Just starting out with RAW

[Raw Food Eating Doodles]

Hello all,

Just wanted to stop in and say hi! After trying many different foods and not finding one that Gibson seems to really like (except The Honest Kitchen), we've decided to try feeding raw. We're starting out with a Primal starter pack just to dip our toes in the water, but I'd like to see what others feed their pups and what you guys have had success with. We're also starting Gibson on raw goat's milk, which I think (hope, anyways) will help out with his perpetually itchy-all-over-all-the-time skin. We're kind of at the end of our rope trying to find solutions for him!

Anyways, Gibson and I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about feeding raw and jumping into this (sometimes scary, gross, but hopefully more healthful) new lifestyle change!

[David E]

What a cool looking dude.

I've had several years of experience with raw feeding a doodle now. I have a giant Schnoodle as well. I ended up with raw feeding as my doodle's stomach didn't seem to tolerate any kibbles, especially when he was really young. He seems to be a little better with age now and I alternate quite a lot with canned food, honest kitchen and different types of raw without issue.

In terms of raw, chicken quarters and turkey necks are a favorite, although high in bone but easy to start on. I have a local raw dog food supplier who supplies mixes with the 80 10 10 split of meat, organs and bone so that obviously makes it easier. Anything from rabbit, duck, turkey, beef, pork, goat. The rabbit is especially good, no intestines but everything else including fur....good fiber...lol. Gross for us, but they love it.

I was always terrified of raw feeding bones, but it's never been a problem. Much more likely to have a problem with certain chews or rawhide. 

A helpful product to have on hand is bone meal (available on Amazon). If stools ever get too loose then a couple teaspoons always does the trick to get things back to normal. On the other hand, too many necks or chicken quarters and the stools become too hard, so it's a case of finding a balance over time.

I have fed Primal many times also with success. It's just expensive that's all. Honest Kitchen seems to be good also but I supplement with it rather than as a main food as it has so many veggies in it. The poops triple in size....

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to share my experiences. The key with raw is not to be too obsessive and to try to feed variety once they're used to it.

Good luck.

[Trudy Harlow]

What a cute pup Gibson is!

My Paddy developed itchiness and allergies around the age of 2 years. He also struggled with chronic yeast in one ear, with constant ear infections. We switched him to raw when he was four, and his ear infections have nearly gone away. His itchiness is greatly diminished also. My vet visits are minimal.

We feed what is called Raw Meaty Bones. The name is misleading -- it's a lot of meat with a little bone. Nice, soft chicken bones, bones from young pigs and lambs as well. No beef or venison bones, or bones from older pigs or sheep -- they are too dense and can break teeth. His normal meals come from the grocery; I don't special-order anything for him. He gets beef shanks (marrow and meat, no bone), pork ribs, chicken. He also gets organic liver or beef heart once a week (for some reason, he won't eat chicken livers), raw eggs, and -- most important for his skin and coat, fish oil. Thankfully, he will take the capsules and chew them up. He gets 3 per day. I really think that adding the fish oil to your dog's diet will make a huge difference. He also will want to eat meat fat and chicken skin, which will help his skin and coat.

You can tell by your dog's poops if he's getting too much bone. Too hard, too much bone; too soft, not enough bone.

I don't believe any dog needs milk products of any kind, or veggies, fruits or grains. They are carnivores, meant to eat meat. You can find out a lot more from the Raw Meaty Bones group on Yahoo. I "lurked" there for months before switching my dog over, and they were a tremendous support when I finally did so. They are total purists, but have a lot of information to share. I blogged our transition story on my page here. You might find it interesting.

Buying your dog's food from the grocery is a lot cheaper than ordering special "raw" foods, as David points out. When we travel, we use Stella & Chewey's, but since they have veggies and other things included, are ground up (not as good for teeth), and are really, really expensive, we keep that to a minimum. But they are handy for emergencies.

Paddy is now 6.5 years old. He has not had a single ear infection all year (and this in one of the worst allergy seasons I can recall), got through itchy allergy season with no meds. He is healthy as can be, gets lots of exercise doing agility, is a wonderful therapy dog, and is happy.

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

I give Skadi many of her meals frozen.  She loves them on a hot day, rainy day, cold day...heck ...any day!  She was squeamish about the texture of liver and that's when I decided to freeze it and give it a go.  Worked like a charm...so now I keep frozen liver, heart, and gizzards. I freeze them separately on a cookie sheet then put them in a baggie in the freezer and she can have a healthy treat.  I obsessed at first too...am I doing the right thing?  There is absolutely NO support around me...even my DH was skeptical and wanting me to stop.  My vet told me I would definitely make my dog "sick"...but I thought, what's the chance she would be any sicker than she was with chronic ear infections, itching, rust stains, diarrhea...2 1/2 years later of staying the course...she is happy & healthy!  Never begs for food...never seems hungry (our last kibble fed dog was looking for food all the time, had patches of fur missing on it's hind quarters, hundreds of benign tumors, ended her life with diabetes & cancer)

So now I am comfortable with her diet, but keep educating myself by reading what everyone has to say about feeding raw.  Skadi is 2 in the first picture and 4 in the second picture.