Raw Pet Food

Myka · #1 01-23-2010, 12:49 AM

I used to have my dog on a raw diet (meat/bone/offal only, no veggies/fruits/grains). Although she's generally a pig when it comes to food of any sort, she was very picky when it came to raw. I found I couldn't get her to eat some of the stuff needed for proper balanced raw nutrition (like bone-in chicken and fish), so I switched her to Evo. She became very gassy on Evo (both the red meat and the chicken/turkey), even after 1 year of eating it. I switched to Orijen about a year ago I think, and have never been happier. Orijen seems to be a very popular food these days. I recommend it to anyone to at least try out for 6 months.

I also daily feed plain yogurt, Tripett green tripe, and Wild Salmon oil. I have always fed my dogs twice a day, and I have been considering replacing the evening meal with raw.

Never mix kibble with raw food as they are digested at different speeds. I believe raw is digested in 4 hours, where kibble takes 8 hours.

I'm not sure if it has been posted yet or not, but here is a link for those who are interested to see how each brand of dog food rates and why: www.dogfoodanalysis.com

Funky_Fish14 · #2 01-23-2010, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

Never mix kibble with raw food as they are digested at different speeds. I believe raw is digested in 4 hours, where kibble takes 8 hours.

Just to clarify, this would mean never at the same time... although you can feed say, raw in the morning, and kibble at night. Like Myka said it has to do with digestion rates... provided either is digrested before the other is ingested... there is no problem with mixing.

Aquattro · #3 01-23-2010, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funky_Fish14

Just to clarify, this would mean never at the same time... although you can feed say, raw in the morning, and kibble at night. Like Myka said it has to do with digestion rates... provided either is digrested before the other is ingested... there is no problem with mixing.

Just to clarify further, after much longer threads on dog specific boards, lots of raw feeders do (or claim to) feed at the same time and report no issues.
Goes to show that the science here is a bit young

but better safe than sorry, I wouldn't feed raw on top of kibble..

StirCrazy · #4 01-23-2010, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Just to clarify further, after much longer threads on dog specific boards, lots of raw feeders do (or claim to) feed at the same time and report no issues.
Goes to show that the science here is a bit young

but better safe than sorry, I wouldn't feed raw on top of kibble..

ya I was just going to say, there re several people on the GR board that feed raw/kibble mix, same dish same time and they have for years.. sooooo.. why knows.

Hey Brad you feeding the puppy raw yet?

I got new pics of Kona now.. I can't believe the difference in 1 month.. you don't notice it till you look at pictures.

Steve

Aquattro · #5 01-23-2010, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

I got new pics of Kona now.. I can't believe the difference in 1 month.. you don't notice it till you look at pictures.

Steve

lol, I notice it coming home from work!!

Ya, she's weaning over to raw now, although she's missing a few teeth

StirCrazy · #6 01-23-2010, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

lol, I notice it coming home from work!!

Ya, she's weaning over to raw now, although she's missing a few teeth

I am going to have to go get another bag of regional red soon. burnt through about 1/2 a bag in a month, but I just upped the food from 1.5 cups a day to 2.5 cups. little bugger won't stop growing

Steve

Myka · #7 01-23-2010, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Just to clarify further, after much longer threads on dog specific boards, lots of raw feeders do (or claim to) feed at the same time and report no issues.

It`s along the same line as humans we`re supposed to eat (preferably raw) fruit and veggies 1 hour before or 4 hours after any meats, grains, etc because of different digestion rates. However there are `no issues` there is optimal absorbency when consumed `properly`.

StirCrazy · #8 01-23-2010, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

It`s along the same line as humans we`re supposed to eat (preferably raw) fruit and veggies 1 hour before or 4 hours after any meats, grains, etc because of different digestion rates. However there are `no issues` there is optimal absorbency when consumed `properly`.

that doesn't make since to me, sorry, but even different meats, bone, fat, ect all have different absorbency and digestion rates. I have never even seen this mentioned in anything I have read.. interesting though

Steve