New dog and raw feed
- Thread starter Beretta V
- Start date
I've been feeding raw for abouts 20 years, never had any problems. These are working terriers that work hard throughout the autumn and winter, they have a mix of beef and tripe, chicken wings/frames, salmon/mackerel heads, pork rind, lamb ribs, what ever game is available aswell as table scraps and if they look a bit light a handful of cheap kibble. Some times they get a spoon of lard, cod liver oil or beef dripping. One thing I will say is feeding just game meat whether that be deer or pheasant is it might not have enough fat content, but that could be added to with lard ect if needed.
Basically feed what works for you and more importantly your dog, make it varied, I love fillet steak, but if I had it every day I'd soon get bored of it (and skint).
That to me is the main problem with kibble. It's the same taste and texture everyday, variety is the spice of life, so they say
Basically feed what works for you and more importantly your dog, make it varied, I love fillet steak, but if I had it every day I'd soon get bored of it (and skint).
That to me is the main problem with kibble. It's the same taste and texture everyday, variety is the spice of life, so they say
For years I fed my dogs rabbit that had been frozen for a couple of months. Sometimes they would have some commercial dog biscuits added but in the main it was rabbit. The dogs were invariably healthy, worked long hours and lived to make old bones.
The rabbits had been paunched of course, but everything else was there, skin, bones the lot.
The rabbits had been paunched of course, but everything else was there, skin, bones the lot.
RescueMe0007
Well-Known Member
Well, I have very recently become the owner of a Labrador/Poodle cross (20 weeks old~). I had plenty of venison trimmings available so she gets a portion of venison (lots of lean and fat) mixed with kibble morning and late evening. Additionally she was given pelvic bone and femurs with flesh attached on occasion and heart, liver and kidneys when available (all from deer). Every meal she searches out the meat & offal first, chomps all that down, then sets too on the kibble. She is absolutely thriving on that diet, lots of energy, lush shiny coat, no issues whatsoever. It's clear that the mixture suits her well. The kibble she gets is for greyhounds, she never leaves any behind. Hope that helps, enjoy the new arrival, we're enjoying ours! 
RescueMe0007
Well-Known Member
Further to my previous post, I just recalled that some years ago a chap I knew kept trail hounds. I was shooting a lot of rabbits at the time. Any spare were gratefully received by him and fed to the dogs whole (never more than a day or so old), not paunched. His dogs thrived on that diet and they were very active, tough and resilient animals.
FWIW our ESP Bitch has been on a variety of types of food, and has not done particularly well in terms of maintenance off wieght/condition, as far as we or our vet can tell there was no particular reason. She is currently fed whole raw, have no idea of the brand off the top of my head, since she has been eating raw she has faired much, much better. She isn't a working dog, but runs with my wife (she typicslly runs c.30miles a week at 1:50 HM pace)several days a week. Her (the dog) intake in terms of weight varies depending on just how long she is running for on any give day, but she is able to maintain condition.
As the vet said this is anecdotal, not good evidence. There is an underlying cause for the weight/condition issue we just haven't spent enough money investigating it, but on her current feeding regime she appears fit,.health, very.active and 'happy'.
The point being, that what you feed has to work for the dog, if the diet is unbalanced, whatever you feed, then the dog will suffer, and the dog has to find whatever you feed palatable
As the vet said this is anecdotal, not good evidence. There is an underlying cause for the weight/condition issue we just haven't spent enough money investigating it, but on her current feeding regime she appears fit,.health, very.active and 'happy'.
The point being, that what you feed has to work for the dog, if the diet is unbalanced, whatever you feed, then the dog will suffer, and the dog has to find whatever you feed palatable
Maybe I'm lucky but my Labrador seems able to eat just about anything - maybe it's the breed?
She dislikes kibble but will eat it when I've run out of her "normal" food, but she huffs with me at those times - fussy wee bitch that she is
She absolutely loves guts, if I could get enough of them I'd feed her nothing else
She eats rumen/intestines with contents and all, really chows down on them too - never been sick with any of them - but that's from animals I've killed or seen killed, not just random gut piles.
She has eaten various mammal/bird/fish carcasses & dead (rotten!!) shellfish etc whenever she can or when I've been too far away or too distracted to stop her
She's rarely sick and that's usually only after eating "human" food which some well-meaning bod has given her as a "treat" - I wish folk wouldn't think they can do that to someone else's dog
I think dog food is like human food in a couple of important ways;
too many fads and notions are pedalled as fact when they're anything but
too many dogs/humans don't eat anything remotely resembling a balanced or healthy diet
She dislikes kibble but will eat it when I've run out of her "normal" food, but she huffs with me at those times - fussy wee bitch that she is
She absolutely loves guts, if I could get enough of them I'd feed her nothing else
She eats rumen/intestines with contents and all, really chows down on them too - never been sick with any of them - but that's from animals I've killed or seen killed, not just random gut piles.
She has eaten various mammal/bird/fish carcasses & dead (rotten!!) shellfish etc whenever she can or when I've been too far away or too distracted to stop her
She's rarely sick and that's usually only after eating "human" food which some well-meaning bod has given her as a "treat" - I wish folk wouldn't think they can do that to someone else's dog
I think dog food is like human food in a couple of important ways;
too many fads and notions are pedalled as fact when they're anything but
too many dogs/humans don't eat anything remotely resembling a balanced or healthy diet
I feed a Good quality complete feed along with regular raw venison , some Apple now and again as treats . Being Labs they will add certain other possible edibles themselves ( black berries are well up on that list at present due to them being in season)
Just to add to the list, there has been another cluster of cats developing TB from a probable raw food source. IN this case the food may well have been imported.
And well wormed no doubt!
I always fed my last cocker raw. She worked until she was 13 and lived on another couple of years. The only non routine vets bills were a dose of Seasonal Canine Illness and pyometra. My next dog will be fed the same way, I think they do well on it.
As to the science saying the kibble feeds are better, I'm slightly sceptical about much of the research as it will have been done by the manufacturers, or their buddies and the results almost invariably endorse the funders point of view. What goes in may be supposedly good but what are the dogs are able to get out? Not the same I'm sure. Kibble's fine for a while and as a backup, but I don't think for a lifetime. In my opinion you can't go far wrong with a good mix of meat & bones, and the odd bit of veg/fruit.
As to the science saying the kibble feeds are better, I'm slightly sceptical about much of the research as it will have been done by the manufacturers, or their buddies and the results almost invariably endorse the funders point of view. What goes in may be supposedly good but what are the dogs are able to get out? Not the same I'm sure. Kibble's fine for a while and as a backup, but I don't think for a lifetime. In my opinion you can't go far wrong with a good mix of meat & bones, and the odd bit of veg/fruit.
Commercial foods offer a convenient balanced diet, that's why a lot of vets recommend them. It's too easy to create a nutritional problem by feeding your own. Get it right then there is no nutritional difference. The issue with a commercial raw minced product is a greater risk of bacterial or parasitic infection.
If you do go raw then make sure you are using a reputable source, and not for example buying from a butcher/game dealer etc.
They must be registered with Apha, with there number and all relevant details on the label. This will Ensure the products are regularly tested for entero, salmonella etc with quarterly visits from an inspector to ensure they are doing everything required of them to prevent any possible outbreaks such as salmonella or tb.
Raw pet food production is much more strict then meat for human consumption due to the nature of raw feeding.
As mentioned before there has been multiple outbreaks of Mbovis amongst cats and dogs due to raw pet food.
They must be registered with Apha, with there number and all relevant details on the label. This will Ensure the products are regularly tested for entero, salmonella etc with quarterly visits from an inspector to ensure they are doing everything required of them to prevent any possible outbreaks such as salmonella or tb.
Raw pet food production is much more strict then meat for human consumption due to the nature of raw feeding.
As mentioned before there has been multiple outbreaks of Mbovis amongst cats and dogs due to raw pet food.
I have a huge issue with this. Correct me by all means, but the majority of vets and veterinary practices will recommend exactly what they're paid to endorse.
I feed raw. Natural Instinct, or Bella and Duke. My Labrador lived to 14 1/2 on a raw diet, and our recently departed whippet was two weeks away from his 16th birthday.
Some will without a doubt but very much a tiny minority. Another line you see on all the Facebook raw feeding pages. Vets recomend x y z to basically make your dog sick so they go to the vets more often etc etc
Personally I feed my two working cockers skinners muesli mix and the odd tin of sardines in oil. Both have very solid dung, don't fart and look great.
I don't subscribe to that, but I do stand by my statement about corporates. As you say, not all but a great many. The days of small independent practices are largely gone, sadly
Yeah sadly it's mostly big corporate entities now. Disgusting how poorly vets are now treated, 7 years in school to join a practice with zero progression like there used to be. Very sad.
Very. We're really lucky in that we still have a small independent vets local to us. Most other have been swallowed up by the likes of Vets Now or Independent Vetcare (the irony
)Lovely that your dogs lived well.
Your comment on the majority of vets, any evidence to back this statement?
Not getting into a willy waving contest
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