# can a dog eat too much meat(raw)



## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

hi every one. i am confused about how much to feed my dog. i did the calculator for raw diet and it suggested i feed .84 pounds once a day. my dog typical diet is morning 1/2-1 cup br.rice/quinoa/couscous mix with raw and cooked veggies and app. 1 pound of meat. cooked chix and raw beef.on busy days(for dog) he gets lunch with about 1/2 pound of meat. and dinner he gets 1 cup breakfast carb mix with about 2 pounds combined raw cooked meat.He is completley healthy. he is 16 inches at the withers and weighs 42 pounds.my question is am i feeding him a balanced enough diet. can one give too much meat.He does have 3 fish meals a week with bones for obv. reasons. he REFUSES to eat raw chicken including chix bones. also what other RMBs are good to feed. thanks


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## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

What breed of dog? Unless it is a dog that is meant to be stocky and low slung like a corgi.. 16"and 42 pounds sounds.. hefty.

My American cockers are 14.5 and 15.75" at withers.. and 21 and 23 pounds respectively. They eat about a pound a day as we do agility and a lot of hiking. The amount you are feeding sounds like way more than needed.


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

Am I reading this right?

You are feeding a 42 lb dog over 3 lbs of meat per day, PLUS grains and veggies?

Why would you be doing this when the calculator advised you to feed less than 1/3 that amount?

You are overfeeding this dog to an EXTREME degree, to the point where I would be very concerned about the health of the dog, not only with regard to obesity but pancreatitis too.

This is way more than I feed a very large male Rottweiler puppy in the rapid growth stages. My 110 lb male eats less than 2 pounds total in a day.

May we see a photo of the dog.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

i feed my 55 lb samoyed and my 35 lb growing puppy 1.5 lbs of meat a day. that is it, no veggies/grains, that is it. it really sounds like you are over feeding.

as a comparison to your doggy, my sammie is 25 inches at the withers and 55 lbs.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

Yes, a dog can eat too much meat. 

Why did you start out feeding this much? And how long has he been on this diet?


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

ahhh i didnt know that people would have such strong opinions. my dog looks like a small lab but really has cocker,beagle,min pin, poodle in him. i keep trying to attach a pic.(if anyone can help???) i will. he is not over weight at all. in fact his ribs still stick out but NOT in an emaciated way.he was really skinny when we adopted him and thats how i started with a homemmade diet.then i went to this dog day and the police dog ( a big GSD) owner said he ate 2 poiunds of raw meat d day and very proud of that. thats when i started wondering about how much to feed my dog. he is VERY active. he runs and goes to day care and has class 3 times a week. he does agility/rally.he has gotten an A from the vet so its not parasites. i was just concerned i was giving too much protein and what else i can do. maybe he doesnt have enough fat??? i was/am worried about pancreatitis?? what is too much fat???ok i attached. sorry if i attached the whole file of pics.


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

im gonna try to get a pic of him standing. ok well? this is a recent pic. he is not fat> but any info to help with his diet would be appreciated. i am going broke feeding him.lmaybe i am measuring him wrong??from the shoulder blades right??


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

He surely does not look over weight, he looks in very good condition! I wonder if you are perhaps measuring incorrectly, because wow that is a LOT of meat for a dog that size, if not.


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

RedyreRottweilers said:


> He surely does not look over weight, he looks in very good condition! I wonder if you are perhaps measuring incorrectly, because wow that is a LOT of meat for a dog that size, if not.


Yeah.... 3 pounds would be insane. Rocky only gets fed 1.25 pounds a day, and he's an incredibly high energy 55 pounds.

42 should be getting about .8 - 1 pound a day


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## MoosMom (Sep 15, 2009)

That does seem like much, but he looks in good shape. may I ask are you using a kitchen scale or guestimating the amount you are feeding. Yoshi(my mal) is 24 at the withers, 70lbs and he's getting about 2.75lbs a day with no sign if getting fat. (he's also 7 months and still growing).


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

yeah i weigh using a scale and i only started doing that because it seemed like he was eating a lot which was getting very expensive. i have learned how to shop deals but????i never thought he would eat so much when i switched to a homemade diet.so if everyone is in agreeance that i am NOT torturing him with gorging  then does anyone have any suggestioons about how to maybe alter his diet a little. he mostly gets muscle meat. organs make him vomit. egg yolks give him diarrhea. i have not tried other types of egg besides chicken. he gets marrow and rib bones raw. any thoughts on the fat componant? thanks everyone.


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

It sounds as if he's getting a decent diet although I'd probably eliminate all or most of the grains (dogs don;t need them), as long as he's a good weight and getting a variety of meats and bones, I wouldn't worry to much about his not liking raw chicken bones. Will he eat other poultry raw?


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

Honestly, unless your dog is pulling a sled 20 miles a day, he should not be getting that much food if he is healthy. This is the equivalent of a 160 pound person eating 6000 calories a day and staying at 160 pounds. I know people like this, but they are some of the athletes I train. Ultramarathoners and iron-men who are exercising 3-5 hours a day every day. If your normal semi-active 160 pounder were eating 6000 and not gaining weight, there would be some serious concerns for their health.

He also should not be vomiting from organs and having the runs from eggs. 

I suspect some type of GI problem. Have you had a feces sample checked for parasites lately? There are some parasites that could easily cause all of the symptoms you are talking about.


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

yeah he had a fecal flotation about a month ago.is it possible he is just active enough. how much activity does he have tyo do to be considered a working dog. i would say on average he gets 3 hours of exercise a day.some days more and some days less. i know i know it seems so weird. this dog has done nothing routine since we got him. i dont think i am exagerating about the exercise since for example today he had a 40 minute walk at 8:30 am and then went for a 20 minute bike ride at 10. then he had breakfast and then ran in the yard and did some agility stuff for 30 minutes. it is now almost noon and he has a play date at the park and will prolly have one more bike ride and 1 more walk and 2 more play/training sessions before the day is over. . maybe i just needed to write it out.so with this being an example day does it seem he is still eating too much. is there a more effecient way to feed a very active dog.


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## trumpetjock (Dec 14, 2007)

I don't think that activity level warrants the amount of calories he is intaking. Rocky gets about that level of activity most days, is much heavier than your dog, and only gets 1 and 3/4 pounds of meat per day. Even that amount is enough to make him a little chubbier than I'd like.


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

Dogs are strange about what they eat. Ollie ate 3-3.5 pounds of raw per day at 60lb. I got him tested multiple times and nothing ever came back saying he was sick, so I gave up and just accepted he's a heavy eater.

Kobe, at 90 pounds, eats ~400-500 calories a day of kibble (about 1 cup). Spicy has a couple dogs like that, where they eat on two different extremes. 

Some dogs are just odd about that sort of thing, I guess. Ollie did run 8 miles a day or pull 6 miles a day, with other activities and sometimes small walks thrown in. But that doesn't quite explain the intake, and explains Kobe, who had the same routine, even less. He was doing all that on 1 cup of food a day.

*shrug*


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

thanks everyone. i guess i just need to listen to my dog. he is happy healthy and not overweight. i will just cntinue to hone my shopping skills and call it a day. am always open to suggestions though on this issue of crazy eater that does not include a lot of commercial dog food. there are times i will give some dry kibble (like when i am tired and dont want to shop)otherwise will just be aware of what he is telling me.?does any one know how to teach back up or should i start a new thread. and what would i gain if i ommited all grains and veggies/friut. i read i should but then thought he would only eat more and i cannot afford any more meat than i already give(3-4 pounds meat a day)


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

dogs cannot digest fruit/veggies unless they are pulverized. they do not have the enzyme needed to break down the vegetation. adding fruits/veggies is just added bulk which means more poop. grains are also not digested which means more poop. i do not give my guys any vegetable matter or grain. i am pretty sure that one of my dogs is allergic to grains so that is an added reason for me not to feed my dogs grains. also, i do not feel that dogs need it since they cannot digest it. they do get the occasional carrot or piece of apple when we are eating them but that is just a treat and it comes out the same way it went in so that proves it cannot be digested  

maybe you could cut out the fruits, veggies, and grains and see how he does on only the meat?

i would start a new thread in the training section to learn how to teach back up. i taught it by basically walking into my dog's space so he did back up and when he was backing up i said "back it up"  that is probably not the best way but that is what i did because i did it without thinking about it. i am sure there are lots of people who can help you with it if you post there


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

i do process his vegiiis/friut grain mix. the only reason i added those things was because of the amt of food he was/is eating.so thank you to all who cared about hw much i was feeding and for all the info. will let you know. i may play around a bit with his diet.ok off to training as i want him (me) to be ready for the jan. shows in our area for rally


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Have you tried all species of organs? And what do you consider organs? Organ meats contain micronutrients that are important in the diet. If you aren't going to feed organs then I would find a good multivitamin like Missing Link or such to fill in the gaps.

Eggs are not essential to the diet. And grains/ veggies / fruits are just fillers. 

Are you feeding the right amount of phosphorus to calcium? If you have too much phosphorus going on that could account for the loose stools and vomiting. Is your dog eating bone at every meal?


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

RBark said:


> Kobe, at 90 pounds, eats ~400-500 calories a day of kibble (about 1 cup). Spicy has a couple dogs like that, where they eat on two different extremes.


Kobe only eats 400-500 calories a day?!?!?!? Nia at 6 lbs eats about 220! Wow that's really surprising!


To the OP. Have you tried to actually cut down a bit of his food and see if he loses weight? Some dogs can eat a lot but don't really need that much, they just poop it out instead of gaining a lot of weight.


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## dieterherzog (Sep 28, 2009)

Michiyo-Fir said:


> Kobe only eats 400-500 calories a day?!?!?!? Nia at 6 lbs eats about 220! Wow that's really surprising!
> 
> 
> To the OP. Have you tried to actually cut down a bit of his food and see if he loses weight? Some dogs can eat a lot but don't really need that much, they just poop it out instead of gaining a lot of weight.


That is very true - my dog just poops it all out, when he was on Orijen, he pooped a little too much because he had more than enough food he needed, so we cut it down and he was fine. 

On raw, when we feed a little too much meat, he just poops it out, so it's always a good indicator if I'm feeding too much.


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

to be honest i have only tried liver. he does tolerate liver in small quantities so do give him very sm amts. i dont think i give him enough to count.i do not give him bones at evry meal but would love alt. to just marrow and rib bones. also any ideas for cooked and raw diet to add variety.i will continue to offer raw organs when on sale even if he ignores them. and thats the other thing about his large diet. he has pretty good self reg. when it comes to eating. he NEVER overeats. once i gave him an extra steak and he got one bite into it and asked to go out. that was so he could bury his bone. if i put too much in his bowl he just walks away from it even if it is raw steak on the bone. so i guess i just have a hungry active dog. just wanted to make sure i wasnt doing him any harm like with TOO much protein.(by the way) he only poops twice a day. rarely 3 times.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

dieterherzog said:


> That is very true - my dog just poops it all out, when he was on Orijen, he pooped a little too much because he had more than enough food he needed, so we cut it down and he was fine.
> 
> On raw, when we feed a little too much meat, he just poops it out, so it's always a good indicator if I'm feeding too much.


I've just noticed the same thing with Nia too. She used to eat too much Orijen which made her poop at least 4 times a day. Now I've reduced her serving and she's only pooping twice a day on the clock.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

I would keep trying small amounts each day with organs, expecially liver. If you do not achieve 10% of the diet being orgnas then I would start a good supplement.


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

i put wysongs call of the wild for fresh meat diet on his meat.it has liver and ground bone and stuff like kelp ans seaweed and phodsphorus. he gets a mutli vitamin a day with probiotics and evry other day a vitl. E let me know if this is ok or too much or not enough.i really appreciate evryones feed back and feel very comfy here. i measured out 3 days of food and cut back by 1/2 pound of meat per day. will see how that goes.so he has 2 weighed pounds of meat and 1 cup grains divided into 2 meals with sm. amt veg/fruit. mixed in which is small so i dont usually count . also i mentioned FATS before but noone addressed it. what percent of fat should he be getting a day for normal dog(since i have recently decided he may NOT be normal


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I put one pound chicken meat, one pound raw beef and 2 cups of cooked quinoa into nutritiondata.com and really it looked like the zinc and iron requirements were covered. Copper, vitamin E and some of the B vitamins were low I think.

And 10% organ probably would only need to be for the normal feed, not the enormous amounts of meat your little canine furnace is going through. I would think one ounce of organ total is plenty. Half liver, half other.

I would look into the sort of thing working sled dogs eat. I am sure there are forums about feeding sled dogs. I know they eat a lot of fat but wouldn't want to speculate on how it is done as I do the opposite.

Really you could have blood tests done. It is possible there is a metabolic problem like thyroid. If not always good to have a baseline blood test.


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## Foxglove (Aug 7, 2012)

Hello all. I'm new here. I think that you, luvamutt, are awesome. You apparently are devoted to the health and happiness of your dog, but I think you worry too much. I am 60 years old and have lived with dogs almost all of my life. I currently have two Irish Settters and a Gordon Setter. The GS is 11 now and doesn't even have any grey hair or pain or health problems. I live on some acreage, and here is what my dogs eat - Some commercial dry food with no wheat or corn and I change the protein with each bag because wolves don't eat the same thing every day, eh? (except I never use chicken because I'll be tarred if I'm going to help the Chicken Auschwitz people clean up their chicken waste). I also give them raw bones and cooked meat and whole milk yogurt with live cultures and bits of any fresh vegetable or fruit I am cooking (except onion) and raw or cooked tofu and occasional adams peanut butter and they get to lick the butter wrapper whenever I open a new cube of butter (the gordon setter can hear the sound of a butter wrapper from his sleep) they absolutely love any kind of cabbage - especially the crunchy core, and they are so proud of themselves that they know how to "find" their own berries at the blueberry bushes and the strawberry vines, and find mulberries under the mulberry tree and during June their poop can just look like cherry pits and, in fall, there are fallen apples and pears, and oh, yeah, pond water and culvert water, and grasses and compost and fresh killed mice and other rodents and the occasional wild turkey, and bits of bark and clay and assorted flotsam and debris, and, well, get the picture? If they are looking plump, I decrease their food and if their ribs start to show, I increase their food. We all get a fish oil capsule in the am (it is the only thing that they chew very carefully - so they can get the full fishy flavor) and the middle aged and oldster also get pomegranate extract capsules at the beginning of the weekend because NIH funded researchers have found that something in pomegranate seems to prevent osteoarthritis (and it made my hands stop hurting) and so far they are doing just great. I applaud all of you for your intensity about food, but I really think Life is a banquet, especially for opportunists like humans and bears and canines!!!


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

honestly its possable he just has a really high metabolism lol, one of my BCs is only 21" and 29lbs and she can eat 4lbs of raw a day and still be so skinny the vets call her underweight, she has been fully tested for everything, there is NOTHING wronge with her, she simpley has an insanly high metabolism. you can try dusting how much you feed and when to lower the amount, my vet suggested feeing 3/4 of my dogs food in the AM and only 1/4 PM and this did make a difference, and I was able to cut her food back without dropping her weight..she still eats the same amount as my bosses Great Dane's, but at least she doesnt eat MORE then my bosses Great Dane's now lol

edit: wow ok, didnt realize this was such an old thread lol


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