[Doppelganger0337]

I feel like I'm posting a ton today!

Anyways, So I recently moved in with my boyfriend's family and I've been continuing Bandit's PMR diet. But his parents don't really understand the concept and seem to think that I'm not feeding him enough and he's hungry. They believe that since he begs when they feed Sadie that means he isn't getting enough calories from his diet and even though I explained that its just him wanting what he can't have (the same way Sadie begging for my dinner doesn't mean she's starving) they still seem concerned. I'm trying not to make waves and I'm going to try my hardest to make them understand and keep Bandit on his diet but I want to have some alternatives in mind in case I have to take him off PMR until me and the BF move out. Any suggestions are appreciated :huddle: also if anyone has had any luck explaining the basic science of PMR to someone who just won't do the research I'd love to hear about that, I have a hard time explaining myself because I don't want to make them feel bad about feeding kibble but most of my reasons for PMR are based around avoiding kibble

 

[annageckos]

I'd keep feeding him his normal diet. I'd say something like I respect your feeding choices, please respect mine. I'm feeding what I feel is appropriate for my dog, he is doing very well on this diet. If you want to get more into the technical POV tell them a dogs GI system is made to handle meat. They have a short GI track of a carnivore and do not process things like grains and starches well. And most dogs will beg for food, they are dogs. You could point out your dog is at a health weight and not starving, even if the dog wants you to think otherwise.

 

[naturalfeddogs]

I would say why I have said in the past already to others. I am feeding my dog the way he was designed by nature to eat, and this is my dog, not yours. Species appropriate is the healthiest way to feed a dog.

Most of the time, people stop there. If not, I go on to explain how dogs didn't evolve thousands of years ago on man made artificial, processed junk in a bag. That is purely for human convenience.

I am one who is point blank, and won't allow anyone to tell me how to feed my animals.

 

[timber]

If you are that concerned about not making them feel bad because they feed kibble, you can just say that your dog does best on it compared to other foods. This way it keeps their dog out of the conversation. Either way I would continue to feed him his current diet, but that's just a personal opinion.

 

[timber]

Oops, forgot to say maybe a dehydrated food could be an alternative to PMR. I don't know too much about it though.

 

[Doppelganger0337]

Thank you guys. I think I just really need to stand my ground. But I got so nervous that when she mentioned it I got flustered and just started rambling. They are coming from a good place, but Bandit means so much to me that the thought of anyone thinking that I'm starving him drives me crazy! I'm going to have the boyfriend talk to them tonight and explain all the research I did and see if he can change their minds or at least get them to drop it.

 

[annageckos]

I understand getting flustered and rambling. But when it comes to my animals I have no problems putting my foot down. What has helped me is to write down all my points and memorize them. It may help you make your arguments better and keep them more organized in your own head.

 

[Doppelganger0337]

I understand getting flustered and rambling. But when it comes to my animals I have no problems putting my foot down. What has helped me is to write down all my points and memorize them. It may help you make your arguments better and keep them more organized in your own head.

That's a great idea! That way I can focus on my points that won't offend them. I really don't want to argue with them and they did give me a home when I was kicked out so I'm just trying to keep it peaceful. But I'll do that for the next time they bring it up.

warning, the next part of this post is super gory and gross.

On a related note, I finally got the goat. I split it with my parents and it ending up showing up in three unlabeled bags. My parent's said I could pay a little less and take the biggest bag, so I did and it looks like I got all the organs! I was so frustrated when it thawed and I saw that. Bandit hates his organs thawed and I had to sit in the kitchen with my hands covered in peanut butter trying to get Bandit to eat half a goat lung :eyeroll: I can't imagine how ridiculous I looked. ON that note, does anyone know how to butcher lung? Because this thing is still attached to the (esophagus? I don't really know) and I basically just hacked it up with scissors last night to get a big enough chunk off.

 

[Chas]

Do you have a cleaver and heavy board? Lung is awful to work with, so slippery.

Oh and it should be attached to the trachea and bronchi if you're interested in anatomy.

 

[Doppelganger0337]

I used to but not at this house, and I wouldn't have the money for one for a while. I don't even know what other organs are in that bag. Are there any organs I need to make sure not to feed him? And if so what do they look like? This thing is proving to be way more trouble then its worth.

Oh, and back to the original topic, They have no problem with the raw meat or whatnot, when Bandit has too much bone or whatever they really appreciate it when I give the bones to the big dogs. They just can't imagine how he's getting enough calories and I don't really know how to show that without either pointing to his weight or getting them to do some research (which seems like a slim to nil chance at this point).

 

[jagger]

I find the biggest thing that changes peoples minds on raw feeding is simply telling them that my dog is sugar/carb/starch/etc free. I love my carbs, many people do. If they really want to know, do the guaranteed analysis of your feeding style and compare it to the bag of dog food.

Can't help on the butchering, never done it for the dog personally.

 

[Doppelganger0337]

I can't really do any comparisons to kibble because I don't want to seem like I'm attacking them for feeding what they do or being pretentious. I think I will do an analysis and just show them that there is plenty of calories for him with what I feed. Do you have any links to a good analysis?

 

[jagger]

I can't really do any comparisons to kibble because I don't want to seem like I'm attacking them for feeding what they do or being pretentious. I think I will do an analysis and just show them that there is plenty of calories for him with what I feed. Do you have any links to a good analysis?

No need to get up in their faces about it. If you're going to compare, it's just letting them know that indeed, your dog is getting that or more. Just a different style of feeding is all.

 

[annageckos]

Have you tried feeding the organs frozen? Shorty and Vegas won't eat thawed organs but will happily chow down on a frozen hunk of liver or other organs. All organs are fine to feed, I'd be very happy to get a bag full of organs. As for breaking down the lung I'd just take a sharp knife and cut it into chunks and freeze in potion sized bags. Then when you want to feed some organ just grab a bag and feed.

 

[Doppelganger0337]

I do feed the organs frozen. The only issue I had with it is it was just a big frozen bag of blood. I had no clue what was it in because it wasn't labeled. So When I thawed it out and found out it was organs I was SOL for his dinner that night and had to make due with thawed lung even though he hates it. Is it okay to package and refreeze?

 

[annageckos]

It's fine to refreeze, I do it all the time.

 

[Doppelganger0337]

Okay thanks!

 

[Doppelganger0337]

So, just an update, I had a really long conversation with his mom, explained my anxiety, my tendency to overthink things and why Bandit means so much to me. We ended up straying way far away from the original topic but when I mentioned Bandit's diet again she said not to worry about it and that she was concerned because she didn't want him getting sick if he ate Sadie or Copper's food and she didn't know if me feeding him more would keep him from going for their food. I explained how it was the same sort of begging that they all do for human food and she understood. We've started this sort-of schedule of feeding Copper and Sadie so that their food isn't out all the time which has been super helpful. Thanks guys for convincing me to stay my ground with it. I really appreciate it.