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how much cooked chicken per pound of dog?

51K views 18 replies 3 participants last post by  Saschagast 
#1 ·
my yellow Lab Jake is about 70#, my brown Marley(he is better for now but many more tests) is 105 right now and I want to start feeding cooked chicken and rice and veggies.
how much chicken meat would you guys give a 100# lab/day??

I might do raw-ish at some point, but right now I just wanna loose the kibble stuff
 
#2 ·
That is not a balanced diet for your dog, it is too high in phosphorus and too low in calcium. I would really suggest you do a bit more homework before jumping in, just to make certain your dog is getting an improvement in diet.

You could buy Wendy Volhard's book or Tom Lonsdale's. If you want to feed home prepared instead (not as convenient and not as health), then Richard Pitcairn might fit the bill. I also have a raw feeding guide for labradors available.
 
#3 ·
right now, I am feeding Merrick's BG, Salmon/buffalo/chicken.
also with each feeding they are getting 1/2 can of merricks BG wet food.

so instead of cooked chicken/rice/veggies plus whatever else you suggest, would it be better to feed those raw paddies?

my dogs excitement level on kibble has always been kinda lame with my yellow lab, my chocolate lab loves anything.


so in short........what should I feed if I wanted to get away from kibble
 
#4 ·
You should feed raw.
To be honest, when I first got my dogs off kibble, I tried the cooked diet route. I spent hours cooking grains on the stove, mixing it together, and feeling like I was making the right choice. That was around the time that Billinghurst came on the scene so after talking to Patty Ruzzo, I made the leap to raw. It was a bit frightening at first because you hear a lot of myths about raw feeding. I've now fed dozens of dogs raw for over a dozen years and I will never consider cooked or kibble again.

The issue with cooked is that it is just that: cooked. When you cook foods you rob them of important enzymes. You also make them carinogenic. On top of that, most cooked diets contain grains which are not species appropriate foods for dogs. Grains have been implicated in joint issues, cancers, allergies, bowel issues, etc., and as I learned more, I was anxious to get grains out of my dogs' diets.

If you email me at my regular address fallriverlabs@gmail.com I can send you a copy of Tom Lonsdale's book. You could also join Raw Feeding groups such as Rawlabrador and Raw Feeding to get you started.

I found out the hard way that cooking food is an expensive and time consuming way to marginally improve on kibble. ;)
 
#7 ·
I do have a Costco close by, but besides chicken, I wouldn't know what to buy there keeping a budget in mind.
I am awaiting my 3rd dog, a little 1yr old shepherd mix, a rescue that was meant to be put down.

can I just buy whole raw chicken and cut it up? what kind of meat? what other markets could I go to to get decent deals and freeze some so I dont' have to shop every other day.

Dana, I really appreciate all your help
 
#8 ·
Chinese markets are excellent places to get things like pork necks, whole chickens, pork meat, organ meat and other cheap sources. You should also find a source for green tripe.
There may be raw feeding co-ops in your area and that would be a good start. If you join one of those forums and ask about a co-op in your area, you might find one, they are large lists.
I have a guide for feeding on my web site: http://www.fallriverlabs.com/Feeding%20Your%20Puppy.html
It is dated and I feed a bit differently from that now but it is good to get you started. Basically, you need to balance your dog's meals out so that they resemble a whole animal like a chicken. Ideally, you will feed whole carcasses but that is not possible for everyone, so we try to assemble them piece by piece.
You want to feed about 40% raw meaty bones (my web page says 50% but I have lowered that), 10 to 15% organ meat and the rest should be muscle meat. Start with one protein source such as chicken and gradually add more protein sources.
You should either feed fish two times per week or if not, add a good quality cold water fish oil (not cod liver oil) and a good probiotic that is not from a dairy source. No other supplements should be necessary
Read through the web page then let me know if you have any questions. Geez, I need to fix that page and get it back up on my site!!
 
#10 ·
Yes I do and I feed fish very rarely. But here's the rub, there is mercury in the fish oil too and unless you feed grass fed animals, you need the fish oil to balance out the high omega 6 content.
What a world we live in :(
 
#12 ·
Yes, they can filter it out and then you get a processed oil. If it is excessively heated (like dog food), the fats break down. On top of that, if it is not wild caught salmon oil, the oil is likely from farmed fish and that (along with grain fed beef) has a high level of arachidonic acid which can create inflammatory and immune issues. If a single source of fish is not listed as well, then combining fish sources can compromise the consistency of the oil. I'm also not sure that Vitamin E is enough to prevent oxidation of the oil. Having said that, I like the Urban Carnivore products and I believe them to be a decent supplier.

To prevent these issues many raw feeders use either krill oil or alaskan salmon oil. Because I live in Canada, I have the lucky choice of seal oil (not allowed in the US) which is less susceptible to oxidation and has the added benefit of monounsaturated fats (whereas fish oil is relatively high on saturated fats) which increase absorption rates and amounts. Toxicity levels are also likely lower and of course they are not farm raised (and no, the oil is not from clubbed baby seals).

Of course, the down side of seal oil is that it is cold filtered and filtered but this might not completely remove clostridium and possibly brucella.

So I guess my point is, choose your poison. Krill oil and seal oil IMO are the best choices for oil and I suppose I am remiss when I just say feed fish oil. The type of fish, where the fish live, the processing and the preservatives all matter greatly and like everything else, it all becomes very confusing. It's like saying give probiotics...well, that's a big can of worms too :rolleyes:
 
#13 ·
It is cold filtered and the fish are guaranteed wild-caught (anchovy and sardine, I believe). It seems to work better than the alaskan salmon or herring stuff I tried, and I haven't seen seal oil, but I'll keep my eye out!
 
#15 ·
I use them when we go up to the cottage. But I think 4 days worth of food for both dogs cost $50. :eek:

Maybe they'd be affordable for one or two itty bitty dogs, but a kennel full of labs...? Not so much. :D
 
#16 ·
I used to take them to shows as I would only have 2 or 3 dogs and for only a couple of days but I agree $50 for the weekend is a bit steep :rolleyes:
Now I have to listen to my kibble feeding room mates complain about brushing their teeth in a sink full of thawing tripe :D
 
#17 ·
ok, little update, I am switching to raw. still looking for a great place in los angeles to get good/affordable/bulk-ish stuff, but I already mad contacts in markets and it's ben going great. I am still reading up on everything, but I do also have ready to go paddies to keep things balanced, found a place with well educated guys that only feed raw and it's been great.
my dogs are very happy and it's been about a week or so, so far, they actually smell better if that makes sense.
can't wait to see the results in a few months.

thanx again Dana for the e-book, great help
 
#19 ·
ok, I have fed patties that have bones and everything in them, I also picked up lamb necks, chicken backs, turkey backs and necks.
with beef I just don't know what to get yet, trying to find good stuff, but I do have another question, is there something I need to watch out for when it comes to fish oil?? I found a sardine/mackerel oil I think, it comes in a blue aluminum bottle, is that the stuff I can use?? also, are there other things I should add, one of my friends said I need glucosamine for the bones/joints??
 
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