The Raw Diet

This is an outline of what to feed. Please contact me for more specific instructions, or with any questions.

Our adult dogs eat 2 meals a day; one is raw meaty bones, the other is their 'mix'. They occasionally get a 'junk food' meal - human leftovers. Puppies get 3 meals a day; the third alternates between raw meaty bones and mix. The mix consists of meat, organ meat, vegetables, fruits, eggs, yogurt, salmon oil, kelp and alfalfa. The more variety you can provide in all the components, the better. Different meats have different enzymes, minerals, etc. Be sure to include some red meat.

There are some good quality commercial raw diets - please contact me about them, they are an easy alternative to preparing meals yourself.

The basic proportions of the diet should be:

Raw Meaty Bones

Raw meaty bones can be from any species, and any part, including whole fish. The goal is 50% meat, 50% bone over time - you don't need to achieve this with every meal. Puppies can consume pieces of poultry, rabbit and fish with bone. The meat in their mix should be a red meat. Adults can have beef, poultry, rabbit, whole fish, pork, veal, etc. - anything goes! Yes, you should just hand your dog the meaty bone! He will know how to proceed.

Mix

We make our mix every few weeks and freeze in containers that hold enough for a few days. Once again, variety is important. Everything is tossed into a blender or food processor and mixed well. Dogs cannot break down the cell walls of vegetables, so it must be well processed.

The vegetables should be mainly leafy greens (kale, collards, etc.) with a variety of other different colored veggies. A small proportion of fruit is included - again, variety!

We usually use red meat, as their meaty bones are usually not red.

Organ meats can be from any species - we've found pork liver and kidney to be the cheapest in our area.

Other

Eggs can either be added to the mix, or fed as a meal 2-3 times a week. We prefer to feed them as meals. Remove bedding from your dog's kennel (or put him outside), and give him a whole egg. Some of ours make a small hole and suck out the egg, some eat shell and all. Either way is fine. For puppies you may want to crack the egg. You can add a tub of plain, full-fat yogurt to the mix or just add a blob to the mix meal.

Salmon oil is an extremely important supplement. The Omega-3 fatty acids are important for skin, coat, immune system, joints, and many other things. Your puppy or dog should get 1 gram (1000 mg) a day. It is available in gel caps at any health food store, or in liquid form. Most dogs will take a gel cap as a treat.

Kelp and alfalfa (available in powder at health food stores) can either be sprinkled on mix meals or (easier!) mixed in when you make the mix.

Other supplements are given on an as-needed basis. The diet outlined above has all the vitamins, enzymes, minerals and other nutrients your dog needs.

We recommend that you read the overview of health issues within the breed.