Hi!  I am looking into the raw food diet for my impending puppy but there's a few things I need clearing up.... I understand that people who feed  "real"  raw food, like chicken wings etc, do not feed dried food in addition.  But what about feeding foods like Prize Choice?  I used to feed it years ago but not because of the raw/no additive aspect; simply because it was easy!  But I mixed it with mixer. But should I mix it with anything? Because what I am getting from these boards is that if you feed raw meat only, then the dog does less poos etc because not so much is expelled as waste... and obviously mixer is cereal based and therefore unnecessary to the dog nutritionally. But feeding Prize Choice with no mixer won't make them chew and won't keep their teeth clean, will it??? 

Is it possible to, say, feed Prize Choice for some meals and have one meal as chicken wings, to keep the teeth healthy??

Confused!!!

It is the bones that will keep your dogs teeth clean when eh chomps up the raw meaty boen part of the raw diet.

So could I feed Prize Choice, with no mixer, and just make sure the dog gets a bone each day to chew??

Hi KateC
I'd say that your best bet was to contact the manufacturers of Prize Choice, or to read what's on the packs, to see what they recommend. 
Have fun with your new addition :)

Hi Kate

There are many and varied ways of feeding - not everyone who feeds raw foods use these as the sole diet :)  You can feed a mixture of methods so long as overall the balance of diet is maintained.  However, a very important thing to do is research a raw or home prepared regime thoroughly first rather than embarking on it and hoping that what you provide fully covers your dog's needs - especially with a growing puppy :)

Also bear in mind that some breeds or lines within breeds can have problems with specific ingredients whether in ample quantity or even as treats so be sure to discuss with your pup's breeder if there are any known contra-indications with your plans.

If you do decide to feed a home prepared diet remember that meat alone, even with the addition of chicken wings, will have insufficient nutrients - you should provide fresh fruits, veggies (especially leafy greens), fish eggs, varied meats, offals (check first with breeder) and very probably further vitamin supplements :)

Prize Choice do a "complete" moist range in addition to meat only packs I believe so this may be your best bet rather than to over complicate things - particularly with the many mental/physical/downright nerve-wracking work-outs new pups bring to us anyway :P

Recreational bones or complete chicken wings/thighs are all excellent ways of keeping teeth clean without necessarily embarking on a home prepared diet.

HTH, good luck with your youngster and your research!
regards, Teri

Thanks for the very informative and helpful post, Teri :)

I'm not sure if I am brave enough to go the whole hog  (no pun intended)  and feed ONLY raw...  I think I'll maybe go with Prize Choice  (or similar),  a little mixer and maybe replace the odd meal with chicken pieces/other meat.

I have to admit, it is the thought of handing a dog a chicken quarter, after having  "Thou shalt not feed chicken bones"  drummed into me, which makes me a tad nervous....

>Thou shalt not feed chicken bones

:D  Tell me about it :rolleyes: :D  So long as the bones are only ever raw its OK :)

Now mine look at me with horror when I throw out the remains of cooked leg of lamb - a canine sacrilege it seems :D

LOL if they could speak they'd probably be going  "What a waste. There's starving dogs in other countries ya know.... in fact there's one RIGHT HERE!!!!"

:D

I too felt a tad nervous when I started giving raw chicken wings, but WOW don't they love them!!! I've been telling other doggie friends, but they're not convinced:rolleyes:

I feed raw and primarily feed Prize Choice.

I feed two or three meals of chickenwings/carcass or equivalent (lamb ribs, turkey wings, whole rabbit).. per week, the rest is prize choice either the blocks, free flow or the chunks of meat.

Seems to do my lot fine, puppy gets something with bone in it every day, the older dogs dont always get something 'crunchy' but the raw blocks from prize choice do contain bone anyway.

They also get tinned pilchards from time to time, and blended frozen veg, the odd egg etc.

T'is very easy and of course the low poo production is great! Prize Choice do have some feeding information on their site which is quite handy.

> I understand that people who feed  "real"  raw food, like chicken wings etc, do not feed dried food in addition.

I feed 'real' raw food,some pre made,home-cooked and dried food :D (Orijen) Personally i do not see the point of mixers,and even less so when people are feeding healthy raw food and then mix it in with a carb/cereal based product,which in most instances do not have the best ingredients :rolleyes: .For me,it kinda defeats the purpose of feeding a healthy species appropriate diet

>with no mixer won't make them chew and won't keep their teeth clean, will it??? 

Mixers/dry food dont do anything to keep teeth clean.The only thing that will achieve this is feeding bones or brushing their teeth.For myself and my dogs it's easier to toss them a rmb on a daily basis rather than going through the hassle of brushing :)

our bullies love cow leg bones :D they hold them on the side and roll up their tongues to get the marrow out. plus no stinky breath, yay!

My Cavalier KC spaniel is 7 months old and has put himself on a diet of Quakers Porridge in the morning and 1/2 pound of steak for his tea.  He also drinks tea and diluted ribena aswell as his water. He also likes raw potato and vegetables about half an hour after his steak.  Is this OK?  My last cavvy was a 'chicken' man only.

Are you being serious? I always thought potatos are toxic in their raw state. What about calcium? Ribena is loaded with sugar.

How can a dog put themselves on a diet????
From last look, dogs cannot go out and buy the porridge and steak!!!
As for Ribena, I dont even feed my kids that as it is so high in sugar and additives, and I am not a food god!!!!!

Potatoes are ok as long as they are both cooked and served warm. Dogs cannot digest cold raw potato but they are not toxic. I think this poster is just having laugh at our expense and looking for a reaction

Only the green part of potatos are toxic, not the tuber (the part we eat.)  Avoid any green potatos as well, since it means they are sprouting.   Even the link you provided says the same "It contains an alkaloid named solanine that appears in all the external parts of the plant. "  Although this is poorly written text, "external" means the parts of the plant that are above ground - stems and leaves.

>Avoid any green potatos as well, since it means they are sprouting.

Not quite right - if potato tubers are exposed to light then they go green, but aren't sprouting. These green parts are also toxic, but can be cut off and the rest of the tuber is all right.

"Excessive ingestion of raw potato can produce gastro-intestinal, liver, as well as heart damage."

Toxic or not, what about that bit? Maybe it depends on what excessive means, but still, I wouldn't want to feed a 7 month old puppy raw potato every day (I wouldn't feed it at all to any dog actually :P)

That 'diet' you've put him on is an excellent one for lining your vet's pockets for treating all the illnesses you're setting him up for, I'm afraid.

The caffeine in the tea is poisonous to dogs,it can  cause all sorts of health problems,damage to the organs,ulcers etc.

I think the way you phrased your post makes it seems like you may be kidding, but I'm going to assume you are not.

If you add some supplements the diet is fine  -  except for the tea and Ribena. (Lots of people used to and probably still do give their dogs milky tea, so I don't think you are unusual.)   I'd have a chat with your vet to see what you need to add and to make sure your getting the correct balance.  If checking with the vet is not possible, then I'd suggest you add a vitamin tablet made especially for dogs, plus until your puppy is full grown some additional calcium/phosphorous.  You can buy calcium tablets for dogs as well. 

Suggest that you might want to pulse or steam the vegetables lightly though - dogs cannot digest raw veg so your puppy is getting little nutrient value from them.

If you want to feed your dog only on "people" food, that's fine.   You might like to see if your puppy likes tinned pilchards (the ones in tomato sauce) - they provide lots of protein plus calcium.   Same would be true for a desert spoon or two of cottage cheese or yoghurt.

No I am not joking or having a laugh - my last cavvy was fed on chicken and dry food supplements and dropped dead at 8!! And don't criticise my posting - I am an experienced teacher.  I enjoyed reading the response to this site - I won't bother with it again, thanks

Hillsi, I doubt your last dog dying was due to him being fed chicken and dry food??

I'm not sure whether we may have overfed the troll?

My KC(Cavalier) is fed complete & chicken & is 11 years old :-)

Hillsj,everyone who has replied only has your dog's best interests at heart,you have had some good advice.With a few alterations such as those suggested by Cairnmania the homemade diet you are feeding could be very good and probably better than some commercial diets.

>my last cavvy was fed on chicken and dry food supplements and dropped dead at 8!

With the heart problems that are rife in the breed, that's not uncommon, unfortunately. :( Nothing to do with diet.

Could have of course been exacerbated if he was overweight as most Cavaliers I see purely as pets seem to be.

Does anyone else have probs with Prizechoice because they don't breed or have an affix!
I'm not after a discount just a delivery because my local pet shop, which incidently is not very local, doesn't have much variety or the amount i need....a chest freezer full.

No. I've never had a problem and I don't breed, have an affix or order that much as I only have two dogs. The only requirement is a £50 minimum.

No problems here either - quite happy to sell to me and my local shop over teh road used to stock their stuff but stopped because only I bought it.

If you have a problem with freezer storage you can mix the order, they have a very good mixer ( Natures Menu) at around £15  for 15kg Bag and they also do natural treats, tripe sticks etc . I can e-mail anyone the price list as i have it electronically. Just PM me your email.

If you don't want to buy £50 of just meat packs which can be around 15-16 boxes then it is a good way of mixing the order up a bit.