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Okay so I have been wanting to do this for months now, but honestly the idea has been scary. I know this is a repeat question that is asked all the time, but bear with me.
So I want to get at least Aayla on a raw only diet. (keeping kibble for treats because lord knows thats all she will take as high value) I would like to do Kota as well but with him being Diabetic, I worry a bit. I figure that it would be even better for him but I am unsure. My vet is not completely opposed to raw but is very skeptical about it and doesn't seem to have background in animal nutrition. So I don't feel like I can talk with him. There is a holistic vet, but she is far and I'm sure very expensive.
Right now I have Aayla an 5 month old Australian Shepherd. She is currently eating Wild Calling Bison kibble (about 2.5 cups a day), a large spoon full of merrick wet food, raw goat's milk and North West Naturals Chicken and Salmon raw (8oz). This is almost double what is suggested for a puppy her size. So she burns through food like crazy, but is at a perfect weight and is lean. She will probably weight about 45 lbs.
Kota is a Chow mix, gets 0.4 CC of Insulin twice a day, is 42lbs and needs to be 35-37lbs. He is very low energy and I'm having a hard time getting the weight off of him. Right now he gets 1 cup of Wild Calling Bison (less than a dog weighing 35lbs would need), some raw goat's milk and a bit of wet food mixed in.
I have been adding raw chicken, cubed, into their diets for about 5 days now. They are doing fine with it. They are used to commercial raw so I think that may help. I know I have to watch diets that are high in carbohydrates for Kota, but going all raw would drastically reduce the carbohydrates he gets if I assume correctly. Is this sounding correct?
I can get meat that is less than $2/lb from walmart, a lot of it is bone in, like chicken quarters, chicken feet, pork neck, chicken wings, ground beef in the link form, beef liver, and other stuff that rotates. I had someone that was shocked I would get these cheaper non-grass fed organic food for Aayla. Yet I was thinking that raw like that would still be better than the premium kibble I am feeding.
I can add in whole sardines or mackerel every now and then, is it okay if it comes from a can? Would a diet changing up chicken, pork, beef and these fishes be enough for a varied diet? I can't afford lamb or rabbit or anything. Over time I want to approach butchers and ask about their scraps, but I have to get the courage to go up and ask. Lol.
Another thing is the way that Kota eats. I have been adding raw chicken chunks into their diets, I have realized Aayla will take out the chicken and chew it carefully. Kota doesn't chew...at all. I have tried bigger pieces and he just swallows it. His teeth are pretty bad (side effect of the diabetes, and a lack of care from my BF's dad) I'm working on some whimzee chews and sprays, but he still doesn't seem to like chewing too much.
Otherwise my plan would be to start with chicken breast or quarters, then slowly introduce bone in parts like feet, wings and so on. Then start giving a bit of ground beef, then beef liver, then the fish. All spending about two weeks on each protein if they handle everything well. What about eggs and egg shells? I could add about once a week but egg prices have jumped up recently. Does this sound okay?
To those that do feed vegetables which ones do you add in? I may add some from time to time, ones that are going bad. I do believe dogs do not have the same digestive system as wolves, a 1% difference in DNA is actually huge and can cause dramatic changes. Though I'm not sold on BARF or prey model yet.
Any other advice would be appreciated.
So I want to get at least Aayla on a raw only diet. (keeping kibble for treats because lord knows thats all she will take as high value) I would like to do Kota as well but with him being Diabetic, I worry a bit. I figure that it would be even better for him but I am unsure. My vet is not completely opposed to raw but is very skeptical about it and doesn't seem to have background in animal nutrition. So I don't feel like I can talk with him. There is a holistic vet, but she is far and I'm sure very expensive.
Right now I have Aayla an 5 month old Australian Shepherd. She is currently eating Wild Calling Bison kibble (about 2.5 cups a day), a large spoon full of merrick wet food, raw goat's milk and North West Naturals Chicken and Salmon raw (8oz). This is almost double what is suggested for a puppy her size. So she burns through food like crazy, but is at a perfect weight and is lean. She will probably weight about 45 lbs.
Kota is a Chow mix, gets 0.4 CC of Insulin twice a day, is 42lbs and needs to be 35-37lbs. He is very low energy and I'm having a hard time getting the weight off of him. Right now he gets 1 cup of Wild Calling Bison (less than a dog weighing 35lbs would need), some raw goat's milk and a bit of wet food mixed in.
I have been adding raw chicken, cubed, into their diets for about 5 days now. They are doing fine with it. They are used to commercial raw so I think that may help. I know I have to watch diets that are high in carbohydrates for Kota, but going all raw would drastically reduce the carbohydrates he gets if I assume correctly. Is this sounding correct?
I can get meat that is less than $2/lb from walmart, a lot of it is bone in, like chicken quarters, chicken feet, pork neck, chicken wings, ground beef in the link form, beef liver, and other stuff that rotates. I had someone that was shocked I would get these cheaper non-grass fed organic food for Aayla. Yet I was thinking that raw like that would still be better than the premium kibble I am feeding.
I can add in whole sardines or mackerel every now and then, is it okay if it comes from a can? Would a diet changing up chicken, pork, beef and these fishes be enough for a varied diet? I can't afford lamb or rabbit or anything. Over time I want to approach butchers and ask about their scraps, but I have to get the courage to go up and ask. Lol.
Another thing is the way that Kota eats. I have been adding raw chicken chunks into their diets, I have realized Aayla will take out the chicken and chew it carefully. Kota doesn't chew...at all. I have tried bigger pieces and he just swallows it. His teeth are pretty bad (side effect of the diabetes, and a lack of care from my BF's dad) I'm working on some whimzee chews and sprays, but he still doesn't seem to like chewing too much.
Otherwise my plan would be to start with chicken breast or quarters, then slowly introduce bone in parts like feet, wings and so on. Then start giving a bit of ground beef, then beef liver, then the fish. All spending about two weeks on each protein if they handle everything well. What about eggs and egg shells? I could add about once a week but egg prices have jumped up recently. Does this sound okay?
To those that do feed vegetables which ones do you add in? I may add some from time to time, ones that are going bad. I do believe dogs do not have the same digestive system as wolves, a 1% difference in DNA is actually huge and can cause dramatic changes. Though I'm not sold on BARF or prey model yet.
Any other advice would be appreciated.
