Actually it is pretty simple. Most of us grew up feeding dogs dry dog food and the transition is much more difficult for us than for the dogs. We tend to over think the entire process and get frustrated.
It really is very simple, if you follow a few rules.
Feed 2-3% of your dogs adult body weight (or expected adult weight for puppies). Example: My 90# Doberman gets 2.5# (or 40ozs) per day, divided between 2 meals. This amount is adjusted up or down, if he is looking chubby or lean.
A typical prey model diet is approx 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ (half of which, or 5% being liver). The amount of bone your dog requires may be more or less than my dog requires, you just have to play with it. If you are getting loose stools add a bit more bone, if stools are dry, white and powdery (while this is great for clean up), it is an indication of too much bone in the diet. NOTE - You will NOT get the same stool from raw that you do from kibble. Stools will be smaller, less frequent and somewhat less formed.
Organ is Liver, Kidney and Pancreas. Many things that people consider 'organ' is actually muscle meat, such as heart. Bone is "edible" bone, i.e. - rib, neck or back. Weight bearing bones (leg bones) are not edible and can break or crack teeth. You can feed large dogs small animal weight bearing bones, for instance my 90# Doberman can easily eat a leg bone from a Goat, Rabbit, Muskrat, etc.
Never feed Cooked Bones - cooked bones splinter, raw bones do not.
Never feed enhanced meat. You can tell if meat is enhanced by checking the sodium content which should never be above 80gm.
This ratio is over time, so your dog does NOT need to eat 80/10/10 every meal or even every day. Once you get through the transition stage (3-6 weeks), you dog can eat all meat meals with a regular bone meal, or a little bone with every meal, organ daily or once or twice a week. Whatever works best for you.
Start with a single protein source, such as chicken. During the transition time (3-6 weeks) do not feed organ meats. I started Wheeler on Chicken. I purchased whole chickens cut them into quarters, removed most of the skin and he ate 1/4 chicken in the morning and 1/4 chicken in the evening, for about 3 weeks.
Week 3- I added Beef, 3-4 ounces, morning and night (I took away 3-4 ounces of chicken so I kept the meal size the same)
Week 4 - I added Pork, about 3-4 ounces morning and night (so now he was getting Chicken, Beef and Pork)
Week 5 - I added Deer, 3-4 ounces, morning and night (meals consisted of Chicken, Beef, Pork and Venison)
Week 6 - I added Organ - a teeny, tiny bit -- like a piece about the size of a nickel, once per day, and gradually increased the amount to about an ounce per day.
Weeks 7-12 - I gradually added other meats; Rabbit, Muskrat, Lamb, Elk, Fish, Goat, Alpaca, etc.
Wheeler is 2-1/2 years old and has been on a raw diet since he was 9 months old. Now, I take 1 afternoon a month, cut up his meat and package meals individually. I feed a mixed grill -- I have a food scale and I cut up everything I have available; beef heart, Tripe, Beef Muscle strips, Rabbit chunks, Lamb, Pork, Bison, Alpaca, etc. and I put a little bit of everything into a freezer bag, including a Chicken thigh or leg (this provides bone and fat from the skin), and an approx 1 ounce piece of organ (liver, kidney or pancreas), until the bag weighs btw 1.2 and 1.4#, and that is one meal. When I can get Beef calf chunks, I replace the chicken pieces with that as they contain bone. I also purchased some whole ground beef, lamb, alpaca, bison, etc. This is meat, bone and organ all ground up like hamburger. I will include a bit of ground and some whole chunks in a single meal.
Once a week Wheeler gets a whole turkey neck, this keeps teeth nice and clean. I also feed Beef trachea and beef gullet whole for recreational chewing.
I feed no veggies, no fruit, no carbs. (Although Wheeler loves lettuce and Melon and I do share with him sometimes
. And.........before anybody gets worried, I have a chem panel run on him every 6 months, and much to my Vet's chagrin, it is always perfect. (My Vet isn't a fan of raw feeding, although he is open minded, he is just afraid of it as many people are).
It is important that you feed pieces/chunks that can be easily swallowed OR that are far too large to be swallowed whole and IMO you should always supervise while the dog is eating, just to be safe. I have never had a problem.
That is a crash course in raw feeding 101. There are many good forums and websites as well as books that deal with raw diets. A great place to start is the
Raw Feeding Yahoo Group and the educational links on
My Pet Carnivore.
I am no expert, but I did do my research, have bred and raised dogs for most of my life and am happy to share what I have learned.
I will NEVER feed kibble again, when I learned that most Dog Food Companies, including PREMIUM dog food companies, render dead dogs and cats obtained from Vets and Shelters as a protein source for the dog food -- my kibble days were over!
Here are some links regarding commercial kibble:
The Truth about Commercial Dog Food
Petsumer Report