Max Has Raw!

[sweetgrass]

So, after all this research and all this hemming and hawing, I buckled down and fed Max a bone-in chicken thigh for breakfast!

He got a chicken thigh weighing 191 grams.

This is the breakdown I figured out:
(Based on Prey Model Raw with 80-10-5-5 ratios.)

He weighs 38 pounds, so I put his target weight at 35 pounds. 2.5% of 35 pounds is 0.875 pounds. That's 397 grams total.

80% of 0.875 pounds is 0.70 pounds or 317 grams.
10% of 0.875 pounds is 0.0875 pounds or 39 grams.
5% of 0.875 pounds is 0.04375 pounds or 20 grams. (x2)

If fed twice per day he should be getting about 198.5 grams at each meal. Since he is just beginning, he is receiving no organ meats, just chicken. The key is balance over time, right? :)

Here's the video:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quaintl...n/photostream/
I'm listening to Bones in the background.

He did great! Dug right in, didn't growl when I had to lift his chicken up to place a towel underneath because he decided he wanted to eat it in bed. When he crunched into bone I was startled - what a sound!

He ate about half of it before deciding he'd had enough. I left him with it for a few more minutes, but he was just napping so I picked it up and will offer it again at dinner time.

More pictures:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8196/8...e822ed9c_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8...f868f160_z.jpg

I couldn't get in the front of him without him stopping to stare at me. No matter how much I ignored him and pretended I didn't care, he wouldn't est until I was on the other side of the kitche again, so you get pictures of his butt instead. Overall I am pleased with how well it's gone. I know when I get comfortable I will be laughing about all my facts and figures up there, but I thought I'd post it all anyway so I can refer back to it, and maybe it'll help someone else.

Lastly, if anyone sees anything wrong, point it out please!

P.S.
Max is a seven year old black tri. He's new-to-me and is my very first sheltie. He was a breeder's dog until she gave him up to me. He has pretty much only known an outdoor kennel. His coat is very bleached out from the summer sun.

[Toffee's Mom]

hehehehe
that looks right the way he is munching down on it :D
Thanks for sharing, he's so sweet looking

[Emmasmom]

Your vet may suggest a supplement. When I had to have Liam on raw, he strongly urged a supplement to make sure Liam was getting everything he needed, particularly since he had had major surgery. Lew Olson's book is a good read.

[BarbV]

I tried raw for a few weeks.

I really did like the idea and the notion of bones to help clean their teeth. But frankly, I could not stand the mess.

I might try it again some day.

[marymrumfelt]

That's awesome. You'll be so happy with your decision. I've been feeding mine nothing but meat/bone/organ (same ratio) for two years and they're incredibly healthy, pearly white teeth, and AMAZING coats. The vets are usually taken back by how healthy they are and go on and on about their coats and about my older one's teeth! I brought in a stool sample once and they couldn't believe it-- so tiny! Feel free to ask any questions that come up and keep posting the videos!

Also, the only supplement I'd add, if you're feeding store-bought factory farmed meat, is fish oil. Other than that, based on hours of studying and reading, I don't feel they need anymore and my dogs are a perfect example of that. With that, all dogs are different, so if you notice dry skin or something, reevaluate. Also, when it comes time for organs, do try to get grass-fed liver. It's a small portion of the diet, but insanely important, and it's the one part you can do it totally right and not break the bank!

[Toffee's Mom]

Originally Posted by marymrumfelt

That's awesome. You'll be so happy with your decision. I've been feeding mine nothing but meat/bone/organ (same ratio) for two years and they're incredibly healthy, pearly white teeth, and AMAZING coats. The vets are usually taken back by how healthy they are and go on and on about their coats and about my older one's teeth! I brought in a stool sample once and they couldn't believe it-- so tiny! Feel free to ask any questions that come up and keep posting the videos!

Also, the only supplement I'd add, if you're feeding store-bought factory farmed meat, is fish oil. Other than that, based on hours of studying and reading, I don't feel they need anymore and my dogs are a perfect example of that. With that, all dogs are different, so if you notice dry skin or something, reevaluate. Also, when it comes time for organs, do try to get grass-fed liver. It's a small portion of the diet, but insanely important, and it's the one part you can do it totally right and not break the bank!

I agree

I do feed mackerel. Tried the whole fish, but Toffee really only eats it when it is ground up, lol. I tried so many ways of feeding him raw fish... the ground mackerel is the way to go also for making training treats

[sweetgrass]

So far so good!

He's had plenty to eat and is so happy to eat it. Very content.

The only thing he hasn't been eating is the entire bone from the chicken legs I gave him for breakfast these two days. I just pick it up and toss it.

October 13th, 2012: Second Day
Breakfast: Approx. 190 grams of bone-in chicken leg. Ate all except some bone.
Dinner: Boneless chicken thigh.
October 14th, 2012: Third Day
Breakfast: 140 grams chicken leg. Left some bone.
Dinner: 256 grams chicken back and partial thigh. Ate all.

The reason he had boneless chicken thigh on day two is because I had to work until 11pm and mom wasn't comfortable feeding the bone (after an incident with her greedy gulper daschund). So I boned it and she fed it.

Thank you for the Salmon Oil suggestion. Right now I am feeding factory-farmed chicken, but have grass-fed, pasture-raised, local beef available to me in the freezer. I will add it anyway though, just to be safe.

Some photos:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8470/8...91587e18_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8194/8...a5623f85_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8...22e77ac1_z.jpg

And a video of Day 2:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quaintl...n/photostream/

What do you do to keep fur clean!? I think I'm going to just stick a tee-shirt on him. I'm tired of practically dunking him in a dishpan of water.