Are any supplements needed in the raw diet?

This is a dedicated place for all of your questions and answers about Raw Diets. There are also some really cool groups like "Raw Fed" on the topic you can join. This forum is for people who already know they like the raw diet or sincerely want to learn more. Please remember that you are receiving advice from peers and not professionals. If you have specific health-related questions about your dog's diet, please contact your vet!

Member Since
05/17/2012

Barked: Sun Jun 3, '12 4:42am PST


	I am getting a puppy shortly and was talking to the vet about diet the other day. He told me that dogs can only be okay on the raw diet if you include loads of supplements and follow this formula 40% lightly cooked meat 30% steamed fruit and veggies 20% supplements 5% lightly cooked organs 5% ground bones only And even then he says dogs often are in poor condition. He tells me that the very best diet I can give my dog is Purina pro plan dry and Ceaser wet trays. And as a treat yoghurt and fruit and veggies mixed in. And pedigree milk bones as treats. Is this truly right? Is all this necessary? Also any good raw feeding books available for purchase in UK on kindle?

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Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!

Barked: Sun Jun 3, '12 7:42am PST


	40% lightly cooked meat - not enough meat, dogs are carnivores feed an absolute minimum of 50% and 75% is better. 30% steamed fruit and veggies - some is fine if you really want to feed it but this is too much for any healthy dog. 20% supplements - Completely ridiculous statement! What supplements? If my vet told me this I would be completely disregarding anything he says about nutrition. 5% lightly cooked organs - of liver, yes. Adding other organ is important as well. Kidney is the easiest to find but spleen, thyroid, pancreas, brain and eyes are other good ones. 5% ground bones only - not enough calcium in that, 10% bone provides precisely the amount of calcium needed and balances the phosphorus also provided by the meats. Most kibble provides too much calcium so I don't get too fussed about feeding a bit more than 10% bone. Max gets his diet balanced to NRC levels. He gets mostly meat with as little bone as needed to make his poop firm enough to pick up, about 10-15% bone. I give him about 5% liver of different sorts and 5% of an assortment of other organs like brain, kidney, eye, spleen. Since he is older and doesn't get 2% of his body weight I check what is in his food periodically and he always needs vitamin E, magnesium, manganese and zinc. He also currently is getting fish oil capsules as fresh sardines disagree with his ears - massive amounts of black gunk develop! I looked into using veggies for manganese, zinc and magnesium and they just don't work at all. I know he is getting the correct amounts of calcium and the rest because I use an online database, nutritiondata.com to make up his diet.

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Member Since
05/17/2012

Barked: Sun Jun 3, '12 9:26am PST


	Thank you Maxwell! This is quite honestly what I thought. I think I will stick to my raw diet.

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Phoebe, CGC

I'm a Brussel- Sprout!

Barked: Sun Jun 3, '12 11:58am PST


	Good grief! Any vet that feels Purina and Ceasar are the be all and end all in canine nutrition ought to lose his or her license to practice veterinary medicine, in my opinion. Clearly he/she has no idea what a raw diet even is, as evidenced by the suggestion to cook the meat. Cooked is, by definition, not raw. This "vet" sounds like a crackpot to me! A balanced prey model raw diet, in my opinion, is going to be better for the majority of dogs than any commercial, processed food, and although some supplements may be beneficial, or even advisable, I don't think they are strictly necessary. For what it's worth, my own raw fed dogs receive fish oil & vitamin E, the occasional dollop of coconut oil, a capful of Bragg's ACV in their water bowl about every third day, a probiotic more or less daily, and for several years that's been about it. Very recently, (maybe two months ago or so) I've started using Raw Prey Organic Animal Detox Formula and Answers Raw Goats Milk - both from The Dogma Online. Both are products that were recommended to a fellow raw feeding friend and I figured why not. I may or may not continue with these, but that's currently what we're doing around here. I think your plan to keep on with what you're doing sounds like a fabulous idea!

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Crash- Dynamite

Live up to your- Name!

Barked: Mon Jun 4, '12 12:28pm PST


	I will occasionally squirt some salmon oil on my dogs food.

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Hula

This is MY- stuffie!

Barked: Tue Jun 5, '12 7:12am PST


	Oh give me a break! Sorry, but I think your vet is full of crap. I have a holistic vet who has been in practice for 25 years. When I took Hula to him for her first well check, he asked me about her diet. I told him prey model - 80% meat,10% bone,5% liver, 5% other organs. He suggested a fish oil suppliment because the meat I am getting is grain fed - not enough Omega 3s. Other than that he said she looked great and to not change a thing about her diet. I just don't believe dogs need fruits and veggies.