Starting Raw - Page 2

well...I always find this topic interesting.....being as I feed my dogs everything. Raw..kibble..vegetables..table scraps...whatever. Never had a diarrhea issue...coat problem...health issue. I grew up with dogs that ate Alpo and table scraps and never a problem. I continue to do the same without a problem:-) 

Judron55, now that made me laugh. You must have Alaskan Blood in you. I do believe that is the same formula we had here when I was growing up. lol As times pass and we have becme more commercialized in this ocuntry sometimes I think we try to hard to find a balance when in fact the old ways are just as good. lol Problem is there are only so many table scrapes and if you have more then one dog its not possible.

 I sarted my new pup on raw at 7 weeks.  I started one meal a day and kept the other meal the kibble that the breeder feed then within 2-3 weeks she was completely on raw.  She is a very healthy active pup with a beautiful coat at 6 months old now.

No reason not to feed beef, if your dog doesn't have a problem with it.  

Eukanuba was the reason I switched to raw.  I was raising my first GSD on it she was doing very well then they must have changed the formula ( as do alot of kibble companies) her coat was so dry it was like needles falling from a dead pine tree.  I researched switched to raw and never looked back That was 13 years ago.

Nan is correct though introduce one new food at a time. Every dog is different, my one girl did not do well on chicken, so she got other proteins, beef , fish venison, rabbit and duck.

The only supplement I feed is Canine Complete by the Wholistic pet.  Some veggies pureed occaisionally.  No grain!

Lyn

Curious about anyone's experienc with Nature's Variety raw (Instinct) which comes in rabbit, venison, chicken, beef and lamb. Has anyone raised a dog with this as primary feed. Thanks, Barb

I raised 2 male puppies on Natural Balance raw, chicken, beef and whatever they offered and some kibble;  Natural Balance organic I believe.  When I moved to So. Cal from No. Cal I was not able to get the raw;  still fed kibble; the coats went to -ell.  Kept one male on kibble and that is why i went to complete raw;  coats still looked terrible on this one particular male.  Still does not look great; but changed over March 2010; expect him to shed his winter coat and we will see.  None of my dogs could take the Canine Complete HOlistic;  it has flax and does not work for these dogs??  Go figure.  Threw away an 84$ tub of that stuff.  I advertised it on here and no one wanted to buy it for $50. 

I have not raised a dog on the Natures Variety but have tried it and thought it to be very watery;  I thawed out a 5 pound roll of Bravo and  you should have seen the water.  Like 50%.  So it is not economical;  not that feeding raw is but all those frozen prepared meats and vegi's are very costly if you figure in the water content.  However, it is convenient.  Like that but felt with feeding raw to 4 dogs that homemade would be cheaper for meat/vegi mixtures; along with just plain raw.  So far, so good.  Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try the meats that are not readily available to you, like I cannot find venison at all; and cannot find rabbit at a buyable price.  Duck is out of the question and goat is also hard to find.??  Although I do keep looking even the hunters assn. don't respond;  would like to buy some deer, elk, antelope or any other type meats for variety but have not found as of yet.  Have great days,  Nan

OK thanks. I am starting to supplement with plain meats but that is what is availabe at grocery due to time constraints and lack of other options where I live. The rest of my dogs get some kibble (Orijen or Evo or TOTW) and some raw. I can order turkey hen necks which are great raw and backs which I boil as those bones seem really hard, and they get chicken quarters, beef liver, chicken gizzards and hearts, and whatever else I can find. I sure would love to make a ground recipe from the raw ingredients at some point. Barb

Excellent books:  Kymythy Schulz - Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats

and: Susan Johnson - Switching to Raw www.switchingtoraw.com

Also lots of info on b-naturals site - www.b-naturals.com/index.php

I fed some natures variety with my last litter and they did fine on it, but they also had other ground meats and chicken necks when they were big enough.

- Louise Jollyman -
'It's Bode, he's famous!'
www.bodeus.com
www.brimwylf.com
www.schutzhund-training.com

Thanks Loujolly, that is what I am going to do and use Nature's Variety as the base.  Will check out those other links,  Barb

There are a few really good raw foods that are prepackaged.  Just make sure they are certified.  It might make the decision a bit easier.  They have done all of the "balancing" for you.  After you see the benifits of feeding raw then you may feel brave enough to make your own!  good luck!  No matter what you feed toss in some Kelp, deepens pigment and really makes them glow! 

I feed RAW but not a prepackaged mix.  I guess if I were to feed a prepackaged RAW, the  one I would feel most comfortable feeding would be Excalibur from  http://www.greentripe.com/ .  I feed RAW but I feed various protein sources of whole bones, green tripe, organ meat and fish.  I toss in an egg once or twice a week.   I supplement only with Salmon Oil and vitamin E. 

I have the same opinion as Judron, it's pretty difficult to screw up a dogs diet, hell, many dogs thrive on Ole Roy !!  I feed the way I do because I have the time and the inclination, but it's sure not rocket science.