Anyone Feeding Raw?

[LindaMC]

I started feeding both Maisie and Tess 1/2 raw food and 1/2 a quality kibble.  What I mean is kibble with Goats Milk in the a.m. and raw for the evening meal.  I have been doing a lot of reading up on it, especially before I started but I'm very new at it and it would be nice to hear from other's who are feeding their Cairns raw.   

 

It's only been 4 days, today is the 5th but I do notice a difference in their teeth and their stools.  One of the reasons I started feeding them raw, and there are so many valid reasons, is due to Tess' bowel movements, they've been loose for some time now and large amounts where I'm feeding her grain free food!.  With the 1/2 raw diet they are smaller and harder, so I know her body's getting a lot more nutrients.

 

Maisie loves it, she finishes before Tess all the time and then sits there and watches Tess eat hers..  .  She was awesome at chowing down on her first chicken thigh.  Not sure yet if I'll go 100% raw yet, I have to first see how it works out financially.

 

Where they're just starting out, I'm sticking to one protein for 1-2 weeks and adding a new protein on week 3, give and take a day or two.  So right now  they're eating chicken thighs and chicken quarter legs.  They also get salmon oil and last night I added a raw egg.  When it comes to giving them tripe, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it, I don't think I could stand the smell in my kitchen.   

 

[Tuesday]

I am very interested in this, and would love to hear what others are feeding their dogs.  As our little farm begins to grow, I will have free range chicken and goat's milk available and wondered how hard it will be to make the switch.  Currently he eats Taste of the Wild and has no issues.

[josie&holly]

I switched Holly over three weeks ago to raw food. I am using a prepared frozen food made in UK called Natures Menu and there are various meats along with veg and fruit in frozen nugget form. It has very good reviews. I just have to get the nuggets out for breakfast in evening before and let them defrost overnight, and then the ones for dinner go in fridge during day. Holly loves it and is now much more interested in her food than she was with kibble. The firm do not recommend that you mix kibble and raw food together as there is different digestive times for each, and raw is digested quicker, and they also say that youdr not need a transition time to change over.

My friend has three Cairns and she gives them another prepared frozen food called Nutriment but as it comes in 500 gram trays would last too long defrosted for Holly being on own.

The prepared food contains ground bone so helps to clean teeth and though the firm suggest giving a bone each week say it is not essential. Was glad about that as when have given her a chicken wing she tried to eat it all at once, and when she has had a bones she has had diarhea afterwards!

Holly seems to have more energy than she had before, wants to play more! Her poop now is smaller and firmer therefore easier to pick up as she used to have a tendancy to be a bit loose.

I may decide to buy in bulk but if I do will need to buy a small freezer for garage! Though if I told anyone that I was buying a freezer for the dog they would probably think I was mad.

With raw food you have to be very careful with hygiene.

I do not know if they have any similar foods in USA that are raw and prepared, available frozen, like the two UK ones I have mentioned but may be worth investigating as it makes it very easy to feed this way.

[LindaMC]

They have a number of prepared raw foods that you can purchase here in the US, Honest Kitchen is one that comes to mind, also Natures Variety Instinct is another one, gets a 5 star rating from Food Advisor, Primal Pet Foods and many others.  Answers, who I purchase my goats milk from also has a great raw dog food line but a lot of them are pretty pricey, too pricey for me.

 

I've read about not combining raw food with kibble but only during the same meal, due to the way they're both digested.  Feeding them at separate meals is supposed to be okay, I've spoken with a couple of people on the Shepherd board who feed raw at one meal and kibble at the other.  One reason is so they won't get too use to only raw food; that way when they travel of camp with their dogs, they do not have to worry about them not eating the kibble.

 

For kibble, they both eat Taste of the Wild - High Prairie.   The important this is that they get the right ratio of Raw meaty bones, Muscle Meat and Organ Meet.

 

About 60% RMB

25% MM

5-10% OM

5% Green Tripe - This one with be tough on me....

 

I'm very new at this so I'm looking for other's who can chime in with some things that they're feeding to their dog.  It's hard to find some of the things that I would like to feed mine but I'm trying.  Hopefully someday I will have it down to a science but as of right now, I have to look up and weigh everything.  I just hope that I can keep being able to feed them raw due to all the wonderful benefits feeding raw appears to have.

[bradl]

We have been feeding raw for 16 years. We started with chicken wings, necks, and backs primarily (with 20-25% of meals ground raw veg and around %10 green tripe - alternating, not all in one mix).  Then we started grinding our own. For the past ten years or so we just rotate through the various proteins and vegetables from a local supplier, Columbia River Natural Pet Foods.  

There are now quite a few raw prepared foods in the USA. One of the early ones was Steve's Real Food (frozen or freeze-dried cubes). In an article I read by the founder of the company, he basically predicted that raw food would be publicly denigrated by the pet food and vet industries right up until the day that the major manufacturers figured out a way to automate the packaging and shipping processes cheaply, at which point they would announce amazing "advances" in safe raw food technology (complete with pretty packaging).  

I personally tend to put "what to feed dogs" in the same category as religion and politics. For the most part I keep my own counsel (this is a rare break from that) and will not offer an opinion on what anyone else should do. I'm not offended when other people come to different conclusions, nor am I concerned with convincing anyone of anything.  

 

[sanford]

I have been feeding Ruffy Primal Raw Frozen venison, alternating with rabbit, (when venison is not in stock) for the past 2 years. He seems to be doing quite well on this food. When I adopted Ruffy 4 years ago, he came equipped with a free bag of Science Diet kibble, (which I wasn't too keen on), from the shelter. He also had a terrible problem with itchy skin, which cleared up, once I switched him from the Science Diet kibble to Wellness canned. However, he then developed chronic loose stool, bordering on diarrhea. I was told that Wellness, although considered to be a very good quality food, can be too rich for some dogs. The loose stool cleared up when I changed to Primal Raw Frozen and he continues to be fine in that department and Ruffy's been on Primal ever since, together with omega-3 oil and some pre- and pro-biotics.

 

This has been posted in response to LindaMC and Tuesday's wanting to hear from others who feed raw. This diet seems to have cleared up Ruffy's digestive problem, but I can hardly offer it as scientific proof. 

[arseovrteakettl]

There is a fairly and active raw feeding group on yahoo that's been around for more than a decade. It is called something close to rawfeeding and you can find it if you google yahoo groups rawfeeding- it's also pretty international. There are several rawfeeding groups on yahoo but this one is the gib best and oldest one.

[Hillscreek]

Is really OK to feed kibble one meal raw the other? I have been interested in maybe feeding raw BUT it is SO expensive.

[LindaMC]

This was my concern but after scouring a number of forums and also joining a couple of raw feeding Yahoo groups, I have found that there are a lot of people  that do feed half and half.  I would love to move over to full raw feeding but before I do, I have to make sure that I will be able to do so financially.  I look for Manager's Specials at Market Basket and Walmart and have been finding some great buys.

 

The dogs love it, so far, hope it continues when I start incorporating liver and kidneys into their diet.......

[Sam I Am]

I would really like to feed raw but haven't had success with our dogs Jock and Sandie. They both landed up with the Hersey squirts. I home cook bison/veg for Rosie with great results and might try raw again. If I was to start I think I would buy a premium pre made raw food .The important thing to remember if you do prepare any kind of home made dog food raw or cooked, to be sure to include calcium. Very important. I also give Rosie a daily Vit oil and salmon oil. Most pre packaged raw does contain ground bone but make sure it does. If not you will need to add calcium

Edited October 7, 2014 by Terrier lover

[Hillscreek]

Is frozen raw food better than freeze dried? Or just different?

[sanford]

Is frozen raw food better than freeze dried? Or just different?

I haven't done much research into the differences and/or which is better. The best I can find out so far is the the differences may not be very great. Freeze dried is more convenient for travel, when there is not enough freezer space in the home, etc. Both processes claim to remove water content only, while preserving/leaving nutrients intact. On the plus side, they are supposed to include necessary supplements like bone meal, etc.

 

Others on this site might have more experience or info to contribute.

[LindaMC]

I've never tried prepared raw food so I really cannot comment on which one is better.  People I know that feed Honest Kitchen love it, I believe all you do is add water once it's defrosted. 

 

Terrier Lover, if your feeding the correct ratio's of raw bones, muscle meat and organs, then you shouldn't have to worry about giving them calcium, the bones will take care of that.  I've read that if you feed appropriate amounts, you shouldn't need to supplement at all.  I haven't been giving my dogs calcium, I can tell by there stools that they are receiving a good amount from the bones.  I do give them fish oil, coconut oil and raw organic goats milk..

 

It's odd but I think that Maisie is going to do a lot better than Tess with the raw food.  Last night, Tess wasn't very interested in her meal.  I had to keep cutting it up for her and then holding pieces so that she could chew the bones and fat.  She hasn't yet grasped how to use her paws yet.  I've seen photos of German Shepherd puppies holding a huge leg of lamb between their paws with no problem whatsoever.  Tess is the reason I started feeding them raw in the first place, so I hope I'll be able to keep it up.  Tess is the reason I decided to give raw food a try so I hope I'll be able to keep it up.  The benefits from feeding raw are huge and that's what sold me.

 

So far Maisie has been loving it, she practically inhales her food.  She even ate some chicken liver last night with no problem/......Tess wouldn't eat it, she kept spitting it out.  If I can't get her to eat liver or kidney, I may not keep feeding her raw.  If she won't eat either one of those organs, it's doubtful that she'll eat any of the few that are left.

Edited October 8, 2014 by LindaMC

[Sam I Am]

Yes if they eat enough bones. But I am not that keen on the bone thing as Jock did land up in emerg as a youngster with an impacted bowel full of bone splinters. He just wasnt the kind of dog that bones worked out for him. I did give him marrow bones after that but of course he could never chew those up.  I know most of the raw sold here in Alberta has ground bone included  with meat and veggies so there isnt even a need to feed bones if it causes issues. I like to give a vetri science vit pill daily so I know for sure I am not missing any required minerals or vitamins.   I do go to a holistic clinic and they have told me that raw diets arent for everydog, some refusing to eat it plus dogs with compromised immune systems need to be careful also due to the bacteria count.

[MegsMom]

 

Is frozen raw food better than freeze dried? Or just different?

I haven't done much research into the differences and/or which is better. The best I can find out so far is the the differences may not be very great. Freeze dried is more convenient for travel, when there is not enough freezer space in the home, etc. Both processes claim to remove water content only, while preserving/leaving nutrients intact. On the plus side, they are supposed to include necessary supplements like bone meal, etc.

 

Others on this site might have more experience or info to contribute.

 

You can get a subscription  to the Whole Dog Journal (signing up on the website is cheapest rate), it's the best compilation of dog food differences that I know of, and probably the Only information of brands/varieties currently on the market.  Their dog food reviews--and explanations of how they review--generally begin in February with commercial dry, with other types following.  They did freeze-dried/dehydrated last September.  With a subscription you can also access all their old articles (& download any); if you're not familiar with WDJ, have a look around the 'open' articles on their site.  And BTW, you won't find one advert in their mag, totally subscriber supported.  This is the short non-sub article on the food types under discussion:  http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/17_9/features/Dried-and-True-Consider-Dehydrated-Dog-Foods-for-Your-Dog_21043-1.html      

[Rigel]

We've been trying to decide if we should try raw with Chewie for months now. The more I read, the more conflicted I am Paying close attention to this thread

 

He's currently on a home cooked diet. Our nutritionist believes he has IBS, and is therefore too sensitive for raw. We haven't had a scope done to confirm IBS or IBD though. Raw is the only thing left we haven't tried, but after seeing him go through hemorrhagic gastroenteritis last month (they NEVER know what causes it), I haven't worked up the guts to go off cooked food.  I tried to find a middle road and slowly mixed in some Ziwipeak, but we had bloody mucus within two days. Sigh....

There's so many options and info out there these days...hard to filter it all. Analysis paralysis, haha

Edited October 10, 2014 by Rigel

[Sam I Am]

Our last Scottie had IBD and we were warned not to feed raw either. We did try but with bad results. We home cooked for her all the rest of her life. I get how you are worried. I know I was also but I also know a few friends that feed raw with great success but those dogs have no bowel issues. Some dogs do great other not so well. I only can relate to my own experience.

Rosie had a rough start as a pup and we had lots of issues with mucky mucous.blood stools . We had her on kibble , then different kinds of high end canned all with the same bad results. We then went to home cooked turkey food. That was ok off and on. We then had her tested for allergies (as per our vets recommendation) sent down to Dr jean Dodds in the US. We got a whole list of foods that ROSIE was reacting to. Turkey and chicken were some of the foods. We then switched to home cooked Bison, started her on Nutrigest(RX Vitamins) and ever since then we have been rewarded as has Rosie with perfectly formed stools, shiny coat and lots of energy.

It's all about the poop I swear.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Terrier lover

[Rigel]

Our last Scottie had IBD and we were warned not to feed raw either. We did try but with bad results. We home cooked for her all the rest of her life. I get how you are worried. I know I was also but I also know a few friends that feed raw with great success but those dogs have no bowel issues. Some dogs do great other not so well. I only can relate to my own experience.

Rosie had a rough start as a pup and we had lots of issues with mucky mucous.blood stools . We had her on kibble , then different kinds of high end canned all with the same bad results. We then went to home cooked turkey food. That was ok off and on. We then had her tested for allergies (as per our vets recommendation) sent down to Dr jean Dodds in the US. We got a whole list of foods that ROSIE was reacting to. Turkey and chicken were some of the foods. We then switched to home cooked Bison, started her on Nutrigest(RX Vitamins) and ever since then we have been rewarded as has Rosie with perfectly formed stools, shiny coat and lots of energy.

It's all about the poop I swear.

 

Yeah, may have to save up for some allergy testing. For now, we've stabilized him on cod and green beans, then slowly add foods and wait for reactions. We've had amazing results using slippery elm for flare ups, and he gets a probiotic for doggies (Gutsense) daily. 

 

Terrier lover, do you have any suggestions for a canine equivalent of a multi vitamin for cairns? Is that what Nutrigest is? This is part of why raw is tempting me...it seems nutritionally complete from what I've read. I worry that with homecooked, over time he'll develop deficiencies. 

[Sam I Am]

The ingredience in raw is pretty much the same as a well balanced cooked home diet. I add calcium , vetri science multi /mineral daily. Nutrigest is great for bowel issues. It has probiotics in it and other herbal supplements.

[LindaMC]

I totally agree that there are dogs that cannot eat a raw food diet.  I still get nervous and wonder if I'm doing the right thing, especially when I hear about dogs that have had issues with bones, like your Jock.... Terrier Lover.  There's just so much information, a little bit too much if you ask me, out there and so many for raw feeding and so many against it. 

 

My two girls love it and are doing a great job of eating all the food I give them, with the exception of organs, they will not eat liver or kidneys and I haven't tried anything else.  I started this due to Tess' allergies; I was hoping that feeding her raw would help her out but now I'm almost 95% sure it's environmental.  My vet is pretty sure it is too so I've been trying to save up so that I can have her tested.  There just doesn't seem to be an end to her scratching and biting.  She bites one of her back paws to the point of making it sore, so I've been keeping a sock on it.  It's just so frustrating.  

 

I'm hoping that once we have a hard freeze that her allergies will stop through the winter but so far, it hasn't been that cold yet. 

 

One thing for sure is feeding raw can be pretty time consuming and with them not wanting to eat any organ meat, I may have to stop.  I would love to feed them pre-mixed but it's too pricey for me at this time.

Edited October 17, 2014 by LindaMC

[Sam I Am]

The trick to feeding either raw or home cooked is to not get all worried about it. If you have a good source of protein, ground veggies, calcium and a vitamin/minerals supplement , with a squirt or two of fish or olive oil it's all good. As my vet said, do you worry that every meal you take is balanced. Of course not. I don't feed organ meats very often either as a matter of fact haven't fed Any lately to ROSIE as her tummy issues are non existent and don't want to open a potential can of worms.

It will be interesting to see what the allergy test with Dr Dodds shows up. ROSIE had some that totally shocked me. Like sweet potato, oats, chicken, turkey, white fish. Beef was fine and we rotate that with bison(which is the best so far). Big difference in her scratching, ear issues now.

[Sam I Am]

https://my.imatrixbase.com/clients/14261/documents/Vet_Documentation/Benefits_of_Salivary_vs_Serum_Food_Intolerance_Testing.pdf

As you see there are differences of opinion. All I know is that Dr Dodds saliva test certainly gave us a way happier dog, by alerting us to foods that cause itching , ear issues etc. plus our environmental testing only cost around $200. Rozie had none. Plus now knowing what she doesn't tolerate well, there is no need for any kind of injections or steroids. not that I would do those anyway!

Edited October 17, 2014 by Terrier lover

[Monia]

I have switched Lexi to raw due to her itching.  It's been approx 8wks now, i've been advised that it may take up 3mths.  she LOVES it, and I have to admit her stool is much smaller and compact.  The only thing I do not like is that her breath is HORRIBLE.  I was informed to change the protein type every new bag, so until her system gets used to the new protein. . . . .  it's nasty.  Lexi also has digestive issues but with the raw, she doesn't seem to have any problems what so ever.  I purchase the frozen patties.  

[Sam I Am]

Do you brush her teeth?

[Monia]

Ha, ha. . . . .I ATTEMPT to brush her teeth   We are still in the training process of that.  she's not a fan of it, and I have to make sure that I'm completely calm and patient.