FEEDING INFORMATION

Your new puppy will come with approximately one weeks food to get you started.  We raw feed, or BARF - Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, though some people refer to this as Bones And Raw Food.  This is our choice based on what we feel is best for our dogs.

We are here to help you if you want to continue feeding your puppy in this way, or if you want to move onto commercial dog food, then use the weeks supply of food we have given you to slowly introduce the change of diet, increasing the ratio of commercial to raw over a week or two so that your puppies stomach doesn't get upset with a sudden change.

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read our basic ‘quick start’ guide to RAW feeding. Your puppies are now 9-10 weeks old and have been solely reared on a RAW natural diet since 3 weeks old, this diet contains no cereals, preservatives, colourings or additives and in our opinion is the best diet a growing dog could need. If you have never fed RAW before – don’t panic! It’s not difficult, and although may seem daunting in the beginning is actually one of the simplest healthiest diets you could wish for. We have supplied enough food for your puppy for the first 7 days he/she is with you, by continuing on the RAW diet you will avoid any upset tummies associated with a change in diet, and the stresses of leaving their litter mates and going to a new home.

A dogs diet does not need to be ‘balanced’ at every meal – ours isn’t, and yet we manage to achieve a healthy balanced diet over time – aim to do the same with your dogs. So long as you give your dog a wide variety of meats, bones, vegetables, fruits, oils and even small amounts of table scraps your dog will be happy healthy and balanced. Our puppies are weaned onto a semi complete ‘puppy mix’. The ingredients of which I have listed below. It’s not a scientific mix, you don’t have to weigh every single ingredient, and items can be supplemented if you don’t have them (see told you it was easy) all the ingredients can be bought from supermarkets, online, butchers etc just as you would your own food – in fact a lot of it IS your own food, or the bits you throw away!

The basic puppy mix is as follows (this can be fed from 3 weeks to old age if you wanted to just simply add other meats for balance and variety!)

Minced raw chicken carcass’s
minced offal
1-2 cloves of minced garlic
Small carton of cottage cheese
Small carton of live natural yogurt
2-3 raw eggs
Cold pressed flaxseed oil (linseed oil) – must be cold pressed as heat extraction damages it
Cod liver oil (liquid or capsules)
Kelp or seaweed powder (essential for providing iodine to a growing dog)
Additional vitamins C,E, + B (the normal ones you buy for yourself, one of each crushed into their morning feed) & zinc.
(you cannot over do vitamins C,E +B so don’t panic about over dosing! Puppies also need high levels of vitamin A which they get from the cod liver oil and raw liver)
Pulped fresh raw fruit and veg – (see notes) again you cannot over do veg!

And hey presto your dogs food is complete! This can be bagged and refrozen for feeding on another day. Yes defrosted and refrozen meat IS safe for your dogs.

Things your dogs can and can’t eat

Meats :
Your dog needs a variety of meats, different meats contain different levels of proteins, ameno acids, fats, omega oils etc and so by giving a wide variety of meats your dogs body can extract and store what it needs.
Minced whole chicken carcass’s (bones and all!!)
Chicken wings & necks
Beef
Lamb
Pork
Rabbit
Venison
Partridge, pheasant etc

Organ Meats:
Liver (too much liver will cause runny black poop – don’t panic its normal!)
Heart
Tongue
Lungs
Oesophagus
Spleen (if you can get it)

Green Tripe – this is a wonderful food for all dogs, it contains lots of natural pro biotic ingredients essential to a dogs healthy gut, its fantastic for fattening under weight dogs. NOTES – It must be green tripe not bleached white tripe! DO NOT STORE IN THE SAME FRIDGE / FREEZER AS YOUR FOOD OR BREAD! You will regret it! Green tripe STINKS! Its best handled wearing gloves and feed outside. In summer I feed it frozen as ‘tripe pops’ and my dogs love it. Never ever be tempted to defrost or cook it in the house – you will not get rid of the smell for weeks!

Fruit and Veg:
Pretty much all fruit and veg is perfect for your dogs! All you need to do to make it digestible is blitz it in a food processor with a little water until it resembles veg pulp, or better still put through a fruit juicer.
Green leafy veg is particularly good for your dogs, spinach, lettuce, cabbages, broccoli, peas etc again the wider variety of fruits and veg you give your dogs the better!
Apples (not the seeds), berries, bananas, kiwi, mangoes, papaya the list is endless!
Add fresh garlic, its anti fungal and anti parasitic (so keeps fleas, ticks, lice and worms at bay!)
You cannot overdo veg – this is where your dog extracts its main vitamin base from.
All fruit and veg can be fed with the exceptions of the following which should be avoided in all forms:
Onions raw and cooked, grapes, raisins, avocados and potatoes (cooked potato is safe)

Veg can be prepared in advance and frozen in handy sized portions to be used at a later date. The veg peelings from your dinner can also be added (just not potatoes) along with the blitzed shells from the eggs – excellent source of calcium!

If you forget to defrost meat, don’t panic, a bowl of pulped veg, some cottage cheese, yogurt, a raw egg and some linseed or cod liver oil and hey presto a quick healthy dogs dinner.



Now the scary bit …… bones

Dogs need raw meaty bones, all the minerals they need to grow strong and healthy are contained in bones, all RAW bones are good. On NO account should ANY cooked bones be fed to your dog – these are lethal, they can splinter and puncture your dogs stomach, or cause a blockage.
Raw meaty bones exercise the dogs jaw, they provide entertainment and exercise for the dogs, they clean their teeth! So no bad smelling breath and yellow teeth on a raw fed dog – EVER! Puppies need to chew, so why not give them something healthy to chew on – a raw meaty bone.

We feed the following bones – all of which can be sourced from any good butcher for very little or free!
pork & lamb rib / neck bones
Chicken carcass’s
Chicken wings, necks, & feet!
beef ribs / necks
Weight bearing bones should be avoided – shin / leg bones as these can break the dogs teeth

Fresh Fish

Fresh fish can also be fed, whole, including the head and intestines – so next time you see some oily fish on special in the supermarket, pop one in your basket for the puppy

How much to feed and how often?

We feed 4 times a day, and as much as your pup will eat in 10-15 mins, a raw fed puppy will walk away from its bowl when its full, don’t worry too much about weighing its food, learn to look at your puppy / adolescent dog and judge the amount it needs by its condition. Raw feed puppies should be slightly slower growing, alert, bright eyed, shiney coats and fit looking not fat! Its not healthy for a pup to be rolly polly as this puts excess strain on the joints and heart, your dog should be on the leaner side – you should be able to feel ribs but not see them. This applies throughout your dogs life, a healthy dog is a FIT dog!

As a rough guide your dog needs the following:
2% if your dog is fat
2.5% - 3% to maintain present weight (adult dogs)
Feed more % to fatten a skinny dog
Puppies may require up to 10% of body weight

More info on RAW feeding can be found here:
http://dogsdinner2.webs.com/feedingpuppies.htm

RAW feeding books:
‘Give a dog a bone’ by Ian Billinghurst
‘The dogs dinner’ by Ann Riddyard

Canine health concerns website – offering help on raw feeding, vaccinating and other dog health issues.
http://canine-health-concern.org.uk/AboutCHC.html

Poop

On raw your dogs poop a LOT less – its firmer, often white and doesn’t smell. Your dog should strain to go to the loo – this is normal and healthy – its how the anal glads empty. However if your dog is in obvious distress or struggling to go then the chances are he / she has had too much bone. Add a little extra oil to the next feed along with more veg and liver and leave out the bone for a day or two, liver has a natural laxative effect and the veg acts as roughage helping the dog to pass stools. If your puppy produces loose or liquid black poop don’t panic! This is most likely caused by too much liver in the diet – simply reduce the amount of liver and everything should return to normal. If in doubt call, and I will advise.

Pros and Cons of raw feeding:

Pros Cons
Cheaper Longer prep time
healthier Small freezer needed
Less vet bills
calmer more satisfied dogs (less manic)
control over your dogs diet
Less poop (easier to clean up)
no bad breath
less farting
less household waste (dogs eat the scraps)
Slower grown pups = less joint / health issues

Commercial dog food (even the good brands) contain a lot of preservatives and E numbers – some of which have been linked to ADHD in children, cancer, ME like symptoms, and a number have been banned in America as cancer causing. Feeding RAW contains non of these as the method of preserving is freezing.

A ‘complete’ raw option is available from some suppliers – meaning all you have to do is defrost and feed if preparing your own is a problem.
Suppliers:

*Raw2Paw - http://www.raw2paw.co.uk - (DAF, Natural Instinct and Free Range distributor) Nationwide delivery using courier as well as deliveries to the South West, South East, Midlands and South Wales with own van.

*The Doggy's Diner - Ann Ridyard (DAF)
Leasowe Road, Wallasey, Merseyside
http://dogsdiner.webs.com/products.htm Tel: 0151 6386554

* NHD – Naturally Healthy Dogs (DAF & Local ethical/free range)
www.NaturallyHealthyDogs.co.uk email: Julie-NHD@virginmedia.com
Royston, Herts. Tel: 07590 621636

* Animal Inn Boarding Kennels
Barnsley, Tel: 01226 753658 E-mail: animalinnboardingkennels@live.co.uk

*Davids Doggie Dinners
Sittingbourne, Kent, Tel: 07974473073, www.davidsdoggiedinners.co.uk
E-mail: davidsdoggiedinners@gmx.co.uk

* Goody 4 Paws
Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 1AL Tel: 0161 2802525, E-mail: info@goody4paws.com
www.goody4paws.com

* Pet Grub - Donna Helliwell
Sheffield, S6 4JR Tel: 0114 2852056 E-mail: lijaga@yahoo.com

* Raw To Go
Abergavenny, NP7 5SD.
www.rawtogo.co.uk info@rawtogo.co.uk or tel: 01873 268086

*Lincs Pets
07977 294918 - hayley@lincspets.co.uk www.lincspets.co.uk

*Best Friends Pet Supplies
Ashton, Preston PR2 1UL, - 01772 735946 linda@prestonpetsupplies.co.uk

* James Gibb Animal Feeds
Threepwood Farm, Galston, KA4 8ND
Tel: 01563 820233



* Thames Valley Pet Supplies
Burnham, SL1 7PF 01628 602252 - tvpetfoods@gmail.com

* Fife Animal Feeds - (Donna)
07500 117 119, fifeanimalfeeds@hotmail.co.uk,
www.fifeanimalfeed.co.uk

*Rep of Ireland
Slaney Pet Foods
Tel: 08721 18453, E-mail: slaneypetfoods@gmail.com

Delivering to all or most of UK
*They Love it Dog Food (chicken) http://www.theyloveit.co.uk/
* Basils dog food - http://basilsdogfood.co.uk - UK and Eire
* Berriewood Pet Supplie - www.berriewoodwholesale.co.uk Block mince nationally full range local to Halstead, Essex
* Durham Animal Feeds - http://www.daf-petfood.co.uk - country wide delivery
* Honeys Real Dog food - http://honeysrealdogfood.com
* Landywoods - www.landywoods.co.uk - most of the country but not Scotland
* Manifold Valley Meats - www.manifoldvalleymeats.co.uk - Nationwide next day delivery £10
* Natural Instinct - www.naturalinstinct.com - mainland UK
* Nurturing by Nature - www.nurturingbynature.co.uk - most of country £6.99/20kg
* Perfect pet food - www.barfpetfoods.co.uk - Nationwide delivery £9.99
* Prize Choice - http://prizechoice.co.uk - Nationwide delivery excluding a few areas
* Raw2Paw - http://www.raw2paw.co.uk - (DAF, Natural Instinct and Free Range distributor) Nationwide delivery using courier as well as deliveries to the South West, South East, Midlands and South Wales with own van.
* Raw to go (DAF distributor) http://rawtogo.co.uk – most of country, surcharges for some of Scotland
* Springfield Poultry www.springfieldpoultry.co.uk - Nationwide delivery £10
* They love it www.theyloveit.co.uk Nationwide next day delivery. £6.00/20kg
* Woldsway - http://www.woldsway.co.uk - Nationwide with varying delivery prices
* Wolf tucker - http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/adult/ - UK except some of Scotland

.Delivering to specific areas

* Dundee Petfood - www.dundeepetfood.co.uk - free delivery in Dundee, delivers to Fife and Grampian
* Muddypawz - www.muddypawz.co.uk - Forres, Scotland - Varying delivery rates
* Goody 4 Paws - – Radcliffe, Manchester http://www.goody4paws.com/Pages/naturaldiet.aspx
* Naturally Healthy Dogs[NHD]- www.naturallyhealthydogs.co.uk DAF Distributor+ in Royston, Herts. Delivers up to 50 miles.
* Clearaday pets - http://www.cleardayrawfeeds.co.uk/
- delivery in the Merseyside area
* Nixon's Farm Shop in Heald Green - www.nixonsfarmshop.co.uk - Heald Green, Cheshire
* Jays Animal Feeds - www.jaysanimalfeeds.co.uk - Doncaster
* Lincs pets - http://lincspets.co.uk - Nottingham, Lincolnshire, Derby, Humber etc
* Knight Pet Supplies Ltd http://www.knightpetsupplies.co.uk - delivery in Birmingham areas only
* Martins Meats - http://www.martinsmeats.com - Free local delivery Cheltenham, Gloucestershire & area
* Cymrag blaidd pets - http://cymraegblaidd.com - delivery in North and Mid Wales
* TPMS - http://www.tpms.co.uk - Weekly Deliveries in the Midlands,West Country and South Wales
* Albion Meat Product http://www.albionmeatproducts.co.uk - Southern & Central England
* Dog food company - http://www.thedogfoodcompany.co.uk - Central and Southern England (except London)
* Mobile pet foods - http://www.mobilepetfoods.co.uk - London and South East
* Davids Doggie Dinners - www.davidsdoggiedinners.co.uk - DAF and Natural Instinct supplier in Gillingham - Kent, Essex, Sussex and Surrey
http://feedyourdogsinnerwolf.com/ CORNWALL
http://dogsfirst.ie/meat-for-dogs/ IRELAND

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me, I will be only too happy to help.