# Unsure of how much and what to feed



## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

My Toy Aussie weighs in at about 15 - 18 lbs. I just started feeding her raw and she doesn't have a problem with it. Now I just don't know how much I should be giving her each day. This morning I gave her some chopped up stew beef mixed with a little chicken liver, this afternoon a snack of a hand full of chicken gizards and she gets a good sized beef rib at night. 
I ordered the SB-500 #10/12 Food Grinder because it handles chicken/turkey bones and I will be able to combine other stuff with it. As far as the "other stuff" goes I'm just not sure yet. Stumbling around here.....:biggrin1:


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

trikerdon said:


> My Toy Aussie weighs in at about 15 - 18 lbs. I just started feeding her raw and she doesn't have a problem with it. Now I just don't know how much I should be giving her each day. This morning I gave her some chopped up stew beef mixed with a little chicken liver, this afternoon a snack of a hand full of chicken gizards and she gets a good sized beef rib at night.
> I ordered the SB-500 #10/12 Food Grinder because it handles chicken/turkey bones and I will be able to combine other stuff with it. As far as the "other stuff" goes I'm just not sure yet. Stumbling around here.....:biggrin1:


You want to be giving her about 2-3% of her ideal adult body weight. If her ideal weight is 15 pounds, you want to give 2-3% of that each day. Also, you want to give her about 80% meat, 10% bone and eventually 10% organ.

Also, it's good she's not having problems but it's highly recommended to start off slowly, with bone in chicken to assist with transitioning. Do that for a week or so and then slowly add in other proteins like turkey and then pork and then beef. You would then move on to other things like organs and fish and the like.

That way things go smoothly and there are less problems with transition. But, again, that's a recommendation. Best of luck and happy raw feeding.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Hello and welcome. Start off feeding 2-3% of her ideal adult weight per day:

0.3-.45 pounds per day 

How long have you been feeding her raw? 

I suggest you read through the link posted in my signature to get started on the right foot...


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

I have only started with the exception of the beef rib bone. I have been giving that to here for about a week now, before that she was getting beef soup bones which had a little raw on them. She seems to like it. Today I gave her a raw boneless chicken thigh which made me nervous as she started to chew it then she gulped the whole thing down. So now I'm chopping it into pieces. She loved the gizzards and at least chewed them a little. How much liver is safe to mix with the beef?


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

*Dehydrated food for dogs*

Has any one heard of the dehydrated food for dogs made by The Honest Kitchen?
All Natural Dog Food | Dehydrated Raw Dog Food | Like Homemade Pet Food
Any comments about it?


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

trikerdon said:


> I have only started with the exception of the beef rib bone. I have been giving that to here for about a week now, before that she was getting beef soup bones which had a little raw on them. She seems to like it. Today I gave her a raw boneless chicken thigh which made me nervous as she started to chew it then she gulped the whole thing down. So now I'm chopping it into pieces. She loved the gizzards and at least chewed them a little. How much liver is safe to mix with the beef?


They tend to know what can fit down their throats and chew only enough to fit it down. No need to worry. If she didn't chew well enough, it wil come back up! :wink: 

I wouldn't personally be feeding any liver or gizzards right now. And you're probably risking it a bit feeding her boneless chicken already. IF she does fine with it and can handle one boneless, one bone in meal per day...stick with it. If you experience loose stools or diarrhea consistentely, you need to go back to bone in chicken and work your way up to a boneless meal. 

Most of us start out with bone in chicken like quarters or backs. Drumsticks or necks for smaller dogs are fine. I usually feed that for 2 weeks or so then try adding in a new protein, slowly. 



trikerdon said:


> Has any one heard of the dehydrated food for dogs made by The Honest Kitchen?
> All Natural Dog Food | Dehydrated Raw Dog Food | Like Homemade Pet Food
> Any comments about it?


I have heard of it, and I think a lot of people like to feed that for traveling. As far as everyday use, it seems a bit expensive to me and pointless b/c I can provide them with a wholesome meal with out it. 

Are you including fruits & veggies in her diet? 

I don't *include* veggies & fruits in the PMR diet, but I do feed them occasionally as treats. So, that is a personal choice of yours if you want to do that or not. Obviously THK is full of both of them. But, a very high quality product none the less.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Northwoods10 said:


> They tend to know what can fit down their throats and chew only enough to fit it down. No need to worry. If she didn't chew well enough, it wil come back up! :wink:
> 
> I wouldn't personally be feeding any liver or gizzards right now. And you're probably risking it a bit feeding her boneless chicken already. IF she does fine with it and can handle one boneless, one bone in meal per day...stick with it. If you experience loose stools or diarrhea consistentely, you need to go back to bone in chicken and work your way up to a boneless meal.
> 
> ...


She doesn't seem to be having any problems with the boneless chicken/beef, etc., Are you saying that gizzards may give her diarrhea or they are bad for her? She seems to love them.
I am going to start with the vegies, etc. She loves a raw carrot to chew on. I am just afraid of giving her the chicken bones because she gulps her food down.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm pretty sure that Kelley means that letting her eat gizzards too soon may cause a bit of diarrhea as they are a bit more rich than chicken meat (so is liver). We usually recommend to wait until your a full two months in to start with a tiny amount of organ meat. 

No gizzards are not bad for her...and once she's a bit further in will be great for her. My GSP, Lucky loves gizzards.

As far as the gulping, just be sure to give her cuts of meat that are bigger than her mouth. Be sure she has to chew them in order to swallow them.

Also with the veggies, you don't have to add them. Dogs do great with only meat, bones and organs. However, there is nothing wrong with adding some veggies in, they just don't really benefit from them unless they are pureed or cooked into a mush.

And welcome! :becky:


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

I think maybe you should take a step back and simplify things a bit while you are transitioning. Read the link in Natalie's (DaneMama) signature.

You could use chicken drumsticks for the initial transitioning item. Do only that for a week before you add the next thing (again read the web page in the link...). Natalie even did the math for you on approximate food quantities...

I would not worry about adding in fruits and veggies at all at this point. You don't really need to anyway. If you keep things very simple and introduce things slowly you will be allowing your dog's system to properly acclimate and digest the food.

I've used THK. Its okay, but I wouldn't feed it as a complete diet. Your dog needs meat/bone/organ, not carbs and plant matter.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

I did go to the link and have bookmarked it. Good reading there.

She doesn't seem to have any problems eating the raw, so far small poop and solid. As a matter of fact she is excited when I am cutting it up, never did that when I fixed her the dry stuff.

I purchased some chicken legs and will see how well she does with the bone. She is getting the meat a little organs now. I also purchased a can of sardines in water (no salt) How much of that should she get and do I just give her the sardine or mix it up with her other food?


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

Sara, thank you for going into more detail about what I meant!! My brain is fried today!! 



trikerdon said:


> I did go to the link and have bookmarked it. Good reading there.
> 
> She doesn't seem to have any problems eating the raw, so far small poop and solid. As a matter of fact she is excited when I am cutting it up, never did that when I fixed her the dry stuff.
> 
> I purchased some chicken legs and will see how well she does with the bone. She is getting the meat a little organs now. I also purchased a can of sardines in water (no salt) How much of that should she get and do I just give her the sardine or mix it up with her other food?


The gizzards & livers are GREAT for her. Its just that with most dogs it causes problems adding them so early on. Just be careful with them for now since she is so new to raw. Too much too soon can cause issues such as diarrhea. In that case, you need to go back to basics. 

Sardines are great, but I would wait until you have another protein down before adding them. Fish isn't a usual 2nd protein to add. I would suggest adding either turkey, pork, or beef next. Going slowly and gradually increasing new protein. Fish is probably the last protein I'd add as my dogs only get fish a couple times every few weeks. And when you are ready to add them, you can add them into a meal. A can of sardines is just a tid bit of a meal for my dogs so I add that as an extra with a boney piece like a chicken back or something.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

What size Chicken legs are you feeding, the drumstick, the thigh, drumstick + thigh? Gizzards would be considered a rich muscle meat, not an organ. You're pretty much doing what I did when I started my dogs, which was feeding organs from the get go. I had been feeding chicken hearts, gizzards, and beef liver in small amounts as treats. I did wait a while to introduce any kind of beef muscle meat, though. With my dogs I just started out by giving them fingernail sized pieces of liver and moving on up. If you run into problems along the way it will probably be a tiny bit harder for you to determine what caused the problem because you seem to be mixing and matching.

Just go really slow, since you are transitioning still you may want to do a few days of one protein and that proteins organ meat and then switch to a few days of another protein and that proteins organ meat. You really need to get some bone in there, it doesn't need to be a ton. But remember that if you do have a problem I would go back to bone-in chicken, like the drumsticks or thighs and take away the fat. 

Good luck, sounds like your dog has an iron tummy so far. Appreciate it, it's not so easy for everyone.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

This morning I got her some chicken thighs w/bone. When I weighed one thigh it weighed as much as she is supposed to get all day (almost .047 oz) She had no problems chewing it up, bone and all. So is that all I give her for the day is one chicken thigh?


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

If you mean 4.7 ounces, that is fine, based on a weight of 15lbs and a 2% of body weight feeding. If the thigh is larger than that, trim it and save the meat.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Yep, I meant 4.7 ozs......I'll get it straight one of these days....


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

that's about all she should be eating if 15 lbs is her good weight.

otherwise, if you keep feeding her this much food....

one of two things could happen

she will get fat or get cannon butt if something u intro'd was too much for her gut to handle...and you won't know what it is that gave her cannon butt because you're introductions are not orderly and do not give her a chance to adjust to each protein, each of which is different....


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

I'm pretty much sticking with chicken for awhile now. She handled the bone in thigh real well today. Alot better than the wings. I cut the meat off of the wings and will give her that.
She never has had cannon butt yet.


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

trikerdon said:


> Has any one heard of the dehydrated food for dogs made by The Honest Kitchen?
> All Natural Dog Food | Dehydrated Raw Dog Food | Like Homemade Pet Food
> Any comments about it?


I fed Tucker The Honest Kitchen Force for a few months before I discovered raw. He loved it and did great on it. His coat thickened and got really shiney. I think it's a great alternative if you don't want to do raw.

Also regarding veggies, my dog loves them too :biggrin1: I don't give him a meal of veggies, but I give him little snacks like when I'm cutting up veggies for a salad I'll give him a baby carrot or a piece of broccoli stalk or a piece of purple cabbage. He absolutely loves these little treats, and they don't bother him, so I don't have any problem giving them to him now and then.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

I don't have a problem feeding raw. Sheba loves the diet. I did have a problem with giving her bones at first. I gave her chicken wings and I think the bones were too small, so I gave her a bone in thigh and she did well with it. I'm going to stick with that for awhile. She does like to chew on carrots, I thought about broccoli, etc., will give it a try.
I was just wondering is it ok to give a dog her size turkey necks?


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

trikerdon said:


> I don't have a problem feeding raw. Sheba loves the diet. I did have a problem with giving her bones at first. I gave her chicken wings and I think the bones were too small, so I gave her a bone in thigh and she did well with it. I'm going to stick with that for awhile. She does like to chew on carrots, I thought about broccoli, etc., will give it a try.
> I was just wondering is it ok to give a dog her size turkey necks?


My dog is 19 pounds - just a little heavier than Sheba. At first I gave Tucker chicken wings and I think they were too small for him too. Tonight I gave him a thigh and he did really well with it also  

Regarding turkey necks, if they are all the same size that I bought frozen at the pet store (brand is Primal), then I think they're too big for our size dogs. I was planning on cutting mine in half or thirds.


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