# Raw Feeding for Dogs



## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Without getting into a debate on the pros and cons of feeding raw, does anyone here do it? If you do, how do you manage on trips away?
I would love to switch both of mine to one of the raw options but am concerned how I would cope on longer trips away. Is there a middle ground that I can utilise in the van without the need fir excessive freezer space.
Thanks for any advice
Sally


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## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

Without getting into a debate on the pros and cons of feeding raw, does anyone here do it? If you do, how do you manage on trips away?
I would love to switch both of mine to one of the raw options but am concerned how I would cope on longer trips away. Is there a middle ground that I can utilise in the van without the need fir excessive freezer space.
Thanks for any advice
Sally ANSWER If this is dogs you are talking about rather then cats, I have and do,but mine is 9 years young and adapts to both canned and raw meat and always has done, but I would first try it out at home as it can be traumatic enough without switching their feeding habits abroad, also on raw my dog GOES more Frequently if you know what i mean OR you could solve two problems at once you could feed your dogs fresh meat and save TREES by wait for it, shoot a beaver a day LOL :twisted:


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

both my dogs are on dry food, always have been, always will be and thrive on it.

Their food is either bagged, or stored in airtight containers.


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## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Hi Daffodil
Yes 2 dogs one 2 years and one 3 months.
Do you just swap to canned when in the van?


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hey up.

Feed them complete dry biscuits, they have all the nutrients and vitamins they need..

And the advantage of being easy to pick up the crap cleanly and not leave a sloppy mess left after you have cleaned up, for kids to get over them..

ray.


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## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Thanks but dry biscuits also have lots of things that dogs don't need. Also reports from raw feeders suggest that the waste left behind is much less and more solid than on dry.
Any way...as in my original post, I don't want to get into a food debate just would like some feedback from people who actually feed raw.


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## deefordog (Dec 31, 2013)

Hi Taz - yes, we partly raw feed our 7 year old lurcher bitch. A bit of history first.......

We got here from the Dogs Trust back in 2010 where she had been fed Arden Grange http://www.ardengrange.com/Pet-Food/adult-dog-food.asp. We kept her on this food for three years and without being gross about the subject, her motions were always perfect.

We started to notice about 12 months ago that she had a lot of plaque on her canines and her breath was also getting a bit pongy. Then we read on a lurcher forum about raw feeding. Since we found this out 12 months ago, she now has two fresh chicken wings (or frozen "fresh" defrosted) for breakfast and 200g of the Arden Grange of an evening. Plaque is much reduced (chewing hard bones never seemed to work) and her breath is as fresh as a human's.

Yes, going away in the MH for several days can be challenging as our freezer is mostly full of frozen (fresh) wings. We understand that frozen wings (not fresh then frozen) have the same attributes, it's just that we find we can buy supermarket "basic" fresh wings for the same price as frozen. If you get a family pack with a good date on them, then you could easily go 3-4 days on the fresh pack and then freeze the remainder. Wings in family packs can vary drastically in size - the last pack from Tesco contained 14 wings, other times you'll get 8-10.

Her motions are still as good as ever, indeed the first one in a morning at around 11.00am is dry and chalky, usually a good sign that all's well. She'll then have a second "smoother" one about 10 mins later and that's it for the day. I'm sorry if all this sounds crude but we feel it's one of the advantages of a raw/dry diet.

Not sure if we'd want to change to 100% raw as, at the moment, all's well in the "motion" and health camp so why change a winning formula. It's win win for both us and the dog.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

We used to feed raw chicken wings to the dogs but only when they were between 3 months and a year old. After that they got cooked chicken and rice and some dried food.


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## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Thanks deefordog. Don't worry, I think discussing poo is one of the joys of dog ownership! Even more so when changing food.
I have occasionally fed our 2 year old chicken wings but the last time resulted in a trip to the vets due to a lot of blood in his poo.
So I am looking more at the pre prepared raw variety packs that give tubs of chicken based, lamb based, rabbit base, game based etc along with chopped seasonal veg. I guess this is much more along the lines of what our grandparents would feed their dog ie scraps and leftovers.
There does seem to be a lot of evidence that this diet is beneficial to a dogs health, and also that it produces smaller, firmer, less smelly and less frequent poo.
Will keep researching and work out the logistics of a small freezer in the motorhome garage...hubby will love that!
S


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

Never fed him raw meat. He gets Royal Canin which must be good because 2 of next doors cats are in here every day eating it!

Kev


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I feed him cooked chicken, brown rice and veg

In the morning a small amount of wheat free all in one and half a tin of butchers

I could feed him raw meat as I can get it at a good price but I would be very worried to serve him chicken bones raw or cooked

InFact I don't give him bones at all but that's because he has a reduced intestine and that may impact on his ability to digest raw food

I have heard it's very good, but he is coping well, has regained his weight and his stools are fine, all things the vet doubted would happen given the amount of intestine they needed to remove

He cleans his teeth with denta sticks

Aldra


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## travelsRus (Mar 1, 2007)

Hi Taz - a friend of mine has 3 Border Collies ages 14, 7 & 3. She has always fed them on a raw diet chicken wings, salmon heads, rabbit, eggs including shells, etc and they have the healthiest shiniest coats & their teeth are pure white no tartar.. 

I have a 8 yr old Border Terrier who is fed on commercial food but wish I'd started on the raw diet when he was a pup.

She has an extra fridge - of those 3way things for the dog food. 

Chris


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Why would you need an extra fridge for commercial food Chris 

I cook rice and chicken every two days in a pressure cooker

Not a problem when we travel

I just use the Cadac outside

Chicken /veg 15 mins, strain and drain, rice7 minutes

The vet says he is a credit, coat and teeth

Mind you he doesn't have to live with him

Bad tempered bugger that he is :lol: 

Aldra


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## K8H (Jul 22, 2013)

Hi Taz
I have been raw feeding my two mini schnauzers for about 18 months. My 3 year old boy had been having some stomach problems - frequently vomiting several hours after eating a (so called) good quality kibble and numerous sloppy poos (sorry!!) 
On the advise of a good friend I decided to give raw feeding a go. What a revelation - he has not been sick once since and very rarely poos more than once a day (dry and crumbly-sorry again!!) he also had trouble with sore ears, all good now. He is a changed dog, much happier in himself, and with beautiful white teeth.
We have just returned from three weeks away in France, we have a fairly large freezer in the van and the raw I use is a mince supplied in sausage shapes from a company called MVM. They fit perfectly in the motorhome freezer. I took two weeks worth and just bought cheap cuts of meat, lamb bones, chicken wings, pigs trotters and fish from local markets, supermarkets and butchers.
I would certainly recommend you give it a try, you don't need to switch over to raw slowly, you can just move straight over but if you need to use up any kibble, make sure you feed it separate to the raw as it is digested at a different rate.
HTH
Kate


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## taz (Sep 28, 2005)

Thanks Kate, that is just what I needed to know.
I think I will start on a ready made raw diet and gradually build up knowledge to do it all myself. It's great to hear that you managed to continue with it in France, although my 2 will need considerably more I am happy that I can manage it. Do you add in veggies with your meat? Seems some do and some don't, which is the only bit I am now concerned about.
I think there are also some good non-raw options including Pure, a dehydrated food shown on Dragons Den, which would be a useful store cupboard of of as it keeps for 12 months.
Can't wait to get started. About 2 weeks of kibble left so I can get prepared now.
Thanks again for your post and glad raw has helped sort your pups health problems
S


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## K8H (Jul 22, 2013)

I started them off with Natural Instinct raw food because I felt very nervous about doing it wrong, but it's quite an expensive way of feeding raw and soon changed onto MVM meats.
I do add veggies and fruit because my two are quite greedy and it bulks out the food without adding calories, plus they love them!! But you don't have to, even seasoned raw feeders fall into two camps, veg or not lol.
My advise would be to start with a ready made food but don't be afraid to go it alone. You know your own dogs, their poo (sorry, raw feeders are a bit obsessed about poo!) should be quite dry and crumbly, too loose and you are overdoing the offal, too hard or white and your are feeding to much bone. There are some great chat groups and Barf websites with much more info, check them out too.
Good luck!!


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## salomon (Apr 20, 2011)

Go for it !
Our 2 have always been raw fed, DIY rather than ready made . They mainly get chicken, beef and lamb. They also love green tripe which is their main veggie source. They are very fussy eaters ( mainly as my husband spoils them rotten !).
We buy food en route usually. You can keep the meat for a long while in the fridge if you vacuum pack it. We also carry a good quality commercial food ( platinum) which is lightly steamed.
We bring 50kg of frozen tripe back from Germany in our extra freezer as we cannot buy it here in France.

Best thing you can ever do for your dog


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## Debbie10 (Jun 19, 2011)

We feed our 5 year old Springer and 12 year old Jack Russell, mostly a RAW diet, when we go away we tend to take tinned/packet dog food, tinned fish and tinned vegetables and they seem to do alright. 

Fortunately, they don't have any problems with upset tummies, they are pretty robust, I think it must be eating all those carcasses they find on the moors! :?


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Www.theyloveit.co.uk - deliver direct to your door. He's also my husband :wink:


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