[emma s]

Hi,

I am looking to switch my 3 year old border terrier to a raw diet
However I am concerned that I will not be able to ensure that he gets all the nutrients and minerals needed. He has been tested for food allergies and has had positive reactions for:

Chicken
Beef
Salmon
Venison
Soy
Cows Milk

With the lack of variety – will I be able to ensure that he has a healthy diet? Should I supplement his diet with other minerals that he will not get from certain meat proteins for example?

Thanks very much for your time

[pugmomsandy]

There are raw foods with added minerals like Stella & chewy’s and Primal to name a few. Nature’s Variety’s chicken recipe has actually passed feeding trials so I would assume their other recipes are formulated similarly (but it’s just an assumption). Answers (Detailed) has a pork recipe. And fortunately, there are more protein choices as well for raw foods like rabbit, bison and goat. You should be able to find lamb and pork relatively easy. The book “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” also includes a recipe for a vitamin/mineral mix to make complete diets. Check out Hare-Today Gone Tomorrow and My Pet Carnivore for meat, organs, grinds and whole prey. A non-fish oil option for omega-3 is algae oil and calamari oil if he has a sensitivity to fish oil as well. There are some dehydrated or freeze-dried options as well like Grandma Lucy’s (not raw) and ZiwiPeak (air-dried).

[emma s]

Forgot to say lamb is also out!!

Thanks – I am going to have a look at some of your suggestions. From what I have so far worked out, I was thinking on feeding him some products of a company that also seem to add nutrients

Monday: Turkey mince and vegetables
http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/product-blended-frozen-nuggets.aspx

Tuesday: Duck and Rice with plums
http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/product-duck-with-plum-1kg.aspx

Wednesday: White fish ( he is ok with this not salmon) mince and vegetable nuggets
http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/product-blended-frozen-nuggets.aspx

Thursday: Rabbit with cranberries
http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/product-rabbit-with-cranberry-1kg.aspx

Friday: Pork and something… oats? Homemade?

Sat: ? Can I repeat any of these meals?
Sun: ? Can I repeat any of these meals?

Every other day turkey neck / duck wings

I am finding it hard to locate organs like heart / liver etc that is not from chicken or beef!

Does anything stand out as missing??

[pugmomsandy]

You surely can repeat meals. Nothing wrong with that. You can feed one protein per week and then switch or one protein meal, up to you. Every meal does not have to be balanced. Just remember balance over time (and variety). I make a batch of food (about 30 lbs) and they almost eat all of it before I make another one that is different. But my dogs eat alot of other things as well – canned food, dehydrated food and some kibble, but they do get raw just about every day. Another thing to consider in the beginning is feeding one food for at least 3 – 4 weeks so you can watch for an allergy or intolerance to that particular food before offering a host of different flavors. For instance, test out the turkey and veggies for 3-4 weeks before introducing another formula. ZiwiPeak and K9 Natural are from New Zealand so you probably can find them.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Melissaandcrew]

Like Sandy, when I make a batch of homemade, I make it in bulk, and feed most of it before moving on. Last night we made a chicken bone, beef heart, ground beef blend, with sweet potato and kale. Mixed berries for the veggie, and pork liver and kidney. This will be the main stay of the raw until gone, with other things mixed in from day to day-tripe, ground duck, turkey etc.

[Author]

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