How Much To Feed When Switching To Raw

Posted by sfraw on Jan 12th 2015

Body Condition Scoring Chart & How Much To Feed

Maintain your adult dog or cat’s score to within the 2-3 range of the body condition score chart included below.

1 = Emaciated Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all body prominences evident from a distance. No discernible body fat. Obvious absence of muscle mass.

1 = Emaciated Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all body prominences evident from a distance. No discernible body fat. Obvious absence of muscle mass.

2 = Thin Ribs easily palpated and may be visible with no palpable fat. Tops of lumbar vertebrae visible. Pelvic bones less prominent. Obvious waist and abdominal tuck.

3 = Moderate Ribs palpable without excess fat covering. Abdomen tucked up when viewed from side.

4 = Stout General fleshy appearance. Ribs palpable with difficulty. Noticeable fat deposits over lumbar spine and tail base. Abdominal tuck may be absent.

5 = Obese Large fat deposits over chest, spine and tail base. Waist and abdominal tuck absent. Fat deposits on neck and limbs. Abdomen distended.

Kasie’s last two Great Danes were raised on raw and ate raw their entire lives. Minna (left), is an example of a dog with a super high metabolism - she required 4% of her body weight in food/day to maintain her svelte & muscled figure as an incredibly active dog. She also required a higher fat diet based on fatty cuts of beef, lamb & pork. Ben (right) needed 2% of his body weight in food per day and could eat anything. They are pictured here as healthy, fit and active 7-year olds hiking at high altitude in the Siskiyou National Forest. (RIP Ben & Minna 1998-2010)

Kasie’s last two Great Danes enjoyed eating raw throughout their entire lifetime. Minna (left), is an example of a dog with a super high metabolism. She required 4% of her body weight in food/day to maintain her svelte & muscled figure as an incredibly active dog. She also required a higher fat diet based on fatty cuts of beef, lamb & pork. Ben (right) needed 2% of his body weight in food per day and could eat anything. They are pictured here as healthy, fit and active 7-year olds hiking at high altitude in the Siskiyou National Forest. (RIP Ben & Minna 1998-2010)

Getting Started

If your animal is initially below or above these mid-range scores of 2-3, be sure to calculate how much food they need to consume per day by using their IDEAL body weight (not their current body weight).

After you determine the suggested amount to feed based on their ideal body weight, consider this your starting amount to feed per day when you first switch to raw feeding. The suggested daily amounts below include all foods being consumed by your animal – treats, meals, snacks, meat, bones, formulas/grinds and all other foods being consumed.

Make Adjustments, If Necessary

If your animal starts to move beyond the 2-3 body score by gaining too much weight, feed less. If they become too thin, feed more. Individual metabolisms and energy requirements can vary dramatically. Pay close attention to your animal’s body condition to accurately determine the amount of food they need to consume to maintain their IDEAL weight.

Important Consideration for Raw Fed Puppies: If you have a growing puppy and you are feeding raw during the growth period (from weaning through 12-months and up to 2-3 years of age, depending on your breed and dog’s expected adult size):

First, **congratulations** on doing the best thing for your puppy’s health, structure, development, immune system and longevity! You are providing your puppy with the very best opportunity for a long & healthy life.

Second, it is important to keep these pups lean until they have completed their growth and reached full maturity. We prefer to see growing raw fed puppies maintained at a score of 2-3 for ideal health and safe, slow, strong and steady growing.

Check out our blog post about feeding puppies raw diet for more information on this topic.

On Feeding Seniors: Healthy, less active animals and seniors generally require less food per day to maintain a healthy body weight. However, some very aged seniors may double or even triple their daily nutrient requirements, especially when faced with illness, debility or a diminished functionality of their digestive system. This last issue may inhibit an animal from properly absorbing nutrients from their diet. You may want to consider incorporating a high quality digestive enzyme supplement to assist their aging digestive systems in breaking down and absorbing the nutrients in their food. Some seniors flourish with the addition of home-prepared cooked wholesome foods (broths and stews) along with supplements to enhance the nutritional quality of their diets.

In every case, let your animal’s well-being guide you (superseding the recommendations made on any chart) to feed whatever amount they require to stay healthy and fit.

Consider Nutrient Density of Different Foods

Foods that are higher in macro nutrients (calories, fat and protein) will maintain a proper body condition more efficiently than foods that are lower in these macro nutrients.

Per ounce, higher density foods generally include duck, beef, pork and lamb. The more fat and skin you feed, the more calorically dense the food will be. All bones are high in calories and fat – as well as being mineral rich, which is their primary nutritional benefit and reason why we feed them to dogs and cats.

Chicken, fish, game (emu, rabbit) and/or commercially prepared raw foods that add water for processing, or include produce/vegetable matter, dairy or eggs will be lower in these macro-nutrients. In this case, you will need to feed more of these foods to maintain the same body composition.

Note About SFRAW Brand Products

SFRAW brand products are made with whole animals or over 90% meat based ingredients with less than 10% produce and other wholesome “superfood” ingredients to enhance the nutritional quality of our Formulas. We never add water for processing. To minimize processing and maintain nutritional integrity of our fresh, wholesome and exceptional ingredients, we never overgrind. SFRAW grinds & formulas are very dense and potent nutritionally, which means you can usually feed less of our foods to your pet compared to feeding other brands of raw food to maintain an ideal body composition.

Macro-nutrients found in common foods (raw, estimated averages) per ounce:

Per 1 oz serving	Calories	Carb	Protein	Total Fat
Per 1 oz serving	Calories	(g)	(g)	(g)
Bone marrow, raw	251.18	0	0	13.58
Duck, raw (skin-on)	113	0	3	11
Beef, ground, raw (75/25)	83	0	4.5	7.1
Lamb, ground, raw	80	0	4.7	6.6
Pork, fresh, ground, raw	75	0	4.8	6
Bison, ground, raw	63	0	5.29	4.52
Beef, ground, raw (grass-finished)	54	0	5	4
Turkey, ground, raw (85/15)	51	0	4.8	3.6
below 50 Kcal/ounce
Sardines, raw	46	0	5.6	2.5
Veal, ground, raw	41	0	5.5	1.9
Chicken, ground, raw	40	0	5	2
Eggs, raw	40	0	4	3
Rabbit, raw	39	0	6	2
Salmon, raw	39	0	6	2
Emu, raw	38	0	6	1
Goat, raw	31	0	5.8	0.7
Halibut, raw	30	0	6	1
below 25 Kcal/ounce
Goat milk, raw	16	1.8	1	0.7
Non-Starchy Vegetables (avg) raw	8	2	1	0

Feeding Charts: How Much Raw Food Your Pet Should Consume

(Determined by ideal body weight, age and activity level)


	2%
	Moderate-High Activity
Ideal Adult Weight	ounces/day	pounds/day	#/week	#/month
5	1.6	0.1	0.7	3
10	3.2	0.2	1.4	6
15	4.8	0.3	2.1	9
20	6.4	0.4	2.8	12
25	8	0.5	3.5	15
30	9.6	0.6	4.2	18
35	11.2	0.7	4.9	21
40	12.8	0.8	5.6	24
45	14.4	0.9	6.3	27
50	16	1	7	30
55	17.6	1.1	7.7	33
60	19.2	1.2	8.4	36
65	20.8	1.3	9.1	39
70	22.4	1.4	9.8	42
75	24	1.5	10.5	45
80	25.6	1.6	11.2	48
85	27.2	1.7	11.9	51
90	28.8	1.8	12.6	54
95	30.4	1.9	13.3	57
100	32	2	14	60


	4%
	High Metabolism (Athletes)
Ideal Adult Weight	ounces/day	pounds/day	#/week	#/month
5	3.2	0.2	1.4	6
10	6.4	0.4	2.8	12
15	9.6	0.6	4.2	18
20	12.8	0.8	5.6	24
25	16	1	7	30
30	19.2	1.2	8.4	36
35	22.4	1.4	9.8	42
40	25.6	1.6	11.2	48
45	28.8	1.8	12.6	54
50	32	2	14	60
55	35.2	2.2	15.4	66
60	38.4	2.4	16.8	72
65	41.6	2.6	18.2	78
70	44.8	2.8	19.6	84
75	48	3	21	90
80	51.2	3.2	22.4	96
85	54.4	3.4	23.8	102
90	57.6	3.6	25.2	108
95	60.8	3.8	26.6	114
100	64	4	28	120


	1.50%
	Mellow & Chill (Seniors)
Ideal Adult Weight	ounces/day	pounds/day	#/week	#/month
5	1.2	0.075	0.525	2.25
10	2.4	0.15	1.05	4.5
15	3.6	0.225	1.575	6.75
20	4.8	0.3	2.1	9
25	6	0.375	2.625	11.25
30	7.2	0.45	3.15	13.5
35	8.4	0.525	3.675	15.75
40	9.6	0.6	4.2	18
45	10.8	0.675	4.725	20.25
50	12	0.75	5.25	22.5
55	13.2	0.825	5.775	24.75
60	14.4	0.9	6.3	27
65	15.6	0.975	6.825	29.25
70	16.8	1.05	7.35	31.5
75	18	1.125	7.875	33.75
80	19.2	1.2	8.4	36
85	20.4	1.275	8.925	38.25
90	21.6	1.35	9.45	40.5
95	22.8	1.425	9.975	42.75
100	24	1.5	10.5	45