What do dogs eat in nature?
Although we cannot copy the footprint of Mother Nature we can surely mimic what dogs and cats evolved were designed to eat naturally. By providing them a biologically appropriate meal that allows their systems to work effectively and hopefully building their immune system through a diet that puts very little stress on the body and ultimately helps protect them from degenerative diseases and other health complications associated with poor nutrition.
Some potential benefits pet parents have observed when feeding Doggobone:
We can accomplish this by consuming various fresh foods ourselves and for our pets. Technically, our domesticated dogs and cats may or may not differ from their wild counterparts in many ways as science has tried to prove. Still, their dentition and digestive system have in essence remained unchanged. Domesticating them and feeding what we have been accustomed to eating in no way means that just because their bodies can utilize some of the nutrients from the food being fed, it is the appropriate nutrition for them. Therefore feeding a species appropriate raw food should be the first choice of nutrition for cats and dogs. It is also imperative to remember that feeding pets this way is not re-inventing the wheel but rather returning to how they should have been eating in the first place.
HOW IT WORKS
All meat proteins in our finely ground meals are sourced from Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Ostrich, Duck, Fish and Game.
These are combined with vegetables, fruit and herbs. Upon the advice of our nutritionist, we have included and approved vitamins and minerals to close the gap of nutrients that may have been lost during the production process.
Combining a wider range of ingredients improves the nutritional benefit and integrity of the product as a complete and balanced meal.
Why Doggobone?
- Doggobone Active raw food Consists of the following:
- Finely ground meat including Bone
- Organ Meat
- Vegetables and Fruit
- Herbs, Vitamins and Minerals
- Grain Free Achieve Ideal Weight
- Healthy Teeth and gums
- Guaranteed Quality
- Not heat processed
- Streghten immune system
- No Preservatives
- No Artificial flavourants
- Complete & Balanced for all life stages
- Daff Registered -Meals are formulated to meet Act 36 of 1947 nutritional requirements for canines and felines.
Although the raw ingredients used in the formulation of this product are edible for humans, the use of raw green tripe and finely ground meat, including bone, makes this product unsuitable for human consumption.
Chicken/turkey/Duck/Ostrich/Venison are finely ground including bone for a natural source of minerals.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I FEED MY DOG
The weight chart above works on the Life stages of a dog. Select according to your dog’s age weight and energy levels.
Please remember the above chart is at the maximum and it is our experience some dogs thrive on a little less.
For example, My 12-year-old, 40kg Huskey/Malamute mix is 40kgs, low energy and should be eating 770g per day but he now only has 500g per day once a day. He does have hungry days and I give him a little extra if he is having a hungry day. If he leaves food in his bowl then I know he is satisfied. Your dog might not stop when they are satisfied please keep your dog’s temperament in mind. Keep to the feeding guidelines if your dog doesn’t know when to stop.
Every dog’s metabolism is different.
·Feed daily 2.5% of the dog’s ideal body mass.
·You are going to have to actively monitor your pet until you find a good balance
·Doggobone website does have a feeding calculator to assist (https://herohounds.co.za)https://herohounds.co.za/all-about-raw-feeding-2/438/
Treats
Please note the weight chart above includes treats too, if you give your dogs treats or meaty chews then please factor that into the food allocation that day.
For example if you give your dog 500g per day but you add a 50g chicken neck then it would be better to remove 50g raw food from their meal.
NB!!! – Overfeeding your dogs can hurt them.
If you want your dog to lose weight feed them a little less but never let your dog begin to scrounge for food, rather up their food levels. In winter you might notice your dog needs a little more as now they are burning more fuel for warmth, adjust accordingly.
What is my dog’s ideal body weight?
If your dog is overweight, feed 2% to lose weight and if your dog is underweight, feed 3% to gain weight. Once your dog is at his ideal weight, feed 2.5% to maintain a healthy weight.
N.B. There are no hard and fast rules for feeding – every animal has a different metabolism and nutritional requirements, so feeding should be tailored to his or her individual needs.
Too Skinny
Just Right
Rounded
Over weight
Making the Switch
Doggobone recommends a 6-day feeding schedule with a day of fasting on the 7th . Fasting is an age-old practice and has been known to aid digestion and help cleanse the body of toxins. It is not uncommon for animals in the wild to fast. For those who are concerned about fasting their pet we suggest feeding plain yogurt as the alternative to food. It is not advisable to fast puppies under the age of 6 months and ensure your pet has clean fresh water available at all times.
Recommended Method
Rapid Switch:
If your pet has a strong immune system and is generally quite healthy, an immediate conversion can be done. On the first day fast your pet for 24 hours to allow the body to cleanse itself of toxins and to make your pet eager for their next day’s meal. Kindly Be aware that the normal detoxification process may cause temporary symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea and will differ from animal to animal.
*This may also be the result of eating too fast, gulping, or possible temperature variations.
*There is no need to be alarmed if these symptoms occur, as your pet’s digestive system gets used to the change.
Slow Switch:
This method is strongly recommended for pets with compromised immune systems or sensitivity to dramatic changes in diets. The raw diet should be introduced slowly to prevent major detoxification symptoms.
Day 1: On the first day fasting is recommended to allow the body to cleanse itself of toxins and get your pet eager for raw.
Day 2: Start out with 10% being the raw diet and 90% of the old diet. Because the digestion time is different for processed diets and raw diets we suggest that you separate the feedings and feed the raw in the morning and the kibble at night.
Day 3-10: Increase the raw diet each day by 10% and decrease the old diet by 10% for the next 9 days.
Day 11: You should be feeding only the RAW DIET.
Similar rules apply to cats when transitioning them to a raw diet. Cats get fixated on the food they are being fed and it will take much longer for them to accept a new diet extra patience on the part of the ‘pet parent’ is vital during this phase, which can take anything from 3 days to 9 months. It is not recommended to fast your cat for more than 12 hours.
Other:
·We recommend Green Tripe once a week for probiotics
-We recommend Kefir/greek yoghurt for healthy digestive enzymes
·We recommend feeding twice a day to prevent hunger anxiety
·Never heat or cook any of our products
·Doggobone is VET recommended
·Doggobone is manufactured from fresh, human-grade ingredients with no preservatives
·The products hold a 6-month shelf life (frozen).
Doggobone recommends a 6-day feeding schedule with a day of fasting on the 7th. Fasting is an age-old practice and has been known to aid digestion and help cleanse the body of toxins. It is not uncommon for animals in the wild to fast. For those who are concerned about fasting for their pet, we suggest feeding plain yoghurt as an alternative to food.
It is not advisable to fast puppies under the age of 6 months and ensure your pet has clean fresh water available at all times.
Recommended Method
Why might the feeding calculator be inaccurate for my pet?
Well… your pet may not be the average, middle-of-the-road animal the calculator is built for, and that is okay.
When it comes to feeding our pets, keeping them in tip-top shape is a significant part of this is feeding them the correct amount of food. Determining the correct feeding amount is not always straightforward, it often requires periodic changes to find the “sweet spot”
The reason isn’t straightforward because many factors go into determining the appropriate feeding for your specific pet and some of those factors are:
- Breed size – on average, small dogs require more calories per pound than medium and large breed dogs with Great Danes being an exception (often require up to 20% more calories than other breeds in their size class).
- Lifestage – Young adults often require more calories and thus more food than middle-aged pets and seniors (there are always exceptions).
- Activity level – the average pet who receives two walks per day will require fewer calories than your average working dog or competition dog, even if they are the same breed.
- Neuter status – intact pets appear to burn more calories at rest than their altered counterparts.
Note: if your pet is having weight fluctuations, requiring significantly more or less food than they have in the past, we recommend you speak to your veterinarian to make sure no underlying conditions are causing this.
Using a Body Condition Scoring Chart is a fantastic way to see how your pet is doing rather than using solely the number on the scale. Ideally, pets should fall in the 4 – 5 range on the 9-point scale. Do not fret though, if you find your pet is closer to a 6 or 7, now is the perfect time to start dialling in their nutrition to get them back to where they should be.
We recognize using this table can be difficult for breeds who are extra fluffy. For those breeds, we suggest getting your hands on them to feel for ribs and other bony bits and using a measuring tape to get a baseline chest/waist/neck measurement. If you find the ribs hard to feel, then you know going forward your pets’ measurements should be less than what they are now.
For all pets, we suggest keeping a photo diary! Snap a picture of your pet from the side and from the top. We see our pets every single day which makes weight loss or weight gain more difficult to recognize. We don’t always realize this is happening until significant changes have occurred. Taking photographs weekly and reviewing monthly is a habit that will help you stay on top of your pets’ body-scoring condition – making sure they stay in tip-top shape.
How to Handle Raw
Keep food frozen until ready to use and defrost the required amount.
- Remove product contents from packaging before thawing, eliminating microplastics in the food.
- Use a sharp cutting tool and carefully cut alongside the length of the packaging.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
- Please do not leave the food out all day! – Or the food will spoil.
- Hygiene is key to working with Raw! Treat raw food in the same manner you treat your raw meat.
- You can use a separate preparation area.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and equipment before and after preparing raw pet food.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before and after preparing raw pet food.
- Weigh out the portion of food using a scale.
- Please use Stainless steel or ceramic dog bowls as plastic is deemed unsanitary for raw use.
- Do not discard thawed juice, discarding the thawed juice may lead to a nutritional imbalance.
- Make sure your dog eats all of the raw food, If you leave it in the bowl it will attract flys and ants, and this is where it gets dangerous.
- If your dog does not eat all their food, take their bowl and cover it in a wrap or add it to another container and place it in the fridge and add it to the food for the next feeding.
- Wash your dog’s bowls with soap and water after each use.
- We suggest also rinsing the plastic package bag before recycling or throwing it into the garbage as this will help prevent flies and ants.
- Keep any leftover dog food in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. The raw food will maintain its quality and freshness for up to 48 hours.
- Do not re-freeze. Feed unfed food with 3 days of thawing in the refrigerator.
- Please always make sure your pet has access to clean water daily.
- For small dogs, you can cut the frozen sausages into the correct sizes, wrap them in cling wrap and return them to the freezer until you need them.
The use of natural ingredients will influence the colour, texture and consistency of every batch. Packed in a facility that handles different meat species. Pork is not used in any of our products. This product may be sensitive to humans. Unless specified, all organ meat is of beef/sheep origin.
Mixing the proteins:
·At a minimum a raw diet should consist of 3 protein sources and 50% of the diet should be from red meat.
·This is to prevent the possibility of developing a protein allergy
·How you mix it is entirely up to you
·You will also notice your pets may love one type, and hate another
Bones:
·We do not believe that pellets clean dog teeth. It’s like us eating Big-Corn Bites chips and saying we do not need to brush our teeth tonight.
·Bones serve as a meal replacement
·We use the raw pork bones (This is not a doggobone line) as they are “soft” on the teeth
·We recommend pork bones 2 – 4 times a month for cleaning teeth and strengthening jaw, neck, shoulder and back muscles
·It also provides mental stimulation
·All bones must be fed under supervision
·Dogs must not attempt to swallow the entire bone
·We take the bones away from our large dogs at approximately 10cm in length (Size is dog-dependent)
·Most of our clients feed bones and under supervision and they have proven to be perfectly safe
·Please take note some vets advise against feeding bones
Chicken & Duck Bones:
·As long as chicken and duck is not cooked, the bones remain soft and pliable.
·Only once cooked, do they become sharp and brittle
Other Information
Is fasting for Adult Dogs good for them?
Fasting involves the withholding of food from adult dogs; this does not include withholding water, which should be available at all times. Fasting is NOT starving your dog. Whilst this can be a foreign concept in many societies, fasting has an abundance of health benefits
Fasting can be employed to improve health in the following ways:
- Break down and get rid of wastes that have accumulated in the organs, fatty tissues and intestines
- Decreases inflammatory molecules in many different cell types (inflammation underlies many degenerative diseases).
- Clears infections
- Repairs overworked cells, glands and organs
My dog is a Gulper, is Doggobone okay for them?
Any dog can be a gulper – small or large. Doggobone crushes the meat and bone into tiny pieces. But if you want your dog to slow down eating add to a slow feeding bowl or add a tennis ball to their food bowl it will force them to eat slower.
When giving your dogs bones or parts I suggest watching your dog so they don’t swallow it whole, or feed your dogs separately so they can eat their bone without fear of another dog stealing theirs. I would suggest giving your dog bones that are too large to swallow.
Does my dog have food sensitivities?
If your dog has any sensitivities, you will want to make sure you do not feed those items to avoid issues. If you suspect your dog to have a sensitivity, feed an elimination diet to determine the problem.
Poop Patrol!
Loose Stool: Add more bone to the next meal to firm up your dog’s stool
Very Dark, Black Stool: Cut back on the amount of organs next meal and add more muscle meat.
Mucus, Slimy Stool: Trim off the skin and fat off of the muscle meat for the next meal.
Very Hard, White/Grey Stool: Don’t feed any bone, add more muscle meat and organs to the next meal
However, you should still monitor your dog’s potty schedule and stool.
We cannot guarantee that your pet will like or eat our product.
Sometimes a lot of perseverance and persuasion is required to make a complete transition to the new diet. If your pet will still not eat the food and you feel the food will go to waste, we suggest donating unfed food to a shelter in its original frozen condition
This product is not intended to treat illnesses, kindly, consult with a registered health professional for advice each animal is an individual and nutritional needs will differ from animal to animal.
Puppies
Split the required meal for puppies into 3 meals per day for up to 6 months.
·Puppies are very complicated to feed raw due to their calcium and phosphorus requirements
·Doggobone has been approved as balanced for all stages of a dog’s life, including puppies.
·See the attached Puppy Feeding calculator to see what body weight percentage to change at what age
Between 4 months and 9 months, feed 8% of body mass taken once a week (3 meals per day) (07:00, 12:00 & 17:30)
Between 9 months and 12 months, feed 6% of body mass taken once a week (3 meals per day)
Between 12 months and 18 months, feed 5% of body mass taken once a week (3 meals per day)
Between 18 months and 24 months, feed 4% of body mass taken once a week (2 meals per day) (07:00 & 17:30)
Between 24 months and over, feed 3% of body mass taken once a week (2 meals per day)
Between 4 months and 6 months feed 8% of body mass, taken once a week
Other foods to feed to puppies:
·Use an accurate kitchen scale to weigh each feeding
· Goat milk, full cream yoghurt, tripe, some of the balanced meals from the other pets, coconut oil, pork bones
NOTE:
·Sometimes as the puppy gets older, we will begin to eat less. This is normal, just reduce the food intake.
·The _% is just a guide and varies from pup to pup
·If he puts on too much weight, reduce the food intake
·You are going to have to actively monitor your pets until you find a good balance
Other Information – Cats
DoggObone’s Alfies Cat raw Meal Was voted South Africa’s No. 1 Cat Food in 2022
Feeding guideline:
Feed daily 4-8% of the cat’s ideal body mass
You are going to have to actively monitor your pets until you find a good balance
Thawing:
The product is supplied in 125g frozen rolls, sold per kilo
I suggest removing it from the freezer for 30min
Do not keep out of the fridge for longer than 30min during the summer months as the food will spoil
Then remove it from the packaging and place the product into a glass container with a sealable lid
This method will easily remove the product from the packaging, if you wait too long it’s like squeezing a tube of toothpaste
If the roll thaws before you have removed it from the packaging, snip off the crimp and make a small hole of the back end to allow air into the sausage – this will assist with removing the contents without squeezing.
You would then need an electronic scale to weigh out the correct amount for your pet
The unfrozen product must be kept in the fridge, we recommend using it within 48hours
Transitioning from Pellets to Raw:
Cats are extremely fussy and most older cats will not take to raw food
Should you wish to proceed, then we recommend slowly weaning the food
We do not believe in mixing the Raw with Pellets due to protein and carbohydrates being digested differently by the body.
Pellets in turned into excrement long before completing the digestive cycle. Large amounts of food in ingested, and large amounts of food are ejected.
Raw food continues to be absorbed by the body for the entire digestive cycle. Very little excrement is ejected at the end.
Other:
We recommend feeding twice a day to prevent hunger anxiety
Never heat or cook any of our products
Doggobone is VET-recommended
Doggobone is manufactured from fresh, human-grade ingredients with no preservatives
The products hold a 6-month shelf life
Please wash cat bowels with warm water and soap after each use
