Raw Food Diet

Discussion dedicated to promoting the well-being of your dog through diet, exercise and general health tips.

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Nettle
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Nettle »

It doesn't have to be an accurate percentage - whatever he'll eat. Veggies don't put on weight so feed meat and bones to his weight needs, and give whatever quantity of vegetables he is happy to eat. Rather than add more peas, it's time to expand on the variety of veggies. Broccoli and cauli stalks smell sulphurous to us but dogs usually love them. Cutting them up small helps the dog to want to sample this new addition to the food bowl.
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Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

I recently bought some pork hocks for bax since they were cheap. i figured id give them to him instead of a kong. they're safe to eat right? I was concerned about splintering cause so far the biggest bones he's had is chicken.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Erica »

I would supervise him - Delta gnawed the meat off the venison hock but didn't eat the bone. I'd expect the same from Bax and pork hocks, but if he starts to try to crack the bone I would swap it away from him - that density might harm his teeth if he goes straight at it. It did entertain Del for quite some time!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

Hey bax seems to have picked up a stomach bug. He has the runs and he's vomited bile three times now. I'm not worried, he only started feeling off today, but i am wondering about food. He normally eats pumpkin, greens, and raw chicken for dinner. will that upset his stomach? im thinking skipping the greens and maybe the pumpkin? should i cook the chicken? would that help it go down? should i change nothing and just wait it out? What are our options with raw?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Erica »

If Delta gets a stomach bug, what I do is fast for a day, if no improvement then boiled chicken (no bones!). He won't eat pumpkin or rice, so I don't add those. If no improvement after another 48 hours (or if at any point it gets a lot worse or he's acting off, or if it's just intense and he is suffering) I'll take him to the vet.

When Amadeus and Zeus had chronic diarrhea, their vets actually suggested adding pumpkin and green beans to their meals.

None of this is veterinary advice, just my experiences!
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

accidentally dropped a slice of zucchini while cooking tonight and bax loved it! so he got a big chunk of zucchini to gnaw on with his dinner tonight! another win for raw!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

Bax's tummy is still occasionally grumbly. today he wouldnt potty outside and only wanted to eat grass. i can hear his stomach gurgling from halfway across the room. He's getting about a half cup of greens and a heaping tablespoonful of pumpkin with every dinner so tonight I'm pulling out the big guns. my mom is going to give him a clump of scoby from her kefir.

(for those who don't grow kefir scoby is the chunk of starter, the 'seed' of the kefir. it's a big clump of bacteria and yeast and all that. its a solid that sits at the bottom of the milk and turns the milk into kefir. the longer you feed your kefir the bigger it grows and the more 'food' it needs so you need to prune it every so often if you only want it to produce a certain amount of kefir every day)

Hopefully the extra probiotics once a week or so will help his tummy feel better and keep him more regular.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

Heehee bax got a chunk of pepper at dinner while mom was cooking and i freaked out cause i though peppers were poisonous. a quick google says that actually they're quite good for dogs. Mom had an extra pepper after dinner so i took the top off, deseeded it, and gave it bax. i think he's in love! it's bigger than his head so he's having a blast nosing it all over the place. he's finally got it wedged somewhere and now he's eating it in rings from the top down one bite at a time <3 my little boy sure does love his veggies <3

It is funny though cause my dad was like, "Your feeding your dog vegtables! he's going to poop all over everything" and i was like "dad, bax has been having half a cup of greens every night for months" :lol:
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

hey so we're cooking a whole chicken today and my mom gave me the organ packet to give to bax. he got the heart and the liver no question, but there's also a kidney. i seem to recall kidney shouldn't be given? thoughts?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by JudyN »

Kidney is fine... it's often included in Jasper's mince mixes. I've had a look on the internet and can't see any warnings about it, apart from the dangers of giving too much in one go, similarly to liver - but if I remember rightly Bax is OK with a high percentage of liver in one meal?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

yup, bax is good with lots of liver

kidney ho!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

i think im fine but i want to check.

things have been tight lately and probably will continue to be so for awhile I've just been giving bax a chicken thigh for dinner. no pumpkin, no peas. i was worried he'd be malnourished but he seems to be doing fine. his weight is holding good, his coat is fine, his poops are normal, and best of all hes stopped vomiting every day! i'm still occasionally feeding him his liver as well. is this okay? like ive been so obsessed with giving him the VERY best i just was wondering what RawFeedingLite! version looked like.

my concern that is secondary to the lack of veggies is.... bone. thighs are a ton of bone. his poos haven't gone all white and crumbly though so I'm thinking it's fine? what happens if a dog eats to much bone? i was thinking just constipation maybe or just general losing weight because the extra bone means less meat? but his weight is fine?
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
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Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by JudyN »

The simple answer is... nobody knows. I don't believe anyone has done a decent study on this - it would be very difficult and would ideally cover a lifespan. Of course there are people who will claim that they've always fed their dogs on X and they've been healthy, but then there are people who have poor diets, smoke, drink, etc., and live long lives. There are 'experts' who have written books on it, but again, I suspect most is dogma rather than clinical observations.

If you're concerned about veggies, there must be cheap sources, or you could even investigate foraging for some (I'm sure there's guides somewhere on the internet).

What I have read that seems to make sense is that in the wild, predators will live off one food source for weeks/months at a time as availability changes - and so it's fine to only feed one protein source for a few weeks while investigating other sources.

And if he seems well, not vomiting, good poos, etc., what you're feeding may well be better for him than a diet that is perfect 'on paper' but doesn't agree with him.

You could also investigate vitamin supplements, just for peace of mind - though they're likely to be more expensive than adding a bigger range of foods to his diet.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

i actually do have at least one GIANT bottle of vitamins my vet conned me into getting (he doesnt liek raw) bax eats them just fine so i may start that up again just for peace of mind. thanks judy!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Shalista
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Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Raw Food Diet

Post by Shalista »

When I first started raw feeding I promised Bax that someday I’d buy him a real fish. Scales and bones and all. Today I cashed my first paycheck and went right to the store. I bought him a real fish with staring eyes and everything and gave it to him. True to Bax form he doesn’t want to eat. :roll: but it’s the thought that counts!!!!!!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
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