[stevie]

Hi,

We have recently got our Vizsla pup, Murphy. He is just coming up to 13 weeks and was fed Beta dry food by the breeder and has been eating that happily at home.

I have a friend who has been feeding his 5 dogs a raw food diet for many years and is always on hand with help and advice.

My question is about potion sizes. I've ordered raw food from Natural instinct but I'm not sure how much too feed him?

And with Raw bones how much is too much? He really seems to like the Lamb rib cages but is this enough for a meal or should I continue to feed dry food until he is fully switched to raw?



thanks

 

[jas]

I feed mine with the natural instints stuff, though he is much bigger, i think the rule of thumb is for a growing puppy, 5% to 6% of the bodyweight. Mines on about 5%, but I basically just feed the dog thats in front of me, if he looks a bit lean, i just up the portions! As for bones, I give hime some about 2/3 times a week. Lamb ribs, chicken wings, chicken carcass, he just ate a whole mackerel today, gutted but it still had the bones in. I put in eggs or tinned sardines with the natural instinct food every other day and a dollop of live yoghurt. He loves it all!

 

[Vespasia]

I feed closer to 2-3% of body weight but do the same thing as the previous reply...feed the dog in front of you.

That said, on top of the 2-3% of body weight, I also feed tuckey and chicken bones (with meat on them) 3-4 times per week and I am not counting this in the 2-3%

 

[eptreyg]

I realise this thread has been dormant for awhile - but on the chance people still read it -
are bones good for dogs? I don't mean "should they have them" but rather - does the raw bone and marrow provide nutritional value?

 

[born36]

I feed Mac on natural instinct. He is 17 months and at first I went with the 3% rule of thumb. He got skinny and now gets just under a 1kg a day!!! He has a crazy metabolism! Weights in at 25 kilos himself so not a huge V but not small either.

I would start with the pup recommendation of 5-6% and then if the pup is looking too thin up the food. If you are giving him bones just make sure you are watching him closely.

 

[hotmischief]

Yes raw bones are great for the dog. I never counted a marrow bone as part of his diet, just a healthy treat to occupy him. Recently my pup was on a turkey exclusion diet and I used to give him turkey backs - half a raw turkey and one of these was enough for a meal. He loved them.

Never ever feed cooked bones as they can splinter.