I was reading the latest edition of Whole Dog Journal today and there was an article on making food for your dogs.  

It said to never feed raw Pacific Northwest salmon, trout or related fish.  
You CAN feed these fish raw as long as you deep freeze them and keep them deep frozen for a minimum of 2 weeks.  This freezing time is straight from the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association website.
The fluke that can infect these fish is killed by freezing and if the fluke is dead, parasite that can infect the fluke cannot cause Salmon Poisoning.


It also said when feeding raw you can feed up to 1/3 of the diet as "Raw Meaty Bones."

So what is a "Raw Meaty Bone?"  
Is it a turkey breast that is 10% bone?
Is it a pork picnic roast that is 16% bone?  
Is it a rack of ribs that is 45% bone?
Is it a lamb foreshank that is 52% bone?

And there is the problem with the term "Raw Meaty Bone."  There is no actual definition of what it is.  It means different things to different people.

Which is why it is so much simpler to say: 10% edible bone, 80% meat (etc.), 5% liver and 5% other organs.

So far we have found nothing Chance won't eat so we are very lucky!  Liver, kidney, fish - it's all good whether it's frozen, partially frozen or completely thawed.

One easy cost-saving tip is to never buy items in bulk if our dog has never had it before.  
That way you won't be out a bunch of money and have a bunch of meat or organs or whatever that your dog won't eat.
If you can, buy a little bit, see of your dog likes it and then you can buy in bulk if it's a hit!

We have a huge 1st coming up in the not so distant future.  Our 1st trip with a raw fed dog!
To make things really complicated, we can't be sure that we can easily find suitable bone-in meats so we are going to be hauling 16+ pounds of meat with us in a 5-day cooler!

The closest grocery store is 30 minutes away and typically has very expensive steaks and enhanced chicken.  It would be another hour just to get to a town that might have unenhanced chicken.

This has meant the construction of an all new trunk/bed platform for our Jeep Wrangler because the old pre-fab plastic one was too short for the cooler.


Chance has been doing great with her liver reintroduction.  More importantly I'M doing great.  Every time I think "a little extra won't hurt" I stop myself and go slowly!  She's up to 1.25 days of liver as of today.  Half chicken and half lamb livers.  I really want to get her back up to 3 days worth like she was before my stupidity.

We've decided Chance is too new to raw to eat several days of pork without trimming fat off because it gives her soft poop.  At least it doesn't give her rocket butt though!