Another Question about the RAW diet

[moppett]

My mum does doggie day care for me whilst I'm at work....so maybe she is feeding her during the day. She must be as I can't for the life of me work out how she is still gaining weight despite me feeding her less and cycling her miles!I have a freezer full of assorted raw food to get through... I'd been laying off all of the chicken portions I've got as I thought they'd be pretty high in calories? But yes they'd be low in fat....and as off tomorrow I'll try feeding raw twice a day but it is going to be hard to split already small meals in half *out comes the cleaver*..fingers crossed feeding her twice will stop her getting too hungry and indulging in her worst habit which is eating cat poo from the flower beds.

 

[NeverSayNever]

lamb is way higher in fat than chicken

 

[gunnergundog]

Moppett.......the chicken you have in your freezer sounds fine for your podenco; if you do decide to feed turkey as previously suggested do NOT feed the skin.....too much can cause pancreatitis.

Not sure if yours is a spanish rescue or how you've come by him, but just bear in mind that some of these dogs from abroad will have survived off VERY little for a long time and their metabolisms will have adapted accordingly. I don't know enough about the breed to advise but I know that they are used for catching rabbits and wonder if they would traditionally have been fed off the carcasses/bits that the humans didn't want. If so, bear in mind that rabbit has no fat whatsoever!!

Veg is VERY good for a dog like yours.......it can serve as a low calorie filler! Can feed up to 10%.

If exercise is of a good level, diet is 100% tight then do start thinking about vet and possibly thyroid.

 

[moppett]

Thanks Gunnergundog - you're right she survived off so little for such a long time I think she can live off very little. Feeding raw twice a day is going well, even if its just a token smallish breakfast. This morning she had a carrot, a manky corn on the cob, drumstick part of a chicken portion (probably more than 10%) She loves fruit and veg looked delighted that breakfast took longer than all of 2 seconds to eat! My mum is on holiday for the next two weeks - so no sneaky extras. Will let you know when I can see ribs!

 

[KarynK]

I would up the bone content that is their natural filler, if you can change to boned out carcasses or wings this will still fill her up but with less flesh to gain weight a there is quite a bit of flesh on the legs. If you feed lamb feed rib bones or pork ribs again where there is less flesh and more bone.

 

[moppett]

I've been wondering about this as I have loads of necks and not very meaty bones in the freezer but I am worried about her getting constipated and straining?

 

[AntxGeorgiax]

Might seem stupid, but I have always been very strongly advised against feeding chicken bones as they shatter, are sharp and can really mess with the internal organs of a dog. This goes for all poultry, some pork bones (like ribs) and fish (unless tinned) this too, is backed up by the vet who has seen countless cases of dogs (and cats) eating poultry bones (especially chicken) and choking, scratching/ripping open windpipe and some do not survive.

 

[CorvusCorax]

**Cooked **chicken bones splinter. Raw chicken bones are very soft and malleable.

 

[moppett]

AntxGeorgiax I'd recommend you had a little experiment with raw bones - be it lamb ribs or chicken carcasses, I for one, have never been able to get them to splinter. Next time you have a roast chicken however, just feel how sharp the drumstick part of the leg is once broken in half. Entirely different to raw bones.

 

[CorvusCorax]

And get 'THE' vet to do it as well

 

[moppett]

On another note, if your dog vomited every time you gave him/her a raw sardine would you stop feeding them? I've given mine raw sardines perhaps 6/7 times and she has been sick maybe 4 of those times? But not until about 6 hours afterwards (last night i fed her one with an egg at 5/6pm and she was sick at bedtime at 11.00ish) - coincidence?

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I'd feed half a sardine on its own and see what happens. One of mine won't eat raw fish.

Can you get sprats? Got loads from Tesco recently, they're a good small size.

 

[LearnerLou]

Hi all

Firstly, WOW, what an excellent source of info this forum is

I'm just about to take the plunge and switch my 3.5 year old lab bitch to Raw. GULP. She's been on Burns up until yesterday, so not the worst quality food in the world, but clearly not the best option either. She's had reoccurring ear infections for some time now, her ears improved when we changed her onto Burns from a poorer quality kibble, and now I'm hoping an outright change to a better quality diet might help us tackle these infections once and for all.

So, she had her last bowl of Burns yesterday, and then today I've prepared her some cooked chicken breast with veggies to last her today and tomorrow. This is just to bridge the gap to give me time to work out exactly what I'm supposed to feed her and to get to the butchers to buy it...

Now then, I wonder if any of you more experienced folk could advise on a couple of things... It's all a tad overwhelming!

Firstly, could anyone check my calculations re quantity of raw food she should be having. She weighs 30k, so based on 2-3% of body weight, I make it 600 - 900g? Am I working that out correctly? And if so, it seems quite a large range, should I just aim for the middle and then adjust down the line depending on how she's doing weight wise?

And then secondly, I'm understanding that chicken is a good one to start them off on for the first 2 weeks. Do I literally just buy in some chicken and put 750g in her feed bowl? Is it as simple as that?! Would i be best going with wings, legs, thighs, other? Should I give her anything with it? She loves veggies and natural yoghurt... Or are the additions just personal preference?

And when people mention chicken carcass, is this just a stripped down chicken?! Do you just hand them the whole thing?

Sorry about the basic beginner questions, I just want to make sure we get off to the very best start. It all seems so foreign to us in this household at the moment, we hadn't even heard of a raw diet until a few was ago, and don't know a single person who feeds it! Really grateful for any pointers...

Many thanks
Lou

 

[moppett]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. Feeding raw might seem really daunting but once you realize it really is as simple as it sounds then you wont look back! I would start with chicken portions - so the leg and thigh (i usually go to the freezer aisle in tescos or sainsburys and buy a 2kg bag of cheap chicken portions). Don't cut it up and just give it to her whole. I would stick with chicken for a week just so her stomach doesn't get overwhelmed with lots of different types of protein.

Chicken carcass is just whats left once the meat has been taken off, so the back, sternum, etc. and yup you can just throw it to them whole. Bear in mind that it would constitute as a bone meal so the next meal more meaty (or whatever works for you, just consider the 80:10:10 ratio - which isn't actually as rigid as you'd think so long as you've got a minimum of 5% liver)

My dogs on a diet so to save her bowl looking empty I do give carrots, apples, etc. from time to time - plus i figure her chasing a cored apple around the floor is a good workout! Some people feed yoghurt - I don't feed much other than occasionally in a KONG as dogs don't do well with too much lactose, though in moderation its fine.

Consider finding a raw food supplier that can deliver to you if you have the freezer space for it, it does often work out cheaper than the supermarket but I often go months on stuff I have picked out the reduced pile at the supermarket. There is a useful link on petforums.co.uk

Have fun discovering all the cuts of meat and bits of animal that your lab will love!

 

[LearnerLou]

Thank you ever so much! Have got some chicken quarters to kick things off tomorrow, going to keep her on that for a week and gradually add variety. Feel v nervous, how odd! Worried she's going to look at me like I've gone crazy! Really hope she enjoys it bless her. Will post an update.

 

[moppett]

Does anyone have any suggestions about stuffing KONGS?

I feed raw, but don't feed mince - so I'm pretty stuck.....short of hammering in a chicken portion into the hole?

 

[s4sugar]

Does anyone have any suggestions about stuffing KONGS?

I feed raw, but don't feed mince - so I'm pretty stuck.....short of hammering in a chicken portion into the hole?

Chop liver and smear it around the Kong's inside. Freeze and feed from the freezer.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Happy dogs!

 

[Arizahn]

Can anyone here suggest a good butcher in the Belfast area of Northern Ireland? (Preferably one that will not laugh me out of the shop.)

Have been feeding the freeflow mince from Pets At Home, along with bones and offal from the supermarket - not ideal economically! Have four to feed, though my brother in law supplies us with the occasional freebie when he goes shooting.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Can anyone here suggest a good butcher in the Belfast area of Northern Ireland? (Preferably one that will not laugh me out of the shop.)

Have been feeding the freeflow mince from Pets At Home, along with bones and offal from the supermarket - not ideal economically! Have four to feed, though my brother in law supplies us with the occasional freebie when he goes shooting.

Check your PMs

 

[Arizahn]

Thank you! That's a big drop in expenditure...you just know the extra cash will still end up going on the dogs anyway, lol!

 

[Identityincrisis]

Hi All

I have been reading this thread with interest but wanted to pick some brains if that's ok? As this is all very new to me.

I have 2 Basset Hounds, both 8 yrs old (unrelated) Molly has recently been diagnosed with Pancreatitis. She has had a couple of chronic bouts that have passed within a couple of hours but she has just suffered from a massive acute attack (we presume it is the Pancreatitis, the vets are a bit bamboozled) in which she has been hospitalised and operated on (investigative which found nothing of interest) She is still recovering but I was considering changing her diet when everything has stabilised, the vet advised to take her off the Chappie dried food diet she was on as this was probably an inflammatory factor and put her on the tinned version, but she had this massive acute attack while on the tinned version. My worry is, the Pancreatitis diet needs to be low fat (she isn't fat, very trim and healthy) is the RAW diet high in fat?

My other Basset is a very sickly animal and has terrible skin conditions, I feel she would benefit hugely from this diet.

Any thoughts would be greatly received, I would ask the vet but I find, as with horse vets, they are swung by 'big' food companies and don't always consider alternative options

 

[PorkChop]

I can't help with regards to a diet specifically for dogs with Pancreatitis, but the lovely thing about a raw diet is that you can make it what you want.

So for example if you want a low fat diet stick to lean meats, and feed more bone.

I am lucky, in that my Vets are happy with my dogs raw diet, however they wouldn't be able to advise me on it!

 

[Teaselmeg]

My dog had Pancreatitis and she is raw fed ( we think she found something very high fat on a walk). She started on Chappie TINNED, which is low fat and then after a month on that she was back on raw, she is now on either Nutriment Low Purine or Natural Instinct Special Diet. Both are low fat raw mixes and are designed for dogs who have had pancreatitis and other similar issues.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Chappie dry contains BHT/BHA, known carcinogenics

The levels of fat in raw food varies. Lamb is very fatty, tripe very much less so. Allergies often disappear if you use raw, but go slowly, introduce one type of meat first for a few days then another to check for reactions. Go super slow with offal which may cause runny poo!

 

[Identityincrisis]

Thanks everyone for the replies, it's scary looking to change as I don't want to cause another episode like the one she is recovering from

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Just go super slowly, start with one type of food, stick with it, don't try to throw loads of stuff at her quickly.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Very happy to see this back. Shall I kick start it with a pic??

Happy 11 year dog:

 

[PorkChop]

Yay well done you for making it happen

 

[RockinRudolph]

Yay well done you for making it happen

^^^^ this! Thanks CT!