First time raw diet for my new puppy?

Join good facebook groups or yahoo raw feed groups. PLENTY of good ones about.

Don't start on raw when you first get the pup unless the breeder has already weaned onto raw. Most of the good groups have articles in 'files' for starting pups on raw.

This one has 18,000 + members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/451782265003776/

In fact..if you put in Raw Feed into your facebook search there are lots of groups with thousands and thousands of members.

Best of luck and well done. There are companies that mix and measure it for you but it is more expensive.

Personally, i don't have that kind of cash laying around. My dog lived to 17 years old eating Taste of the Wild kibble, Merrick or Taste of the Wild canned food, 1 cup of plain yogurt a day and raw egg as well. She also got raw hamburger treats at times and i gave her raw marrow bones to keep her occupied.

She was a very active dog, loved swimming and hiking so we went every day for at least an hour, usually longer.

I think a strong dog is a healthy dog. I always kept my dogs on the run. The dog before her lived to 16. Healthy body and heart. And along with that, those two dogs obviously had good genes.

I hope you find the raw diet you're looking for, but personally, i don't see the advantage if we can buy grain free, chicken free dog foods which are high quality.

I have a Newfoundland that has been on the Prey Model Raw diet for over 2 years now and is doing amazing on it. Perfect weight, gorgeous coat, perfectly white teeth. He's also super eager for every meal. This site gives all the info you need: http://www.saveourshepherds.org/raw.html

One thing you'll want to get if you don't already have one is a stand alone freezer. That way you can prepare individual meal bags ahead of time and also take advantage of sales - bags of chicken leg quarters, whole turkeys around the holidays, etc. I have an old but working perfectly upright freezer I picked up for only $40 on craigslist that I have in my garage.

As for it being "too expensive" for a large dog well I have a 140 POUND NEWFOUNDLAND and the most I spend a month since I take advantage of sales is FIFTY BUCKS to feed a dog that large. That's LESS than I was paying for his high end grain free kibble and canned food!

Trust me raw diets are the best. Both cat and dog are on it and they are so healthy. First of all it reduces the smell of their poop and it isn't as big. Secondly their fur has changed and you can see their muscles etc. Plus they love it. Vets only hate raw diets because they think it'll harm pets and they don't make enough money off of the commercial food. Go with raw. It's the best thing you'll do for ur pets. (Also my pets havent had any fleas or mites since they've been on raw and there teeth stay healthy) Do as much research as u need but trust me u will not regret it!

Do the research as suggested. But if you're not comfortable with making your own raw, there are many upper end pet stores that have frozen raw 'burgers' that have the correct portions of bone/muscle meat/organs in it. It's more expensive than preparing your own, and not practical to feed to a large dog due to the expense, but it's a good way to get started. Begin with a chicken or lamb based diet, you will easily find those in the pet stores. Research both BARF and prey model - both have their advocates. Depending on your vet, you will either get support for feeding raw or a look of shock and horror and all sorts of reasons why it's a bad idea. As others have mentioned, there are groups even on Yahoo for raw feeding. Enjoy your new pup, and don't let anyone talk you out of feeding raw. It's no more dangerous to you than prepping your own raw meat for dinner!

I don't recommend raw, but having said that, there are some commercial products available at the pet store that are more "raw" or natural like than other brands and you might try those - but only if the label says it's approved for "all life stages" or includes the word "puppies." If you do want to feed traditional raw I suggest never, ever feeding raw to a puppy - wait until the puppy is fully grown (and that depends on the breed). Certain breeds also have special requirements - for example, a large breed puppy can have permanent bone damage if it grows too fast and gets too much calcium. Raw is dangerous for puppies because getting the proper nutrition at this stage is vital to that puppy's health. If you get the nutrition wrong at this stage, the puppy can have permanent damage and can die. I doubt any veterinarian will suggest raw feeding for a puppy - go with a commercial pet food that is approved for use in puppies or all life stages but not something that's only for adult dogs.

Raw is not necessarily healthier, especially if the nutrient balance is incorrect. A commercial diet is much healthier than incorrect raw. Please talk to your vet about your ideas and also consider some of the commercial diets at the store that are more "natural" or "organic" or are similar to raw.

One person to consult is your vet. Get your vet's opinion of it and be sure to ask why he or she likes or dislikes it. I'm assuming, since you have done so much researchj, that you already have at least two books on raw food for dogs that you have read. If not, you can and should buy them online. At least one was written by a veterinarian, the B.A.R.F. Diet. Getting opinions from pet owners or pet store people who have not studied canine nutrition even a little bit in college can be risky.

Do not feed the dog any raw offal until its system has adapted to raw and when only a little to begin with as offals are far too rich and will give your dog the runs if not introduced to its diet lastly

My holistic vet recommends raw diets, but NOT for puppies under 6 months. She feels if you are NOT extremely knowledgeable & CAREFUL, you may NOT get the right and BALANCED nutrients in your diet (or varied diets) for the FAST growth period. She suggests a good quality non-grain puppy food, for the first 6 to 8 months & then changing over to RAW. It would also be a HUGE step for a grain-fed puppy to go directly TO a raw diet.

I do know many raw feeders here will say start, from the "get-go", but if you make a nutritional mistake on an adult dog (who has finished growing) it will not be nearly as serious, as on a growing puppy. I suggest you do more research (consider buying several books on the subject as well as reading as many online articles & raw or BARF feeding blogs, as possible, and wait to change over, as suggested by my vet - who fully BACKS raw diets for BOTH dogs & cats.

In addition, my dogs have greatly benefited from adding green leafy veggies to their diets (per my holistic vet's suggestion) and you can start with that in kibble, as soon as you get your puppy. You will find some raw/barf diets do not recommend or suggest veggies. However, dogs do need FIBER for healthy, well-functioning anal glands and veggies can provide not only that - but a great many cancer-fighting antioxidents, anti-inflammatories & vitamins/minerals, NOT FOUND in just a meat & bones diet.

If you watch feral dogs or wolves the FIRST THING they go after in a newly killed carcass is the STOMACH - that is were the partially digested vegetable matter is located. Veggies to need some processing before being fed to dogs, since they CANNOT digest plant cellulose in a 100% raw plant format. So, you either need to feed: previously FROZEN veggies (from your grocery store), lightly-steamed fresh veggies, pureed fresh veggies (like from a Cuisinart or food grinder). See Northern Tool for some which can also grind BONE, btw. or some people do ferment veggies (example sauerkraut) but (IMO) that is too much work.

I prefer either thawing frozen veggies & maybe lightly heating a cereal bowl full of them, or starting with pureed fresh veggies (organic, if you can afford it). You can easily mix-in pureed veggies (starting with a tablespoon or two, & adding more as puppy grows) to the kibble OR kibble & canned diet. Canned puppy food is expensive since it IS 75% water, but it adds great flavor & a lot of it IS cooked meat, but again it IS balanced.

Transitioning from a NON-GRAIN puppy food, would be easier, for a pup's digestive tract (IMO) than from a grain-based one & puppy will be healthier on non-grain. A number of companies make a non-grain puppy food, but not as many, as make adult non-grain foods. I recommend you consider a middle of the road puppy food with a bit LESS HIGH amount of protein or fat. Example: Taste of the Wild or Natural Balance (limited ingredients). Orijen (non-grain puppy food) has one of THE highest amounts of protein & fat in theirs, as a contrast.

If you have any doubts about making your OWN raw diet, you can buy some raw diets already formulated for you, but they are far more expensive, per POUND, than when you make your own. I encourage you to make up large lots of your food or veggies, at one "session" and to refrigerate OR freeze what you do not need.