Raw Food Diet

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Nettle
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Nettle »

If you can only feed one organ, I'd go for heart. Too much liver - and Bax is only a little chap - can be a bad idea. Also you don't want to feed gall bladder, which is attached to the liver.
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Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

i figured since heart was mostly just muscle it wouldn't count for much O.o
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by JudyN »

From everything I've read, I'd have said liver (but only small amounts) rather than heart. But an awful lot of received wisdom comes ultimately from one or two so-called 'experts' who have a theory of how dogs' digestions work and of course, if the theory is wrong or incomplete, the conclusion that liver is important may well also be incorrect... And Nettle has a lot of practical experience of raw feeding :D

You could always get liver one time & heart the next. Or, you could get both, defrost enough to cut in half & store half of each for future use (refreezing raw food is fine for dogs as long as it doesn't get too warm for too long).
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

yeah cause im giving him such small amount i may just buy both, weigh out equal parts, blend it, and then freeze it in individual packages combined

I just had this idea in my head that dogs needed a ton of different organs... i mean golden rule of 80-10-10 and variety is the spice of life and all that...
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

wondering about transitioning between meats? Bax started on chicken and had chicken for ages, then he switched to pork, then back to chicken, and now we're on pork again. Every time he switches he gets bound up for a couple of days. in this case for 4 days (he finally pooped today! yay!) is this normal? I was thinking about buying the pork and the chicken at the same time and mixing them? so he's not getting JUST pork for a month? would that help?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

I'm thinking of switching Bax off of raw. the unreliable pooping is driving me nuts. he'll go 4 days without pooping and then poop twice in two hours (once in the house). anyone else have problems with it while raw feeding?

EDIT: additional details. bax has been intermittently pooping in the house for awhile no matter how frequently i take him out. i started a more rigorous regime of letting him out of his 'crate' ONLY if hes pooped that day.... which means he only gets let out 1 out of every four days or so. he's going stir crazy and i cant help thinking its a bit cruel even with the extra walks and kongs to keep him busy. and now he's pooped again after he pooped outside which means i cant let him out of his crate AT ALL and that really is cruel.....

Edit 2: yes i took him to the vet, he's all clear
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by JudyN »

Was he more reliable before he went raw?

It might be not that he's 'irregular', but that the pooing twice in a few hours could be the same poo coming in two instalments, if you see what I mean. If you have four day's worth of poo to do you might need to do some, let your digesion shift on a bit, and then do some more.

But getting him more regular might not help the real issue, which is that he's going in the house, so it's more of a house training problem than a digestion problem - he might never be regular enough that you can ensure he's outside when he needs to do.

Sorry that's not much help, as I know you've struggled with house training for a long time :(
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

i just dont know what to do, with winter coming he's going to be doubly reticent to stay outside to poop. if he can poop anywhere from a few hours after his first poop to four days after it...... i can stay out there for half an hour and ill never know if he needs to poop or not
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Suzette
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Suzette »

It wasn't completely clear from your post, but it sounds as if he is pooping in the house without even asking to go out. If so, this sounds like a training issue rather than a diet issue.

But if you believe it is the raw diet, try taking him off of it and put him on your food of choice for awhile and see how that goes. If it does not resolve the issue, you can always go back to raw if you wish.
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Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

unfortunatly bax has never asked to go out in the 2+ years ive had him. i just take him out every 3 hours and if i dont he goes in the house =( (that goes for pee as well as poop)
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

Chicken gizzards and hearts are soooo cheap. is there any reason that i SHOULDN'T feed them as a primary source of protein for bax?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by JudyN »

I think gizzards are quite bony. Don't quote me on that though. And heart is quite rich so might not agree with Bax in large quantities.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

AHHHH :D :D :D :D fed bax some frozen peas with his dinner tonight to hopefully (fingers crossed) prevent him from getting a grumbly tummy/compulsive grass eating and runny poos. he LOVED them! he stopped eating his pork to eat his peas! What did i do to get such a good puppy?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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Nettle
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Nettle »

Good result! Now Phase 2:

Cut up a small amount of broccoli or cauliflower stem (not the florets) and stir into the peas. He may eat it or he may not, but if he does - there's two vegetables he's eating that will help with gurgly guts.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

What % of his intake of food should be veggies? I'm currently dropped about 2-3 tablespoons of peas for him
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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