41 replies to this topic

[GimMom]

I reuse bags, too. I even cut up shopping bags and just knot them (or use a twist tie). I was using containers only for large portions, like bulk heart for treats, etc. 

 

And that is a nice score for meat, even cheaper than what I pay in the Asian market downtown T.O. Lucky!

[bigjones4]

GimMom, China Town on Dundas or Kensington Market?! I'm from Toronto too! Born and raised until I moved to Oklahoma for school!

How long before you recommend I move from backs to quarters? I've got 8 meals of chicken backs cut into 4oz pieces seeing that I'm feeding 1% so that will get both dogs through Friday. From there should I move to leg quarters or should I go buy more backs? I also have a bunch of necks (1lb, 12oz to be exact), should I mix quarters with necks when I move to quarters this giving them more bone.. Is neck even considered a bone?

Also, treat wise, I found these, the only ingredient is 100% chicken liver, it's dehydrated and made in the USA. What do you guys think?

http://www.chewy.com...-dried/dp/44904

[GimMom]

GimMom, China Town on Dundas or Kensington Market?! I'm from Toronto too! Born and raised until I moved to Oklahoma for school!

How long before you recommend I move from backs to quarters? I've got 8 meals of chicken backs cut into 4oz pieces seeing that I'm feeding 1% so that will get both dogs through Friday. From there should I move to leg quarters or should I go buy more backs? I also have a bunch of necks (1lb, 12oz to be exact), should I mix quarters with necks when I move to quarters this giving them more bone.. Is neck even considered a bone?

Also, treat wise, I found these, the only ingredient is 100% chicken liver, it's dehydrated and made in the USA. What do you guys think?

http://www.chewy.com...-dried/dp/44904

Dude, right on. It's about time I met another Torontonian on here, haha. Yeah, I go to Kensington. If you want cheap poultry, St Andrew Poultry on St Andrew St off Spadina has chicken necks and back for 79 cents a pound. And Oriental Harvest just north of Dundas on Spadina has cheap pork and beef. Beef heart and pork heart are usually what I buy there, as well as organs. They also have a large selection of fresh fish.

 

You can actually alternate between the backs and leg quarters until you see a few days of firm poops, and then move on to turkey. I'm trying to locate a good source for turkey necks, which are my top choice for turkey products, the bone is best for cleaning the teeth and I usually find it's a decent ratio of meat to bone. Just make sure the necks are too large for your dog to swallow. As soon as I find a good place, I'll let you know. St Andrew Poultry uused to have them for $1.49/lb, but they've been out of stock the last few months.

 

And what I do for treats is actually grab a package of beef heart from Oriental Harvest, cut it up into 1cm width slices, and bake them on a foil-lined cookie sheet for an hour at 300F. Makes amazing treats, I chop them up so they're around the size of a large kibble and use that to train my dog.

 

Have you joined the Toronto raw feeding group on Facebook at all? There's some good resources for vets in T.O that are raw friendly, as well as meat sources. You can order bulk from Heronview raw in Whitby, they deliver to Toronto for like $15 I think.

[GimMom]

Duh, I'm tired. I so read that like you were still living here. At least you have some good resources if/when you come back to the TDot.

 But yeah, you're moving in the right direction. Hold off on raw organ for now, just follow the poops to make sure he's not getting too much or not enough bone, and transition in turkey, doing the same thing. A week or so of good poops, and you can move on to pork, fish or beef.

[bigjones4]

Started off today, feed each of them half a chicken back in the morning and another half at night (1% of body weight). Jeter went to the bathroom and it was runny but that's common from what I have heard from other dogs new to PMR, Zoey decided she didn't need to go today so we shall see tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll use my last of the chicken backs? Is it to early to move onto 1% portions of leg quarters or chicken necks?
Should I combine portions of the 2 in case the quarters are to meaty?

I'm thinking of buying a tub of those Stewart's snacks, I'll let you know how they like them.

[Jordann]

When my boys started, I couldn't find backs for decent prices, so I started on just chicken quarters. My boys were not raw meat virgins, so they were able to handle that.

With Jeter having a runny poop, I would stick with backs, because bone will help firm his poop up.

It's better to start out slowly. Will make your transition go more smoothly in the long run!

You're doingn great so far! Keep us posted!

[Prey Model Raw]

Sounds like a normal start to me! Keep us updated on how things go. 

 

I would hold off on any treats until a few weeks into the transition. 

[bigjones4]

How do all of your dogs handle chicken necks? Jeter tends to rush through his meal, Zoey takes her time. So should I stay away from chicken necks and just feed him turkey necks when I end up adding in turkey? The necks came with the backs so I'd had not using them and having them go to waste. Any tips on slowing Jeter down?

My girlfriends grandmother has a large chest freezer that is completely empty so she's gonna let me use it. SCORE!

[GimMom]

Nice, free freezers are amazing. A girlfriend of mine had an apartment sized one that she gave me. I was ridiculously (and almost pathetically) excited over it. Ahaha

 

 

Keep up the backs for sure if you're seeing runny poop. I usually alternate between drumsticks and backs when my boy is having runny poop and it usually clears up quickly that way. 

[Jordann]

How was Zoey's poop? Or has she decided to wait another day? lol

As for chicken necks, I don't feed them. I like feeding larger meals, like turkey necks. Mine aren't gulpers, just makes me feel safer .... Also a turkey neck is a meal for them, I would have to give a few chicken necks to make a meal. I'm lazy (apparently cheap too!)

[bigjones4]

Lol no she went this afternoon while running around at the dog park, normal consistency though noticeable smaller (This is the report I got, my girlfriend took them this afternoon). No poop from Jeter today, I suppose I'll have to wait till tomorrow to see if he's still a bit runny, I'm running out of backs, so if I can't get some I'll give him drumsticks until I can restock my back supply. I'm headed back into the city next week and have a butcher who's willing to sell to me so I need to stop by and see him about prices and buying in bulk. Oklahoma is so behind the rest of the world in life in its entirety so it doesn't surprise me that there aren't any big raw feed groups here in the Midwest.....

[Prey Model Raw]

If your dogs chew chicken necks at least once before swallowing them then they're fine to feed. But if they're swallowing them whole I would avoid them.

[naturalfeddogs]

How do all of your dogs handle chicken necks? Jeter tends to rush through his meal, Zoey takes her time. So should I stay away from chicken necks and just feed him turkey necks when I end up adding in turkey? The necks came with the backs so I'd had not using them and having them go to waste. Any tips on slowing Jeter down?

My girlfriends grandmother has a large chest freezer that is completely empty so she's gonna let me use it. SCORE!

To slow them down, you can feed larger cuts that they have to chew, or you can feed it frozen or partially frozen. That will cause a lot of chewing and slow them down.

[GimMom]

I usually feed partially frozen if I think there's a possibility he could gulp. It definitely slows him down and he chews more. I also opt for larger pieces.

[bigjones4]

So today marked their first full week with raw, all in all it went well. There was no incidents in the house, nor did I ever have to wake up in the middle of the night because one of them needed to go out. I can't really tell if I've seen any difference in their coat or not, I don't think I have anyways. I've been feeding twice a day and have moved up to roughly 1lb a day for both of them. I may start giving Jeter a little more because he is still under a year old and has some growing to do. I started off feeding primarily backs, then moved to leg quarters, cut in half (drumstick & thigh), with all the skin and fat removed. For this second week, should I just stick with leg quarters or should I add in a different part of the chicken? Jeter is still eating pretty quick so I need to keep an eye on him, Zoey still takes 5-10 minutes depending on her mood (she's a bit of a diva). Towards the end of this week I am going to thaw out the 2 whole chickens I bought at the grocery store and cut them in half then one day I'll give them each half of the chicken as their food for the day, I'm guessing that be slightly over 1lb.

[Prey Model Raw]

I would stick with chicken quarters this coming week. Gradually leave more and more skin on them as time passes with each day. By the end of this week you should be able to feed whole chicken quarters with skin still attached, if all goes well. It make take a little bit more time than that. 

 

Keep us posted!

[ts0104]

Hi there!  I just thought I would jump in since our situations are similar...our dogs weigh about the same, and I am doing raw "grocery store" style like you are!  You do have a great selection.  I wanted my dog (just one)'s food budget to be around $45 per month, so when I did some basic math I also came up with the goal of getting meat for under $1 per pound.  It is not always possible, but that is what I try to go by when I am shopping.  With chicken and turkey is is easy, for example that big bag of chicken you found...great!  With beef, it hasn't been possible for me yet.  But as I find out how the monthly costs are averaging out, I will add some beef in there.

 

I also go to a Meat Packers Outlet in my town and bought $33 worth of chicken, turkey and some organ, and it lasted for over a month.  I just searched "butchers" in the name of my hometown and got a list, started making calls and found this gem.  They cut it up to whatever size I want and they are so nice.

 

As for ziplocs, yes, reuse, don't put them in the dishwasher (the heat can break them down), and if you are going to reuse or defrost in them, the freezer kind vs. the storage kind are thicker and better.  It's worth it to take some time to put everything in those, with two dogs you can keep at least one storage bag in your fridge and get through it without it going bad (probably two storage bags full). 

 

It sounds like you are off to a great start, how are they doing?  My doggie got SO SOFT once she was on raw for about 10 days. 

[bigjones4]

So for the past 4 days I've been on vacation in Colorado, hiking the trails with Jeter and Zoey. The first thing I noticed is how convenient kibble is when travelling compared to eating a PMR diet. Anyways, I went to walmart and bought leg quarters, not having much space being in a hotel with 3 50lb dogs and 4 humans I decided it was time for them to dive in the deep end, whole leg quarters, not cut in half skin and fat all included. They've handled it well, no stomach issues at all. Their poop has been somewhat chalky, so earlier I went and grabbed a small pack of chicken breasts and will add some extra meat into their diet to increase their phosphorus levels, I'm assuming the chalky poop is a result of too much bone/calcium so I hope by adding in some boneless meat, just a few small pieces not too much, will even out the phosphorus:calcium ratio.

 

What are all your secrets to feeding PMR while traveling and staying in hotels??

[Jordann]

That's great!! I can't say anything about hoteling it with dogs, but as far as the chalky poop goes, it sounds like they need some boneless chicken thrown in. Is it white and chalky as its coming out, or has it had some time to dry? Mine had the crazy chalky poop the first few days, which I let them keep, just to help in case any digestive upset came along, but after about the first 5 days, I added in boneless breasts, with the quarters, to help give some relief. Just add it slowly.

Have fun hiking!!

[Prey Model Raw]

I have always traveled with a cooler- packed with frozen meat.