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Hello fellow Chuck & Don’s worker! I too worked at a Chuck & Don’s, granted it was only for 3 months this past winter but I did love the customers I got to educate and the nutrition education! I was offered a more consistent position elsewhere and it offered more money, I could have advanced more in the company as my supervisor wanted me to, but in the end the time commitment and money I could get elsewhere were better.

I still spend most of my time researching stuff, honestly it’s one of my favorite hobbies minus playing board games/DnD, and right now I’m actually calculating my dogs next step in her raw transition for the upcoming months! Because so much kibble has high vegetable percentages, I’ve been taking half a year to get her to a fully comfortable level with me increasing her protein intake and vegetables, and soon we will be making the shift for a BARF diet versus a Honest Kitchen Base Mix diet, especially now that she’s at the right weight I want her at. Using this to calculate her BARF diet needs:
Raw Diet Calculator

I bought some deli containers I actually saw people using for raw food off of Amazon! I have seen some wear and tear with them, but because they are a soft plastic I haven’t had one break yet and it’s only small marks on the plastic! (My cats containers are baby containers which are more sturdy, but I’ve broken a few of them so it kinda negates the higher strength containers, especially when frozen and they are dropped 🙃). I’d say try to go for something like this! Or square ones if possible too.
Deli Containers

So we have a second fridge in our garage, which soon I’m going to have to keep watch that it isn’t horribly effected by the cold winters here otherwise we may have to move it inside which I really do not want to do... but! With this freezer I fit all of my cats raw for 40 days totaling 18.5lbs in small containers. I also can fit my dogs monthly raw which right now comes to 20lbs and I’ll be increasing that to 40lbs. With this 20lbs of food (four 5 lb tubs of Woody’s placed in 28 containers) I still have enough room to double my dogs food. Keep in mind this freezer/fridge is used for the sole purpose of keeping raw food. And I will say it is easy to buy a quick freezer and sell it these days in Minneapolis especially if you try to sell it on Facebook Market Place. Also, I have a normal $20 kitchen scale from Target, it works great for what I use it for and is easy to clean!

I use Steve’s raw for my cats! They love it, and my dog loves when she gets the left overs that don’t fit into a container! They’ve been doing great on it, and I give them rabbit from Woody’s every third meal. I stay pretty consistent with them due to digestive sensitivity! Steve’s is too expensive to feed my girl with though, but the cats are small enough that the money balances out and is cheaper than canned!!!

Love all the supplements you give, I remember all those when I worked at Chuck and Dons! My dog LOVES the minnows! And so do my cats! My dog and cats loved when I got them the Steve’s raw goats milk, but it was too expensive so I have them on Honest Kitchens powdered goats milk instead, lasts a lot longer and doesn’t go bad! I also give my dog Honest Kitchens golden milk which is made from coconuts, and she freaks! Can’t give it to my cats though cause it’s a nut extract.

You should look at signing up for education courses for Steve’s Real Food and for Honest Kitchen through your store! You can get like 3 boxes of free frozen raw meat from Steve’s and a free box from Honest Kitchen! And if your store has more people sign up for Steve’s training you actually get free raw to share with co-workers that is based on how much raw you sell! Right as I left my store qualified for getting almost two boxes of free raw food a month to share!

Honestly love geeking out on nutrition, and since I graduated from the U of M I’ve been noticing more and more how interested I am in animal nutrition, even more so than my own nutrition haha!

(I numbered/bolded your questions for you.)

1. Tell me about your journey into dog/cat food.
   I had been reading articles about it off and on for years, but never felt much urgency to try it until the youngest addition to our household picked up an otherwise unshakeable coprophagia habit, which ended immediately upon implementing a raw diet. I was hooked. Our other older dogs were transitioned shortly afterwards.
   
   
2. Are you just getting started?
   We've been at it for 7 months or so with great success.
   
   
3. If you follow a feeding system that is not your own creation, do you know where this system originally came from, and the arguments backing up it's validity? Why did you choose it? What stood out to you?
   Most newcomers go for some variation of the BARF plan, and I'm really no different. I think I read somewhere that it seems less 'intimidating'. I do use some veg/fruit additions, but am more sparing with them.
   
   
4. Did a vet's advice play any role in the history of your dog's feeding plan? How about TV commercials? Or peers or friends? Internet reviews?
   My vet hates that I feed raw. (I sent her Dr. Lonsdale's book in the mail a few months ago, and will find out what she thought of it -if she bothers to mention it- next month when she comes to visit.) We don't watch TV here, and no friends recommended this diet. Internet, particularly FB's Raw Feeding Community, among others, definitely played a huge role, though.
   
   
5. Have you always known about raw feeding, or how did you discover it?
   I forget how long ago I first learned about it. Before I came to reddit, there was a poster on dogforum.com who helped me see that dogs are carnivores due to the types of teeth they have and the difference in their internal organs, but even then I still thought what I was feeding my dogs was still good. And later learned that it was far from it. =(
   
   
6. Was it triggered by disease, or out of a desire to prevent disease?
   Just general learning and gathering of info at first. Later, once my youngest was magically transformed, I hoped to help my oldest with chronically soft/runny stools, with moderate success.
   
   
   
7. Do you usually take a 'more is better' mentality when dealing with vitamins and minerals? Do you use multi-vitamins for yourself or your pet?
   No, I don't believe more is better. The two recipe/diet books I take the bulk of my feeding regimen from is Dr. Becker's Real food, and Dr. Tom Lonsdale's Raw Meaty Bones or Work Wonders (recipe book). Dr. Becker does provide recipes for vitamin/mineral supplements, but Dr. Lonsdale believes that if feeding the proper proportions of meats, organs, bone and limited veg/fruit, supplementation is not necessary. That said, I do have a supplement that I dole out very sparingly if I feel that something is deficient or missed.
   
   
   
8. Do you think guidelines like the NRC or AFFCO standards are relevant to fresh food? Are they relevant but inflated, or do you think they have absolutely no value. Do you recognize these acronyms?
   I could not have a lower opinion of AFFCO. The organization was created by pet food manufacturers and they exist solely to make life easy for pet food manufacturers; certainly not the countless millions of people who they mislead with their package/commercial claims or the animals who have no choice but to eat their products. Here is the best description (from this article) I have found recently regarding that organization: "AAFCO provides some basic nutritional guidelines, a rough framework to build upon. The guidelines are very much concerned with the practicalities of making pet food from a vast array of low quality ingredients. They are minimum requirements, not optimal requirements. AAFCO acknowledge the NRC guidelines, but do not uphold them."
   
   
9. If you don't agree with the big institutional guidelines, do you think that nutrients like Manganese, Zinc, Taurine, etc. are important for dogs/cats? How much do you think they need and how did you come to that understanding?
   Which organization's guidelines are we discussing? Yes nutrients are important; see answer for question #7.
   
   
10. Do you attempt to calculate what your pet is eating or just go with your gut? Do you use a scale?
    I use a scale when assembling meals, but will re-proportion depending on my dogs' activity levels, or if they have had other things to eat before supper.
    
    
11. Can you guesstimate how many grams of any specific nutrient (eg. Selenium, Phosphorous etc.) your pet is eating in any of the common foodstuffs you use? How close can you get?
    These repeated questions about nutrient quantities, slyly implying that our regimens are probably deficient if we don't devote hours of testing to make sure levels are absolutely where they should be (like every kibble on the market is! Trust us!), leads me to strongly believe this questionnaire was assembled by a kibble manufacturer hack. Particularly since you have absolutely no history aside from this post. Is this the case? See the answer to question #7.
    
    
12. If you aim for balance over time, how long is your window to achieve balance? 1 day? 1 week? 1 month? How about for yourself? Do you fast your dog? Do you fast yourself?
    I originally aimed for balance over a month or so, but now I'm reasonably certain that I've got it down to less than a week, possibly every few days. Balance for myself? I guess. - My dogs are fed once a day, if you consider that a short fast. Yes, I fast myself, mostly intermittent fasting, but trying for 3-7 days every other month or so.
    
    
13. How do you feel when others defend kibble? Does it make you angry, sad, disgusted? How do you feel when people say that they cook their food?
    I think it's sad when others defend kibble, because I was there once. I was an ignorant person, who caused a beloved dog some years back, a number of illnesses because I didn't know how bad the shit was that I was feeding him. He had no choice but to eat was I was feeding him, and my heart breaks and I feel incredibly, incredibly guilty for that. - If someone mentions that they cook meals for their dogs, I might mention that a good portion of nutrients are being removed by the cooking, but despite that, it's far and away better than feeding kibble, so I say kudos to them for doing that much.
    
    
14. How fervent about pet food do you think you are? On the internet? In real life? Do you participate in any pet food related activities off the internet?
    I'm not a proselytizer, but will definitely mention it if the occasion calls, in real life or on the internet. Yes, I support my local raw food stores with my business and otherwise.
    
    
15. How much do you think the scientific method contributed, compared to anecdotal evidence, in your own personal story of feeding?
    One more cleverly inserted question by our industry friends! As you're well aware, there has been virtually zero studies to support the far greater benefits of raw feeding versus kibble diets, and I have no doubt, the manufacturers will make sure this streak continues. Unless perhaps, a study is, by some miracle, privately funded. Maybe the Australians will do it; they are far more advanced in this area than we are in the U.S.
    
    
16. What route have you taken to come to your current understanding of pet nutrition?
    If a vet or nutritionist has written about this diet in book form, I have it. And if they have available internet articles or blogs, I read those too. And by the evidence of my eyes; dogs who were suffering terribly from skin conditions or GI issues, for example -conditions that their veterinarians had run out of options to treat, aside from MORE DRUGS- have seen incredible transformations within weeks, simply by feeding them what they were meant to eat.
    
    EDIT: clarity
    

That is not a complete and balanced diet. Honestly I am a bit alarmed that your dog at only 11 weeks old is being fed a diet lacking in so many vitamins and minerals. A growing dog needs a fully balanced diet. If you are using The Honest Kitchen, use it with absolutely every meal, and feed as instructed on the box. Add a multi-vitamin/mineral (I recommend VetriScience Canine Plus Multi). This is

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091WICBM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_bdUqub1RGQJVG

If your dog is getting raw meat, you dont need to get the Honest Kitchen containing meat "for extra protein", your dog is probably getting enough protein. What your dog is not getting anywhere near enough of is fiber, hence the diarrhea. Also not enough vegetable matter which contains minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients. There are dozens and dozens (perhaps hundreds) of amino acids, fatty acids, and other complex chemicals that are contained within food NOT including the essential vitamins and minerals that dogs need. Meat alone does not provide a full spectrum of nutrition. Growing pups need extra attention paid to their nutrition, imbalances in the nutrition of growing pups can cause severe problems (diarrhea being the least of it, but can include things like blindness, bone malformation, etc)

What formula of The Honest Kitchen are you using? You should be using one of their "Base Mixes", and which is a formula of ground dehydrated vegetables and fruits and some vitamins and minerals.

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com///dog-food/base-mix

Are you giving any fish oil? What is your source of omega-3s? Probiotics? Soluble and Insoluble Fiber?

Fish oil: one capsule of the most basic fish oil daily (begin doing this once the diarrhea has subsided). Dont buy fancy high priced fish oil or fish oil "for pets", its way more expensive for no added benefit. Just buy a reputable brand of fish oil (check label for certification of mercury removal). I buy bottles of 270 gel capsules for like 12$.

Raw diets are not simple. Or very cheap. People have the best intentions but may end up hurting their pets by not having done their research, or by using the easiest raw feeding recipes they found on some website that was not written by an expert.

To fix your dog's diarrhea, first get them on a balanced diet. Since you already have The Honest Kitchen, use that exactly according to the instructions on the box.
Second: get your dog something fiber rich to help bulk up his stool. I use Garden of Life Raw Fiber (great product, good balance of soluble and insoluble fiber). How big is your dog? I would add 1-2 Tablespoons per 20lbs (if ur dog weighs less than 20lbs but more than 10lbs, still give 1-2 Tbls).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004H2T314/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_jzUqub019P7ER

Your dog also needs probiotics for the diarrhea. Buy a human probiotic, with multiple strains of bacteria (you dont want one with just one strain of acidophilus) and a probiotic with a high CFU count (id say at least 7 billion per capsule). Heres a good one

http://www.amazon.com/Integrative-Therapeutics-Probiotic-Pearls-90-Count/dp/B0011023KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413686398&sr=8-1&keywords=integrative+therapeutics+probiotics

If u dont like ordering online, you can find fiber powder, probiotics, fish oil at health food stores or grocery stores like Whole Foods. I just like amazon bc its always been the cheapest.

Im a pre-veterinary student with 9 years of clinical experience, im currently interning for one of the few Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists in the country. I also have a personal interest in holistic medicine, raw food diets (i feed my own senior dogs a raw food). Feel free to ask me any follow up questions

I'm not sure about the one you mentioned but this one (with the foot pedal) works great for me. It handles chicken bones and rabbit bones very well (I wouldn't try anything bigger though, including turkey bones). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D1TN7XS/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdo_t1_YvQSAb1M6WE7Y

I'm with u/caninetrovert_ though... I wouldn't have bought the grinder if I didn't have to (we have a dog with dental issue that developed long before we started raw, vet advised us to avoid her chewing hard items). Grinding up a while batch at once makes meal time easy to portion out for two different sized dogs (all the hard work is done once a week determining ratios and such, plus all those frozen little meals are a big space saver in the freezer).. but it's basically just a long extra step and the fact my rottie mix will never get to grind anything herself to clean her teeth will always be a concern (she will probably need another dental cleaning sooner than I would have liked, I can see the tartar build up that is exacerbated by the fact she is allowed to chew anything hard). If you are deadset on pre-grinding (for ease of meal time) /and/ your dog's teeth are fine, make sure you factor in leaving a few bones out now and again and giving them to your pup to afford them the chance to grind them naturally and clean their teeth (or commit yourself to brushing their teeth daily)... But yeah, I wouldn't pre-grind unless I absolutely had to.

I feed a complete and balanced diet using a recipe. Yes, you need to feed veggies. They replace the part of a wild diet that he won't get from eating just meat and organs. Like the gut contents and fur. My vet is a nutritionist and recommends the book linked below. It's what I use. A nice chunk of her practice is treating dogs with long term issues from being fed incomplete diets. It's like the Hatfield's and McCoy's between the two groups of raw feeders. You need to do your own research and decide what is best for your dog not what is easiest.

The first couple of times you make a recipe it seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it it's very easy. I make food in bulk with a couple of friends. We make 700 lbs. at a time, all three of us have chest freezers. We shop and make food when meat is on sale. Chicken is usually around 80 cents a pound, turkey, about a buck, and beef about two bucks. With three pointers I have the smallest dogs and pack among my closest friends. Making food in bulk makes a lot of sense. Other friends of mine make the veggie mix ahead of time and cut up whatever protein they're having for dinner for their dogs. Add a little organ meat, the veggies and supplements. Some are very precise with their measuring, others ballpark it (except for the supplements). Other friends feed two meals a week of whole rabbits. They feed that outside. :)

You should be able to feel, but not see the ribs or spine. Each dog is different and has a different metabolism. My big boy weighs ten pounds less than my girl, but eats twice the amount of food. She eats the same amount of food as my little boy who only weighs 5 pounds less than my big boy. It's a little bit trial and error on finding the right amount. Even harder with a puppy because their needs are constantly changing. I've heard it said that puppies won't over eat, so give them extra just to make sure. I don't know if that's true or not.

Good luck, glad to see someone trying to do the best they can for their animal.

http://www.amazon.com/Beckers-Real-Food-Healthy-Dogs/dp/0982533128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417106774&sr=1-1

Use a tiny 5 cubic foot freezer as side table? I fed a 35 pound dog from half a top freezer refrigerator for a year. 20 smashed tight pounds packed in plastic bags fit nicely in there. Figure how much you need to buy a month and see how it looks in the freezer. If you use plastic tubs then pack it tight rather than doing single meals so you don't waste space.

I have tile and when I feed bones in the house the exercise pen is set up so the dogs don't scatter and eat where they prefer - middle of the living room rug. Some people use a wire crate as the plastic tray is easy enough to clean. Some people train the dog to eat on a towel or buy a mat of some sort that's easily scrubbed clean, a good sized scrap of vinyl flooring that you slide next to the refrigerator maybe. When they get easy bone it never hits the floor but since the dog might want to drop and grab for a better angle it is a good idea to have some way of keeping meat off the floor for sure.

Am on my second food scale. Just get anything that has a reasonable number of good and few poor reviews. The one I have now has an easy to clean glass top. I'm annoyed because I often use pie tins and it's difficult to read the weight unless I balance the pie tin on a bowl though. Looks like this one, no idea if it is the same brand.

Good luck on the chicken. Trade off is it is easier to control the food than the environment.

I bought these one for my boys... I have been using them for about a month and they are great. They only eat 6 to 7 Oz of food so that is why I got the 8oz ones and they are pretty flexible. I broke one because I squished it too hard when I was putting the food on their bowls. I usually take them about about 1.5 to 2 days befirw, it gives enough time to thaw out and have not have any issues. If all of these ever break or when our pup is switch to raw, I will get containers that are a few Oz more of their food so it is not so squished but even then they have been amazing.

Stack Man [48 Pack, 8 oz] Plastic Deli Food Storage Slime Containers With Airtight Lids, Freezer Safe | Meal Prep | Stackable | Leakproof | BPA Free, Clear https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07638H4KX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SbCXDb2KXZC2B

I have a 2 year old, 4 lb Yorkie and use the BARF diet.

I prefer to work with ounces because the fractions of a pound are too tiny.

Soooo...

Dog's weight: 64 oz

Feeding percentage: 2.5%

Total weight of food to feed per day: 64 * .025 = 1.6 oz

Of that 1.6 oz of food....

Muscle meat: 1.6 * .8 = 1.28 oz

Bone: 1.6 * .1 = .16 oz

Liver: 1.6 * .05 = .08 oz

Other organ: 1.6 * .05 = .08 oz

​

I purchased a digital scale ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WWO2JWO ) that weighs oz to the hundredth because of my Yorkie.

I also add 5-10% of her weight in fruits, vegetables, seeds/nuts and other supplements to each meal.

If you're looking for something more specific, like what meats/fruits/veggies/supplements, I'd be happy to share that when I get home in a bit.

Assuming by your meaty bones mention that you're talking about a dog?

Regardless, variety is usually better than a static diet. But when starting, I'd recommend trying a given food for a week or so to get a feel for how it does/doesn't agree with your pet.

A probiotic (eg. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FDWWPA) is useful prior to and through this testing.

>Where do you get oysters like this? I've looked at canned oysters but they all seems to be flavored with, or floating in, something. Do they need to be cooked or can they be served raw? (I know nothing about oysters, clearly)

Hello! Here is the link to where I get my oysers: https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Prince-Natural-Oysters-8-Ounce/dp/B00BP3Q5V4/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1543508473&sr=8-5&keywords=canned+oysters+in+water


Raw shellfish, such as oysters and mussels, have a risk of toxoplasma gondii. Lightly cooking is recommended to eliminate this risk. Raw shellfish should be steamed or canned in water. I hope this helps!

https://www.amazon.ca/Raw-Natural-Nutrition-Dogs-Revised/dp/158394947X

This is my favorite :)

Reditainer Extreme Freeze Deli Food Containers with Lids, 16-Ounce, 36-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG8YTB0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nTCdBbVZ4NG30

These are my absolute favorite! I’ve used them for years with repeated freezing and being put through the dishwasher and I haven’t lost a single one to breaking or warping! I highly recommend them!

My homemade recipe came from https://www.amazon.com/Beckers-Real-Food-Healthy-Dogs/dp/0982533128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506636504&sr=8-1&keywords=karen+becker - unfortunately this book in out of print, thus the high price on Amazon.

The book has different ways in balancing a homemade diet and depending on which route you take, supplements may be required. I settle on the recipe of this book because it uses common ingredients that are easily sourced and Dr. Becker is someone I trust.

It’s dangerous for dogs to eat cooked bones. Raw bones are digestible

As for guides I follow Tom Lonsdales advice

This book is great for the more technical side of things (or his website http://www.rawmeatybones.com)

https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Meaty-Bones-Promote-Health/dp/0646396242/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=raw+meaty+bones+tom+lonsdale&qid=1572759254&sprefix=raw+meaty+&sr=8-3

Or this one for something less dense

https://www.amazon.com/Work-Wonders-Feed-Meaty-Bones/dp/0975717405/ref=nodl_

But there are thousands more articles and books you can find on the internet about the different approaches to feeding raw

https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Natural-Nutrition-Dogs-Revised/dp/158394947X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494514938&sr=8-1&keywords=raw+and+natural+nutrition+for+dogs+lew+olson

Extensively sourced and footnoted, basically has all the information you need.