Huskyluv wrote:

That's great! That's a lot of food actually so now I'm less surprised that he didn't want "seconds". lol How much does Nikolai weigh? My boy weighs about 55 lbs (he should anyway) and he eats 1 lb of food a day. So on the day he eats HK he gets 1 cup HK + 1.25 cups of water for a pound of food. On the days he eats raw he gets 1 lb of meat. At 1 cup of HK plus 8 oz of raw that's a good 1.5 lbs of food which is plenty and probably why he's not all that enthusiastic about the raw part.

Maybe if he keeps picking out the HK you might try feeding the raw first and after he finishes that he gets THK? Just an idea if you don't want to have to keep flavoring the chicken for him.

Btw, love the tray/mat!

Nikolai is currently 44 pounds. The vet wants to see him at 50, so his advice was to let him eat as much as he wants (because he's a super picky eater!) until he hits that 50# mark. In the 15 weeks we've had him, he's put on 2 measly pounds this way (we got him at 42). It's kinda frustrating, actually. He's still really ribby/boney under that fluff so we're trying really hard to put some meat on him! He only ate maybe 1/2 cup of kibble and 1/2 cup of prepared THK the night before, so I know he should have been hungry... *sigh* My goal is to feed him 14ish ounces of food every day, that's about 2 cups of kibble or some mix of prepared THK and raw. I've tried to break his food up into two meals, one at about 5:30 and "second dinner" after we get home from our walk around 9:30. It's been working alright - I put his full day's portion down at 5:30, he eats for maybe... 10 minutes? I pick it up around 6. Then put it down again at 9:30 and pick it up again before bed at 10:15. This is the only way I've found that he'll actually eat that much, otherwise, he just sniffs it or picks pieces up to play with rather than eat. It's like feeding a toddler... *lol*

Maybe this is a good time to ask - what's the best way to put some weight on a husky?

ETA: His mat is new, it's from PetSmart. I can't find it on their site, but it was $12 I think? It really helps with his food-flinging tendencies.

Wow, glad you've found a schedule that works. My mom's dog is like that and he will only eat at night usually sometime between 7-9 pm. Weird!

CoffeeK8 wrote:

Maybe this is a good time to ask - what's the best way to put some weight on a husky?

Satin balls are a nice place to start. You can google recipes for satin balls and find several variances. It's basically a mix of beef, oatmeal, wheat germ, oil, molasses and eggs. You can do some searching and find a recipe that you think Nikolai will like or you can modify a recipe and make it how you want it.

Another way to put on weight is to feed heavier meats such as beef and lamb instead of leaner meats like chicken and turkey.

Ahhh, Satin Balls. I do have a recipe for some, but it calls for something outlandish like 10 pounds of ground beef and/or pork and a "5 gallon bucket" to do the mixing in... I'm not committed enough to mix up that much of something I'm not sure he's gonna devour. *grin* Oh, and I don't have a big enough freezer to accommodate such a large batch. I could (and probably will) cut the recipe, but then it's still a matter of time and just *doing* it. That is my constant challenge. Hahhaa...

You don't have to make such large batches. I've seen some recipes for making 5 lbs at a time. You can even do smaller batches and maybe make up 2.5 lbs and just halve all the ingredient amounts in the 5 lb recipes. Even feeding beef, pork, lamb, etc is an option since it's higher in fat content and will help put on the weight. But once you've reached your target weight you'll want to cut back on the heavier meats a bit, of course. And definitely don't get the "lean" meats, so if you buy ground beef for example don't get lean ground beef. I like to buy ground beef with the highest fat content. Dogs process and require fat differently than us people do so you actually want a decent amount of fat in their diet.

What are the concerns about salmonella contamination when feeding raw? Since it comes for meltwater among other sources, how do you ensure that raw feeding chicken is safe?

cmanding wrote:

What are the concerns about salmonella contamination when feeding raw? Since it comes for meltwater among other sources, how do you ensure that raw feeding chicken is safe?

http://www.ehow.com/about_6129964_raw-dog-food-salmonella.html

I treat Nikolai's raw chicken like I do any raw chicken in the house - I clean everything it's touched once he's done. I have a spray bottle with water and white vinegar just for his "area" and every weekend, I break out the steam mop and go over it again, just to make sure there's nothing icky for the rest of us to pick up.

Thanks Kate!
Obviously, I had to remind hubby about the time when we were going through Ginger's poop belly issues and he decided to feed her rice and ground beef and after 3 days of not pooping, she threw up all the rice and beef she had eaten...and how he admitted at that time that even though he was around huskies in college he never was part of their nutrition. And how he could only say, 'Well, that was what <insert Husky name> ate...'

When I told him about feeding raw chicken, he said, 'No way, they splinter and Ginger will choke and die! My friend's husky choked on chicken bones' And I told him, 'you don't feed cooked chicken bones! And that's probably what your friend did!'

cmanding wrote:

'
When I told him about feeding raw chicken, he said, 'No way, they splinter and Ginger will choke and die! My friend's husky choked on chicken bones' And I told him, 'you don't feed cooked chicken bones! And that's probably what your friend did!'

I hope I snipped the above right. We have some food we buy that Merrick's makes, it is Smothered Comfort. It is cooked and does come with a bone in the chicken thigh. I always take it out as I remember when I was young, one of our cats choked on a chicken bone. So I am glad I read this!

I love reading on raw, maybe one day I will be brave enough to feed Willor raw.

cmanding wrote:

What are the concerns about salmonella contamination when feeding raw? Since it comes for meltwater among other sources, how do you ensure that raw feeding chicken is safe?

Kate answered your question perfectly. Treat it like you would any raw meat in your kitchen. You can clean up the same way you'd clean up if you were preparing raw meat for your own dinner.

Really, salmonella is not only a concern when feeding raw meat to dogs. Salmonella can exist in the soil outside, it's found in produce and eggs for example as well, and has even been found in kibble. Not too long ago there were number of reportings of children getting salmonella poisoning from pet kibble on the floor where kids could get into and around it.

When inside, I feed my husky raw meat in his bowl with a plastic mat underneath and newspaper underneath that. He never gets anything on the newspaper but it's there more for my piece of mind. He might get a tiny bit on his plastic mat but I just wash it off in the sink when I wash his bowl. Takes only a few minutes to clean up after. Only difference now between THK and raw meals is the plastic mat I use for raw meals, that's it. The newspaper I roll up and toss, now that's my kind of clean up. You could always feed them outside if you don't want to have any clean up.

Our partial raw dinner tonight, 3/4 lb of Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw topped with 1/2 lb of raw ground turkey. Yummy! I gotta say, my boy goes completely bonkers on the days he gets raw but the days he only gets HK he's not nearly as excited about dinner. The dog loves meat! No surprise there.

I hope to get there someday with my girl. We're in the right direction (I think with 50/50 Orijen and HK), and if I can get completely on HK Zeal (fish), I'll try adding some raw fish. She'll be eating sushi then! LOL!

LOL Claudia you're doing great. I applaud those who have switched a lot sooner than I did. I've wanted to switch to raw for years and only within the last year have I finally started really venturing into it. We're not a full raw family but more and more we are getting there. You're certainly moving that direction a lot faster than I did.

Can I make this for Darla? http://www.ehow.com/how_2166356_healthy-raw-beef-dog-food.html

If you're going to make the switch to raw, it's best to read up a lot more on the proper nutrition and supplements that your dog needs. Meat is great, but dogs can't survive on just meat. They naturally need a certain amount of bone, for example.

Although the recipe looks okay, I would use that as a treat rather than a regular meal for your dog.

Just my $.02

jsarroca wrote:

Can I make this for Darla? http://www.ehow.com/how_2166356_healthy-raw-beef-dog-food.html

The short answer is yes but really you can make your own formulation as well, you don't have to follow their recipe per se.

As Tori mentioned, if you are thinking of switching to a raw diet then that recipe will not be sufficient. As a part of a raw diet it would be fine but in addition to meat it is vital to have bones and organ incorporated into their diet. A PMR (prey model raw) diet would consist of about 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs. Dogs are carnivores so I would not recommend a BARF diet which is old school and calls for a veggie slush to be included to their raw meat. PMR is much more biologically appropriate than a BARF.

Just be sure to feed Darla correct amounts as it is quite normal for dogs to get diarrhea or soft stool on just plain 'ol meat with no bone. Bone acts like "fiber" would as a binder which works to create firm stool, not enough bone can result in too soft or runny stool and too much bone can result in constipation and difficulty passing stool. As a small meal or snack that recipe should be fine and I'd see no harm in feeding it to her.

Another thing to remember is that beef is a heavy food and dogs can easily pack on the pounds with heavier meats like beef, lamb and pork. Don't get me wrong, it's good but in moderation. I know you've got a young pup so it's not something you'll have to worry about for a little while yet but do be mindful of that, you don't want an overweight dog. Where you the one that asked about fattening up your puppy?

Are you thinking of switching off of kibble or just supplementing her diet with raw? If you're just supplementing then that recipe sounds fine for the occasional meal. If you plan to switch to a raw diet be sure to do plenty of research beforehand.

ETA: Most people will advise you to space your raw meals and kibble meals out as they digest at different rates, so many people do kibble one meal and then raw the next but don't mix kibble and raw in one meal. Personally I've never seen any harm come from feeding kibble and raw in the same meal and there has been much debate on this. Probably best to err on the side of caution and not mix the two.

Koda wrote:

If you're going to make the switch to raw, it's best to read up a lot more on the proper nutrition and supplements that your dog needs. Meat is great, but dogs can't survive on just meat. They naturally need a certain amount of bone, for example.

Although the recipe looks okay, I would use that as a treat rather than a regular meal for your dog.

Just my $.02

Exactly, I'm thinking of just mixing some raw meat into her kibbles.

With all you new raw (and partial raw) feeders coming along, how about some new pics and/or video?

I'm going to take a couple of pictures/videos and post them...Ginger is starting to get into it now so the pictures/videos will be more interesting. When she first started, I had to sear her wing and back then, when I gave it to her, she'd only lick it. That would be boring to watch. Or it would've been funny to see her try to lick the meat off the bone! LOL!

I'd love to see a new video of Ginger, especially now that she's more confident about her raw snacks.

Here's Ginger with her lunch today. No need to sear chicken anymore
She got her drummette first, then a chicken neck with her THK.
(Sorry for the 'hubby commentary in the background)

Love it!

My rescue Boy Is still Workin On Some Manners when It comes to Raw feedings .. LOL


In Order from top to Bottom Mira ,Icon, Gixx I Get em a Soup Bone Cut Into 3's from The Butcher down The Road and Its Just a Snack to Them They are Trying Out The chicken Soup Food & Like it so Far =)

They look like they thoroughly enjoy that! Mine like the Chicken soup food as well, but I've only given it as a treat.

Now why can't Ginger eat her chicken like that?
Today she took her darn wing and went to 'her place' on the carpet....
I'm gonna have to start feeding her outside when she gets raw...