ive now had my dog on raw for a month, ive stopped feeding the prize choice minces as my dog simply refused to eat them. im now just getting my meat from the butchers lamb necks, legs of lamb, chicken wings, ox tail, ribs, she still gets the prize choice beef chunks and tripe chunks and she gets tins of sardines and mackerel, ive tried giving her blended veg but she simply turns her nose up at it, it came out of the blender more like mousse if im honest and she doesnt seem to like the texture, it was just peas, carrots, lettuce, some salmon oil and kelp, any tips to get her to eat this or do you think its not necessary? some books say it is and others say it isnt, ive stopped flash frying the wings and now she simply loves them raw like the rest of the meat and bones, ive noticed a real change in her doggy odour and far less coming out in the bathroom department which is a bonus. I bought some calf liver but she really wasnt impressed with it lol again i think its the texture that puts her off. do you think im varying her diet enough with lamb legs, lamb necks, ox tails, beef chunks, tripe chunks, chicken legs, chicken wings, ribs, sardines, mackerel, or am i leaving something out that i should be adding?
im currently spending roughly £10 per week in the butchers which i wouldve spent on kibble anyway, she seems much happier and content on raw and it just pleases me to see her enjoying her meals.

It's a lot of fun watching them eat raw isn't it?  Plus I really do get a lot of satisfaction out of preparing my dog's meal.  I think you are doing really well - I really believe variety is key.  Re. the veg - I would add in a bit more oil - and possibly a raw egg or cottage cheese blended in, and if that doesn't work - try some honey.  I find that's excellent for getting a dog to try new foods.  We were given about 20 turkey backs & my dog wouldn't touch it.  So I tried for about 3 days (ie; she didn't have much else to eat) - I was about to weaken, but tried drizzling honey over it and now she eats them with gusto.  As long as you dog isn't ill or thin it won't do it any harm to miss a couple of meals.  Don't get into the habit of serving something different as soon as they turn their noses up, or they will get as fussy as teenage humans - also only leave it down for about 10 mins.  Then pick it up & put it in the fridge.

ps  If you can get fish heads that would be a good addition - most of the good stuff is in the head.  Plus it is a lot of fun watching them try to eat such a slippery thing!

Sounds as if your doing really well, does she eat offal at all ?, that would be my only concern, she really does need it, you could try kidney's if she's not keen on liver. I sometimes semi freeze liver to improve the texture of it, not so as it's rock hard, just to make it a bit firmer, or you could try chopping it up and combining it with something else. Have you tried tongue or lung yet ? these are both pretty cheap, are low in fat, and always go down well here, you might want to ask the butcher to chunk it up for you, as both are quite big and make a right mess if you have to do it yourself.

Prize choice hearts and poultry necks are good too... for offal and for bone content (poultry necks)

The poultry necks come in very small pieces, ideal for choking on. I had to return them.

I don't think veg is necessary but mine quite like it so I add it for their enjoyment.  They eat bits of carrot and broccoli stalk in chunks, as I prepare them, otherwise I blend the peelings or bits that would otherwise be composted and freeze them til later.  It's worth remembering that blended raw veg mulches down into very small amounts so just add a teaspoon every so often for one dog.

However if she really doesn't like veg then you can just leave it out.

My lot are not keen on their veggies but will eat their 'smoothie' if it's mixed in either tripe or hearts, which are their absolut favourites.
My puppy started picking and choosing [like they've all done] what he wanted to have, so I did exactly what was recommended ie put the food back in the fridge and after couple of days he realised that going hungry wasn't good and now eats everything. Althought given a chance he'd live on tripe!
If you throw sardines into the 'smoothie' it'll make it a bit more desirable.
Well done for swapping to Barf. I know it can be daunting, but you'll soon get the hang of it and wonder why did you ever feed kibble ;)
I love watching my dogs enjoying their bones!

i made a new veggie gloup but added in some liver to the blender and some tinned sardines aswel but she took one whiff and didnt fancy it lol so i think ill just leave out the veg now, i bought some salmon oil and kelp powder has anyone any experiance of this? when im giving her sardines im going to mix in some eggs shell and all, im not sure my butchers do offal, do humans actually eat it?

I dont feed carbs in any form ie veg grain pasta or rice the style of raw i feed is straight raw meaty bones (and fish). This school of thought does not believe veg etc are necessary.
Sounds like you are doing well o. As for offal inc heart mine are a bit funny but of you flash fry/microwave or whatever they are ok with it. In fact whispa will now eat offal without the cooking.

Mine to get veg occasionally as treats not as part of their normal diet but usually cooked as they arnt interested at in raw

I am sure your buthers do offal , look out for kidneys liver heart ( kind of offal) and yes some of us do eat it :)
I alo give raw eggs although not all of mine will eat them usless mixed with food
Just make sure you give as wide variety of parts of the animal and fish as well as different species. I find the chicken necks are fine about3 to 4 inches long but I guess it depends if your dog is big or small and how good he is at chewing. Chiken carcasses are good to aand I also use frozen basics chicken 1/4   

> i made a new veggie gloup but added in some liver to the blender and some tinned sardines aswel but she took one whiff and didnt fancy it lol so i think ill just leave out the veg now

Keep it all separate.

- Tinned sardines just need mashing with a fork and I wouldn't add them to raw meat.  I feed them with kibble only and they make a handy travel food
- Liver.  Most dogs seem to want some kind of additional process before eating.  I blitz mine in the food processor and serve in small amounts mixed with mince
- Veg.  Just add a little of your left overs rather than making a special effort

Mine don't get any carbs either.
I give kelp powder in the winter months for pigment and also Keepers Mix all year around [it has a lot of herbs in it for dogs that don't like veg]
I use rapeseed oil instaed of salmon oil, because it's cold pressed. If you use salmon oil, try to find a cold pressed one.
Mine get the trots from raw liver, no matter how small amount, so I cook it in the oven on a very low heat and use it as a high value training treat.
Raw eggs are one of their favourites. They pick them up and take them outside, crack the shell and then eat the whole lot.
I've found our local butchers really helpful and they also seem to like the idea of dogs being fed raw, 'fit as a butchers dog' was mentioned :)

> I am sure your buthers do offal , look out for kidneys liver heart ( kind of offal) and yes some of us do eat it :-)
>

For raw feeding purposes heart counts as muscle meat not offal :-)

sorry Harley I realised that but wrote it down wrong :)

when i started i didnt have a clue and was really nervous but now ive gotten into it i find it really simple and i actually look forward to feeding my dog now, everyday leaving out a different bag and seeing whats she getting, then i find myself just sitting watching her eat, its like a nature program lol i think her fav is defo the lamb necks, theres so much meat on them and then she gets down to the bone and the crunching begins. ill maybe try the liver again and give it a little flash fry, the eggs she doesnt seem keen on but ill keep trying with different things. i always wanted to feed raw but didnt have the courage, im glad ive finally taken the plunge. i mean when i look back to the kibble i used to feed her im not surprised she wasnt keen on it, imagine eating the same mushy junk every day, you would soon grow tired of it. im not slating anyone who feeds kibble because at the end of the day its what suits your dog but im just so glad i feed raw now and my dog seems to be sharing my enthusiasm. i just wana take this opportunity aswell to thank the forum members because without this forum i would be lost so thanks lol

> sorry Harley I realised that but wrote it down wrong :-)

I thought you did but just wanted to make it clear to OP :-)

Butchers seem to be a bit hit or miss, if you have a "proper" butcher, ie one that buys in a whole carcass and does their own boning out, you should be able to get offal, some butchers buy everything in already dressed so probably won't do offal. It's always worth asking for them to get you stuff, you'll possibly get offal cheaper if your in England, in Scotland heart and lung are used in Haggis so do have a higher price.
I'm hoping my butcher will have gotten me lambs tails this week, dogs loved them the last time.

im actually in ireland, the only meat i can get is the butchers or prize choice because all the other companies dont deliver to northern ireland. the only offal ive seen in the butchers is calfs and lambs liver and my fussy madam isnt keen on either but im going to persist.

if shes not keen trying flash frying it. its the only way my lot will eat it.

If you have a slaughterhouse close by you might be able to buy stuff straight from the door, you would probably need a decent amount of freezer space though. I think there are some raw feeders on here that get meat from the slaughterhouse.

Natural Instinct deliver but the postage is pricey. Have you tried Drumbo Park on a Friday evening there are guys their who deliver to the greyhound guys. Its mainly beef, tripe and chicken.

i dont drive so its not an ideal situation. im just using the butchers at the minute, only after buying some liver, kidneys, 2 lamb necks, a pigs foot, 1lb chicken wings all for about a tenner so not too bad lol

Ask your butcher for ox liver.  It's not something our butcher sells much of so he rarely stocks it, but if we order it he's happy to pick some up from the abbatoir for us.