I have read several things about going raw. At first, I thought it was just a fad and dogs have survived on kibble for many, many years but now I am thinking raw may be the way to go. I do have a lot of questions first:
1. My understanding is that you want to wait until the dog is an adult before you switch from kibble. Is that correct?
You don't have too. But if it's your first time feeding raw it might be easier to wait till the pup is a little older 8-12+ months.
2. How much does it cost on average per month to feed raw?
When we were on kibble we'd spend about $60-70 per month on Fromm. Feeding RAW we spend $20-$45. Right now, I got about 200lbs of free venison from hunting season. That is bring cost down drastically. I also buy everything in bulk from the local farmers market and get my organs and strange stuff from Raw Feeding Miami. Everything I feed is human grade, and some time grass fed when I can find it in the sale section at the grocery store.
3. I found a co-op not far from me so I would probably shop there and they have a suggested weekly feeding schedule to help with the switch. Does this look good?
Raw Menu Wks 1-8
That would be a decent menu to start with but you need to take things slow, with introducing new proteins, and it seems like a lot of bone. Also there is no organs or liver. you want Liver to make up 5% and Other organs(brain, pancreas, kidneys, testicles, etc..) to make up another 5% of total diet fed. You don't need to balance every meal, we balance over the week. So Ideal is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% organ. you might need more bone, depending on the dog poops.
Check out this link on a detailed guide to get started.How to get started feeding a Prey Model Raw Diet - Raw Chat - PMR Articles - articles - Prey Model Raw
The key is to have as much variety as possible, we feed chicken, turkey, duck, pork, beef, venison, goat, and fish.
4. I read that you should feed the dog 2-3% of their desired adult weight in raw food, so that would be around 2 lbs of food a day separated into 2 meals, does that sound correct?
Yes 2-3% his ideal adult weight. and if they puppy is still growing 10% of current weight till it begins to approach the 2-3% ideal adult weight.
5. Also, I thought you weren't supposed to give your dog chicken bones as they can splinter and choke the dog. Is that no longer a rule?
Cooked bones are a BIG NO NO. Raw bones are fine, you just don't want to give weight bearing bones of big animals like cows.
6. How much food do you need to purchase to last a month? For example, this place I am looking at has Whole Chicken Leg Quarters in a 40 lb frozen case, that should last about a month, right?
So if he eats 2#s a day, 4 weeks would be 56#, with 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% Liver, 5% organ.
Any advice would be appreciated.