Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I think eventually when I have enough space to buy in bulk then I'll feed my dog raw, but I think I'm going to stick with Orijen for now. Occasionally, I could give him some meat though, right?

Absolutely! Frozen raw marrow bones are also good as a nice snack. I get them at the regular grocery store, freeze them and give them to Layla now and then. They're packed with nutrients, and she loves chewing at the frozen marrow trying to dig it out. Keeps her occupied for a good hour or two.

That's a great idea! Thanks!

What is everyones input on Royal Canin Maxi puppy? The breeder I purchased charlie from had him on this, i did not switch as i heard huskies have a very sensitive belly and didnt wanna upset whats going good for him. I have had him for 4 days now, and just want to be sure I'm doing everything i should be for the little guy!!

side note, he has normal stool formed small etc. goes 1-2 times in 24hrs. -- he does however eat "grass" has not puked and is 12 weeks old. iv only had him for 3 days but in those 3 days he has ate only about 4 cups of food.. is this normal? he also has gas.. most days and STINKY -- should i look into a switching?

Hello guys! I'm brand new over here, I have a year old husky, his name is Kodak and I've own him since he was 3 months old, I have an issue with him, he is a very picky boy, I have tried taste of the wild, pedigree, beneful, he eats it when he feels like it, but I'm concern about his weight, over the past 6 months he gains weight and then loses it, he had whip worms before, but its been under control with panacur.

I was wondering if any of you had tried Wilderness before? I'm thinking to give it a try... but still I'm worried, if any of you had an experience with this brand, please let me know.


THANK YOU

Do you mean Wellness or Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula? There are a few people on here that used to feed Wellness (not sure how active they are anymore). Some dogs can handle it and some can't. Most opt for the grain free version. As for Blue Buffalo Wilderness, you might poke through this thread. There are a few that chime in their experiences on it.

Blue Wilderness

Another thread to consider though if you are going with Blue Buffalo.

Blue Lawsuit

I actually feed Diamond Naturals and have never had any issue with my two not wanting to eat it or having digestive issues with it.

Hi... can i feed my puppy (2 months) raw food? So far, I feed him kibbles for a starter but plan to raw feeding from time to time... kibbles on the morning and raw meat in the evening...

Hey Drew, I started both of my girls with a partial raw diet at 12 weeks old. Start with one protein for 2-4 weeks before trying another protein. If you are going to continue feeding kibble, I would not be too concerned with organ meats and stick to muscle meats and bones. organ meats like liver is very rich and puppies have a hard time with it, so for now until say 6 months old I would avoid liver and the like, at around 6 months slowly introduce liver and build him up on it, to avoid mushy poops. My girls do fantastic on a partial raw diet. Sofie at 6 months eats 2 meals kibble and her evening meal raw. Good luck!

@renee... hi... thanks for your input... Currently, I am feeding my other 2 dogs raw meat... kibbles in the morning and raw meat in the evening... so far, they are doing very well with it and hopefully Hutch can do the same... I've done some readings and most of it prefers feeding raw meat...

For a 2 months pup, can someone tell me the feeding ratio or how much raw meat can I give to Hutch? I don't have any weighing scale at home so I just do the calculation by the looks or gut-feeling...

@renee... you've been feeding them raw, right? may I ask if what part of the chicken can be grounded? I've read that too much meat can cause them loose stools...

Drew, you can grind everything up in a chicken, or any protein for that matter. If you are using raw as a supplement to kibble, there shouldn't be too much worry as to loose stool and too much meat. The issue lies with too much organ meat, like liver, or too much fat like with drumsticks and thighs, if you are using drumsticks and thighs I would remove skin first. The bone acts as a natural stool firmer. I just prefer giving bones whole so they can get their teeth cleaned in the process of eating their raw. Some things you can do as well is adding a raw ground egg(shells are stool firmers as well as added calcium), a tablespoon of pure pumpkin (not pie filling, look for cans of pure pumpkin, no sugar is added and the ingredients will say just pumpkin), same goes with yams or sweet potatoes if pumpkin is not available. Pumpkin is natures fiber for dogs, helps firm up and when they are constipated, helps them go.

Are you supplementing with kibble? I can't remember. As far as puppies are concerned, I would do the ground up of everything, bones, meat, fat, adding a small amount of organ meat. If you are feeding raw only you will have to work your way up to the proper ratios, like with liver. I hope that helps, and let me know if you need more help, or clarity.

Drew to answer this question.....I go by gut also, for my younger girl, she gets between 2-6 ounces of raw per day, and about 3 cups of kibble, she is on the leaner side of dogs, so I want her to gain weight. So a 2 month old, I would go about the same 25% less kibble than recommended, and 2-6 ounces raw meat, can add bone to help even out possible tummy issues. One of the easiest thing you can do is get a package of ground turkey burger, at my store comes frozen in a 12 ounce package, I give Sofie a third of it (so 4 ounces), then give her a raw meaty bone, I buy meat cuts that I eat that has bone in it, example t-bone(the bones here are semi soft), I eat the meat she gets the bone. Chicken thighs, give Hutch one and maybe a few more bites of just meat. Chicken bones, raw, are pretty soft, so he should be able to eat the whole thigh, bone and all, just watch to make sure her chews and doesn't swallow. Those are just examples. Ask more question if you need me to clarify something.

@renee... im very thankful for your pointers on raw feeding... Yes, every morning, I give him kibbles and evening raw meat... I will try to stay this course for a month... I know, I have so much to learn but it's worth it...

I hope I'm not on off-topic here but the thread is all about what we feed to our furkids, right?

I am new here but have been feeding our Siberian Husky for nine years. We quickly decided not to use pre-made dog food as we don't eat much processed food ourselves. A small surprise to us was that his stools do not smell and disintegrate quickly into a white-ash like substance after a few days.
Although the recipe has changed over the years, I now start a pot of 6 cups of water in the morning when I make my coffee. I drop in a whole baked chicken leg cut in half, 2 cups of rice, a cut garlic clove, a cut large carrot, 1/2 cup of grits, 1/2 old fashioned oats. Bring it to a boil for about five minutes and turn it off covered. Around 3 pm, I take it out to his pen where he lives with a rescued yellow lab and split it between them.
He is a very handsome, healthy and strong dog and has never had a problem with chicken bones. He only has to visit a vet for the necessary immunizations every few years. Both dogs live outside even in the middle of winter and are quite active together.
I have never met another Husky owner or even other dog owner who feed their dogs homemade food. Most folks frown at us and tell us we shouldn't feed human food to animals.

Welcome to the forum Heide....lots of members here feed various ways. Home cooking is a valid means of feeding your dogs. The only thing that I have major concern with your recipe is cooking the chicken, if you are removing the bones prior to cooking or prior to feeding after cooking then I'm ok with that. No dog should ever get a cooked bone, although yours may do ok with, cooked bones will splinter, and splintered bones are dangerous to a dog.

Drew, yes this is a feeding thread so we can discuss different types of foods, how and what to feed. There is also a raw feeding section on the forum as well, may help you out more. I agree, raw brings out such lovely soft coats for our dogs, it really is a great way to feed, imo, I would feed all raw if I had enough freezer space, and more local options to feed a balanced raw diet, that is the main reason why I have stuck to a partial raw diet.

Thanks for your reply. I have heard your response to the chicken bones so many times before and assumed that vets recommended that for small dogs. To watch our dogs (and cats) eat the cooked bones, you would think they were eating popcorn. However, I understand that you cannot recommend such a practice to other owners as you then could be liable for trouble. We do offer raw fish from our creek but that is more of a treat.
I just do not like the idea of handling raw chicken every day and so I bake a large batch once a week.
They seem to being doing great even without raw food.

Heide, I do on occasion feed a cooked meal. So I think for me that is a good runner up to a raw feeding, over kibble. If it works then I say continue. I am just not big into vegies and grains for dogs, and have read cooking takes out nutrients. However, I trust myself over a company making food for my pet. So if your pets thrives on the way you feed I say GREAT job!!

Ami, and Archer when he is here, get Taste of the Wild, High Prairie formula, 3/4 C in the morning, 3/4 C at 4-ish and a midnight snack of 1/3 cup split between them. They also get either a scrambled egg and very small cooked turkey or hamburg patty or a cheese stick with my husband when he eats his breakfast. At our lunch, they also get either a cheese stick or whatever meat/vegetable we are having and ditto for dinner. At 2 PM (ish) they get a raw beef bone that usually has a bit of muscle, some fat and sinew. I monitor their body condition and activity level closely - if plumping up, I cut back on the kibble ('cause no way hubby is going to stop hand feeding them table goodies "They're starving!" he says)

When Archer is not here, I cut back on Ami's food at all points - he's just much less active. The two of them together are non-stop romping for 3 hours in the morning, take a nap, then its bake to romping from about 3 PM until movie time.

I would not feed cooked chicken bones either, small sharp pieces that make it out of the stomach undigested can either puncture the intestine or get lodged. Either is an emergency. That being said - dogs survived for millenia as scavengers.

Before, I've been feeding them cooked bones... Whew, now that I know that's bad for them, no more cooked chicken for them...

@renee, yesterday I bought ground beef... Will I feed it as it is or do I need to include yogurt or something like chicken backs or neck? Do your huskies experienced allergies from the raw meats you're feeding them?

I fed my husky 2 chicken necks last time, and I think that he did great... his stool is firm... I'm just observing if he'll have allergies if I continue to feed him raw meats...

Raw meat is no more likely to be allergenic than raw. Now, strawberries or cashews, that is a different story!

Hamburger is fine alone, I see no problems with that. Experiment a little, if he gets loose stools adding either a bone or pumpkin to the hamburger will firm it up. With hamburger look at the package, I recommend using 85/15 or 80/20 (those are meat to fat ratios, should list like that or say 85% lean, 80% lean), those numbers are the best hamburger to feed your dog, anything leaner (example 90/10) and he isn't getting enough fat, and anything fatter well, haha, too much fat(example 75/25).

Allergies, typical occur thru kibble first, not raw. I know of some people who have dogs that are allergic to chicken in kibble, but can eat raw chicken just fine. IMO, rotating proteins as puppies promotes healthy dogs, they tend not to have allergies, tho some will acquire allergies. I wouldn't stress that, unless they show symptoms, and that's for another thread, lol.

@renee... Thanks...

I've gotten a lil off topic regarding allergies... But anyway, that's what I usually feed my husky... Raw meats and kibbles from time to time and thanks to the members for their inputs on how to feed raw...

Kiba's not picky. She'll eat just about anything! Food-wise, we've had her on a number of things... currently she gets Iams dry and/or nutro senior dry, and purina one canned. Doing VERY well on her current diet, but depending on bloodwork I may be giving her a higher protein food (she had lost some muscle mass from sore hips, and besides laser therapy and exercise, I may add protein/fat to her diet, as long as her liver/kidney values are good.)

Please do not lecture me about these brands. She's done very well on them her entire life (great results at wellness checks, great poop amount/consistency, etc) and as she's lived with my family her entire life, my parents have generally chosen the brands fed. We've always had very healthy dogs. If I had complete control over what she eats, I'd possibly change brands.

One thing I constantly struggle with is my parents giving her table scraps. My mom is terrible about this. We've discussed it often, and yet...

Lucy, my personal philosophy is it doesn't matter much what brand you're feeding your dogs as long as they are doing well on it. It doesn't help much to spend $50 on a bag of high quality dog food if your dog hates it and refuses to eat or is allergic to it. I have heard of dogs who refused to eat anything but Alpo or Pedigree despite the owner trying to get them on food like Solid Gold or Blue Buffalo. Not ideal, but at least the dogs were fed.