# Making Your Own Raw Diet



## Patrick Salerno (Apr 6, 2009)

What should a puppy get in a complete raw diet?
What should an adult get in a complete raw diet?
If you make your own and it works for you, please be so kind as to share the details in that process whether you grind your part or feed them whole.
Should a 15 week old puppy be getting vertex or structure?


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Hi Patrick....

Glad to hear you are thinking of going RAW...that is AWESOME. 

I will start by saying, well, or rather asking, what research you have done so far? IMO, it is really important to research first, create some avenues to get your raw from and have everything you need before you start. 

I started before researching and it took me a while to get going, so I made LOTS of messages to Connie Sutherland and she was great enough to help me....

Here are a couple links off the Leerburg site to help you, and that site is also a great site to research for getting started: 

http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/feedingrawdiet.pdf

7 Day Diet for Adults
http://leerburg.com/diet2.htm

Puppies
http://leerburg.com/feedpups.htm

A "must" read
http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm

I would really just cruise around in that whole section and read all you can. 

If you need any suggestions on how to obtain meats and what not (at a good price), just let me know and I can tell you what I did....

I grind meat (if it is smaller than a certain size) for one of my dogs usually as she is a gulper and tries to choke stuff down, IF the meal is large enough (like a half a chicken) she will eat slower...

For the pup, right now she is on chicken backs and necks, some smaller turkey necks and pork ribs....with pork I feed extra muscle meat as it tends to be pretty dense and will constipate her if the muscle meat is not added.


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## Linda xanda (Feb 15, 2010)

I feed raw 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ, if it is liver then you feed 5%
I have seen my dog gain 3 lbs in 3 months so that is a good steady gain.
I think that the raw is going to be better then any commercial food I have boughten.
I know what is going in 

I have learned alot by joining a raw forum on two sites and they are connected to each other.
They are mainly folks in the UK and they are very helpful.

My little dog, he is a Boston almost all of his health conditions are gone. I feed him raw now and he is doing very good.
I start off with bone in chicken breast. I feed one meat for two weeks with no organs.
Then after two weeks I slowly add the organs.
I do no supplements. I add nothing like veggies or fruit, just meat and the bones with organs.
I am glad that I tried it out finally. I can give some sites if you need more info 
I have never grind anything. I think that it is important to have the dog gnaw the meat and bones so they can use their mouths and teeth. Not only that but also it is good mental stimulation for them.
My boston's teeth were so bad I went from comm. to home cooked, then after gums healed went straight to raw.
My large dog I just went to raw directly.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Hi Linda, 

Can you share the links to the forums you are talking about? I am always up for expanding my RAW "library"


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Carol Boche said:


> ... Here are a couple links off the Leerburg site to help you, and that site is also a great site to research for getting started:
> 
> http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/feedingrawdiet.pdf
> 
> ...


Good suggestions. 


Patrick, remember that a wild canid would eat small prey in its entirety. Withholding gut content isn't true "prey model." 

This can be provided in the form of green tripe, or (as many of us resort to) in produce that's processed enough to bring it closer to the partly-digested produce the canid would eat in the guts of rodents, etc. It's a small part of the wild canid's diet and a small part of a dog's raw diet, but small doesn't mean "optional" to me.  

Long-chain Omega 3s in the form of marine products are discussed here in many threads, and of course are addressed in the LB material, so this is just a reminder not to forget fish oil (and the E to replace what's used by the system in processing oil supplements).

Good for you, BTW, to be researching and planning to feed raw!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Linda xanda said:


> .... My boston's teeth were so bad I went from comm. to home cooked, then after gums healed went straight to raw.
> My large dog I just went to raw directly.



The effect on teeth is often the most startling and quick. Wonderful, isn't it? :grin:

Good for you!


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Hi Patrick...have you done a home prepared raw diet before?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I'm glad you posted, Maren, because I had not noticed that the OP's dog was a growing puppy until I came back to the thread.

The age of your dog, Patrick, makes very careful research even more important than with an older dog -- critically important.


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

I am going to tell you what I do and then all of these wimmens will tell you not to do it.:razz:
I currently feed 3 chicken backs in the morning and 2 cups of dry kibble in the evening.
I use no supplements of any kind. The dogs all do fine on it, nice firm small stool, easy to clean up after them. Teeth and coats look good, I have no problems with this diet. I am feeding 80 lbs of chicken backs each day and about 20 lbs of dry kibble.
I try to keep things as simple as I can with 40 dogs.
This is for an adult Malinois


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

Maren, Connie, what specific differences are there for a puppy? Anything that may differ from the Leerburg link Carol posted?


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Steve Strom said:


> Maren, Connie, what specific differences are there for a puppy? Anything that may differ from the Leerburg link Carol posted?


I follow the LB menu pretty close, but I do add Honest Kitchen a few times a week. I am paranoid (even after many years) that I am not going to "get it right" for a pup....

I also add Nature's Variety (the frozen chubs) a couple times a week as well....


MIKE....naughty, naughty.....:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
Just Kidding, some feed raw and kibble and I don't see a huge issue with it....and you are doing it right with separating them.....only one thing....salmon oil (which is not really a supplement but a macronutrient and Vit E to help replace what is lost from processing the oil)....however if your dogs do well, which I know they do, it's probably not an issue....


(how was that Connie?....LOL)


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

mike suttle said:


> .... This is for an adult Malinois


He's asking about a 15-week-old puppy.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Steve Strom said:


> Maren, Connie, what specific differences are there for a puppy? Anything that may differ from the Leerburg link Carol posted?


The LB puppy-feeding menu* is very good, IMO. http://leerburg.com/feedpups.htm 

No, my point was that it's far more important that it be done right (followed carefully) when it's a puppy.

There is nothing like the leeway you can get away with for an adult dog when you are feeding a growing pup who is developing an immune system, forming teeth, laying down bone, etc.


* including the comments about variety, about produce, and everything else ... there's a lot there.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Is there something about Leerburgs menu that's different than every other raw feeding site on the internet, aside from the fact that he is selling dvd's on how to feed your dog ?

That whole website looks like an internet Walmart, I tried listening to those podcasts but that voice is the most annoying thing I have ever heard :lol:


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

Connie Sutherland said:


> He's asking about a 15-week-old puppy.


For a puppy of that age I feed them 2 chicken backs in the morning and about 1.5 cups of dry kibble in the evening. If they get too fat or to thin I adjust the amount of dry kibble. By 6 months they eat on the adult dog schedule.
My 9 week old puppy is eating 2 chicken backs per day and 1 cup of dry kibble and he looks like a little tank. My 6 week old Hector puppies are eating one chicken back in the morning and about 1/2 cup of dry kibble at 1pm and another 1/2 cup at about 7pm. they are pretty fat at the moment.


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Is there something about Leerburgs menu that's different than every other raw feeding site on the internet, aside from the fact that he is selling dvd's on how to feed your dog ?
> 
> That whole website looks like an internet Walmart, I tried listening to those podcasts but that voice is the most annoying thing I have ever heard :lol:


Hey Gerry, I can only think of two places I've seen it so specific. Leerburg and Esmond Rottweilers. With my adult dogs I'm content with general guidelines, but with my puppy I like to reference a little more detail.


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## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

Do you guys really think canines were meant to be that carnivorous? No carbs at all no veggies...hmmm


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Ben Thompson said:


> Do you guys really think canines were meant to be that carnivorous? No carbs at all no veggies...hmmm


No, which is why we talk about feeding tripe, or grinding up veggies in a food processor to add to meals.....(reason for grinding is that dogs don't digest most veggies like carrots, green beans ect.... so in order for them to get anything out of it, it should be ground)

And, if you use a food like Honest Kitchen, the veggies are there.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Is there something about Leerburgs menu that's different than every other raw feeding site on the internet, aside from the fact that he is selling dvd's on how to feed your dog ? ... :lol:


I don't think that anything posted here referenced any DVDs, did it? :lol:

The (free!) instructions are specific and plentiful, and IMO are very good.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Ben Thompson said:


> Do you guys really think canines were meant to be that carnivorous? No carbs at all no veggies...hmmm


Not sure which guys you mean. 



Connie Sutherland said:


> ... remember that a wild canid would eat small prey in its entirety. Withholding gut content isn't true "prey model." .... This can be provided in the form of green tripe, or (as many of us resort to) in produce that's processed enough to bring it closer to the partly-digested produce the canid would eat in the guts of rodents, etc. It [produce] is a small part of the wild canid's diet and a small part of a dog's raw diet, but small doesn't mean "optional" to me.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

mike suttle said:


> I am going to tell you what I do and then all of these wimmens will tell you not to do it.:razz:
> I currently feed 3 chicken backs in the morning and 2 cups of dry kibble in the evening.
> I use no supplements of any kind. The dogs all do fine on it, nice firm small stool, easy to clean up after them. Teeth and coats look good, I have no problems with this diet. I am feeding 80 lbs of chicken backs each day and about 20 lbs of dry kibble.
> I try to keep things as simple as I can with 40 dogs.
> This is for an adult Malinois


Actually that's sorta what I do with my dogs currently.  They don't currently get raw each day like they used to, but they get grass fed lamb bones a 1-2 times a week with a couple tablespoons of canned food (usually EVO 95% whatever, but just depends) or canned pumpkin. I don't do raw with kibble, but I will with canned. The male Mal, female Rottweiler, and male husky/Rottie mix get about a half and half combination of California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato and EVO Salmon & Herring. The female Mal gets either EVO Chicken Turkey or EVO Red Meat or a mix thereof. I make sure the lamb bones don't make up more than about 10% of their diet during a week as they are mostly for recreational/dental health and not super meaty.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> I don't do raw with kibble, but I will with canned.


Canned and rehydrated foods with raw don't have the potential risk of raw with kibble. Good point to mention.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Canned and rehydrated foods with raw don't have the potential risk of raw with kibble. Good point to mention.


What is the potential risk Connie? I know it is potentially dangerous to the dogs health to feed any kibble these days with the onslaught of contaminated kibble across the board but why if it is fed with raw. I free feed so they never eat kibble when they have had the chicken if it has to do with the digestion time. Even if they do eat some, they never eat much at a time.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Don Turnipseed said:


> What is the potential risk Connie? I know it is potentially dangerous to the dogs health to feed any kibble these days with the onslaught of contaminated kibble across the board but why if it is fed with raw. I free feed so they never eat kibble when they have had the chicken if it has to do with the digestion time. Even if they do eat some, they never eat much at a time.


_
" ... they never eat kibble when they have had the chicken if it has to do with the digestion time ..." _


'Zackly. While many people do mix kibble and raw and the dogs are fine, that is indeed my big concern, and I would not recommend it. I don't want to unnaturally slow the transit time of raw food by feeding it with the much slower-digesting kibble, giving food-borne pathogens the opportunity to colonize.

I don't want to give RMBs to a dog who is on antacids for some reason, and I don't want to slow the transit time of raw by combining it with kibble. I don't want to alter the biggest natural defenses of dogs (scavengers, after all) against illness from food pathogens: fast one-end-to-the-other digestion time and very caustic stomach acid.


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