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How Much Food To Feed Your Dog

Because our food is fresh, all natural and has absolutely no preservatives it important to order just the right amount using our feeding calculator so that you don't get too much and either waste it or end up over feeding your dog. What's the right amount to put in your dog's bowl? Check out the feeding facts - They're essential for nutritious, happy and safe feeding.

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©  A Proper Dog’s Dinner. All rights reserved. 2010.

Feeding Notes

Well before you serve up why not swot up ...it really does help to have a bit of bow wow know-how. We’ve put together some important notes on feeding a proper raw diet for the first time and our Simple Serving Guide (at the end) gets rid of the weighing scales by telling you just how much of a pack  to spoon  out and how many bones to serve.

If you have any more questions check out our Q&A pages which are bursting with further juicy information. The serving guides below for adult dogs have been calculated based on established canine nutritional guidelines, but it’s worth remembering that every dog is unique in terms of energy levels, appetite, metabolism and temperament.  So it’s best to start with our guidelines and, if needed, adjust a little to maintain a healthy weight. A fit dog is a happy dog!

Raw For Beginners

Dogs naturally eat raw foods as their digestive systems are built for it. But if your dog is used to eating processed kibble or canned food then they would probably have been digesting a lot more grain-based proteins –not meat proteins. You’ll need to make the change over from this modern, processed way of feeding back to a natural raw meaty diet slowly, to allow your dog’s digestive system the time to re-adjust.

The basic rule of thumb is to make the transition to the raw fresh diet over 5 days or more (especially if your dog is getting older). Each day, introduce a higher and higher proportion of our new dinners and bones with your dog’s usual food. Don’t be tempted to rush things because your dog’s system will be detoxifying during this period as it starts to eat a more natural and more easily digestible diet. Adding some live yoghurt or cottage cheese for extra pro-biotics can also help the transition.

You may choose to take two weeks or perhaps even more if your dog is older, has been on processed foods for a long time or has been ill.

Most dogs make this transition with no noticeable affects but some may find that for a day or two the detoxification process causes them to vomit or have a little diarrhoea as their bodies excrete the unwanted toxins. Try to see this as a good sign that your dog’s long-term health is about to take a turn for the better!

Keeping It Fresh

Once our fresh meals and bones are prepared they are snapped frozen to trap in all that natural goodness. Our simple serving guide has been designed to ensure whatever your dog’s feed need, we have a pack size that can be used in two days ensuring that it’s always fresh and nutritious.

Fresh feeders (that’s you) need to be a little more organised and defrost their dog’s dinners and bones in the fridge the night before (or if you have the larger packs, the day before). Of course you could defrost the dinners in the microwave but never the bones, which will become brittle and dangerous. It’s important you don’t cook the meals or you’ll lose all those health-giving nutrients.

Juicy Stuff!

Our meals often have a certain amount of liquid in them but don’t be tempted to throw it away …it’s a meaty-vegie-fruit juice! We never add water (even for what other brands call ‘manufacturing purposes’?!). But we do have to crush our vegies and fruits to make all their nutrients available in a proper form that your dog can easily digest. These natural juices are a power-packed tonic for long-term good health.

A Bit About Bones

Bones are the ultimate doggie superfood and should make up 1/3 of your adult dog’s daily feed need. They’re packed with essential nutrition and are the only natural way to keep teeth and gums clean and healthy. They are also vital in maintaining the natural balance of calcium and phosphorus and keeping number 2’s firm (nice to know eh?). Puppies also love raw, meaty bones and can also get stuck in from around 6 - 8 weeks but they need extra bones to growing. (See our "Puppy! Help!" pages for more information).

Here are a few essential tips about proper bone management;

1. Make your dog work at the bones by serving them whole where possible. It’s good dental care and a good body workout. If your dog is particularly small you may wish to slice between the lamb ribs so they can tackle them one at a time.

2. It’s a well known rule but well worth saying again: Never Ever feed cooked bones to your dogs. Cooking changes the molecular structure of bone, turning them brittle and when crunched they can splitter and can get stuck as it’s ingested, digested, or passed. These incidents can be very nasty, very expensive and well, even very fatal - so that’s why it’s a Never Ever rule.

3. Some dogs vomit up pieces of undigested bone. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly natural and it just means it’s a little large to digest. Next time they’ll hopefully remember to chew a bit longer.

4. Dogs love to bury their bones (not in your prized garden bed with any luck). It’s smart because the earth has many micro-organisms that start breaking the food down for later. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly natural thing to do. Just don’t let ‘em in the house with it.

5. Bones have so many benefits and almost all dogs are instinctive about chewing them but there are a few dogs can be a little too enthusiastic and swallow large pieces. In the wild, puppies would see their older pack members chew on bones and learn from them. But modern dogs don’t always have that experience and some are swallowers instead of chewers.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THOSE FEW DOGS WHO ARE INEXPERIENCED OR GREEDY, SPEEDY BONE EATERS.

In nature puppies learn how to eat bones by watching the other pack members. Often today's pups don't get that first hand experience and sometimes their enthusiasm for a delicious meaty bone can mean they goggle them down without chewing properly. If your dog’s inexperienced with bones or a fast or greedy eater then it extremely important to watch them with the bones for the first few times until you are satisfied they are chewing them and not just swallowing them.

If they are greedily swallowing without chewing first it's possible they could have a choking or digestive problem and we don’t want that. Try feeding your dog their meaty dinner recipe first to abate their hunger a little. If that doesn’t work, cease feeding bones and try our ground up Lazzzy Bonezzz instead.

Extra Food for Thought

Many very well intentioned and informed vets also recommend strengthening your dog's health by fasting them once a week. It sounds cruel doesn't it! ...but actually it's a very kind way to safeguard their long-term health by allowing their system to regularly detoxify as it evolved to do in nature. Fasting allows your dog’s gut to rest and the liver to cleanse (something it can only do when the stomach is empty). It really isn’t mean; the dogs don't miss out and infact have greatly heightened levels of energy, so if you think it could help your dog’s overall health see your vet about giving it a go! And why not check out our full range of tips and take a looksie at our ‘Further Reading’ section too! There's lots of great ways to treat your puppy dog naturally, gently and effectively without subjecting them to a lifetime of over perscribed harsh and often harmful drugs.

©  A Proper Dog’s Dinner. All rights reserved. 2010.

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