Wanting to switch my pup to raw. :)

[Deleted]

Hey everyone,

So ever since i've switched the ferts to raw back in February, I've been wanting to switch my dog as well. I'm looking for a bit of help from those of you who have pups who feed raw, and if there are any resources you would like to share. I realize this is a ferret forum, but I love this forum and consider you guys my little famjam lol!

First off, his name is Gumby, he is 2 years and 2 months old, a Miniature Dachshund and is currently feeding on Orijen kibble. He gets salmon oil weekly, loves his FD treats, and I usually give him a raw egg once weekly as well. He has eaten raw before (Any time i'm sorting fert food he'll VERY glad accept chicken necks, hearts, gizzards, liver..pretty much anything.) He is not a picky dog and loves his food. He has no health issues, and is a super healthy pup.

Just wondering what ratios I should be looking at.. The biggest issue i've run into is the argument where some view them as obligate carnivores and don't require any 'greens' in their diet. Where as others make sure that there is a small percentage of greens.

Anyway, any help from you guys is greatly appreciated! (wave)

[Deleted]

I am a derp. Just found there is a section on this. Lol! Thanks for moving this Sherry!

[Sherry]

Not a problem

[goingpostal]

I feed PMR to my dogs, no veggies. You can puree or cook them if you like and add, otherwise they cannot digest much of them, they can get all the same needed things from pmr though. Ratio is 80meat/10/bone/10organ as close to a whole animal as you can get. As much as possible my dogs eat wild game, venison makes up the main part of their diet for about 5 months out of the year, locally bought is next best so they get goat and beef. When those run out they eat store bought meat, chicken quarters, beef heart, pork, turkey, local chicken eggs. They get a smaller amount of meat that is local farmed or hunted like duck, rabbit, grouse, whole fish. I usually give a little organ daily and that is pretty varied as well. They are 50-60 pounds and eat 11-17 oz a day and also get fish or coconut oil since one dog has dandruff, one dog has skin issues and one dog has joint problems.

They all look better than ever and have apparently put on a couple pounds of muscle a piece while still looking great, we were just at the vet and she said they were in fantastic shape and had no problem with raw feeding. They have only been on it from 8-18 months, switched them all separately. They had a little itchyness, shedding and skin issues at the beginning but once we got past that have been great. Nero's allergies are crazy better and I had just about given up trying things. Ripley hasn't had any more mystery tummy issues and I can control Jersey's weight easier.

Ripley

This is Nero 4-5 months into raw, his fur on his back is still thin, that has all filled in now

Jersey is still a little fat here, took a while to find a balance for her

[Deleted]

Thanks for the info goingpostal I really appreciate it! Your pups are gorgeous, I love Ripley's colouring! I'm glad raw worked out for you and for them.

[Deleted]

My pup has been on raw for about 6 months now and is doing wonderfully, she gets frankenprey like the rest of my carnivorious critters. My ratios are approximately 80/10/10 as well, plus I mixed baked acorn squash or pumpkin in with the organ meals since that's how the ferrets take it and I do my meat prep in big batches. Everyone does great on it - clean teeth, shiny coats, happy animals . Here's a couple pics I took of Pearl yesterday, she's about 8 months old now:

[Deleted]

I am so unbelievably glad I found this thread!!!! I was going to start one somewhere but yay I found this. I REALLY REALLY want to switch my pups to raw. I have a Shitzu who has had skin issues for his entire life. I FINALLY seem to have gotten it under control but its due to medication that he was able to come off of and now he is on a special kibble diet or a special wet food.He also has tarter that needs to go. My Maltese is perfect only problems is he has the silly brown eyes tears that drive me nuts and he is starting to get tarter even though i brush his teeth. Our new German Shep puppy id like to start raw asap. I've started giving her one egg daily. She had parvo and came to us skinny, had dandruff and her coat wasnt shiny at all. The egg has done wonders.

I have a good friend who has a dobi and a chocolate lab that are fed raw and are absolutely gorgeous. She feeds raw and ads certain fish, uses the color wheel method and ads chlorella. I annoyed her about raw feeding and yet im still terrified about doing it because im still unclear. I have gone and done research and what im mostly unclear about is what bones they are allowed to eat??? Or how to prepare the bones or not prepare them, Can anyone with a lot of patience help me in this process?

[Deleted]

This is a link I went by, when I started to feed Bruno raw. It's been 3 years, and we never looked back.

leerburg.com/pdf/feedingrawdiet.pdf

You tweek it as you go. Trial and error. I don't feed pork, because he's allergic to it. Took a couple of months until we figured that out. He has seasonal allergies as well. Which is definitely better than before.
With dogs you don't have to be keen on balancing, as we do with ferrets. You do have to balance, but their body is a little bit more easy going.
But this pdf explains way more in depth;-)

Good luck, it's the best choice for your dog!

btw feel free to pm me, if I dig deep I probably still have the start out menu somewhere...;-)

[Deleted]

Thank you Klaudia ! <3 I will definitely PM you!

[Sherry]

Here's a group that can help as well: pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/

[Deleted]

Sherry you are an amazing wealth of information thank you

[goingpostal]

preymodelraw.com/how-to-get-started/

I followed that method of switching, although we went nice and slow with the first dog and the other two we moved a lot quicker adding new proteins and organs since they had iron stomachs. As far as bones, I feed anything from chicken, turkey and rabbit. Larger items like deer or pig spines and legs I let them chew on until they are cleaned off and toss what's left. Most people stay away from marrow bones, I know there's a few butcher cuts of pork that can cause problems with sharp edges like necks and country style ribs. Beef ribs seems like some do, some don't. I have never bought them. My dogs can't handle a lot of bone in though, especially my male and it can be tougher to find affordable boneless meats, beef and pork heart are cheap enough here to buy in bulk.

My male's coat looks fantastic now btw, I can't believe what a difference a diet change has made for his allergies

[Deleted]

My dogs went straight to raw on the first day . It has been 6 or so years since I made the switch and they couldn't be any healthier. My dogs get pretty much everything I can get my hands on. Turkey necks are a favourite. For Sasha's 16th birthday she had filet mignon Their coats look amazing too, these pictures don't do my dogs justice.

Mikey:

Sasha:

[Sherry]

They are both gorgeous Rory! And I'll bet she essentially inhaled the filet

[Deleted]

Thanks Sherry She is actually a graceful eater. She will nibble meat with her front teeth off a cooked turkey drumstick when I hold it out to her (as a treat). We have to watch them because she takes a while now that she's an old lady. Mikey will eat his in a minute and then he'll go eat Sasha'a dinner! Poor girl. I love my dogs so much. My ferrets are like my children. My dogs are definitely more like my best friends. If you get my comparison.

I miss them every day. Since moving to Guelph I barely get to see them anymore. I'm lucky if it's once a month. My Dad has taken over the raw food but I have to make sure he's doing it properly. I check in with him often because Mikey has become a little fat lately. So I had to tell me Dad what he was doing wrong and how to fix it. There's just no way two senior border collies could live here in a cramped apartment when they have 2 acres of land in the country with my parents. It broke my heart having to move away from them