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2 Responses to How much should I feed my three German shepherds on a raw diet ? And also how much for just one ?

1. Please don’t feed a raw diet, it is not a balanced diet – too much of some nutrients and too few of others – and it has a high risk of actually food poisoning your dog.

   Dogs are not strict carnivores, they’re not wolves, if dogs were wolves we would call them wolves and not dogs. Dogs need a lot more fiber and complex carbs in their diet than meat alone can provide, plus all the vitamins and minerals that meat alone does not have.

   Raw foods are also bad for their teeth. A huge benefit of dry kibble diets is that they are hard and can scrape a dog’s teeth clean as they eat. Soft and raw foods tend to just hang out between the cheeks and teeth, making it easier to get cavities. Dental disease can cause a lot of problems. Simply bad breath is one, but you’ll quickly be pulling dead, rotten teeth out. If the root of the tooth gets rotten out, that sets you up for a full body infection as the bacteria get into the blood stream and tend to go for the heart and the joints. That is especially bad in a german shepherd.

   If you do still go the meat route, at least cook it first. Wild carnivores kill and eat their meal immediately. Store bought meats are never fresh enough to safely eat raw, even for a dog that has a higher tolerance for bacterial contamination than a human stomach does. Anything ground (ground beef, hamburger) is full of bacteria, and chicken is especially full of campylobacter bacteria which causes a horrible salmonella type illness with vomiting and diarrhea. 99% of all raw store bought chicken has enough campylobacter in it to make a human sick. Dogs have tougher stomachs, but that is not a good reason to feed them raw anyway.

   I respect that they are your dogs, and you can love them however you want to, but I would strongly recommend a dry kibble food to keep them healthy. Contrary to popular belief, Purina and Science Diet are veterinary recommended for a reason. If you want a healthy, balanced diet for your dogs, look for a label on the packaging that says it is veterinary tested. That means the food was scientifically tested on dogs for at least 5 years (probably 10), and there were no dietary deficiencies or excess. Too much or too little of anything is bad, they made sure it was the right balance. Veterinary tested is not the same as veterinary formulated. Tested means it meets a standard, anyone can formulate a diet though just like you are with a raw diet.

   I would recommend feeding twice a day, once the morning, once in the evening. It is easier on the digestive system to spread it out, it also helps keep them from getting over weight – human diets recommend several small meals rather than a few big ones. It also helps give regular bowel movements for a healthy and not constipated dog. Often bagged foods will have portion recommendations on them. A GSD would probably get 2-3 cups of kibble twice a day. The chi’s would probably benefit from 3-4 meals per day. They are so small they can’t physically eat enough food in one sitting to go that long between meals and be comfortable. Probably a half to a full cup spread out over the day into several meals would be alright for them.

   Fish oil is a supplement. Most people use it to help joint pain, which is a more common problem in GSD’s. For his size, you could give him 1-2 large gel tablets with each meal. Most dogs don’t even notice them and you can just put it on top of his bowl of food and he’ll eat it without even realizing it.

   

   Katherine
   January 5, 2014 at 6:55 am
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2. Don’t listen to the first person. Most Traditional Vets are Notorious for bashing the raw diet.

   I recommend the prey model raw diet. It’s a proven fact that dogs are carnivores. They are NOT designed to eat grains, fruits or Vegetables. They do not have the needed enzymes to break down grains, fruits or vegetables. By feeding them these things over a long period of time it is taxing to their digestive system.

   A prey model raw diet is 80% meat 10% bone and 10% organ meat (5% of the organ meat is liver) you don’t have to feed these exact measurements over a days time. You can space it out over a weeks time. For example 4 days out of the week you can feed meat with bones in it (meaty bones) and then 3 days out of the week you can feed boneless meats. As for the organ meats its not recommended you feed the serving size all in one setting because it will cause diarrhea. You can feed a little bit each day or feed it spaced out over a few days.

   You want to feed whole cuts of meat. You want to be sure to feed a variety of different cuts: Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, duck, lamb, venison, etc. you should also feed green tripe, and eggs. You can feed one egg added to their meals once of twice a week.

   As for supplements you will need to provide an omega 3 oil capsule daily. Most foods are lacking in omega 3, so it Necessary to provide this. I also recommend supplementing with daily probiotics. And I would provide a joint supplement for your German Shepard. Since most big dogs have joint problems, this is a good preventive method.

   Here are some articles on the raw diet:

   http://thewholedog.org/artcarnivores.html

   http://thewholedog.org/NHMVTheOmnivoreCarnivoreQuest.pdf

   http://thewholedog.org/artTansition.html

   http://thewholedog.org/artdetox.html

   http://thewholedog.org/artTripe.html

   http://thewholedog.org/id24.html

   http://thewholedog.org/id23.html

   http://rawfed.com/myths/vets.html

   http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

   I also recommend a consultation with a professional canine nutritionalist who specializes in the raw diet. I went through her consultation and I highly recommend it. I went through the total wellness package. She will answer any questions you have on the raw diet as well as provide you with additional information.

   http://thewholedog.org/consult.html

   

   Krista
   January 5, 2014 at 7:03 am
   Reply