Anyone that knows me, knows I am an animal lover to the highest degree. My animals are my children, my babies. I want the absolute best for them. One of the main reasons we wanted to start a farm was to be able to provide healthy food for not only our family but others as well. Why would I not want the same option for my animals? They are a part of this family as well, and I would like to be able to feed them a healthy diet too.
*I do not in any way claim to be a raw feeding expert. I admit fully that I am still in the learning phase myself.
I began researching a raw dog food diet shortly after getting our boy, Tank. He had some issues with kibble in the beginning and I had tried every high end, fancy, expensive food out there (only wanting the best for my boy). He ended up doing just fine on what my vet claimed was “plain old kibble”, as my vet suggested that sometimes the higher end food was just too rich for his stomach.
I began to wonder why that was. Why would a higher quality food NOT be good for him? What was in these dog foods that just wasn’t agreeing with him? It wasn’t an allergy issue; it was more of a “going potty” issue. At some point I realized that I was feeding him a 100% processed food diet. While he was doing good on the kibble we had settled on, it was still a processed food diet.
This would not be an acceptable diet for our human family, why is it ok for my dog? This can’t be good for him. So, the research began on the raw food diet. I scoured the internet for reliable sources, joined various raw feeding Facebook groups and tried to learn everything I could about this diet. I spent months researching before I felt I knew enough to give this a try.
I could go on for hours about the benefits of raw feeding, but I will just say that it made sense to me to feed him as healthy of a diet as I could. A raw dog food diet was a natural, species-appropriate diet for my boy. The ingredients are full of nutrients, it is not processed, and has no additives. This is what I wanted for him.
Now, Tank is a big boy. He is 165 lbs. This meant that to feed him completely raw, he would consume quite a bit. Much more than I could afford at that time (or the present as well). I realized this was going to be an expensive endeavor. While I want the best for him, I also cannot put my family into financial distress to feed him an expensive diet while he was doing good on the kibble we had settled on.
However, I was determined to make this work in some way. I do not give up easily. I decided if I cannot feed him a 100% raw diet, I could feed him a portion of a raw diet. I could supplement his kibble with some raw and I felt this would still benefit him greatly until the time comes that I can go full raw. (As you can see… I still have not given up.)
So, it began that Tank receives a breakfast meal of 100% raw food and then free-feeds kibble for the rest of the day. Hopefully in the future I will be able to make the transition over to full raw, but for now at least I can offer him a nutritional balance between raw and kibble.
This is still quite a bit of extra expense as even his breakfast meal is quite large! It is quite an experience in the stores when I go food shopping for his raw food! I get peppered with questions by various other shoppers as to why I am buying so much bulk meat and odd items such as sardines and liver! For example, a normal shopping trip goes something like this:
Random Shopper #1: “Well someone like sardines…. 15 cans?”
Me: “It’s actually for my dog.”
Random Shopper #1: “How big is your dog?”
Me: “165lbs, yes he is a big boy.”
Random Shopper #2: “That is a lot of beef, what are you making?”
Me: “It’s for my dog, I make his food.”
Random Shopper #2: “Oh, you cook it?”
Me: “No, I raw feed.”
Random Shopper #2: walks away like I am crazy
Random Shopper #3: “40lbs of chicken, that’s the way to buy it right there!”
Me: “It’s not for me, it’s for my dog.”
Random Shopper #3: “Do you give it to him all at once?”
Me: “No, I make batches for him.”
Cashier: “Wow…”
Me: “Yes I know, it’s actually all for my dog, he is 165lbs, I make his own food, yes raw, yes in batches, the sardines are good for him, yes he is a spoiled dog.”
It is quite an adventure food shopping for Tank! I thought that if that many people had questions about it, maybe you would too! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I will be happy to answer or direct you to more information!
I am continuing to learn all that I can about the raw dog food diet and have even entertained the idea of taking courses on animal nutrition. I do not want to bite off more than I can chew though with a family, and new farm, so I will continue to think on it. We will see what the future holds in that area!
You are a very good fur mommy 😊💕💜
Thank you! I try!
So on average what is the amount he gets for breakfast? He equals the two of mine, that I would think could possibly benefit from this. Have you found in the research, the health benefits that help with joint issues? As we have German Shepherd Dogs, who one is a mix, but shows signs of hip and joint issues. Is there benefit to this raw diet that helps with that at all? Now I know I could just as easily look that up, and I will. However I was thinking my questions may be the questions of others as well.
Also, wanted to add… there are pre-made raw dog foods out there that are already balanced that could be an option for you. I have found with the amount Tank eats, it is too expensive for me but it is a great alternative to look into.
As an active dog at 165lbs I feed him about 1lb of meat (typically chicken with bone, beef, turkey) with one sardine and a small amount of liver. This is a tad more than recommended but he does well on it.
to determine how much raw, I take his body weight multiplied by 2.5%, that is how much he would eat on a complete raw diet/day. The breakfast meal is considered a “topper” food and should be about 20% of what he would eat on a complete raw.
I have seen reports where a raw diet helps in this area, but I have not done adequate research in that area myself. I went to my go to group, who is very knowledgeable in this area and did a quick search. It seems that if you are already seeing issues, there are some healthy things you can add for this.
Try joining https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawfedandnerdy/ they are an excellent resource and are more science based on nutrition than raw in general. (these very people are the ones who have planted the seed in my head of studying animal nutrition!) They do have posts of joint/hip issues you can search for and certified animal nutritionists to offer help or even formulate recipes for your specific dog! Very helpful group!
Thank You! I will check out that group for sure.