New to Raw

ourlilfamily · #1 09-16-2009, 08:21 PM

Hi all,

My husband and I have a beautiful fawn boxer- she is 5 months now! She was so picky and eventually *not* eating her kibble-- origen, wellness-- included, that we switched to Raw! She loves it. I just want to find out if are meeting her nutritional needs and if she is eating roughly around what she should be? She is looking beautiful and has gained weight- she is still incredibly lean, but before she was scarily lean!- We buy our raw food for her from Surrey Meat Packers-- and they are all cubed. One cube is just a bit more then a pound. Recently she has been eating one and a half cube a day and that is all. Is that enough? What the RAW food that we are feeding her is:

Beef Tripe
Beef & Vegetable & Bone
Chicken Veg Bone
Chicken Beef Veg Bone

Raw Diet for Dogs <--- That is the website.

She is really picky with chicken and eats less when we feed her just the Chicken Veg Bone, so are probably going to be feeding her less and less with that. We also put salmon oil on her raw food. Should we be also feeding her plain raw bones? Should we incorporate Turkey, Lamb, Duck..?

Please advise if we are hitting a healthy balance or not!

Thanks so much fellow boxer lovers :-)

ourlilfamily · #2 09-16-2009, 09:37 PM

Please reply!!! Even if it is just to say heck ya you're doing great.. even though I'm sure that's not the answer!!! Why isn't there a begging emoticon on this!

**gmacleod** · #3 09-17-2009, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourlilfamily

Please reply!!!

LOL - you only posted an hour ago, and at a quiet time of day! Patience

To answer your questions, yes, you should increase the variety and include other meats than just beef and chicken (so yes to the turkey, lamb, duck). It's hard to say on the "plain" raw bones, as its not clear what sort of bones you're talking of. Are these recreational/chewing bones? Or meaty things that make up a meal? In either case, they are probably quite good to give, but what they are really dictates whether you're replacing the other mixes or if you're just adding chew items.

The mixes with vegetables are probably the least valuable in the line up here - but what does seem to be lacking a bit is offal. I'd suggest choosing more of the tripe/liver products, and going easy on the ones that are diluted with vegetables.

**Jan** · #4 09-17-2009, 07:09 AM

You're being a little impatient! Some of us work for a living and in my case it happens to be in the evening.

A bit more variety would be a good idea. I used to live in Burnaby and would get food from Surrey Meat Packers all the time. I really miss the variety that I could get there and prices are not too bad. I would also skip the veggie mixes as it's not necessary. I haven't fed veggies in years and my dogs haven't suffered any. Meat on the bone is a good idea too as your dog needs the chewing to clean her teeth. I would get the chicken backs and necks, the turkey necks, and the beef mix, which is boneless. Duck and lamb could be added occasionally for a little more variety. You also need to add some offal, like liver, kidneys and heart etc. It should be 10-20% of their diet.

It is normal for boxers to be thin. They are lean dogs. You should be able to easily see the last three ribs. If you can see more than that, you could try upping her food a little bit.

Good luck!

ourlilfamily · #5 09-17-2009, 08:37 PM

LOL. I know-- I am impatient. Generation Y??? :-P Thanks so much for your guys's help. You are both so knowlegable- I feel honored I received responses from you two!!!!

I'm sure Gracie (the pup) will appreciate it :-)

Take care!

StellaBee · #6 10-04-2009, 12:26 PM

I remember when I switched to raw - Stella's my first dog and the switch to raw was scary. There's something comforting about reading the label of dog food and seeing "total nutrition," but just think, you feed yourself healthy food every day and the key is good variety! Sounds like you're well on your way. Good luck!