[weimlove]

Ok, great. For next time, would it be ok to still use vitamin e and fish oil, but instead of pet kelp just mix kelp and alfalfa?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Yeah, you always want to use vitamin e. You can continue the same fish oil or switch it up, it’s not a huge deal if you don’t switch but I do like to rotate my dogs’ fats as well. I generally alternate between sardine oil, anchovy oil and salmon oil (I’m thinking about trying krill oil when I’m out of the fish oil I have now) and I also give cod liver oil every other day. I add a plant-based fatty acid daily too, three days a week I give coconut oil and the other three I give a flax, borage and evening primrose blend. Just mixing kelp and alfalfa would be fine – if you have to give any trace nutrient supplement I would say those two would be your best bet. You can order both in powder form from starwest botanicals. I make my own whole food supplement and while I do rotate out certain ingredients and rotate in new ingredients every month or so I always keep kelp and alfalfa in the supplement.

[weimlove]

Sounds great, thanks for all your help! Im gonna start his cold turkey switch in about a week so I will let you know how everything goes! Oh yeah, I saw some chicken thighs for sale at Walmart last night. It said they contained chicken broth and natural flavoring. Is that ok to feed?

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’d avoid anything with “broth” or “natural flavoring” – both can contain MSG. By law, if the MSG is created by process and not added separately, the company doesn’t have to disclose that the product contains MSG. I know my grocery store sells all natural chicken thighs with no antibiotics or additives for under $2/lb. and and a lot of the time if I can catch things on the sell by date, they’ll be 50% off.

[weimlove]

Oh ok thanks! Definintly don’t want any MSG!

[weimlove]

Does anybody know anywhere that I can order green tripe from that the shipping isn’t outrageous?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Try hare-today.com or mypetcarnivore.com – I order mine from these two sites (the green tripe supermix from mpc is my crew’s all time favorite). Both have reasonable prices and reasonable shipping.

[weimlove]

Hdm- I checked out both of the sites. The cheapest shipping is 23.00 eeek! Lol but I haven’t been able to find a local distributor so that may be the best option.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Unfortunately when it comes to shipping frozen raw food, that’s about as cheap as it’s going to get (wish places that sold raw offered free ground shipping!). For where I’m located, it costs me about $28 to have 50 lbs. of food shipped from Hare Today – VERY reasonable in comparison to many other places I’ve checked out (I’ve priced some and had them quote me over $200 to ship 50 lbs.). They key is finding a place to order from that’s close enough where you don’t have to pay for overnight or 2 day shipping – I’m in New York and Hare Today is in Pennsylvania so I can just get ground shipping.

Also, something else I noticed I forgot to mention before that I figure I probably should mention if you’re going to be ordering green tripe (you may already know this, but just in case) – green tripe has a naturally balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1:1 (unlike all other muscle meats and organ meats that are high in phosphorus but have no calcium) so when you feed green tripe you don’t need to add any supplemental calcium, it can be a meal on it’s own.

[InkedMarie]

There is a semi local (in state but not around me) breeder of Dogues who also sells raw. Prey model raw people can buy their stuff but she also makes her own pre made. I think you have to just add supplements. I am going to seriously look into this because there is a good chance we will be adopting a sheltie very soon, going to meet two of them tomorrow at the foster home. I’d love to have all on raw but cannot afford to do so with Darwins.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Lucky! I would love to have something like that locally. I have to make everything from scratch or have it shipped – downside of living in the middle of nowhere. I wish I had something like Hare Today or MPC locally, I’d be in heaven – or well, the dogs would be in heaven. The only thing that prevents me from ordering Hare Today and MPC grinds for every meal is shipping costs.

[weimlove]

Hdm- oh ok, we’ll that’s nice that you live do close. I live in Pensacola, fl so I guess I may have to do overnight.

[pugmomsandy]

weimlove,

Try joining a group of local raw feeders. They can give you some local resources for raw foods and other topics of course. Look for a BARF group. I’m a member of a yahoo BARF group and they have been helpful on many topics – food, local raw foods, holistic vets, etc…even found a local tripe source for myself!! If you can’t local raw tripe, you might consider freeze dried tripe. K9 Naturals has it and I think Bravo, not sure. But the freeze dried, although more costly per pound, might be cheaper than shipping raw frozen and would be better than no tripe at all!

[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!

[pugmomsandy]

weimlove,

I can get it for $13 each or $12.30 for a case of 20 but then shipping would need to be accounted for. Unfortunately I don’t go to the post office much to know about prices. I’m sure one could fit several freeze dried packages in one of those “if it fits, it ships” boxes. But someone would have to do the math and see if that’s cheaper than raw frozen with shipping. The freeze dried weight is actually .44 lb (which makes 1 lb rehydrated) but I just give them a couple pieces dry in their food bowl or just as treats.

[pugmomsandy]

weimlove,

Also if you go to the Asian or Mexican supermarket, they have a good selection of organ meats and chicken feet, hooves, heads, even uterus (which I have not tried) which would be muscle meat. I bought some whole wild caught sardines there recently and give those a couple times a week as one of their meals. My local BARF group purchases from texastripe which makes a delivery run once a month to the area and I get tripe and tripe blend from them for $2/lb. I hope you can find a group to join as mine has been a real great place for resources as well as DFA of course! I found mine at yahoo. Try searching for “yahoo barf group”. You may already know. I’m a little technically challenged and just now found the barf group although I’ve been feeding raw for at least 2 years!

[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!

[pugmomsandy]

weimlove,

I’m actually one of those that feeds all types: raw, kibble, freeze dried, dehydrated and canned. Hubby would not know what to do so he would just feed kibble. It’s good for back up, traveling, boarding, camping…

[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]

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!

[Alexandra]

Hi Weimlove,

I am two hours from Hare today’s farm, so shipping is cheap. I may even start going there and picking up.

As for tripe, your butcher should be able to save you some stomachs, cut, grind (if you wish) bag and freeze. 🙂

My friend and I make tripe every three months. We get ten stomachs, hearts lungs and spleens and grind the mixture together, we get about 100 pounds each, and the price is about 1.00 a pound, can’t be beat!

[InkedMarie]

I was doing some figuring yesterday, at the Hare Today site. I think it would be $12 more to get their mixes/grinds than Darwins so I guess I’ll stick with Darwins. No sense having to repackage to save $12. I was kind of disappointed.

[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?

[Hound Dog Mom]

weimlove –

Raw meaty bones are safe – RMBs are those that can be completely consumed (chicken backs, turkey necks, chicken feet, chicken leg quarters, etc.). What you want to avoid are the weight-bearing bones of large ruminants (cows, buffalo, sheep, etc.) – these are called “recreational bones” and would include marrow bones, knuckle bones, etc. I personally don’t feed my dogs any recreational bones because of concern over breaking teeth and even if they don’t break a tooth, chewing bones like these over time can wear down the teeth.

[weimlove]

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

[shelties mom]

My dog broke his premolar tooth when chewing on a lamb leg bone without meat. I let him chew on it for over an hour and then heard a pop, I thought chewing on a bone would help clean his teeth, but I missed the part that says “MEATY”, not raw bone, but RAW MEATY BONE. I learned it the hard way, now he only gets chicken and duck necks.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I would say that ribs are fine as they aren’t weight bearing – I occasionally give my dogs ribs. I would avoid weight bearing lamb bones (like femurs) but lamb necks make good RMBs for larger dogs (they aren’t weight-bearing so they’re not super dense). Chicken wings are fine but I would be careful giving them to a larger dog, you want to give bones that they actually have to chew not bones that are so small they may swallow them. I personally don’t give chicken wings or necks to my dogs because my dogs are so big I worry that they’ll just swallow them whole. Turkey wings are a good size for large dogs though.

[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]

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]

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!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Sounds like Shadow is thriving on his new species-appropriate diet! Glad to hear it 🙂

[weimlove]

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

[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!

[BlueDog]

I am new to this site and have just started researching raw food diets for my dog, and I want to say thank you all who have contributed their great advice to this forum! Your hard work is very much appreciated!! A quick question: Is canned food, say canned carrots for example, a decent substitute for fresh produce, or even fish? I know you have to watch out for added sodium.. Also, is there anything wrong with buying bulk frozen fish and other meats? So long as you thaw it of course.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi BlueDog –

It would be okay to use canned vegetables on occasion if you absolutely have to, but I wouldn’t exactly consider them a good substitute for fresh. A lot of nutrients are lost during the canning process. Your best choice is (obviously) going to be fresh produce, followed by frozen and then canned would be the least nutritious. Remember fresh and frozen vegetables need to be cooked and pureed prior to feeding – this will start to break down the cellulose and allow the dog to digest the vegetables more efficiently. If convenience is an issue another option that I feel is a bit healthier than canned vegetables is “pouched” fruit and vegetable puree sold for babies. I usually cook up and puree fresh or frozen vegetables for my crew but if I know I’m going to be pressed for time I’ll pick up some of these. They generally contain two or three different fruits and vegetables and the cooking and pureeing is already done for you. Canned fish is fine – tinned sardines are a great source of omega 3’s and vitamin d and low in mercury and canned oysters supply some omega 3’s in addition to many trace nutrients. If you aren’t feeding raw fatty fish or adding fish oil to meals you’ll want to feed tinned sardines. Steve Brown – essential fat authority and author or “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” – recommends the following amounts of sardines be served per week: 5 lbs – 1/4 can; 15 lbs. – 1/2 can; 25 lbs. – 5/8 can; 50 lbs. – 1 can; 100 lbs. – 1 3/4 can. (3.75 oz. can packed in water). And yes, it’s completely okay to buy bulk frozen meat. I buy bulk frozen meat because I get the best price when I buy in bulk.

[BlueDog]

Thanks for the great response! The reason I ask is mainly because I would really like to start feeding a raw diet, but I don’t have a large budget or a lot of storage space. Do you have any suggestions that can help minimize expenditures? I know I need to find someone in town that I can joint order with, but do you have any other ideas?

[BlueDog]

Actually nevermind, I found one of your previous posts that helped answer my question. Thanks again! I’m sure I will have questions in the future!

[Author]

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