Raw Diet

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Originally Posted by DebraGill

I'm slowly transitioning Boston to raw diet starting last month. I hope I won't have a hard time doing him raw diet full time.

I started giving him ground chicken then slowly introducing yogurt and egg. So far he's ok with the food. I'm not so sure about offering the raw organs though.

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Organs - your dog needs liver that is non-negotiable - 5% of diet, plus 5% of other organs including kidneys, thymus, brains, lung [sits in both camps - some argue it is muscle meat, some say organ], trachea, pancreas, spleen.

Introduce liver first and don't worry about the other organs for now. Do it very, very slowly - like 5g at a time for a retriever, much less for a smaller dog - trust me too much in the beginning can cause very runny poops.......I learnt that the hard way......

Buster Update:

Doing very well with the raw diet, tried a few new meats and organs, little late warning about the liver, ha ha, but we cut back and doing much better. Chicken is still a no go. But everything else is great!

Buster did plump up a bit (alot), but I can see his round belly moving into places like his chest and legs and rump area. He is toning out nicely, he has cut his food intake himself.

I beleive due to the raw diet.... he no longer is taking the meds for his collapsing trac. and doing well. running around like a crazy man, growling and barking without the hack/cough. (can't be a tough guy with a hacking cough).

He still get a bit or two of my food, but I pay for it with the toots, don't know which is worse... the toots or the look.

Thank you for the help, I am still learning and you are the best.

Don't worry a lot of he never eats chicken. It's not a required part of the diet. It IS very cheap compared to other meats and is readidly available. The bones are realitively soft and easy to eat. Other meats are just fine. Just see that he gets a pretty good variety of meats.

Thanks Bill, I'm tring with different meats. What do you think of pork, I'm not so sure about it raw.

In the US, Canada, Australia, and most of western europe, you are ok to feed pork raw IF you get it from human food sources such as grocery stores or grocery wholesalers. If you buy directly from a farmer, it would be a good idea to freeze it for a month before feeding. I feed boston butt pork roasts once a week and have fed it for close to 9 years with no problems.

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Originally Posted by Bill

I feed boston butt pork roasts.....

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Ok, we have different names for cuts I think, I don't recognise this, please can you tell me which part of the piggy it is or is it literally the butt end?

That is great news Bill. I still have a bit left over from my pig I raised. I can't eat store bought piggy anymore, just like store bought eggs. I have my own chickens and have very much spoiled myself. Good Idea about freezing it, I feel better now about feeding pork to him.

Something new...
A girl from work was making some dish with "Ox Tails" some snazy something, so she gave me a small cut to see if Buster would like this. He's a small dog so this was a nice size for him the size of a fat golf ball. In all my days he's been with me, I have never seen him so carnvor, he just LOVED that. I have been giving him the small soup bones with the center. but this is on the list of extra yummy. He still has his foot on what's left of the bone while he dozes.

I have to admit you guys said it was a much better diet, but I'm having ALOT of fun tring to find new/different things for him. Sure would like to get some venison for BOTH of us, but that is like a gallon of liquid gold around here.... heavy sigh.
Maybe Santa will bring us some, ha ha.

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Originally Posted by Stephanie

Ok, we have different names for cuts I think, I don't recognise this, please can you tell me which part of the piggy it is or is it literally the butt end?

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Boston Butt is actually part of the shoulder. It has a lot of fat marbled throughout it. It generally weighs 3 to 5 lbs.

I just remembered my second question.

I see folk feeding vegetables to their dogs, and I'm reminded that we never see herds of Great Danes grazing the grasslands.
I have also seen dogs who seem to enjoy the crunch of a raw carrot.

Are vegetables truly a necessary part of a dog's diet or can they be omitted? Are there vegetables that should be avoided at all costs?

Veggies are not necessary nor are they desirable in a dog's diet. They have very little if any nutritional value to a dog. I haven't fed veggies to my dogs in over 9 years.