How to Go Raw

For this week's post, I have asked my good friend, Michelle Hegarty, to be my guest writer. She lays out a super, simple, plan and explanation that will help you to switch from feeding your dog Dry dog food to Raw. Or as I like to describe it as Fresh Food. Michelle also adds good reasons why Fresh is Best.

Your dog may love Fresh Food right away but some dogs may not want to give up their "Corn Chips and Salsa" ( haha corn -based food). Don't give up! Fresh Food is Healthier than Dry, Processed Dog Food.

Keep in mind too, it may take a few weeks for your dog to adjust to the new diet and if your dog has skin issues it may take months to resolve because the body needs to get rid of all the toxins that it has been harboring and heal itself.

I know you will enjoy Michelle's post like I did. She is down to earth and a dog owner just like you!
And don't forget to join Fresh Food Diet on Facebook for any extra help! https://www.facebook.com/groups/371951032993860/

Thanks for being here!
My best,
Dru

Out of the DogHouse LLC website www.ohiodogtrainer.net
Any Questions? call me, Dru Therrian 440.286.9070

Transitioning to a Raw Diet ~ Michelle Hegarty

So you are thinking about transitioning to a raw diet?  Awesome! It’s not as scary as it seems. It will be a lot easier if you have a plan ahead of time. Here is some ways to prepare.

1.      Have a place in the house for feeding. I tether my dogs so that they have to stay in a place to eat. I don’t want chicken legs and pork necks running down the hallway to my bedroom (ugh) so plan ahead. I also always feed on an old towel, sheet or something easily washable. When the meal is over I pick up the towels and throw in the wash.

2.      It is not advisable to mix kibble or any processed food with raw. The reason is simple—all those grains and carbohydrates slow down the digestive/enzyme process. You don’t want to trap raw food in the gut. Your raw fed dog will process his food much faster with much less waste. You will find that her poop will have much less volume and disintegrate within a few days! Yay no more poop pickup! Another reason the poop will be much smaller is that dogs cannot process all those grains/fruits/vegs/ that are in standard dog foods. They literally pass right through creating much more waste and push the body to try and process carbohydrates which are sugar.

3.      Get a scale. Mine on Amazon was $10 and you can adjust the scale to ex out the weight of the bowl. Ideally you want to feed 2-3% of your dog’s body weight. My dog Henry is 23 pounds…ideally he should 21 pounds…so I want to gradually feed him what he would need at 21 pounds. I start with 22 lbs. x 2%= .44 lbs. per day. Split in half this is .22 lbs. per day. (You can see why you need the scale!) Puppies will need much more than 2-3%.

4.      I would recommend you buy slippery elm. I bought a 1 lb. bag on Amazon for $26 that was organic. This is a wonderful natural cure for any stomach upset or diarrhea. Funny that it works for both constipation and diarrhea. Have on hand in case you have any issues. My dogs transitioned without any real issues. Of my three dogs, Henry has the more sensitive stomach and if he seems a little off (eating grass, a little runny poo) I feed a little in his food (23 lb. dog I give ½ tsp).

5.      So you are ready! How to start. Bone is an important component in a dog’s diet. Like everything in life too much or too little isn’t good. I typically feed a ground diet with bone in the food ground up but I also feed several times a week either a pork neck, chicken leg/thigh/back/breast with the bone in.  When you are starting out I recommend alternating—one meal all meat and one meal that is meat with the bone in.

6.      One note about fruits and vegetables. Personally I don’t feed them. I know many people do. I think that they complicate the digestive process and give very little benefit to the dog. I would recommend that during your transition you leave them out—let the dog process things slowly. Remember most fruits and vegetable break down ultimately into sugar which is not healthy for your dog and slows down the digestive process. If you want to add them back in later that’s okay.

7.      I don’t recommend that you cut up the bone or meat. Part of the joy of raw feeding is that it engages the dog to think, tear, rip and chew on his food. It will slow him down and make him work at it. It’s a mental challenge. It will also keep their teeth cleaner and reduce the chances of choking.  Dogs instinctively know what they can swallow…and if it doesn’t fit they will throw it up and chew on it some more.

8.      Let’s talk about grinds. I use them for 75% of what I feed my dogs. A grind is an already mixed container that is 100% of the animal—meat, organs, bones. The entire animal except for the hair or feathers. At first this seemed gross to me but if your dog was out catching rabbits he would probably eat the whole thing…part of being a carnivore. A grind will contain approximate 80% Meat, 10% organs and 10% bone—which is the ratio you are shooting for long term. When I say long term—I try to feed this over a week’s time—some days they may get more meat, others more organs and bone.

This is a guide—some people make changes slower. Watch your dogs for runny poo or constipation..

Day 1 - 4

AM Weigh out a chicken breast. Feed whole and chilled or at room temperature  PM Weigh out chicken leg/thigh/back or breast with bone in.

Day 5 – 9

            Continue to make one meal chicken with bone in. Add ground beef in with chicken meat.

Day 10 – 12

            If you are going to start feeding “grinds” make a chicken grind one meal and ground beef the second (the grind will have some organ meat in it)

Day 13-16

            Make a pork neck or chop one meal and a chicken grind the second

At this point you can start changing around the diet slowly. If your dog’s poo is runny you aren’t feeding enough bone…if he seems constipated you are feeding too much. If runny poo persists try the slippery elm and slow down the progress of what you are feeding.

 Ultimately you will want to feed a variety of animals so make sure you are getting all the necessary vitamins, minerals, enzymes your dog needs. My primary sources of animals are beef and chicken. Secondary sources are turkey and pork. I supplement animals such as rabbit, duck, and emu (very healthy!). For treats I feed beef trachea, chicken or turkey necks.  Each week I rotate proteins: one week beef, turkey, rabbit…another week chicken, pork and duck. Things like duck, rabbit and emu are more expensive so I use them in smaller quantities—not the main meal.

Other notes:

1.      I don’t feed things frozen. I know some people do but this will reduce your dog’s body temperature and might make them shiver. If you have your set up planned I would recommend feeding right out of the fridge thawed or at room temperature.

2.      Find a local butcher who will cut things up for you! I use Newbury Meats on Route 87—they are used to me now (the wacky raw feeding lady) and will cut up a pork neck or chicken back or whatever else I need into sizes that are appropriate for my dogs.

3.      Where to buy grinds? Personally I use a company called Mypetcarnivore.com.  I researched many companies online…there are now quite a few. I was looking for humanely raised animals (free range/pasture grazed) and for a company that does not use denatured meat (I will explain in a minute). Secondarily I was looking for easy to use containers that were affordable. MPC is all those things for what I am looking for. Many of the co-ops out there require you to buy huge quantities at a time. While I did buy a freezer for the garage so I could buy in bulk—I don’t want to buy a whole cow at a time!

4.      If you are not going to feed grinds then you will really need to find a butcher—they can only source certain things. I used to have Newbury Meats grind up both (pig and beef) heart, tongue, liver and pancreas.

5.      What is denatured meat? This is a really ugly secret that the pet food companies have kept hidden for a long time.  Animals that arrive at the processing center that are either diseased, dying, down or dead. They are deemed non-human grade and coated with a chemical/die or other material so that they don’t end up in the human food production. They are then sold to pet food companies who have also been known to use road kill, zoo animals etc. for their meat.  Raw food suppliers are also using denatured meat as a means to keep cost down—and they are cheaper. Personally for me—I am going to great lengths for my dogs to live a long and happy life. I am not going to cut a dangerous corner at this point.

6.      A word about treats. It goes without saying that any treats you give your dogs—particularly during the early transition- should be meat only. I use a dehydrator to make chicken, turkey and beef treats. They last for weeks and are much better than whatever you might buy in the pet food store (and safer too since you made them and know what is in them!).

This was my raw feeding journey. I think everyone should become as informed as much as possible. One of the many resources that I used was a Facebook group called Raw Feeding University (RFU). They have great files on all kinds of raw feeding topics. 

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any problems, questions or concerns. I am not an expert in feeding a raw diet…I just wanted to share my journey in case it helps someone else.

Michelle Hegarty

Hegarty Pack ~ Henry, Emma and Charlotte