bradpattison.com

I've read through this entire thread and have not only loved it, become more informed, but have also come to the profound realization that I, too, am an honorary Poop Club member lol...

O.k. folks I'm inspired - I am ready to go raw.... YEY! YEY?

I'm still feeding my 4 month old Lab a variety of Fromm kibble, but have also introduced her to some raw/frozen beef & buffalo bones, chicken necks, etc. She LOVES them... We've got a great organic butcher, Cumbrae's, around the corner from us. Their meat is way too pricey, but get our bones from them cheap (a humongous bag of 'em for $7).

However I don't yet have the courage yet to go completely raw, but want to....

Any suggestions on raw for puppies? From what I've read, a balanced adult diet should suffice for a puppy, as long as they're getting the proteins for growth, etc. Any good site resources?

Thanks!
Lee

If you can find the \'Raw Diet\" post there are lots of links. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/?yguid=101175111
That is about the best one for asking questions. http://rawfed.com/index.html
There are so many. Start here and keep reading the links. http://www.rawlearning.com/

Lee,

Just a thought, when you're ready and speaking from experience....
Can't you ask the organic butcher for his meat scraps? And or stuff he hasn't been able to sell? I give him a dollar a pound and he puts that meat aside for me, then I pick it up once a week. Actually, Abby only eats roughly 50 to 75 cents worth of meat. Butchers don't like to throw anything away and often have to pay to get rid of the meat that is turning. Often the stuff that he gives me has bones with the meat, like ribs.

Good luck!

For those of you looking for a "butcher" , here's what I've learned from a butcher, in a "butcher shop" and from a local beef farmer that I spoke to last eve.

1- A butcher, like you'd find in the "city" gets meat in from a meat packing plant. It's like getting a super large beef "roast" that they cut into steaks. THAT'S their extent of "butchering".

2- to find a true butcher, you have to find a butcher that still gets "slabs/ sides" of beef. Good luck, they are rare and hard to find.

3- I called a local beef farmer near my house. If HE BUTCHERS a cow, he can only sell/give it to his spouse and family. To sell it to the public is illegal, unless he is inspected regulary by the Government.

4- a local beef/pig farmer can sell meat to the public if he sends it to a Government Licensed abattoir for butchering

5- your best bet is to deal with an abattoir (politically correct term, whereas slaughterhouse, no so p. correct) directly. You'll probably get a better price anyway, not to mention all the "goodies" we Raw feeders want.
You can find a list of Government licensed abattoirs on the web.
I googled Ontario licensed abbattoirs, and it came back with an 8 page list of names, addresses , towns and phone numbers. It listed abattoirs for beef, chickens, etc.
It was easy !

I finally found the one I've heard some of my neighbours speak of !
I'm going to contact them this week !
I'm going to get prices on a half side of beef for hubby and me and ask for all the bones, scraps, etc, for Keymo.

Here's some info :

I just called an abattoir that my neighbours have purchased beef from.
They sell a barrel of "scrap" for $20.
The scrap consists of bones, fat, scrap meat, etc.
You can either take the whole barrel or pick through for what you want.

They also sell a beef quarter (for human consumption) cut & packed for $1.99/ lb and you can ask to keep the scrap from it for free.

There is a $ difference between buying from the abattoir direct, rather than from a beef farmer who uses an abattoir.
The beef farmer wanted $3.00/lb for a front quarter, the abattoir wants $1.99/ lb

Abattoir - much better than slaughterhouse! I Googled it - Abattoir was also an 80's punk band LOL!

That's a good idea, Michelle! Only problem is, we're moving to Oshawa on June 16 so they'll no longer be around the corner. They are certainly walking-distance from where I work, but don't want to have to lug several lbs. of meat back to work to store in our common fridge - my colleagues might start thinking I'm going Hannibal lol...

Does anyone know of any reputable Durham region butchers or, ahem, abbatoirs?

I found a great site by the way - many probably already know this one: http://www.rawdogranch.com/. It's a great site and very detailed. We've got an extra 'fridge in the bsmt., which I think I'll dedicate to canine cuisine. Once we move, I'll do the food prep and feeding in our new bsmt. like the woman from the site does (much to the chagrin of hubby, surely lol...). Cheers

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Since it looks like this thread is remaining active I thought I would add my 2 cents worth.

For those who are having trouble with runny poo the first few weeks, you can can add some pumpkin (not the pie filling but sill canned stuff) to their bowl. It is what my vet recommends when poo is either too hard or too soft. You have to gauge for your own dog, but I was told about a tablespoon for my 40 lb dog. You only need it until their tummies return to normal.

Also on the 'aren't raw poops amazing' bandwagon, when I started my pup on raw it used to make me wonder because when I went to pick up the remains in my backyard there was either white dust or nothing where I was really sure there should have been something. Then one day I noticed little poops lined up on the top of my fence. Now my dog is smart, but not that smart and about 5' too short for that action so I decided to keep watch. Sure enough, it was a flock of magpies who would hang out just waiting for the dog to do her business and then they would grab it and place it on the fence. When it was in whatever state they liked it, they would peck away at it. I assume going after the calcium. Now when the birds will come take it away you know it's a good diet. I never had to clean that yard.

Unfortunately I have since moved and there are magpies around here but apparently they have different tastes. It's too bad because I really appreciated the help the others gave me.

I too have noticed, that ever since feeding Keymo Raw the flies are attracted to his poo, well like - FLIES !

Glad to know that this post has helped a lot of people !