wild raw

[BlueCoyote 0]

i'm not new here, i'm a lurker for the most part...

so my name is Gin and i own two American Bulldogs, male and female..

have been doing loads of research on feeding raw and i am thinking its the better choice over kibble, but havent switched yet as i am still researching.

my plan is feeding rabbit and duck - i am raising my own - but my question before i start is.....

 

what about wild meat and parasites and diseases? i keep my own animals wormed and fairly parasite free.. but sometimes shit happens. one of my bulldogs got a tapeworm from eating part of a dead furry thing she found beside the fence in the woods..... i had to bury the rest to keep her from finishing it off.

 

aside from that, my dad is an avid deer hunter and once the season begins he disappears into the woods and you dont see him until closing day. i didnt think about this until tonight but since he hunts so much there is bound to be scraps left over from kills... would that be a poor choice to feed my dogs? feeding them the rib cages, necks, or back bones? pretty much the parts with the most meat left on them - he does a pretty good job of stripping the bones clean... but if i ask him he will probably save some for me.

should i be worried about certain parasites and diseases or will regular dewormings take care of that?

how many of you feed wild game to your dogs and how do they do on that? it wouldnt be a constant thing.... probably just during the autumn and winter.. then it will be back to ducks and rabbits, but i want to give them some variety if i can.

 

also, with feeding the rabbits, do you give the whole thing to the dogs or do you skin and gut them? i havent heard from enough people to make a decision.... some feed the whole carcass, fur and guts, while some skin them, gut them, and only leave in the heart, lungs and liver... does it matter if the fur is left on?

i know what they would do in the wild.... but i still want to ask about that and about feeding wild game. parasites can be removed, but the diseases make me a little nervous..

 

thanks in advance!

[Stabs 2]

I fed raw meat which was mostly from a butcher and wormed every 3 months due to the life cycle of the tapeworm and what's good for the dog. Now I feed mostly wild raw grub (kangaroo or goat) but I still worm the same frequency. I think as long as you keep on top of things then you'll be fine. As for the ribs, spine etc, that is exactly what I fed along with skirt, heads, wings etc. so you should be great with all of that

[BlueCoyote 0]

I fed raw meat which was mostly from a butcher and wormed every 3 months due to the life cycle of the tapeworm and what's good for the dog. Now I feed mostly wild raw grub (kangaroo or goat) but I still worm the same frequency. I think as long as you keep on top of things then you'll be fine. As for the ribs, spine etc, that is exactly what I fed along with skirt, heads, wings etc. so you should be great with all of that

 

thanks for the info

trying to convince my husband that its better for the dogs was a trick. a receptionist at a vet's office told him dogs are omnivores and cant survive on meat alone.... but "dog food" has only been around since WWII i think.. they cant evolve that fast that can they??

[Simoman 110]

a receptionist at a vet's office told him dogs are omnivores and cant survive on meat alone....

 

Hardly a qualified expert on canine nutrition Go raw Read Billinghursts book on BARF............

[martin 332]

I feed 'RAW' rabbit(with the fur for the terrier and without for the whippet),and,lamb,chicken,beef,and,I would feed the odd squirrel when they come along(as is),I also feed minced veg,and a teaspoon of oil on the food.As an additive I also sprinkle on 'Keepers Mix' & 'Easy Green' from Dorwest Herbs.They also get the odd bit of fruit,and,natural(live)goat yoghurt.

The problem(apparently)with feeding too much rabbit,is that the rabbit is very high in protein,and,this can have an adverse effect on a dog.So,I would cut back a bit with the rabbit,but,it is a personal thing if you want to skin/gut.I personally gut them,and the reason I would skin them for the whippet is,I don't want her to associate the rabbits she catches with food.

Everyone that feeds RAW has their own ideas about how to do it,and,what to feed,but,the biggest thing,is,to make sure that all of the raw flesh/bones that you do feed are 100% fresh,and I personally worm monthly.

Good luck with it,and,I'm sure if you keep an eye on the dogs you will see if you are doing it right.........Martin.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

a receptionist at a vet's office told him dogs are omnivores and cant survive on meat alone.

 

 

And I'll bet ye anything ye like that receptionist was standing beside a huge stack of sacks of 'kibble'. For sale to the punters

 

Most damning statement ever to highlight the average vet's true knowledge of actual Dog husbandry was posted on this very site. Ye might even remember it? Someone's 'friend of the family' was a vet. It was mentioned to him that they fed their Dogs BARF. The vet turned round and asked, " What's 'BARF'?! " I'd have slapped him So f*cking hard!!!

[BlueCoyote 0]

a receptionist at a vet's office told him dogs are omnivores and cant survive on meat alone.

 

 

And I'll bet ye anything ye like that receptionist was standing beside a huge stack of sacks of 'kibble'. For sale to the punters

 

 

i've been to that office before and yes... stacks and stacks of hills science diet in big and little bags.

my husband works with cars and chemical sales, has done for over 20 years, but its a revelation to him that the craftiness of salesmen extends beyond JUST cars..

i'm the dog person, he's just along for the ride lol

 

about feeding the rabbit - i need to keep doing my research, so please forgive my stupid questions, but what would be some problems to look for if they are getting too much protein? is there something to feed along with it to balance that, or maybe just feed smaller portions of rabbit?

i have heard of some people that feed raw only feed the dogs six days a week, instead of seven..

i know i am ready to do something soon, my one bulldog had a huge skin irritation on his shoulder. he was fine one day and the next morning it looked like someone had shot him, but it was all from him scratching in one spot all night long. its been cleared up, but i can still see that he likes to scratch at same shoulder.. and bulldogs are notorious for skin problems. my female will break out in hives with any flea killer.. other than that they're both healthy and active.

i have ALSO heard that raw fed dogs dont have such bad flea problems.. any truth to that?

Edited August 7, 2007 by BlueCoyote

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Oh. Looks like I've come back in here ~ I check through the 'View News Posts' button ~ before anyone else has found ye latest questions. So I'll have a shot at offering ye my personal (experianced based) opinions. Though I'm no 'Expert', what ever that truly might be.

 

Signs of too much protien? A Dog that gets hyper active, I've found. Please don't confuse that with vigour and / or stamina. Drunk people or people on drugs can get hyper. Then they fall over. Very clever, eh?

 

I've liturally had Dogs bouncing off the walls on just too much protien. Does none of us any good. Ye certainly don't want Dogs like your American Bulldogs getting hyper. They'd wreck the place.

 

How to feed an antidote to protien? I'm sorry. I honestly don't know and I don't bullshit. Feed less protien seems the obvious answer, doesn't it? Maybe fats have less? But ye'd need to check that out. I'm only wondering. Not saying. Only my Dogs get lamb. 'Breast of lamb'.

 

Looking at the stuff, I'd guage it might be around the 40/60 or 30/70 mark, bone to meat/fat ratio? The actual ribs are seemingly about 50/50 meat and fat content, covering a lot of bone. But, as I get mine with the 'skirt' on (belly flesh), that's about 70/30 flesh to fat itself. That skirt I tend to feed only to my big Dog ~ he'd be a shade bigger that yours ~ as a filler. The rest get pure ribs. I've now learned to feed them disgustingly light meals of it to stop them getting fat as moles. Their energy levels have improved noticably and now I'm starting to think I'm getting the balance about right. Fitter looking Dogs with good energy. See what I'm saying? It's all down to trial and error. There's no book I know of can specify grams of this and that for " A Dog ". Nor can anyone here. It's all just guidelines.

 

Come to think of it; Now compare what I've just told ye to the stuff printed on the side of one of those greasy sacks. There they'll tell ye just how many cup fulls per Kilo of Dog. I guess They must be 'Experts' then?

 

Hives and other skin problems? Ye touched on the root there. " Flea Killers ". I happen to be a Pest Controller in real life. Thus I am more 'expert' around things like fleas and their killers. Enough so at least to tell ye for a fact that 'Flea Killers' are 'Poisons'. Do the extrapolation yeself: Flea Poisons screw ye Dogs skins up. Ipso Facto; 'Poison' manifests itself on ye Dogs skins. Now think what ye've been Feeding ye Dogs and how it's manifested ..... Bravo!

 

I have a locked and sealed room here. I keep my poisons and stuff in there. If I had a sack of " Dry Food " on my premises, it'd be in there. Locked securely away from my Dogs. I'd use it as a base for Rat Bait. About the only decent use I can honestly think of for that shit.

 

Raw fed Dogs don't have flea problems? What an interesting point. I live rural. There must be all sorts in the grass and vegetation round here. Know what? Not a flea apparrant on any of my Dogs! I never even thought about it, because nothing's ever given me cause to. In fact, as my 95% white coated JRT jumps onto my lap, I now realise I have four Dogs here, each with entirely differant coats. Not a known flea amongst them. Could that be down to their Raw diet??? I'l be ....!

 

I'd love to hear others input on the points ye've raised here. My own response is making me realise just how much Good I'm even now just taking for granted

[Clip 0]

I wish raw fed dogs didn't have flea problems. After feeding raw for two years now i haven't had a flea problem but a month ago my lad started getting a few on him, admittedly this all coincided with me homing a new greyhound bitch who may well have brought them with her. Anyway after a month of trying to beat the pests with a strict regime of flea combing i had to resort to chemicals because they weren't going anywhere. The grey bitch has been switched to raw now so hopefully she'll soon be able to keep them away natuarally just as my lad was doing for the past 24 months.

 

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[BlueCoyote 0]

i wonder what it is about raw fed dogs that fleas dont like?

i do know that some mix in some garlic cloves to feed, but i dont know if everyone does that.

i have recently bought some borax to put under the furniture in my house to help keep fleas from living under there, but its pointless if i keep bringing them inside when they are living off the dog who is outside.

and i wouldnt mind seeing my two with some energy... no i dont want them falling over from TOO much... but while they're good dogs and fairly active... bulldogs are also known to be rather lazy if you let them. i honestly think my dogs are the healthiest where i live because we do go out hiking and running and swimming. the others i've met have rolls of fat and spend their days on the sofa in the air conditioning

 

 

lol about the dog food as rat bait. i've said the same thing in the past.. that is blasphemy in certain crowds...

 

again!

 

i like this forum by the way. totally different than the other dog forum i'm a member of.

[Guest nfp20]

if your feeding raw then give a bit of garlic each day it helps with fleas but if you have an infestation already go the normal route of product like frontline clean and spray bedding house etc. Garlic is supposed to help with both fleas and worms but if your pet passported its easier to use the normal products.

 

The Ian Billingshurst book already recommend is brilliant but there is also a website that you can use for advice:

 

http://www.barfworld.com/

 

There is also a forum worth joining http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BritBarf/ not the only one there are others out there but this lot are quick to reply.

 

BARF isn't just about feeding the odd rabbit you have to give a varied diet with supplements its sometimes easier to buy products from companies like landywood who supply in bulk (just chuck it all in a freezer)

 

http://www.landywoods.co.uk/barf_diets.html

 

Mine get a mixed diet of raw and normal dog food (nature diet or Burns dog foods) works a treat.

Edited August 9, 2007 by nfp20

[Guest curtislj]

Hunt kennels have been feeeding raw flesh for hundreds of years.As long as you stick to a stricked worming routine,you'll have no problems .I worm my hounds every two months with a variety of wormer,( Drontal, Ivermectin, Panacur liquid).This keeps them free from parasites as much as possible.As long as you're not feeding the offal you should be fine.Its also worth remembering that there is a higher concentration of parasites in white meat such as chicken and pork and these should be cooked