Hello Ioanna,

I first started out on raw with feeding my dogs. The idea I had behind it was to recreate the structure of a prey that they may eat in the wild. I tried to feed whole prey as well (whole rabbits, whole mice, whole chickens... although I did prefer to take the feathers off the chickens... and so on). I do not have my two dogs anymore as my parents house is a no pet house javascript:void(0) one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life was to give them up, saw that they went to good homes though. My brother took my cats so I still will be able to see them over the next year. I am leaving to africa though in a year and once there will be able to have as many dogs and cats as I please!

When I butchered goats I tried to keep as much as possible. Heads, stomach wall etc. As far as overeating on the fat that is something that happens a lot at the beginning. It just tastes so good to a lot of dogs (why can't it be like that for me?). After a few gorge feeds most dogs catch on and eat only what they need. If its only a treat then they will always want it but when its available every day and as much of it as they want they will look at it more as food rather than a treat. Gorge feeding is basically putting down a large chunk of something. This will depend on the dogs size. For a 5 pound dog a quarter of a chicken will seem like a huge chunk but for a great dane a quarter of a lamb will be a better size.  If you are worried about your dog eating it too fast or swallowing it a good basic rule is to make sure the chunk is larger than their heads. I like using a chicken at the beginning as the added bone will help keep the stools from getting runny. If your dog has no problem handling other meats and fats however go for anything thats available. Allow your know dog to eat as much as possible. Most dogs will eventually eat until they are full and then try and burry any leftovers. My dog Zaida would try and burry it in the blanket that was in her kennel. Funny to watch but be careful because if you don't catch it it may start to smell after a couple days . Now I do want to note here that there can be an exception. Some dogs simply do not when to stop eating. I was feeding my friends four dogs before along with mine. She had a golden retriever that had a endless stomach. Even when I once tied up a half of a goat for her she barely stopped eating and after was very full and lazy for a few days.

How much to feed? General maintenance is around 2.5 to 3 % of the dogs body weight a day. Now different things affect this amount. Age, activity, energy level and health conditions. Start at 3 % if you have a adult healthy dog. If your dog gets a bit too plump cut down a bit, and if the dog gets a bit too skinny up the amounts a bit. Puppies should be fed around 10% of their body weight. I never measured my dogs food. I let them eat until they were full or just eyeballed it for most days. I measured my friends dogs food though and found a good amount that worked for each dog and repeated it every two weeks. I never had the meals perfect each day but spread it out over two weeks. For example one day would be a extra large meal and then the next meal may be very small. Once a month or so the dogs would skip a meal too and go a day without food.



What too feed? I liked feeding a variety of anything I could gets my hands on. Some dogs can be picky eaters although most will eat just about anything. Throughout the feeding though I try and balance it out to try and recreate what their prey would be like (deer etc). I think the rough calculations are 80% meat  10%organ  and 10%bone. I can't remember reading amounts on fat. I just fed whatever fat came off the animals along as a part of the meat. These are all guidelines to try and help wrap your head around feeding a dog a raw prey modeled diet. But a dog is great for experimenting with. We can control their food and choose for them not too cheat or eat the wrong amounts. Try different things and as with people every dog is different.

As for not getting nautious, not too sure their. I have read before that a dog had much stronger acids in their stomaches for digesting bone and such. However I am uncertain on the truth to that or any solid facts. Something to look into though.

I loved feeding my dogs and cats raw and enjoyed all the benefits. Nicer coat, better health, less and better stools, cleaner teeth......I think my favorite benefit would have been how their moods changed. They seemed happier, more alive than when they were on cooked kibble and canned food. I never thought of it before but I guess the same changes would happen in people as well.

If you have any other questions I would be glad to help in any way possible. Also the yahoo groups raw feeding and raw chat really helped me out when I was starting out.

Best of luck!
Leah

I haven't been able to keep up the diet the last few days. With moving and everything going on its all just been too much. The hardest part is the mental struggle for me. I have never been very disciplined with things. Once things settle down a bit I hope to be able to concentrate more on getting back on the diet. Living at home will make it harder but soon I wont need to have my strength everyday and will be able to go through all the motions of changing my diet. It has definitely given me a new outlook on life and our culture of today. I will try to report more once I am back on the diet to give a detailed experience of the changes that occur. I am leaving the country in a year and by that time I hope my body will have switched over completely. One thing I do look most forward to is the change of taste, actually to enjoy eating raw meat. I cant say I do now but I can say that I enjoy the way it makes me feel. This change is a battle for me of discipline. I would love to hear anyones else's stories on how they overcame the urge to eat SAD foods in the beginning.

Thank you for the idea in regards to carbs. I am wanting to get at the point where my diet is mainly raw meat, fat and organs. I am working at getting there slowly and not pushing myself too much. I look forward to being able to experiment with it one day and find out what works best for me.

Second day back on raw. Only had one meal today as I was at work early and find it hard to eat in the early morning. I had more elk and marrow for supper. I had bacon (yes cooked) as desert for a treat after. I had some in the freezer and found it helped me from eating a loaf of bread. I have no problem eating a whole loaf of bread in one sitting if I want, especially raisin bread, so I am finding the cravings are getting too me. I wasn't happy with the way the bacon sat in my stomach though. Yesterdays supper felt much better. Tomorrow my dad is back from his one month trip from africa and we will be celebrating with a meal for him. I plan on pre eating some mutton and fat before hand and eating a small plate of food with the family. I will need to stay away from eating any potatoes and grains as I find the next day I have more cravings for them.

I found when I got a bit hungry at work today if I would drink some water my stomach settled right away and I made it through the day no problem. I think I have been misreading my thirst a lot of the time for hunger.

Hello! Welcome to my journal. After reading through so many other journals I have decided to start my own as I found the information in the others to be very useful and encouraging and hope my experiences will one day benefit someone else.

I grew up on a sad diet. My mom loves to cook and tends to make everything homemade. I never at out much of a kid or had too much processed boxed crap. I do not think my diet through the years was very good however I believe it could have been worse. Since changing my dogs and cats diet over a year ago to a strict raw prey model diet I have since then started to reevaluate my own diet.

I remember coming across the raw paleo diet at the time and was interested but not convinced. I decided to start adding in more raw fruits and veggies at the time and get rid of a lot of the junk food I was eating. I believed at the time that raw was superior to cooked. I started to eat my steaks rare as well. I still incorporated a lot of sad eating in my diet but my grocery shopping consisted of mainly fresh foods.

What really opened my mind was a lady that was buying some meat and elk antler off of me for her dog. She laughed as she told me how her dog eats better than her family. Here they are eating boxed noodles and the dog was getting huge chunks of meat every day. I just smiled and nodded my head but it really got me thinking. Here I am feeding my pets the perfect diet for them while my diet is hardly perfect.

So I set out on trying to find the 'perfect diet' for a human. Finding this forum has really helped clear a lot of things up for me. I completely stand by a raw meat, fat and organ diet for humans now. I am still a bit stuck on veggies and fruit. I do not feel the veggies and fruit in the stores today are close to what are ancestors would have eaten. I like the comparison of a dandelion to a head of lettuce etc. I feel dairy does not sit right for me at all and intend to stay away from it.

I have so far tried a three day period on strictly raw meat, fat and organ. The results were great. My face cleared up and my digestion felt better. On day three I felt horrible and believe I was going through a detox. Since then I have not been so good with eating right. I thought I would be able to do a gradual change but when it comes down to it that is just not my personality or style. When I make a decision in my head I tend to go forward with it without looking back. The problem too is that I find I am a emotional eater and when I allow myself the room to cheat I cheat a lot.

After pondering what to do for a bit now I have come up with a plan:

For feeding dogs when you have a dog that seems to be having problems digesting certain foods or may be allergic to something the best thing to do is put them on a elimination diet. Feed them chicken, chicken and chicken (whole pieces raw with bone) for a few weeks or until they seem to be digesting good. Then try feeding lamb for example to see if there is any reaction at all. Dog breaks out in hives then conclusion would be the dog is allergic to lamb. Then repeat the process and change lamb to something else. Slowly add in different foods and track how each different changes the overall appearance, health and activity of the dog.

I think our bodies are equipped with the means to allow us to know what foods work well with us. The problem is on sad you are mixing so many things together you can never tell what is causing problems if there are any. My plan is to eat meat, fat, marrow and organs. Once I can get those working well in my system I will try adding other things in and see how my body reacts. Sort of an experiment I guess. For example one afternoon I will eat a half a cup of blueberries and observe what happens. Then repeat again in a week or so and observe again. If needed I will repeat again and then move on to the next food item.

Now going cold turkey into this diet is going to be hard on my body and mind. If I am having trouble I will allow myself to cheat but only in the form of berries and eggs (I am not limiting myself to these two however I do not know of what else I will allow at this time).

I finish work in three days and I am spending the rest of summer working on getting my house ready to sell. After 4 and a half years of living independently I am moving back in with my parents. Sigh. I plan on leaving in a year with my parents to move back to Africa. We have bought land and are in the first stages of building a bed and breakfast there. I grew up there for three years when I was younger and look forward to returning! I want to enjoy my last year in Canada and spend it with friends and family and focus on research and my health a bit more.

I figure with not working it will allow me the time to rest for when I do detox as I know it is bound to happen. I want to try and stick to the diet as much as possible however will try not to beat myself up when I do slip as I know that is bound to happen as well. That is another main reason I have decided to start a journal. Too keep track of my eating habits and how they are affecting me. I will try and keep posting on my progress and how I am doing. Hopefully one day I can look at a cheesecake and not drool
 

Thanks for the info Tyler and Skinny. I guess I am so use to talking to farmers for a long time to build up relationships so when one of their animal dies in birth or has bloat etc they call me first and come out and cut it up for my dogs. I will try and just keep it to myself and if they do ask just say its for my dogs.

I was just talking to a natural farmer and mentioned I was looking for maybe getting some beef for raw meat eating and she went into a sprawl about how we as humans cook meats to get rid of parasites and that we do not have the digestive enzymes to digest it as our digestive systems have adapted to that of a cooked diet. I kept my mouth shut and just listened. No way have we changed our digestive systems in such a short time period! She even feeds her dogs raw too. I never had a problem getting meat for my dogs when I said it was for dog food. No one ever questioned me. What I want to know from you guys is if you all disclose what the meat you are buying is for and what the reactions are when you tell them. Do any of you say its for something else... if so what do you tell your farmers. I am a bit scared they might not end up selling to me in fear of me getting sick from it . The chances of me finding a farmer here that eats raw meat too is going to be far from impossible. When I do get a butchering done too I will want all the fat as well which will be a new request for them I am sure so they may question what I want it for. Should I lie or be upfront?

Good that they will get it for you RawZi, its a smelly job. Basically empty the stomach and rinse it out with water. I am still unsure of wether to consume the stomach content. I do not think it would be optimal. I am unsure of the details but I know the people I get my chickens from wash out the gizzard, which are a part of the digestive system of a chicken, and eat them.

its called the circle of life, at least the ducks and chickens had a good life instead of living in a tiny cage with hundreds of other ones and got fed crap.

Thanks for the info everyone. As for our teeth I feel as though they are versatile but mainly made for meat. We have a jaw action of both up and down as well as sideways while herbivores I believe only have a side to side action (e.g horse) and carnivores tend to have a up and down action (e.g alligator). Don't quote me on that though as those are just my thoughts and may not be fact. As far as fruit and teeth I would think that if fruit were to be eaten by humans in large quantity it wouldn't have the harming effect that they do on our teeth such as causing more sensitive teeth and wearing off the enamel from the acids in fruit. I have heard of strawberries to whiten teeth but you end up weakening your teeth and causing them to be more sensitive. Never tried it though.

As far as hunting I feel we hunted from the beginning. Wether we did it with nets, holes or spears I do not know but one way or another I do believe we were intelligent enough to figure out that we can get more energy out of eating animals than plants. As far as eating any plants at all I am still not certain of this however when the time is right I will experiment with it and listen to what my body tells me. Maybe plants are just meant to be eaten occasionally by themselves as a cleanse? I have read about juices being a cleanse well one idea could be every so often humans would gorge on plants to clean out their digestive systems?

I feel we need to try and emulate what our ancestors at but just because they did eat something doesn't mean that we should eat it as well as just because they didn't eat it doesn't meant that we shouldn't. Just because they lived long ago in good health doesn't mean they had the 'perfect' diet however I think they were a lot closer to it that most of the world nowadays will ever be.

Another thought is how did they store their meat once they caught a large animal? They didn't have fridges or freezers back then. Would they just allow their meat to age naturally or would they process it in some way or store specially?
Few ideas I had were:
burying in the ground to get it at colder temp
smoking (if their was fire)
dehydrating.... not sure how they would have accomplished this though.

When meat is left out flies tend to swarm it and lay their eggs. We all know the result of this however is the meat considered unfit when there are maggots on it? I know my cats wont eat it but my dogs are always more than willing. I understand that maggots are a source of protein as well however the quality of it I am unsure. Do any of you ever leave their meat out in the open air for more than a hour or so?

Hello William,
Yes I live in Manitoba actually. There are rules and regulation too here about the animal going to the abattoir and getting inspected for human consumption. I have been getting my meat for the past year for dogs though and there are no rules or regulation in canada for that. If you find the right farmer too they can be very lenient compared to getting from a butcher. You can always buy the animal live as well provided you have somewhere to butcher it yourself. As far as grass fed goes I would suggest steering away from beef and looking more for lamb, goat, bison and elk as those proteins tend to be more natural and organic at least I find in my province. I have not been that fussy on the meat I have gotten for my dogs as I will take what I can get when it is a good price as feeding dogs raw gets pricey. I wont take meat with hormones and antibiotics though. Most farmers stick to guidelines so not to get sued or have the government come checking things out but there are a few who are willing to work with you. In my opinion if the meat has been raised right there should be no need for inspection or a special person to butcher it. In the wild it would have been done by anyone and probably anywhere. As far as a good source of fat in the winter months would bison not have held on to a lot of their fat? They tend to be very hardy and not to active especially in the winter. I would imagine that the fat would be less in the winter but it would still be some as to protect them from the elements. Also I would think we would have figured out about winter enough to bulk up ourselves in the fall to get a nice layer of fat on our bodies to help us get through winter. The nice thing about buffalo in canada too is that they are very rarely given any shots and tend to graze off the land. Getting a quarter or a half makes the price a lot cheaper. You really have to call around and check things out with a few places to get what your looking for. It took me over 8 hours one day just to find a supplier for buffalo tongue and heart but I now can buy them for 50 cents a pound. The organs as well. Time well spent

I just saw that two topics down it talks about man the scavenger lol. I will have to read that to get some insight as well.

My understanding of green tripe is that it is the lining of the stomach, I think a cow has a few stomachs and that certain ones are used for green tripe. You could also get green tripe from a goat, deer, lamb etc I believe. Its funny when humans nowadays get a cow butchered all they want is the muscle meat... the butchers literally throw most of the bone and fat away! Get to know some butchers and farmers in your area and you will surely find either cheap or free bone marrow and fat. Just takes some hunting and lots of smiles! I have found butchers more than happy to unload their scraps to my for my dogs, now if I told them I was going to eat it they may find that a bit strange . I use to buy all my meat and other parts from butchers in the city but now only buy directly from the farm. Its way cheaper and you can get it more to your specifications. Its even cheaper too I find when they allow me to do the skinning and butchering myself although it can be a bit of a messy job.  Great way to get fresh blood though.

Earlier on in the morning I had a shake that had a small handful of blue berries, two eggs and some ice. Today I was shooting for only one meal. My body had no problem with only doing a meal or a meal and a small one a day on a healthy SAD. I still feel bad and have been lying down for the whole evening. My throat and glands are swollen as well which I find a bit odd. The only problem for me eating my first meal of the day of raw meat and organs is that I would have to do it at work. I am not ready to bring this out in-front of others as I feel it will disturb them some . It confuses me that my body had no problem digesting the meat and fat one day (I had a berry shake that morning as well) and the next it just seemed to not go down at all. I did have more exercise the next day, don't know if that would have affected it? Plus went to the beach for two hours and did a lot of swimming in the lake. oh and I did have some herbal tea that night, caffeine free and I believe it was organic as well. I have never had a problem sleeping before, and I rarely wake in the middle of the night. Ill try and ease into the diet more slowly and see how it goes.

Is there a day by day journal on here of someone starting out and their experiences at the beginning? That would be helpful to read.
Thanks,