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Old April 1st, 2009, 06:49 AM
MerlinsHope MerlinsHope is offline
Chow Pei Rescue
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Prescott
Posts: 237
Chantal
Congratulations on your new puppy and on wanting to feed raw.

If your puppy was fed by his mom tomorrow at 8 weeks old, he'd still have loads of meat and some organ so there is no need to with hold organ meat ( till he's ready). His insides were born ready to consume meat, organs and blood and he's already got the appropriate teeth to pull and tear at carcass. Essentially it's still the 80% meat/ 10% offal / 10% bone theory. A chicken wing is 50% meat/ 50% bone ( no good). Chicken necks are 85% bone, and 15% meat ( very no good) . A chicken thigh is 80% meat, 10% bone ( excellent ) .

I would say by 10 days after this puppy is in your home, it no longer needs any goat's milk, it will never need the veggie pulp and there is nothing wrong with serving organs right away ( please realize that a heart is considered muscle meat, not offal), . Yogurt is readily and easily replaced by green tripe, and is far more nutritious for a dog, however, if you can't get your h ands on green tripe, please make sure the yogurt is unsweetened, unflavoured, active yogurt.

Why are you removing the egg shell?
It is imperative that your new puppy have calcium. Imperative, so take a moment to crush the shell and add it to the egg. Let the puppy play with egg shells if you can, chew on them, everything to encourage him to get to understand that it is a food source.


Your diet is missing the all encompassing Omega 3 + 6
You have not listed any source in your plan, so please include fatty fish. This is probably the one most single important source of food for your dog: Essential Fatty Acids. ( at least 3-4 times a week).

( anchovies, mackerel, salmon, sardines, smelts, char, trout) You absolutely need this in your dog's diet.

You need to ensure the regular addition of this in your puppy's diet throughout his life.

If you really want to start your puppy off right, please don't only rely too heavily on chicken wings because they are too boney. Please try to incorporate meaty thighs, meaty breasts with the wing, while hamburger is good as ad addivite to some meaty bone, your puppy has to masticate gristle and bone in order to achieve healthy teeth and gums, so large pieces of meat with some large bone on is great to encourage them to do this. ( pork chops, short ribs, blade roasts, etc), so add some real meat with that chicken wing ok?.

Here's an example of an appropriately sized piece of meat / bone for a young, inexperienced puppy. Before I cook it for the family, I cut off the bone, leaving enough meat on it for puppy. This puppy is 2 1/2 months old, well, "was" at the time.




PS: Personally I shun people giving their dogs chicken necks. Firstly there is not enough meat on it to consider it an appropriate food source, and your puppy can and will choke on it. If you want to feed a chicken neck, please make sure it's still attached to the chicken. It is at any day of the week a poor, poor food source for people attempting to feed raw.

Many people gravitate towards chicken necks simply because they are cheap. They make up all kinds of excuses for feeding them, but to me, the fact is, it's because of the price period. That's the same attitude and mentality that compels people to purchase cheap dog food as well. Positive nutrition, especially an appropriate raw regime is not about doing things on the 'cheap', it's about supplying your dog with quality nutrition, which doesn't have to cost a fortune either.

Best of luck.
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Last edited by MerlinsHope; April 1st, 2009 at 11:02 AM.
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