Re: Right you lovely lot, we going natural

Angela, have a read through this –

My raw food menu for Cass.

The thing to remember is that everyone has their own versions of what works for them, some use different ingredients in different ways. I used the menu my breeder gave me and just added to it to make it as balanced as I could, while keeping it simple enough to keep on top of.

Other people will have their own ideas and might not use the same ingredients as me. To be honest I don’t think you can realistically give a dog every single mineral, trace vitamin etc, etc, etc, in one meal anymore than you could a human so I don’t try to, I balance it out over the course of a week instead.

Supplements & oils are something I try to use less of if possible by making the meal as balanced as I can – ie, if I give a tin of mackarel in oil once a week then I don’t put a tablesp00nful of oil on the food til a few days later because the fish had enough.

Every other day I use a bone from butchers, rib, back, shoulder, knuckle etc.

Calcium supplements should never be given to dogs on raw diet because the bone content in their food provides enough & too much can cause problems aparently.

Supplements I use every day are Flexi Joints  Click Here and every other day I use Kelp tablets and Brewers yeast tablets from Holland & Barratt, and once a week I use a combined capsule containing Omega3 oil & Evening Primrose oil and Zinc called Glossy coat conditioner for bitches – Click here.

Oils I use vary, sunflower oil, linseed, olive etc – just a tablesp00nful every other day over the food. I tend to use whatever is available to me at the time.

Bear in mind that this menu is for maintaining a 32kg Rottweiler, so you need to fiddle about with the amounts to suit your own dog depending on it‘s size. I don’t weigh anything, I just do it roughly. If Cass looks a bit ‘fuller’ then I know to cut down on the amounts.

For me raw feeding is relaxed and easy to follow – I don’t want anything complicated, it’s only complicated if you make it so. Once you get used to the idea that raw feeding is not as complicated as it seems it becomes natural.

I buy my raw foods in bulk from http://www.prizechoice.co.uk and make up each meal the night before so it’s already done ready for breakfast. I use a 400g pack of mince every day as a base to each meal and add other ingredients to it to balance it, (all of which I buy from my supplier in 2kg bags) and what I make up each day is split into 2 meals – morning & night.

Monday

Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, piece of turkey neck, chopped heart, natural yoghurt.

Tuesday

Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, turkey neck, liquidised veg, sardine OR mackeral in oil.

Wednesday

Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, piece of turkey neck, egg yolk, cottage cheese.

Thursday

Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, piece turkey neck, turkey breast meat,  tablesp00nful oil.

Friday

Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, piece turkey neck, small coley fillet, liquidised veg.

Saturday

Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, turkey neck, tripe chunks, natural yoghurt, tablesp00nful oil.

Sunday
Pack of mince, 2 chicken wings, turkey neck, beef chunks, dollop of cottage cheese
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As you can see from the above there really is nothing to the daily ingredients & you can buy them all already bagged and chopped & delivered to your door. All you have to remember is the supplements, oil & bones added to it which is easy. Most important thing to remember is it is only complicated if you make it complicated.

Don’t be deterred by the introduction of this post as it really is just a rough guide & as I said before, everyone has their own variation of ingredients with raw feeding so if you can’t get one ingredient just substitute it,  it really is very flexible and there is so much info on the net. I had never even heard of raw feeding til I got Cass a year ago and I thought it was really difficult – once you get your head round how simple it is in practice it becomes natural – I can do it with my eyes shut now! :0)