How to start feeding RAW...

[mmloda]

Hi
I have done lots of research on this site and i am still confused...how do I start feeding my dog RAW?

Meaning what do I feed an 80lb doberman in the morning and what do I feed him at night?

[List]

For newbies it's a good idea to start with one protein source. Most people start with chicken because it's accessible and inexpensive.

For an 80 lbs dog your looking at serving between 1.6 to 2.4 lbs per day (2% to 3% of ideal body weight). I would recommend starting on the lower scale of things.

Chicken quarters or whole chickens are a great place to start since they have a great bone to meat ratio for new to raw dogs. I would feed chicken for a couple of weeks, if everything is going well then you can start adding organs and other proteins. Eventually you'll get to the point were your dog can eat a variety of different proteins. For instance over the last few days my dogs have had: chicken, boneless pork, bone in pork, boneless kangaroo, beef heart, sardines, pork and beef organs, beef tripe and lamb.

As long as you stick to the general 80% meat, 10% organs and 10% edible bone, you'll be fine.

Good luck!

[mmloda]

So can I just start tomorrow morning by giving him a quarter chicken with the bone in?

He has not had any kibble since Tuesday morning but he did eat a boneless skinless chicken breast today and he loved it!

[List]

You got it. Chicken quarters are a staple in our home. My weim x shep. cross is pretty much identical to a doberman physique-wise. Hes around 80ish and very lean and muscular. I know longer weigh out portions but he gets between 1.5 and 2.5 lbs per day split into two meals. Usually breakfast is pretty small, and its usually boneless meat for convenience. Dinner is bigger an more complicated.

Raw feels complicated and time consuming at first. But after a few months it becomes pretty easy. I've been feeding raw for almost 3 years now.

[mmloda]

Thanks.....But can you please tell me what is more complicated about the dinner? What do you feed your dog for dinner?

[List]

Here's an idea of how I feed my approx 80pounder over a few days.

Day 1
AM: boneless pork (approx. 8 oz)
PM: 1/3 chicken carcass, about 4oz beef liver, an egg and about half a pound of green beef tripe
Day 2
AM: beef heart (approx 8oz)
PM: slab of lamb ribs (about 1.5 to 2 lbs)
Day 3
AM: beef heart (approx 8oz)
pm: Pork breast bones, about 6 oz of beef kidney, some ground lamb (couple ounces)
Day 4
AM: boneless pork
PM: wholes sardines, and boneless ground kangaroo
Day 5
AM: pork heart
PM: Chicken quarters, beef liver, beef kidney (probably 4 oz each), egg

What I meant by more complicated at night is that I just feed a small boneless meal in the morning cause I'm in a rush to get out the door. Dinner is larger, i.e. whole rack of lamb ribs and takes my guys a little while to get through.

[mmloda]

Thank you that makes more sense now...I was actually able to find someone in my are who is going to help me put a plan together for Maks...within the next few days and until that time I will feed him him boneless and skinless chicken breast in the mornings and bone in chicken breast for dinner....today we tried to give him the bone in chicken breast for dinner for the first time....we'll see how that turns out.