# Homemade raw



## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Do any of you exclusively make raw food meals for your dogs? What recipe(s) do you use? What are your best cost saving tips?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I can't overemphathize the importance of a professional designed diet.... Dr. Becker

First, many homemade and prey-model diets and a few commercially available raw food diets are unbalanced. This means pets have been brought to veterinarians, including me, with nutritional imbalances that could and should have been avoided. These animals are deficient in antioxidants, or the correct amounts of trace minerals and vitamins, or the right fatty acid balance for appropriate and balanced skeletal growth, and organ and immune health.

Usually, these well-intentioned owners don't correlate their pet's medical issues with nutritional deficiencies, but their vets do. And many veterinarians develop very strong opinions against all homemade and raw diets because of these cases. There are many well-meaning people who feed unbalanced diets out of ignorance and, in some cases, stubbornness.

I've had several clients tell me they don't care that the analysis of their pet's current diet - let's say, chicken wings and burgers - demonstrates deficiencies in certain critical nutrients. They believe that "This is the diet I've fed for X number of years and my dog is doing fine, so there's no need to change it."

Dr. Becker ..." #13 Dead last on the list and the worst thing you can feed your pet is an unbalanced, homemade diet - raw or cooked. I'm seeing an increasing number of misguided pet owners in my practice who think they're doing the right thing by serving their pet, say, a chicken breast and some veggies and calling it a day.

Yes, the food is homemade, but it's nutritionally unbalanced. Pets being fed this way are showing up at my clinic with endocrine abnormalities, skeletal issues and organ degeneration as a result of deficiencies in calcium, trace minerals and omega fatty acids.

Catherine Lane http://www.thepossiblecanine.com/la...k-myths-and-misperceptions-about-home-feeding

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10666 study on home prepared


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https://172449099476%2Fnutrient-comparison-of-popular-dog-food%23.Wr-zX4jwbIU


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Thanks Dave. Hence the reason I am still trying to figure out how to feed my dogs and now cats.


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## cishepard (Apr 8, 2018)

I don't feed a homemade diet but my dogs are completely raw. I feed a ground blend of organ, meat and bone from a local supplier. 8 different proteins to choose from and I rotate through them all. I add additional meaty bones, supplements from Carnivora (a greens blend, a probiotic and mineral blend), Omega 3, DE and bentonite clay, apple cider vinegar, a very small amount of fermented veggies, coconut oil - many of the same things I consume for my own health.

My Min Pin is 8 and has been on this diet since I got her at 4 months and has only been to the vet twice - for a rabies shot and to be spayed. Her teeth are perfect and have never been brushed or cleaned by a vet. My previous Chihuahuas lived to 18, 22 and 23 and were on the diet for the second half of their lives which I credit their longevity to.

I am, obviously, and advocate for a natural raw diet, however, I do agree that it is difficult to find a good balance of organs to add to your meat and bones which are easy to find. My supplier adds liver, kidney and spleen to her large mammal blends and the small animal and poultry blends are whole carcass which includes _all_ the organs in the animal - brain, stomachs, eyeballs, everything, and I feel this is important and is what a real 'prey model' diet consists of.

My current puppy has been on this diet since before weaning and I am also raising him using NR protocols (Natural Rearing) which includes specific attention to building a strong immune system with no exposure to toxins and no vaccines. He is 7.5 months old now and I used a gradual exposure to dog areas. I had him titred at 20 weeks old and he has 'very good levels' of immunity to distemper and parvo.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

A reliable supplier of quality meat is my biggest stumbling block. I think if I could find a local supplier that I could count on for fresh meat, bone and organ I could work out the supplements needed with a nutritionist. The grocery stores seldom carry organ meat or meaty bones.


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## cishepard (Apr 8, 2018)

Yes, that is key. The blends I buy are antibiotic free, pasture raised and are actually way higher quality for a way better price than I can get for my own consumption!


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## cishepard (Apr 8, 2018)

This page shows 3 different raw food co-ops in NC.

https://keepthetailwagging.com/shop-through-a-raw-food-co-op-to-save-on-raw-dog-food/


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Thanks for the info. This closest to me is 
1 hr 45 minutes away. Not sure that will work.


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## cishepard (Apr 8, 2018)

I live on Vancouver Is. and my raw food company delivers once a month from the mainland (two hr. ferry ride). I buy half a years worth or more at a time and stick it in my large freezer!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I feed commercial (organic) raw food to Emmie to minimize the risk of an unnaturally balanced diet, which could happen if I tried to source the raw meat myself and then have to figure out supplements and combinations. I have a local company deliver frozen food to me at home in Seattle but when we’re in So Cal I pick up Primal raw frozen patties at a reputable pet store near my family’s house.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

I have started feeding Answers, Bravo, Primal and Stella and Chewy’s in rotation. All the pups are enjoying them and doing well.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MarinaGirl said:


> I feed commercial (organic) raw food to Emmie to minimize the risk of an unnaturally balanced diet, which could happen if I tried to source the raw meat myself and then have to figure out supplements and combinations. I have a local company deliver frozen food to me at home in Seattle but when we're in So Cal I pick up Primal raw frozen patties at a reputable pet store near my family's house.


Hi, you two!!! We've MISSED you!!!


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