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Raw Diet Protein question

dpenning

Well-Known Member
I've been doing a bit of reading about raw diets and am somewhat confused. Isn't a raw diet almost entirely protein? And yet with any of the massive breeds if you are feeding store bought kibble the protein should be less than 26% or so? That 26% came from another forum where they were listing he criteria for selecting the right kibble for a mastiff.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
dawn
 

PuppyPaws

Well-Known Member
Hi! A raw diet does consist of a good amount of protein, however, it also consists of bone and offal (organ meat). There are different schools of thought on raw diet. Some keep to purely protein, organ, and bone while others also include some carbohydrates such as potatoes, and also other vegies. Typically in the wild, wolves did not eat much carbs or veggies. The carbs, veggies, and grains that they ingested were most often thru ingesting the intestines and stomachs of their prey.

Feeding a raw diet requires much research and committment. It is not an endeveor that one can or should go into haphazardly. I have been feeding raw for about 2.5 years. Raw food items are digested and absorbed more quickly by the body. The dog's body also utilizes more of the food it eats and as a result; the dog tends to eliminate less often than when feed on a kibble diet that has more fillers to it.

A raw diet is not for everyone. I am a supporter as I have seen some wonderful benefits in my own dogs from it. But it takes research to determine exactly how you want to pursue it. I think your question for large breeds is a valid one. I do not currently own a Mastiff but maybe someone else will be along that can answer that for you. I think you are wise to consider the specific needs of your breed and your dog. It may be that for an extra large breed that you may want to utilize other food items as mentioned above. However, when looking back at wolves.... Wolves are pretty large animals and survived on essentially raw food/protein with the exception of probably the items in the intestines and stomach of their prey as well as the occassional grass.

Good question. I hope someone else can contribute to answering you.
 

dpenning

Well-Known Member
Honestly it is not something I would undertake unless I had to for allergy problems or something. The protein question is just one of those things that make you go hmmmm.
 

Little Monster

Well-Known Member
The way I understood it was you wanted to feed growing giant breed dogs lower protein because you wanted them to grow slowly. Once they got older, it didn't matter quite as much. More recent studies have shown that there is more influence on the calcium phosphorous ratio for growing giant breeds than the amount of protein. Also, most giant breeds have weight concerns. People like to try to feed their giant breeds to much and they have enough problems with joints and don't need any help with over weight concerns. That may have something to do with it. I agree PuppyPaws on feeding raw. You can't do it haphazardly. There is a lot to consider when doing any of your own dog food preparations. If you feed lots of meat and little to know Calcium, then the body has to get Calcium for cell function somewhere and will pull it from the bones. That's when you have pathological fractures. You also have to consider the amount of Vitamin D supplemented. Without vitamin D the dog's body cannot utilize Calcium so you can supplement all the Calcium in the world and it wont make a difference. This is only one small part of the importance of balance in dog nutrition. Even if it is balance over time, balance is still so so so important.
 

Marrowshard

Well-Known Member
A tip we picked up when we had Ebony on a raw diet: if you're short on calcium or phosphorous, try egg shells. We used to just crush up a whole egg in her dish for the evening feeding and she ate it right up. Mind you, the eggs made her a bit gassy, but we didn't ahve to worry so much about putting bones in for calcium (regardless of the size of the bone, she'd always try to swallow it).

~Marrow