I'm going to be switching my dogs to a raw food, raw bones diet in the near future.  I will be able to use bits & pieces(example- deer leg bones, various organs) that most humans aren't going to want.  I noticed a number of TRACers hunt/fish and if you have extra stuff I will be happy to take it off your hands for my four-footers.

Also useful will be people-meat that has gotten freezer burned or meat that is a few days too old for people but not yet really rancid.

Thanks for reading,

Mary

pundam said :

Also useful will be people-meat that has gotten freezer burned or meat that is a few days too old for people but not yet really rancid.

Thanks for reading,

Mary

Did I read that correctly????????

Trilby Tropicals said :

pundam said :

Also useful will be people-meat that has gotten freezer burned or meat that is a few days too old for people but not yet really rancid.

Thanks for reading,

Mary

Did I read that correctly????????

LOL!  AHHHHHHHHH!  NONONO!   That came out WAY wrong!!  I mean meat  people bought to feed people!!!  NOT meat OF people.

DOH! (I'm over here cracking up still)

Thanks Steve!

This freezer I scored on the freecycle is big enough to hide a couple of bodies(so Matt, you be nice to me!) so I will be able to store enough to feed all 5 dogs so I think I can finally get the dogs switched over.  With as many people as I know who hunt/fish, or  forget what they have in their own freezers until it gets freezer-burned,  it may even work out to not be any more expensive than the good quality dry food.

Yay!

pundam said :

I'm going to be switching my dogs to a raw food, raw bones diet in the near future.  I will be able to use bits & pieces(example- deer leg bones, various organs) that most humans aren't going to want.  I noticed a number of TRACers hunt/fish and if you have extra stuff I will be happy to take it off your hands for my four-footers.

Also useful will be people-meat that has gotten freezer burned or meat that is a few days too old for people but not yet really rancid.

Thanks for reading,

Mary

Be weary i have heard of people switch there dogs to this diet only to have the dog get mean and turn on its owner or their children, remember dogs are hunters by nature and a whole meat diet tends to bring the hunter out in some breeds.So be sure to cook it first.

Ill be sure to keep my eyes open!

And if you dont mind me asking what made you decide to switch your dogs to a raw diet?....... we used to have a great dane that was alergic to something or another in almost all dry dog foods and he had to be on a raw diet........talk about some smelly dog poo in the yard.

Vance,

I appreciate the heads-up.  I too had heard of that kind of thing happening when i first started looking in to raw feeding, but in all my  reading, researching, lurking on assorted lists and talking first-hand to vets and people who switched I have not found a single first-hand account of this happening.  The only stories were  that vague and hazy"someone I know knew someone" sort of thing. 

THAT SAID I am absolutely going to be keeping a dang close eye on, because one of my dogs is a wolf-hybrid(very low percentage hybrid, but still), and I need to stay on top of her behaviors.  She's a certified Therapy Dog with a sweetheart personality, but I don't ever take that for granted for one minute.

I vaccilate between cooking and totally staying raw.  I know the bones need to be raw in order to not splinter/chip.  I have been cautioned by two of the vets to pay attention to potential allergic reactions, but so far hen I feed them all raw bits and pieces from whatever meats I am serving for dinner I haven't seen any adverse reactions.  Of course when that's the full diet it may be different.  I'd really like to try it if I can swing it.

Ocean Treasures said :

And if you dont mind me asking what made you decide to switch your dogs to a raw diet?....... we used to have a great dane that was alergic to something or another in almost all dry dog foods and he had to be on a raw diet........talk about some smelly dog poo in the yard.

I started looking into raw feeding after running across it while researching my old GSD's health issues and ways to deal with them.  A year or so later a couple of my friends switched their dogs and the transformation was incredible.  From there I actively pursued the topic, and joined lots of lists to lurk & learn.

Two of my dogs(the hybrid is one of them) cannot tolerate any grains in their food. They get severly itchy, get crud in their ears and goop in their eyes & runny noses. I've tried several foods, with the top two coming out Innova's Evo or Blue Buffalo's Wilderness. Both of those are meat based without grains.

When I first tried the Evo, for the rest of the gang I mixed it half/half with the cheap Purina, and even just half/half mixed with a brand that uses corn as it's main ingredient, the difference in all my dogs' coats and skin was startling.

The two that are on it straight(currently Evo) have coats so soft you can't believe it, and they shine like I polished them.  I'd happily keep them on the Evo, but at $2 a pound, I can feed them raw cheaper than I can the Evo, and after seeing the beneftis of eliminating grains, I just can't in conscience NOT feed them in the manner that I have found to be best for them, you know?

I know it's a controversial diet, and my older dogs live to 13 & 14 on the heap, corn-based food.  But now that I've seen the difference up close and personal...