DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional canine nutritionist and cannot advise you on what to feed your dog. This sheet is simply the diet I've chosen to feed my own German Shepherd. I studied several different raw diet systems, and chose the things I feel work best for me and my dog. Some raw feeders would object to the fact that I freeze veggie mix, for example, when fresh is best.
YOU must take into account any medical problems your dog might have and your dogs particular needs based on age, activity level, etc. I *strongly* suggest that you spend time researching the fundamentals of canine nutrition and reading the literature, both pro and con, on using a raw diet. Some good starting points are listed at the end of this message.
***The two best books***
The Ultimate Diet: Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats_ by Kymythy R. Schultze, A.H.I. Species-appropriate nutrition, a no-grain, no-dairy diet. Many dogs are allergic to grains and dairy, and there's simply no evidence that dogs are designed to digest these products. There's evidence that grains (kibble) in particular, along with yeast, are related to bloat. Schultze advocates a "rawfab" (raw food and bones, plus some veggies) diet. The basic concept is to "build a prey animal" in order to balance the diet. Order on the internet at http://home.earthlink.net/~affenbar.
Ian Billinghurst's _Give Your Dog a Bone_ is regarded as the original raw feeding bible. He coined the term "BARF" (bones and raw food). Without bones, your dog won't get the right balance of minerals. Bone meal is an expensive, uncertain, and possibly toxic substitute. Raw meaty bones should be the bulk of the diet. Get the newest edition.
Below are the details on my dog's raw diet.
Basic morning meal: about 8 oz meaty bones/meat mix
Basic evening meal: about 3/4 cup of "veggie mix" (see below); stir in B/E/fish oil capsules and sprinkle w/vitamin C powder, plus about 8 oz meat mix
MEAT: I use chicken and turkey necks, chicken backs, thighs, and necks, beef, rabbit, lamb, canned mackerel, and raw beef marrow bones. I also give organ meats, eggs, veggies and supplements. But the bulk of the diet (more than half) is raw meat and bone.
I buy meat fresh or frozen, however I can get it. I have an extra freezer, so I buy lots at once when there's a good buy. One butcher here sells five-pound frozen bags of turkey necks for .99/pound. My local grocery always has a supply of "stripped chicken backs and necks" for .39/pound, so that's our mainstay. I can usually get pork liver for around .59/pound. Walmart Supercenters carry turkey necks and often have very good prices. Publix has the nicest butchers around; they can get things by the case. Often ethnic markets (Asian etc.) have some of these "unusual" cuts of meat. You just have to call everyone -- kiss a lot of frogs to find that prince of a butcher!
Re pork neck bones -- I quit feeding them because they were always sawn up into pieces. The sawn edges were extremely sharp, and when the dog chewed up the bone, some of the pieces that splintered off were like little spears. It's natural for dogs to eat raw bones that they chew up themselves -- but I've become extremely cautious about anything that's been through a butcher's saw. I always try to get whole cuts and joint them myself. I don't think there's a problem with pork per se if the bones are not sawn.
GRINDING VS. WHOLE PIECES: Chicken and turkey necks have a lot of cartilage and are relatively soft. I used to give another GSD (now deceased of cancer) those "hardened" smoked bones that you buy at the pet store, and she could chew them to pieces. When I noticed blood and bone splinters in her stools, you can bet I stopped giving them to her! But I've NEVER seen that using the raw marrow bones, or with the raw meaty bones like turkey necks. I fed whole necks, thighs, and backs for three years, and *never* saw any traces of bone in my dog's poop. A lot of folks have fed whole chicken wings and legs to multiple generations of dogs.
However, when I decided to buy a meat grinder so I could put my cat on a raw diet, I started grinding things for my dog as well. I've never seen a report of a perforation from a RAW bone, and obviously wild carnivores have eaten them for centuries -- zoo carnivores still eat whole, raw meat. But this is a risk that I *can* minimize, so now I put everything bigger than a chicken neck through a meat grinder, bones and all. With chicken legs and backs, I trim some skin and fat, joint, and grind bones and all in a Moulinex meat grinder (about $100; the Krups and Villaware grinders also work fine). Often I add a bit of garlic and liver for flavor. I usually make a batch of raw meat mix, portion into Gladware containers, and freeze.
VEGGIES & SUPPLEMENTS: Twice a month I whip up a batch of veggie mix in the food processor: raw greens, root veggies, sprouts, fresh herbs, raw eggs in the shell, about a pound of ground meat and/or liver for flavor, some seeds or nuts (especially pumpkin seeds for zinc and trace minerals), a few cloves of raw garlic, and kelp & alfalfa powder (about 1 tsp/day). Puree it all very fine; you're duplicating stomach contents of a prey animal. You *do* need a food processor to do this right; I'm using a $49 Black & Decker..
Usually the bulk of my veggie mix is leafy greens, like collards or kale (tons of great vitamins and minerals), root veggies (carrots, rutabagas) plus some herbs like parsley and oregano. I pack it into Gladware containers, which hold 3-4 days each, and freeze some. My GSD gets about a cup of that a day. I sprinkle powdered Vitamin C on all her food (sodium ascorbate, about 2000 mg/day), and she gets a B-50 and E-400 (liquid drops) every day and Super-EPA fish oil capsule about 3x/week
TO FEED: A meal might be just chicken necks, some liver and kidney, or some ground meat & bones with some veggie mix. Warm the food up to room temperature -- if you use a metal bowl and let it sit in some very hot water for a few minutes, that's usually enough. Microwaving changes amino acid structures and kills enzymes, so you lose the benefits of rawfeeding if you microwave.
As you see, there's a lot of VARIETY in the diet -- the meats, veggies, and herbs all a little different from week to week. That helps ensure a good mix of nutrients. Overall it's about 60% meaty bones, 10% ground meat, 10% organ meat, 20% veggies. My GSD gets about 1 pound meat per day (80-pound GSD). Obviously, you'll have to adjust quantities for your dog's age and activity level..
The total cost comes to about $1.50/day (including marrow bones), or about the same as a premium dry food. Most people say their vet bills go way down because there are fewer skin problems, tooth cleanings (thus less anesthesia!) etc. I know that my rawfed dogs have had *gorgeous* teeth and not a trace of plaque; also no bad breath! Also, allergies cleared up almost entirely (something three vets and numerous meds had not accomplished!)..
Here are some excellent web sites with info on raw diets:
The BARF FAQ page: http://www.geocities.com/heartland/flats/7244/barf.html
Give your Dog a bone! http://members.aol.com/abywood/www/gd_bone.htm
Critter Chat http://www.critterhaven.org/critterchat/index.htm(check the Articles and BARF links)
Dr Tom Lonsdale's Raw Meaty Bones http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
Chalky White Dog Poo http://www.rawmeatybones.com/ChalkWhite.html
Pet Foods' Insidious Consequences http://www.rawmeatybones.com/PFIC.html
Some diet sheets of GSD Rawfeeders: http://www.2gsds.com/diet//diet.html"
Pat Saito/Tasha's diet page http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/4844/rawdiet.html
Atlantic Spice Catalog (good, cheap source of kelp/alfalfa/pumpkin seed etc.) http://www.atlanticspice.com
Dog Food Comparison Chart http://home.hawaii.rr.com/wolfepack/next.html (scroll down for several links about food)
Canine Health Concern http://www.asr-svcs.dircon.co.uk/wwwchc/ (several links about food)
The famous "Pottenger's Cats" study of raw vs. cooked diets http://www.price-pottenger.org/articles/Articles/PottsCats.html
If you're interested in joining an email list to get more information about raw diets, these are good places to start:
Raw-Recruits: http://freespace.virgin.net/maralyn.olsen/
Critter Chat Newsletter: http://www.critterhaven.org/critterchat/index.htm
There is also a list dedicated specifically to *practicing* rawfeeders who have GSDs. It is a focused list for people who have done the research and made an informed decision to feed raw, and wish to share their experiences with other GSD rawfeeders. To join, contact the list owner, Susan Shankle
Good luck!
rpennington@madriver.com