[Kari's Mom]

I offered my boston terrier a little bit of raw meat (venision) and she refused to eat it, she instead picked out her kibble. I'm worried because I'm planning on switching her to raw diet soon, what if she wont eat it? I bought 30lbs of bravo, lol, its not like I can return raw diet. :\

[briteday]

If your dog has been fed kibble for a time it takes a bit to get used to the fact that they will now get raw food. I switched mine over cold turkey. They were weirded out over the first few chicken wing meals, but caught on when they got hungry enough.

Since your dog "knows" kibble and you offered both raw and kibble at the same time, the dog will generally go with what it knows, in this case choosing the kiblle.

[TeddieXRuxpin]

Here is my thread on my experiance of raw feeding with Ted.
http://www.dogforums.com/5-dog-food-...w-tonight.html (Fed Raw Tonight..)

He has been eating kibble for the last 8 months, so since I brought him home. He didn't want it, but after leaving him alone he did actuall eat some. Just be careful with the bones. Today Teddie did inhale a whole leg bone and it freaked me out. He chewed it the first night, but swalloed it this time.

I would give it more than just once to say she wont eat it. Also try without the kibble. I would start with just a few pieces off of the bone and leave her in a different room. I did this with Ted and while I wasn't looking he eat them. Now he still wont eat a whole meaty leg/wing etc, but he will eat a leg with meat on it, just not all of it.

My best advice is give it time. Not all dogs take to it the first time.

[briteday]

Also small dogs don't require much food. A daily ration (usually divided into two meals) may be around 3.5 - 6 ounces per day. So I wouldn't expect them to be eating a whole pork chop at one meal. A chicken wing and a neck or a couple of necks would be about right for a small dog meal.

Go by the feel of the ribs. If they are too easy to feel, feed more. If you have to press more than just a little, feed less.

[Amberjam]

i gave my dog a little piece of raw chicken yesterday just to see if he'd like it and he did exaclty what i thought he would, he trailed it all over the house trying to hide it. so just proving that i cant feed raw till my kids are a lot older! but keep trying he'll eat it when he's hungry!

[briteday]

I don't allow my dogs to drag their food around the house. When the weather is nice they eat outside on one end of the patio. When the weather is cold or wet they eat in the laundry room with a gate across the door. Then I do a quick damp mop with a couple of those wet wipes. Recently I discovered that if I throw a couple of old towels in the laundry room they will each take their meat to a towel and settle in until they are finished. Then I just pick up the towels and run them through the washer on hot with a bit of bleach.

What I would be equally concerned about, if I had small children, is that the dog stool can contain salmonella and such that was ingested with the food. I would be very inclined to fence in a "potty spot" for your dog that the kids cannot get to when playing outside.

[Allee]

I understand the raw food diet and looking for the extra nutrients. But if your dog isn't having it (or, like in my case, your spouse, haha) you could always try supplements instead. For example, we get these and like them quite a bit. http://www.petparentsnetwork.com/

[Kari's Mom]

Kari is eating Natural Balance right now which isn't the best food but with her allergies its all she can without throwing it up. She gets what she needs from the nb but I think she'd be healthier if she could get what she needed without all the extra ingredients or perservatives that come in a kibble. The problem is according to bravo you have to feed about .5 lbs a day for my dog, which is about 3.5 lbs a week. A friend of mine with a boston terrier feeds her dog 7lbs a week of raw diet and her dog is very trim. Right now I have about 50lbs left of my nb kibble that I wish I could mix in with her raw until its finished.

I feed her yogurt (which now she gets first and seperate, as she doesn't like her kibble soggy ) then a few pieces of raw (one or two) then when she ate that I gave her a little kibble. Im not even sure how long raw meat will stay in the fridge, I decided to cook up some of the venision yesterday just incase.