Getting started on raw...

We had the cutest golden retriever puppy come by the store today, and as the new doggie papa and I were discussing diet options for his new pup, the concern about the raw diet being too complicated and time-consuming came up again.

Before I started feeding Lucie a raw diet, there was definitely concern about the ick factor - mostly since I'm vegetarian and hadn't handled meat in over 15 years. Having fed my dogs a raw diet for the last 3.5 years, I can honestly say that I spend about one minute of hands-on time per day feeding my dogs two meals each - and it really couldn't be much easier.

With the raw diet becoming increasingly mainstream, feeding a natural, fresh diet no longer has to involve tons of prep and elbow grease at home. Each night, I take out a frozen packet of food and move it to one of the fridge drawers to defrost. To feed the dogs, I take out one neat packet, cut open the top and divide the contents into two bowls. The dogs gobble it up in 20 seconds or so, and I pop the cleanly licked dishes into the dishwasher. There is much less mess and mucking about with raw meat than there would be making yourself dinner. (The prepared food is usually a mix of 75% meat - with bone and/or organ - and 25% juiced veggies... and usually better quality meat than what you might find at Safeway in that those we sell are usually made with non-medicated, hormone-free meats and organic veg.)

Because of the benefits of feeding raw bones, I try to feed them a bone (instead of the prepared ground meat) every night that I have dinner at home. Again, not messy. I have a stack of 'bone towels' that I keep under the sink. When I first started, I had to teach my dogs a "towel" command. I put the bone on the towel, and when she tried to walk away with the bone, I took the bone away and put it back on the towel and said "towel". After doing this a couple times, when she tried to move it again, I took the bone and put it back in the freezer for 10 minutes. After a couple times of this routine, she caught on very quickly what she had to do to hang on to her bone! (In the photo is my little chi-yorkie Bruce Lee gnawing on his lamb neck dinner).

If you're getting started, remember to start with one red meat for the first 5 days or so - buffalo is a good one to start with - and add a new protein one at a time. We would be happy to help you get started - come by the shop, or if you'd like a more in-depth, personal consultation, we're happy to arrange a complimentary consultation with you. Once we walk you through the process in about 15 minutes, you'll find it a breeze - and your doggie will thank you for it.