this may be a stupid question....

[coppab]

and it is because I sort of know the answer...But,

Currently Tully gets 3 meals a day, 6am, 12 and 6pm. The first 2 are raw and dinner is dry.
As a matter of cost does he really need the dry if I'm feeding raw? Plus, shortly he will be going to 2 meals a day 12hrs apart.
Raw he gets chicken (mince, cooked left overs, necks, frames) plus fresh chicken livers, eggs, pumpkins seeds, fruit, veges(peas carrot spinich brocoli) rice bubbles, sunflower seeds. This is all done on alternative days. I am about to introduce cooked beef mince and raw turkey as well as briskit bones.
So with all this I could drop the dry food right? I have to go for miles to get a quality dry and I'm already spending heaps on meat.

Also how often can you feed liver as I know it's quite rich?

Thanks

[franp]

Organ meat , IMO should be given about once a week.. I use green tripe as Dari will NOT touch liver...

Offal (heart liver, lungs tripe,) mix it up...It is a very good source of nutrient, and yes.Very rich..

I wonder if I am giving Dari enough.. Lets see what Gwyneth says..

[phoebesmom]

Thanks Samia and Fran - that sounds really positive :)

Am I right in assuming that the raw meat should be frozen and defrosted before it is served, or would it be possible to buy it from the butcher/shop and serve it on the same day? Do either of you feed raw bones? I am quite relieved in a way that Phoebe doesn't pay them any attention, as I am rather scared of her eating raw bones :eek: . I know many people do it successfully, but I'm not brave enough! Do you think that feeding ground raw is better than a kibble and home cooked meal?

[gmacleod]

Tully doesn't need the dry food ;) BUT if you're going to feed raw only, then you need to feed a greater variety of meats than you currently are. He can't live on just chicken.

But if you were to feed a variety of chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, goat, rabbit (maybe Roo and Emu too, since you're in a good place for it), then you've got the basis of a pretty good diet there.

So in short, yes, once you've got those sorts of things introduced, there is no need at all to keep giving him dry food. You can ditch the dry food right away, in fact, if you're about to introduce a wider range of meats.

Organ meat (offal) in total should make up aboout 15% of his overall diet. Again, this should be a range of different organs from different animals. Liver is very high in vitamin A, for example, and that's something it is certainly possible to overdose on. Better that he gets a good range of different offal parts. These are the most nutritious carcass parts - but variety is key (or looked at the other way - moderation is required, you can't go overboard on any one type of offal).

How you feed it is completely up to you. My dog handles offal in all it's forms very well (though he doesn't particularly like kidney). So when I feed offal, it's likely to be as a whole meal (just because it's simpler). If the meal was liver, it is certainly going to loosen his stool, but the next meal I give will contain bone and that corrects things. We're fine with that. Many dogs though, find offal (and liver in particular) a bit too rich if fed that way, so in the majority of cases it is better that they get their offal as a "side dish" to the main event, several times a week (so the total offal is making up about 15% of the total of what the dog ate that week - not necessarily 15% of every meal). That's fine too - and actually a more natural way of feeding anyway.

Incidentally, you could drop the rice bubbles from his diet too ;) As cereals go, rice is usually a better grain than most. But dogs don't need cereals. You've got his nutritional needs met with the raw meaty bones, offal and fresh fruits/vegetables.

[franp]

Thanks Gwyneth.. I am going to up Dari's intake a little ; try some hearts (chicken) and see what she likes..She LOVES tripe.

Carol.. Everything I use is frozen.. IF I were to prepare my own, I would freeze it as well..Everyone I know does it that way..I feel(as most do) that freezing kills most germs..
So along with careful cleanliness,this is helping to prevent digestive related illness.

[franp]

Oh, I did give Dari raw bones..but it seems to upset her stomach.. Everytime she got Chicken wings or neck,she would throw up in the middle of the night.
The brand of food I give her has the bone ground in.

Dari's favorite treat is a marrow bone.. Chews on it for hours.. Her teeth are clean and white.And I leave the marrow in..Silly girl thinks there is marrow in it long after she has cleaned it out... She gets a fresh bone once a week.

[phoebesmom]

Thanks for the info Fran :D

Sorry for hi-jacking your thread Coppab :o

[coppab]

no worries:D , hopefully everyone gets something out of every question asked - I do - Samia I was going to cook the red mince because of germs, then realised it's been frozen for ages so I don't need to:)
Tully is going on 5 months, so at 6 months I'll drop him to 2 meals.

gmacleod I'll definately be using roo and emu, plenty of it around here:D it evens walks past you if you live in the right areas:eek: however I'll be buying it prepacked:lol:

Right the dry is now gone - the cat can eat the rest as there is still heaps of it - also I'm feeding my cat what I give to Tully and now he's in heaven too.

Thanks god it's RAW because if I had to cook all this I would be feeding cans, I am sooo lazy when it comes to cooking:o

Thanks everyone for your helpappicon