When I heard about the raw food diet, i will admit, i was kind of creeped out but when i looked into it I found that, while its quite controversial, it seems to be very healthy and a better option then dog food. This webpage is an account of the steps i had to take to figure out what to feed Pudders (my dog) and how to feed it to him. I will be keeping an account of his health as i begin feeding him the raw food diet. Also I will explain the things you need to know if you yourself want to put your pet on the raw food diet!
Before Beginning The Raw Food Diet You Must Make A Plan!!!
--- Some Things You Will Need To Know....
1. One of the effects of normal dog food is that it will slow down your pet's digestive system. Because of this you CAN NOT slowly mix the raw chicken into his dog food to better ease him on the diet. If you do, the raw food will not be able to digest as fast and will create bacteria inside your pet's tummy.
2. You should not just give your dog as much food as he wants. He or she should be recieving 2% to 3% of their body weight in food each day. I know this seems crazy, my dog only weighs 6 pounds so he only eats about 2 oz per day. If after about a week your dog seems to have lost some weight or is looking a little skinny you can amp the food up to 5% to 6% per day.
3. Make sure you keep water available to your pet at all times because they will start to drink more water.
4. During the first week of the transition some animals will go through a detox period. This might include diarreah and vomiting. Note that this is just a side effect to switiching onto raw food and it should go away within a few days.
5. The difference between an organ and meat can be hard to tell. For instance, the Heart is considered meat instead of an organ because it is a big muscle. If you are ever unsure make sure to look it up and find out instead of just guessing.
--- The Cold Hard Facts...
The Daily Percentages of your dog's diet should go as fallows...
80% Meats - such as Heart, Chicken, etc.
10% Bone - such as Chicken bone, chicken necks, wing tips, etc.
5% Liver - such as Liver, Liver, etc.
5% Organ - such as Kidney, Pancreas, etc.
--- Some Things You Will Need To Know....
1. One of the effects of normal dog food is that it will slow down your pet's digestive system. Because of this you CAN NOT slowly mix the raw chicken into his dog food to better ease him on the diet. If you do, the raw food will not be able to digest as fast and will create bacteria inside your pet's tummy.
2. You should not just give your dog as much food as he wants. He or she should be recieving 2% to 3% of their body weight in food each day. I know this seems crazy, my dog only weighs 6 pounds so he only eats about 2 oz per day. If after about a week your dog seems to have lost some weight or is looking a little skinny you can amp the food up to 5% to 6% per day.
3. Make sure you keep water available to your pet at all times because they will start to drink more water.
4. During the first week of the transition some animals will go through a detox period. This might include diarreah and vomiting. Note that this is just a side effect to switiching onto raw food and it should go away within a few days.
5. The difference between an organ and meat can be hard to tell. For instance, the Heart is considered meat instead of an organ because it is a big muscle. If you are ever unsure make sure to look it up and find out instead of just guessing.
--- The Cold Hard Facts...
The Daily Percentages of your dog's diet should go as fallows...
80% Meats - such as Heart, Chicken, etc.
10% Bone - such as Chicken bone, chicken necks, wing tips, etc.
5% Liver - such as Liver, Liver, etc.
5% Organ - such as Kidney, Pancreas, etc.