RAW Feeding Information
Feeding Ratios
How much to feed per day:
The percentage is worked out on your dog’s age and body weight.
For example: a 4 month old pup which weighs 10 kg requires 8% of it’s body weight per day.
[10kg (10 000) X 8%(0.08) = 800g]
What is my dog’s ideal body weight?
If your dog is overweight, feed 2% to lose weight and if your dog is underweight, feed 3% to gain weight. Once your dog is at his ideal weight, feed 2.5% to maintain a healthy weight.
N.B. There are no hard and fast rules for feeding – every animal has a different metabolism and nutritional requirements, so feeding should be tailored to his or her individual needs.
Guide to 2.5% of Adult weight:
- 10kg: 250g per Day
- 15kg: 375g per Day
- 20kg: 500g per Day
- 25kg: 625g per Day
- 30kg: 750g per Day
- 35kg: 875g per Day
- 40kg: 1kg per Day
- 45kg: 1.2kg per Day
- 50kg: 1.3kg per Day
Too Skinny
Ribs, spine and pelvic bones easily visible.
Just Right
Clear waistline from top view & clearly tucked belly from side view. Last ribs may be visible.
Rounded
Difficult to feel ribs, waistline fading. Abdomen not tucked, but more straight across.
Chunky
No visible waistline, hanging or bulging belly, rolls for days.
Have your dog’s feeding ratios emailed to you!
For multiple dogs separate with commas, EG: Max, Dave, Sandy
RAW Diet Info
Balance over Time
One meal could have more bone content, another more meat or organ. Every meal does not need to be completely balanced as long as the nutritional needs of the dog are met over the long term.
Get the Ratio Right
The approximate ratio to aim for overall is 80% meat (tripe and heart forms part of meat), sinew, ligaments and fat, 10% edible bone, 5% liver, 5% other organ meat.
Rotation of Proteins
Don’t feed just one protein source day in day out.
Fasting for Adult Dogs
Fasting involves the withholding of food from adult dogs; this does not include withholding water, which should be available at all times. Fasting is NOT starving your dog. Whilst this can be a foreign concept in many societies, fasting has an abundance of health benefits for humans also.
Fasting can be employed to improve health in the following ways:
- Break down and get rid of wastes that have accumulated in the organs, fatty tissues and intestines
- Decreases inflammatory molecules in many different cell types (inflammation underlies many degenerative diseases).
- Clears infections
- Repairs overworked cells, glands and organs
Your dog is going to LOVE it!
Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean your dog doesn’t NEED it!
Don’t be afraid to feed ‘weird and icky things’ such as chicken feet, beef trachea, tails, lung, kidney, testicles and pizzles (penis). Beef trachea, trim, chicken and turkey feet are loaded in natural chondroitin and glucosamine which help to build healthy joints.
More “Good to Knows”
Do I have a Gulper?
Any dog can be a gulper – small or large. If your dog is a gulper, larger cuts of meat is recommended to feed to avoid choking hazards. Feeding frozen cuts also helps slow down a gulper.
Add Variety. Achieve Balance.
At a minimum a raw diet should consist of 3 protein sources and 50% of the diet should be from red meat.
Individual meals do not need to be balanced every day. If you choose to feed a method like this you will need to achieve a balance over time to maintain optimal pet health.
To help avoid a guessing game, you can choose to make each individual meal properly portioned out and balanced. However, you should still monitor your dog’s potty schedule and stool.
Does my dog have food sensitivities?
If your dog has any sensitivities, you will want to make sure you do not feed those items to avoid issues. If you suspect your dog to have a sensitivity, feed an elimination diet to determine the problem.
Poop Patrol!
Loose Stool: Add more bone to the next meal to firm up your dogs stool
Very Dark, Black Stool: Cut back on the amount of organ next meal and add more muscle meat.
Mucus, Slimy Stool: Trim off the skin and fat off of the muscle meat for the next meal.
Very Hard, White/Grey Stool: Don’t feed any bone, add more muscle meat and organ to the next meal
Raw Food Meal Prep & Hygiene
Always remember that you are handling raw meat. Always clean your dog’s bowl, tools, and prep area after dealing with raw meat.
