Raw Food Diet

A few people I know are feeding their dogs nothing but raw food -- frozen chicken and turkey necks, kidney, heart, gizzard, tripe, beef bones, pigs feet, etc., supplemented with raw fruit and vegetables, and fish oil.  This requires a freezer, which I have.  I read up on the BARF diet and decided against it.  Way too expensive!  So today I made my first serious trek into a raw food world of my own making.

I visited Scallan's Choice Meats on Airline highway, which sells wholesale and in bulk, including beef bones you can't buy in the supermarket any more.  It was an interesting place. They bring you out a huge bone, saw it into pieces of any size you choose, and sell it for very .49 cents/lb.

For $14.98, I got a 10# bag of huge fresh turkey necks @ .89 cents/lb, cut into about 4" long pieces, 4 pigs feet cut in half lenthwise (just to try out), and 5# of beef bones (8 chunks in assorted sizes).  I brought them home, laid them out on a cookie sheets to freeze, and tomorrow I'll bag them up and start passing them out for supper a few times a week.  I fear my dogs will have to eat in separate rooms not to fight over the bones. They get served frozen to slow down the dog from gobbling the meat, and they all chew at different rates.  They have to chew and chew and chew, and they don't seem to mind the cold.

I'll still feed the kibble, table scraps, pan drippings, leftover salad, potato skins, rice, grits, apple cores, cabbage stems and other things my dogs love.  And I'll watch their weight, as usual.  I'm told at first they might get diarrhea if too much raw meat is introduced too quickly, so I'm easing into it.  Eventually, the formula is 2-3% of their body weight per day in raw meat.

     Lucky @ 48# = 1.5 lbs
     FoohFooh @ 40# = 1.2 lbs
     Willow @ 8# = .25 lbs
     Maxie @ 7# = .21 lbs

I'll probably round that out to 1.5 lbs, 1 lb., and .25 lbs.

The raw diet is supposed to make their coats shiny and beautiful, keep their teeth clean and white, their joints in peak condition, and muscles solid and supple.  We'll see how it goes.

Upwards and onward!

Linda and Ben

Yesterday, Linda G. and Ben came over for lunch.  Linda is a club-mate who does our newsletter, and Ben is her 3 year old rescue Golden, a 90 pounder she found abandoned in the woods at about 4 weeks of age.  A huge dog with gobbs of energy and apparently some phobias and socialization issues.  Beautiful coat except he chews his feet so they are matted up.  Linda is working hard trying to fix these issues.

I kept my dogs away while we visited on the front porch then crated Ben out there while we went to the Mexican grocery store/restaurant down the road. I gave him a huge frozen turkey neck to keep him occupied, and when we got back he hadn't touched it.  When we opened the crate, though, he grabbed his bone, ran out in the yard and guarding it ferociously, gobbled it down.  We couldn't figure why he didn't eat it in the crate.  Then we went for a long walk in the neighborhood.  Within a few minutes Lucky and Ben were calmly walking shoulder to shoulder.  Ben heels a lot better than Lucky, who still pulls on the leash.  Bad mommy!  I haven't done enough leash training. 

I need to walk my dogs more anyway, because within 10 minutes my hips were burning!  If I hop up at 6:30 this summer while it's still cool out, get dressed, and don't turn on my computer until I get back from walking, I can do it.  Alas, that was my intention this morning but the coffee pot was calling, and I usually sip my first cup while reviewing my emails.  Without even thinking, I sat at my computer, and here I still am.  Shit!  Another bad habit to wrestle down.

As to turkey necks, I tried to buy more at Winn Dixie the other day and was shocked they've gone up to $2.19/lb.  They used to be $.99 or $1.29.  Guess the butchers have caught on that they make great dog treats.  So now I'm on the lookout for cheap turkey necks for my freezer.  One raw frozen turkey neck a week (chicken necks for little dogs) is supposed to clean their teeth, provide collagen for joint health, and safely satisfy the urge to chew (vertebra bones don't splinter).  Not to mention, it's a meal.

I've added Chicken and Turkey Necks to my Dog Treats and Recipes page, which keeps on growing.

Now, back from walking Max and Willow, visiting a neighbor along the way and running some errands, I'm now authorizing myself to play with Trial Genie some more.

Upwards and onward!