Oh, and one thing I forgot to say: If you do feed to pre-made raw patties, then you still need to give your dog a raw, meaty bone to chew on once a week or so. That cleans their teeth and gums.
I've been feeding about 75% raw, based on reading you original article. Their energy levels were struggling a bit with the diet, so I added veggies and that seemed to perk them back up. Our boys get carrots, bell pepper, brussels sprouts, kale, and blueberries in their meals; I also occasionally throw in sardines/mackerel and rice.
Sardines are a great addition. Especially since they're shelf stable. I bought CASES of them during the early days of the pandemic, and still take them camping etc.
Thanks for all the non conformity, interesting articles. I live in a tiny old apt but maybe someday would have a yard for a dog again. We had square male beagle, short female beagle, golden retriever, and brittany, all much loved family dogs.
Sorry about all the "death threats"! My folks were very strict about "please" and "thank you" civil manners but with decades of capitalism,oligarchy it's sad that 100% peaceful demonstrations and we'll mannered civil discourse are no longer the USA standard. I had a traffic school guy Threaten me for a 1 star review on Yelp who answered, "so?"!
Best wishes and thanks again for sharing all your expertise! dg
We do raw for our dog. She’s about a year and a half old and 41 lbs. Mostly Husky and Pit, with super mutt. We feed her Primal Pronto, it’s great, we use the kibble size nuggets. It’s frozen and we’ve found this size defrosts the quickest.
We also use the same Stella and Chewys that you mentioned for her breakfast.
For camping we measure out and bag individual portions of the frozen Primal Pronto and throw them in the Yeti.
I’ve had my dogs and cats on a raw diet for 5 years. Fortunately I have someone in the area that I buy 5lb tubes of an 80/10/10 mix. The mix is 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. My dogs eat 5lbs in about 2 1/2 days, so I buy in bulk. The seller has done a ton of research and is a wealth of information. She sells a wide variety of meat mixes and treats, from domestic to game, depending on your budget. I think my dogs favorites are beaver and rabbit. If I buy in bulk the cheapest mix costs me $1.79lb. More expensive than your route, but I like the ease and variety of mixes.
An interesting note for those just beginning or experienced with raw diets. When first starting on a raw diet it’s common for the dog to do some coughing and dry heaving, as it gets use to the addition of bone into its diet. It’s nothing to be concerned about. All my dogs did at first for a few days. Now, if my mix has a little higher percentage of bone then they are use to, I may see a cough or two. Also the percentage of bone and organ in the diet will determine the consistency of the stool. A higher percentage of bone firms up stool, while a higher percentage of organ will loosen the stool. You can thus design their stool as you wish.
I bought the book referenced on Wes’s recommendation in an article. I was intimidated at first, but it is hard to mess up. My go-to is chicken thighs with a few veggies pulsed in a blender, something that grows above the ground and something that grows below (not white potatoes).
We switched to raw after your first article, which was also about a month after my brother and I had a long talk about it. We were doing a 4-1 ratio of chicken to ground beef. Recently we tried the Instinct patties for when boarding our dog. We did the math and a 50/50 split of chicken and the patties was only about $30 more and saves a wee bit of time.
Wes had me switch my 35lb cattle dog piglet from kibble to raw. Can confirm she's healthy, vibrant, and smaller #2's. I recently ran out of chicken patties (local brand similar to Stella and chewy, small batch) and fed her kibble. The turds doubled in size and smell overnight. I now keep freeze dried Stella and chewy for camping. The desert heat melts frozen patties to the point of mush.
This is fascinating and I have but one question; raw chicken bones are OK for dogs to eat? I’m with you on the whole thousands of years of evolution logically implies that it is, but for a lifetime my received wisdom has been dogs + chicken bones = sure death. Am I the only one who thinks this?
Thanks Wes, great stuff. We’ve got two amstaff mixes that total around 100lbs, and my partner is vegan, so I will probably try pre-made raw patties for now! For the weekly raw meaty bone, would you still recommend Costco chicken?
For treat bones just grab something from your grocery store; the butcher's counter will usually have the bones leftover from deboning ribeyes or similar. Or knuckles, or just beef ribs (not the crazy meaty ones that are good to bbq). Something that takes a little more work than chicken, basically.
Started with standard kibble and switched to honest kitchen after seeing the low standards for a lot of kibble and looking for a healthier alternative. Thinking of switching to this diet though. Any recommendations for small treats/rewards that you can keep in your pocket?
Wes do you primarily feed them the chicken thighs from Costco? We have 2 Great Danes (talk about a cost nightmare haha) and one of them has lymphoma so I'm trying to figure out what to do. Nothing good out there about kibble/carbs and their effect on canine cancers. Thanks for your article!
Oh, and one thing I forgot to say: If you do feed to pre-made raw patties, then you still need to give your dog a raw, meaty bone to chew on once a week or so. That cleans their teeth and gums.
I've been feeding about 75% raw, based on reading you original article. Their energy levels were struggling a bit with the diet, so I added veggies and that seemed to perk them back up. Our boys get carrots, bell pepper, brussels sprouts, kale, and blueberries in their meals; I also occasionally throw in sardines/mackerel and rice.
Sardines are a great addition. Especially since they're shelf stable. I bought CASES of them during the early days of the pandemic, and still take them camping etc.
Wes,
Thanks for all the non conformity, interesting articles. I live in a tiny old apt but maybe someday would have a yard for a dog again. We had square male beagle, short female beagle, golden retriever, and brittany, all much loved family dogs.
Sorry about all the "death threats"! My folks were very strict about "please" and "thank you" civil manners but with decades of capitalism,oligarchy it's sad that 100% peaceful demonstrations and we'll mannered civil discourse are no longer the USA standard. I had a traffic school guy Threaten me for a 1 star review on Yelp who answered, "so?"!
Best wishes and thanks again for sharing all your expertise! dg
We do raw for our dog. She’s about a year and a half old and 41 lbs. Mostly Husky and Pit, with super mutt. We feed her Primal Pronto, it’s great, we use the kibble size nuggets. It’s frozen and we’ve found this size defrosts the quickest.
We also use the same Stella and Chewys that you mentioned for her breakfast.
For camping we measure out and bag individual portions of the frozen Primal Pronto and throw them in the Yeti.
I’ve had my dogs and cats on a raw diet for 5 years. Fortunately I have someone in the area that I buy 5lb tubes of an 80/10/10 mix. The mix is 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. My dogs eat 5lbs in about 2 1/2 days, so I buy in bulk. The seller has done a ton of research and is a wealth of information. She sells a wide variety of meat mixes and treats, from domestic to game, depending on your budget. I think my dogs favorites are beaver and rabbit. If I buy in bulk the cheapest mix costs me $1.79lb. More expensive than your route, but I like the ease and variety of mixes.
An interesting note for those just beginning or experienced with raw diets. When first starting on a raw diet it’s common for the dog to do some coughing and dry heaving, as it gets use to the addition of bone into its diet. It’s nothing to be concerned about. All my dogs did at first for a few days. Now, if my mix has a little higher percentage of bone then they are use to, I may see a cough or two. Also the percentage of bone and organ in the diet will determine the consistency of the stool. A higher percentage of bone firms up stool, while a higher percentage of organ will loosen the stool. You can thus design their stool as you wish.
I bought the book referenced on Wes’s recommendation in an article. I was intimidated at first, but it is hard to mess up. My go-to is chicken thighs with a few veggies pulsed in a blender, something that grows above the ground and something that grows below (not white potatoes).
We switched to raw after your first article, which was also about a month after my brother and I had a long talk about it. We were doing a 4-1 ratio of chicken to ground beef. Recently we tried the Instinct patties for when boarding our dog. We did the math and a 50/50 split of chicken and the patties was only about $30 more and saves a wee bit of time.
Wes had me switch my 35lb cattle dog piglet from kibble to raw. Can confirm she's healthy, vibrant, and smaller #2's. I recently ran out of chicken patties (local brand similar to Stella and chewy, small batch) and fed her kibble. The turds doubled in size and smell overnight. I now keep freeze dried Stella and chewy for camping. The desert heat melts frozen patties to the point of mush.
This is fascinating and I have but one question; raw chicken bones are OK for dogs to eat? I’m with you on the whole thousands of years of evolution logically implies that it is, but for a lifetime my received wisdom has been dogs + chicken bones = sure death. Am I the only one who thinks this?
Cooked chicken bones splinter and can poke holes inside your dog. Raw ones are safe, and one of the healthiest things your dog can eat.
Thanks Wes, great stuff. We’ve got two amstaff mixes that total around 100lbs, and my partner is vegan, so I will probably try pre-made raw patties for now! For the weekly raw meaty bone, would you still recommend Costco chicken?
Thanks
For treat bones just grab something from your grocery store; the butcher's counter will usually have the bones leftover from deboning ribeyes or similar. Or knuckles, or just beef ribs (not the crazy meaty ones that are good to bbq). Something that takes a little more work than chicken, basically.
Started with standard kibble and switched to honest kitchen after seeing the low standards for a lot of kibble and looking for a healthier alternative. Thinking of switching to this diet though. Any recommendations for small treats/rewards that you can keep in your pocket?
Bacon, cut up bits of boiled chicken breast. Gristle from the steak you had for dinner, etc. I won't feed any commercial treats.
Sorry if it’s a dumb question, but would ground beef from Costco also work to add variety? Is ANY raw meat okay or just chicken?
Wes do you primarily feed them the chicken thighs from Costco? We have 2 Great Danes (talk about a cost nightmare haha) and one of them has lymphoma so I'm trying to figure out what to do. Nothing good out there about kibble/carbs and their effect on canine cancers. Thanks for your article!