I want to try Abby on raw food where do I start? I dont know where to get the food do I just go to the butchers? Do I have to get it fresh everyday or is there a company that will deliver and can I freeze it? What do I need to get I know chicken wings but what else and how much to feed daily?
I have been feeding her on Burns at first she seemed really happy on it now her poo seems to have gone really soft not diaerheoa(sp) but it has lasted longer than a couple of days. She has been to the vet as she cut her foot open while chasing a cat down the woods, when I mentioned about her poo he said it was probably the food she was eating and tried to sell my their overpriced food £50 a bag. So now we have had enough of dried food and need some help.
Thanks
Mary

We feed our two on liver, heart, lamb , mince, rabbit, tripe, fish ( mackeral- tuna- salmon), eggs, veggies, pasta and occasionally fruit. Also marrow bones.
We buy fresh from the butchers and also fom AMP who deliver to the door, depending on where you live.

We dont buy chicken or rice ( or lentils as we're still undecided on this  ) as my eldest has a sensitivity to it :rolleyes:

Hi Mary, the first thing you need to do is equip yourself with some proper literature so that you can read and digest (:D) what to feed, when and why and what to avoid etc.  It is not difficult but rather than experiment on your dog(s) and feed them an unbalanced diet start from knowledge.  I would recommend the Ulitimate Diet for Cats and Dogs by Kmythy Schulze as it is IMHO the easiest of all the books on raw feeding to read, is accessible, is written in a logical sequence and gives you sources of ALL nutrients; followed by the BARF diet by Ian Billingshurst.  Then you could join one of the raw feeding forums, BritBarf is a UK based one where you can ask questions from experienced raw feeders.

The most important thing in raw feeding is to make sure you give a correct phosphorus:calcium ratio which can ONLY be provided by ensuring that raw meaty bones are fed ie consumable bones such as chicken wings, carcases, drumsticks, thighs, turkey, lamb chops, beef ribs, whole rabbit etc etc etc  If you do not feed any bones at all then you must provide another form of calcium either bonemeal (which is cooked) or eggshells etc. 

Added to the RMBs that you feed, which should not make up more than 60% of the total diet, are organ meats such as liver, kidneys etc, muscle meat ie all meat in chunks, heart, raw or tinned fish, raw eggs and a small amount of vegetables and fruit (this is optional) which need to be pureed for any nutrients to become available for the dog's use and don't forget raw, green tripe.  Dogs have no need for carbohydrates and most raw feeders do not feed grains as the dog is not designed to process cooked cereals.

It is important to feed from as wide a source as possible to avoid your dog becoming food intolerant ie pig, cow, sheep, chicken, turkey, deer, rabbit, lamb the list is endless.

The Britbarf group on Yahoo have a list of suppliers all over the country.  Prize choice produce frozen blocks of raw minced meat with bone available from Pets at Home, or your Yellow Pages will list poultry processors where you can bulk buy.

In order to balance the Omega 6:Omega 3 ratio it is recommended that you feed Fish Body Oils (all grain fed meat is high in 6 but low in 3) and if you add this you MUST also feed natural Vitamin E.  Extras can include kelp and or alfalfa (both of which contain all the minerals and vitamins), and Vitamin C; I also feed a clove of raw garlic every day.

As a rough guide adult dogs need between 2 - 3% of the bodyweight in food per day ie if they are 30kgs they will need between 600 - 900 g of food per day.  Puppies will need around 10% of their bodyweight per day.  However this is only a rough guide, dogs have different temperaments, exercise levels, etc etc etc.

Marrow bones etc are NOT for consuming but merely recreation and should be taken away once the marrow and cartilage have been stripped.

HTH

Thanks for the advice I will order a book tomorrow and do some research on the net.
I went to the vets to speak to them about it so I could make sure I was doing the right thing I left feeling like I was the worst owner in the world they told me that if I did change her over to raw that she would develop all kinds of skin conditions and that I wouldnt be able to give a proper balanced diet as that wasnt possible on raw when I pointed out that in the wild they arent fed on any complete food she said that was completely different but couldnt give any reasons why.
I was so angry when I left I went there for some advice and all they did was try and sell me the food they sell and when I wasnt interested then tell me I was a bad owner, time to find a new vet I think one with an open mind.
Mary

Ahhhhh yes, the 'talk to the vet' thing.

Feeding raw you do learn to keep schtum to your vet, grow a thicker skin, or, my preffered choice, confound them, and ask them questions to which they do not know the answer (always nice to see a vet squirm!)

Skin conditions?????? Dunno where your vet got THAT idea from, as im sure you will realise if youve read almost anything about raw feeding, the skin is one of the first things to IMPROVE on a raw diet!

Just to give you a head start, here are a few more things you will hear when you mention you feed raw:

1/Your dog will turn vicious
2/Your dog will eat small children
3/Your dog will die an agonizing death with blood pouring out of its backside
4/your dog will explode......

Ok, i made that last one up. That is verrrrrrrrrry unlikely!

Go read as much as you can, positives, negatives, everything you can find regarding raw feeding, that way, WHEN people offer you their wisdom, and warn you of impending doom, and exploding child eating dogs, you will know what to say.

Anyway, i must go back to researching vaccines, as a conversation with my friends vet was rather enlightening.. apparently titer tests for immunity do NOT exist and at the same time as not existing, are so prohibitively expensive that they are not worth doing. Thats a vet thats been qualified 15 years......... ho hum.

Em

It is wise to remember that the majority of vets know diddly squat about pet nutrition....................... the only training they get is that sponsored by pet food companies in general............

"exploding child eating dogs"

LOL

Thank you to everyone who replied. I have found some information on the net and will pick up some books this weekend.
Mary

;)

Im still waiting for any of mine to explode, or rip a chunk out of a small child........... although with the kids round here, somedays i wish they would!

Still, it will happen any minute now........ i cant see it, they are all upside down, legs in air, but ill be ready when the blood lust starts...... any second i should guess..........

Hmmm, still snoring......

Em