What food do you usualy serve to your dogs ?

[anart]

We took advantage of a brief break in the weather yesterday to take Lilly in for her rabies shot,

Hi Guardian,
Given the health issues of your dog ( I am presuming this is the same one whose lab results I saw) giving the rabies shots or any vaccines for that matter is very bad idea.
I am also presuming this dog had at least several rabies shots until now and she doesn't really need any more, what most vets don't tell you ( some of them really don't know because they never bothered to check) is that immunity from one rabies vaccine lasts at lasts 5 - 6 years, possibly even more.
Rabies vaccine is one of the most aggressive vaccines in existence, and if you don't have other option but to give it because of legal requirement
make sure to give her Homeopathic preparation of Thuja 30c once a day three days before and three days after the injection and then keep your fingers crossed.
Even if I am too late with this advice and you 've already given her vaccine Thuja can still help.
FWIW

It might be too late this year, but it's really good advice. My vet will do a titration to establish how much 'protection' is still in the dog's blood and use that as proof for no need of another vaccine and you still get your rabies certificate. It might be worth looking into.

 

[Gimpy]

Thank you to everyone for the many posts. Now, with the various opinions, what are/were the ages of your dogs?

Dex is about 8, and he's still on a regular commercial diet. Its the best kind we can get for him, mostly gluten free. He's due for a check up soon, and I'm going to have his teeth checked out and talk to the vet about switching him to raw meaty bones...we have a very good butcher shop locally (organic meat) and I'm going to check to see if we can get organ meats for him there, and bones. He has Lupus, poor dude, and I think he'll do better on a meat diet, I know I sure am. ;)

This thread's been great...thanks to you all!

 

[Guardian]

Lilly seems to be thriving on the raw meat diet, but I've been wondering is should I be giving her any calcium or anything like that since she can't eat the bones?

My next companion (hopefully years from now) will get the raw meat AND bones from day one, but Lilly's teeth are worn down to almost nothing in the back, and I'm afraid of a bone fragment getting stuck in her gut.

 

[Z...]

You could try giving her raw chicken wings, she might be able to crunch them enough to swallow them and then the stomach will do the rest.
Don't panic if you see her stool is as hard as rock, this is how it is supposed to be, she will never suffer from impacted glands.

Meat (never lean) , organs, bones and cartilage (always raw), green tripe(if possible available) , a can of sardines once or twice a week, if this is the dogs diet there is no need for supplements of any kind.

 

[Guardian]

You could try giving her raw chicken wings, she might be able to crunch them enough to swallow them

What worries me is that it looks like she's swallowing most of her meat whole....and we cut it into pretty big chunks. Is that ok? She literally "wolfs down" about a pound of raw beef and chicken or pork in about 15-20 seconds?

Meat (never lean) , organs, bones and cartilage (always raw),

This is what I've been giving her, except for the bones. I've been getting big beef briskets, pork rounds, and whole or half chickens, which we've been stripping the meat off of. She also gets a couple trays of hearts/gizzards a week.

green tripe(if possible available) ,

You mentioned that before, and I've not had much luck finding it. It can't be had anywhere near where we live, and I've only found it once or twice over in Asheville. Is there anything I can substitute?

a can of sardines once or twice a week, if this is the dogs diet there is no need for supplements of any kind.

Kewl, I will start the sardines today...we happen to have a HUGE stash :)

Thank you again Herr Eisenheim

 

[anart]

I'll add sardines today, too - my little dog will love that!

 

[Guardian]

I'll add sardines today, too - my little dog will love that!

I remembered that the sardines I have aren't raw, they're cooked, with little tiny bones and in a tin. Is this ok, or do I need to go find raw sardines?

 

[Z...]

Guardian
just relax, all dogs "wolf down" their food because they are carnivores. All carnivores do, the competition in the wild is fierce and they are designed to gorge as quickly as possible. Their body is designed to make this possible.


green tripe might be available frozen, I think in USA its much easier to find it then in Europe. Have you tried online stores? You could add some slightly cooked vegetables to substitute herbivores guts contents.

Tinned sardines are ok, I dont think you'd be able to find fresh sardines so easy -the season is couple for months only, as far as I know.

we could go into specifics about toxicity of tin metal but I think this is negligible so I chose not to

 

[Guardian]

Guardian
just relax, all dogs "wolf down" their food because they are carnivores. All carnivores do, the competition in the wild is fierce and they are designed to gorge as quickly as possible. Their body is designed to make this possible.

She's even starting to look more like her wolf ancestors...her coat is all fluffy and both her ruff and tail have boofed out to twice their prior size. She actually prances again with her big, beautiful tail just a flagging, which we haven't seen her do in years. :D

green tripe might be available frozen, I think in USA its much easier to find it then in Europe. Have you tried online stores? You could add some slightly cooked vegetables to substitute herbivores guts contents.

Would a fresh cow (or beefalo) stomach do? If so, about how much should I give her at a time? I found a local butcher who can get me raw stomachs, at least a few months out of the year. She's eating about 2-2 1/2 lbs of raw meat a day right now...her appetite and desire for play/exercise increased DRASTICALLY once we started giving her the meat.

Tinned sardines are ok, I dont think you'd be able to find fresh sardines so easy -the season is couple for months only, as far as I know.

we could go into specifics about toxicity of tin metal but I think this is negligible so I chose not to

Yeah, I thought about the toxins too, we usually keep the tinned and canned foods for a SERIOUS emergency...as in eat it or starve.


[size=10pt]THANK YOU SO MUCH !![/size]

 

[Z...]

you need to work out protein ration according to her weight ( check your inbox)

Fresh cow stomachs will do but they will be cleaned so you can still supply limited amount of slightly cooked vegetables.

 

[Voyageur]

Yes thank you Herr Eisenheim, some really good information here. :)

 

[Nimue]

We have stoped feeding pig meat, cause our 11 years old Jack Russel Lady has problems with her coat, and at the recommendation of our doc,
we should only feed raw organs, chicken, beef and raw eggs, but our little madame is very delicate…. She don´t eat everything and woe I offer her something she don´t like, so
I buy wet fodder of higher value without grain and two times the week mixed with raw eggs, I try to palm the raw meat off to her step by step, and maybe someday we
can stop with the wet fodder. As goodie´s she gets dried meat and maw ( that stuff smells really badly !), but altogether she is fit and her coat looks very well at the moment

 

[Lirpa]

you need to work out protein ration according to her weight ( check your inbox)...

I am working on switching my nine and half year old female Pug to a raw diet. I would love to know what protein ratio I need to supply her with. She is 25 porky pounds which we will work on reducing. Herr Eisenheim, may I have the instructions on how to determine the protein ration according to weight of the dog? Thank you so much!

 

[Lan8r]

Herr Eisenheim,

I found your recommendation to feed sardines quite interesting and purchased a tin for my Jack Russell. I emptied half a tin in her dish and she scarfed them down and looked at me for more. I hesitantly gave her half of the remaining fish and she still seemed as if she could not get enough. (I can't comprehend this myself as I am not a fish lover, I force feed myself talapia filets because it is supposedly good for me but the fishy smell of sardines makes me gag!! ). I am very happy to see my pup eat a nourishing meal that she enjoys but I am wondering if she can eat the whole tin as one meal. I have no desire to keep leftovers of sardines in my fridge.! I am serious when I say that the fish smell makes me gag!!

Seriously though, can my Jack Russell, who weighs maybe between 20-25 lbs eat a whole tin for one meal. I am sincerely asking you here because if I ask her she will tell me 'yes, of course I can'! and I don't wish to overfeed her. She is not on a 'raw meat' diet. I cook for her and we share meals of rare beef, chicken, pork with sweet potatoes and some vegis (green beans, peas and carrots and leafy greens) which she appears to like, and sometimes leftover meat mixed with raw egg. I do leave her a dish of packaged dog food 'Taste of the Wild' in case of emergency. (we live alone and god forbid I am in an accident and wind up in the hospital, she needs something to eat). She doesn't really eat that, although she may nibble, she holds out for the real thing and I wind up dumping it every other day or so.

Anyway, I guess my question is how much of a 'tin' of sardines can my 20-25 lb dog eat in one sitting? Is the whole tin acceptable?

Thanks so much for your Veterinary advise,

Laurie

 

[Z...]

Hi Laurie, one tin with some mashed vegetables, cooked buckwheat groats or quinoa can be one complete meal for the dog of this weight. Sardines could be fed twice a week. Apart from sardines you can also try mackerel.
As for the rest of her menu you are doing fine - it would be much better if you could serve some raw meat at least twice a week, especially organ meat such as heart, kidneys and liver.
Don't forget dogs ( an all carnivores) can go without food for several days with no consequences, as the matter some experts advise fasting your dog for one day at least once a week, but I dont have heart to do this to my dog :)