Raw Feeders: A couple of questions....

[WeeDex]

Hi everyone,

So last week I finally switched Dexter to raw! It took me ages to find a company I wanted to go with, but I've found a supplier that is just so good I had to go with them and try it out. They're providing an 80/10/10 mix, and it's all grass fed/free range etc. with no fruit or veg - at my request - until I get his yeast issues under control.

He's getting 100g twice a day for his 10kg weight. We are trying beef and pork initially, as he hasn't had those proteins before.

So I was wondering.......

His poop is still runny one week in. Is this to be expected, or am I under/over feeding maybe?

I would like to add in some green veg for him, and I'll make up my own mix. If I blend up fresh kale, broccoli etc should I steam it first, or leave it fresh? Ideally I'd like to freeze it as ice cubes and take out what I need each day.


I'm so hopeful this is going to help his allergies, yeast, paw licking.....the list goes on....... I've already stopped his Piriton and have noticed no side effects which is amazing. Usually his eyes would pour if I missed even one day, so I'm keeping everything crossed!

Thanks for any advice you have!

 

[Rudi Lim]

Welcome to raw feed, you will never regret this choice. 100g for 10kg is too little. Usually I go for 2.5% of total body weight. I would steam broccoli before blending, I would leave the kale fresh. Some dogs don't like greens at all, some just gobble up anything that I put in the bowl. Diarrhea for first week is fine, you may add more bones if the stool is too soft.

Good luck!


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[WeeDex]

Welcome to raw feed, you will never regret this choice. 100g for 10kg is too little. Usually I go for 2.5% of total body weight. I would steam broccoli before blending, I would leave the kale fresh. Some dogs don't like greens at all, some just gobble up anything that I put in the bowl. Diarrhea for first week is fine, you may add more bones if the stool is too soft.

Good luck!


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Thank you for the info!

I'm feeding him 100g X 2 each day, so he gets 200g in total, but it sounds like I could maybe up this a bit more as I was using 2% as a guideline. He's definitely not hungry though......

I'd like to give him bones as he's a big chewer, but not sure what to give him. He can't eat chicken or turkey, and has a tendency to just swallow anything that he thinks would fit down his throat which is scary!

 

[Rudi Lim]

I guess 2-2.5% is fine for weight maintenance. Have you tried duck? 2 of my boys who are allergic to chicken but are ok with ducks, fats removed.
Cow, goat and pig bones are too tough and it's not so digestible. But I do have a friend who asks her butcher to cut bones into 4-6 inches to let them gnaw on. I don't have such facility in my area so I would give ground eggshells when I am not feeding duck. I give about 1 teaspoon a day when they are on beef or lamb.



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[Cbrugs]

Jax weighs 30 pounds and I started him at 2% of his body weight. He lost a few pounds after starting raw so now I just give him a little bit more than 2% and he seems to be maintaining his weight. If he could, he would eat more cause he is a pig and loves food.

Jax has environmental allergies and switching to raw helped a lot although this allergy season has been really bad for him so I am constantly having to wipe him down with medicated wipes and he's been getting Benadryl every day as well.

 

[WeeDex]

I guess 2-2.5% is fine for weight maintenance. Have you tried duck? 2 of my boys who are allergic to chicken but are ok with ducks, fats removed.
Cow, goat and pig bones are too tough and it's not so digestible. But I do have a friend who asks her butcher to cut bones into 4-6 inches to let them gnaw on. I don't have such facility in my area so I would give ground eggshells when I am not feeding duck. I give about 1 teaspoon a day when they are on beef or lamb.



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I'll maybe see if our nearest butcher could do that for me. Would be great if they would!

Eggshells sounds like a great idea - thanks!

 

[WeeDex]

Jax weighs 30 pounds and I started him at 2% of his body weight. He lost a few pounds after starting raw so now I just give him a little bit more than 2% and he seems to be maintaining his weight. If he could, he would eat more cause he is a pig and loves food.

Jax has environmental allergies and switching to raw helped a lot although this allergy season has been really bad for him so I am constantly having to wipe him down with medicated wipes and he's been getting Benadryl every day as well.

Did Jax have an upset stomach at all when you switched? I'm hoping it settles down this week. It's not nice seeing him having liquid poop, and not nice for me following him around with wipes!

Dexter would also eat until he exploded - the boy loves his food!

I'm really hoping this helps with his skin problems. I'm probably hoping for a miracle cure, but I need to do something to help him. The vet just wants to put him on drugs, but I don't want to go down that path until I've at least tried changing his food. The fact I've been able to stop the Piriton makes me hopeful though!

 

[Cbrugs]

Did Jax have an upset stomach at all when you switched? I'm hoping it settles down this week. It's not nice seeing him having liquid poop, and not nice for me following him around with wipes!

Dexter would also eat until he exploded - the boy loves his food!

I'm really hoping this helps with his skin problems. I'm probably hoping for a miracle cure, but I need to do something to help him. The vet just wants to put him on drugs, but I don't want to go down that path until I've at least tried changing his food. The fact I've been able to stop the Piriton makes me hopeful though!

Luckily Jax had no problem when I switched him over. Did you do a slow transition? I did not but I know some people do to help with potential stomach upset so it might just be he needs some time to adjust to the change.

You also might want to just stick to one protein at a time for a few weeks so you can see how he handles each protein.

 

[WeeDex]

[MENTION=188]Cbrugs[/MENTION] I tried the transition but he didn't seem to like the mixing and would be sick shortly after eating. So I gave up, switched, and then the scoots started. I've got some farm eggs so I'll try the suggestion above and add in some shells. Im just worried adding in more new things at this stage may make him worse.

He's still drinking enough water so I'm not too worried about him getting dehydrated right now, but I'd like to see something a bit more solid by the weekend

 

[Cbrugs]

[MENTION=188]Cbrugs[/MENTION] I tried the transition but he didn't seem to like the mixing and would be sick shortly after eating. So I gave up, switched, and then the scoots started. I've got some farm eggs so I'll try the suggestion above and add in some shells. Im just worried adding in more new things at this stage may make him worse.

He's still drinking enough water so I'm not too worried about him getting dehydrated right now, but I'd like to see something a bit more solid by the weekend

Maybe try adding in some canned pure pumpkin, just a tablespoon. That might help with the runny poop.

 

[WeeDex]

It's working!!!

I've added in ground eggshells to his last 3 meals, and managed to get some pumpkin for him and gave him that today. I also got him a powdered probiotic to mix with his food.

And tonight he's had a poop that looked faaaaaar better than the last 10 days. I was far too excited about poop haha!

So thank you for the suggestions - I'll keep it up and hopefully he's now on his way back to normal

 

[Rudi Lim]

It's working!!!

I've added in ground eggshells to his last 3 meals, and managed to get some pumpkin for him and gave him that today. I also got him a powdered probiotic to mix with his food.

And tonight he's had a poop that looked faaaaaar better than the last 10 days. I was far too excited about poop haha!

So thank you for the suggestions - I'll keep it up and hopefully he's now on his way back to normal

Good job! Keep it up!


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[psbone]

Runny poop usually means your feeding too little bone, bones are what help firm up their poop. A probiotic is good and don't forget the fish oil+vitamin e combo too. I too get excited about poop cos I need my boys' to be firm or his anal glands get too full. [emoji3]


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