Another Raw Question

daisy'smom · 08-05-2009, 09:45 AM

Georgie has been on her raw diet for a week now. I have mainly been giving her chicken quarters. Is she getting too much bone? How soon should I add offal? When I start adding offal what should I start with? Would it be too soon to introduce some other type of meat? Georgie never had any problem switching kibble I never did a gradual switch like I was supposed to so I don't think she has a sensitive system.

whitedaisy · 08-05-2009, 10:13 AM

You could start adding chicken livers in now. Just add a little bit with the chicken 1/4 and increase as tolerated. Some dogs don't like the livers at first so I always encourage small bites to start.

bruinsBoxers · 08-05-2009, 01:31 PM

I would keep her on just chicken for another week . I do only one protein / meat source for 2 weeks just to be sure there are no reactions . I do not add any organs until I know the different meats are tolerated well .Figure it will take 8 weeks just to get through chicken , beef , pork and turkey . And when you do add and organs/offal be sure to not mix them , keep to a small amount of the same organ for 2 weeks . You can then try another once you are sure she can handle the previous ones .

And be sure to only add small amounts of liver when you do start to feed it . Liver can cause loose stools very easily .

AussieGirl · 08-05-2009, 05:14 PM

Chicken quarters have a perfect bone to meat ratio so her bone intake would be exactly where you want it to be

. Don't do offal just yet (if you want to give something other than quarters you can give her chicken gizzards - they are considered meat), you want to introduce her meat sources first because you want to make sure that if she gets an upset tummy you can pin point the source of it. If you give offal and then introduce say beef and she gets the runs it's hard to determine if she is not tolerating the beef too well or if you have just given too much offal

. A few weeks without the correct ratio while switching over will not be harmful to her

.

daisy'smom · 08-05-2009, 05:26 PM

Thanks all! I guess I tend to want to rush things.

whitedaisy · 08-05-2009, 05:34 PM

to support what the other girls have said.... Poppy did indeed get the runs from me introducing offal too soon. I backed off for a couple weeks and reintroduced it starting with bite sized pieces and she's been fine since.

I guess I'm an oddball that I think it's okay to introduce chicken livers with chicken and beef livers after you've tried a week or two of beef muscle etc .... Poppy was my only dog (4th to switch) to ever have issue with too soon and I suspected it was partly to do with her only being 10-12 weeks old?

but it also won't hurt to go several weeks without offal while transitioning to raw.

AussieGirl · 08-05-2009, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitedaisy

I guess I'm an oddball that I think it's okay to introduce chicken livers with chicken and beef livers after you've tried a week or two of beef muscle etc .... Poppy was my only dog (4th to switch) to ever have issue with too soon and I suspected it was partly to do with her only being 10-12 weeks old?

No, not an oddball, for an experienced RAW feeder it's easier to work out the cause of any poop issues so I like you did things a little faster because I knew what to look for/expect, I just think for someone who hasn't fed RAW before and is already unsure/nervous about it it is easier to do so slowly and try to reduce any "hiccups" that may arise during the process

AussieGirl · 08-10-2009, 04:45 PM

Must be nearly time for you to add a new protein. What are you going to try next (just curious)?

daisy'smom · 08-10-2009, 05:02 PM

I was thinking pork mainly because I have some pork that is freezer burnt so I may start with it. I do have another question. Can I still give her chicken also while I am introducing pork for instance chicken for breakfast pork for dinner?

AussieGirl · 08-10-2009, 05:07 PM

Yes you can give already introduced proteins when you are adding a new one, you will have to wait the 10 - 14 days again to see if it sits well with her, but I got away with 10 days when adding additional protein sources, just see how she handles it and take your cues from her. I'm so sad I would get excited each time I was adding something new

and watching her reaction.