Hi everyone,
I know feeding dogs (or cats) is always a difficult topic, but I want to show you how I feed my dog(s).
Bonzer was allergic, so we had to start with raw feeding. I always had misconceptions about raw feeding and didn't want to do it, but now I'm sooo happy about it, and it's not very difficult either.
Luckily I have a good Turkish butcher who gives me all his leftovers. So I don't have to buy so much stuff, but I few things I have to order.
Chaser is always very curious when we get the parcel 😁
It's frosted, so it comes in a styrofoam box.
On Wednesday I had my "mixing day". So I took everything I need out of the freezer to thaw it and mix it. Sure I could put it in the dog bowl without mixing, but for me, it is easier to mix it.
(Raw feeding is not only giving raw meat. It's a little bit more. It's also organs and other parts of an animal.)
I started raw feeding 10 years ago without any knowledge, but I read so much about it and made my own feeding plan. In the beginning, I let made a plan from a "pro" but she really wasn't a pro, the plan was horrible and useless.
But one thing first: I don't BARF! There are a few tiny differences between BARF and raw feeding, and I don't quite agree with the BARF concept.
If you use the BARF concept you have to feed vegetables and fruits, but I know that wolves don't eat this kind of stuff, and dogs have still the same digestive tract as wolves. I also don't agree with carbohydrates. No wolf has a gas cooker to boil potatoes or rice or anything. Oh, and don't forget, the vegetables and fruits must be crushed with a mixer so that a dog can digest them, and that's something wolves also don't have.
So I started to study what a wolf eats and how much of it. I made myself an Excel list and can see how much of the ingredients I need to mix for a certain time.
Chaser is an adult dog who weighs around 25kg. He gets 460g each day. OK, I don't give him the same amount every day, we change it slightly up and down. It mind be crazy for some people, but I try to make it as natural as possible. I tried fasting days, but it didn't work. So, different amounts works best for us 😊
My mixed food contains:
| Meat | 70% |
| Fur | 6% |
| Fat | 4% |
| Heart | 5% |
| Liver | 5% |
| Kidney | 2.5% |
| Spleen | 2.5% |
| Blood | 5% |
In addition I add 10g coconut (preventive against worms), 2g of garlic powder plus a mix of different herbs (oregano, parsley, thyme, and rosemary).
The garlic and the herbs should help against ticks.
(I'm not really sure if it helps, but it definitely doesn't hurt 😎)
Chaser also gets 15% bones on top every day (that's around 70g).
❣️ Please pay attention to which bones you feed:
- First: they have ALWAYS to be raw. NEVER EVER give cooked or grilled bones. They change their consistency when cooked or grilled. They become brittle and splintery, and that's very dangerous.
- Second: never give supporting bones. They are too massive and hard for dog teeth. So no bones from beef. No legs from any animals, except chickens. Chicken bones are always perfect.
Personally, I prefer lamb rips, back, and spine (and of course chicken). 🐔
I always mix for more than a month. This time I did it for 8 months.
As I said, I take everything I need out of the freezer. And that's all I needed:
(The orange tub in the second picture is one of the tubs I use for mixing.)
I have big tubs where I put everything in and mix it together...
I always start with cocos, garlic, and herbs.
Then I add the blood.
Yes, I know that most people have problems with that, but it has so many nutrients that are important for the health of the dog. For example iron, zinc, and sodium...
And then I mix it together. The paste will later adhere well to the other ingredients 😁
Now I add fur. I take beef ears and cut them into small pieces.
The fur is also good against worms because it cleans the gastrointestinal area.
Next comes fat
It depends on what meat I take. It should be around 20-25% fat altogether, so if it's lean meat (for example chicken), it needs extra fat.
Fat is the part that gives the dog its energy. If I have to add more fat, I reduce the amount of meat...
Now Liver, chicken hearts, kidney, and spleen are added.
Finally, I add the meat, and then hubby is "allowed" to mix it all together 😁
I have so much luck with my butcher, as you can see, I get really good meat and lamb kidneys from him...
In the end, I put it all in plastic cans and it gets back in the freezer. I take one out every few days and put it in the fridge. My dog has its own fridge, where I also store the bones I get from my butcher.
As I said, this is the food for 8 months now...
Before Chaser gets his bowl I add one tablespoon of hemp oil and aloe vera juice.
Generally, I would use salmon oil because of the Omega 3 fatty acids, but Bonzer and Chaser were allergic to it. When Bonzer got cancer, I took hemp oil because cancer doesn't like hemp...
The aloe vera juice is good for the immune system and I started with it because of the allergies.
Chaser really loves his food. It's gone in only a few seconds. Except when there are really big meat parts, then he needs just a few seconds more 🤣
Yes, Chaser eats on the couch (his couch).
He always took bigger pieces from the kitchen to the couch to eat them. It seems like he hates eating in the kitchen, and I don't know why.
Since we don't use the couch, we decided that he gets his food there (this saves us cleaning the way from the kitchen to the couch after feeding). 😉
He also always gets his bones on the couch too, so...
If you give good quality food, the dog is significantly healthier. 💖
Otherwise, your dog will show signs of deficiency and become ill.
❣️ If you have any questions about raw feeding, feel free to ask me. I'm glad if I can help you 😊
