Proper Raw portions

BulliesofNC

This discussion was created from comments split from: My EBT have 7 months picture.

Milley

here is a photo taken today of Milley she is 4.5 mths old and I  have just changed her to raw food, they advised 2lbs a day so I started feeding twice a day I feel she needs more. should I stick to the 2lbs but divide it into three meals or give her more. Thanks Michelle

BulliesofNC

Welcome to the Forum!
Milley looks great and her build is perfect for her age. I wish I could provide you the ideal amount of raw to provide her but I'm an avid kibble feeder. I provide raw to my Bull Terriers as well but I ensure their nutritional diet is well balanced with a 5 star grain free food which provides more protein value than feeding raw alone.

Milley

Hi, what kibble do you feed? I had been giving her Origins its a Canadian Brand that an author called Michele Welton advised in her book. I had heard so much bad info on Kibble and that raw was the way to go. Especially with all the allergies Bullies get.

philsergeant

Raw is good as a supplement but you need a good dry food base. We recently changed to Victor Grain Free after so many good reports... but they were on Taste of the Wild before and I couldn't complain about that. Grain Free is the key and we also supplement with cooked chicken. We use about 1/2 Victor 1/4 Raw and 1/4 chicken.
Milley looks fantastic ... what has she been on for the first 3 months?

xchairity_casex

2 pounds per day is a good start, you must remember, with raw, there are no fillers meaning it is all getting utilized, unlike Kibble where you feed more because so much of it is Filer and is simply being pooped out.

My female is nearing 2 years old and she has been fed nothing but raw (no kibble, no multi-vits) since i brought her home, she gets blood tests yearly and is never lacking in nutrition.

Breaking it up into 2 meals per day IS reccomended for a pup so young due to there metabolizms being higher and and burning up calories quicker they need food spread thruout the day untill they are around 8 months old when you can switch to a single meal per day.

Prey Model Raw is the best form of Raw, a dog cannot survive on chicken breasts and hamburger, Whole prey (brains, organs,skin,etc) are all much needed sources of nutrition.

Many vets will scare people into believing that messing up a single meal or a single week of meals is enough to kill a dog-Its not unless you over-do it on the fat/ organs.

We don't have 100 percent balance in every meal we eat do we?

I mean, many people live on hamburgers and french fries or candy bars some days or weeks without serious consiquences, dogs are the same, the body is designed to make up for short term nutrition imbalances- it is the long term ones you have to watch out for.

Stoges_mom

We've switched to a totally raw diet within the last month because Stoeger was puking with the kibble and I couldn't figure out why. But absolutely no pyking with the raw. We are still learning but I'm happy with it and Stoeger is doing very well with it.
Even with the high quality grain free kibble he was still getting dry skin and white flakes in his fur and puking. With the raw I can completely control everything he gets and it's done wonders for him.
We have a local butcher who is very familiar with raw fed dogs and has a lot of customers who order for tier dogs so he was a huge help making sure we got what we needed.
We are still learning the exact amounts but I feed a breakfast, a banana or some fruit midday and a supper. I kinda base how much I feed on how his waistline looks. If he looks a little big I feed a little less and vice versa. Also because some days he is way more active than other days so that plays a part in his diet as well!

Xtracho

I agree on the kibble for the nutritional value in the 5 star foods. Maya also gets raw ground buffalo which includes organ meats, raw Darwin's, and Wellness Canned Stews (which she scarfs down with vigor). She also gets a cooked mix of ground beef, chicken, rice, potatoes, and carrots. Along with that we supplement with Nu-Vet and grizzly oil.

She did get a little finicky on the kibble so we switched to Orijen Red and plan on giving her a good variety of the 5 star kibble moving forward.

Milley

thanks to you all for the advice, isn't 2lbs a lot of food for a 4.5 mth old puppy? the advice I have been getting is 1lb a day. that is where I am worried she is not getting enough.