken beef turkey and fish plus a variety of fruit and veggies. Anything that I’m missing? I’ve made a small batch of beef with veggies and I’ve been putting a bit on his kibble. He loves it! Although I’m feeding a high quality kibble I would feel more comfortable feeding home cooked. I’m also getting a vizsla puppy in a week. Is it on to start her on home cooked and not even start kibble?

[weimlove]

HDM- that’s what I was thinking about doing. Maybe adding some fresh low fat neat every once in a while and maybe an rmb every once in a whole too. Thanks for being understanding, the people on my other forum would most likely chew me out because they hate kibble so much.

[weimlove]

Nectarmom-
I’m so sorry to hear that your baby is still sick 🙁 shadow has fully recovered and his appetite is back. For now, I purchased natures variety instinct with raw boost. It’s a grain free kibble with added bits of freeze dried raw. He is still having some runny poop but it’s a lot better than the liquid poop he was having. I was also thinking about Darwin’s, but I’m going to continue researching. I wish I could feed raw but sometimes it just dosent work for our babies. I feel like a failure but his health is my top priority

HDM- I will definitely keep that in mind, but the pre-mix and that kind of meat Woukd be way out of my budget. In trying to spend no more than $100 a month on food.

Thank you all for all the help and advice you have given me.

[weimlove]

Oh my goodness I am so sorry to hear that! It is so frustrating when you spend so much time researching a raw diet and preparing their meals, for it not to work out. Shadow stayed at the holistic vet lastnight. I picked him up this morning and when we got home he had liquid diareahha and still wouldn’t eat. All they did at the holistic vet was give him fluids. Since he was still worse I took him to a normal vet that’s close to my house. She says he may have a touch of pancreatitis but that she thinks we caught it in time. She gave him some antibiotics and an injection to calm his tummy. I went to the store and bought some wellness chicken and rice canned food. Thankfully he ate almost a whole can! The vet I went to was very kind and understanding. I think for now I’m going to use canned food until his appetite comes back all the way. When it does, I’m thinking about just going to a pre made raw such as primal. I want to feed shadow the best, but I don’t want to risk his health.

[weimlove]

Nectarmom-
I’m so sorry about your babies 🙁 what causes pancreatitis? I know, my whole family is blaming it on raw.

[weimlove]

Hdm- he is staying at the vet overnight. I take him to a holistic vet. They gave him fluids and says he has quit throwing up and having diahhrea but he’s still not eating. I’m so worried about him. My family is like ” I told ya the raw food was bad” I know it’s not bad but they are making me feel guilty

[weimlove]

Hdm- no I don’t fast him. I’ll probably start doing that. We were up all night with him vomiting and having diahhrea. He’s at the vet now

[weimlove]

Hdm- ok great I will definitely look into those bags! Zip lock bags add up especially when your using sixty a month. Sometime this summer I plan on adding another pup to my family. I am either getting a female Weimaraner or a female vizsla so I will definitely need to buy in bulk. Right now I’m spending around 70.00 a month to feed shadow.

[weimlove]

Nectar mom, no there are no bones in tripe. I’m not sure if the fat levels but I do know that it is completely nutritionally complete and has a 1:1 phosphorus ratio

[weimlove]

Hdm- yeah I think once I do raw longer I will find easier strategies. As of now his breakfast is a boneless meal of either green tripe, ground beef, chicken gizzards, turkey, or natural mix from blue ridge which contains tripe beef chicken liver and hearts. He also gets his veggie mix in the morning for breakfast which contains a mixture of veggies, and boiled eggs. At dinner he gets rmbs such as leg quarters, turkey necks, wings, pork necks, and other chicken parts. He also gets a fish meal once a week. I’ve been using the quart size ziplock bags and usually fill them half way up (meal portion sizes) I think I’m going to start buying the gallon size bags. When you freeze your rmbs, how do you separate them at meal time if they are frozen? How do you store them? Also, it’s been hard for me to find a co op in my area. How much do you think you spend monthly for one of your dogs?

[weimlove]

Oh ok wow well that makes it very limited. I would definitely do turkey necks and wings. Another great place to order meat from is blue ridge beef. They have a great selection of meat for great prices

[weimlove]

Nectar mom,
If I were you, I would go to the butcher, get some chicken backs and necks, turkey necks, any muscle meat on sale, and start from there. It is much cheaper than Darwin’s, and you can see exactly what is going into your dogs meals. It’s also a lot easier to tweak.

[weimlove]

Nectar mom, when I first started my Weimaraner on raw I gave him a lamb leg bone that was very fatty. At 2 am that night, he had gotten up twice throwing up fat and pieces of bone. Sometimes there is just too much fat. Are you new to raw? If so, your pups stomachs may have just not been ready to tolerate such a high fat level.

[weimlove]

Oh ok, yeah it’s the only source I’ve found so far for green tripe. I can get five pounds for eight dollars so the price is ok. I can also get ground turkey from them for around a dollar a pound.

[weimlove]

Hdm- yeah I’ve never heard of anyone feeding it either but I’ll definitely take a look at those sites. I know that a dog in the wild wouldn’t be able to eat a shark so I’m not sure if I’ll be feeding it. Thanks for your help! Also have you heard of blue ridge beef products? I’ve recently found a place where I can order it from. They carry a lot of variety of meat at very affordable prices. I ordered green tripe abs shadow loves it!

[weimlove]

Patty, ok thanks for the reassurance. I kept reading that turkey wings can splinter so I just wanted to make sure.

[weimlove]

Pugmomsandy- ok great! Shadows definitely not a gulper so I’ll see how he does with it tonight. Are they safe for teeth?

[weimlove]

Are turkey wings safe to give?

[weimlove]

I found some pork neck bones for a great price at the store, are they safe for teeth?

[weimlove]

Is there a specific reason you need to grind? Chicken bones are very sift, and great for dental health. With grinding, you lose all of the great dental benefits.

[weimlove]

Just made two weeks worth of meals with some green tripe included… The smell is awful!! But I know it’s very nutritious so I will try to ignore it!

[weimlove]

Yes he is 🙂 and I really enjoy making his meals too.

[weimlove]

Hi everyone, I haven’t been on here in a while but I just wanted to let y’all know that shadow is doing fabulous on raw. He used to have little red bumps on his tummy, runny poop, and was pretty slim. Since he has been on raw, the bumps are gone, his poop is great, and he has added muscle weight. Right now he is eating chicken leg quarters, necks and backs, thighs, turkey necks, wings, ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, and canned salmon and mackerel. I have also found a local who can order green tripe for me from blue ridge raw. I bought five pounds on it and can’t wait to try it! I have finally gotten comfortable feeding raw! I also add hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, various green veggies, fish oil, kelp, and vitamin e. I plan on giving him a whole chicken this weekend!

[weimlove]

All of the brands you’ve been feeding are very low quality. The best diet for your dog is a raw diet. If you don’t want to go the raw route, try to find a kibble where atlesdt the first three ingredients are meat and that is grain free. Some quality brands are orijen, acana, taste of the wild, natures variety, and blue wilderness. Another great option is freeze dried food which all you do is add water and it re hydrates. A great one is the honest kitchen. When transitioning dry dog foods, gradually mix in the new food and then add more new food and less of your old brand over a one or two week period. If you are switching from a low quality to high quality, you may experience some loose stool at first, but you will be very happy because you don’t have to feed as much because there are more nutrients in higher quality foods. Hope that helps!

[weimlove]

Hdm- yeah shadow eats around two pounds a day. Ill probably add in some eggs and kefir and yogurt for the vitamin d. Also, where do you feed your dogs? Shadow keeps taking the food out of the bowl and dragging it around the house and if I feed him outside he drags it around in the dirt. Any advice?

[weimlove]

Hdm- ok thanks for the reminder I thought it was 200 iu daily. I also plan on introducing organ meat in small amounts probably tomorrow, shadows tummy is upset very easily do I’m trying to do things gradual. I have been giving him some canned salmon with his dosage of vitamin e, fish oil, and kelp in a kong for a treat while I’m gone. Is it ok to freeze those ingredients?

[weimlove]

Hi everyone!
I have finally got Shadow eating a COMPLETELY raw diet 🙂
Since this is his first week of no kibble at all, I wanted to share my menu with you all and see what you think. Please keep in mind that this menu has extra bone in it to help keep his stool firm over the transition and next week I will add less bone.

What I did so far is pre-package a week’s worth of meals in freezer bags.

The meals include:
– 1 half of a chicken leg quarter
–1 small peice of a chicken back
– 1 chicken wing
– 3/4 of a pound of ground chicken
– 3/4 pound of sweet potatoes
– 100 iu vitamin E
– 1 tsp of a kelp/alfalfa mix powder (petkelp)
– 1 pump of fish oil that also contains a small amount of vitamin E

Shadow is given this meal twice a day. So far, his stool has been great, and extremely small! He also seems more excited to eat his meals, and I love the fact that it cleans his teeth too! Does anyone have an easier way for storing meals? The freezer bags are kinda pricey! Thanks!

[weimlove]

Hi everyone, what recreational bones do you give that won’t break teeth?

[weimlove]

Hdm- how convenient! I’ve been trying to find restaurant suppliers in my town but I haven’t had much luck yet.

[weimlove]

I get my bones from a local butcher. I get chicken backs and necks for 60 cents a pound. You have to ask the butcher though because they usually keep parts like that in the back for raw feeders. I also can get ground beef for 50 cents a pound that is a few days old.

[weimlove]

Ok great, thanks for all the help! Hopefully other members will post too!

[weimlove]

Thanks HDM! I figured it would be nice for beginners, and to discuss any new options we find. Thanks for posting, I’ve been trying to find a safe beef rmb and I will definitely try the beef trachea. Do you ever feed chicken leg quarters? I’m do worried about breaking his teeth! 🙁

[weimlove]

So far, shadow has had chicken backs, necks, and leg quarters.

[weimlove]

Ok great, I’m just trying to find a safe bone in beef that won’t chip teeth so he has his bone for the beef week. Thanks!

[weimlove]

Ok thanks so much guys. Right now shadow is eating chicken necks and backs, leg quarters and some ground chicken plus veggies and supplements. I’m getting ready to try a new protein source which will probably be beef. For fish week I plan on using sardines, and maybe some canned salmon and mackerel. What bone in beef and turkey is safe for his teeth?

[weimlove]

Ok guys, I’m going to the butcher tommorow to get the ingredients for shadow first two weeks of raw food. I’m going to make enough food for about two weeks. At first, I plan on the butcher grinding everything up so I can make one pound patties of food until I can get a bigger freezer. I don’t know the exact amounts of ingredients but this is what I plan on using for this two week recipe: ground chicken, chicken backs, chicken quarters, chicken liver, sweet potatoes, leafy greens like spinach, vitamin e supplement, kelp mixture supplement, fish oil, and eggs with shell. For a couple of the meals I will add in THK’s preference. How does that sound? Any suggestions?

[weimlove]

Onlywest- I’m so sorry to hear that. I was actually letting my boy chew on a large lamb bone yesterday…yikes! I will definitely stick to the smaller rmb’s like hdm listed. Thanks for the warning only west and for the tips hdm

[weimlove]

Hdm- ok thanks, how do you feel about lamb bones, ribs, and chicken wings?

[weimlove]

Ok, I know that im probably worrying for no reason, but I’m worried about my Weimaraner breaking teeth when he eats raw bones. Should I be worried? If so, what bones should I not feed?

[weimlove]

I plan on going to the butcher tomorrow to buy ingredients for a couple of weeks of food for shadows meals. I was wondering if y’all could give me examples of muscle meat, organs, and bones that I can buy for the 80 10 10 ratio, so I can have some sort of shopping list. Thanks so much!

[weimlove]

Oh ok, that’s true. I just don’t know if my Weims tricky stomach could handle all types at once. But hey, if it works for you that’s great!

[weimlove]

Sandy,
I found a couple of good sights for freeze dried tripe, one of them is http://www.bellaspainrelief.com/ and the other is http://www.aplaceforpaws.com/ On both of these sites have freeze dried tripe. You can get 5 oz for about $9.00, which isnt too bad. To ship to Fl it is about 13.00 which is ok as well. Until I can find some local tripe, I will probably order some of the freeze dried. I will probably just add a couple of pieces to maybe one meal a day. I’ve found a great butcher for meat, bones, and organs, but I will definintly look for a mexican or asain market. I think theres one in my town, I will just have to look up the address. Yeah, we have one more week left of his Acana kibble food, then we will be transitioning to raw. I cant wait, it will be cheaper plus so much better for my weimaraner. It’s a little confusing/overwhelming at first trying to figure out the ratios and which supplements and veggies to give, but im sure once I get started it will be easy!

[weimlove]

Sandy- thanks for the help! Joining a local group would probably be a good idea. I saw the k9 natural but it’s like 17.00 a pound which is a little crazy!

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