Converting Doggo to raw diet

[ElectricChampagne]

After my previous post about my poor doggo and his digestive issues, and an absolute boat load of research, contact with doggy nutritionists and oodles of reading I'm starting to believe that the absolute best thing I can do for my poor dog is to convert him to a raw diet.

I'll be honest, I'm scared to think what the vet prescribed feed will do to him.

I'm also scared I'm going to get it wrong!

He's allergic to chicken, and I need to limit him to a single protein which lamb seems to be working for him.
He's not been in the best of form since coming back from a day in doggy hospital on Tuesday, and not overly interested in his usual crappy Caesar or tinned feed.

So I've been lightly cooking mince lamb from the butcher which he minced off the bone for me and he's going mad over it.

But why should I cook it and destroy the protein in it by doing so when raw might be better for him...

So I'd appreciate any advice on converting him over (slowly) to a raw diet..

 

[Teaselmeg]

I would feed him what he will eat at the moment, so if its homecooked food, then go for it. Once he feels better then swap to raw if you want to.

Watch as quite a few raw food suppliers who do complete mixes will add chicken to bulk a food out ( it says beef, but if you read the ingredients its can be 15% chicken offal etc).

I would give something life Different Dog a try, its a cooked food, not cheap, but great quality and balanced.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Thanks Teaselmeg, I'm definitely going to keep feeding him whatever he's happy to eat.

The funny thing is that even the non raw diets are laced with chicken too so I'm constantly reading ingredients for everything going near him...

I'll have a look for different dog thank you.

Found a local supplier here that is also a butcher which also does raw mixes so I'll look into that too. He has single protein ones too

 

[thommackintosh]

Hi, we switched our dog over to raw a few months ago, and I'm so glad we did. He's gone from having little interest in dry food to wolfing his meals down. The brand we're using is Natural Instinct - I can't fault them. https://naturalinstinct.com/

 

[Pinkvboots]

I tried my JRT on raw when she was quite young but found she just put on too much weight, I kept cutting it back but then her food looked such a little amount I felt mean so I stopped feeding it and went back to kibble and wet.

It might just be that because it is protein rich its just too much for some dogs.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

I’ve fed the greyhounds and the terriers raw, I found it quite intimidating when I started but actually it’s pretty easy. Start with one source of protein for a week, then start adding in different proteins to see what your dog likes.

Most raw feed companies will sell balanced mixes now (the diet should be 80/10/10 percent muscle meat, offal and bone) which makes it even easier!

The greyhounds and lurchers did incredibly well on it, but Flora my little JRT will ONLY eat minced tripe from Natural Instinct so I gave up with her and Colin! She wouldn’t touch all the higher quality minces.

 

[Petalpoos]

My curly has been on raw for over a year now and I am really pleased that I changed her off kibble. I don’t believe UPF is good for me so why give it to my dog? The only thing I would say is don’t feed anywhere near the amount the mfr says - my dog eats a little more than half of the recommended daily amount of meat, plus I give her veggies I cook myself to bulk it out a bit. She put on a huge amount of weight to begin with as I fed the recommended amount.

Anyway, she loves it! I feed Naturaw and they have plenty of recipes without chicken. Good luck!

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Thanks so much all for the replies, it's super interesting to read how people are getting on, both good and bad!

I think I'll definitely look into getting a mix as it makes it easier for me, my life is pretty jam packed.

The little fella is in flying form and his skin and coat much softer and healthier looking since I added milled chia and flax to his diet so I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen with raw. I think the kibble was upsetting his tummy so it needs to heal before I start changing everything up on him. Especially as he's got IBD.

I'm letting him dictate what he wants to eat to me at the moment.

 

[skinnydipper]

Go for a raw complete which meets FEDIAF guidelines, like Prodog. You can apply an allergy filter, I've tried it here with chicken https://www.prodograw.com/shop/raw-...festage=&pdrprotein=&pdrallergy=834&pdrprice=

Remember, raw with bone should be fed raw, never cook it.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Go for a raw complete which meets FEDIAF guidelines, like Prodog. You can apply an allergy filter, I've tried it here with chicken https://www.prodograw.com/shop/raw-...festage=&pdrprotein=&pdrallergy=834&pdrprice=

Remember, raw with bone should be fed raw, never cook it.

Sadly they don't ship to Ireland. I could do with moving to the UK!

 

[Coblover63]

Just to add that lots of dogs are allergic to cooked chicken but very few are actually allergic to it in its raw state. We introduced our two as tiny pups and started them on green (lamb) tripe for the first five days. Then, as has already been suggested, you swap to a different protein - like beef, for a further 5 days - and watch for any reaction.... itchy paws, itchy ears, diarrhoea and or vomiting. Your dog may be very hungry for the first couple of days and may also get a bit of carb withdrawal if you've been feeding cereals. But you'll probably see a big change in their personality as they calm down, get shiny coats and poo - and drink - much less!

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

There are some fb pages on raw feeding that can be useful

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Just to add that lots of dogs are allergic to cooked chicken but very few are actually allergic to it in its raw state. We introduced our two as tiny pups and started them on green (lamb) tripe for the first five days. Then, as has already been suggested, you swap to a different protein - like beef, for a further 5 days - and watch for any reaction.... itchy paws, itchy ears, diarrhoea and or vomiting. Your dog may be very hungry for the first couple of days and may also get a bit of carb withdrawal if you've been feeding cereals. But you'll probably see a big change in their personality as they calm down, get shiny coats and poo - and drink - much less!

Wow that's fascinating!

The poor thing doesn't know whether he's coming or going. So I don't want to overload him.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Thanks Teaselmeg, I'm definitely going to keep feeding him whatever he's happy to eat.

The funny thing is that even the non raw diets are laced with chicken too so I'm constantly reading ingredients for everything going near him...

I'll have a look for different dog thank you.

Found a local supplier here that is also a butcher which also does raw mixes so I'll look into that too. He has single protein ones too

See if you can persuade him to do a custom mix, ours started when I spoke to him re the 80:10:10 rule-beef mix.

I’ve taken Goose off chicken recently following an ongoing issue with just one paw. The wet weather is deeply unhelpful.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

See if you can persuade him to do a custom mix, ours started when I spoke to him re the 80:10:10 rule-beef mix.

I’ve taken Goose off chicken recently following an ongoing issue with just one paw. The wet weather is deeply unhelpful.

So I think I need to get him on bone broth asap to heal his gut.

My local butcher is collecting some of the most marrowful ones, and chopping them so I can make a good broth for him.

They'll all go into the slow cooker with water and apple cider vinegar for at least 24 hours. Then I'll strain it and let it cool/set so he can munch on it then.

He's turning his nose up at any of the tinned food he's previously loved and after eating a decent mini steak that I had cooked medium rare.

I think that says it all.

He had the chicken paws thing, was getting inter digital cysts and chewing them. He also got itchy and lost a lot of his lovely long double coat.

The weather definitely doesn't help, frustrating to beat the bandwagon. More rain due here tonight.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I don’t think bone broth is much cop, tbh, unless he needs it to settle his belly, in which case I’d carry on with gently cooked mince. There’s not enough protein, which my doctors used to bang on about as being needed to heal.Cooking it for so long will surely remove most nutrients?

 

[JBM]

The longer you simmer it on low heat the more you get out of the marrow
Bone broth has many great benefits for dogs and people

What Are the Benefits of Giving My Dog Bone Broth? [Recipe Included]

Bone broth has long been a staple in kitchens all over the world. Over 2,000 years ago, the Chinese began using it as a medicinal supplement to strengthen the kidneys and support digestion. The Greek physician Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recommended bone broth for overall bodily...

www.licksleeve.com

You should get little moulds too for portion sizing
After it cools it gets very jelly like and hard to work with
I got some small rubber moulds off Amazon and froze them then popped them in with their food

Amazon.co.uk

amzn.eu

For my 25kg I was using 2 paw ones and 3 bone shapes a meal

 

[Andie02]

He had the chicken paws thing, was getting inter digital cysts and chewing them. He also got itchy and lost a lot of his lovely long double coat

Food Stuff - Stinky Stuff

100% natural food supplement for itchy dogs

www.stinky-stuff.co.uk

 

[ElectricChampagne]

Food Stuff - Stinky Stuff

100% natural food supplement for itchy dogs

www.stinky-stuff.co.uk

I've heard of that, thanks for sharing, I'll see if I can get it over here, or similar.

 

[ElectricChampagne]

The longer you simmer it on low heat the more you get out of the marrow
Bone broth has many great benefits for dogs and people

What Are the Benefits of Giving My Dog Bone Broth? [Recipe Included]

Bone broth has long been a staple in kitchens all over the world. Over 2,000 years ago, the Chinese began using it as a medicinal supplement to strengthen the kidneys and support digestion. The Greek physician Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recommended bone broth for overall bodily...

www.licksleeve.com

You should get little moulds too for portion sizing
After it cools it gets very jelly like and hard to work with
I got some small rubber moulds off Amazon and froze them then popped them in with their food

Amazon.co.uk

amzn.eu

For my 25kg I was using 2 paw ones and 3 bone shapes a meal

Great idea on the silicone moulds, I'll pick some of those up