Anyone feeding Natural Instinct Raw, please help ?

NeverSayNever

NeverSayNever

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Am looking to hear from anyone else feeding Natural Instinct?

I have 6 border collies and switched to raw a good few months ago now. I tried getting the cheaper meat from a local supplier but doing it that way is just not for me. I love the whole concept of NI being balanced, hygienically prepared and top quality meats.

however - 3 of my 6 dogs are just not holding weight on it. 1 of them wasnt holding weight on dry food tbf so discount her, but the other 2 are mature, speyed bitches of 5 and 10 who on dry food only had to so much as sniff it to get fat. They were on tiny rations on Arden Grange. Now on NI I have had to up each of their meals to 500g a day (they are each about 13kg) which is way over the 2-3% recommended for raw. The other bitch that doesnt hold weight is on the same amount and she is smaller, only 11kg. So they are getting more than 4% of their bodyweight and still not as covered as I would like! Also should add I use duck and lamb where I can as well as chicken as its higher in fat, but more ££ also!

Basically I cant afford to keep going like this as last months food cost me more than £300! Are there some dogs that just dont hold weight on raw? Is there a cheaper alternative other than going back to dry?
 
just the same on the cheaper meat and im really not happy with the quality/production of it either:o CC these 2 run to fat very easily on dry which is why this is such a mystery to me:confused:
 
I imagine the quality.production of the meat in Natural Instinct is exactly the same as the cheaper meat- they just put it it prettier packaging!!
 
I have one who won't hold weight either, regardless of food. He's having bloods taken this week to test for anything sinister:(
 
G runs to fat on everything :o

I'd prefer a lean dog to be honest, B doesn't hold his weight at all, and I am sure a lot of people on here would think my dogs resemble hat racks :o

As Lexie, the minced whole chicken I get seems as good if not better than the NI stuff, shop around? Did you ever try hanging around a greyhound track :p
 
Mine was always lean, but you can see all his ribs from a distance now, and his hip bones too. And his spine can be felt. He's smooth coat collie cross kelpie, btw. Weighed two weeks ago, he was 22kg then, but has gotten visibly thinner since. He has a nice coat, and bright eyes, very active, etc. Worms have been ruled out, never thought I would want to find that my dog had worms:( Bag of bones would be my description...
 
Arizan one of my other bitches is like that, i cant keep weight on her no matter what i do. its her metabolism and high-drive personality that does it. Tried everything and all vet tests been done too.She isnt even 2 yet. The more I feed her, the more she poops it out. She is trying a course of Zylkene calmer tablets to see if it helps...

The NI meat is definitely produced in a lot more of a regulated environment and to better standards than the cheaper meat.
 
CaveCanem said:
G runs to fat on everything :o

I'd prefer a lean dog to be honest, B doesn't hold his weight at all, and I am sure a lot of people on here would think my dogs resemble hat racks :o

As Lexie, the minced whole chicken I get seems as good if not better than the NI stuff, shop around? Did you ever try hanging around a greyhound track :p
Click to expand...

i prefer a lean dog too, believe me!! All my dogs are muscled, hard and fit - but these 2 are now under what i like ;)
 
He is 18 months old. He eats fine, currently getting 600g a day, he was on 500g. Teeth are incredible, strong and white, no smell, good gums, etc. Stools are firm and regular, no blood/mucus or hideous stenches. He goes two to three times a day, and it isn't massive piles of stuff either, iykwim.

I feed raw, as he is better on it. Kibble makes his motions far more frequent and messy, and his coat looks dreadful on it. Until recently, about mid October, he was just nice and lean, though he couldn't miss a meal, as he has always dropped weight easily.

I checked him again yesterday and he is losing muscle tone around his shoulders under his winter coat:(
 
I took him to the vet two weeks ago and he said to up the food for a fortnight and then come back. We wormed him then too, btw. He is wormed regularly, but vet wanted it ruled out first. No sign of parasites.
 
Well I'd definitely try adding lots more muscle meat as mentioned, and the tripe and the fish. My female who used to run the weight off herself was often crated when not being exercised as she used to fence-run, she couldn't switch off so I had to control when and where she was exercised rather than let her decide herself.
 
Fish wise, he gets sardines, mackeral and occasionally salmon, twice a week. Tripe just runs through him sadly but he gets a mix of all other offal types. He loves heart and liver:) And then either beef (stewing or boneless shin, sometimes bigger roasting joints) or lamb shanks.
 
Exercise, he is currently on an hour a day off lead, and only allowed to play fetch for fifteen minutes per day maximum, then I put the toy away or he would obsess. Thankfully he is happy to snuggle up and be a lap dog when at home. Generally with all four paws in the air and a dopey sort of grin on his face!
 
Argh, husband just hopped on the scales holding him for a rough idea. Did this two weeks ago prior to vet weighing him btw. Last time, he was 22kg. Today he is apparently 20kg:(

Am headed out to the vet's right now...
 
My recent rescue boy had a bit of a poorly stomach recently and lost quite a bit of weight. He is fed raw and during hte time of bulking him back up I fed him only tripe with a spoon of yoghurt. Within 2 weeks his was perfect weight. He is now doing brilliantly on the raw diet. However not all dogs do do well on it.

If the blood tests rule out anything that is causing him to loose weight, and you are considering going back to kibble for the sake of his weight, try Eden pet foods which is the closest thing you can get to raw in a kibble form and most dogs do, where other foods has failed to do so, puts weight on. http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-review.php?id=0671
 
Thanks.
So he has lost a bit but thankfully not 2kg, our scales are off. Vet checked him over - heart rate fine, urine fine, glands fine, does not appear anaemic but is slightly too thin. Vet feels it may simply be that he has a high metabolism. Has advised to increase food, decrease time off lead, and add a supplement, which we bought today.
Any sign of further weight loss and we are to go straight back, otherwise he wants to see him again just before xmas to reweigh him, and if he isn't gaining weight or has lost more then it's on to blood tests and wherever else from there:(
 
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