Royal canine question - Page 2

Clewsk9s,

I've never fed raw before as the "only" diet; I usually feed all kibble (RC 24) or kibble with some venison, chicken, beef added.  How do you know how much to feed of the raw?  Are there some sort of guidelines to go by?  I've been kicking around feeding raw.

Thanks in advance.

Based on the AFS label they call for 1/2 pound per 25 pounds of dog daily.  I am in no way offended Domenic, I am learning and that is why I spend so much time on the PDB because I know I have a lot to learn and there are so many people on here with such a diverisity of knowledge and experience.  I would very much appreciate to know if I am giving them too much.

I had my dogs on Canidae for about 5 months and it seems like overnight they did a major decline, especially my girl, she completely blew her coat which I kinda expected after weaning the pups but she ended up with a skin rash, which I had immediately checked by the vet for Demodex (negative thank God) but the vet put her on the RC Rabbit/Sweet Potato limited ingredient diet.  Her skin cleared up and her coat started looking better but she was still loosing weight.  There was also the fact that she won't stay out of the pool and the vet felt she had a yeast infection and to minimize the pool to once a day swim and dry her thoroughly.  My husband set up an additional fence so I can keep her out of it when I want to.

Here is the label of the RAW I am feeding - ANY ADVICE IS VERY APPRECIATED!

http://www.lizzyshealthypetfood.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=32

The only thing I really go by is I really pay close attention to my dogs, check their coats, ears, feet daily and she has really bounced back.  I took her off the limited ingredient after 1 bag and did give her 50/50 RC/RAW for 1 bag just to get the weight back on her.  But felt that I needed to keep her away from grains for awhile and build her back up with yogurt & RAW. 

i fed my gsd rc large breed puppy, then rc gsd. i now mix it w/raw chicken a couple times a week; other times i mix ~1/4 c of yogurt, cottage cheese,or merricks can food (any), and sometimes i'll shred carrots and add a bit in. they also get the missing linkPlus. our mali mix used to be a very picky eater, but since i've been adding the goodies to their dry food (1 1/2 c), angus whines til he gets his and claire dances all the way to her "station". their coats have always been nice, but w/additional goodies, they are shinier and softer. claire has always had hard stools, but angus has always had soft ones. since he's been on rcgsd, his have gotten better and since i've been supplementing w/raw, etc, his are much better. i really like the rc, but w/raw, etc additions, it seems to be a better deal. i try to feed my gsd about 2cups in the am and 2 in the pm. claire gets just slightly less (she's much smaller).

clewsk9;   Part of the problem you are having with rashes and lose of weight......What type of pool are you speaking of   ?

A swimming Pool, I assume....an inground pool....what chemicals are you using...if salt water,,,ok    but if you are running a pool with chemicals of chlorine in it,,,,,there is your number one clue.....Chlorine is an insecticide,,,,very harsh and destructive on the inerds of a dog and people....even it not injested, which we all that swim , know we swallow a lot of it......it inhales thru nose, and it absorbs thru skin....not only drys the skin out , but has enormous toxicity to the body of humans and dogs....

Even walking on floors popped with chlorox in tile homes , daily is not good....it is an insecticide.....no other explanation needed.....

Continue the raw and salmon oil , etc  and yougurt to put some good probiotics   and even  might want to buy a bottle of probiotics...get it at petsmart or on the web in several forms   liquid or tabs.....poor the yogurt to her......

Young pups dont need glucosamine chonr.    not necessary    do the ester C and raw meat for vitamin c  ,,,,,keeps the colagen in the joints and keeps the immunity system up to par......very necessary    no reg. Vit c    Ester c  order on line from pet naturals   sites.....

Thanks YR, and yes it is a chlorinated pool.  I am looking into alternatives for chlorine but in the meantime, limiting the dogs from the area.  It's tough because Chloe loves the pool and it does get hot here in S. Florida.  We bought a kiddie pool and will let them play in that.

I actually thought the pool was better than the ocean - poor Thor on his first visit to the beach wouldn't stop biting the waves and boy what a cleanout!  I think I'll take my girl for a dip at the beach this weekend, but don't know how to stop my boy from trying to drink the ocean!  Any ideas?

Other issue, sometimes the city water has a stronger chlorine smell than my pool the day of cleaning - I switched them back to well water but , heck, don't know what's safe anymore.  I even sneak bottled water to them now & then - don't let my hubby hear me say that!

Well water , also can be dangerous......high iron ore contents and contaminated .levels of some minerals in area you live...get tested  or make sure it is double filtered......always something     salt water wont hurt as long as its not in a bay near chemical plants like Texas City , Tex or Galveston on the bay side...dumps by plants and big ocean liners   are toxic, but a bay and ocean are quite large and it gets mixed pretty fast....

dont worry about the salt water   clean out....give him a flagyll for a day or two and its ok....

Clorine is horrible and not good for us much less...I Brita everything  I drink.......and if you use bottled water make sure it is Osmosis treated and not spring water...... nothing in it if its been bottled...and you do need minerals etc from water,,,,,, Osmosis is air treated not chemically......Im so sick of tryiong to lean how to stay   healthy....but it is important    God gave us a brain and a mouth to find the answers...no need to sit on your    arse " and do nothing.......

Our dogs inhale, walk on  , and eat so many chemicals,,  IMO   this is why till we all educate each other.,,,,,the tumors and health problems we are seeing in out shepherds at 4,5,6, years of age are from chemicals we dont realize is getting put in their systems   and out also...you can study and do better.....simple life and eating is better and not too hard to do...................................

Lived in S. FL a lot of years, (Stuart) and the wells there had high sulpher content.  That can't be good.

clews-if you're exploring different pools than chlorine you might want to check the kind of salt. I guess there is a new system that doesn't use natural salt but is called a salt water pool system. I'm not sure of more than that but heard someone talk about it one day. Ours is regular salt water and I love the way my skin and the dog's coats are with it.  Maybe some one else has information on this other pool system. The person I heard talking about it said it made her hair really brittle and her skin itched for several hours every time she used it.

I know that they have come out with some natural alternatives but we have had the house on the market for 5 months and were hoping to sell it - course it not a very good time for it - JML (just my luck),

I usually drink distilled bottled water and when we get this house sold and to our land in TN we've got some really good well water and a fresh water spring on the land - can't wait.

We do use a salt based softener system for the well water and it does make my hair/skin soft and is supposed to remove some things (what I'm not sure), when we were at the other house it had city water and was heavily chlorinated and fluorinated and extremely drying to hair/skin!

Thanks all, good, good advice !