Meat grinder for raw dog food
Discussion
I'm thinking of putting my Labrador on a raw meat diet, she's got a bit podgy on proprietary cereal stuff. Going the DIY root, buying my own ingredients. I need a good meat mincer/grinder to chop all the stuff up, including bones. Any user of a meat mincer/grinder that doesn't cost an arm or a leg recommend a good brand? Plenty on eBay, but just how good are they?
robinessex said:
You do if it's chicken bones
I feed chicken carcasses and hocks and feet. All raw, all whole. No problems. As long as you are not cooking it of course. I also feed lamb spines and ribs, the odd lamb head if I can get it, the odd deer rack of ribs when I can get them and even trotters. All raw. None minced. 
Boosted LS1 said:
OP, you're the one who let her get fat. You've been providing the calories that made her fat. Feed her less or walk her more. It's as simple as that. :-) In your defence it's known that labs are also known to be gluttons.
She gets 2 walkies a day, She's only on 200gms of cereal per day, half what it says on the packet. My vet says Labs are the worst dogs for putting on weight, hence the planned diet change. She'll be on 2% body weight for a while.Boosted LS1 said:
^ Of interest how old is she? Females can pork out once past 40, oops I mean in their prime. Also, is there a medical condition?
She's a rescue dog, so age estimate is 8. We've had her for 6 yrs now. She has a bit of arthritis in one knee, so walkies aren't at 100mph anymore!! More like 50mph !!!Edited by Boosted LS1 on Sunday 2nd February 23:33
Personally I think raw bones are fine - I've fed 100's of dogs raw chicken over the last few years and I've never once had a problem. Sure you can go online and find someones dog who choked on one but you can also find a story on someone hurting themselves falling out of bad or crossing a road 
I think mincing up meat and bones would be a ridiculous waste of time and money, creating a bunch of cleaning up etc. One large entire chicken will feed my 6-7dogs at home a snack. They're all different sizes so I portion it out appropriately, each dog getting 1 full piece whether thats most of a carcass, or just a wing or leg or whatever. One knife and one chopping board to clean up, thats it.
Unless there are teeth or stomach problems requiring it I wouldn't be willing to go to all the hassle involved. I don't think there is any real benefit.
I think mincing up meat and bones would be a ridiculous waste of time and money, creating a bunch of cleaning up etc. One large entire chicken will feed my 6-7dogs at home a snack. They're all different sizes so I portion it out appropriately, each dog getting 1 full piece whether thats most of a carcass, or just a wing or leg or whatever. One knife and one chopping board to clean up, thats it.
Unless there are teeth or stomach problems requiring it I wouldn't be willing to go to all the hassle involved. I don't think there is any real benefit.
Our latest rescue dog is now on raw after several months of trying different things to see what would agree with him, we're now 6 months in and it seems to work for him so yes I can recommend Raw.
But why go the whole hog and buy all the ingredients and mix your own?
We buy Durham Raw foods in 454g frozen packs, everything you need for a balance diet in 1 pack (allegedly), looking at a pack of Beef & Heart Mince its' ingredients are; beef & beef heart cuts, bone, liver & spleen - 80% Meat, 10% bone, 10% offal.
Ours has 320g a day, all you have to do is to remember to get the next pack out to defrost otherwise pooch is on ice-cream!!
Costs c£0.90 per pack we buy a months at a time.
But why go the whole hog and buy all the ingredients and mix your own?
We buy Durham Raw foods in 454g frozen packs, everything you need for a balance diet in 1 pack (allegedly), looking at a pack of Beef & Heart Mince its' ingredients are; beef & beef heart cuts, bone, liver & spleen - 80% Meat, 10% bone, 10% offal.
Ours has 320g a day, all you have to do is to remember to get the next pack out to defrost otherwise pooch is on ice-cream!!
Costs c£0.90 per pack we buy a months at a time.
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