Just started raw today

[Kimberly and Mikey]

We just started raw today for my doodle. We have had a long road battling allergies and food sensitivities so this is what was recommended. I bought the pre made chubbs of vital essentials in turkey. I am new to this and have no clue about raw. I was feeding his kibble twice a day. Do I feed him raw once or twice a day?

Any tips would be appreciated. 

Thanks

[Shari Becker]

Hi Kimberly,

We started feeding raw for the very same reasons. Lots of itchiness and yeast infections, and we've never looked back. We feed two raw meals a day just as we did with kibble. In our case, we have dog who is pretty food obsessed, so we find that giving her two meals (while we eat) keeps her satiated during  our meal time. 

For whatever it is worth, some dogs struggle with turkey (like chicken). There's some Asian theory about hot food and cool food, and apparently allergy dogs (who run 'hot') can benefit from neutral or cooler foods. You can find the chart on the Primal Website. I can't say for sure that I entirely believe this, but I will say that Lexi does best on beef, duck and some salmon. My vet says to never use the Pacific salmon raw because it can carry a parasite, so when we do salmon we tend to use Stella and Chewy's Surf and Turf. Oma's also makes good chubs, and you can sometimes special order their largest sizes, which are more cost effective. 

Definitely post if you have questions! I'm not a do-it-yourself raw feeder, and we've tried all the brands! 

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Well we did an allergy test and he is basically allergic to sooooo many things. The store was out of beef and I needed something asap so we bought 2 chubbs of turkey which will not even lasta week. How often can you switch protein? I feel so clueless

[Trudy Harlow]

We switch proteins during every week, but not for any reason except that it keeps my dog happy. I make sure Paddy gets a lot of red meat, which he needs. But turkey is good, too. Again, you don't need those expensive chubs. Just buy regular grocery store meat on sale, even day old clearance, and give him that. If you handle meat for your own table, then doing this for your dog (even though your vet may react with horror) is no more likely to give you e coli. or salmonella.

[Kimberly and Mikey]

I was under the impression you couldnt just give grocery store meat alone. I thought it needed other parts. Like the chub I bought has turkey, bone, heart and liver and herring oil

[Trudy Harlow]

Yes, you can. They do need regular organ meats like liver and heart, raw eggs and salmon oil. Salmon is much higher in omega 3s than herring, I believe. And Icelandic salmon is the gold standard, wild caught and low in toxins.

The main thing about the chubs is that ground meat does not give the mouth a workout. It's like feeding mush. Think about it. When a dog chews on a lump of meat (with a little bone in it), his gums and teeth get a real workout, keeping his mouth healthy. So it's not just the raw food for his stomach, but the raw food for the health of his mouth as well. Additionally, the very act of gnawing is relaxing to most dogs, so if you have a high energy dog, it will calm them.

Yes, the chubs are convenient. But I don't find giving my dog a half or quarter chicken, a chunk of beef or pork, or some pork ribs any more challenging. I just have to remember to defrost.

[Kimberly and Mikey]

my dog is allergic to chicken, pork, lamb, goat, kangaroo, eggs, salmon and salmon oil, and all grain. what else can I mix in with the chubbs? This is so overwhelming. I heard frozen green beans

[Shari Becker]

Kimberly, what kind of testing did they do? Has your dog ever had kangaroo or goat? I know with humans, food allergy testing is an imprecise science, esp on skin tests. My daughter tested allergic to foods she eats all the time effortlessly and the doctor told us to go on eating them. I would be curious to see what the tests showed once you got him off all the kibble.  We believe that Lexi's biggest issue is actually yeast, so once all the kibble was gone from her diet, she could tolerate so many more foods.

You can start with beef, turkey and duck, for sure. Duck is more pricey. Rabbit is very easy to digest, but the most expensive. Read the ingredients. A lot of companies, like Nature's instinct, mix other proteins into their chubs, so the rabbit could have pork and chicken mixed in, for example. You can add sardines, too.

Also, would you consider trying to heal her gut with probiotics? It's very pricey, but Lexi adores the raw goat milk from Primal. You can get it in the frozen section of many raw food stores. But you have to let everyone in the house know it isn't for human consumption. My husband almost put it in his coffee. ;-)

[Kimberly and Mikey]

It was a mouth swab and skin test. He showed postive to be allergic to goats milk also. We had tried giving him the primal goats milk and he threw up every time. I give him daily probiotics. I did notice that so we went with vital essentials because its all meat.

[Trudy Harlow]

He really doesn't need milk in any form.

[Trudy Harlow]

What about beef? Rabbit? Where do you live? Sometimes you can get venison or antelope (if you're out west) from hunters. Since you have a special needs dog, expect to spend some money.

OTOH, sometimes dogs are allergic to additives to their food and not really to the meat. Obviously, you know the answer, but I do know people whose dogs have been able to tolerate raw organic/natural meats when they seemed otherwise allergic to them.

You know my answer about green beans. I think they are not a good diet additive for dogs.

[Shari Becker]

You could also see if there is a farmer at a local farmer's market. I know one meat farmer at our market is always bringing special orders for her raw dog eaters: organs, especially. 

[Trudy Harlow]

GREAT suggestion, Shari!