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Raw feeding, kibble, and supps

Discussion in 'Health & Nutrition' started by alienPaco, Jul 26, 2022.

  1. alienPaco

    alienPaco Pup

    Hi all,
    Wanted to hear some thoughts and opinions on nutrition. My dogs have been exclusively raw fed since I've had them (mostly beef, horse and game) and I was interested in people's opinions on kibble as I often see people who raw feed their dogs adding kibble over the winter. What would the benefits to this be? Also what types of supplements do people here use? Right now I add ground mussels, cod liver oil, raw feeding calcium/potassium balancer (Mineral Balancer by BARF), and they also get duck and chicken eggs and cottage cheese from time to time. Pretty happy with the energy levels and composition of my girls but it never hurts to hear tricks and tips from people with experience. Also wanted to hear people's thoughts on fasting dogs. I tend to have mine on a 24hr fast anywhere from once in 2 weeks to once a month. I've heard it does good for their digestive system. Any thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms welcome.

    Cheers from Serbia
     
  2. ben brockton

    ben brockton CH Dog

    Now you're talking my language. Fasting has many benefits and more natural for the dogs. From 10 weeks old on they will be on 24 hour fast. Raw is as simple or complicated as you want to make it. Just design it around the activitie you're doing. Try to mimic how they would do in the wild. Use different fats and protein give different variety of them. Personally I don't touch kibble don't believe in adding fillers. Supplements should be only a addition not a focus to the base feed.
     
    alienPaco likes this.
  3. Michele

    Michele CH Dog Super Moderator

    The shells of the eggs are also a great source of protein. Grind them up and put into their raw food
     
    david63 and alienPaco like this.
  4. alienPaco

    alienPaco Pup

    Thanks for the reply. My experience with 24hr fasts for my dogs has always been very positive. I've also always seen kibble as filler and I'm assuming that people add kibble in the winter to save on costs as the dogs probably eat slightly more over cold months. Absolutely on the same page with supplements as well. The supplements I give probably make up less than 1-2% of their overall diet.
    Definitely. All the eggs they eat are given with the crushed shell as well.
     
    Michele likes this.
  5. slim12

    slim12 Super Moderator Staff Member

    I fast my dogs as well. It is funny as some calling 'feeding once a day' others call it 'fasting'. I go one step further as once a month I skip a day of feeding. They have fresh water readily available but they got 1+ days without feed. It is mostly because once a month I do a one day turn around from night shift to day shift and it works for me. I like the idea of mimic-ing the wild. They don't eat everyday in the wild.

    I don't supplement dogs unless they are putting in work. I do a mix of raw and kibble. I would venture to guess the hassle and time commitments of RAW is what changes the minds of the overwhelming majority. I get a scrap box (lots of beef fat) a couple three times per week and buy a ton of chicken backs. The kibble is used a filler, it is a bit cheaper and much easier.

    I feed eggs on the regular as well as the chickens here can go on a spree and we have eggs running out the ying yang.

    It is a great topic. There is a lot of different ways to feed dogs. Tons actually,.

    S
     
    kdm, alienPaco and F.W.K. like this.
  6. alienPaco

    alienPaco Pup

    Skipping a day (24+hrs) of food is what I meant by fasting them (I do this from once in 2 weeks to once a month), but yes, they also only eat once a day. I also notice my dogs work with an extra spring to their step the next few days after a fast, almost like they feel lighter and stronger.
     
  7. slim12

    slim12 Super Moderator Staff Member

    I have read wild animals are more keen between kills as the finish becomes more and more important. Even Mayfield talked about it in one of the videos.

    It is not any scientific type data but I think mine have an extra kick in their step the day/days after. I do it once month this month and twice a month next month and that falls on my schedule. (rotating swing shifts).

    I also add water (most of the time) when I feed kibble. It is dry and absorbs a lot of moisture. We always talk about food and supplements and types of work.....and none of that works like they are suppose to without hydration. Water content may be the most often missed and most under-rated/under appreciated aspect of the working dog.

    S
     
    alienPaco and AGK like this.
  8. Ssdd

    Ssdd CH Dog


    Everyone I've ever seen utilizing eggs in raw just dropped whole eggs in the bowl. The most the did was crack them
     
    Michele likes this.
  9. Michele

    Michele CH Dog Super Moderator

    they are better digested if you grind them up but whatever works for you.
     
    david63 likes this.
  10. slim12

    slim12 Super Moderator Staff Member

    I walk by a toss eggs to them. If they catch them in the air they get them plain. If they miss them then they have them with some "salt and pepper".

    And once I worried about such things until I had a yard beagle once that when I fed him he automatically flipped the bowl over to eat off the ground. So I brought one of the concrete bowls from the dog pen and fed him in that thinking, HA! I got you now. He looked back, stood in the bowl and raked it out on the ground. He then used the bowl for storage. He would rake out what he wanted, eat that and then come back for the rest.

    He has been maybe the only dog I ever owned that really served no purpose other than to walk around, eat and look important. His only truc skill was that when a female started to come in he would pace the fence line like an expectant father. I knew then something was bleeding.

    But one of the things I did not believe early, or want to believe early on, is that a dog can eat the ass out of a dead skunk.

    They can survive on just about anything and can actually thrive with a little more than that. It is not rocket surgery nor brain science.

    A constant supply of clean fresh water means even more.

    S
     
  11. GrChHaunch

    GrChHaunch Top Dog


    This. I am referring to fasting. I have a lot of experience with humans, but dogs should be the same principle. For the last 200 thousand years, humans didn't have refrigerators or advanced methods of food storage....sure you could have roots and tubers and maybe some dried meats, but in general, if you wanted to eat you had to go out and hunt. You brought your meat back and then your main eating would start. That is why Intermittent Fasting (IF) works so well in humans, it mimics the way humans have eaten for a hundred thousand years. I have had tons of success using IF myself and with clients. I can eat a big meal late at night....if I then don't eat for 12 hours I never get fat. This runs counter to the last 50 years where everyone argued that humans should eat breakfast and then many meals every 2.5 hours. We just did not eat this way historically. Also, the best time to eat is right after exercising, IE hunting. Calories go straight to muscles and recovery, not fat storage or waste.

    I imagine the same principle applies to dogs. Of course our dogs are not in the wild, but if they were they would not wake up and then eat 3 meals a day. They would have to hunt. Then they would eat, usually a big meal and then probably not 2 more meals that day.
     

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