What type of raw dog food do you like more?

Question

Hi. I am adopting a pug from a rescue in about a month. I am still deciding whether or not to make the BARF diet or Prey Model. I have heard good things about both.

At this point I am going to be making a BARF diet:
This is what I have so far.
75% meat
25% veggies

Morning-
Mélange du matin (Breakfast Slop) 25%
broccoli (not a lot), carrots, spinach, cauliflower (not a lot), celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, cayenne pepper, raw whole eggs (with shell), zucchini, squash, kale (not a lot), chard, alfalfa, asparagus, kelp, beets (not a lot), parsley, peas (not a lot), garlic (not a lot- only in summer months?), flax seed oil (not a lot), fish oil (?), potatoes (not a lot- peeled and cooked. In a whole batch (1 month worth or so) only 1 potato)

Ground meat 25%
Mix it in at serving time (also, for ground meats, how long do they last in the FRIDGE before spoiling? Same with chicken necks, wings...)

Dinner- 50% (30% meat, 10% one, 10% organ (will only get organ every other day))
Meat with bones
(chicken necks, chicken wings, fish (whole fish with skin, head and all- except tail, too pointy for a little pug)
and organ meat (kidneys, liver, spleen, green tripe - what else?) or yogurt (plain fat-free with active bacteria)

PS:
If I were on Prey, this is what it would look like

Morning: 50%
Chicken neck
Ground beef/ fish
organ

Dinner:
Chicken wing
Ground meat
organ

Please say your reasoning and also what your dog's diet looks like. I haven't really looked in to prey as much so please put exactly your "menu"

Answer 1

IMO, dogs cannot properly digest veggies/fruits/grains so there's no reason to feed them besides to waste time and money.



I feed prey model



Pig foot in the morning to chew on through the day, then she may get chicken, deer, feed, pork, whatever I thawed.



As long as I hit 80%, 10%,10% in a week, I'm happy. I don't fuss on meal plans

Answer 2

Does BARF have to be fed in two different meals? Man, that vegetable slop sounds like a pain to whip up.



My dogs are fed prey model raw. They eat once a day, and today's meal was chicken drumsticks with ground beef to make up the weight. They also got a fish oil tablet today. Tomorrow will be pork necks and beef kidney, the next day will be mostly ground beef since pork necks are pretty bone heavy.



As for what they're favorite meat is... I don't see them getting more excited about certain meats. I have noticed they eat ground foods and organs before chowing on their raw meaty bones.

Answer 3

In all honesty if you are going to feed barf the amount of veggies should be closer to 5-10% because in the wild that is about close to how much they would actually come in contact with via the stomach contents of SMALL prey.



The stomach content of small prey is not consumed. The stomach is torn open, shaken empty of its contents and then consumed.



In all honesty I disagree with BARF on more than just the inclusion of veggies/fruits but also the heavy tendency for grinding. Unless your dog has ZERO teeth there is no reason to go the route of grinding. One it opens up the greater possibility of bacteria being introduced into the meat(more so of you aren't doing it yourself) as well as the fact you're making food that provides zero exercise and like kibble encourages the dog to simply inhale/bolt its food down.



Whichever one you do NO GRINDING. your dogs have teeth for a reason.

Answer 4

I agree with what others have said about not grinding or mushing food



My dogs diet looks like:



70% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ, 10% other



Meats: usually meats that come with bone, like:



beef ribs, lamb ribs, chicken thighs, turkey drumsticks, meaty pork neck bones, salmon



Organs: chicken liver, beef liver, chicken hearts & gizzards, tripe



"Other": occassional yogurt, spinach, raw carrots, apples, sweet potato, etc. non meats with strong enough nutritional purpose that they'll still benefit the dog despite the dog's reduced capacity to extract the most out of them.

Answer 5

Prey Model Raw all the way!!



I think you can simply look in a dog's mouth and at their digestive tract to see they're not designed to eat vegetables, grains, etc. Their dentition is designed solely to tear through meat and break through bones. They lack a long digestive tract necessary to break down plant cellulose. If I feed my dog raw carrots, they poop out raw carrots... ;) nuff said



Stay away from ground meat if you can. It defeats one of the MAJOR reasons to feed raw in the first place. You WANT your dog to tear through the meat and crunch the bones.



Our menu consists of things like...

Turkey Necks

Chicken Quarters

Chicken Backs

Whole Fish (don't worry about the tail... your dog can handle it)

Pork Roasts

Pork Ribs

Beef Ribs

ANY Boneless Beef cut

Venison

Elk

Game Hens

Whole Turkey

Whole Chicken



A good read about why NOT to feed BARF

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/petowners/whynotBARF.php



While you strive for a 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ ratio in the diet.....



Just feed mostly meat, some bone, some organs and your dog will THRIVE! It's not necessary to weigh out every meal to make sure you're meeting the guidelines. ;)

Answer 6

I feed my dog on a prey model, but with a few vegetables mixed in. While a lot of prey model advocates argue that dogs are carnivores, and therefore don't eat vegetables, this is only partially right. wild dogs will often consume the stomach content of their prey and therefore eat vegetable matter. their stomachs aren’t very efferent at breaking down vegetables, and in the wild when they eat the stomach content of prey the vegetable matter has already been partially broken down.

Answer 7

Did you tested Eating for Energy (120 raw food diet recipes) technique? Try on this website : http://StayEatingRaw.com/Tutor . This will absolutely save yourself!

Answer 8

There's lots of great homemade recipes, which takes the fundamentals into into account, such as the major food components essential for dog health, best fruit snacks, etc. I recommend visiting http://dietfordogs.net for more info on that part.

Answer 9

PREY MODEL!



Dogs are CARNIVORES therefore require NO vegetables.



I don't have a specific "menu" for my dog, as I never know what I'll buy each week.. but generally.. 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ.



Join this http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding or this http://facebook.com/rawfeedingtips for tons of more helpful info.

Answer 10

I feed mine beef any types of meat

Answer 11

why cant you feed him a dry complete food like burns or hills?



its so much cheaper in the long run his poo isn't gonna be runny.

they cant digest about 70% of that so it doesn't sound good. and they can get salmonella from raw meat.

Answer 12

I just ADORE Caesar.



The one with pasta is yummy!