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huskyowner7 wrote:

I get the ratio's and the bones (which scares me have to death) so I'm thinking about starting a different approach before I get into complete raw diet.

Is it the ratio that's scaring you, or the fact that you have to feed them bone?

huskyowner7 wrote:

So I was considering doing a diet of half raw, half the honest kitchen? The honest kitchen website says that their foods can be made to add in raw meat, and until I feel 100% comfortable with being able to properly feed them nutritiously, I do not want to take a chance with all raw. The honest kitchen I would want to take place of feeding them the bones, and just give them raw meat.

I haven't dealt with honest kitchen personally, but bones are what predominantly firm up the poop - if HK doesn't have enough bone content in there, you could deal with slippery poos.

huskyowner7 wrote:

Also has anyone ever had any bad experiences with feeding raw? Also my huskies go to daycare about once or twice a week, and I know vets are against raw feeding, has anyone ever had a problem with this?

3/4 vets at the clinic I go to are against raw feeding, but I can buy ground meat with the bone already in ground in there in a patty form - they're okay with it. Definitely check with them though, to see if they are willing to handle it.

huskyowner7 wrote:

Has anyone dog ever come in contact with Salmonella? And how is clean up? I know to be careful with everything that it came in contact with, but what about their paws, and letting them lick you?

Salmonella develops within our GI tracts and not our stomach, and since dogs GI tracts are wayyy smaller than ours, it doesn't have enough time to develop to really affect the dog - that's all natural evolution at work! Taking care of the prep & clean up is just like anybody else would when preparing a meal for their family using raw food. Make sure hands are washed, counters cleaned, and that this is done before & after handling the food. With Stark, I usually wait about 15 mins or so before he can lick me - that usually gives the bacteria enough time to be washed from the mouth with their saliva.

huskyowner7 wrote:

Also what are the ages that peoples dogs have lived to when they have fed them on raw? Have they ever had to switch back in the middle of their lives, because of raw causing any problems?

Stark's been on raw for about a year now - I've heard stories of people from my dog park saying that raw turned them around in old age and they turned back into puppies with the energy etc. so I'm going to vouch for the raw diet and say it would do more good than harm when it comes to old age etc. I will say, variety is a key to this - it stops dogs from getting bored & developing allergies.

huskyowner7 wrote:

Basically, I could use any advice about any of this. I'm such a worrier when it comes to my dogs because they are my life, and I'm just so scared to change something that works for them now, but I want what is best for them in the long run, and it seems like raw is whats best.

I was just like you when I was going to make the switch over, and honestly, (you've probably read this a lot during your research), but it will be much easier than you make it out to be. One thing I learned to do, is feed them the week's worth of organs once a week. The ratios are important, but they're not so much a day-to-day ratio as much as an overall ratio. You can balance out a lot of things by adding this and taking away that. Also, to note, your dogs may have a bit of an adjustment period going through the transition, but everything WILL be okay...

...And we're always here for you if you need more advice.

Thank you so much! I think the ratio's and bones are what scares me. I know it doesn't need to be exact, and your supposed to adjust it to the dog but that worries me even more! Haha. I guess I want the best of both worlds, I want to be able to feed them just raw meat, sans the bones some how, but I do not know if that is possible. I do not believe in the pre-packaged raw food, not because of the expense just because of the recalls, and I don't want to take that risk.

"3/4 vets at the clinic I go to are against raw feeding, but I can buy ground meat with the bone already in ground in there in a patty form - they're okay with it. Definitely check with them though, to see if they are willing to handle it."

This is what I was also thinking, accept maybe doing it myself. I saw a guy on youtube who makes his raw food for like months at a time, and he for the most part just got a cheap meat grinder and grinds the bones into the food, which I like because then I don't have to worry about choking or it getting stuck in their stomachs.

Also where my dog has a sensitive stomach, he got that "beaver fever" when he was a puppy, and then after that we just have stomach problems, because I think of grain and fruit, but that wouldn't be a sign of a weekend immune system would it? I know they say a dog put on raw food with a weekend immune system can be deadly, and I don't know if that is a problem that i'm dealing with.

Yeah - the best thing to invest if you start raw and decide to continue it would be a chest freezer - they come in all sizes now too I usually buy in bulk when there's a sale and freeze it once it's separate out. That way I don't have to worry about the next few months of my dog's feeding schedule.

The beauty about raw bones, is that they crumble when the dog chews on it - cooked bone will splinter - and that's where a LOT of apprehension came from in the past. I was pretty shocked too, and was really wary of giving him bones at first - I'd make him eat it while I was holding it for the first week or two so that he knew he had to chew through those bones and eat it slower (as opposed to scarfing down his kibble). That might be a good thing to try if you're apprehensive about bone. Stark would sometimes swallow a big chunk of bone which would lead me to almost sobbing hysterically in case he might die... Needless to say, that was WAYYYYY too melodramatic (even for me), and I found out that their GI tract is amazing for the stuff they can eat - I even feed them chicken feet which is mostly bone/cartilage, and there's no bone pieces in his poo - his body will digest everything on its own so it will be okay. Only thing about bones - be very VERY careful with load bearing bones (eg. leg bones from cows, lamb, etc) - those are WAY too hard for your dog and has the potential to cause damage to their teeth. If you do feed it, feed it as a snack, but keep a close eye on them. Once the bone is cleaned up of all the meat, it's safest in the garbage.

As for the bone-meat ratio, the 80-10-10 was modeled after actual prey that wild dogs would eat. There are some who need little to no bone at all in their diets, and they have wonderful poos! Stark, on the other hand, always seems to need a certain amount every day or else he gets the runs...

Grinding can be a good substitute (especially when they may be boarded somewhere during a meal time). Just make sure everything is frozen properly prior to handing it over.

I'm not really sure of the lasting effects of Giardiasis - I would ask your vet on that one (and I'm sure others can chime in), but I don't think it would affect the immune system after it's been dealth with. But, like I said, I could be wrong, so don't take my word on it. If you're in doubt, it's best to consult with your vet as they would have the medical history, tests, background info etc.

yeah, thanks so much for the advice. Your really calming me down about the bone part of the feeding. I would probably cry hysterically if that happened to, at least in the beginning! I'm just such a worrier, because of the problems we had with his digestion when he was younger, that anything new just scares me. But after all the research that I've done, and see the benefits of it, I'm starting to get more and more serious about the raw feeding. I want them to also be excited when they eat, and with Orijen, they just aren't. I wish I had a holistic vet around here, cause I would love to consult with one, but there aren't any. I'm scared to bring it up to my current vet, because of all of the stories that I've read on here about them getting mad. I realized a long time ago when they were pushing the science diet, that they do not have the education, or they just don't know what is nutritionally best for my dog, so I do not want their opinion on whether or not I switch to raw. I wish they could be open to it, and have a serious discussion, and tell me whether or not health wise it would be good, and not just completely shut it down.

I was really freaked out when I first started raw too. The entire thing just confused the crap out of me and I wanted to make sure I had everything 100% straight so I knew exactly what my dogs were eating, how much to feed them, the right portion size, not too much bone, not too many organs, which meats can and cannot eat etc.

Honestly, I was completely overthinking it and making it so much harder than what it really is.

I started out feeding Vital Essential raw patties, which are amazing, because they have the perfect amount of protein, bone, organs, etc all perfectly grounded up and the only thing I had to do was thaw and serve! It is awesome and I still always try to carry a bag in my freezer. As I got more comfortable with feeding raw, I started wanting to try it out for myself and see how the dog's did with me preparing their meals and they did just fine.

I don't worry about how many bones they have a week or "omg did they get their organs?!?!?!?!" etc. I buy whatever is on sale and stock up on it. I baggy it up into serving portions and toss them in the freezer and take two bags out every morning for breakfast and dinner. This week they get chicken legs, I give two legs a piece and call it a day, mop the floors when they are done. Every now and then I'll give them a raw egg, with or without the shells. I usually give them the egg's when I serve them ground meat. To make sure they get the vitamins they need, I will give them some Nupro mixed with a bit of water and they love it.

The only meat I really try to avoid giving them is pork chops, even though I'm sure they could handle it, I just don't like how thick the bone is and my dog's would probably end up just swallowing it and not feel great, so I just avoid that meat. I mainly just stick to giving them chicken, turkey, beef, pork ribs, any ground meat, lamb, bison, deer, and poultry necks/backs.

The main thing with feeding raw, is to make sure you're very clean with it. Wash the area the dog's eat after every meal as well as you're hands. I have the swiffer mop with the disposable pads and I wash the floor with a kitchen bleach to kill off any germs.

Other than that, feeding raw is easy. Don't overthink stuff and it gets easier as you do it. I joined groups when I first started and still belong to a few. It's very informative and help's a lot, especially when you first start.

Thank you so much. You have calmed me down a lot, and I think I'm starting to get ready to give it a try! I'm very excited about it, so I hope my dogs take to it and get just as excited! I was really happy to learn that it can calm hyper active dogs down a bit. Cause I just have the craziest husky on the planet, even though I love him dearly, I do think he has some problems, but I'm not one to just put him on medication to make my life easier. So I'm hoping by change of diet this might help him a little bit in being able to calm down, and be a little less stressed all the time.

Hi, I'm a first time poster, but when I seen this thread I thought I would be able to help, so here goes.

The first thing to answer is, how much to feed and what ratios, that's fairly simple, you need find 2% of the dogs IDEAL ADULT weight, Male's 23-27kg , Females 19-23kg, or 3% if they are working, that's it. not rocket science at all. for my female whose weight should be roughly 22kg, her daily meal weight should be 440g of meat. It doesn't have to be precise, but as close as you can get without too much fuss is fine.
The ratio, is easy too, it's 80-10-5-5, meaning 80%meat, 10%bone (Uncooked ofc, cooked bones can be very dangerous) 5% offal and 5% liver, this can be balanced over a month or so, the meals do not have to be exact each time, and you should try to vary the meats on a day to day basis if possible.

Next, the bone will help to firm up the poop, but again avoid cooked bones, and load bearing bones or you could risk chipping / splitting a tooth. When you cook bone it dehydrates, and becomes hard and brittle, which could cause small or large cuts in the dogs GI tract. So avoid giving bones from the dinner plate, and make sure raw bones have plenty of meat on them, like a whole chicken leg, or a pork / lamb hock etc.

Then I noticed someone recommend Ground Meat, this is very hard to clean from the teeth and can lead to a host of problems if the teeth aren't maintained regularly. Your choice there, but personally I avoid ground at all costs.

Vet's don't recommend raw feeding, and it's a simple money thing, they want customers to buy their ki**le <-(dirty word in raw feeding communities), but consider huskies in the wild, hunting eating, shredding, it's the most natural thing in the world, so don't be put off by vet's unless there is a legitimate health reason not too.

Huskies will live 8-12 years on raw, as they would on ki**le, but they will be happier and healthier on raw, and if they are working dogs, they will preform better on raw than anything made artificially i.e ki**le, canned, etc.

Dogs stomach acids are incredibly strong, they need to be to digest bone, and for this reason any unfriendly bacteria will be destroyed on contact and have no adverse reactions toward the dog. Mine for example leave food buried for over a week, and dig it up to eat when it's nice and ripe... not very pleasant to look at, but not bad for the dog in the slightest.

you say your worried and confused about raw feeding, and thats understandable, I got all my info from a website dedicated to raw feeding huskies, it is a virtual mine of information, and if you have 30-45 minutes free time, sit with a coffee and read through some of there sections on raw feeding, it really set my mind at ease and gave me some great insights into the world of raw. I'll post the link here, and if your interested in in more, please follow on. I would recommend "the 12 commandments of raw feeding" as a starting point, then just read posts that interest you. The community there specialize on the topic and will be more than happy to answer any questions posted, so good luck.

www.eskimohuskies.com - enjoy the reading

laters
V

8 - 12 years is not the life expectancy for Siberians. It's 12 - 15, but I know many who live to 14 or later. I know raw fed and kibble fed Siberians who have lived to 17 and 18.

I would also like to note that it's not necessarily safe to allow your dog to bury meat and then eat it - There can be a host of issues with allowing this the main two being worms and a higher prevalence of species specific diseases (god forbid an animal be a carrier and somehow defecate or urinate near your dogs stash). I'm not trying to discredit you, but I don't think it's safe to tell everyone it's safe.

I want to point out that Kibble isn't the enemy. None of us can sit here and judge people because they feed kibble.

Yeah that's fair enough, point taken.

I was just saying as far as bacteria or salmonella go, it's fine for the husky to eat, even though it's far past the human use by date, but as you rightly pointed out, there could be other problems involved with other animals around, I haven't experienced any yet, fingers crossed I never will.

also the life expectancy IS 12-15 years, on raw or processed food as you say, that was an honest mistake on my part, thanks for clarifying.

I didn't mean to offend people who use kibble or canned food, I just meant to say, that in my Raw Feeding circles, kibble is not considered a good food for your husky, when raw is so much better, but there is no way for anyone to understand what I meant to say, because I never wrote it. There are millions of people worldwide who feed kibble or canned and their dogs do just fine on it, but as for my circle of friends, they would recommend dropping kibble or canned immediately in preference of a Raw (Species Appropriate Diet) as would I, in a heartbeat.

So thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify my meaning, and of course, no one has to agree with me, or disagree with me, I'm just sharing the information I have to hand, and let the owners make the decision for themselves. I'm just human and capable of mistakes like anyone else, discussion is good for everyone involved, especially our dogs, and thats what we are really here for anyway.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/siberianhusky.htm

Thanks
V