Is there a mentor program like this for dogs?

[Deleted]

My friend is switching her dog to raw. I guess I just assumed that there would be one for dogs but we haven't found one for her. She is dead set on making the switch which is great. I can only help her from the perspective of cats and ferrets though. I ma talking to her about soupies right now, but I am going to assume the recipes would be different?

[Heather]

Dogs are easy. Fast for 24 hrs and then start on a protein. I started on chicken backs. The break down for dogs is similar to ferrets but like cats less bone in meats. When first doing the switch, the balance has a longer spacing than ferrets. You can usually go several days before screwing things up too badly. Avoid very rich meats to begin with. Keep it really basic. If you're going to do chicken then backs are a good start. Remember to not over feed. I believe the percentage is 3 to 5 percent of the optimal or desired body weight. Make sure you weigh to begin with you would be surprised as to how little the amount needed is. My dog weighs in at over 165 lbs and he eats about 3 lbs of meat anything more than that he starts putting on weight. Once you're sure of your first protein, the advised is 2 weeks, move on to the next.
ciao

[pegleg]

There's a couple good facebook groups I could give you for dogs! My favorite is Raw Food Diet for Dogs and Cats (Prey Model Raw). They have a bunch of files in their group that'll help you.
Your balance at the end is
80% muscle meat 10% bone 5% liver and 5% other offal.

Unlike ferrets, you don't want to feed a lot of hearts They're too rich. Start with 3% for a large dog and 4-5% for a small dog. They have a higher metabolism.

But those percentages aren't always exact. Mainly, you want to watch their poop. The group above has a guide on how to do that.

edit: 
Also, soupies is a very bad idea for dogs. Start with bone in unless you want cannon butt. 

[Agronvall]

Fasting is a good idea. I know that there's the misconception to "slowly switch"; by mixing a little bit of raw with kibble day by day until you're completely on raw, but that's a bad idea. Raw and kibble don't mix well, it usually causes an upset stomach in dogs. If your dog is picky at first, add stuff like yogurt (no sugar added) or sprinkle some FDR in there to incite them.Every dog is different with their preferences, but I have found that you can't go wrong with beef or lamb.

Just so you know, commercial raw is the expensive way to go. Get your raw food from sources like Hare Today, Canine Carnivore, and Miami Raw. If your dog can tolerate it, get various muscle meats (like heart and gizzards). You can pick up a variety of meats like this for cheap from the grocery store. Don't worry about making it "balanced". No meal is truly balanced, and like us, dogs can just have their diet balanced over time by having a variety of things.

But if your dogs are anything like my older dogs, as in, they can't tolerate raw meat in it's "whole form"; i.e. hearts, tongues, and gizzards, then ground raw is the way to go. If they can safely consume a raw edible bone, give that to them in the evening. It will clean their teeth, since grinds really don't do that.

Make sure to brush teeth once or twice a week. Since my dogs have been on raw, I haven't had to brush their teeth as much. But it never ceases to amaze me when I find slight plaque or when they have stinky breath. Alternatively, just supplement them with safe bones to chew on. Such as bully sticks, lamb shanks, and beef knuckle bones.

[Heather]

Dogs can eat as much heart as any ferret or cat. They actually benefit from this. It's good heart and eye health....where's the proof there is none because they can survive fine without it. I get very good longevity out of my giant breed dogs and I make liberal use of hearts, it causes no issue with diet. A dog raised on a balanced raw diet or having eaten a balanced raw diet all of it's life will tolerate all parts tongues, hearts, gizzards, brains....they are an essential part of a balanced diet. To advocate an unbalanced diet is dangerous and ill informed. Yes, the diet is balanced over time and a longer time than say a ferret but it is still balanced with a proper proportioning of meat, bone and organ meats. It's wrong to believe otherwise. An unbalanced diet is what makes us such fools in the eyes of the vet profession as then they have to fix that mess.
I would be very careful feeding yogurt as it's a dairy product and can cause stomach upsets.
ciao

[pegleg]

Dogs can eat heart, but I know my little dog has a problem with it. Usually I don't let heart be more than 10% of her meat content. So you may just want to see how that dog responds to heart. I know if Pixel, my maltese, has any more than one chicken heart's worth without a bone to go in it she has the runs the next day.