# It's official.... Jersey's going RAW!!



## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Awesome!!! That's great!


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Good luck to you and Jersey!!

I have a question...what is RAW food anyway? Can someone explain? And how appropriate is it for a dog?

Thanks


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

awesome!! you will love it... Sam has been a completely different dog since going on raw food..


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

CreekviewGoldens said:


> Good luck to you and Jersey!!
> 
> I have a question...what is RAW food anyway? Can someone explain? And how appropriate is it for a dog?
> 
> Thanks


exacty what it sounds like... raw food. raw meat, raw meaty bones, raw eggs, raw veggies and fruits if you choose to feed that. its a much more natural diet for dogs than kibble or even a cooked homemade diet.


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## videochicke (Dec 29, 2007)

After losing Amber, I did a lot of research about ways to prevent things from going wrong the next time around. So much seems to boil down to diet. Our next dog will be fed raw from the start. The whole concept makes sense and feels right to me. Keep us posted on how Jersey does on raw.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

I totally understand Videochicke. We hear a lot about how dangerous raw meat is for our dogs but I personally am not aware of a single fatality. Fatalities from contaminated kibble, however ... that's a different story. I know you will always wonder about Amber.

Good news, JM!! I have a great source for ground ostrich neck, if you're interested. Great food for dogs, comes frozen in a 2lb tube. 

:wave:


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Oh ok...is it actually nutrionally better for the dog?


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

That's great!!! I have been studying and am almost ready to make the switch but I'm not sure what to do about my elderly lab. I may end up buying the pre-made or grind it myself. I'm positive that she would puke it all up if I gave it to her whole. I KNOW that my other dogs will love being on a raw diet. What foods are you starting out with, the first week, or are you jumping in with both feet? I'll be waiting to see how things are going.



CreekviewGoldens said:


> I have a question...what is RAW food anyway? Can someone explain? And how appropriate is it for a dog?


http://www.rawdogranch.com/rawdiet.htm

http://www.skylarzack.com/rawfeeding.htm

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/raw-diet/

http://www.rawlearning.com/bigpicture.html

This site's recipes are fun to look through:

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/Recipes

Once you can _wrap your mind around it,_raw feeding just makes so much more sense. I would never even think to give my horses any meat and yet we think nothing about filling our dogs with useless grains.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

you would think that dog's would not know what to do with say, a raw turkey drumstick or neck... but lemme tell you, the first time I gave one to Sam he went CRAZY for it and also its great for their teeth and fulfills their chewing needs and they love it  it is kinda gross for US to get around touching the raw meat and stuff, but like Cathy said, once you get past that and realize its not about US its about THEM... you see what a great feeding choice it really is.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

and jo, send some ostrich neck my way  did you see in my raw pigs feet thread about the ostrich LEG?!?! ewwww


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

I have fed raw and I have fed kibble ...both are ok ...the thing that concerns me is the amount of people who feed Raw incorrectly...its more than throwing a chicken back into a bowl and saying "yippeee my dog eats a raw diet" there are many many things that must be included in the diet. Red meats/organ meats/supplements/ etc etc ...If I was feeding one or two dogs I personally would go back to raw, feeding multiple dogs it's more difficult...for me it was supply issues as I was being shipped rotten chicken...sigh. In our area product is hard to get ...good luck to you in your endeavor!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

i hear you arcane... i definitely agree that many can feed raw food incorrectly and give a seriously incomplete diet to their dogs. that was the main reason i started Sam on raw food with the prepackaged frozen raw from Nature's Variety. i knew as a novice raw feeder that i did not have the knowledge to know where to begin in giving him a complete and balanced diet. now that he's been doing so well on the raw patties, with LOTS of raw meaty bones as well... i am seriously considering making my own raw diet for him. i have been looking into the socal barf co-op but the amount of meat is just HUGE and way more than i would have room for... so considering purchasing a large freezer... but all of this is taking a lot of research, but i would definitely like to make that transition in the near future. 

Jersey's Mom - let me know how Jersey does and what each "meal" consists of for him once he is on all raw.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

wow.... I completely forgot to check back on this... gonna throw out my 2 cents on some things brought up... in no particular order...

Arcane, I agree that many people do feed incorrectly in trying to switch to a natural diet. I think it's really important to do the research and know what you're getting yourself in to. I've given *"Give Your Dog a Bone"* (by Dr. Ian Billinghurst) a good once over, but I'm sure I will have read it cover to cover very soon. I've recommended that book countless times to people who mention considering a raw diet. I think it does a really good job of breaking down exactly what dogs need, and how often as well as expalaining exactly what it means to have a "well balanced diet" to a dog. Thanks to my father, I have access to this and a number of other sources, including him (the ultimate cheat sheet... he's been feeding raw for 10 years now). Our dogs get a breakfast "slop"... as I like to call it... that I'll be learning to plan, vary, and make, as well as a big ol' chunk of meat... again, my terminology... for dinner. While it's one thing to do for our few dogs, I can't imagine trying to feed your whole crew something so labor intensive!! 

Thanks for the offer of ostrich meat Jo... I just may take you up on that someday. For now, though, I'm just going to be learning and following the old man's lead. 

Marlene, yeah it's really cool to see that they just know what they're supposed to do with it, bones and all. When my father originally switched from kibble to raw, I think our oldest golden was around 5 years old... she didn't even flinch!! Keeper (Jersey's grandma) was around 1 and took to it right away too. Jersey was actually raised on raw food until shortly before he came to live with me (my dad took care of the switchover to make things easier for me), so I have a feeling he's just going to dig right in. 

Caryn, feeding raw can be great for your dogs if you're willing to put in the time and effort. As arcane mentioned, it's much more than just giving your dog a chunk of meat for every meal. In essence, what you are trying to do is mimic their natural, instinctual diet. This includes no only the meat from animals they would hunt, but the contents of their stomachs and other odds and ends as well. Switching to raw feeding is something I have always known I would do sooner or later... lucky for me things have worked out on the sooner end. As I said in my first post, there are some high quality manufactured foods that dogs do wonderfully on, but in my experience there are benefits to raw feeding that make the work worth it.

I'll definately let you all know how Jersey handles the transition, but it'll be about a week or so before we get started. 

Julie and Jersey


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Jersey had his first raw meal tonight!! We're decided it would be best to ease him into it a little, so he got to have part of a turkey wing for dinner. It took him a while (about 15 minutes), but he finally chomped through it and got it all down! Tomorrow night he'll get the rest of the wing. So it begins....

Julie and Jersey


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Well, today's D-day (diet day that is!)!!! For the past 6 days Jersey has been having his normal kibble breakfast with a meaty bone for dinner. He's taken to it well! He's a little slow breaking it up and getting it down, but that'll come in time (and I'd rather him go slow than try to swallow it whole!). We were waiting it out until it was time to make more patty mix. So Jersey started his official new breakfast this morning. He scarfed it down without hesitation this morning and left nothing in the bowl for his mom and grandma to clean up (they like to check eachother's bowls for scraps). 

Even with just the one meal switched we've started to see some good things. His water intake has decreased, his output has decreased (though I expect that to g,et even better with the complete elimination of kibble), and I may be seeing a litte tiny bit of improvement with his teeth (although I freely admit I could be seeing what I want to see, and that it will take much more time to really make a difference). 

So, I suppose my point is.... so far so good!!! And hopefully more good things to come! 

Julie and Jersey


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

arcane said:


> ...the thing that concerns me is the amount of people who feed Raw incorrectly...its more than throwing a chicken back into a bowl and saying "yippeee my dog eats a raw diet" there are many many things that must be included in the diet.


Here is an article that tells how important it is to do it correctly and the problems that can come about by doing it wrong.

http://www.caberfeidh.com/NaturalDiet.htm

Jersey's Mom...I'll be interested in updates on how she's doing with his new diet and I just want to say that I love your new banner...Jersey is gorgeous and the pic in the middle cracks me up :.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

gold'nchocolate said:


> Here is an article that tells how important it is to do it correctly and the problems that can come about by doing it wrong.
> 
> http://www.caberfeidh.com/NaturalDiet.htm
> 
> Jersey's Mom...I'll be interested in updates on how she's doing with his new diet and I just want to say that I love your new banner...Jersey is gorgeous and the pic in the middle cracks me up :.


Thank you for sharing that article. I do know how important it is to do this correctly, and I am lucky enough to have my father coaching me through this. He has been feeding a raw diet to his dogs for 10 years now and is a wealth of information. (Don't tell him I said that!!! ) I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on how this works out, but I have the fullest confidence that it will go well. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time, but I needed to figure out a way to make it feasible (I likely won't have room to store food bought in bulk when I move out on my own. Luckily my parents are willing to help me out there). 

Thanks for complimenting our new banner. It was actually your signature that inspired it! When I first saw yours I wondered how you had gotten 3 pictures up using that program/site. I was able to figure it out by looking close enough and toying around a bit. Then I just had to wait for Valentine's day to pass to set up this one. I was really happy with how it turned out!

Julie and Jersey


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Glad to hear Jersey's doing well on his new diet! By the way...I like your new banner Julie!!  Jersey is a pretty dog!!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Julie, glad to hear Jersey is taking to his new diet so well!! I make my first bulk raw order tomorrow, I'm so excited and have been planning the next month's meals out so I know what and how much I need to order. I wish I got this excited about my own meals LOL


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> Julie, glad to hear Jersey is taking to his new diet so well!! I make my first bulk raw order tomorrow, I'm so excited and have been planning the next month's meals out so I know what and how much I need to order. I wish I got this excited about my own meals LOL


I know you were not asking for advise, but I have never let that stop me - I am sure Julie will agree about that .
Once you figure out what you need add 50% more to your order. That will allow you a cushion for unforseen problems - miscalculation, the delivery to the co-op got screwed up, you are unable to get the food picked up when planned, etc. The freezer you bought will way more than you will need for a month so that should not be a problem.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

thanks for the advice, don't hesitate to throw your 2 cents in anytime, I'll never turn down good advice! 

i had definitely planned to do that, plus each case I will order from the co-op is about 40lbs, and considering Sam only eats about a pound of food a day, I will definitely be ordering quite a bit more than what I need for just a month. I will be getting one case of each of the "staples", then in the following months may try some different, more exotic things once in a while if I can find someone locally who will split an order with me.


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## videochicke (Dec 29, 2007)

How is the raw diet for Jersey going? We have "the book" now and that is the route we are taking with our sometime in the future pup. My husband is the cook in the house and is reading the book as we speak.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Things have been going really well so far. He seems to really enjoy the food and we're seeing some definite improvements with him. The most obvious difference has actually been his water intake. He's taking in a far more reasonable amount of water, and his trips outside have decreased to a more livable level (he's always been a big chugger!). We're not getting nearly as much "waste" as we were on the dry food, which I expected. Truth be told, he had done very well on the kibble, so I'm not seeing anything all that noticable regarding his coat or activity level... but I feel better about what I'm feeding him, and that's important to me! Out of curiosity, what book did you pick up? If you have any questions regarding the raw diet, especially once you bring your new pup home, I would recommend my father (AmbikaGR on this forum) as a great resource for you. I'm still learning! But he's been feednig this way for about 10 years now.

Julie and Jersey


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## videochicke (Dec 29, 2007)

Jersey's Mom said:


> Things have been going really well so far. He seems to really enjoy the food and we're seeing some definite improvements with him. The most obvious difference has actually been his water intake. He's taking in a far more reasonable amount of water, and his trips outside have decreased to a more livable level (he's always been a big chugger!). We're not getting nearly as much "waste" as we were on the dry food, which I expected. Truth be told, he had done very well on the kibble, so I'm not seeing anything all that noticable regarding his coat or activity level... but I feel better about what I'm feeding him, and that's important to me! Out of curiosity, what book did you pick up? If you have any questions regarding the raw diet, especially once you bring your new pup home, I would recommend my father (AmbikaGR on this forum) as a great resource for you. I'm still learning! But he's been feednig this way for about 10 years now.
> 
> Julie and Jersey


We have the "Give Your Dog a Bone" book plus have been looking at various webistes. Raw just seems to make logical sense. And I just don't trust dog food at all anymore.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

That's the same book we use! I think it really does a good job of breaking everything down for you. Good choice! I agree that it's a very logical way to feed... and great for their teeth!! I'm already seeing a bit of improvement in Jersey's (they were never in horrible shape, but I did find it difficult to keep them clean on his old diet) from chewing through those meaty bones! 

Julie and Jersey


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Julie, what is a typical day's food for Jersey?


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Marlene, I was thinking about you when I observed my dad making the breakfast slop last week and completely forgot to post it for you. I don't have measurements on pretty much anything, because I forgot to jot them down, but it'll give you an idea nonetheless. Here ya go!

*Breakfast Meal:*
Veggies:
Collard Greens or Kale (I think he usually uses Kale, but we had Collards this week)
Carrots
Veggies get run through the juicer-- all pulp and juice are added to the pot.

Other ingredients:
Diced apples
Apple cider Vinegar
Garlic Poweder
Add all this to the pot and stir to keep the apples from browning

Meat:
Boneless beef (generally top round steaks or roast, but really whatever we can get at a decent price)
Meat gets cut into chunks and run through a food processor
Add to the pot and stir for even consistency.

According to what I've been told, and read, the dog will likely turn his nose up at a strictly veggie meal, so the meat is added to entice him to eat it. Jersey loves it!
For dinner he gets a raw meaty bone. I'm pretty sure it's always poultry. Turkey necks or wings, chicken legs, things along those lines. I need to weigh Jersey to make sure he's maintaining his weight, and we can tinker with portion sizes as need be. But so far, so good!

Julie and Jersey


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Yes, I am finding it difficult to keep feeding Sam 2 meals in the day because he only eats about a pound of food each day. I think eventually I may just feed him once (not sure if in the am or pm) to make it easier unless he gains weight and can eat more lol as you know I am going more "prey-model" than BARF, so no veggie slop for Sam... I am thinking I need to invest in a good meat cleaver to cut up some of the larger RMB's so that I won't be over feeding Sam. :doh: this is tough


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## HoldensMom (Dec 3, 2007)

I'm just going to tack these question onto this thread, rather than start a new one.

1) What is the primary reason for feeding a combo raw/kibble diet separately? Is it because of the theory of different proteins digesting at different rates? And if so, then (in theory) if you feed a single protein kibble and you use the same protein in your raw patties, could you feed them at the same time?

2) The water thing-- is it that they drink less water? Or drink the water less often? (but in boluses)


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

1) cooked proteins and raw proteins are very different, regardless of whether they come from the same animal source or not. people wonder why dog's do not get salmonella from raw chicken like a human might... but raw meat passes through a dog's digestive tract much quicker than a human's so the bacterias do not affect them. Kibble takes much longer to digest for a dog, so think if you feed both kibble and raw at once, the kibble could cause the raw meat to stay within the digestive tract longer, potentially causing problems. This is my understanding of the reasons not to feed both at once. And really, what is the point? If you want to feed a 1/2 kibble 1/2 raw diet, why not feed each seperately in 2 different meals?

2) raw meat is inclusive of water, whereas kibble is dehydrated. they drink less water in general... less water/less often... same difference really. 

hope that helps 




HoldensMom said:


> I'm just going to tack these question onto this thread, rather than start a new one.
> 
> 1) What is the primary reason for feeding a combo raw/kibble diet separately? Is it because of the theory of different proteins digesting at different rates? And if so, then (in theory) if you feed a single protein kibble and you use the same protein in your raw patties, could you feed them at the same time?
> 
> 2) The water thing-- is it that they drink less water? Or drink the water less often? (but in boluses)


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

I think Marlene covered your first question very well... and I really have nothing I could add to that. As for the water thing, I'll try to describe what's going on with Jersey. He's always been a big chugger... the command "that's enough" actually means stop drinking for him. Although I sometimes still use that command (and I think it's more a matter of habit than need with him), not all the time. And he's definately going to the water bowl far fewer times throughout the day. So, a little of both... but I still have to combat his habit of taking in a lot at once sometimes.

Julie and Jersey


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## HoldensMom (Dec 3, 2007)

Thanks! That's what I thought... but I just recently bought some of the nature's variety medallions. I'm doing the raw (venison) in the morning and the kibble (natural balance venison and sweet potato) in the evening. I've been doing it about a week now and noticed that Holden never seems to want drink at or around meal times like he used to, but will instead drink an entire bowl at one time randomly during the day. Weird?

He hasn't gotten sick at all, but I have noticed softer stools and a little more gas than usual.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Oh, don't get me wrong.. Sam will still finish a bowl of water throughout the day, even on raw. It's just that I don't find myself re-filling his bowl 2-3 times a day, as I did before when he was on kibble. lol 

the Nature's Vareity patties are awesome and Sam has done great on them. A word of advice.. depending on how much Holden eats, it might be easier to just buy the patties vs the medallions and split them in half or something


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## HoldensMom (Dec 3, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> the Nature's Vareity patties are awesome and Sam has done great on them. A word of advice.. depending on how much Holden eats, it might be easier to just buy the patties vs the medallions and split them in half or something


thanks! yeah, i'll probably end up going with the patties eventually. right now i'm still trying to figure out what he's allergic too. i still have my money on the chicken but i'm feeding him a grain-free kibble just to be on the safe side. the hot spots are healing (FINALLY!) even though he's had to wear the cone for the past week and a half. and i swear i can already see some difference in him (or maybe it's just a mommy placebo effect). once i figure out what works best for him and what i can afford, i'll probably buy the patties.

this is all very exciting though. and hooray for jersey! (since i kind of hijacked his thread)


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

No problem with the hijack! I hope the new food works out well for Holden! When Jersey was at his worst with water (and I'm actually not even just talking about summer, this was constant year round) we were refilling the bowl here 5-7 times per day. Yes there's 3 dogs drinking out of it, but MOST of it was Jersey as the other two are very light drinkers. It was getting obscene. Jersey still loves his water, and frequently dunks his toys in the bowl to make them more "fun," but it's not as obsessive as it used to be. Now we refill it maybe 2x per day (again, with 3 dogs), so it's definately been an improvement!! Hopefully you'll see Holden even out his water intake by taking in less with more trips to the bowl. I found it relatively easy to associate a word command to stopping, and that might help him along too. Good luck!!

Julie and Jersey


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

HoldensMom said:


> thanks! yeah, i'll probably end up going with the patties eventually. right now i'm still trying to figure out what he's allergic too. i still have my money on the chicken but i'm feeding him a grain-free kibble just to be on the safe side. the hot spots are healing (FINALLY!) even though he's had to wear the cone for the past week and a half. and i swear i can already see some difference in him (or maybe it's just a mommy placebo effect). once i figure out what works best for him and what i can afford, i'll probably buy the patties.
> 
> this is all very exciting though. and hooray for jersey! (since i kind of hijacked his thread)


 
how long has he been eating the venison food?? hope that works out for him! honestly the patties and the medallions i believe work out the same cost-wise per oz of food... but its just a bit more convenient to use the patties i think. I have been feeding Sam the NV patties (rotate chicken and beef) for a few months now and he has done so well on them... due to high cost, and getting a 2nd dog next week, we decided to just buy meat in bulk and make our own raw diet for him, and i must say, i REALLY will miss the convenience of the pre-made raw food!!


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