Raw Food Diet for LGD Puppy

[rowegirl]

We are considering getting a Great Pyrenees/Newfoundland cross for our mini farm. We have chickens and meat rabbits so I am wanting to switch from a kibble diet to raw food or even cooking the rabbits and chicken for our current adult dog. My question is would a diet like I just described be a good choice for a growing giant breed pup? I was thinking of adding some brown rice and a few veggies like carrots and peas for more nutrition and fiber? Any advice would be great! I don't mind feeding the pup kibble and then transitioning over when it is grown. I just want to be sure to provide the right nutrition and hopefully prevent joint problems and things like that in the future.

 

[hysop]

It takes a lot of research to meet all the nutrient requirements for a growing puppy via raw food.

If you want, you can keep feeding him a high quality kibble and giving him a topper unless you have the time and dedication to count all the nutrient amounts on each feeding.

I know there's a trend with 80-10-10 or something out there with raw food but that doesn't account for nutrients. And it's not recommended for puppies.

 

[rowegirl]

It takes a lot of research to meet all the nutrient requirements for a growing puppy via raw food.

If you want, you can keep feeding him a high quality kibble and giving him a topper unless you have the time and dedication to count all the nutrient amounts on each feeding.

I know there's a trend with 80-10-10 or something out there with raw food but that doesn't account for nutrients. And it's not recommended for puppies.

Thanks for the info. I don't want to mess him up so I will probably give him some good kibble and then transition to the raw food diet. That way I'll be able to research it better before I try it out

 

[hysop]

Thanks for the info. I don't want to mess him up so I will probably give him some good kibble and then transition to the raw food diet. That way I'll be able to research it better before I try it out

You can try to give him raw food as a treat and not as a meal. That way he can get used to it.

With raw food it's also good to give variety of meat and not just one kind.

What I do with my dogs is I give a combination of kibble and raw. It became too stressful and costly to try to exclusively raw feed 3 dogs all different weights and requirements

We butcher our own animals so now I only give my dogs raw food when we butcher animals and kibble for the rest of the time. Unless we freeze some for them then I’ll give it randomly.

 

[rowegirl]

You can try to give him raw food as a treat and not as a meal. That way he can get used to it.

With raw food it's also good to give variety of meat and not just one kind.

What I do with my dogs is I give a combination of kibble and raw. It became too stressful and costly to try to exclusively raw feed 3 dogs all different weights and requirements

We butcher our own animals so now I only give my dogs raw food when we butcher animals and kibble for the rest of the time. Unless we freeze some for them then I’ll give it randomly.

Cool! We are just getting started in our journey with meat rabbits. I am looking forward to the day we have some home grown meat in the freezer!
I think that is a splendid idea with feeding both raw and kibble. I can't imagine trying to figure out the nutrition needs of 3 types of dogs!

 

[Baymule]

I have a Great Pyrenees, 2 Anatolians and a Great Dane/Labrador cross. I feed them kibble and I can chicken leg quarters in quart jars for them. I buy the chicken on sale in 10 pound bags and get 7 quart jars per bag. I mix in cooked rice and vegetables from the garden. I put the contents of the quart jar in a half gallon jar and add water to make a broth. I use that in a couple of days.

Mainly I do that so they will clean up their kibble at feeding time so ants don’t get in it or the sheep don’t steal it.

Haha, I bought beef livers from a slaughter place for 17 cents a pound! Score! I got 70 pounds! The dogs wouldn’t touch it raw or cooked. I wound up having to cut it in small chunks and canning it with their beloved chicken.

When I take animals to slaughter I always get the offal. Not this year, but I’ll get back in next year, I raise Cornish Cross chickens and keep all the skin, offal, feet and give the dogs both cooked and raw treats.

My dogs actually like cooked meat better. The Pyrenees will catch wild rabbits and eat them and occasionally he derails and puts poultry on his menu. Then he kills and eats ducks, Guineas or chickens. They can be safe for a year or two, then all of a sudden he makes his own raw diet. He gets punished, gets locked up in a small pen, I feed him and ignore him for a couple of weeks, then he’s ok with poultry again. Yeah I know, idiot dog and idiot me. LOL

 

[Cecilia's-herd]

Thanks for the info. I don't want to mess him up so I will probably give him some good kibble and then transition to the raw food diet. That way I'll be able to research it better before I try it out

Yeah, that sounds best. We feed 50/50 but it's a store bought raw mix called Darwin's so I don't have to worry about nutrition levels.