Best Dog Food & Cat Food Options for Your Healthy Pet!

Okay now, it is somewhat tricky locating the meat at a reasonble price. I had found some chicken wings and drumsticks in bulk at Costco, but they weren't organic and I was worried about the hormones and antibiotics they were feed. Then I located chicken backs and necks at Whole Foods. They were priced cheaply when I started to buy there, but then they more than doubled the price within two weeks, unfortunately. Too many people buying for their dogs, I guess. The chicken backs are the best for removing tartar! A raw food diet is more expensive than buying kibble, but I think it is definitely worth it in the long run.

I had absolutely no issues when I switched the dogs over to a raw meat diet. No diarrhea. I have fed them raw chicken ribs, drumsticks, backs, necks without any issues of bones splintering. I was less worried about this than most people because I had tried a raw meat diet with another of my dogs about a decade ago and never had any issues. In fact, within 24 hours, the bones come out in the #2 in tiny pieces and decompose at an incredible rate, turning to chalk within a day or two. I do supplement them with fish oil 3x a week and am currently looking for a multi-vitamin to add to their food a few times a week. I might look at horse supply companies to keep my costs down.

I highly recommend this diet for those who have overweight dogs that like mine, aren't losing weight with exercise or dietary changes! I also suggest buying a book or two on the subject to figure out how much to feed your dogs. Mine need about 1 lb of food at every meal.

About a year ago, I started my dog on a raw meat and bones diet. There are many benefits to this diet, and as a 9 year old my dog has never been healthier! This is a long post, but I am afraid they are going to omit my links...so here goes!

First off, here are some of the benefits that I have noticed:
1. Major Improvement in Allergies
2. Less problems with fleas and ticks
3. Clean teeth with no tartar buildup
4. Increase in energy and stamina
5. Shiny coat
6. Improved digestion
7. Much smaller stools (due to no fillers, grains ect)
8. Improved overall health
9. Can cost less than premium kibble, especially for large dogs! I am saving a ton of money feeding RAW to my rott puppy.

There are many great websites to learn the specifics, but here is the basic idea:

Feed approximately 2% to 3% of the dog's body weight daily, feed more if you can feel the ribs, and less if they look pudgy. For puppies feed 2% to 3% of their ADULT WEIGHT.
Organ meat needs to be about 10% of the diet
Try to use a variety of meat to offer more nutrition
You will be feeding mostly muscle meat and meaty bones; you are feeding too much bone if the dog gets constipated, or if the stool is pure white. Too little bone can cause diarrhea. I feed muscle meat with no bone at one meal and meaty bone for the other.

Muscle Meat-Hearts, gizzards, ground meat, tongue
Organ Meat-Liver & Kidney of any animal
Meaty Bones-Chicken & Turkey (quarters, breast, necks, wings, backs), Deer, Rabbit, Pig (feet, necks, tails, roast), lamb, beef (ribs, necks)

BEWARE:
1. Your dog will likely go through a detox period when switching from kibble. They will probably have diarrhea, but it will go away.
2. Start with chicken legs and breast, the high bone content will help the diarrhea go away. Add variety & organs SLOWLY after a month or two.
3. Monitor their meals to begin, most dogs are so excited to get meat, and are used to swallowing kibble without chewing! Once they learn that you are always going to feed RAW they will slow down! Don't feed small pieces at first!
4. READ LABELS!!! Most grocery store meat is loaded with extra ingredients such as flavor and salt. Do not give this to your dog! It will make them sick. If unsure, check the sodium level, it should be around 3% per serving.
5. Don't grind the meat; this can cause constipation and they won't get the dental benefits.
6. Don't think you have to buy pre-made diets. They are very expensive and usually have vegetables and other additives. It is better to just by meat from a butcher!

Hopefully they will allow me to keep these links! They are the best most straightforward that I have found and are excellent resources!!! Please read these before you start! My advice is much more simplistic and does not cover as much as the provided links.
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
http://rawfed.com/myths/feedraw.html

Feeding a raw diet takes some time to get used to, but once you get the hang of it you will be doing the best thing for your dog. After all, this is the way dogs ate before kibble.

My 2 large breed dogs (Rotweiller & German Shepherd) have been on a raw diet for almost 2 years and are doing great. I have gotten most of my information from a Yahoo Group called 'rawfeeding'. They have over 13,000 members, up from 8,000 when I joined 2 yrs ago.

The dogs get only muscle meat, raw bone that is connected to the muscle meat and organs (the squidgy type) for vital nutrients. 80% meat/10% bone/10% organ

I advertise on different sites for freezer burnt meat and get a great variety. My freezer is always full. Chicken is best to start with for the first month, then start adding other meat gradually.

My guys have chicken, beef, pork, venison, elk, buffalo, rabbit, fish, etc. They haven't turned anything down, yet.

Stay away from processed meat like bacon, sausage, ham, lunch meat, hot dogs, etc. I rarely eat that food, either.