# Quick and easy raw food diet recipe??



## chucker (Nov 14, 2009)

Hello, I'm a newbie. I have a 6 yr old golden and I want to put her on a raw food diet. Can someone assist me? I tried to read the site this morning and its way too much to digest. Just quick and easy. I dont want to grind bones. Trips to the local butcher or supermarket is the limit of my efforts. 

thanks chucker


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Natures Variety has a premade complete raw diet that you can buy. They have all the needed nutrients and come in hamburger patty form. There are several varieties.... chicken, beef, venison, lamb. They are fairly expensive though. However, if you want to do it yourself, you do need to do some research so you are sure you are providing a balanced diet. Ambika or MissMarstar are both raw feeders and could provide much info.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

The easiest way to go is to get a pre-made raw food. That is too expensive for me, with 4 dogs, but if you only have one it's something you may want to look into.

Here is the basis of my raw diet for my dogs: One meal a day of raw meaty bones. I usually use chicken neck because I can get them cheap on a regular basis. I am always looking for sales for cheap alternatives and stock up when I get a good sale.

The other meal is usually ground meat mixed with Honest Kitchen's Preference (I used to make my own veggie mix in a food processor but got too lazy for that this past year). I add any supplements to this meal. A couple of times a week I will add liver, eggs, yogurt. 

They get a couple of meals a week that are from different protein sources - fish, pork, turkey, etc.

That is a guide of what I do, but I would urge you to still do additional research.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

chucker said:


> Hello, I'm a newbie. I have a 6 yr old golden and I want to put her on a raw food diet. Can someone assist me? I tried to read the site this morning and its way too much to digest. Just quick and easy. I dont want to grind bones. Trips to the local butcher or supermarket is the limit of my efforts.
> 
> thanks chucker



If trips to the butcher are all the effort you want to put forth, definitely go for a pre-made raw, like Nature's Variety. It's quite a bit more expensive than the cheapest raw feeding option (buying in bulk) but its sooo much more convenient and you can be sure you are feeding a properly balanced diet with little research and effort on your part.

Feeding your own raw diet buying meat from butcher or a meat locker can be quite an effort at times. I buy meat in bulk in 30-40lb cases and spend a good couple hours everytime I buy separating and bagging up the meat into individual daily portions. In the beginning this also involves weighing all the meat to make sure you are getting the proper amount.. after a while with experience, it can be eyeballed. This is also after usually 2 days of letting the cases defrost in my garage enough so I can even separate the meat from the frozen mass it comes in.

Raw feeding also requires quite a bit of cleanup afterwards to make sure no bacteria lingers on any surfaces the meat has touched as well as my own hands, etc.

Also, the amount of research and reading about raw diets that needs to be put into the equation to be sure you are feeding a completely balanced whole diet is quite a lot. It helps to have a mentor who can help and offer insight and advice in the learning stages.. and its something that doesn't stop once you begin the raw diet. I've been feeding raw for about 2 years now, and I still do a ton of reading to be sure I am still feeding what I believe to be the best diet for my dogs.

Honestly, feeding raw is not for someone who wants to put forth no effort or wants something similar to scooping kibble into a bowl. Unless you go for the pre-made options, that is.


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## chucker (Nov 14, 2009)

I was hoping that the experts here on the site would chime in and make it as easy as reading a "Betty Crocker Cookbook". I guess im just a man/ engineer and see things that way. It also doesnt help me since I worked many years for Quaker Oats in frozen food production where we used formulas by weight and volume. I ask again..

Anyone care to send their easy to follow recipes? I can be more specific here I'll go 1st.

Example

2 chicken necks- get at local supermarket
1lb raw hamburger- frozen. 85% lean

and - you can add the watch out for loose stool comments, behavioral comments as well


any takers. thks chuck


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

I thought missmarstar gave you excellent information regarding raw feeding. I think it's probably more complicated than just throwing two chicken necks and some raw ground beef together, so you might be barking a bit up the wrong tree. Why not feed your dog a good quality kibble instead? It's significantly easier, I'm sure.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

chucker said:


> Hello, I'm a newbie. I have a 6 yr old golden and I want to put her on a raw food diet. Can someone assist me? I tried to read the site this morning and its way too much to digest. Just quick and easy. I dont want to grind bones. Trips to the local butcher or supermarket is the limit of my efforts.
> 
> thanks chucker


Hello and welcome to the GRF! :wavey:

A couple of points

1) Since you are an engineer, I will share this info once you tell me how to quickly and easily transform the trees on my property into a log cabin that you would feel safe having your family live in. 

2) Why are you interested in feeding raw?

If it is not because you KNOW it is by far the best alternative to ensuring the good health of your dogs then you are doing it for the wrong reason. And honestly the only way to KNOW this is to do your research and digest all the info. 

The info provided by Marlene and others is really spot on. After feeding my pack a raw diet for over 12 years I am still always seeking new info and it is still is not as easy as any thing found in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. It is a commitment.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

If you went to a site that was too overwhelming, try getting a book on the subject. Here's the thing, with raw, everyone has as opinion and there's really no one right way to do it for every animal. It's about vareity and finding what variety works best for your dog. Try the website www.k9rawdiet.com. It's run by a friend of mine and I know she's got some great book recommndations there.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

chucker said:


> I was hoping that the experts here on the site would chime in and make it as easy as reading a "Betty Crocker Cookbook". I guess im just a man/ engineer and see things that way. It also doesnt help me since I worked many years for Quaker Oats in frozen food production where we used formulas by weight and volume. I ask again..



I wasn't trying to be vague or difficult in my answer. It really just isn't as simple as you'd like it to be. 

There are 2 basic schools of thought for raw feeding: the BARF diet, and the prey model diet. This is where the research on your part comes in to find which one you are more comfortable with.. or even a sort of combination of the two. 

The general ratio of meat/bone/organ meat % that I follow is 70/20/10... this ratio is not followed daily, but I tend to strive to get those ratios for them on a weekly basis. Some days they will get no organ meat, some days they will get a more boney meal, some days they will get a more meaty meal. It's all about balance.

The general amount of food to feed per day is 2% of the dog's body weight for weight maintenance.. adjusting in increments of .5-1% in either direction for weight loss or weight gain, or if your dog simply has a fast metabolism and needs more food to maintain like my younger dog does.

Other than that, I really can't tell you much to make it "easy" on you.

Some examples of what I feed my dogs throughout the week are:

chicken leg quarters
chicken breasts 
turkey necks
pork neckbones
mackerel and/or sardines
raw green tripe

as well as other things like whole rabbit, beef, or any other things I may find for a good price or on sale.


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## chucker (Nov 14, 2009)

Hello, thanks to all that responded. Ill keep asking questions to others that I know that feed their dogs a raw diet. I was trying to ask what I thought what appeared to be experts on a very nice site dedicated to our dogs. Other special interest sites I am a part are very gracious and helpful 99.99999 % of the time. We dont give answers such as "read a book" or "if your over whelmed do such and such." We assist as called upon. 


Missmarstar- thanks this has been the most helpfull. I still dont understand it all, but at this point it I feel like I am "prying" or asking forbidden question. You guys are pretty protective of what you know and dont want to lay it out so simple. I am "edumacated" and can follow it. 


Like I said, I will keep asking others I know as well. I have a client that feeds her Bull Mastif a raw diet, but I dont think any bones, I'll check with her soon.

Ambikagr- You are in luck. I am a licenced unlimited general contractor in NC. I just completed North Carolinas as well as what appears to be with all our research North Americas First LEED Certified Log Cabin. You can visit the site. It is Outaspacenc.com. Its logs are eastern white pine harvested in the canadian artic circle. I see your signature shows you from NJ. I can assist you in this as well. We'll have to get a structural engineer involved and architect. But send me a private message and I can send you some very condensed information to get you going. I can also offer full service construction management from my homebase here in Western North Carolina if you need it.

thanks for what appears to be a great site, ill keep looking and learning.

chucker


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Here's my dog's last several meals. I'll base it on my male, 70 pounds. I'll admit I don't measure or weigh anything, just eyeball it and if the dog's weight isn't where I want it I adjust accordingly.

This morning he had about 6 chicken necks (that's an estimate, I just buy a pack of necks, whatever size available, from wal-mart and split it proportionately between my 4 dogs)

Tonight he had about 1/3 lb. of ground beef (again an estimate, still just splitting up a one pound pack between the 4 dogs) mixed with about 1/4 cup of Honest Kitchen's Preference. I added an egg (shell included), a couple of spoonfuls of chopped liver, a long squirt of salmon oil, a vitamin E, and big scoop of yogurt.

Yesterday he had two or three turkey necks while the others had pigs feet (he's allergic to pork). Their first meal was later than normal and I fell asleep before I could feed them again, so they only ate once yesterday.

The night before I made a mix similar to the ground beef mix I listed above, but instead of liver I added about 4-5 ounces of green tripe to it. More chicken necks were fed that morning.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

chucker said:


> Hello, thanks to all that responded. Ill keep asking questions to others that I know that feed their dogs a raw diet. I was trying to ask what I thought what appeared to be experts on a very nice site dedicated to our dogs. Other special interest sites I am a part are very gracious and helpful 99.99999 % of the time. We dont give answers such as "read a book" or "if your over whelmed do such and such." We assist as called upon.


I am afraid that the answers were gracious and helpful even if they were not the ones you were hoping for. Feeding a raw diet is not as simple as opening a bag of kibble. It honestly does take research and understanding the balancing. There are premade raw diets that help to take a lot of the time out of it but as stated they are pricey. Some additional ones to those already mentioned by others are Bravo and Oma's Pride.



chucker said:


> Ambikagr- You are in luck. I am a licenced unlimited general contractor in NC. I just completed North Carolinas as well as what appears to be with all our research North Americas First LEED Certified Log Cabin. You can visit the site. It is Outaspacenc.com. Its logs are eastern white pine harvested in the canadian artic circle. I see your signature shows you from NJ. I can assist you in this as well. We'll have to get a structural engineer involved and architect. But send me a private message and I can send you some very condensed information to get you going. I can also offer full service construction management from my homebase here in Western North Carolina if you need it.


Actually I am familiar with the outaspacenc website. You should be quite proud of this accomplishment. It is a dream of mine to move down your neck of the woods and have been researching ways to go "greener" with a log cabin. I will file this info away and if I figure out how to do it I may contact you for more info. I am a big fan of a show called "Renovation Nation" on the Planet Green channel. I can assume you are the same Chuck listed as the general contractor on the website?


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

chucker said:


> Missmarstar- thanks this has been the most helpfull. I still dont understand it all, but at this point it I feel like I am "prying" or asking forbidden question. You guys are pretty protective of what you know and dont want to lay it out so simple. I am "edumacated" and can follow it.



Any of the countless people who have PM'd me asking for information about raw feeding will tell you that I can talk/type for hours about the subject and am more than willing to help anyone out. 

The impression I get from you is that you are looking for the convenient way to feed your dog a raw diet.. all I am telling you is, there is none unless you want to have the added expense for a pre-made raw food. 

I did that, when I first started.. because I wanted to switch my dog immediately to a raw diet due to his allergies, but had not done what I felt was enough research on the topic to feel comfortable doing it on my own yet. The pre-made raw diets are great for those starting out!

If you truly want to do this, you will need to really start reading up on it. There are tons of websites and books out there.. I'm not telling you this to dismiss you or try to keep my own experience from you.. not at all. I am more than willing to help. I just need to feel that you are more than willing to put forth the effort and research on your own as well, or I just can't recommend it. There are tons of great kibble options out there, there are several brands of pre-made raw, there's even a couple dehydrated raw options that you just add warm water to and it's ready to go. You asked for the "quick and easy raw food diet recipe".. well there it is. 

If you want to make your own diet.. I gave you some examples of cuts of meat I get for my dogs. Follow the 2% rule to find a good starting point for portion sizes... and definitely look into finding a meat locker type place or a butcher who will sell you meat in bulk.. it truly is the most affordable way to go about buying meat, and those types of places will usually carry the different cuts of meat than the regular grocery will carry, like turkey necks, etc.

Feel free to PM me if you have any more detailed questions and I'll do my best to answer them. I am sorry you felt I was being rude before or something... I really didn't mean to be.


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