Boneless raw?

M

Merry

Forums Regular
Hi!

If everything works out, I'm getting a sheltie puppy on the last week of November
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. I've been considering raw diet for my him. My last dog was on raw for a few years and seemed to do fine, but she was a big dog with shorter hair, and I didn't really handle her a lot. I mean, I didn't pick her up, hold her in my lap etc, because she was so big. She also didn't eat bones, just meat. Now I've been studying raw feeding a bit more and found out that bones are important not just for teeth, but for the right calcium and phosphorus balance. However, I'm a bit worried about the bacteria.

Now I get that when dog eats raw meat the germs don't spread far, maybe on the dogs lips, but that's it. But when it chews bones raw meat comes in contact with its paws, its long hair in the chest, it's jaw, everything. And then I come and pick the dog up, or it jumps in my lap, and the germs spread. I know to wash my hands after I handle raw meat, but I'm not sure I'll remember (or want) to wash my hands every single time I've petted my dog.

I live with my mom, who's had some serious illnesses, and I don't want to put her on jeopardy just because I want to give my dog the best diet possible. That's why I've thought about feeding my dog home food, but nothing raw. Good meats and veggies, some dairy, eggs, but no bones, since bones can't be cooked. But how do I make sure my dog gets enough calcium? I've read that you shouldn't feed your dog ground egg shells or any kind of powdered calcium, because it will lift the pH in the dog's stomach, and then the stomach acids won't be able to work properly, kill all the germs etc. I don't want to do this either. So how do I feed a balanced, healthy diet without bones?


I know there are some products that have ground bones in them, but in order to give my dog enough calcium this way, I'd have to basically feed him those products only. I'd really rather feed home cooked and know what I'm giving him. And as far as chewing goes, I would give him raw hide. I know that it might have some bacteria also, but at least it wouldn't be nearly as messy and get all over the dog's fur.


So.. Any advice?
And sorry about the length and the grammar mistakes! I write Finnish much better
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For meals my dogs get home cooked. I keep some calcium bicarbonate around if I haven't given them bones in a while. However, there are a couple of ready sources for bones that I think will be easier for you. Poultry bones tend not to have blood and I really recommend giving raw chicken necks a go - they don't make a mess at all and my dogs love them. You can also add egg shell to their meals.

Red meaty bones are definitely better for their teeth, but I'm assuming you'll be feeding inside and they are best eaten outdoors (or a basement or garage) as they chew them on the ground. So maybe reserve them to summer. There are ways to reduce the blood from red meaty bones - I've adapted a child apron to cover their ruffs and just wipe their feet with baby wipes when finished (sheltie fur cleans easily). If they have the bones inside (ie in the garage) I dip the meat in boiling water first so it isn't dripping blood - but the bone remains uncooked. Also smaller red meat bones (like necks and lamb chops) don't cause much of a mess. It's the bigger ones - like the lamb shanks which my dogs just loooove - that are really messy.
 
I feed raw ground from My Pet Carnivore. If you are in the Midwest they are worth the $$$. Cheaper than Primal and the dogs love it.

Sorry I didn't see you were in Finland. Then you might consider a heavy duty grinder to grind it yourself.
 
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I think I'm going to go with egg shells anyway. But can somebody tell me how much calcium a growing sheltie pup needs? Amount/kg of pup or amount/fresh food kg would be nice. The measurements can also be in pounds. I've read that the recommended amount of calcium is 1-1,5%, but that's for dry food. How much is it for fresh?

I'm trying to aim for the 1,3:1 calcium - phosphorus ratio, and I'm wondering if 600 mg calcium per day would be ok. We've got this website in Finland were we can collect different food items on a list and the program then calculates how much of everything is in that food. I've put my dogs planned diet on that list and according to that, my dog would be eating 457mg of phosphorus daily. 600mg of calcium would be enough to counterbalance that, but are the measures too low, good or too much for a pup?

It's great to be able to count all these things, but.. :gaah
Too much information!
 
I just read through the High Protein Diet -thread and realized that the diet I've plannes for my new puppy might might contain too much protein. I understood from the thread that 26% - 32% protein would be good in puppy food, and somewhere between 20-25% in adult food. But how many grams of protein is that? I know you can calculate that from the amount of kibbles you're giving, but those amounts vary. The site I mentioned before calculates the amount of protein in the food, but it doesn't do me any good if I don't know how much there should be.. And I do mean it calculates the amount of protein, not the amount of meat.

So what's the ideal amount for protein for sheltie per kg per day? And I suppose those figures are different for puppies and grown-ups, so answer in both would be nice :)

I'm sure this would help all of us homecooks out there!
 
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