Rv. 6.1 Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
Rv. 6.1 Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
Rv. 6.1 Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
Guide To Prey
Model Raw
Table Of Contents
The following is a compilation of information taken from numerous online and print sources and is meant to provide
basic knowledge of the prey model raw diet for canines. It is not meant to replace any veterinary medical opinion or
the advice of any canine nutritionist. The author has tried to ensure all the information in this document is accurate
and complete but the author will not be held liable in any way for any errors or omissions in any content, or for any
loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content.
Sources include, but are not limited to:
Dogster.com (Raw Food Diet forum)
RawFed.com
Raw Feeding Yahoo! Group
Raw Chat Yahoo! Group
USDA Nutrition Database
This guide contains a lot of information which can be overwhelming. That is why it is divided into five
sections. Those five sections are divided even further. You can choose to read through the entire guide
or just read certain sections or just read certain parts within a section.
If you are interested in knowing if you can feed cougar meat, you would go to Can I Feed? If you are
interested in how much to feed your dog, you would go to Basic Information & Frequently Asked
Questions.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions, I can be reached at Chances website:
http://&KDQFHV/LWWOH:HEVLWH/contact-chance.html
Diana and Chance
Table Of Contents
Basic Information & Frequently Asked Questions
What is Prey Model Raw?
What To Feed: A Brief Introduction
Know Thy Dog!
Portion Sizes: How Big Should I Feed?
Meat, Bones & Organs: How Much Of Each Should I Feed?
Daily Feeding Amounts: How Much Food Should I Feed Per Day?
Meal Frequency: How Often Should I Feed?
Where Should I Feed?
Organs: Are They Really Needed?
Vegetables, Fruits & Grains: Why Arent They Fed?
Supplements & Vitamins: Should I Use Them?
Balancing The Diet
Calculating Percentages
Gulpers, Bolters & Non-Chewers: Ideas On Feeding Them
Taking Away Food: How To Do It Safely And Without Causing Problems
Leftovers & Refreezing Meat
Feeding On A Schedule & Bile Vomiting
Poop
Water Consumption
Bacteria
Parasites
Veterinarians
Kibble & Health Problems
Some Benefits Of A Raw Diet
The Risks Of Raw
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Table Of Contents
Bones
Never Feed Cooked Bones
Edible Bones
Wreck Or Recreational Bones
The Dos & Donts Of Bones
Average Bone Percentages
Pg. 17
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Pg. 20
Pg. 20
Can I Feed?
Bear
Brains, Eyeballs & Spines
Carnivores
Enhanced Meat (includes naturally occurring sodium levels for various meats)
Expired Meat
Fish
Freezer Burnt Meat
Frozen Meat
Ground & Chopped Meat
Horses & Other From-The-Farm Livestock
Marsupials
Old Meat
Poultry, Waterfowl & Eggs
Raccoons
Roadkill
Shellfish & Other Seafood
Whole Prey
Wild Boar/Hog
Wild Game
Wild Rodents & Rabbits
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Getting Started!
Find Sources Before You Start
Preparing & Storing Meals
Starting A Prey Model Raw Diet
Keeping A Journal
The 1st 2 Weeks Chicken
Alternatives To Chicken
Picking New Proteins
Introducing New Proteins
Introducing Organs
Liver
Non-Liver Organs
After Organs
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Table Of Contents
Retail Meat Cut Pictures
Beef
Pork
Lamb
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~BASIC INFORMATION
&
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS~
What Is Prey Model Raw?
A prey model raw diet strives to come as close as possible to the diet of a wild canine without
requiring our dogs to go out into the world and hunt wild prey animals.
It is based on a diet of whole meat cuts, connective tissue, fat, bone, blood, organs, etc. It uses a
variety of cuts from a variety of prey animals in order to feed all the nutrients found in whole
prey. Because of this, it is also called FrankenPrey. Whole prey is fed when available.
A wolf pack primarily hunts and kills large ruminants such as deer, elk and moose. Because of
this, venison is considered the most natural prey animal to feed.
When large prey is scarce, a wolf pack will also hunt smaller prey animals.
Individual wolves or wolf pairs cant safely bring down large prey so they hunt and kill smaller
animals such as squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, etc.
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Pig
Rabbit, wild and domestic if it gets a lot of exercise
Reindeer
Sheep, both domestic and wild
Squirrel
If you have access to a variety of affordable red meat with edible bone, there is no need to feed
poultry at all.
Each prey animal you feed has different levels of nutrients and by feeding a variety of these prey
animals, your dog gets a balanced diet over time. It is recommended to feed at least three
different prey animal species.
Ethnic markets typically carry a large variety of hard to find animal parts, organs and even whole
prey animals.
There is more in-depth information about what can and should not be fed in the Can I Feed?
section.
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Daily Feeding Amounts: How Much Food Should I Feed Per Day?
Prey model raw is fed by food weight, not volume like kibble. In the beginning, you will want to
have a good digital kitchen scale to weigh out meal portions. As you get used to feeding raw,
you may learn to eyeball meals.
When starting a raw diet, start with 2% of your dogs ideal adult body weight.
The standard feeding percentages for adult dogs is:
1.5% of body weight per day for slight weight loss
2.0% 3.0% of body weight per day for maintenance
3.5% of body weight per day for slight weight gain
Some dogs, especially smaller breeds or working dogs, may need to be fed a higher percentage
per day to maintain weight.
Some dogs may need a lower percentage per day to maintain weight.
The standard feeding percentages for puppies is:
2.0% 3.0% of the estimated ideal adult body weight
OR
10% of the current ideal body weight, changes as the puppy grows
The most important thing to remember is to feed for a healthy body condition and adjust
accordingly. You should be able to easily feel your dogs ribs by lightly running your hands
across its sides and your dog should have a visible waist when viewed from above.
If your dog is getting a little padding on the ribs, cut back the amount fed by a 0.25% and see
how that affects the body condition.
If your dog could stand a little more padding, feed a 0.25% more.
Make all adjustments slowly and remember it is better to have a dog that is slightly thin than one
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Calculating Percentages
Our example dog will weigh 50 lbs. and we will feed 2% of its body weight per day.
1.) Convert the percentage into a decimal number.
2 100 = 0.02
2.) Multiply your dogs IDEAL weight by the percentage you just converted into a decimal
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Poop
Raw fed poop reflects what has been eaten but it is typically firm, small and essentially odorless
as far as poop goes.
When a dog is starting on a raw diet, you may see some soft, badly formed, oddly textured
and/or oddly colored poop. Dogs sometimes have trouble digesting raw food properly after
being on highly processed commercial foods and it takes a while for everything to start working
properly.
It is not unusual for a dog new to raw to go a couple of days without pooping.
Diarrhea, which is loose and watery poop that is frequent and/or urgent, can occur but with some
basic feeding changes it should go away after a day or two.
Poop with some flecks of bright red blood is a sign of large intestine irritation, especially if the
dog has had diarrhea or has been straining to go, or is a result of small scratches in the
gastrointestinal tract caused by very bony poop.
When loose poop occurs during the starting phase, there are several things that can be done:
Remove a little skin and/or fat, especially if the poop is a little mucousy. Once the poop
is normal for a couple of days, slowly start removing less and less of the skin and/or fat.
Feed a little more bone. Once the poop is normal for a couple of days, slowly start
feeding cuts with less bone.
Slightly reduce meal size or, if you are not weighing meals, start weighing the meals in
case it is caused by overfeeding. Remember to keep track of treats given as well to see if
you are overfeeding.
When loose poop occurs during the introduction of a new protein or organ, go back to the last
thing fed that produced a normal poop and feed that until the poop is normal for a couple of
days. Then start adding in very small amounts of the new protein or organ again.
Monitoring the poop is crucial with a raw diet.
Poop that is too firm or white and crumbly means too much bone has been fed so the next
meal should be meatier.
Poop that is too soft may mean too little bone or too much organ or too much overall
food.
Poop that is too soft with mucous may mean too much fat and/or skin.
Knowing how different combinations of bone, meat, fat and organs interact together for a
particular dog helps avoid surprises. For example, if a meal is supposed to be bone-in but you
only have boneless then you know the poop will be soft and the next couple of meals need to be
bone-in.
There can even be differences in appearances caused by the animal fed or if large meals of
certain organs are fed. For example, feeding a lot of chicken may produce a yellow or orange
poop. Feeding a lot of liver at once may produce a dark poop. Generally the darker the meat,
the darker the poop.
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Water Consumption
Meat is made up mostly of water whereas kibble has almost no moisture content left in it. This
means most dogs will drink much less water on a raw diet. As a result, some dogs do not get
enough water.
If your dog doesnt drink enough water, you can try:
A pet drinking fountain. Many animals are attracted to running water.
Placing your dogs meals in a bowl with some water prior to feeding the meat. This will
flavor the water slightly. You can put the bowl of water next to the meat when you feed
your dog.
Adding some homemade broth or other dog-safe flavoring to your dogs water.
Bacteria
Your dog is more likely to become sick from the bacteria and deadly mold toxins in kibble than
from human-quality meats bought at the grocery store or butcher or USDA-inspected meat
processors.
The starches, rancid fats and sugars in kibble provide much better food sources for bacteria than
the proteins in raw meat.
Bacteria in raw meat can make your dog sick but usually only if your dog already has an
immunocompromised system or some underlying, undiagnosed problem or disease.
Any change in diet, even switching from one type of kibble to another, can trigger an underlying
condition but since few veterinarians know anything about raw diets, raw diets typically get
blamed for causing a problem that already existed.
Dog saliva contains lysozyme, an enzyme that lyses (breaks down) and destroys harmful
bacteria.
Their short digestive tract is designed to push food and bacteria through quickly without giving
bacteria time to colonize.
The extremely acidic environment in the gut is also a good bacteria colonization deterrent.
Remember, dogs can lick themselves, lick other animals, eat things that are rotting and eat poop
all without getting sick.
All dogs, even kibble-fed dogs, may shed salmonella and other bacteria in their feces. This
actually proves that the dog can effectively eat bacteria-laden foods and pass those bacteria out
of their systems with no health problems.
Bacteria are everywhere! Humans evolved in the presence of bacteria and bacterial exposure is
absolutely necessary for the development of a healthy immune system.
Tens-of-thousands of immunocompromised humans feed their pets raw diets without getting
sick.
It is very easy to minimize human bacterial exposure and these practices should apply to people
who feed kibble as well.
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Parasites
Meat fit for human consumption from a USDA inspected source and/or processed in a USDA
facility should not have any danger of parasites.
In fact, many common parasite dangers have been completely eradicated from the U.S. meat
supply. USDA pork no longer carries the danger of trichinosis.
If you are feeding wild game, meat that is not for human consumption or meat from a non-USDA
inspected farm or processor, check the meat and organs prior to feeding. If something doesnt
look or smell right, dont feed it.
Freezing meat until it is frozen solid and keeping the meat frozen for at least 2 weeks will take
care of most parasites. Other parasites such as tapeworm will need to be frozen for at least a
month.
Veterinarians
Veterinarians see the health problems caused by improperly formulated home-prepared diets,
whether they are cooked or raw, so many veterinarians are against these diets.
Most veterinary schools spend little time teaching animal nutrition because they are busy
teaching everything else a veterinarian has to know by the time she or he graduates. At many of
these schools, what is taught is from material provided by the makers of prescription
diets. Many of these companies also offer free pet food to veterinary students and veterinary
technician students.
The average veterinarian graduates with about the same level of canine nutrition knowledge as
an educated dog owner. Most know next to nothing about home-prepared diets and know even
less about raw diets.
Veterinarians may bring up the lack of scientific research as a reason not to feed a raw diet of
any kind, let alone prey model raw.
Who would fund such a study? The kibble industry is a multi-billion dollar industry so they
would not fund a study that had any chance of showing that there may be something better than
their kibble.
Veterinarians may say bones damage teeth or will kill your dog. The Bones section tells you
what you need to know about safely feeding bones.
Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
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Bones
~BONES~
Never Feed Cooked Bones!!!
Cooked bones are dangerous and can be deadly. These include smoked, dehydrated and boiled
bones.
Cooking causes bones to become brittle which means they easily splinter. Cooking also makes
them much less digestible.
Since they are less digestible they can cause blockages and splintered bones can cause
perforations from the esophagus all the way to the anus.
Edible Bones
Edible bones are essential in a prey model raw diet. They provide the bulk needed to form a
proper stool and are a source of calcium, phosphorous and many other nutrients.
They are covered with lots and lots of meat and are soft enough to be eaten without causing
damage to the teeth.
They are found in animals like:
Poultry
Rabbits
Goats
Lambs
Calves/Veal
Pigs
Rodents
What makes a bone edible depends on your dog.
Some dogs can easily eat lamb leg bones while some dogs struggle with turkey legs.
Some dogs will try to shear through beef ribs in one bite while others will nibble away at the
edible portions of the ribs and leave the inedible portions alone.
Unlike cooked bones, raw edible bones are fairly flexible, rarely splinter and are fully digestible.
There is always a possibility that a raw bone can cause problems such as perforations, blockages,
choking, tooth fractures, etc. but most of the time, the raw bone was improperly fed such as
feeding something that was too small, bare or not enough meat, a cut bone, etc.
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Bones
Even though they have the potential to cause so much damage, many pet food companies market
them as being the perfect tooth cleaning chew for dogs. Many grocery stores and butchers
market these bones, stripped of most or all of their meat, as being perfect for dogs as well.
Wreck Bones
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Bones
Wreck Bones
You can feed a raw wreck bone if it is covered with plenty of meat but only if your dog will not
try to eat the bone.
Beef Shank
Venison Leg
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Bones
Beef Ribs
Beef Leg
Do:
Monitor your dog while it eats, even if your dog is a raw expert.
Feed meaty bones, the more meat the better.
Feed large to prevent the possibility of trying to swallow without chewing.
Learn the doggie Heimlich maneuver if it will give you peace of mind.
Remember that more dogs die from choking on kibble and tennis balls than from choking
on raw bones and meat.
Dont:
What do you do if your dog is eating and a piece of bare edible bone falls out? Follow the know
thy dog! rule. If the bone is not jagged, sharp or splintered and you know your dog can safely
eat it, by all means feed it. If not, get rid of it.
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Bones
Chicken
Back ~ 44% Bone
Breast ~ 20% Bone
Drumstick ~ 33% Bone
Leg Quarter ~ 27% Bone
Neck with Skin ~ 36% Bone & 39% Skin and Separable Fat
Neck without Skin ~ 59% Bone (calculated using the neck with skin percentages)
o
Duck
Domestic, Whole ~ 28% Bone
Wild, Whole ~ 38% Bone
Wild, Breast ~ 15% Bone
Fowl & Poultry, Miscellaneous
Cornish Game Hen ~ 39% Bone
Goose ~ 19% Bone
Guinea Hen ~ 17% Bone
Pheasant ~ 14% Bone
Quail ~ 10% Bone
Squab (Pigeon) ~ 23% Bone
Lamb
Australian (trimmed to 1/8" fat)
o Foreshank ~ 42% Bone
o Leg
Center Slice ~ 6% Bone
Shank Half ~ 17% Bone
Whole (Shank & Sirloin) ~ 14% Bone
o Loin ~ 28% Bone
o Rib ~ 26% Bone
o Shoulder
Arm ~ 9% Bone
Blade ~ 28% Bone
Whole (Arm & Blade) ~ 22% Bone
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Bones
Pork
Carcass ~ 18% Bone & Skin
Feet ~ 30% Bone & Hard Tissue
Leg (uncured Ham)
o Whole ~ 17% Bone & Skin
o Rump Half ~ 9% Bone
Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
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Bones
Rabbit, Domestic
Forequarters ~ 22% Bone (Journal Of Animal Science 1983, 57:899-907)
Loin Region ~ 10% Bone (Journal Of Animal Science 1983, 57:899-907)
Hindquarters ~ 17% Bone (Journal Of Animal Science 1983, 57:899-907)
Whole Rabbit, uneviscerated ~ 8% Bone (Hubbard Feeds rabbit management guide)
Turkey
Back ~ 40% Bone
Breast ~ 10% Bone
Leg ~ 17% Bone
Neck without Skin ~ 42% Bone
Thigh ~ 15% Bone & Cartilage
Wing ~ 33% Bone
Whole ~ 21% Bone
Veal
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Can I Feed?
~Can I Feed?~
Bear
Bears can carry a form of trichinosis that is very resistant to cold.
If you choose to feed raw bear meat, it should only be fed after a very long period of being
frozen solid. The colder the climate the bear lived in, the longer it would need to be frozen. The
freezing period does not start until the game is frozen solid.
It is typically recommended that the meat be thoroughly cooked and not fed raw.
From: http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00262.pdf
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Can I Feed?
o Trigeminal Ganglia
o Eyes
o Vertebral Columns
o Spinal Cords
o Dorsal Root Ganglia
For all cattle regardless of age:
o Small Intestines
o Tonsils
Body parts from animals that were slaughtered for human consumption from USDA-inspected
sources should be prion disease free.
According to the World Health Organization, there is currently no evidence that Chronic
Wasting Disease can be transmitted to humans. Hunters are still advised to take common sense
precautions when field dressing and processing members of the deer family where CWD is
found.
What does all this mean?
Feeding these parts from animals slaughtered for human consumption should cause you no
anxiety.
If feeding wild venison, check with wildlife officials to see if CWD is a problem and take proper
precautions.
If you are still worried, feed pork brains, eyeballs and spines. No prion diseases have ever been
associated with pork.
Carnivores
Wild carnivores will kill other carnivores but rarely eat them unless it is a time of famine.
Many raw feeders will not feed carnivores to their dogs as it is unnatural in the wild. This
includes mink, otter, marten, feline family members, canid family members, etc.
A general guideline is: if it has canine teeth, do not eat.
Enhanced Meat
Meat that is enhanced with sodium or broth can cause diarrhea.
Commonly enhanced meat includes poultry, lamb and pork. Some meat producers are starting to
enhance beef as well.
The amount of sodium naturally found in meat varies by animal and even by cut of meat.
For example, a whole turkey naturally contains 74 mg. of sodium but a turkey neck contains 105
mg. of sodium.
The amount of naturally occurring sodium can vary from animal to animal in the same species so
if the sodium content shown on the label is slightly higher than average sodium content, that
doesnt necessarily mean the meat was enhanced.
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Can I Feed?
The following list shows the approximate amounts of naturally occurring sodium in a 4 oz.
serving of various animals.
Antelope ~ 58 mg.
Beaver ~ 58 mg.
Beef (carcass, separable lean & fat) ~ 67 mg.
Beefalo (composite of cuts) ~ 88 mg.
Bison (ground) ~ 79 mg.
Caribou ~ 65 mg.
Chicken ~ 79 mg.
Deer ~ 58 mg.
Duck, Domesticated ~ 71 mg.
Duck, Wild ~ 63 mg.
Elk ~ 66 mg.
Goat ~ 93 mg.
Goose, Domesticated ~ 83 mg.
Guinea Hen ~ 76 mg.
Horse ~ 60 mg.
Lamb (composite, trimmed retail cuts) ~ 84 mg.
Moose ~ 74 mg.
Muskrat ~ 93 mg.
Pheasant ~ 45 mg.
Pork (carcass, separable lean & fat) ~ 48 mg.
Quail ~ 60 mg.
Rabbit, Domesticated (composite of cuts) ~ 46 mg.
Rabbit, Wild ~ 57 mg.
Squab ~ 61 mg.
Squirrel ~ 117 mg.
Turkey ~ 74 mg.
Veal (composite, trimmed retail cuts) ~ 93 mg.
Water Buffalo ~ 60 mg.
To determine the natural sodium content of a particular cut of meat, go to the USDA National
Nutrient Database Foods List at: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list
After your dog is used to raw, you may be able to feed enhanced meat occasionally but it should
not be something you feed on a regular basis.
Expired Meat
Feeding meat that has expired is a personal choice. Some canids even prefer to eat meat they
have cached and dug up a few days later.
If meat is smelly, try rinsing it with water to see if the smell goes away.
Some raw feeders will also wash smelly meat with a tiny drop of mild soap to remove the
smell. Be sure to rinse well to remove all traces of soap.
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Can I Feed?
Dont feed anything that is moldy.
Fish
Fish can be fed whole, including with the bones and head. Some people remove sharp fins and
the tail prior to feeding.
Fatty ocean fish contains the highest levels of Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).
While high in Omega 3 EFAs, large predatory ocean fish such as tuna, king mackerel, shark,
swordfish, golden bass, golden snapper and tilefish should not be fed on a regular basis due to
these fish being more contaminated with things like mercury and PCBs.
Tilapia and catfish contain higher levels of Omega 6 EFAs which are not needed in the diet.
Of the freshwater fish, trout is typically highest in Omega 3 EFAs.
Some fish requires special measures to safely feed raw and some should not be fed at all.
1.) Fish Hooks & Lures
Fish that are caught using hooks and lures can and do swallow these items. The only way to
recover them is to kill them.
For fish that are under the legal minimum size and have swallowed the hook, anglers can only
cut the line and release the fish back into the water.
Other times, the line may break.
Fish can survive with hooks and lures still in their guts so please be aware of this possibility
anytime you feed whole fish that have not been gutted, especially if you catch your own fish.
2.) Salmon Poisoning & Pacific Northwest Fish
Salmon, trout, lamprey, sculpin, redside shiner, shad, sturgeon, candlefish and the large-scale
sucker who spend their lives in coastal streams and rivers in the Pacific Northwest can cause
Salmon Poisoning.
Salmon Poisoning is caused when the fish is infected with a parasite called Nanophyetus
salmincola. The parasite itself is relatively harmless but the parasite can be infected with a
rickettsial organism called Neorickettsia helminthoeca. This microorganism is what causes
salmon poisoning.
Salmon Poisoning is fatal if not treated within days of infection.
Common signs of salmon poisoning include:
Vomiting
Lack of Appetite
Fever
Diarrhea
Weakness
Swollen Lymph Nodes
Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
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Can I Feed?
Dehydration
Deep freezing kills the parasite and the microorganism which makes the raw fish safe to
feed. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association recommends freezing for at least 2 weeks
after the fish is frozen solid. The freezing period does not start until the fish is frozen solid.
3.) Scombroid Fish Poisoning
Scombroid Fish Poisoning is caused by histamine contamination, occurs within a few hours of
eating and resembles an allergic reaction.
It occurs in members of the Scombridae fish family which includes tuna, mackerel, skipjack,
bonito, mahi mahi, bluefish, marlin, and escolar.
It is caused by improper refrigeration of raw fish and poisoning can occur even in cooked or
canned fish.
It can be prevented by prompt and continuous refrigeration of raw fish and not leaving raw fish
out at room temperature for extended periods of time.
Since raw fish is one food item that many dogs prefer to eat frozen or partially frozen, feeding
fish frozen or partially frozen can help prevent Scombroid Fish Poisoning.
Remember though, unless you have handled the fish from catch to feeding, improper
refrigeration and histamine contamination could occur at any time.
4.) Farmed Fish
Farmed fish are fed inappropriate and many times contaminated diets, are exposed to more
pollution and contain more contaminants than wild-caught fish. Commercial fish farms also
harm the environment.
It is not advised to feed farmed fish.
Frozen Meat
Feeding frozen and partially frozen cuts of meats and organs is fine.
In fact, some dogs will only eat certain organs or prey animals, such as fish, when it is frozen or
partially frozen. This is typically a texture issue.
Feeding frozen or partially frozen can also aid in the tooth cleaning benefits of raw by
prolonging chewing time.
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Can I Feed?
Some dogs do not do well with foods that are not completely thawed though.
Some issues with frozen/partially frozen foods include:
Though infrequent and usually a sign of an underlying tooth problem, slab fractures may
occur when a power chewer chomps down hard on a bone or thick piece of meat that is
frozen solid.
Getting frustrated with the harder chewing and trying to swallow the food whole.
Regurgitation due to the food not sitting well in the stomach.
Aversion to the texture of frozen or partially frozen foods.
Use your dog as a guide as to whether or not you feed foods frozen or partially frozen.
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Can I Feed?
With ground pet food from a butcher or ground mixes from an online supplier, you
may not know the percentages of meat, bone and organ.
With home grinding, most grinders can only do very soft chicken bones and it can take a
very long time to grind. And it is messy.
Some nutrients and minerals start breaking down as soon as the meat is ground. Taurine
is one of these.
Marsupials
Marsupials are pouched mammals. This group includes kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils,
wombats and opossums.
Some marsupials are carnivorous, such as the Tasmanian devil.
Some are omnivorous, such as the North American opossum and Brushtail possum.
Some are herbivores, such as the kangaroo, wombat and koala.
If you have an opportunity to feed marsupials, follow the guidelines on what is appropriate to
feed to your dog.
Old Meat
Old meat is fine to feed as long as it has been not been allowed to thaw and spoil. It may not
have much smell to it so it may not be as appetizing to your dog.
If you have thawed the old meat out and notice an off-smell to it, you may want to throw it away.
Even meat that is a decade or more old is fine to feed if it has been properly stored.
Beginners Guide To Prey Model Raw
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Can I Feed?
Raccoons
Raccoons can carry Baylisascaris procyonis, a very nasty roundworm that can be passed to both
you and your dog. Infection with the larval form of this roundworm is serious and is often fatal.
There is no known treatment.
Raccoons also carry other parasites and scavenge through garbage.
Feeding raccoon meat is not advised.
Roadkill
Check your local laws for regulations on picking up roadkill.
Where legal to pick up, it is recommended to freeze roadkill for at least one month.
Use common sense when deciding whether or not a roadkilled animal is safe to feed. For
example, if you passed that spot an hour ago and the roadkill wasnt there, it should be safe. If it
has been there for a while, smells or is starting to bloat, leave it be.
Follow the guidelines on what is appropriate to feed to your dog when deciding which animals to
pick up.
Whole Prey
Whole prey is simply a prey animal that has not been butchered into smaller pieces. It is intact.
It may have the guts removed or it may not. It may be plucked or skinned or descaled or it may
not be.
Plucking, skinning or descaling is not necessary.
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Can I Feed?
One thing to look for on whole prey is ticks. If you see ticks, either manually remove the ticks
or skin the animal.
Even dead ticks can spread disease.
Skulls can be fed though some skulls are hard enough that they need to be cracked so the dog can
get to the brains and tissues inside the cavity.
When feeding whole prey remember the know thy dog! rule for safe prey size and safe bones.
Frozen Whole Prey
Whole prey can also be fed frozen or partially frozen if your dog can handle frozen meat.
Wild Boar/Hog
Wild hogs/boars can carry a form of trichinosis that is very resistant to cold.
If you choose to feed raw wild hog/boar meat, it should only be fed after a very long period of
being frozen solid. The colder the climate the hog lived in, the longer it would need to be frozen.
The freezing period does not start until the animal is frozen solid.
It is typically recommended that the meat be thoroughly cooked and not fed raw.
Wild Game
Wild game may be fed fresh but it is recommended to deep freeze for at least 24 hours to kill any
parasites the animal may have. Two weeks to one month is considered better. The freezing
period does not start until the animal is frozen solid.
1 month freezing period from: http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00262.pdf
Always inspect wild game before feeding. Look for bullet fragments or buckshot. Examine
organs. If anything doesnt look right, err on the side of caution and do not feed.
If you see ticks either skin the animal or manually remove the ticks. Even dead ticks can spread
disease. If a game animal was infested with ticks, you may want to discard the meat as this can
be a sign of overall ill health.
Domestic feeder rodents can be purchased from several sources including reptile suppliers.
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Getting Started!
~Getting Started!~
Find Sources Before You Start
Finding affordable sources before you start and seeing what kind of organ variety is available
locally makes feeding prey model raw much easier.
Ethnic markets typically carry a greater variety of prey animals and organs.
Check local meat processors, butcher shops and food co-ops.
Talk to hunters to see if they have any freezer-burnt or old game they need to get rid of to
make room for new kills.
Talk to neighbors and let them know you are interested in any freezer-burnt meat or raw,
unseasoned meat they are planning to throw away.
Post on Craigslist or other online boards.
Check grocery store ads for meat sales. Pay special attention to expiration dates on meat
and find out when meat at the expiration date goes on sale. Dont be afraid to ask for a
steeper discount on meat that is expiring.
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Getting Started!
If starting a puppy, introduction of new proteins and organs can be done at a faster pace. The
younger the puppy, the less time it has been kibble fed and the easier it is for its body to get used
to raw food.
An adult dog can also be transitioned at a faster pace if you think it can handle it. This is a case
of know thy dog! But remember if you move too quickly the result may be gastrointestinal
problems such as diarrhea.
Keeping A Journal
Keeping a raw journal is invaluable when starting prey model raw.
It is a way to track what went into your dog and what came out so you can better understand how
different ratios of meat, bones and organs affects your dog so there wont be any surprises later
on.
This can be something as simple as a notebook where you write down what you fed each day and
any instances of loose poop, diarrhea and/or vomiting. Or it can be a fancy computer
spreadsheet where you track cuts of meat fed, amounts fed, bone percentages, etc.
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Getting Started!
Alternatives To Chicken
There is nothing that actually says you must start with chicken or with any particular meat at
all. Chicken is preferred because it is easy on the system, is loaded with stool firming edible
bone, is cheap and easy to get.
Because cooking alters the chemical makeup of food, you may find that your dog that has an
allergy or intolerance to the chicken in commercial dog food will be able to eat raw chicken.
Dogs can also be allergic or intolerant to the feed an animal is fed so switching meat brands can
help.
If raw chicken is out, you can try feeding turkey. Turkey is also a fairly easy on the system meat
though some dogs may have a harder time eating some of the bones in turkey. Turkey can be
harder to find, is more expensive and finding affordable turkey that hasnt been enhanced can be
next to impossible in some areas.
Average bone percentages can be found in the Bones section.
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Getting Started!
one week period, you can introduce the next new protein.
Then you can transition to the next new protein until your dog is eating 1/3 of the 1st protein, 1/3
of the 2nd protein and 1/3 of the new protein and has had normal stool for a one week period.
Introducing Organs
After your dog is eating 3 proteins and producing normal stool, you should start adding organs.
The introduction of organs is a little different than it is with proteins. The introduction is done
extremely slowly with a wait in between to see how the stool is affected.
Some dogs hate raw organs and for these dogs, there are a few things you can try:
Lightly sear with less sear each time
Sprinkle with garlic, parmesan or dog-safe seasonings
Feed frozen
Puree and feed
Mince and mix with ground meat
Freeze-dry
Dehydrate
When all else fails, shove down the dogs throat though hopefully it wont come to that
Some dogs love organs though and will happily eat them with no fuss.
Some dogs can eat a weeks worth of organs in a single meal. Some dogs may need to have the
organs spread out in 3, 4 or 5 meals. Some dogs need some extra bone when fed organs no
matter the amount feed. The stool will tell you what your dog needs when it comes to eating
organs.
Liver
Liver is the 1st organ to introduce and makes up 2.5% 5% of the prey model raw diet with 5%
being considered ideal. Some dogs may not be able to tolerate the full 5% no matter what you
do.
The easiest way to feed liver is to freeze it and shave off one paper thin slice. Feed that one
paper thin slice then wait a day.
If the stool is normal then the next day, feed two paper thin slices of liver and wait a day.
If the stool is normal then the next day, feed three paper thin slices of liver and wait a day.
Continue to do this until the stool becomes loose or you reach 5% of the weekly liver portion for
your dog.
If your dogs stool started to become loose before you reached 5%, the last amount of liver you
fed that produced normal stool is the maximum amount of liver you want to feed in a single
day. Use this to figure out how many meals a week you need to feed liver.
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Getting Started!
Do not introduce anything new until your dog is eating its full portion of liver and has normal
stool for one week.
Non-Liver Organs
Introducing other non-liver organs is the next step.
Non-liver organs make up 2.5% 5% of the prey model raw diet with 5% being considered
ideal.
Your dog should ideally be fed a variety of non-liver organs from a variety of prey
animals. Organs can be hard to find though. If you can only find one type of non-liver organ,
that organ will make up the full 5% of the non-liver organ portion of prey model raw.
To introduce a new organ, follow the steps you took to introduce liver and to figure out how
often per week to feed the non-liver organs.
Do not introduce anything new until your dog is eating its full portion of the non-liver organ and
has normal stool for one week.
After Organs
Your dog is now happily eating three different proteins, liver and a non-liver organ or two. The
stool looks good, firm but not too hard. Whats next?
If you havent already achieved the ideal percentages of bones, meat and organs, experiment
with different combinations of bone-in meals, boneless meals and organs to achieve 80% 85%
meat, 10% 15% bone, 2.5% 5% liver and 2.5% 5% other organs in a one week period while
keeping the stool looking good.
Keep introducing new things into the diet. New proteins, new organs, organs from a variety of
prey animals, whole prey, animal heads, etc.
Now that you and your dog are getting to be pros at this raw food thing, you know not to panic
over a little loose stool, a day of diarrhea or the occasional stomach upset.
Think back to when your dog was on kibble and youll probably realize your dog had these same
little upsets happen then too and you didnt get overly worried.
Think about what you fed your dog that may have caused the upset. Was it a new food, more
food, more organs, a fatty piece of meat, etc.? Did your dog maybe get into something it
shouldnt have, get treats from other people it doesnt normally get, etc.? Did your dog exercise
more than normal, become stressed, etc.? Was it hot out?
All kinds of things can cause gastrointestinal upsets, not just food.
Have fun watching your dog enjoy its food!
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