Raw Food Diet, Day 465- True Prey Model Feasting

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Big Pupi breaks it down: Heya fellow feasters. Every so often we get all science-y and medical-ish on this blog, and this particular post is going to (sort of) be one of those times.

As all of you know, my brother and I are fed a prey model diet. What this means (in a really teeny tiny nutshell) is that all of our feasts are constructed from fresh, raw foods and follow percentages based on the physical make up of prey animals. There is a fairly strict calcium to phosphorous ratio that must be followed, and those amounts are based on the ratio of muscle (phosphorous) to bone (calcium) in animals on which we'd like to hunt and feast. We also include organs (kidney and liver) at about 10% of the overall diet to ensure we are getting proper nutrients. Finally, some raw feeders - like my parents - give blended fruits and veggies each day to mimic the stomach contents of a kill. When a wild canine takes down prey, the stomach and liver are always the most coveted parts of the animal, and I know why... they are SO TASTY! While adding fruits and veggies is debated amongst the raw community, my folks like to think that this pureed plant matter adds fiber and additional vitamins to our diet.

Most of the time we need to feast on a variation of the raw diet. Since it is just not possible to toss Stanislaw and me a whole rabbit, my people have to manufacture ways to ensure that the proper ratios are met and we are provided with a proper and varied nutrient profile. In the past, we have always eaten 2 meals per day: one RMB meal (Raw Meaty Bones that are about 50% meat and 50% bone), and one meat and organ meal. That's a pretty common method for raw feeders, especially those with small dogs. However, large dogs may get a whole chicken or rabbit as a day's meal - organs and all - and that would prove to be a balanced feast.

Another major aspect of raw feeding is the idea of balance over time. We believe the practice of feeding a 100% "complete and balanced" meal twice a day every single day at the expense of variety is a huge a mistake. Our parents don't eat the same exact, "100% balanced" meal for every meal every day... they don't even feed their CHILDREN 100% balanced meals every single time they feast! Proper nutrition in humans is met through variety and balance over the course of a few days or a week, and we apply these theories to canine feasting.

It is super important that Stanislaw and I get many different types of protein over the course of a month, week, or even throughout the day. We also get different types of fruits and veggies, from apples to carrots to green beans to squash. This helps to prevent allergies from developing and it also exposes us to many different amino acid profiles, vitamins and minerals.

Now onto our meaty menu for next week, and what exactly it was that made me look so beggingishly at my mom~
Since Stanislaw and I are too small to feast on a whole prey animal in one sitting, we've always feasted on the "homemade" version of the diet using RMB meals and meat meals. But things are about to change. After spotting a coupon for "buy one get one free" whole fresh chickens, mom decided to pick one up for each of us and feed us in true prey model style. For less than $1 of cheese money per pound of feast (an AWESOME deal!), Stanislaw and I have an entire week's-worth of breakfasts and dinners lined up.

Mom broke down each chicken, removing the skin and excess fat as she went. The pieces were then weighed and divided into 8 oz. of feasting per day for me and 10 oz. for Stanislaw. The meals kept coming until there was literally nothing left (except the skin and fat which went into the trash). Even the baggie of guts was used - the necks counting as an RMB piece, the gizzards and heart as muscle, and the kidney and liver as organ meat. Stan and I were even allowed to give our chickens a test by snacking on the hearts while we waiting. Delish!
We already have a meal defrosted and waiting for tomorrow, but after that we'll be feasting on chicken for a week until the entire feasts are gone, with each of us eventually consuming our very own, whole bird. Some days our phosphorous intake will be high, and some days our calcium intake will be high, but by the time we have finished our chickens we will have taken in an overall ideal ratio of meat:bone:organ... a perfect balance over time. And that's what prey model feasting is all about.

As mom broke the tasty bird in pieces, Stan watched the floor carefully in case a morsel escaped from the counter. A chicken tail wound up flying off, but Stan had it in his mouth before it ever touched the floor. Great success!
The human meat locker has a few baggies chilled and ready for feasting, and the rest of our chicken deliciousness is in our meat locker being kept fresh and frozen solid.
We're excited! Since wings and necks are the easiest things to get, Stan and I have always eaten those chickeny parts. But this time we get to have backs and breasts and ribs. Crunchy yumliciousness!

We'll let you know how it goes. (It's going to be fabulous!)
Jealous?
Big Pupi.

Raw Food Diet, Day 275- The Great Feast Arrives

Dog bloggerinis! Another feasting order has arrived. I am SO HAPPY!
It was a wonderful day. Feast your eyes on my tasty meat!My people have to break those 5-pound tubes into our daily rations, so there's TONS of good smells as feasts are weighed and placed into baggies for Big Pupi and me.
This takes a while, and I snoozeled on the sofa most of the time... until the GOAT was prepared! Then I sat at my humans' feet and begged begged BEGGED for a taste test!
Goatylicious! The goat and beef have that pungent tripe smell that makes my people sick but makes my tummy grumble with the need for feasting.Mom doesn't appreciate the picture of the animal on the label. I can't imagine why!

Although we've been taken off the feathered creatures, mom still ordered some turkey necks which she planned to give us once per month to keep our teeth clean. But when the necks came out of the box our people couldn't believe how big they were. They were beast sized!I mean, I have jaws of steal and can make my way through bird necks with the best of them, but these particular necks are more like oxtails. They're massive! Pupi is a weak chewer and so the size of these bones becomes a concern. Wimpy boy! We've never had necks this big before. These turkeys must have really feasted hard in their day. My kind of guys... Tasty guys.

Pupi spent a lot of time checking out the boxes which is used as a garbage as the feasts are packed away. He kept trying to take nibbles off the plastic meat wrapping. Cheater! But seriously, folks. What's a boy to do when there's tasty meatiness at eye level?Both of us got into the begging when it came to the unveiling of our all-time favorite snack feast.
Bully sticks! And these happen to be particularly good ones. It even takes me - the World Champion Chewer - a long long time to make my way through one of these.It was a successful day of feast preparation. We could hardly contain ourselves at the thought of all this meat! And to know for certain that it will all find its way into our mouths eventually. Amazing! I think Big Pupi's face says it all~Happy feasting!
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 91- Meat Meat Everywhere

MY GOAT IS HERE!

Feast your eyes upon my meaty deliciousness!

Ground Whole Pork

Lamb brisket with some ribs already removed. My humans trimmed off thick layers of fat because they said it would upset my tummy to eat so much of it. But they did sneak us little tastes as they worked. It's like meaty lamb butter! Melts on my tongue.

Bacon-like pieces of lamb meat

Ground whole whiting fish - 5 lbs of it still kind of frozen

Frozen chicken feet in a frosty bag. These creep out my mommy big-time.

Beef meat chunks

Santa Claus arrived yesterday afternoon. He came into my apartment with 4 big boxes that smelled like tasty feasts and then he let me jump all over him while I screamed in excitement. I almost leaked a little on the floor from the sheer joy of the occasion. Christmas in April!

It all must find its way into my mouth immediately, so I'm going to howl at mommy while she weighs and packages it up. She'll usually sneak us little hors d'oeuvres and tasters as she works. My meat locker has been empty for so long and now it will be filled to the brim! Now I really must find a way to break into it while my humans aren't looking...

Coo coo for meatiness,

Stanislaw

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Big Pupi can't stop drooling:

I have never seen such a beautiful site before. Well, not since our last feasting delivery. This one is especially fabulous however, because we've got nearly 70 lbs of raw meat sitting on our kitchen island! I have to stand on my very tippy hind toes just to get a peak at it, but my nose can catch those tummy-rumbling scents from a mile away. Is that freshly ground mutton??? Oh man. I can barely contain myself.

Our meat delivery got delayed because our co-op is in the process of moving to distributors. They have become so popular that the orders just keep pouring in. I have heard so many good things about the quality of their meats that I just can't wait to sink my teeth into them! They even offer whole ground carcass, which means that the digestive portions have been removed but the rest of the bones and organs are still intact. This is pretty darn close to the "prey model" (looking at the animal as rough percentages of meat, bone and organ), and it just about eliminates our humans' need to measure small amounts of organs and make special organ meals for us.

The whole ground carcass can be our morning and evening meals since it includes bone and meat in the correct ratios. Those meals will be alternated with a couple of weekly non-ground, bone-in breakfasts to keep our teeth nice and clean, followed by a meat dinner. And we can't forget the ground veggies and oil supplements and such that we get too.

This morning for breakfast, for the first time ever, we got to feast on whole fish! I'm a HUGE fan of the fishes and I scarfed my bits right down. Stanislaw got fishiness all over his face and front paws, and when mom was wiping him clean he did a big fishy burp right in her face. Awesome! I've heard some talk about going for a run this afternoon and getting a chicken foot as a post-run snack, followed by the rest of our fish for dinner. Today is great! I'm going to prepare for my day of sprinting and snacking.

Staring at the fresh meatyliciousness,

Big Pupi

PS: Mom learned the hard way that if you package meaty servings into little plastic containers, the meat locker fills up really quickly. If you have a ton of food coming in, she recommends using baggies as everything can squish together and it takes up much less room. That being said... it's always good to package up your meat in something that can be washed and reused.

Raw Food Diet, Day 19- My Meat is Here!

My meat finally came in the mail! I was so excited I ran outside and harrassed the mailman for bringing it late. Then my humans spread it out on the table and packaged it all up for future consumption. The smells of goat meat and tripe made my brother and me go nuts!

My brother turned into a wild animal when a gigantic piece of rabbit fell on the floor and my mommy took it out of his mouth. I went crazy when my mom pulled out a full rabbit for us to feast on... I mean like a whole rabbit that I see on the trail, just without skin or hair. The meaty deliciousness was cut into small RMB bits fit for a cocker spaniel. However, I thought I could handle the whole thing without a problem. Mom set aside some meat in a bowl to defrost for my brother and me to eat for dinner. It was the best feast of goat and ground rabbit that I have ever tasted. Or ever eaten.

Here's what the goat meat and bone pieces looked like. Some were good for eating already, while others had to be cut down to size. I watched the counter to see what was going on with my special meats, but my brother just stared at the ground waiting for things to fall. I guess his plan worked once, but he missed seeing all that tasty goat.

Dinner was so good I scarfed it down super fast. It tasted like I snuck up behind a goat and took a bite. I feel like a wild animal hunting down my nightly feasts and catching them in my bowl.

Dreaming of goaty feasts,

Stanislaw

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feasting bits from brother:

My humans took a new approach to meat storage this time around. They cut up all of the ground rabbit and tripe into small squares, and because it was still almost frozen when they were doing it, they could toss all of the pieces into containers and just put that in the freezer. This way they can adjust our feeding without taking baggies of meat apart, and they are able to weigh each piece until we have a full meal. I hope that makes it easier on them. I'm all for feasting efficiency.

My mom also suspects that I may be a little allergic to chicken. I've gotten pretty itchy lately. She's not sure if it's from the weather, dryness because of the heat, pollens... or maybe she was right when she thought that I might have an issue when I was eating dry kibble. Well, I'm going off all chicken for the next week or so to see if I improve. I'm in complete support of this experiment if it means that I get to keep eating goat, rabbit, pork, fish, tripe and beef. Regardless of whether or not my itchies go away from food, my tummy will be full and that's what I'm most concerned about!

Happy feasting!

Here's a little video of my brother and me going into a feasting frenzy at the smell of our ground green tripe. My humans covered their noses and kept gagging. I have no idea why it didn't make them salivate. The stinkyness drove us crazy!

Raw Food Diet, Day 5- Preparing the Feast

Sometimes my humans leave me and my brother at home and go outside and come back with a huge feast of raw meat. I have no idea where they get this feast because when I go outside looking for it, it is not there. Kind of suspicious, don't you think? Anyway, today my humans arrived home with the feast and laid it out on the kitchen island putting it in little baggies instead of in my mouth. Being in the presence of this amount of raw meat put me into a meat rage. I picked a fight with my brother, thrashed my stuffed lemur toy, and barked like a beast until I was put in time-out. When I was released from time-out, the raw feast was neatly packed away into the meat locker -- I presume for future consumption. My question is, why can't we eat now? And why do I always have to wear that weird dish towel snood on my head while I am feasting on raw meat and bones? And why do I have to go into my feasting cage? This preparation for feasting is making me crazy. First packing it all up, and then when it is actually time to feast, pulling it out, weighing it, scooping yogurt into my bowl, shoveling some blended veggies on top, throwing some digestive enzymes in there, breaking up chicken wings.

Just feed me, humans! I am a hungry boy!

Feed me,

Stanislaw

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cleaning hints:

It is often far more economical to purchase your meats at wholesalers and butchers. For those that feed larger dogs and/or have lots of freezer space, purchasing things like chicken wings by the crate (usually about 40lbs at a time) can save lots of money. More money saved means more meat, so let your humans know!

When your people come home with these large meat purchases, please try to contain yourself. I could barely stand still but my brother -- he practically became a wild animal. Keep in mind that if you are to feast properly in the future, your people must get everything set and organized. Some humans like to spread the meat parts on cookie sheets and freeze them, so that they may all be placed in a bag together and they can easily pick out one wing or neck at a time without having them frozen into a solid mass. My humans don't have the space for this, so they will set everything out on the island, and with their little kitchen scale they will measure out daily rations for each of us. A day or meal's-worth of chicken wings for me will go into a baggie with a big "A" on it, while Stanislaw's get a big "S" on the package. Our humans will set our next day's feeding in the refrigerator the morning before so that it may thaw. It is very important to never microwave bone-in meats. This can be extremely dangerous to you. If food isn't quite defrosted by dinner time, I have seen my humans place the frozen pieces in some hot water and give it a little time to warm up. It doesn't take long, but it feels like forever to me!

Because my brother and I have long, floppy, hairy ears, we must wear our little dish towel snoods every time we eat so that we don't drag anything through our raw feast. Commercial snoods are available, but if you don't have one at home, they're easy to make with an old, soft dish towel, gently wrapped around the ears and secured with a hair elastic. Make sure these are washed regularly, as they often catch lots of feasting residue.

We have our snoods put on and then we are each put into our own tiny "feasting cage." These are little areas that not only separate us and stop us from arguing over our tasty dinners, but they also prevent us from taking our raw wings and necks to our favorite chewing spots -- the sofa and arm chair. Underneath our little area is a vinyl table cloth that makes clean-up really easy, and doesn't absorb any goodness that may have fallen. This means some tasty lickings for you after you're done eating.

When we are done with our meal, our mom wipes our mouths with unscented, hypoallergenic baby wipes to make sure that we don't carry any feasting juices away from our eating areas. I know I love nothing more than a post-feast, celebratory thrashing on the sofa, and so I get an extra good wipe-down every meal. Once we're clean and set free from our cages, our humans will disinfect the tablecloth and clean up anything that came in contact with the raw meat. Make sure they use a cleaner that kills salmonella and e. coli, otherwise your humans might get sick. Can you imagine that? I can't believe they don't feast with us, let alone avoid the germs! Our bowls are cleaned after each meal with an antibacterial dish soap, and sometimes our mom will spray down the meat locker handles (refrigerator), faucet handle, garbage and our cage bars with lysol just to make sure there are no creepy crawlies growing on there.