So Amy and I are getting ready to get Nanook into a raw diet. Got a dedicated freezer and are headed out tmrw to pick up the meat we ordered (got some chicken and turkey to stock up for the first few weeks starting). I've read through the guide posted in the sticky (great job and it's helped a lot!) and I had a question. For Pork one of the articles that someone wrote in the links provided talked about Pork Ribs. I'm curious is any of you feed your dogs pork ribs or what you feed in regards to pork? We have a few weeks out till we phase in pork, but thought I'd check first. We'll be swapping him to full RAW once his last bag of kibble is gone (week and a half or so). Once we do swap him I'll post some photos about his journey. Any other tips are more than welcome! Thanks in advanced!

We've done pork before with no problems. I've never tried the pork ribs though. I know most store bought pork has a high salt content added, so we stay away from that. We try to keep it organic and without anything added to preserve it. It's not easy to find pork that is just pure meat and nothing else. It's a treat when we can find it to feed. We get all of our raw meat from a wholesale restuarant distributor, so it's all human grade meat for places of business that we're feeding to the dogs. We aim for meats that can be purchased for cheaper than kibble per pound, and pork is usually one of the more expensive meats. If you ever have any questions about raw feeding, let me know, and I'll do the best I can to help you. We've been feeding 100% raw for all 3 dogs for 2-3 years now and have had zero health problems. It's been great and they love feeding time.

I feed boneless pork butt/shoulder. No issues at all. I just make sure all meat I buy is frozen for minimum 1 week before I feed.

Cool thanks for the heads up. We just spent all weekend prepping his chicken and turkey and packing our freezer with it. As soon as his bag is up we'll begin the process. I do have another question that kind of confused me when I was reading. When you're figuring out how much to feed are you using the current weight of the dog or the estimated "ideal" adult weight? We assumed the latter and measured out (assuming an "ideal" average weight of 60 lbs for a male) .75 lbs a meal. Seems like a lot of food, but it could just be because I'm new to it?

Thanks

We weren't feeding raw when these guys were puppies, so hopefully someone else can help answer your question.

Based on a 60lbs dog and the average 2.5%, Nanook needs to eat 1.5lb a day and considering he is only 3 months old, you should divide it into three meals, which is 0.5lb a meal.
Alternatively for puppies you can feed 5-10% their current weight but it's gonna be quite confusing.

Puppies tend to consume more food than adults. Some people even feed 3% their adult weight and slowly reduce to 2.5% once the puppy gets around a year old.

I feed pork ribs to my sibe, he loves them.

For puppies, a good starting guide for feeding amount is 2% of expected adult weight or 10% of current puppy weight. That's just a starting guide though and can be increased or decreased based on the needs of your individual puppy. Please note that is EXPECTED adult weight not "ideal" adult weight. Adult males should weigh somewhere between 45-60 lbs which a pretty big spread. It would help if you know how big the parents are to get an idea how big your pup might grow.

Thanks for the responses. I'll have to check the documents when I get home... I'm pretty sure I've seen the "official" weights for his parents somewhere in there.