Raw feeding dog (Yes! No?)

[JaeG]

When we started our dog on raw food as a puppy we had to give her a fast for 24 hours to adjust her stomach acid so the pH was low enough to properly digest the raw food. After 2 weeks of having minced portions we could introduce raw meaty bones.

 

[cherrynberry]

When we started our dog on raw food as a puppy we had to give her a fast for 24 hours to adjust her stomach acid so the pH was low enough to properly digest the raw food. After 2 weeks of having minced portions we could introduce raw meaty bones.

I think I will fast her for one meal, not two. You think that will help?

 

[cherrynberry]

Thank you! Now that its dark and I am alone with my thoughts...I believe I may have transitioned her TOO fast...

I will try to give her more kibble and less raw tomorrow morning. The switching feed may cause her to barf though...

I will update yall on her transitions. I need to book an appointment for her (I have been trying to, but we have been changing vets and its pretty busy this time of year!). But yes, updates are coming!

Thank you all for helping!

She did not barf. Finished her breakfast! Mixed with 60% kibble. She also kept licking her food measurer...

 

[cherrynberry]

I think I will fast her for one meal, not two. You think that will help?

Nevermind, I have not seen any issues, so I will feed her dinner. (She convinced me )

 

[cherrynberry]

Nevermind, I have not seen any issues, so I will feed her dinner. (She convinced me )

Tomorrow marks her first week of raw feeding! It is now a 60% raw to 40% kibble mix. She did not barf at all and has clearly gain weight. She was 8.5 pounds prior to raw feed, I will weigh her tomorrow. Her target weight is 9 pounds and she has been getting 3/4-1 cup a day. She gets two meals a day, so about 1/2 cup per meal.

Things I have noticed:
- She is gaining weight (feels heavier atleast)
- She has been eating her bowl CLEAN
- Overall energy level may have gone up, but I am not certain
- Her hair still remains the same, but I do not expect it to change overnight or even at all. Her hair has always been sort of iffy, even when she was a pup!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Tomorrow marks her first week of raw feeding! It is now a 60% raw to 40% kibble mix. She did not barf at all and has clearly gain weight. She was 8.5 pounds prior to raw feed, I will weigh her tomorrow. Her target weight is 9 pounds and she has been getting 3/4-1 cup a day. She gets two meals a day, so about 1/2 cup per meal.

Things I have noticed:
- She is gaining weight (feels heavier atleast)
- She has been eating her bowl CLEAN
- Overall energy level may have gone up, but I am not certain
- Her hair still remains the same, but I do not expect it to change overnight or even at all. Her hair has always been sort of iffy, even when she was a pup!

Cherry, that's great, and she does look good!

 

[Texasclucker]

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

We feed our dogs blue buffalo they seem to like it they carry it at our Walmart it is expensive though(I'm not a blue buffalo sponsor I swear!) but the dogs I've seen that eat a raw diet have amazing looking shiny coats it is what they were designed to eat after all, in the end, it is what your dog prefers and what is best for her and we also give our dogs brewers yeast for their skin just as a good little supplement this is the kind we give

we don't raw feed but I suggest cracking an egg and putting the shell in as well I love watching the videos about raw feeding and that is something I've seen before but anyways have a good day and do what is best for your pup!

 

[Everose]

Tomorrow marks her first week of raw feeding! It is now a 60% raw to 40% kibble mix. She did not barf at all and has clearly gain weight. She was 8.5 pounds prior to raw feed, I will weigh her tomorrow. Her target weight is 9 pounds and she has been getting 3/4-1 cup a day. She gets two meals a day, so about 1/2 cup per meal.

Things I have noticed:
- She is gaining weight (feels heavier atleast)
- She has been eating her bowl CLEAN
- Overall energy level may have gone up, but I am not certain
- Her hair still remains the same, but I do not expect it to change overnight or even at all. Her hair has always been sort of iffy, even when she was a pup!

She's starting to look really good! I love her sweet little face. I'm glad the raw feeding is working out.

 

[cherrynberry]

Cherry, that's great, and she does look good!

She's starting to look really good! I love her sweet little face. I'm glad the raw feeding is working out.

The picture is her as a pup! I will get an update photo on her CURRENTLY soon...

 

[Ebony Rose]

In March 2020, the area of Panama that I live in was put on a hard lockdown due to Covid. We received a half-day notice that they would be locking us down, and were not allowed to work, shop, leave our homes, etc. The hard lockdown was loosened in June 2020, where we were given 2 hours per week on the day and during the hours that were assigned by the government to do all outdoor/shopping activities with the threat of jail if we exceeded our allotted time. It took longer than 2 hours JUST TO GET into the markets. I had a 4 month supply of poultry feed in the freezer but only had a 1 month supply of dog food. Dog & Poultry food wasn't available in the stores, and food for human consumption was rather basic too; the shelves were full, but if you really looked at what was on them, it was mostly junk food; candy, chips, utter junk made up a solid 90% of what was on the shelves.
Long story short, I've always had a prepper mentality, so I had extra rice, beans, canned goods and the like in my pantry and we all (dogs, birds and myself) made due with what we had. Our menu consisted of Rice-and (and whatever) for about six months. One of my dogs started refusing food near the end of the ordeal, I'm unsure if that was her being sick of rice or if it was her going through her end-of-life preparations.
I lost both of my dogs soon after the worst of the lockdowns was over, due to old age (they were 18 and 20 year old dogs). I have two pups now, and I am raising them to eat whatever they get; cooked, raw, wet, dry, to avoid the 'picky eater' issues I had with my old dogs.

In answer to your question should you feed raw? Absolutely. Should you feed them regular dog food? Absolutely. In these trying times with Covid and the myriad of issues of supply and demand that it has illuminated, keeping all of your options open to what your babies will consider acceptable is prudent.