# Losing Weight..Can't put weight on!



## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Emric has been on a raw diet for about 2 months..He did great on backs, and leq quarters, and is doing well on turkey necks..I'm slowly starting to add in boneless ground turkey..and it's going ok..firm poops, but a little water coming out with it. I'm doing this to get him used to boneless meals before I add in a new protein. 

My problem is..he's losing weight. He is skinny. He is not malnourished by any means, but can see his hip bones, ribs, backbone, etc. I'm surprised someone hasn't called the ASPCA on me! haha He goes to work with me 5 days a week(doggy daycare)..and is very active.

I can't seem to put weight on him. All he is eating now is turkey necks..4 a day..and a little ground turkey with every meal. 

I'm quite positive he doesn't have any lingering health issue. 

Any help would be great!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

How much does he weigh? what % do you feed?


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

He weighs 64 lbs..a year ago he weighed 78. He has deff lost quite a bit of weight on raw. I don't know wht percent I feed. I was weighing it out with the backs. One turkey neck weighs roughly a little under a pound..and he gets 4 a day.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Piper lost a bit of weight in the first couple months of raw. She picked it back up once I started adding more red meats into her diet though. I'd suggest trying to introduce some beef into his diet to see if he picks any back up!

And FWIW, I fed satin balls for a good month (3x a week) as well, that helped her put on the last couple pounds she needed. Now we're almost 6 months in to the switch to raw and she could actually stand to lose a pound or two LOL.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

kady05 said:


> Piper lost a bit of weight in the first couple months of raw. She picked it back up once I started adding more red meats into her diet though. I'd suggest trying to introduce some beef into his diet to see if he picks any back up!
> 
> And FWIW, I fed satin balls for a good month (3x a week) as well, that helped her put on the last couple pounds she needed. Now we're almost 6 months in to the switch to raw and she could actually stand to lose a pound or two LOL.


Kady: what satin balls recipe did you use? Malcolm is SKINNY since he was sick over Xmas, and I would love to bulk him up a bit


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I agree with the red meat addition. Once you get more variety and more red meats into the rotation he should put weight back on. You can also give whole eggs regularly to help supplement.


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

He needs more animal fat in his diet. You feed him too much lean meat. Animal fat is an essential macronutrient, especially in carnivores. Add some fat or replace some of the meat with fat. Chicken backs and turkey don't have enough fat.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

I agree with the others who said he'll gain it back with red meat. All of our dogs lost weight at first and they all gained it back (and now with muscles) .


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

A lot of dogs lose weight in the beginning due to the high amounts of poultry they are eating. Once you get him on red meats you might have to cut his food back a bit once you get into the red meat. I know I did with Dude. Once the red meat is a big part of the diet, they gain and maintain weight much better. 

A couple of months ago we had a bitch go into heat somewhere and both of my guys lost a ton of weight (they're intact) and Buck dropped the most weight. You could see every one of his ribs and his hip bones. We dropped the chicken completely and fed him all lots of beef heart. He normally gets 2 lbs of food per day but we bumped it up to 2 1/2 lbs and did half boney chicken, half beef heart for the first week then fed him all beef heart. He was 50 lbs. After about 2 weeks (and the fact that he is still growing at 9 months), he was a solid 60 lbs. In my opinion, he could stand to gain another pound (MAYBE two) but he looks GREAT. The red meat is what really helps keep meat on their bones. You will see a noticeable difference once you start introducing the red meat.


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

Barney was sick when he was a puppy so he had trouble really gaining weight. Once he started eating pork he really started filling out now he is the perfect weight.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks everyone..I'm not sure what protein I'm going to introduce next..I was thinking duck..but I'm not sure. 

It won't be for awhile though..I'm adding in boneless ground turkey along with his necks to get him used to boneless..then I will feed him a meal of 1lb ground turkey..then switch to a different protein..that's what someone on here told me to do..

Any other advice you can give me? It's so hard not to rush proteins.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

BoxerParty said:


> Kady: what satin balls recipe did you use? Malcolm is SKINNY since he was sick over Xmas, and I would love to bulk him up a bit


This is the one I used.. yes, it has grains, I know. But it worked! And this half recipe makes A LOT. The ones I made were about the size of a small tennis ball, which is why I only fed them 3-4x a week. If I made them again, I'd probably do them smaller and feed daily.

Satin Balls Half Recipe
5 lbs cheap hamburger (for high fat %)
1/2 large box Total cereal (about 6 cups cereal)
1/2 large box uncooked oatmeal (about 7.5 cups oats)
5 raw eggs
1/2 of 15oz jar wheat germ (about 2 cups)
5 packages Knox unflavored gelatin
5/8 cup vegetable oil (this is pretty close to 2/3 cup)
5/8 cup unsulfured molasses
Pinch of salt

I have heard that there is a raw recipe but haven't had the need to make any more so I haven't looked into it.



emric said:


> Thanks everyone..I'm not sure what protein I'm going to introduce next..I was thinking duck..but I'm not sure.
> 
> It won't be for awhile though..I'm adding in boneless ground turkey along with his necks to get him used to boneless..then I will feed him a meal of 1lb ground turkey..then switch to a different protein..that's what someone on here told me to do..
> 
> Any other advice you can give me? It's so hard not to rush proteins.


Duck is high in fat, from what I know. And FWIW (now, all of my dogs switched over to raw very easily), I did quarters for 10-14 days, turkey necks for a week, boneless chicken in with the quarters for a few days, then onto another boneless protein (usually beef). Like today is a month since I switched Sako.. his schedule is something like: quarter + boneless chicken, beef or pork, turkey neck, beef or pork, repeat. Working very well for him!


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I feel like I'm doing something wrong. It feels like it's taking Emric so long to do well on proteins. Should I continue with the ground turkey? I'm only doing that to get used to boneless meals. 

I just bought a case of chicken backs..should I just switch him over to that now, then start adding in boneless chicken with that?? I feel lost..




kady05 said:


> This is the one I used.. yes, it has grains, I know. But it worked! And this half recipe makes A LOT. The ones I made were about the size of a small tennis ball, which is why I only fed them 3-4x a week. If I made them again, I'd probably do them smaller and feed daily.
> 
> Satin Balls Half Recipe
> 5 lbs cheap hamburger (for high fat %)
> ...


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

emric said:


> I feel like I'm doing something wrong. It feels like it's taking Emric so long to do well on proteins. Should I continue with the ground turkey? I'm only doing that to get used to boneless meals.
> 
> I just bought a case of chicken backs..should I just switch him over to that now, then start adding in boneless chicken with that?? I feel lost..


I really think it depends on the dog, but none of mine took long to switch to all the different proteins. I've never fed backs, only quarters. But yeah, you could do backs + boneless chicken and see how he does.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Should I just stop doing the turkey necks, and ground?


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

emric said:


> Should I just stop doing the turkey necks, and ground?


I mean, are you trying to go back to square one? Is he having issues with what you're feeding now? No reason to stop what you're doing if he isn't.


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

Why are you trying to "get him used to boneless" meals? If a dog has working teeth, it should not eat boneless meals. Feed him meat, bones, and animal fat. Don't worry about the offal until later. I see no point to feeding ground anything unless he has no teeth.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

JayJayisme said:


> Why are you trying to "get him used to boneless" meals? If a dog has working teeth, it should not eat boneless meals. Feed him meat, bones, and animal fat. Don't worry about the offal until later. I see no point to feeding ground anything unless he has no teeth.


I think by "boneless", emric means cuts with no bone, no necessarily all ground. Like I feed boneless pork, beef & venison, just big chunks of it.


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

kady05 said:


> I think by "boneless", emric means cuts with no bone, no necessarily all ground. Like I feed boneless pork, beef & venison, just big chunks of it.


Okay, but again, why? I've noticed a lot of talk about feeding boneless meals here lately and I don't get it. Not criticizing, just trying to figure out where the idea came from. Bone is essential with this diet for both nutrition and for dental hygiene, not to mention the psychological benefits. It should be fed daily, even if it's just a little. Why all the sudden interest in feeding boneless raw meat? I'm confused. 

In reading Tom Lonsdale's book, _Raw Meaty Bones_, it becomes clear that raw bones are not just for fun, they are an essential element to successful raw feeding. Did I miss a memo somewhere that said otherwise? For the record, I feed boneless chunks of meat too, but always with at least one RMB or something with bone in it.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

JayJayisme said:


> Okay, but again, why? I've noticed a lot of talk about feeding boneless meals here lately and I don't get it. Not criticizing, just trying to figure out where the idea came from. Bone is essential with this diet for both nutrition and for dental hygiene, not to mention the psychological benefits. It should be fed daily, even if it's just a little. Why all the sudden interest in feeding boneless raw meat? I'm confused.
> 
> In reading Tom Lonsdale's book, _Raw Meaty Bones_, it becomes clear that raw bones are not just for fun, they are an essential element to successful raw feeding. Did I miss a memo somewhere that said otherwise? For the record, I feed boneless chunks of meat too, but always with at least one RMB or something with bone in it.


EDIBLE Bones should only be around 10% of the diet....when fed every single day/feeding unless you are making sure that there is no more then 10% edible bone then WAY too much bone is being fed!:wink:


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> EDIBLE Bones should only be around 10% of the diet....when fed every single day/feeding unless you are making sure that there is no more then 10% edible bone then WAY too much bone is being fed!:wink:


Right. I feed bone in meals every couple days.. if I was feeding bone daily to all of my dogs, they'd all have dust for poop!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i think, as others have said, when you get to fattier cuts and red meats, your dog will gain weight. 

if your dog is not having issues, then you can progress to the next protein.....like fish or pork.

and, as with each protein, i like to start out with a finger size piece of the new protein with a bony meal.

there will come a time when your dog will let you in on his digestive tract and you will know thy dog and his needs.

but bone every day, unless it's ten per cent of each meal, can be too much bone....admittedly, there are dogs who require more bone than others for their stools to stay solid, but a soft stool does not mean more bone is needed...

there are lots of nutrients in bone and fat....dogs can handle that, but too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing down the line.

when you get into the fattier red meats, i think you'll see a difference...


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## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

I HIGHLY recommend beef heart. It worked wonders for Duke after I switched him.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I feel lost right now. The only reason I'm feeding ground turkey is to get him used to boneless meals. I was told on this forum that before I add in another protein, that he should be used to boneless meals. Am I wrong?

He is good on turkey necks. What do I do now? He's never had a boneless meal. I just bought 40lb of chicken backs. I'm placing another order for food next week, and can get many different things, beef heart, etc.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I understand the use of the ground. I would use either chicken backs or the turkey neck and give just a tiny tidbit of ground at an alternate meal say in the morning and bone at night and see how the stool is. If he is good for a couple of days I would increase the boneless a tiny bit more at a time and lower the amount of bone by that same amount until you end up with a meat only meal.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

could your dog be at his natural weight since feeding raw??



emric said:


> He weighs 64 lbs..a year ago he weighed 78. He has deff lost quite a bit of weight on raw. I don't know wht percent I feed. I was weighing it out with the backs. One turkey neck weighs roughly a little under a pound..and he gets 4 a day.


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

kady05 said:


> Right. I feed bone in meals every couple days.. if I was feeding bone daily to all of my dogs, they'd all have dust for poop!


Okay, understand your logic. I don't do this because my dogs get the squirts if they eat a boneless meal so they get some bone every day. I don't obsess over the 10% rule though. If their stools get a little loose and I think it's from a lack of bone, I add some. If their stool is too hard, I take a little out. I just eyeball it and often give them enough bone to let them make the decision, which they are pretty good at. I didn't realize people were so focused with trying to get the ratios spot on. I don't think I would feed raw if I had to focus on it that hard.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I am with you Jay. My guys need bone in every day. I do try to give a smaller bone portion every other day with a larger portion of boneless like heart. They have good stools, great health so I don't worry excessively about percentages. I do try to get enough organ into them and try to pay attention to that.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

JayJayisme said:


> Okay, understand your logic. I don't do this because my dogs get the squirts if they eat a boneless meal so they get some bone every day. I don't obsess over the 10% rule though. If their stools get a little loose and I think it's from a lack of bone, I add some. If their stool is too hard, I take a little out. I just eyeball it and often give them enough bone to let them make the decision, which they are pretty good at. I didn't realize people were so focused with trying to get the ratios spot on. I don't think I would feed raw if I had to focus on it that hard.


Oh I don't focus on the ratios either, just go by what my dogs "tell" me. I know that some dogs do need bone daily to keep good stools, mine don't though.


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## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

This is about the only forum I'm on that so much poo talk is acceptable lol. I do the same as JayJay. If it's runny - I up the bone.... y'all know the rest. Rodeo does better with boneless meals than Duke does. I keep drumsticks on hand for when someone needs just a little bit of bone.


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## JoeynZoey (Apr 25, 2011)

I certainly agree about a higher red meat portion, I use to feed mostly chicken for a while at one point and did notice the difference of weight. She never progressed to a very thin state, but I could tell she was not looking as best as she could. I increased more lamb, beef, buffalo, and veal and it was obvious, along with eggs and whole sardines. She is just naturally a well in shape pitbull  it's still very beneficial to be providing a variety of red proteins and organs. 

About the bone, I have been giving bone daily without any serious problems as well. I pay attention to her stools and if they look crumbly, than I follow through with heavier meats in her meal that day. I often give chicken frames or chicken drumsticks, as the higher bone in portions. Everything else usually contains a much smaller bone percentage, but still contains bone.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I'm giving a bit of ground at each meal, AM and PM. 




Liz said:


> I understand the use of the ground. I would use either chicken backs or the turkey neck and give just a tiny tidbit of ground at an alternate meal say in the morning and bone at night and see how the stool is. If he is good for a couple of days I would increase the boneless a tiny bit more at a time and lower the amount of bone by that same amount until you end up with a meat only meal.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I really doubt it..He looks emaciated. He's just SO skinny..I can't go out anywhere with him without people commenting on his weight. 




doggiedad said:


> could your dog be at his natural weight since feeding raw??


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

emric said:


> I really doubt it..He looks emaciated. He's just SO skinny..I can't go out anywhere with him without people commenting on his weight.


Can you post a picture of him? Just curious as to what he looks like.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I don't have a digital camera..

His weight is at the point where I have to put weight on him soon, it's getting too bad. He eats 4 turkey necks a day, and isn't gaining anything.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

http://gallery.kittylitter.net/albums/michelle/michelle_and_skinny_shack_dog.sized.jpg

That picture is not him, but kind of looks like what his weight is now. I can't see my dogs spine as much as the dog in the picture.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

IMO...go back to leg quarters AND turkey necks. If you are only feeding the necks with some ground turkey that is not near enough meat, too much bone, IME and the reason that he is/has lost weight.

I would suggest doing leg quarters and turkey neck, and slowly start adding pork. Forget the ground stuff...just do turkey necks and chicken(either whole chickens cut into quarters or leg quarters) once he is good on that for 5-7 days(of NICE solid stools) then add in 1-2oz of boneless pork(dont forget to remove that same weight from what else you are feeding)....then after 5-7 days(of nice solid stool) add in another 1-2oz, and continue!:thumb:

That is what I personally would do!


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## Nootherids (Sep 22, 2011)

Wow I am having the same problem as emric (OP) but mine is a little more complicated.

A couple of months ago I had a thread going because my Beagle had runny sometimes explosive stools ALL THE TIME and no matter what boney meal I gave her it wouldn't change. It so turns out that my dog is one of those few that actually need vegetables in her diet. I started her on SOJOS which is a mix of dried raw vegetables that all you do is put them in water overnight and they are ready to eat. Once I got her back on that along with RMB in the evening her stools went back to normal overall. Now I have been feeding her SOJOS in the morning, and either Chicken Frames, Turkey Necks, or Duck Necks in the evening.

Her weight has dropped Dramatically! And now I have upped the food to the point that she is eating more than ever. I am surprised she can even stomach all that food. But she is still losing weight. Her ideal weight is about 21 lbs, right now she must be around 17-18 lbs, and she's probably eating more than 2 lbs/day. 1 cup of vegetables in the AM and 1.5-2 frames or 3-4 necks in the PM (I don't have a weight scale). Here's another complication... When we first put her on raw we switched to pork maybe a bit too fast and her system went to hell and lost more weight than ever. So not on reading this thread I'm guessing that I have to start giving some other meat. What should be the easier meat to introduce at this point? And should I lower the current food she's getting now?

BTW, I found some Green Tripe and gave it to her. She took to it well although I'm not sure if it helped her digestion or not. And OMG that stuff made my backyard smell like a cow farm.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I will start doing chicken backs and turkey necks. Do you recommend doing chicken one day for AM and PM, then turkey the next day? Or chicken in the AM and turkey in the PM??

Also, when I start pork, what cut of pork should I buy? A roast? Pork neck bones? A question about pork..I heard from a few people that pigs are too dirty of an animal, and that pork is filled with tons of bacteria, and shouldn't be fed to dogs. 





Scarlett_O' said:


> IMO...go back to leg quarters AND turkey necks. If you are only feeding the necks with some ground turkey that is not near enough meat, too much bone, IME and the reason that he is/has lost weight.
> 
> I would suggest doing leg quarters and turkey neck, and slowly start adding pork. Forget the ground stuff...just do turkey necks and chicken(either whole chickens cut into quarters or leg quarters) once he is good on that for 5-7 days(of NICE solid stools) then add in 1-2oz of boneless pork(dont forget to remove that same weight from what else you are feeding)....then after 5-7 days(of nice solid stool) add in another 1-2oz, and continue!:thumb:
> 
> That is what I personally would do!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

emric said:


> I will start doing chicken backs and turkey necks. Do you recommend doing chicken one day for AM and PM, then turkey the next day? Or chicken in the AM and turkey in the PM??
> 
> Also, when I start pork, what cut of pork should I buy? A roast? Pork neck bones? A question about pork..I heard from a few people that pigs are too dirty of an animal, and that pork is filled with tons of bacteria, and shouldn't be fed to dogs.


Well backs really aren't going to give you much more meat then the turkey necks, that's why I suggested lag quarters(since you said he had already done well on them.)

And I suggest slowly adding in pork MEAT(but only once TOTALLY fine on the leg quarters and neck mix!:wink. What cut you buy is up to you, but the neck is, once again, going to be very bony. 

And if your doing 2meals a day I would do it every other meal, so chicken leg quarter/turkey neck/leg quarter/turkey neck/etc... (of course at what ever weight is needed!:wink

And as far as pigs being "dirty".....they are animals, and as long as the meat was ok for human consumption then you are all good!!:thumb:


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Too bad, I just bought 40lbs of backs!! But, I think I have some quarters in the freezer. 

So quarter in the AM, neck in the PM. Will do! Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it! 

So once I add in pork, I feed that only once a day? When would I feed in both meals?



Scarlett_O' said:


> Well backs really aren't going to give you much more meat then the turkey necks, that's why I suggested lag quarters(since you said he had already done well on them.)
> 
> And I suggest slowly adding in pork MEAT(but only once TOTALLY fine on the leg quarters and neck mix!:wink. What cut you buy is up to you, but the neck is, once again, going to be very bony.
> 
> ...


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Do you think I should start beef heart before I start pork??


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

emric said:


> Do you think I should start beef heart before I start pork??


and that would be a rousing noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

when you start any new protein.....start with a tiny bite and very slowly build up the amount. pork would be my choice.

beef heart? that's rich, my friend....too rich for a newly transitioned dog...

you'll get there and so will your dog.....weight loss is okay in the beginning. i almost guarantee you'll be cutting back in six months because all that luscious red meat put weight on 

it's okay that you have chicken backs..you'll be using them for bony meals forever...


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

No, no, beef heart. Maybe chicken or turkey heart in a week or two.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

emric said:


> Do you think I should start beef heart before I start pork??


Once onto pork I would take the equivalent of the meat amount(1-2oz to start out with) from the leg quarter, and then you can either feed the pork with that meal, or the safer bet of with the heavy bone in turkey necks!:thumb:

And I wouldn't suggest jumping onto beef, ESPECALLY not heart as it is MUCH more rich!

And don't worry.....you will still use the backs....and could easily do so while adding a little extra chicken meat to that meal if that would be easier for you!:biggrin:


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Nootherids said:


> Wow I am having the same problem as emric (OP) but mine is a little more complicated.
> 
> A couple of months ago I had a thread going because my Beagle had runny sometimes explosive stools ALL THE TIME and no matter what boney meal I gave her it wouldn't change. It so turns out that my dog is one of those few that actually need vegetables in her diet. I started her on SOJOS which is a mix of dried raw vegetables that all you do is put them in water overnight and they are ready to eat. Once I got her back on that along with RMB in the evening her stools went back to normal overall. Now I have been feeding her SOJOS in the morning, and either Chicken Frames, Turkey Necks, or Duck Necks in the evening.
> 
> ...


I would go with pork as your next protein. She should be able to handle it now. Maybe put it with her SOJOS and cut them down a bit. I think you should start a thread in the barf section because you are feeding veggies and you may get a better response over there.


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## Nootherids (Sep 22, 2011)

Herzo said:


> I would go with pork as your next protein. She should be able to handle it now. Maybe put it with her SOJOS and cut them down a bit. I think you should start a thread in the barf section because you are feeding veggies and you may get a better response over there.


That's a good idea to throw it in with the vegs in the morning and hopefully even phase out the vegs over time. No way I'm going to BARF because I do not support veggies, grains, or ground bone at all. I would rather not give veggies but like most of us know, each dog is unique. Her stool was horrendous like going 7-8 times a day and that was with a pure chicken only diet. The only other source that stopped it was kibble and that was just a test. Then the Sojos worked. Maybe I'll get a chance to ween her off of it.

Would chicken hearts and gizzards be a good source to fatten her up?

And what cut of pork is a good easily found choice? So I know what to ask for when I go to grocery store. Before I buy 40# worth.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Last question, I hope! lol

I'm not sure what cut of pork I'm going to buy..what about pork heart to start with? Or should I just go with a meaty cut?




Scarlett_O' said:


> Once onto pork I would take the equivalent of the meat amount(1-2oz to start out with) from the leg quarter, and then you can either feed the pork with that meal, or the safer bet of with the heavy bone in turkey necks!:thumb:
> 
> And I wouldn't suggest jumping onto beef, ESPECALLY not heart as it is MUCH more rich!
> 
> And don't worry.....you will still use the backs....and could easily do so while adding a little extra chicken meat to that meal if that would be easier for you!:biggrin:


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

emric said:


> Last question, I hope! lol
> 
> I'm not sure what cut of pork I'm going to buy..what about pork heart to start with? Or should I just go with a meaty cut?


For pork, I usually get shoulders, or hams (just make sure they aren't heavily salted!), sometimes picnics. All of them tend to be cheap per lb!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

emric said:


> Last question, I hope! lol
> 
> I'm not sure what cut of pork I'm going to buy..what about pork heart to start with? Or should I just go with a meaty cut?


Yup, I agree with Kady, picnic and other roast tend to be cheapest. NO salted, cooked, seasoned or smoked of any kind though.
And I wouldnt suggest heart to start out with, since it is so much more rich then the other parts of pork meat! :wink:


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

I usually get pork shoulder roasts on sale but what ever they have on sale. Sometimes country style ribs without bone. When I did the picnic roast it was enhanced so I stay away from them now. Probably just different parts of the country though. I have talked to the butcher and need to get back to him about buying a big case of pork but I'm not sure how it will come.

emric I think it's to soon for hearts as the others have said just go with pork roasts they sometimes have allot of fat on them. Same for Nootherids you can probably add in the other things a little at a time as your dog has been on raw for longer but since you have had cannon butt go slowly. I don't think gizzards or hearts are that fatty but you can start adding them I would think a little at a time is what I would do like one heart and one gizzard.


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## Nootherids (Sep 22, 2011)

Herzo said:


> I usually get pork shoulder roasts on sale but what ever they have on sale. Sometimes country style ribs without bone. When I did the picnic roast it was enhanced so I stay away from them now. Probably just different parts of the country though. I have talked to the butcher and need to get back to him about buying a big case of pork but I'm not sure how it will come.
> 
> emric I think it's to soon for hearts as the others have said just go with pork roasts they sometimes have allot of fat on them. Same for Nootherids you can probably add in the other things a little at a time as your dog has been on raw for longer but since you have had cannon butt go slowly. I don't think gizzards or hearts are that fatty but you can start adding them I would think a little at a time is what I would do like one heart and one gizzard.


Thanks! I'm sure I can get a good picnic roast at BJ's and probably get a second one cause my wife might want to make some good dinner with that too 

I went ahead and threw in an egg into her diet this morning. Keeping an eye out to see how that helps. At first she was like "WHAT IS THIS?!" then she lapped it right up.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks for the advice! When I call the butcher, should he know how much salt is in the pork roast or whatever I get? Also, how many lbs should I get? What is an ok amount of salt for pork?




Herzo said:


> I usually get pork shoulder roasts on sale but what ever they have on sale. Sometimes country style ribs without bone. When I did the picnic roast it was enhanced so I stay away from them now. Probably just different parts of the country though. I have talked to the butcher and need to get back to him about buying a big case of pork but I'm not sure how it will come.
> 
> emric I think it's to soon for hearts as the others have said just go with pork roasts they sometimes have allot of fat on them. Same for Nootherids you can probably add in the other things a little at a time as your dog has been on raw for longer but since you have had cannon butt go slowly. I don't think gizzards or hearts are that fatty but you can start adding them I would think a little at a time is what I would do like one heart and one gizzard.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

emric said:


> Thanks for the advice! When I call the butcher, should he know how much salt is in the pork roast or whatever I get? Also, how many lbs should I get? What is an ok amount of salt for pork?


NO meat should have more then 100mg of sodium per 4oz!:wink:


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

emric said:


> Thanks for the advice! When I call the butcher, should he know how much salt is in the pork roast or whatever I get? Also, how many lbs should I get? What is an ok amount of salt for pork?


You can get all the lbs you want I just cute it up into amounts I want then freeze it. Then when you want to feed pork just take out the bag or container it's in.

Say Abi I thought it could be around 80%, I was thinking re had said that way back. I just checked my chicken legs and thighs and they are 95%. I hope that's ok because I feed these all the time and can sometimes get them on sale so I stock up.


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

I know some people on this said for me to feed pork next, but I can get a good deal on a 30 lb case of duck carcasses. Would that be ok to start next instead of pork? If so, how would I start that since they are duck carcasses. I do have 2lbs of duck and bone ground.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Herzo said:


> You can get all the lbs you want I just cute it up into amounts I want then freeze it. Then when you want to feed pork just take out the bag or container it's in.
> 
> Say Abi I thought it could be around 80%, I was thinking re had said that way back. I just checked my chicken legs and thighs and they are 95%. I hope that's ok because I feed these all the time and can sometimes get them on sale so I stock up.


I dont know about the percentage, but I try my hardest to not buy any meats with more then 100mg per 4oz, especially for a new to raw dog!:wink:



emric said:


> I know some people on this said for me to feed pork next, but I can get a good deal on a 30 lb case of duck carcasses. Would that be ok to start next instead of pork? If so, how would I start that since they are duck carcasses. I do have 2lbs of duck and bone ground.


You could probably do duck next, I dont know how much meat is going to be on a "carcass" though(The term "carcass" varies per it's meaning from person to person, it could mean most of the body, could mean just the back, etc!:wink But I would say that it is a step in the right direction!:thumb:


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

My friend got the same carcasses, and it had a decent amount of meat on them. They are a little over 1lb each. How do I start feeding this?
Like I said, I have 2 lbs of duck meat and bone ground..


You could probably do duck next, I dont know how much meat is going to be on a "carcass" though(The term "carcass" varies per it's meaning from person to person, it could mean most of the body, could mean just the back, etc!:wink But I would say that it is a step in the right direction!:thumb:[/QUOTE]


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