Question on raw

[tmricciuto]

So I'm talking to my husband about when to start raw and have a quick question. When I went to the suppliers website to figure out about what amount of food to feed a day they lost puppies to 18 months old and basically 4.5%, so it's going to cost me about $500-$700 a month until they hit 18 months (cost at $1.75/lb) and then the daily amount drops to 2.5% basically and the cost is about $100 more then kibble may be...the weight stops at 110 on the bag so I'm sure they'll be around 5-6 cups a piece a day when that age.

Sorry that's so long but here's my question, is 18 months the time that mastiffs start to eat less or is it older than that? I'm thinking about starting them on raw at 18 months as the Hunny isn't able to justify the two to three times increase in price. Is their guide full of it?


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[Liz_M]

I believe you are way over-thinking this and getting too tangled up in hypothetical numbers. It is food, in one end and out the other, not the Rosetta Stone or something that requires an engineering degree to figure out. They eat, they poop. Creatures that can't read or write and have brains the size of walnuts have figured out how to successfully raise babies for centuries without thinking about it.


Feed kibble if you need a guide. Feed raw if you don't. It is really not that complicated unless you make it so. I think you should stick with the kibble camp. It will be way easier for you.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thanks for your opinion Liz_M. That makes sense. I want to do the best for my girls and was just trying to figure out how much food I'll need to purchase and feed daily/monthly, but I guess feeding raw just isn't for everyone.


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[NYDDB]

Ahhh, I wouldn't throw in the towel before you even start!

IMO, raw feeding is really not that complicated (like Liz M said; you may be over-thinking it all.) Get a bunch of starter deals on meat from a butcher (or coop/supplier) , give it a go, and adjust as you go along. A lot of this is "learning as you go" really.

Don't talk yourself out of something because of overwhelm.

Of course, I am biased; I really, really believe raw is best for canines...and my dog is thriving on it. So, that is just my opinion; take it for what it's worth.

Weren't you getting a freezer to get started over the holidays?

 

[DennasMom]

To your original question... mastiffs keep growing well into their 2nd and sometimes 3rd year... so when they start to eat less is really up to the individual dog. How much they need to eat is also going to depend on their activity level - which can vary week to week and day to day.

Sorry, I'm not making this easier, am I???

All the guides and numbers and portions are all just starting points, really... once you start seeing how much they eat and if they're putting on weight / padding or getting too trim, you'll know if you've feed too much or too little.

The guidelines for whole prey model raw (no fruit or veggies in the count) is the lesser of either 10% of current weight (for young puppies) or 2.5% of adult expected final weight.

If you're getting a pre-made raw, they might add different veggies (hopefully no grains or other fillers), which will change the numbers some, but not much. I give Denna about 4oz of veggies pretty regularly (but I don't count it in her #'s).

Denna (EM) is now 160lbs and eats ~2lbs/week of stuff (meat, bones, organs)... 3lb/day... under 2%. I guess she's a low-energy example, since she eats well below the 'guideline'.

For pricing, $1.75/lb is AWESOME!
I average $2.50/lb here in the Seattle area.

 

[DennasMom]

PS - what supplier are you looking at? I'd be curious to see their guide...

 

[tmricciuto]

If you google Suzie's Doggie Delights, that's who I was going through for some items. I can get whole chicken at Costco for under $1 and turkeys on sale. She has great prices on beef heart by the case and some of the mixes are a bit pricier but still good when you break them down by the lb and the fact that they already meet the 10/10/80 rule so are complete. Her beef mix is less then I can price ground beef unless I get an amazing price. So I was gonna do a bit from her for variety and then source some on my own. But she has a guide on her get started page that tells you about how much they should be eating a day.


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[angelbears]

It has been my experience feeding 4 very different dogs, they have all maintained a very healthy weight eating between 2 and 3% of their body weight. However, they do get treats through out the day and Debra must let them have some of her dinner every night.

Cane weighed 200 pounds and ate 3 pounds, we were more strick with Cane because of allergies. He mainly got raw meat and the people food was cooked meat. The girls get any and everything that we care to share with them but their core diet is raw meat.

If you are going to do raw anytime soon be thinking about stocking up on Turkeys. I don't feed most of the bones in a Turkey but even deboning it, I'm paying less than a dollar a pound for pure meat. Thanksgiving day and the day after stores usually discount turkeys anywhere from .25 to .50 cents a pound. Try to stay away from anything that is pumped up with a saline solution.

Taking advantage of deals like that can cut your cost significantly.

 

[DDSK]

I think I'm too lazy to feed raw, besides Zoey won't eat raw.

 

[EverythingEnglishMastiff]

I have to just straight out admit I'm to lazy as well. I've always had non picky dogs that didn't mind kibble. I also typically save one bite of every item we had for dinner for Hank and my wife does the same for Roxy. They also get left overs like little piggies. lol

 

[Smokeycat]

Kryten didn't really reduce how much he eats and still eats 6 cups a day (Acana). He did spike up to 8 cups a day for a couple of months (along with a ton of treats) following his surgery but went back to his previus amount once the major healing was finished. His metabolism is through the roof.
I admit that the cost is the reason I don't feed a raw diet. 6-7lbs/day (2.5%) is just too much when it's hard to find anything under $2/lbs.

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