[pepperyilin]

Hello All!
I just recently read about the RAW diet for dogs, and decided to try my hand at it. From what I hear, the RAW diet can prevent some life threating diseases that occur later on in the dogs life due to the chemicals and all the fill-in ingredients such as corn that is in the kibbles that we purchase from the pet store today.

Currently I am sampling "Dogs Gone Wild" raw food (Dogs Gone Wild Raw Dog Food) and my 8 weeks old morkie puppy loves it and has no problems with the food. I combine some minimal kibble in her dish to strengthen her jaws as well.

I wanted to ask everyone on dog forum what you feed your dogs and what the pros and cons of raw and kibble is.

From what I read the biggest concern people have is the disease (salmonella) and etc that dogs can catch from the food.

I just hate to think I'm giving something toxic to my puppy when I can feed her ingredients that can lengthen her time here with me as well as help her stay healthy and active for a very long time.

Currently I'm feeding her Wellness (Just Puppies) so I am feeding her some very good kibble as well.

 

[Tess]

Sorry I did not see this thread earlier!
From what I can tell, this raw product looks very good.

If you want to give her something for her teeth, I'd give her chicken necks, and just skip the kibble!

 

[Sarah W]

Hi pepperyilin - welcome to the Dog Forum. If you do a search on Raw here you'll find some useful threads about this topic. It's a very controversial subject - not necessarily on this forum but generally.

I feed my puppy raw because I think it's the best thing for him, his wellbeing and my purse in the long run (hoping I have fewer trips to the vets for example). However, it's not without its risks. It's important you research your choices (as it looks like you are). There are risks with any diet so it's not necessarily about avoiding any problems - but about minimising the possibility of certain problems.

There is a lot of information out there - I've found the following sites useful:
RawFed.com Home Page
Why a ‘Natural Diet’? The Lady Dog Whisperers' Blog (which gives pros and cons)
Jane Anderson's Raw Learning Site

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

 

[zora]

Our chihuahuas get raw chicken/bones too.
The small puppies get ground meat to begin with.
They also get vegetables, supplements, Tripe, Organ meat, eggs[cooked or raw] rice and Hemp oil.

 

[bouvlove]

My pup gets the raw diet, as far as I know freezing the meat before hand and thawing it out prevents the chances for salmonella. He also gets duck feet and marrow bones for his teeth and jaws

 

[pepperyilin]

Our chihuahuas get raw chicken/bones too.
The small puppies get ground meat to begin with.
They also get vegetables, supplements, Tripe, Organ meat, eggs[cooked or raw] rice and Hemp oil.

Your puppy is a small toy dog too!
Have you had any problems with them not eating the raw meat or being picky with what they eat?
Also, what does Hemp Oil supply the puppies with?

 

[pepperyilin]

Sorry I did not see this thread earlier!
From what I can tell, this raw product looks very good.

If you want to give her something for her teeth, I'd give her chicken necks, and just skip the kibble!

I have no choice... kibbles are skipped by my puppy! LOL. It's just a toy for her to play with now!

I'm continuing on with her Raw diet the way I have it now... and have added some chicken necks... she loves it! And she chews on the bones and spits out the small bones she can choke on with her own digression!

 

[pepperyilin]

My pup gets the raw diet, as far as I know freezing the meat before hand and thawing it out prevents the chances for salmonella. He also gets duck feet and marrow bones for his teeth and jaws

Where do you find duck feet?
There is a korean market which sells chicken feet and its refrigerated but I feel a bit iffy about buying it from there.

 

[zora]

Your puppy is a small toy dog too!
Have you had any problems with them not eating the raw meat or being picky with what they eat?
Also, what does Hemp Oil supply the puppies with?

No we haven't had any problem with picky eating, they love raw.
We do have one adult dog that doesn't tolerate chicken or eggs so she has to have beef as her meat.
The Hemp oil is just good for them and has a lot of benefits.

 

[FailedSlacker]

I mix my own raw food using human-grade meat and veg. I got a basic recipe from a pet nutritionist. I'll mix up a batch every week, portion it out and freeze it.

What I find easy to help with quick clean-up is having a spray bottle with diluted bleach. Once the pups are done with their meal, I wash their dishes right away then spritz them - sort of like the bleach dip you do in girl guides.

 

[pepperyilin]

I mix my own raw food using human-grade meat and veg. I got a basic recipe from a pet nutritionist. I'll mix up a batch every week, portion it out and freeze it.

What I find easy to help with quick clean-up is having a spray bottle with diluted bleach. Once the pups are done with their meal, I wash their dishes right away then spritz them - sort of like the bleach dip you do in girl guides.

We've been using multi purpose cleaner to clean where she drags the chicken necks... is that any good? We rub down the area with the multipurpose cleaner and clean her dish using heat in the dishwasher to sterilize it.

I tried putting her food on a towel but she picks it up adn runs under the couch with it.

Fail.

 

[Sarah W]

I am training Synnu to eat in a particular area though he likes to drag his meat onto the coconut matting by the door. My mum shuts her dog in a pen (it's a large pen) and uses a towel for her dog to eat from. They do seem to like a rough surface to eat on. And, at least we can wash the towels.

 

[Tess]

I tether Josey while he eats his chicken, otherwise he would drag the pieces to the living room carpet to eat.
Or in nice weather, he likes to eat out on the deck.

 

[LDMomm]

I feed mine raw chicken on the bone, lamb, and beef (steak). I don't really use any ground meats.

None of my girls have EVER turned down any raw meat. They go crazy for it!

 

[pepperyilin]

I feed mine raw chicken on the bone, lamb, and beef (steak). I don't really use any ground meats.

None of my girls have EVER turned down any raw meat. They go crazy for it!

Awee... I used ground meat because she didn't have all her teeth in the beginning and had a hard time chewing even kibble...

I actually bought some liver flavored gravy with omega and calcium + other nutrients in it to top on her food.

I buy her meaty bones for dinner so she can get her jaws working.

Seeing that your dogs are small... what types of bones do you feed them?

 

[gershepsmyfav]

I have fed The BARF diet for over 14 years. All the dogs I fed the raw diet were never taken to a vet with a sickness. They were all healthy I never had to have their teeth cleaned. Most of them were big breed dogs. But I had a few that I had to take over their care after their owners either died or moved away. One was a smaller dog. I changed it over to the raw diet from a prescription diet. He did so much better on the BARF diet. He lived with me for 4 years, until he died of old age. Be careful of feeding raw eggs though. I have had dogs that vomited after eating raw eggs. And I have had diarrhea problems after the dogs ate raw hamburger. Otherwise I haven't had any problems with the raw diet. I always ground the raw chicken bones and meat in a hand, meat grinder to start my puppies out on the raw diet.

 

[Kitch3ntools]

well ive made the decision to change Dexter to raw. do you guys/gals have any advice on where to start? ive given him chicken legs w/ thighs still attached and he loves those. i also had a coupon for spend 5$ get a free small bag of natures variety raw medallions free so thats what were starting with so far. id rather make his food myself rather then purchase a premade mix.

i have read all the links already but i still feel like i dont know enough

 

[Tess]

well ive made the decision to change Dexter to raw. do you guys/gals have any advice on where to start? ive given him chicken legs w/ thighs still attached and he loves those. i also had a coupon for spend 5$ get a free small bag of natures variety raw medallions free so thats what were starting with so far. id rather make his food myself rather then purchase a premade mix.

i have read all the links already but i still feel like i dont know enough

I always feel like I don't know enough! Read a bunch of books, and do some on-line research too. Once he's used to plain chicken, start introducing SMALL amounts of organ meats. Variety is key, but take it slow too.

 

[Sarah W]

I agree with Tess - read up lots, particularly if you want to do it all yourself. I'd also make sure you choose a particular way of feeding that suits you and Dexter and stick to it. I say this because, even within the raw feeding community, there are differences of opinion about what constitutes a 'complete' raw diet (e.g. should you include fruit and veg. or feed a supplement?) and it's so easy to get confused and keep changing tack if you're not careful.

I found Work Wonders: Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale; Raw Dog Food: Making It Work for You and Your Dog by Carina Beth MacDonald and Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals by Lew Olson really helpful.

Good luck!

 

[Kitch3ntools]

awesome! thank you so much! im a huge sucker for books!!! just doing the chicken & NV medallions(i got the chicken formula to ease him into it), he gets so much more enjoyment from meal times. w/ kibble he'd sit & wait then look at it look at me then eat, now he bounces and spins raw feeding is so much more fun lol