Raw feeding dog (Yes! No?)

[cherrynberry]

I have been debating whether or not to raw feed my dog. She is, first of all, a small breed dog. A mix terrier is my guess. Just as a background, we have tried grain free, all sizes of kibble, and nothing seems to be helping her to like it (not even mixing in cooked ground turkey or pork. She just eats the meat and leaves the rest. We have tried so many brands and none suit her. I have seen raw feeds in my local Petsmart. I want to use feed with no preservatives, the ones that need to be frozen. My goal for this thread is to find others who raw feed their dogs and some thing that they might notice after raw feeding.


Here is why I want to raw feed her, please correct me if I am mistaken. Thanks!

1.) She is a picky eater and therefore eats less than she should. Along with being energetic and excersicing often, she is not the weight I "think" she should be.
2.) Plaque on her teeth. I brush her teeth daily, with a homemade dog toothpaste with no preservatives. She still gets plaque on her molars everyday. I heard that raw feed helps with plaque. This is not the MAIN reason why I want to raw feed, just an addition!
3.) Raw feed is healthier?? At least that is what I heard.
4.) There are no side effects to raw feeding as dogs are suited to eat raw. There are just pros.
5.) Her coat is sort of weird and she seems to be loosing some hair. My guess is that she might have an allergic reaction to beef. So I want to feed raw chicken and organs as the raw feed. I forgot the brand I was looking at earlier though...
We have tried giving her little tablet supplements for her coat, but it did not really work and she hates to eat that as well.


I am interested to hear if anyone makes their own raw feed from their own animals as well. As in butcher, preparation, and serving. I do not think I can with my own chickens, but I would be interested to hear ideas. Love to hear from those who do meal prep as well! I plan to just buy the preproportioned raw feeding.


Here she is! Sorry for all the photos! She is just so cute! The last one shows her loss of hair

 

[JustBabyMargo]

I have been debating whether or not to raw feed my dog. She is, first of all, a small breed dog. A mix terrier is my guess. Just as a background, we have tried grain free, all sizes of kibble, and nothing seems to be helping her to like it (not even mixing in cooked ground turkey or pork. She just eats the meat and leaves the rest. We have tried so many brands and none suit her. I have seen raw feeds in my local Petsmart. I want to use feed with no preservatives, the ones that need to be frozen. My goal for this thread is to find others who raw feed their dogs and some thing that they might notice after raw feeding.


Here is why I want to raw feed her, please correct me if I am mistaken. Thanks!

1.) She is a picky eater and therefore eats less than she should. Along with being energetic and excersicing often, she is not the weight I "think" she should be.
2.) Plaque on her teeth. I brush her teeth daily, with a homemade dog toothpaste with no preservatives. She still gets plaque on her molars everyday. I heard that raw feed helps with plaque. This is not the MAIN reason why I want to raw feed, just an addition!
3.) Raw feed is healthier?? At least that is what I heard.
4.) There are no side effects to raw feeding as dogs are suited to eat raw. There are just pros.
5.) Her coat is sort of weird and she seems to be loosing some hair. My guess is that she might have an allergic reaction to beef. So I want to feed raw chicken and organs as the raw feed. I forgot the brand I was looking at earlier though...
We have tried giving her little tablet supplements for her coat, but it did not really work and she hates to eat that as well.


I am interested to hear if anyone makes their own raw feed from their own animals as well. As in butcher, preparation, and serving. I do not think I can with my own chickens, but I would be interested to hear ideas. Love to hear from those who do meal prep as well! I plan to just buy the preproportioned raw feeding.


Here she is! Sorry for all the photos! She is just so cute! The last one shows her loss of hair

Hope you get it all figured out! And she is adorable! What’s her name??

 

[cherrynberry]

Hope you get it all figured out! And she is adorable! What’s her name??

Kiki.

You sure are a nice friend to have around!
Love your enthusiasm!

 

[JustBabyMargo]

Kiki.

You sure are a nice friend to have around!
Love your enthusiasm!

Aww. I love it! Thanks! I just get really interested in certain random things I guess. I also just really like to know names of animals because it tells something about their personalities sometimes! But that’s just me!

 

[cherrynberry]

Aww. I love it! Thanks! I just get really interested in certain random things I guess. I also just really like to know names of animals because it tells something about their personalities sometimes! But that’s just me!

You seem very humble and willing to listen to other people's opinions. Thats a good characteristic to have!

 

[JustBabyMargo]

You seem very humble and willing to listen to other people's opinions. Thats a good characteristic to have!

Awww. Thanks.

 

[nuthatched]

Brace yourself, long post ahead. (I used to study this)
You should ask your vet before doing anything.
While raw might in theory be better, it's hard to come up with a raw formula that will provide completely nutrition. Raw doesn't mean better/healthier or more nutritious or better quality, it's just raw.
Nutritionally speaking, raw foods do have more nutrients than cooked foods but many are incomplete nutritionally because there are nutrients that simply can't even be absorbed by the digestive system unless they've been 'unlocked' by cooking, just a low, slow, gentle method of cooking is better than raw.
Mixing the meat in with her kibble, of course she's going to pick the parts she likes best out. Just like a chicken if you mix treats in with their food, they're going to pick the tasty parts out and leave the 'boring food' there. The possible side effects could be salmonella, botulism, (food poisoning) if the food is handled wrong (not just meat, either, dogs are omnivores, vegetables are more likely to carry than meat), bad breath/farts or malnutrition.
As for the plaque, a diet low in high carb treats or feed (maybe a better quality food that has a higher meat to grain ratio will help) ask your vet, but dental chews for dogs do help.
I'd see if your vet is willing to do an allergy panel on her to explain her hair loss, could be shampoo, something you use like soap or other products, mites, dry follicles or heat spots. It also could be genetic, terriers mixes can have really funky coats do to different types of hair types combining. Or even too much bathing, dries out the skin/follicles and causes hair loss Food allergies usually manifest in dogs in other ways, like pimples, excessive runny eyes, and digestive issues.

You can feed raw if you think it's best but I don't think it will help any issues you're having, but ask your qualified (not me) vet!

Edit, I saw you mention the prepackaged raw food, didn't see that last night, silly me, that is probably your best bet when getting into raw food until you become familiar with the ps and qs. I thought you were just going to formulate your own raw diet, which is more complicated. I've seen raw food diets work out fantastically and I've also seen it end tragically, just thought you should know any possible issues. You can even feed a vegetarian diet to dogs with great success, meat isn't as necessary as one might think with dogs, I was surprised. (not cats though, they need taurine, found in meat for healthy bile production.) In certain times of the year (like when migrating herds migrate away), wolves are documented to eat berries, moss/plants, fowl eggs, fish with no apparent loss of health and thrive on it. If you do decide to formulate your own food, find a reputable butcher with high turn over, have cuts made fresh, use a cooler and handle properly. I wouldn't stop at dogs, this is a good practice to use for your food too.

 

[SpotTheCat]

I feed my cats and my dog raw. My dog used to barely eat when we got her from the rescue she was about 5kg now after a few years of raw feeding she is all most 7kg, we took her to the vet recently and the vet said she was very healthy for her age, she is 13 years old. Her coat is all so lovely now. Can’t comment much on the cats because they have been on raw food since they where young, except at 2 years old Thea still has very clean teeth

I disagree a lot with nuthatch’s post unless your dog has a medical condition don’t ask you vet about raw unless they are an amazing vet that actually likes raw (which is rare)

this thread might interest you
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/raw-feeders.1485493/

 

[WonkierZulu]

I have been debating whether or not to raw feed my dog. She is, first of all, a small breed dog. A mix terrier is my guess. Just as a background, we have tried grain free, all sizes of kibble, and nothing seems to be helping her to like it (not even mixing in cooked ground turkey or pork. She just eats the meat and leaves the rest. We have tried so many brands and none suit her. I have seen raw feeds in my local Petsmart. I want to use feed with no preservatives, the ones that need to be frozen. My goal for this thread is to find others who raw feed their dogs and some thing that they might notice after raw feeding.


Here is why I want to raw feed her, please correct me if I am mistaken. Thanks!

1.) She is a picky eater and therefore eats less than she should. Along with being energetic and excersicing often, she is not the weight I "think" she should be.
2.) Plaque on her teeth. I brush her teeth daily, with a homemade dog toothpaste with no preservatives. She still gets plaque on her molars everyday. I heard that raw feed helps with plaque. This is not the MAIN reason why I want to raw feed, just an addition!
3.) Raw feed is healthier?? At least that is what I heard.
4.) There are no side effects to raw feeding as dogs are suited to eat raw. There are just pros.
5.) Her coat is sort of weird and she seems to be loosing some hair. My guess is that she might have an allergic reaction to beef. So I want to feed raw chicken and organs as the raw feed. I forgot the brand I was looking at earlier though...
We have tried giving her little tablet supplements for her coat, but it did not really work and she hates to eat that as well.


I am interested to hear if anyone makes their own raw feed from their own animals as well. As in butcher, preparation, and serving. I do not think I can with my own chickens, but I would be interested to hear ideas. Love to hear from those who do meal prep as well! I plan to just buy the preproportioned raw feeding.


Here she is! Sorry for all the photos! She is just so cute! The last one shows her loss of hair

I would say yes and no. Maybe a combo of both have to worry with poultry a little. Good quality food makes a huge change.

 

[InterestingChickens]

Raw feed contains less energy than cooked. You could look into feeding wet dog food as a supplement for dry feed if your worried about her not weighing enough. Though wet feed should be fed in moderation.