Feeding Puppy

[Eldoop]

I feed Minx raw meat thats minced with vegies in it, (like BARF I guess) I now get some great looking meat and its got all sorts of goodies in it....mince beef, mince chicken carcess vegies, fruit, omega oils, and heaps of other good stuff, now I'm currently feeding Cody what the breeder said which is cooked mince meat and puppy dry food, I've had him one week tomorrow and wondering when can I start to slowly feed him the same as Minx? or is he still to young for raw meat?

[Toohey]

The meat should not be cooked. Never too young for raw meat, preferably on the bone. Raw chicken necks are ideal for young puppies, as are wings, perhaps give them a bit of a crushing with a big kitchen knife to start with, then eventually feed them as is.

[Eldoop]

I tried adding abit of raw meat in his dinner last night and he only had afew mouthfulls I thought I'll put him on it slowly and just add alittle bit at a time, but he didn't seem to like it, and thismorning he only ate half his breaky? yet he seems to love the raw chicken wings.

[chloebear]

This may seem like a silly question, but why is important to feed dogs raw meat? I have always been worried about the dog then decided to chase other animals ie chickens, cats etc. I always feed my last dog commercial dog food, which I have been advised not to use and to start making her dinner from scratch. Is this only important for show dogs (improve presentation) or is it for health reasons in general?

[Eldoop]

I'm a member of ADT (Australian Dog Traning) and they will tell you raw meat is best, they told me that at puppy pre-school aswell, I feed mince beef, mince chicken carcess, vegies, fruit, and it has omega oils and other goodies, and I just add good dry food into it, and any scraps aswell also raw chicken wings are good for pups, Minx gets raw chicken carcess but she's a big girl, also lamb or beef bones, but never feed cooked bones.

[Toohey]

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

http://www.abc.net.au/wa/stories/s1293692.htm

http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/

http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/barf_philosophy.html

http://www.rawlearning.com/

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

http://sonia.clove.net.au/diet.html

[persephone]

Dogs are not humans...they are 'designed' to eat RAW food, with bones etc

Cooking food destroys some vitamins and enzymes ..also cooking bones changes their composition and makes them brittle and very dangerous for dogs to eat.

We have working sheepdogs..they are often fed raw mutton..and also have whole rabbits..kangaroo tails, goat bones/meat..they only work the sheep..they don't kill them

That story about dogs with Raw meat turning vicious is an 'old wives' tale Don't worry about it.

edit to say..any puppies we have start their weaning at around 4 weeks onto huge bones with lots of raw meat on... while they are still with their mum..then when they are chewing they get puppy biscuits with their raw food. By the time they are on their own, they are eating anything!

Edited October 1, 2007 by persephone

[Poodle wrangler]

Minced meat with veg ISN'T BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food)- there are lots of threads about BARF if you do a search. http://www.drianbillinghurst.com/what_is_barf.html

It's based more on raw meaty bones and offal- basically more like what a dog might eat 'in the wild'.

A dog that doesn't eat raw meat can't be too hungry, IMO.

If he eats only half breakfast, put it in the fridge and give it back later that day.

Healthy dogs don't starve themselves.

Edited October 1, 2007 by Poodle wrangler

[Eldoop]

I didn't mean it was BARF I'm feeding them, I was saying it was like BARF...... I feed Minx raw meat thats minced with vegies in it, (like BARF I guess) I cut and paste this from the first post so sorry I wasn't saying raw meat and veg that I'm feeding is barf...hope that clears that up

[Rusky]

Kitty I have a rescue pup here that refuses to eat raw meat. He isn't a young pup, around 9 months, small cross breed. He won't eat puppy kibble, he likes puppy pet roll. I cook his chicken or turkey mince,he eats it then, he will chew a bone but not with gusto...take it or leave it. He refuses rice and most vegetables.

I tried the take away no eat theory I have always and forever put forward to others. He didn't eat and is already skinny. It is my guess he ate human leftovers but for whatever reason he goes against everything I believed. I give him what he enjoys and eats and try gradually to introduce other foods. He is vet checked and healthy, just a pain in the food department.

I am now following a really old plan from a breeder which came with one of my dogs. Cooked mince, chicken neck at this age, grated vegies and I try the top quality puppy kibble but he doesn't like it so for grains I use a chicken puppy roll. Plus the oils etc...

I would call your breeder for further feeding advice.

[austen]

Hmm, interesting discussion - we have always fed our dog raw meat even when she was a puppy, but was speaking to someone the other day who said you should never feed raw meat under about the age of four months. This was the first time I had ever heard of this - has anyone else?

[Kingsleychi]

My ridgy Fly rest her big butt would never eat raw meat. On the bone or not she would just not eat for days..........we took to cooking her meals with vegies and so forth.

Bad i know but we even had to cook her bones for her otherwise she wouldnt chew them

[jillybean]

The breeder where I got my pup from had been feeding raw mince mixed in with rice - that was from 4 or so weeks of age, so I guess it's never too young to start!

When I brought her home Chloe was only eating tiny amounts but I think that was mostly because she was just settling in. After a few days she built up a massive appetite! Perhaps your pup is still settling in Eldoop?

[austen]

My ridgy Fly rest her big butt would never eat raw meat. On the bone or not she would just not eat for days..........we took to cooking her meals with vegies and so forth.

Bad i know but we even had to cook her bones for her otherwise she wouldnt chew them

I suppose they are all different

[austen]

The breeder where I got my pup from had been feeding raw mince mixed in with rice - that was from 4 or so weeks of age, so I guess it's never too young to start!

When I brought her home Chloe was only eating tiny amounts but I think that was mostly because she was just settling in. After a few days she built up a massive appetite! Perhaps your pup is still settling in Eldoop?

Yep - our only problem was that we were feeding her too much - and she ended up getting diahoreaa (know that isn't spelt right) , I t quickly settled down and she was fine after that. Seems to much prefer the fresh to dry. ( I suppose it is much more interesting to eat than dry food.) But maybe dogs don't think like this?

[badboyz]

My pups are weaned straight onto raw minced meat, carcasses, offal , vegie mix, from about 3.5 weeks. Used to use soaked puppy food, but have found this much better (and much cleaner).

ETA. If I were you I would not mix it with the commercial food - giver him a chance to push it aside. I would give it straight as a separate meal - even if you have to feed by hand to start with. If he does not eat much - his problem. Hunger is a great motivator.

Edited October 22, 2007 by badboyz

[Gayle.]

BARF isn't a brand name, it's a method of feeding your animals. On this forum BARF stands for Biologically Approved Raw Food, on others it stands for Bones and Raw Food, or the original (tongue in cheek) meaning.....Born Again Raw Feeders.

It just means feeding your pet raw foods as opposed to commercial packaged food.