This is Emma one of our admins intro to raw. It answers most FQA for beginners.
The key with starting out is going SLOW. Proteins need to be introduced gradually, starting with one (chicken or green tripe are great starters), and fed for 7-10 days, before introducing another protein in the same manner. Working through all the kinds of meat you want to feed (ideally you want as much variety as possible so we feed duck, pheasant, rabbit, beef, lamb turkey, pork, chicken, venison and fish (salmon and sprats, mackerel), tripe (lamb and beef) along with raw eggs and organs (spleen kidney and liver). But every new meat needs to be introduced gradually, with organs eggs and fish being introduced last.
In the long run you want to aim to be hitting the ratios of: 80/10/10 (80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organs - which should be 5% liver and 5% another organ - but things like heart and lung are fed as MEAT not organ for feeding purposes, although of course, they are an organ!).The reason that heart, lung , gizzard and tripe don't belong in the organ ratio is because they arn't secreting organs. However liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, sweetbreads, ovaries, testicles and brain are secreting organs. Get in as much variety as you can get your hands on once fully switched. In terms of how much to feed a day, the guideline for an adult dog is 2-3% of adult weight. 2.5% is usually a good place to start, depending on your dogs condition. If under weight, feed more, if over weight, feed less. you can up and down your dogs intake according to how they look (lean or chubby) once you've started out
Vegetables are optional, but if fed, best leafy green (avoiding sugary veg if feeding regularly as it can cause yeast issues). They need to be blitzed (raw, not cooked) to have benefit for your dogs really.
Just to reiterate, raw bones (including chicken!) are safe, but cooked are not. Picking a bone size appropriate for your dog is fairly important (if very large dogs, i'd avoid small bones like chicken wings, but maybe pick chicken carcass or rack of ribs instead). Weight bearing bones (like beef legs and knuckles) are recreational, so cannot be 'eaten' or chewed up, but can be good for entertaining them, however they can chip teeth - so should be fed supervised. Bones are an important part of their diet, but shouldn't be over fed as they can cause constipation. If you are frightened to start your dog on bone (quite natural!), then hold on to the bone while they chew it to begin with, so they get the idea of crunching not swallowing whole. You can also get bone already ground in mince, if you prefer, but feeding whole bones is a great way to clean teeth and work their jaws.
Poo watch is one of the 'delights' of raw feeding, but you'll get used to checking out their waste in no time It's important to keep an eye (especially at first) on their poops, as it will indicate how they are coping with new proteins, the amount of bone you're feeding, and how they take to organs etc. White, crumbly, chalky poo indicates too much bone, poo tends to be darker if feeding / introducing the organs, and organs (especially if over fed) can produce sloppy, awful ones!
Shop bought raw is great, but may be VERY expensive for you with such large dogs. DIY may work out cheaper, but it is a good starting point!
See the 'files' for a huge list of suppliers (for US, UK, Australia, other countries, etc...) which supply all the foods you can need for your raw fed dog! They do minces, chunks of mince, bones, organs, raw treats (usually dehydrated meats - which you can also do yourself!) and some great herbal remedies and supplements (although supplements are not a NECESSITY and should be added when and if you need them. Hope this helps
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