raw diet for dogs?

Question

I just started feeding my dogs raw diet and they are doing amazing on it. But I don't know whether or not the full meal raw diet has all the vitamins and everything in it that my dogs need or if I am supposed to add my own. I know you can buy the meat on it's own and add supplements that are needed, but I am buying the full meal stuff so would all that be included. And my one dog if a large breed puppy so I add glucosamine in it but should I be adding calcium as well??

Answer 1

As long as you are feeding raw meaty bones and organs from a variety of animals, some fish and an egg or 2 each week, your dogs are getting everything they need. No calcium supplements! Get Tom Lonsdales book called Work WOnders.. it will help you understand that you dont need to worry. It takes some time to get out of hte funk of the kibble brainwashing that makes people think every meal needs to be complete and balanced. No species eats that way in nature including you and me!
I have a list of vitamins A to Z on my site from Kymythy Shultz book.. take a look at it and you will see that raw meaty bones and organs, eggs and fish cover everything a dog needs.
eastwooddanes.com.. just click on raw feeding.

Answer 2

I'd advise you to check with a Vet about any vitamin additives or supplements since glucosamine and chondroitin are good for some large breed pups and bad for others. Also, you don't want to give your dog too much of a good thing, since you are feeding your dog fresh meat and bones which supply a lot of the dogs needs. Are you following a raw diet or just feeding raw meat and raw meaty bones? Many people add enzymes to help with digestion or feed fresh green tripe.
I fed my dogs raw for several months and they did great, too, but they had a balance of raw meaty bones, raw muscle bone, organ meat and green tripe. The also got added Brewer's Yeast, a raw egg three times a week and yogurt for a snack.
They were also seeing the Vet and this was the site I used for balancing the diet:
http://www.rawdogranch.com
On a raw diet, a dog gets lots of raw meaty bone food so unless a Vet indicated a need for a supplement, I wouldn't add calcium. There is calcium in the egg shell. When you feed raw egg, you can grind the shell to a powder and mix it in with the egg. Thats a good natural source of calcium too.

Answer 3

Just be sure to include a raw meaty bone at least once a week. The calcium from the raw bone will supply the necessary calcium and help keep teeth clean.

You can also add a table spoon or two of yogurt every week along with a couple of egg shells dried and crushed. That should do it.

Don't bother with suppliments... they seldom do the job. They usually give too much calcium that is really bad for large breed pups.

Best of luck

Answer 4

if, like, most raw foods, the meat has a lot of ground up bone in it (or whole raw meaty bones if you feed that way) then I wouldn't worry about calcium intake. they get plenty from that alone. you can give whole meaty (raw, not cooked of course) bones as snacks if you want to add more bone to the diet. it's a great way to clean their teeth. a great source is chicken or turkey necks. :)

Answer 5

Have you already tried out Eating for Energy (120 raw food diet recipes) process? Look at this site : http://www.StayEatingRaw.com/Online . This may completely guide everyone!

Answer 6

I have been feeding raw for about a year. i give brewer yeast. and a joint one. but other then that no. as long as its meat organ and bones from a few differ animals. my dogs and cats have done better on this diet then bagged food!

http://www.thepetcenter.com

lots of nutrition info.

Answer 7

Raw diet is great, millions of years of evolution (eating a raw diet) will trump what the stupid dog food bureaucracy will tell you. Stay consistent, and you will be fine

Answer 8

Have you ever seen any wild dogs with an oven? That's how they ate before humans got in mix.

Answer 9

I'm not too crazy about the raw diet. I have found out that it brings out the wild animal in your pet. I prefer a well formulated dry food.

Answer 10

http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdietbasics.htm