Dog gone off raw food

[Daniel_Jack]

Our 8 year old rescue lurcher had been fed raw mince since the day we got her. Always tripe or beef as she never liked any other types. We also used to give her raw chicken wings but stopped after she started to take them from her bowl and hide them round the house.

For a while now she has seemed more reluctant to eat the raw food and it often sits in her bowl all day untouched whereas she used to wolf it down. This is less than ideal when you have young kids in the house.

I'd like to switch to an alternative — either dry or wet although I think she'd prefer wet as I've fed her fisherman's friend before and she wasn't overly keen.

My raw food costs me about £1.20 per 400g which is pretty much all she needs - keen to find some alternative at a similar cost - any suggestions?

 

[twiggy2]

Maybe worth having a vet check, she may be unwell or have a tooth/mouth problem.

 

[Daniel_Jack]

Maybe worth having a vet check, she may be unwell or have a tooth/mouth problem.

Definitely not unwell. She'll eat treats/scraps/cheap tinned dog food happily.

 

[twiggy2]

Often with a sore mouth they will eat extra special things but not the normal ration.
Minced meat is not a great diet on its own adit does nothing for the teeth, going off or hiding chicken wings ( or things that can be hard or need chewing)is a fairly classic sign of mouth pain.
Beef is also not great as a base fir a dogs diet, tripe is good though but dogs need muscle meat and bone in a raw diet to make it balanced.

 

[gunnergundog]

Try contacting the supplier of your raw food and see if they have changed anything. I used, among other things, to feed the Paleo Ridge complete minces and had done for a few years. They changed the packaging to a box made of waxed cardboard and mine won't touch it now.

 

[Daniel_Jack]

She was at the vet recently (after she started leaving the raw feed) and checked over as part of annual vaccination so I'm comfortable she's not got any issues.

Teeth are good and she's happy in herself. The hiding of the chicken wings was years ago. She's prone to hiding treats and eating them later.

It's natures menu that we use. Packaging has changed but not sure about the food itself.

 

[Leo Walker]

Natures menu is not very nice stuff. Mine wont touch it. I'd try a different supplier. And the food goes down for 5 mins and comes back up and she gets nothing until the next day. I do that if mine ever start fussing and being picky. I'd also feed the chicken wings outside or in one contained room. Mine have their own mats and they know to stay on the mat with their bones and wings. Saves any issues with raw meat round the house, which is definitely not acceptable to me!

 

[Mule]

Maybe she just fancies a change.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Try another brand, I am a fan of both Natural Instinct and Nutriment.

We have an excellent supplier locally here who is great, but the companies themselves are very contactable regarding help.

You should be switching your protein sources regularly- so maybe a chance to another brand will better facilitate this.

As a guide my adult 37kg GSD is fed 1kg a day, so be careful with your amounts too.

 

[skinnydipper]

I too, suggest trying another brand of raw and feeding variety.

It is very difficult to DIY and be sure you are meeting nutritional targets so I would stick to raw completes.

I believe the following are FEDIAF compliant

Nutriment, Natural Instinct, Natures Menu, Cotswold Raw, Benyfit.

I feed mainly raw with some kibble (different meal times) and use Eden Country Cuisine for the kibble - goes down well.