Does anyone feeding raw use any oils or other supplements? Also the capsules etc meant for human use are they alright to use?
I'm trying to get myself organised here is there a good website to get them off, i've been looking around but to be honest i'm not exactly sure what i'm looking for

If anyone follows the diet sheet we set out there should be no need to add any supplements, oils etc. Everything needed is in the diet specified but if you feel you want to add anything then go ahead, buying stuff for humans is usually cheaper than pet products but as I don't know what you are intending to use then I can't say what amounts you should be giving. Quite frankly I think you will be wasting your money, none of my dogs have any supplements added to their diets but if you feel happier doing so then that's your call Do further research if you aren't sure what you are looking for as what you could be thinking of giving them may not be of any use whatsoever and you could even find you could be over doing things which wouldn't be a good idea either.
Have a look on the DORWEST HERBS website, there could be something there that takes your liking

Sandy

Thanks for that Sandy, TBH with all that i've been told and read i didn't really think that i'd need oils etc but just wanted to see what other people use or not as the case may be
I'd much rather give them raw fish etc than supplement them with oils etc

Well we don't follow an absolute total raw diet....ours seem to be able to stomach our leftovers as well as their daily regular raw chicken drumsticks and bits. I occasionally add Solvitax cod liver oil and garlic powder to a portion of our leftovers. Ours don't get fish often so I think the Solvitax is helping with their coats and joints.....no scientific proof, but their coats do seem better since we started doing it They really do look forward to the raw chicken.....best thing we've done for them

Steve

Rhian gets rapeseed oil almost daily, as I don't feed raw fish (it's frightfully expensive), and I want her to have some of those omega-3-fatty acids. I didn't buy this extra, as I use it myself for salads. You could use those fish oil capsules, too. I did buy hempseed oil recently, again for both of us, as it's extremely well balanced, but I haven't opened it yet.

I only feed Raw Meaty Bones.. The only exception to this is Offal my two wont eat it unless it is flash fried believe me i have tried. I do make sure it is raw in the middle. Other than that I don;t add anything to their diet. They have been raw fed from 5 month old they are coming up to 2 years old
They have never had any supplements and I don't even think about this .
They are thriving on the food I feed them

Mine can't tolerate raw fish either - they all throw it up a few minutes after they've eaten it.
I give them cod liver oil and evening primrose oil fairly reguarly - sometimes a kelp tablet when I remember.
And they get leftovers too - I'm very relaxed about it tbh - although 95% of the time they are raw fed, Gracie had pizza the other day but she's the skinny one with a cast iron stomach, and she loved it

Fipps will have the odd left over as well occasionally like the heel of a bread, home baked

I give Fish body Oil and Vit E...I read if you supplement with oil it's a good idea to add Vit E as the body uses Vit E to utilise the oil (or something like that, sorry) so in order not to end up lacking Vit E it's advised to give it when you add oil. I personally wouldn't give rapseed oil or Cod liver oil...do a search about it in BritBarf and you get answers why Fish Body oil is preferred.

But as Sandy says, you don't need to, just start feeding raw and give eventually a really good variety and that's it...... here you are


I only started to add Fish body oil as Fipp's coat was a bit dull and just not as good when she was on NatuerDiet. She wasn't keen on fish and so I started to giver her omega 3 as a supplement and voila...her coat is really nice since, so I think I will stick with it.

Thanks for the heads up about the cod liver oil....I'll have to do a little more research.

Christine that link (Jane Anderson Myths) puzzled me I always thought of dogs as Omnivorous even though being part of the order Carnivora...more for me to check up on

Steve

That's one of the battlegrounds of the differing schools of raw feeders, so you'll get different opinions depending which site you are reading.....

Yep I think you're right there I found a fairly "balanced" answer was that although dogs could "survive" on a mixed diet (vegi/carni) they are better served and would "thrive" on a carni diet.

My hands are up we're a bit naughty here I confess, ours get raw chicken pieces including bones as their main diet and supplement with our leftovers...still checking to see if the oil is something they could do without though.

Steve

You don't need to do any further reading on this subject Steve, just open up your dogs mouth and have a look at its teeth, they are all POINTY which scientifically, for those of you that need to hear that word, is all the proof you need that a dog is a carnivore. They do not possess the flat premolars or molars that the ominvore has which they use for grinding, a dog does not grind its food it rips, shreds and tears it, they also have a 'up and down' jaw action whereas a omnivore has a side to side action. Just sit here for a minute and eat something or pretend to eat something, how is your jaw working? A dog doesn't eat the same way an omnivore does, watch you dog next time it eats, no sideways movement is there? It would take the pointy edges right off it's teeth if it had the same action that the omnivore has. Run your tongue over your molars, flat huh? Now run your finger, if you dare over your dogs molars.......pointy ......yep! ALL the proof you need that your dog is a carnivore
So where is the 'battleground' in this eh

Sandy

No battleground there at all, the dog undoubtedly belongs to the order of carnivores and has a typical carnivores teeth.

Whilst I wholly agree with that, and was about to say the same thing - mine do ALL eat grasses and herbs and plants when we are out walking - and not just to make them vomit. So there obviously is a part of them that needs vegetation....
Don't everyone's dogs self medicate ?

Stick our lot in a field of spring barley and they scoff non stop! If only they could tell us why they do it, very rarely sick after eating it but very stringy poos the following day which although goes to prove they don't digest it like a herbivore/omnivore does there must be a reason why they eat it but we're never going to find out are we, the self medicating explaination I can buy though