Starting on Raw - My journey

CharliesServant · 11-25-2010, 04:11 PM

We get our new pup on saturday, a boy boxer called Charlie, he is 3 months old and was being fed by the breeder on a mix of puppy kibble, raw meat, fish and canned food.

As he has already tasted raw meat i dont foresee any major issues changing over to raw but ive been doing a fair amount of reading on this subject for the last few months and on this forum too. My partner had a boxer for nearly 14 years and since her death has always wanted one but because of restrictions on my house contract I couldnt say "yeah get one!" so we had to wait. Then I read an article, quite in depth, that really brought out the links between commercial dog food and the increase in the incidence of dog illness and allergies, the horrid ingredients that are included, etc. It was really quite scary reading that stuff but very enlightening!

So I read the article to my partner and then we progressed to getting acquainted, as much as we could, with the alternative mentioned in the article. Raw feeding! It covered the fact that vets arent trained in this, argue, the myths and negative views widely held with regards to feeding dogs (or cats) on a raw diet , but most of all it mentioned the incredible benefits that dogs have shown when swapped to a diet of raw meat. Several examples of dogs with serious illneses and allergies who improved to the point of full health or near full health.

At that point we decided that when we got our dog this was the road we wanted to follow. Whilst ive read a lot I still feel there is always more to learn, and certainly ive found a few thigns out already i.e.- not to feed kible and raw toguether but at separate meals to avoid vomiting/diahreah.

My issues ate these though, there are absolutely no butchers anywhere near us and we dont drive so we cant travel to one. Getting hold of bones is then a bit difficult, unless I buy boned legs of lamb and then bone them before cooking leaving me with a lovely joint to roast and the pup with a great bone to chew. Because of this ive looked around for online frozen supplier who have not just the meat but also some type of bone available. Its not much but they do chicken necks and wings, and also a good choice of ofal.

Seeing then as getting bones is dificult for us we decided that for the first few months until the pup reaches a year old we would do a mix feed. One meal a day of good Large breed puppy kibble (as good as they ever are really!) and then 2 meals of raw meat. were hoping the nutrients will be covered that way but it still leaves me with a worry of how to provide the bone factor at least in a minimal way.

Does anyone know of suppliers of bones online in the UK? LOL I really want to make sure i give him the best way of life. He comes from some really good lines and even though hes a white boxer hes passed all the tests with flying colours so I just want to make sure he continues having those flying colours for a very long time.

Another question is regarding the toiletting. I know that raw meat is digested faster than kibble but how does this affect the need to go outside for poo's? Do we still take him out after a feed to do his business or does the fat that the food is digested at diferent times alter the toilet routine of a dog?

Question 3 - I read somewhere you should never give raw pork, which i understand due to the number of parasites found in this type of meat, not even gammon or bacon (which I wouldnt purely on the salt content). On another site they mentioned feeeding pork. Now im left thinking , is it safe or is it a no-no meat to feed?

I dont really mind the hard work associated with Raw diet for Charlie because I also have 3 rats and they are on a diferent diet to the commercial for the same reaons. The stuff they sell is often no good for them increasing alergies, etc so i buy all the ingrediets myself and make their mix, adjusting it to cover liver disease prevention, immune system boosting, probiotics, etc. My partner says they eat better than he does so why should our gorgeous Charlie be any diferent!

Im sure I will remenber more questions on this as time goes by but for now id apreciate opinions and views on these.

Thank you

Ruby Red · 11-25-2010, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharliesServant

At that point we decided that when we got our dog this was the road we wanted to follow. Whilst ive read a lot I still feel there is always more to learn, and certainly ive found a few thigns out already i.e.- not to feed kible and raw toguether but at separate meals to avoid vomiting/diahreah.

I changed my dogs over to raw mixing the two together and never had a problem with it. Some dogs may do I guess - there is a good thread on the forum about this here - Feeding raw & kibble mixed?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharliesServant

My issues ate these though, there are absolutely no butchers anywhere near us and we dont drive so we cant travel to one. Getting hold of bones is then a bit difficult, unless I buy boned legs of lamb and then bone them before cooking leaving me with a lovely joint to roast and the pup with a great bone to chew. Because of this ive looked around for online frozen supplier who have not just the meat but also some type of bone available. Its not much but they do chicken necks and wings, and also a good choice of ofal.

Seeing then as getting bones is dificult for us we decided that for the first few months until the pup reaches a year old we would do a mix feed. One meal a day of good Large breed puppy kibble (as good as they ever are really!) and then 2 meals of raw meat. were hoping the nutrients will be covered that way but it still leaves me with a worry of how to provide the bone factor at least in a minimal way.

Does anyone know of suppliers of bones online in the UK? LOL I really want to make sure i give him the best way of life. He comes from some really good lines and even though hes a white boxer hes passed all the tests with flying colours so I just want to make sure he continues having those flying colours for a very long time.

Where are you in the UK? Bit puzzled....you can buy lamb joints but no other meat? Tbh, I have no experiance feeding little puppies a raw diet, so I can't really advise you much on this. My understanding was that they were only given chicken wings and necks to start with but I have no idea when they progress onto other types of bone. We are very lucky to have a couple of people on here that know far more about this than me and when they come on I am sure they will help you.

What kibble are planning to feed? Have a look at this site - Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost it reviews most of the main kibbles on the market - it includes some that are not available in the UK though. The higher the star rating, the better and more canine appropriate the kibble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharliesServant

Another question is regarding the toiletting. I know that raw meat is digested faster than kibble but how does this affect the need to go outside for poo's? Do we still take him out after a feed to do his business or does the fat that the food is digested at diferent times alter the toilet routine of a dog?

Question 3 - I read somewhere you should never give raw pork, which i understand due to the number of parasites found in this type of meat, not even gammon or bacon (which I wouldnt purely on the salt content). On another site they mentioned feeeding pork. Now im left thinking , is it safe or is it a no-no meat to feed?

Again sorry, I can't really advise about the toiletting and puppies. Pork is one of those grey areas - I don't feed it to my dogs, but I know lots of raw feeders do without any problems.

CharliesServant · 11-25-2010, 05:27 PM

Thank you for the links. I will have a read again.

The dry mix I am unsure, I have a week to decide really. Hes being fed on eukanuba but I Know a lot of people dont think its that great so it will be good to see the thread regarding the mixes.

About the lamb... theres very little available in the supermarket, they have lamb meat obviously but the only thing with bone seems to be lamb legs. I can never see beef joints with bone , I assume because of the whole mad cow thing, which is why is it such a pain to have no butcher within miles of me. If i had one then there wouldnt be an issue.

I miss the good old days of butchers in every other road selling everything we need, in good quality and great prices. *sigh*

AussieGirl · 11-26-2010, 04:33 AM

When my girl was a pup she started with kibble in the am and raw in the pm and she did fine. Some easy bones for pups are chicken necks, chicken frames, lamb breast, the bones that were bigger than that our girl didn't really get through until she was older. Pork is fine just watch the fat, pork ribs are great to feed - well Ruby thinks so. As for the lamb legs I use them more as a recreational bone as she can't eat much of it, lamb necks she can get through, beef ribs she will get through approx 70% of, turkey legs, turkey necks, chicken frames, lamb breast. For us turkey and chicken make up majority of bone meals and muscle meals are lamb, beef, kangaroo so there is still plenty of variety. You can also give ground egg shells which are a good source of calcium.
House training a raw fed dog is no different to house training a kibble fed dog - except there is less poop.

CharliesServant · 11-26-2010, 08:06 AM

Well ive just ordered the pup some meat. Ill be doing a morning meal of kibble and then two of meat. Ive ordered some mince beef, lamb chops, chicken wings and chicken liver. I will have to order the chicken necks online as I cant find any near me.

Quick questions though, when you give your dogs fish how do you serve it? Do you just plop the fish whole in front of them or cut it up, bone it? what do you do with it?

Im having visions of fish bones stuck in pup throats and its not good! Just need some reassurance on this one!