Raw Feeding Again: and I'm not sorry!

[bluegirl]

I give raw eggs 3 times per week.

[Penel]

We're going away for a week at the end of Sept, so I'll let you know how that goes  am hoping to feed pilchards and a raw egg for brekkies, and chicken wings (or pork ribs in Lola's case) for dinner every night.... we'll be going to the supermarket for our own food, so can pick up all that there hopefully !
When we've been at my mum's and its doggy dinner time, I just take it with me in a plastic container - and feed them outside so no one gets offended by the crunching 

[Abby]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Looks like I'll be starting fully this weekend!

Lucky Clive 

[DennyK]

For the "recreational bones" - what do others feed - animal, joint and amount?  I saw a beef bone at the butchers the other day and it looked nearly as big as Paddy so I was too diffident to ask about it  .

[Saffaroo]

For the "recreational bones" - what do others feed - animal, joint and amount?  I saw a beef bone at the butchers the other day and it looked nearly as big as Paddy so I was too diffident to ask about it  .

yes, I know what you mean.  I'm very new to the forum as well as raw feeding - only been on the new regime for Saffy for just under two weeks, but OH and I are stunned at the difference in her condition. Saff is a rescue dog who came to us with awful skin problems.  Not looking forward to a lifetime of steroids, anti b's and lotions of this kind and another (I know they have their place) but just had to try this way of feeding to see if it could help her.  Now she is lean, with a lovely shiny coat and no itching and scratching for well over a week now.  It has made such a difference to her - and us for that matter.  So, to get back to the point, I shop at small butchers as that's all we really have over here - I live in Gozo, Malta and there isn't the supermarket facility as in the UK.  Having said that, our chicken and pork is home produced and  really high quality and very economical to buy, but can't get some of the cuts mentioned here; for instance tripe is a no no.  It's just that I can barely tell one cut of meat from another - though I'm pretty good with chickens now. well with most of their bits anyhow...seriously, I need pics of what stuff looks like.

Meanwhile thanks to everyone for all the help and advice on this subject - I've been lurking reading all the posts for ages.........

[Abby]

Well, its a done deal  As of tomorrow Clive will be a Barfer 

All packaged and ready to go - AHA just had to pop downstairs to get out tomorrows food from the freezer 

Clive has been a quiver at my feet all through the divvying up process, poor boy. 

[Claire]

Saff is a rescue dog who came to us with awful skin problems.  Not looking forward to a lifetime of steroids, anti b's and lotions of this kind and another (I know they have their place) but just had to try this way of feeding to see if it could help her.  Now she is lean, with a lovely shiny coat and no itching and scratching for well over a week now.  It has made such a difference to her - and us for that matter. 

What great news.  It's nice to hear it's made such a difference to her.

Abby - bet Clive's looking forward to breakfast tomorrow!   I portion Ruby's food up on Saturday mornings usually, and leave a bit out for her breakfast - she also does the quivering thing, seeing all that meat at once!  She sees me put it all in the freezer and always looks hopeful when I open the freezer door for the rest of the day.

[Annette]

Well, Abby, how is Clive doing on the BARF?

I don't know whether to ask my questions here or open a new thread (at risk of doing the BARF topic to death!!).

I have just given Buddy his first BARF meal (chickened out and went for Nature's Menu for now), and when I checked my emails just now I saw that I had been sent the Nature's Menu newsletter so I had a lovely, but confusing trawl through that.

Now I have just read that like with any other change of diet you should do it slowly. But I'm very confused :- I have also read that you should not mix cooked and raw food because of the different times for digestion etc. This is why I have, perhaps rashly, given Bud a whole raw meal

So.......should I just carry on as planned (I was planning to half Barf, so Burns at breakfast, raw at supper time)? Or should I rein him in a bit by somehow doing it more gradually. And how??

Oh, I have so many more questions. I'll drip them in one by one. Think I'm either worrying too much or being a bit thick.

[Penel]

You're worrying too much !
He'll be fine on a whole meal of raw food once a day 

I have photos of breast of lamb bones - do you wanna see ?!  fabulous to hear about Saff and the change in her skin on a raw diet - I hear this time and time again....

[Cob-Web]

So.......should I just carry on as planned (I was planning to half Barf, so Burns at breakfast, raw at supper time)? Or should I rein him in a bit by somehow doing it more gradually. And how??

Personally, I would stick with your plan - I have inadvertantly fed raw and cooked in quick succession and the results are far worse than any dodgy tum we have had from changing food too quickly 

[Rhona W]

Annette. I switched my pups from Arden Grange to Nature's Menu in one go. Meal times had become a real issue, but now they wolf their food down with no messing and spend ten minutes licking the bowls clean. And it had no adverse affect on their digestive system (if you know what I mean!   )

[Annette]

Thanks a lot!

Found a source of Lamb ribs today, he's going to save me some tomorrow. BUT he's charging me £2-3 pounds for each stip. Does that sound about right (he did this by weighing a boneless piece and sort of guessing how much to add etc. It looks like I'm paying top price to me)

[Cob-Web]

Thanks a lot!

Found a source of Lamb ribs today, he's going to save me some tomorrow. BUT he's charging me £2-3 pounds for each stip. Does that sound about right (he did this by weighing a boneless piece and sort of guessing how much to add etc. It looks like I'm paying top price to me)

How much    Can you find another butcher ?? 

I pay no more than £1.50 for a whole large carrier bag full of frozen meaty bones that include ribs, neck and a few recreational bones too  If I buy rabbits or wings, he often throws in the bones for free

[Abby]

Well, Abby, how is Clive doing on the BARF?

Clive is just dandy on BARF. There is no doubt that he adores the new menu  I can report he definitely has much better 'motions' (that word always makes me laugh  ) - better probably than at most points throughout his time with us so far. He also has a noticeably glossier and more oiled up coat (it was a bit dry and dull before) and I can't see any of the dandruff type stuff he got on his back. He had pork ribs one day and took ages to eat them and they bunged him up a bit so I'm going to look round for lamb ribs instead (just couldn't get them the day I went shopping).

I can also report he doesn't like tomato (spat out all the little bits in his dinner today all over the floor  ).

Seriously Annette, wejust switche dhim over one day (a bit like DennyK) and he has been fine so far. I have a load of Burns left but I'm only going to keep it for a little whie to make sure he settles in thelonger term on BARF and then get rid of it. I'd go for it with Buddy - I've found it easy so far, once I sorted the menu out, and the fact that Clive is feeling benefits so soon is really encouraging.

Defintely get another butchers though 

[Saffaroo]

Hello Penel

...would love to see a pic of lamb breast, sorry I know I'm being thick but we don't get much lamb stuff here.  One of our local butchers thought I meant chops ph34rand from then on it got increasingly difficult to describe what I thought I meant..............

I had thought to move Saffy over to raw slowly, but after a couple of days she was so over the moon when I even went near the freezer that I thought what the hell...  I am still scared of the bones though, but that's me not her.  Me and OH tend to hover close by when there's a pork fest with bones going on...the noise   Have had no digestive probs with the move over either - me thinks Saff has a cast iron tummy.........

At the risk of repeating myself, Saffs skin has made quite a remarkable recovery; gone are the scaly bits,scurf, red patches, she doesn't have the inclination to scratch herself to pieces like she did either.  Coat is glossy and she is leaner all round.  It is working for us so far, so I feel vindicated in trying to improve her lot.  Keeping a close eye on all of your posts  just starting out on raw, it's great to hear and learn from those experienced as well.