Raw dog food | Raw diet | Raw dog food recipes

During my first two weeks in the USA, I personally met two dogs dying from cancer. I thought it was a coincidence, but I was shocked to find out how many pet owners have lost dogs to this disease, as well as many chronic conditions, including kidney, liver, and digestive problems, allergies, etc. All of them fed commercial brands of dog food, sometimes those recommended by their vet.

Vets go to school to study the internal systems of many different types of animals and birds. They also study different animal diseases and how to treat them. They are doctors, not nutritional experts. Their focus is in helping sick or injured animals, not how to produce healthy, top quality dogs with outstanding coats, joints, bones, skin etc, which can perform at shows and trials, or be used in a breeding program. It’s typically top breeders and show people that have the most interest and experience with consistently producing dogs with these characteristics.

Also, most vets usually have only a very general idea about the proper weight of the German Shepherd Dog. They usually don’t have breed specific information and may have limited knowledge of how a German Shepherd puppy develops differently from other breeds of dogs. Usually, a vet doesn't have the benefit of years of experience in raising and researching one specific breed of dogs like a good breeder does.

Most vets, when seeing a German Shepherd puppy in a healthy, fit condition will advise the owner to “put some weight on’em.” Don’t do that! Don’t follow your vet’s advice on this one, and don’t follow suggested feeding amounts on your bag of dog food. Most often you have to cut that amount almost in half for your German Shepherd puppy.

German Shepherd puppy enjoying a chicken back

German Shepherd puppy enjoying a chicken back

Of course everyone knows that a dog is a carnivore. If you only take a look at a dog’s digestive system, the teeth and skull anatomy, and the way they are built, it becomes very clear that these animals have developed to tear their food off, shear it, not chew or crush it as a cow, horse, or a human would. They have sharp pointed teeth, strong jaw musculature, and don’t have any digestive enzymes in their mouth as humans, for example, do. When they chew things, they only do so to cut their food down into pieces small enough to swallow (which can be pretty big pieces). When I give my dogs chicken necks, if they are small enough, they will just swallow the whole thing.

Being carnivores, dogs have a very difficult time digesting grains. Animals that evolved to digest grains and whose primary dietary component is carbohydrates, have intestines two-three times longer than that of a dog, and they often “pre-digest” their food while chewing it. They also have different enzymes and acidity levels in their stomach. So when pet food companies use soy in their products, it increases the amount of protein that they can put on the label, but how much of that plant protein will your dog be able to use?

When you feed your dog raw dog food such as meet with bones, fat, and organ parts, your dog digests this raw food completely in about 4-6 hours, producing very small stool. When you feed your dog kibble, it may sit in the digestive tract for up to 15 hours, all along poisoning your dog’s system, undermining his immune system, thus predisposing him to cancer and allergies.

Feeding your dog kibble is no doubt very convenient, just like eating in a fast food restaurant. Sure we all can survive a Big Mac now and then, but imagine eating fast food every day of your life, all your life. What kind of health would you have? What kind of health can you except your dog to have when feeding him “doggy fast food” kibble?

There are high quality kinds of kibble available now that don’t use wheat, soy, corn, etc. They are much better than your typical commercial dog food, but there is nothing that can substitute raw meat diet for your dog – you will never get complete amino-acids, enzymes and acids that your dog needs for his digestion, immune system and clean teeth from cooked, processed commercial dog food.

Remember, bones, fat, and organs are just as important in your dog’s raw diet as the muscle meat itself. Feeding skinless chicken breast is not a complete raw diet!

Due to the numerous health problems that arise from feeding commercial dog food, and especially due to the recent unfortunate deaths of many dogs because of tainted food, I feel it is necessary to share my raw dog food recipes not only with my puppy owners, but with anyone interested to educate themselves on the subject.

Feeding raw dof food is the best thing you can do for your dog. However it is more time consuming than just filling a bowl with kibble, so people with very busy lifestyles have to feed kibble nevertheless. In such case we recommend EVO, Innova, Orijen, Solid Gold, Wellness, or Eagle Pack (one of their holistic varieties with no corn). Never feed mass production commercial brands that you commonly find in chain pet stores.

Below is an approximate raw dog food menu that you can use as a guideline, if you choose to feed your dog raw. You don’t have to follow it rigidly, and a lot of variation can be introduced with different kinds of vegetables and meats. This may seem like a very time consuming task, but once you get into routine, it is actually quite easy.

Puppy 8 weeks to 12 weeks - 4 meals:

Meal 1:
Ground beef and oats kasha mixed with chopped raw beef heart or tripe, or chicken gizzards (1:2 or 2:3 proportion). See recipe below. Add 1 small carrot. Carrots should be freshly ground (I use a commercial blender for that).

Meal 2:
Half a cup of cottage cheese* + 3 tbsp of plain all natural yogurt + 1 tsp of bone meal** + 0.5-1 freshly ground apple (or carrot, sweet potato, banana, blueberries, or other fruits and vegetables). Twice a week add 1 raw egg yolk to this meal.

Meal 3:
Same as meal 1 + 0.5 tsp of Cod liver oil.

Meal 4:
Half a cup of plain yogurt, or cottage cheese, or 2 raw chicken necks, or 1 raw chicken back***.

Puppy 12 weeks to 6 months - 3 meals:

Meal 1:
Ground beef and oats kasha mixed with chopped raw beef heart or tripe, or chicken gizzards (2:3 proportion). See recipe below. Add 1 or 2 carrots. Carrots should be freshly ground (I use a commercial blender for that). + 1 tsp of Cod liver oil or Flaxseed oil.

Meal 2:
One cup of cottage cheese* + 3 tbsp of plain all natural yogurt + 1 tsp of bone meal** + 1 freshly ground apple (or carrot, sweet potato, banana, or other fruits and vegetables). Twice a week add a raw egg yolk to this meal.

Meal 3:
3-5 raw chicken necks or 1-2 raw chicken backs.
Or: 0.5 – 1 lb of tripe (cow’s stomach)
Or: 0.5 – 1 lb of beef liver, or heart, or chicken gizzards, etc. Try to add as much variety as possible, do not feed one type of meat day after day.

Puppy 9 months to 18 months – 2 meals:

Meal 1:
Ground beef and oats kasha mixed with raw tripe, liver, etc (2:1 proportion). See recipe below. Add 1 or 2 freshly ground carrots, or apples + 1 tsp of Cod liver oil or Flaxseed oil.

Meal 2:
One cup of cottage cheese* + 6 tbsp of plain all natural yogurt + 0.5 tsp of bone meal** + 1 freshly ground apple or other fruits and vegetables. Once a week add an egg yolk to this meal. As an alternate meal give 4-6 raw chicken necks or 2 raw chicken backs, or 1 lb of tripe, or 1 lb of beef liver, or heart, or chicken gizzards, etc. Try to add as much variety as possible, do not feed one type of meat day after day.

After 18 months old:

You may start feeding your puppy once a day. In this case you would combine Meal 1 from above with chicken necks and backs, or other sources of protein, and feed as one meal in the evening. Occasionally you could still give some cottage cheese, an egg, or a few holistic biscuits for breakfast.

Note: please do not feed treats to your dog throughout the day. You will most likely create bad habits and unballanced nutrition. You dog doesn't need them, and "What a good boy!" and some play are wonderful rewards all by themselves.

WARNING: Never feed your dog cooked bones, especially cooked chicken bones. They are brittle and can damage your dog's digestive tract. Never feed raw pork products and fresh water fish.

Ground beef and oats kasha recipe: Mix 2 cups of rolled oats with 6 cups of cold water, add about 0.5 lb of ground beef, and bring to boil. After about 5 minutes add chopped parsley, dill, 1 clove of crashed garlic, basil, or other herbs. You can add them all, or just one or two of them depending on what you have available. Parsley is veryuseful, as it has a lot of B vitamins, and helps to enhance your dog’s coat. You can add up to half a cup of parsley to this recipe. Boil for 3 more minutes.You can use rice, buckwheat, or barley instead of oats, but they have to be boiled for 20 minutes. We recommend you make an amount sufficient to last 4-5 days and keep it refrigerated. This way you would not have to cook every day for your dog.

*Cottage cheese: All natural cottage cheese, such as “Friendship” available at many grocery stores – no salt added (Ingredients: milk and vitamin A).

**Bone meal: order at www.LambriarVetSupply.com - $1.95 per 1 lb. Other sources of calcium AND phosphorus can be used instead: “Pet Cal” by Pfizer or Dicalcium Phosphate. Be sure to give not only calcium and phosphorous, but vitamin D as well (there is vitamin D in Cod liver oil).

*** Chicken necks and backs: Bell & Evans, no hormones or antibiotics chicken. Several times a week you need to substitute chicken with the following: beef tripe (dogs love it, but better feed it outside), beef heart, beef liver, beef kidneys, or salmon heads.