Subscribe for raw feeding tips, homemade raw dog food recipes and dog lifestyle videos!
Hi, I'm Barbara Rivers, a raw dog food nerd and former professional dog walker.
These days, I'm here to share my raw dog food and dog fitness knowledge with you.
On this platform, I'm doing it in video form, but you can also find articles on most of what I share here on RU-vid on my personal blog K9sOverCoffee.com.
Now, I first learned about raw dog food back in 2015 when my Boxer mix Missy was diagnosed with cancer for the first time. In 2016, I began making DIY raw dog food to save money, and I've never looked back.
That said, you get to peek into my kitchen including raw dog food bowls, watch me feed whole raw meaty bones & whole prey, test dog gear & explore the outdoors.
If you have questions about my raw feeding approach or the dog gear I use, just leave a comment on my videos and I will answer them.
You can also email me at barbara@k9sovercoffee.com.
Luuuuv this🥰...& Im trying to do this as well just havina hard time trying to afford Rabbit in the U.S....especially for 7 Pups😆 Your Baby is smart knowing fresh Prey is body room temperature guessing better rather than cold from what I've researched...Cool cold or frozen can upset tummies...mine actually have thrown it up😆... Learning new things all the time but I'm confused on a couple things.... Trying to portion whole prey if not eating the whole thing all at once how to balance it eating multiple days how to know what to incorporate to balance that day??.... bone & Organ wise? Your thoughts?? Also very confused thinking Logically Scientifically based on body design how I try to think... Plant matter fruits, veggies, seeds grains carbohydrates are unnecessary indigestible for cats & dogs..they do not process them..They are Carnivores... Scientifically they are NOT Herbivore or Omnivore by Design I mean..been trying to research & have been told Not to feed this due to health issues & stress on the organs & how it's processed & it only causes issues allergies yeast cancers etc due to Sugar Organ stress etc Found this link for PMR raw diet & info from Fortheloveofraw.com & was wondering about your thoughts? This is just one there are many.. kinda confusing but again trying to think Logically by Design😆 Like I'm Vegan based on design not just the Love of Animals cuz Animal Products makes the human body sick causes so many issues so again Logically thinking the same for carnivores but the opposite😊 Thank you so much for thoughts FurBaby Luv Kel 🐾💌🐾 www.fortheloveofraw.com/omnivore-or-carnivore?fbclid=IwY2xjawEl1YJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdD2vHFfHyLMZAcOorBP55f1c_appj9ziwrKV_pZq1-NZhn3_02Nn2rZJQ_aem_-Y4PeWtIKyNOdvi9VSQ1yg
I have a pig leg, given to my dog for 15 mins chew, back in fridge for tomorrow, how long should you let them chew it & how long can I keep it in fridge for him please?
@@angelaohanian5199 It depends on your dog’s size and their chewing style - but 10-15 minutes is a good time to start with! You can keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days - I‘d store it in a zip lock bag or a food storage container!
@@K9sOverCoffeeok and I gotta question what Breed are they because it’s hard for me to choose a dog breed cause I know i want maybe a black lab and this grey dog named a Weimaraner
I read an ooder review, there the lady paid $600?! Tyats bonkers. Infeel this is a ripoff, they say they mean well. Why ask so much money. No but no, ill do my own research and find other ways
It's the Tactical Harness by Boss Dog, size Small: amzn.to/3VkGgKh (Amazon affiliate link) and then it's a 6' leather leash by a wholesale retailer called COLLAR company: collar.com
All the different ratios that are out there such as 80 1010 are a good starting point. They are not written in stone. They give new people an idea of how to start. But there’s no reason to lose sleep over it and stress out over it. There are many ratios out there and they all have their merits. I can think of three different ratios right now, and I technically feed all three of them now and then. And I make up my own here and there. It’s worked for well over 20 years now. Common sense needs to come back to the Rawfeeding community. Extreme supplementation, virtue, signaling, shaming needs to go away.
Absolutely. Sometimes I feed a whole prey animal, sometimes I feed a chunked meal with plant matter, sometimes a chunked meal without plant matter, and sometimes I grab some premade raw (with or without plant matter). Not losing sleep over what makes it into Wally's bowl.
The difference is that these doctors are being practical. And today’s Rawfeeding community is based on fear, mongering, and Richard signaling. I’m tired of people freaking out because they can’t source a second secreting organ for a week or two. They are literally being told that their dog is going to get a vitamin deficiency and die if they cannot find a secreting organ for a week. And then the same people are told that if they can’t source that secreting organ, then they need to not feed their dog raw because they are going to do more damage than good. They need to go back to kibble. Are you kidding me? The Rawfeeding community nowadays is in sane. Common sense is very much needed and I’m glad these doctors are bringing it to us. They have been for years. The first books I read on Rawfeeding over 20 years ago. Were there by Ian Billinghurst and Tom Lonsdale. They are just as relevant today as they were back then.
I agree with everything you say! Fear mongering needs to be replaced by common sense, and what may work for one dog may not work for another. So while one specific way of raw feeding might be a good starting point, it's going to take trial and error to see which ingredients work for which dog, as well as how much food works (1.5%. 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, etc.).
If you only plan to add a raw turkey neck to their meals once a week, you probably don’t need to reduce your girls’ feeding amounts. But if you’re planning on adding raw turkey necks on a regular basis, you’ll want to adjust their feeding amount. What are you currently feeding them? A commercial premade raw? Are you planning on making your own DIY raw dog food including whole raw meaty bones in the future?
They’re alternating between beef, beef/tripe and duck 80/10/10 blends. One of the beef blends is a little less muscle percent because it also has fruits and veggies in it. Ground salmon or an egg are added in the mornings. Local place (Raw Dog Food and Co, Denver). They also delivered a 5lb bag of turkey necks for them to try.
Your videos are so helpful! Even my Gsd loves raw bones n when it’s this challenging, she enjoys even more. Do you use goat heat with her usual meal on that particular day?
Thank you so much ☺ Wally got to chew on the raw goat's head instead of one meal, so he only got one real raw dog food meal on the days when he chewed on the head (3 days total).
Great info. Wondering about this for my huge, but not obese GSD; 129# & 20 months. He needs power nutrition that he would enjoy. Gonna try this. Read if you freeze the raw meat for 2-3 weeks, the bacteria is killed. Salmonella is the easiest, takes less time to die off. Have you heard this? New Sub! What a lovely place🙂
Hi Cynthia, and thank you, that was my boyfriend's place in the States, now we're in Germany. ☺ So freezing doesn't kill bacteria, but a healthy dog's stomach environment is very acidic and designed to handle raw meat including bacteria like salmonella. That's why dogs (much like wolves) can eat raw meat no problem and digest raw bones, too. You're welcome to browse my raw dog food blog K9sOverCoffee.com for more raw feeding information: www.k9sovercoffee.com
My Mia does the same thing. I give them their food on a large plate on top of a towel. She always pulls out her RMB and sets it on the towel, and eats everything else first. I have two dogs, and they eat on towels at opposite ends of the room. However, my yorkie always finishes first and gets leashed to a chair leg while Mia finishes.
@@K9sOverCoffee They get chicken wings and backs. I mince up duck heads occasionally. They are too tough for them but so nutritional. Necks are a potential choking hazard for my gulping boy. Otherwise I would feed those too. Same with feet.
@@mamabear9389 Wings are such a great size for smaller dogs - plus, they’re wonderful for joint support, too! What grinder do you use for the duck heads?
@@K9sOverCoffee I just use my Joyce Chen poultry shears. I cut them in half first and then they are easy to mince up. They surprisingly have more meat than I expected!
I just placed a 50 pound order with Raw Feeding Miami. It cost almost $500! However, this will last my two small dogs a very long time. I only order from them about once per year. The shipping cost keeps going up.
@K9sOverCoffee Lamb heart, whole quail, pork brain, pork pancreas, beef spleen, beef trachea, beef sweetbreads, lamb testicles and turkey gizzards. I ordered lots of whole quail which I feed about once a week. So that was a large portion of the order. These are mostly hard to find items. We raise our own beef so for muscle meat I feed that. We also have liver, heart, tongue, kidney and lung from our cows. I try to feed a small amount of organs with lots of variety.
@@mamabear9389 Very nice, those are all awesome cuts of raw meat. Dr. Lonsdale would be proud of you for feeding your pups whole quail! And I LOVE that you're raising your own beef - how convenient for raw meal prep. 👌🏻
@K9sOverCoffee I actually am on a carnivore diet myself for over 2 years now to cure my IBS and it worked great. So I eat lots of meat and it helps to raise our own.
Thanks for the review. I have been raw feeding for 14 years and my dogs are doing well at 15 and almost 16. I take a more simplistic approach to raw feeding similar to Ian Billinghurst and Conor Brady. This fomulator looks way too complicated to me. However, some people may like getting this detailed. Just thinking about using this makes my head hurt!
My pleasure, thanks for taking the time to watch it! And yes, I dislike the fact that software such as this kind sort of brings the message across that raw feeding has to be complicated. It's totally possible to DIY raw feed using a common sense approach and rotate the raw dog food ingredients that make it into your meal prep batches. Absolutely LOVE that you seem to have done that with your pups, and that they've been raw-fed almost all of their (long!) lives. ...but if you want to nerd out over raw dog food, it's a cool gadget to do that with 🤓
My dogs are very small. I do give them whole quail occasionally which is nice because they can finish in one sitting. To feed larger pieces of RMBs I have tried giving the RMBs less often alternating with all meat meals, however I find the stools are very inconsistent this way. Mine seem to do best with some bone with every meal.
Happy to hear that you're feeding your small pups raw dog food, including whole quails! Those are great whole prey animals for small dogs. I say do whatever works best for you and your pups!
@K9sOverCoffee I have been feeding them raw homemade for 14 years. They are 15 and 15.5 and still healthy. Definitely happy I stuck with it in spite of everyone I knew and vets telling me I would kill them. I do try different things and some work but others don't. For example, I did try once a day feeding for a while, but that did not work as well. Mine also need less bone and organ more frequently vs more bone and organ less frequently.
@@mamabear9389 Oh wow, what a wonderful testimony to the benefits of feeding raw dog food!!! What breeds are your pups? And I completely agree, dogs have different nutritional needs, just like us humans do. Just because one pup does well with plant matter doesn’t mean that another pup will do well with it also. It’s all a trial and error. I didn’t try feeding once a day, but I did try fasting for one day. Didn’t work, Wally got hunger pukes. So I’m not doing it with him anymore.
@K9sOverCoffee One dog is half Havanese and half Papillon (breeder oops). The other is a yorkie puppy mill dog. Neither came from great breeders so not sure how good the genetics are. They are my first dogs ever. Previously had cats. I was definitely clueless on all aspects of dog rearing. I did many things wrong but luckily I did the homemade raw diet. There was not as much information out there when I started. Luckily there is now, although some of it can be extremely confusing with fancy spreadsheets, supplements, etc. It is nice to have people like you to educate others.
@@mamabear9389 Well, your pups lucked out with you as their owner!! Lol regarding the breeder oops - I bet they’re little cuties. Did you have a hard time transitioning your small dogs from kibble to raw? Just curious as smaller ones can be picky eaters. Thank you ☺️, I try my best to share my knowledge in a common sense way. Agreed that some people are trying to make it sound more difficult than it is.
@@user-md8of9yj1d 10 years into feeding whole fish and talking with holistic vets who've fed this way for multiple decades, I feel very confident. But if you prefer to blend it, that's totally fine, too!
No it's not. Dog's want to chew. Whole prey or big chunks of meat makes them feel more satiated and chewing is also good for their mental health. Raw fish won't do any harm even if swallowed whole
@@ParietalCell1492 No, never. Think about it this way: Dogs have a very acidic stomach environment that's made to digest raw meat AND bones, and teeth are much softer than bones, so everything is digested no problem.
I completely agree, it is expensive because of the recurring subscription model. Have a look at the resources to learn how to make your own raw dog food that I share on my raw dog food blog K9sOverCoffee.com: www.k9sovercoffee.com
Hey! Which size is this? Is there a decent amount of room for adjustments? I have a puppy-she is a spaniel but I am not sure which or how big she will get. I ordered a medium. 🤔
I wished my digs would eat whole prey but they wont which will force me to have to dissect it for them urgh my biggest boy is a 30kg mastiff x staffy he just tried playing with it 😅
Lol! I didn't dissect the rabbit, Wally got the whole intact rabbit in the first feeding session, and then I took it away from him when he had eaten half of it. This video is essentially him eating that second half. Maybe you could try chopping it up into smaller chunks and see what your pup thinks of it that way!
Your dog has beautiful teeth! we've just switched our 14 month old Norwegian beagle mix to freeze dried raw (was too nervous to go all raw right now) and we're looking into raw meaty bones, is there a particular company you get them from, and has Wally had any trouble with the RMB? Digestive, bones, lodges anything like that? The RMB make so much sense but we're nervous about it. Thank you for the videos!
Thank you ☺ Are we talking about a Norwegian Elkhound - Beagle mix?! That sounds like one cutie-pie! So back when I lived in the States, I got my RMBs from Raw Paws Pet Food, Raw Feeding Miami and local grocery stores. Wally's never had any trouble with any of the RMBs he ate and eats - turkey & duck necks, duck frames, rabbit heads, duck heads, chicken feet (before I realized chicken makes him itch), duck wings, pig feet, pig tails, carcasses, etc. I adopted him when he was 1.5 years old and he's 6.5 years old now. The most important tip I can give you is to never feed cooked bones, only raw ones because those are pliable and soft, and your dog's acidic digestive system is made to digest raw bones. Here's some information on RMBs on my blog if you'd like some more information: www.k9sovercoffee.com/homemade-raw-dog-food/#9-raw-meaty-bones-rmbs-
@@K9sOverCoffee oh thank you so much, there's so much information out there and I've found your channel very helpful since I started to research raw diets and bones. Yes he's a Norwegian beagle mix! I'll check out your blog now. Thanks again!
He doesn’t! Sorry to hear your pup did - where did you get the pigs foot from? Also, how much of it did your dog eat? Since pig’s foot is more on the fatty side and your dog has a sensitive stomach, that may explain the diarrhea. There shouldn’t be any parasite in it unless if it was from a wild pig (hog)?
