Dace said:
Hey Free?
I read that if i go raw my pooch neeeds vit E and fish oil daily. Would that just be a regular suplimnt like mine? If so, how much?
There are a couple reasona for this. If your dog is eating mostly skinless meat, you will have a hard time getting enough calories in your dog. Oils are calorie dense.
It is also for skin and coat health, but as FM says, any oil will work for this.
Fish oil - particularly salmon oil - is an excellent anti-inflammatory. Many dogs switching to raw diet have health or mobility problems. This anti-inflammatory is excellent. Be careful you are not giving fish LIVER oil. Not good for daily use.
Any time an oil is added to a dog's food, vitamin E must be given with it. Over time, breaking down the oil will deplete the dog's vitamin E levels. This is important enough that raw-feeders I know say DON'T add oils if you don't add vitamin E. The amount of vitamin E that needs to be added is very low. A 100 IU capsule every other day is plenty.
And yes, you can use your own salmon oil capsules. Or you can buy it as a liquid because dog's love it!
It smells terrible! I gave 50 - 60 pounds dogs 2 grams (2 capsules) daily. Start out gradually to avoid an upset stomach though.
If you want to give capsules, you can train a dog to take them easily. Pierce the capsule or trim off the end and squeeze it a little bit as you give it to your dog. S/he'll love it! I tossed them to my dogs as treats. They would bit them open to tast the yummy goodness of salmon oil.
) then yes, it will likely be low in ALL oil-based nutrients. But if you can at least supplement with some pastured fats such as egg yolks and cream from pastured critters, you will be fine. If you can supplement with something from pastured animals such as raw meaty bones, organ meats which are often discarded by people raising their own meat, etc, you will be fine. If you are raising your own pastured meat/poultry for your dog/cat's complete diet, and it is grain-free, you shouldn't need to supplement at all. 
)
That must be crazy-expensive.
I am proud to report that the surgeon warned me not to let my dog get fat after his knee surgery, as that would cause trouble especially while he is on three legs, and he was .2 lbs lighter at his two week check-up. He gets one small back, trimmed of the tail and all big chunks of fat, five days a week. Then all the variety of tastes of good stuff that make up the rest of his diet. Tonight it was a few feta trimmings as I packaged up a few pounds of feta that I made. Oh, and some bits of Gouda from my recent recipe, as I was eating a hunk of it with my supper.
@ the horse poo comment Free!! When Jax was a little bitty pup, thats the first thing he sought out! When he goes near horses, thats the first thing he goes and searches for. I let him, my horse eat well. 
