New and need advice
 

Hello All,

I really love this forum. I’ve been reading as much as I can but still have so many questions. I have a 7.5 pound Papillon. I started out by using a premade raw (Stella & Chewys frozen dinners) until I’m more comfortable doing it on my own. She loves the Stella & Chewys and is doing very well on it – normal poops and no tummy troubles. It’s very convenient as it has the meat/bone/organ/few veggies already mixed in for me. However, it’s a bit pricey so I was thinking of using the premade for one meal and then doing the second meal myself.

For the second meal I was thinking of doing a ground meat (beef, chicken or turkey), a hard boiled egg with crushed shell (she won’t eat a raw egg) for calcium as there is no bone in this meal, and then maybe adding a veggie. I know dogs don’t need veggies, but my dog loves raw carrots. I puree one baby carrot and then just chop a little bit of another one because she likes the hard crunchiness of the carrots. We are not ready to do raw bones yet. We know of a dog that choked on a raw bone so hubby refuses to do that yet. I know it’s very rare for that to happen so we probably will be adding that down the road, just not right now.

1. Does this sound like a good meal for her? Does the egg add too much protein? If so, should I just use the shell for the calcium?
2.If I crush several egg shells to make a powder can I store it for future use? How long will it be good? Does it need to be refrigerated?
3.I read you need ¼ tsp of powdered egg shell per pound of meat. My dog eats less than a pound per day. So, can I make a larger batch and freeze it or is it best to use the egg shell fresh?

Sorry for so many questions (I have many more, LOL). I would love any comments/suggestions.

Kess

Hi Kess,

Welcome to raw! I started my dog on raw about 8 months ago, and the difference has been amazing. I initially started because she had recurring fur loss, but the biggest change has been her demeanor. She is so much more calm, happy, and loving than she was before!

Doing raw on your own is not as scary as it seems - the best advice I got was to start small with one or two types of potien and increase your variety as you get more comfortable. Try whole smelt or sardines, which are easy for dogs to eat - I often give them to Pepe straight from the freezer. Chicken necks are also great, the bones are soft and easy to chew. There are more and more raw food suppliers popping up daily, most of them are very supportive and helpful.

Good luck, I'm sure your dog will love it!

You can get bone meal for your mixture. You should be able to find it at a pet store. If not, you can find it online [url]http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=17177[/url] That should be a little easier than crushing egg shells. Depending how your dog eats will depend on the risk of choking. Dogs choke on kibble too. My dog eats very very slow, so there is minimal risk of choking. A dog that gobbles it's food will be more prone to choking, no matter what it's eating. Raw bones are excellent for your dog. They clean their teeth and help dog breath. I hope hubby will come around. I do find it difficult to find a bones small enough to be 10% of my dogs meal. It's more like 50%. Good Luck and keep us posted on how she does!!

Forgo Complex; Small means Simple
 

Kess, have I a plan for you, but to save time I will just give you the url to find my opus on "little feeders", the perfect food for small dogs and all cats. If the little beggars didn't creep me out, this is the perfect food I would turn to. Cheep and easy, for sure. I know my Corgi would dive into these little snacks on legs. A bushel of grain and you'd be off to the races.
Title: [B]Complete Food: Not for the squeamish[/B] and
URL: [url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=74451[/url]

Good luck with your little 7.5 pound Papillon.