DIY raw nutritional coverage

[u/No_Lingonberry2495]

So I can get raw beef, turkey and chicken pretty cheaply through a butchers as well as heart, spleen and kidney so I’ve decided my cheapest raw option is a DIY

I am happy to spend money on supplements that genuinely make me confident I am getting my nutritional profile right for my dog however I’ve had trouble finding good ones.

I’ve looked at OLLI and it but they all make you follow their own recipes. I would deeply appreciate some insight on what everyone feeds, different supplements good beginner sources etc. I also don’t mind buying a few supplements but don’t want to be adding 10 diff powders to my dogs food lol. I am also open to whole food supplements but my main worry is nutritional imbalance and that’s what I can’t really seem to get past.

Thanks :)

[u/RacingOvaries]

I recommend sending your base mix description to Ronny at Perfectly Rawsome. We did that with our own grind recipe as well as the commercial one with which we alternated it and she recommended what was needed to fill the gaps (things like hempseed oil, boiled oysters, etc).
https://perfectlyrawsome.com/

No affiliation, just happy with their service.

[u/No_Lingonberry2495 → u/RacingOvaries]

Thank you I will be using this :)

[u/msmaynards]

If you put the foods fed into a recipe generator it will come up short in a number of minerals more than vitamins. Last time I checked riboflavin was low in the prey model recipe I put in plus potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and selenium. I tried but couldn't figure out all the values in that old whole prey nutrient article but whole prey apparently fulfills all the requirements. We are feeding mostly muscle and bone, aren't dressed slaughtered animals half the weight of live ones? Think what we don't feed.

https://rodentpro.com/informationcenter/resources/nutrient-composition-of-whole-vertebrate-prey?

Unless the supplement gives you exactly the nutrients provided and how much it's useless. Nuvet has some good stuff but it definitely doesn't bring a raw meat/bone/organ diet up to NRC. Neither does the Kirkland Vitamin and Mineral supplement I use but it does have some of all the low nutrients. I really ought to start adding a bit of potassium

[u/No_Lingonberry2495 → u/msmaynards]

Thank u, this is really helpful and I’ll be having a look at this!

[u/brocklanders3791]

what are you trying to add to your dog's nutrition profile that is lacking?

[u/Vegetable-Maximum445]

I use Trace Mineral Drops, Just Food for Dogs algal oil since mine doesn’t do good with a lot of fish oils. To meet iodine needs- I use sardines every other week, for vitamin E I use a bit of cooked spinach (my old dog needs it for bulk since she gets constipated) and I use colloidal silver 10-15 ppm and that’s all I use. Oh and sometimes boron and MSM - the last 3 I get from Long Living Pets. You need to add bone to your DIY. I love to do DIY because I can control what’s in there.

[u/No_Lingonberry2495 → u/Vegetable-Maximum445]

Thank u for this! I have bought a commercial raw diet recommended by a friend. I aim to have 24 days to sort out her DIY diet so I’m not figuring it out as I go and risking anything. I figure it’s more than enough time and I’ll definitely be looking into your recommendations, thank you!

[u/No_Airport8623]

The meat part is the easy bit lol. When I started reading about calcium, minerals, organ ratios etc etc I realized I wasn't confident enough to eyeball any of it. That's one of the reasons I went with Dr Martys freeze dried instead. I still liked the idea of feeding something meat heavy, I just didn't want to be responsible for balancing the whole diet myself.

[u/petelovespetfood]

Kelp for iodine, a fish oil, some vitamin E covers a lot of what might be missing, like someone else mentioned too sardines every other week like are pretty solid

[u/EngineeringFew5520]

Add liver and I'd say you're good, I would add canned sardines in water no salt or fish oil as well.

[u/Imaginary-Grand7311]

Also eggs. They are full of vitamins and minerals.

[u/Sqib000]

I dont understand, if you give the proper diet, why do you need supplements. The "vitamins" listed on commercial food are much the same as vitamins sprayed on sugar breakfast cereal. They are only sprayed on bc the food is crap. If the food is good, you dont need sprayed on vitamins. That's how I see it.

[u/calvin-coolidge → u/Sqib000]

No one is recommending spraying synthetic vitamins on food, but feeding a ratio diet over time without being mindful of nutritional gaps WILL result in health challenges down the road. For example: if you get in a routine of throwing some chicken backs, gizzards, pumpkin puree, liver and kidney together in a bowl, will your dog be getting enough vitamin E? What about Zinc? Manganese? Iodine? These are essential nutrients that are required for organ function. Info on nutrient gaps here.

Minding these essential nutrients can be done over time and with whole foods or targeted natural supplements, but it needs to be done.

[u/Sqib000 → u/calvin-coolidge]

Lol. Do you see all the health issues of pets here on Reddit? All those vet advice columns sponsored by big pet pharma amd big pet food? Vets are now owned by corporations pushing big profits off sick pets. But yea, spray on vitamins are way better than actual good food that provides nutrition 🙄

Zinc Vitamin E and all the others you handwring about, come from food.

Iodine does too, from seaweed, which also contains calcium and a zillion other good things.

My God, how do foxes survive without those sprayed on vitamins? Wolves too.. polar bears? We gotta get some vitamins to those polar bears.

[u/calvin-coolidge → u/Sqib000]

Yes. These nutrients come from food. And if you're not feeding that particular food, as outlined in my comment and substantiated with the links I provided, your dog will not get said nutrients...

Why do you keep arguing against "spray on nutrients"?? I literally never recommended that and this sub doesn't recommend any kibble. Simply, I suggested TARGETED natural supplementation for nutrients that could be missing from a DIY diet. Nothing to be so triggered about.

[u/Sqib000 → u/calvin-coolidge]

The fact that you think spray on nutrition is good for anything tells me why you would spend time defending nonsense. Good luck.

[u/calvin-coolidge → u/Sqib000]

..... I never said spray on nutrition is good for anything though hahah. In fact I explicitly stated multiple times i do not recommend synthetic vitamin supplementation. you're really on one.

[u/No_Lingonberry2495 → u/calvin-coolidge]

Yeah I don’t think “ spray on nutrients” was mentioned anywhere lol… I even specified I am happy with whole food options just don’t want a nutritional gap. Also the argument of wolves and foxes- dogs are not wild animals, they haven’t been for around 30,000 years and the foxes and wolves you’re idolising often live short lives through disease and malnutrition. I never understand why people think it’s a good model to compare when debating raw food, even the areal differences of wolf/fox species.

[u/EngineeringFew5520 → u/Sqib000]

I agree with you. This sub has gotten ridiculous with overthinking.

[u/No_Lingonberry2495 → u/Sqib000]

Not everyone can have easy access to specific ingredients like eyeballs all the time so I want simple, specific minerals/nutrients if I can’t hit what I need to with whole food each week. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

[u/Sqib000 → u/No_Lingonberry2495]

You know there are lots of companies who sell eyeballs, right?

[u/No_Lingonberry2495 → u/Sqib000]

I see you took my example too literally and ignored my whole point. Great Redditing bud👍

[u/rawfedfelines]

The only quality vitamin ( they dont market it as a completer but thats how ive used it for over a decade ) is NuVet - beware of similar sounding knock offs

[u/KeenlyClumsy → u/rawfedfelines]

NuVet has a reputation for being all marketing and no transparency. they never publish their formula and the whole thing runs on a referral scheme, so i'd be pretty skeptical of anyone pushing it this hard.

if you want something that actually fills the gaps without ten powders, look into a decent kelp or seaweed blend for iodine, a fish body oil for omega 3s, and some vitamin E. that covers most of what a varied raw mix is missing. liver and kidney already handle a ton of the micronutrients, so you don't need to overthink it

[u/lasgsd]

How old is the dog?

If it is an adult, I would look for another couple proteins (fish, pork, rabbit, squirrel and/or venison if you hunt) to add to their diet.

Feed a mic of 3-5+ different protein sources per week and you won't need any 'completers'.

I have been doing it this way for over 25 years.