[bonnie bear]

Hi All:wave:,

My question is how early should you/can you start the Raw Diet? My husband and I are vegetarians so the only thing we are uncomfortable is having all this meat in the house

I know doggies are omnivorous(bonnie loves eating grass, but doesnt like the veggies I give her, unless its mashed potatoes:doh but if doggies live healthier and are happier on a raw diet, then of course thats what we want for our bon-bon. But, we recently got some raw for her, and I think that made her get constipated. She really had trouble going, and we had to bring in the big guns (pumpkin) and then she went in the morning. So I'm really nervous about starting raw for her:redface:.

 

[PackMomma]

Hi All:wave:,

My question is how early should you/can you start the Raw Diet? My husband and I are vegetarians so the only thing we are uncomfortable is having all this meat in the house

I know doggies are omnivorous(bonnie loves eating grass, but doesnt like the veggies I give her, unless its mashed potatoes:doh but if doggies live healthier and are happier on a raw diet, then of course thats what we want for our bon-bon. But, we recently got some raw for her, and I think that made her get constipated. She really had trouble going, and we had to bring in the big guns (pumpkin) and then she went in the morning. So I'm really nervous about starting raw for her:redface:.

False. Dogs are carnivores, and nothing but. Sure, they can digest small amounts of plant matter, but it is not a nutritional requirement or benefit to have any vegetables or plant matter in their diet. Raw diets, if done properly, are well balanced that nothing else is needed to supplement the diet.

You can typically start a raw diet as early as when pups are weaned from the mother, my Shiba Inu was started on raw at about 4 - 1/2 weeks old while still nursing.

Some dogs require a lenghtly transition on to raw, it does take time. You might find more information on feeding raw in the stickies in the Dog Food Forum.. there is also a lot of helpful websites listed in some of these threads.

What kind of raw are you feeding? How much were you giving, and what is the size of your dog?

 

[bonnie bear]

My husband got her rabbit - I believe. Not sure on what he got her. I think he put in a cup with her blue buffalo kibbles.

Shes 47 lbs - maybe more now. Shes pretty big..maybe 18 inches tall? I gotta measure her

 

[PackMomma]

Okay, first off, I strongly discourage mixing raw meat and kibble together. This can most definitely cause digestive upset for some dogs. Some dogs can tolerate the mix, but I do not recommend it, as it can 'confuse' the digestive system.

Secondly, if you are going to introduce a dog to raw for the first time, it should be done slowly, one protein at a time. Most experienced raw feeders would suggest starting off first with raw boney chicken, like chicken necks, backs, wings, quarters, etc. then once the stools look normal and the dog appears to be handling it, then you can move to turkey, duck, etc. Typically red meats (Including rabbit) should be introduced lastly, and then you begin to introduce organs into the diet. Some also recommend that if transitioning to a %100 raw diet that you fast the animal to rid the body of toxins from processed kibbles for atleast 24 hrs before introducing a raw meal.

Some people wish to feed a partial kibble and raw diet, that is fine in my opinoin, however you should space the two meals atleast 8 hours apart.

with raw you feed approximately %2 of the ideal body weight per day. So if your dog is still a puppy, you figure out what the approximate adult weight should be and feed by that, or if the dog is overweight, you feed by the goal weight you'd like your dog to be. Sometimes this needs to be adjusted depending on the individual dog (amount of exercise, metabolism, etc), and if you are feeding kibble you need to factor that into the daily percentage aswell. Scales are handy for raw feeding.

You should also be cautious that you are not overfeeding kibble... many, many people overfeed kibble and that again, can cause digestive upset - the labels on the bag often times recommend more than what is actually required. The best way to tell if your dog is underweight or overweight is by feeling the ribs and hips, you should be able to feel the bones by gently touching, but should not be able to see them. If you can barely feel the ribs or hipbones by just gently grazing your fingers back and forth, rubbing gently on the skin, then its likely there's too much fat. If you can see the bones sticking out, need more weight.. but if you can feel the ribs just fine yet not visible to the eye then that is likely a perfect weight.

I do suggest that you do a bit more thorough research on raw diets before you make the transition, or before you give her anymore raw. Like I said, check out the stickies and raw feeding threads on this forum, and you will come across some informative websites as well.

Good luck

 

[timluc0428]

I was planning on continuing with batman's current diet of blue buffalo wilderness dry food, but also giving him some raw meat like chicken necks, liver, etc that are left over from my wife cooking a whole chicken.

Is this a bad idea unless he hasn't eaten for 8 hours?

 

[Gally]

I was planning on continuing with batman's current diet of blue buffalo wilderness dry food, but also giving him some raw meat like chicken necks, liver, etc that are left over from my wife cooking a whole chicken.

Is this a bad idea unless he hasn't eaten for 8 hours?

As PackMomma said, some dogs can handle mixing kibble and raw but some can't and it's generally recommended to leave at least 8 hours between meals of raw and kibble for best digestion.

 

[PackMomma]

I was planning on continuing with batman's current diet of blue buffalo wilderness dry food, but also giving him some raw meat like chicken necks, liver, etc that are left over from my wife cooking a whole chicken.

Is this a bad idea unless he hasn't eaten for 8 hours?

Again, like I mentioned above, I do not recommend mixing raw and dry food together, and aim to allow atleast an 8 hour period between feeding the two. Some dogs may not have issues with them being mixed together, or being fed close together but I wouldn't be surprised if the dog did get some kind of digestive upset from mixing them together or feeding too close together.

Generally I don't think mixing them together would be as bad as feeding kibble immediately after feeding raw, as my experience with my dogs in the past is one had gotten into kibble before eating raw and that led to some very explosive diarrhea, didn't make them sick, but very very runny stools for a day or so. This is likely because kibble digests slower than raw meat, and the raw meat being held up longer in the digestive tract can accumulate more bacteria. On the other hand, when one of my dogs had eaten raw, then gotten into kibble shortly after, there was no side affects, but to avoid any upset on the digestive tract I recommend a minimum of 8 hrs between raw and kibble meals, back when I fed a partial raw/kibble diet, I spaced kibble and raw 12 hrs apart.

If your going to feed your dog raw occasionally, it should be fed as a separate meal, if you feed your dog kibble for dinner, and your wife has leftover raw chicken that night, put it in the freezer and feed it for his dinner the following day. I definitely would not encourage feeding your dog his regular food portion in a day, then adding some raw on top of that as a treat. Or, if you know that ther eis going to be some raw scraps at dinner time, adjust his morning meal accordingly and then feed the raw for dinner.

 

[R.Scott]

No. Dogs are NOT omnivores. They are strictly carnivores. (Yes, they do eat grass at times, but it does not make up their diet).

Packmomma explained raw feeding perfectly!

I like to go by the guidelines, 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organs. Something around there. Be careful with adding too much bone into the diet as that can cause constipation due to the bone becoming dry and powdery while being digested. (Dogs can literally poop out white, dry, powder if they eat too much bone) and sometimes a dog can be a little bit constipated after eating their first raw meal. But, once their bodies are use to raw feeding their poopies are much smaller and easier to pick up! :^>

I started my dogs on chicken legs when I first started raw. It's a light meat with bones included.

And I totally agree with not feeding kibble and raw together. It can mess up a dog's insides. My Pembroke Corgi cannot handle it. If she gets into my sister's dogs kibble after eating her raw, she will have the worst gas and upset stomach. But, her digestive tract is perfect when she is just on raw.
My vallhund on the other hand, it doesn't effect her at all if she eats both. But I keep them both on pure raw food. No kibble at all. I also like to separate the meat from the bone (if possible) so their teeth can touch the bone directly to keep them cleaner. That's just my method.

I'll always feed my dogs raw. They are much healthier!

 

[JohnnyBandit]

Dogs are carnivores not omnivores.

Don't mix raw and kibble..... They digest at different rates. A dogs body must re hydrate kibble before processing. Raw is already hydrated. So it processes faster.

 

[Mheath0429]

Dogs are opportunistic carnivores - this mean that they eat a diet of primarily meat but can survive on veggies and fruits. Remember, surviving is different than thriving.

I am in the Midwest and use this site for bulk ordering, but it also has some good information about raw feeding in general: http://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=116

I supplement with Coconut oil, simply because it has many antiviral, anti fungal, and antibacterial properties. I also feed raw eggs multiple times a week. These are very rich in nutrients. Unlike was most will say, I did not switch over on chicken. I have a chicken intolerant female and I started with Turkey and Duck. We never had an issue with stools - but I did stock up on pumpkin just to be safe.

You can do it, but be 100% prepared. Hopefully, the link I posted will help you out.

 

[bonnie bear]

Thanks everybody!!! Your comments really opened my eyes. I did check with my husband - he said he bought chicken for her. Perhaps we just gave too much at once and on top of that with her kibble. We will change all that soon.

Sorry for the omnivore comment - being from India -- people there bring up their dogs as vegans...I know your shocked looks now But - the dogs there seem to not have any issues....that I know of So I have always heard the saying dogs are omnivores...