FAO Ratter

[zzxxee]

I think it was you who posted some time ago about giving your dogs a totally raw diet ?
Can you tell me what kind of things you give your dogs on a daily basis
Also portion size for a patterdale terrier jack russell x dog (about the size of a cocker spaniel)
many thanks x

[ray_the_dj]

I' not Ratter, but I can advise you that dogs need a varied diet and giving them just raw food sound very boring.
If you put a dish of cooked or tinned food and a dish of raw food in front of a dog, nine times out of ten it will eat the cooked or tinned.

[divegirl]

Hi, try having a look on this site...............

http://www.ukbarfclub.co.uk/

Lisa x

[RATTER15]

Ray, I did find your comment a little amusing, very naïve but amusing :-)

zzxxee A raw balanced diet will include a variety of meats, pork, lamb, beef, chicken, turkey rabbit, whatever you can get, this is also backed up by Raw meaty bones, these are often whole chicken joints or talk to your butcher they will often let you have these bones with a lot of meat left on them. They will also have a fair bit of fish. Many raw feeders will also feed fruit and vegetables. Raw feeding is now taking off big time in many countries around the world, it does take a while to prepare their food but it has been said that a raw diet can extend their life by up to 3 years. Here are some links that will help and reassure you that you are doing the right thing. Its hard work but far healthier for your dog as they are not being fed all the toxic rubbish that goes into tinned and dried kibble foods.

Generally you will need to feed about 2% of you dogs adult body weight a day, then adjust it if your dog is gaining or losing weight.

This really is a huge subject and there is massive amount of information available on the net.

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/

Good luck, you will never regret it and your dogs certainly wont :-)

[zzxxee]

thanks ratter x
you say whole chicken joints but chicken bones are bad for dogs i thought?

[Carakeel]

Ratter is right in what he is saying here. Other benefits of feeding raw include: the dogs are eating far healthier food, more akin to what wolves in the wild eat. There are no colourants or chemicals in the food, which are known to be one of the causes of cancers in dogs who eat processed foods, incl kibble. Processed and cooked foods tend to build up gasses in the dogs stomachs, which is partly why they have smelly farts and especially the larger breeds can get bloat quite easily, which if not treated in time, can kill them. When you feed raw or the "BARF" diet, the dogs do not have this build up of gasses and so you don't have farty dogs. They poo less and their poos are smaller, as more of the food they eat is digested properly. I feed our three Irish Wolfhounds and our little Shih-Tzu a raw diet with all the meats Ratter mentioned, some vegetables, apples, egg, honey, fish, not to forget daily doses of Omega oils and yoghurt. Our dogs are never smelly, always have beautiful coats, clean breath and love their food ... and I feel good knowing that I am not poisoning them with chemicals and colourants and other things their stomachs cannot digest! They get plenty of variety, but I will admit it is a fair bit of work, especially as I feed two to three times a day, depending on the age and needs of the dogs. But then, I want the best for my dogs.

[zzxxee]

what about chicken and fish bones ???

[RATTER15]

Hi zzxxee, Cooked chicken bones are very dangerous indeed but raw chicken bones are fine, an interesting fact, more dogs have died from inhaling kibble than from eating raw chicken bones!

Its also worth noting that the digestive system of a domestic dog (no matter the size or breed) is still scientifically proven to be indentical to that of a wild wolf.

another very good link for you. http://www.netrophic....alDogFeedingGuide.xls

[zzxxee]

thanks for all the tips ratter and everyone else who has posted
methinks my Max (my dog) will be going raw !! :0)

[Carakeel]

Oh, I forgot to mention zzxxee, that I also give them frozen whole chicken portions, as these have plenty of meat and bone as well as frozen chicken mince. Why frozen? Well you don't have to do this, but apparently if you feed them frozen minced chicken it helps the enzymes in the stomach, as they have to chew on it more, creating saliva etc.. Our dogs don't actually like fresh chicken, but love it frozen. The mind boggles. Maybe it's a texture thing.

[B00]

only popped into to say hi to Carakeel, hello!!! Hope you're well xxx

Sorry zzxxee

[RATTER15]

Be a little carefull with fish, some of the more exotic fish will have barbs and pointy things, these will need to be removed. we buy sprats, whitebait and sardines the smaller fish are the safest option and the cheapest and full of the required omega oils.

[zzxxee]

say hi to who ya like Boo x
thank you ratter for the advice you are very wise on your doggy knowledge x

[B00]

Actually, relooking at Ratter's avatar, i'd seriously rethink giving mutts raw meat, look at the size they get to from it!!!

;-)

[zzxxee]

lol Ratters dog is a bit of a monster isnt he/she lol :0)

[Carakeel]

Lovely to see you again Boo! Will try to come on here a tbit more often. Hope you are doing well too. We are great here ... as you can see from both of our avatars, lol!! xxx

[RATTER15]

lol Boo, not bad for a Jack Russell.

[mrs.chappie]

Good morning to all you fabulous peeps who care a lot about our four-legged friends and what's best for them.

ZZ, re the bones question .... I remember a vet once telling me not to feed chicken bones to a dog. I pointed out that dogs/wolves in the wild would eat the whole creature, bones an' all. He agreed, but said some die because of doing so.

It worried me so I did a little search and found this ....

http://thethreedogblo...facts-and-fables.html

(Hope I've done that right).

It put my mind at rest.

[zzxxee]

fantastic link Mrs Chappie thankyou :0) i feel a bit better now at the prospect of feeding my dog raw chicken bones.

[RATTER15]

Mrs Chappie, Vets hate the prospect of people switching to RAW feeding, they get so much revenue from selling all that really expensive food and so much of their income comes from sorting the problems created by feeding commercial foods due to all the toxins an unatural foods causing the likes of Cancer and all manner of digestive disorders and allergy problems.

Vets really dont like Raw feeders, our vet is fairly good with it and always comment on the excellent health of our dogs.

[zzxxee]

Vets are like dentists
profit before people
or in vets case before animals IMO !!