Newbie to raw

[nadialilb]

So now were willing to go raw with our boxer! He is 10 months and we have a 10 week old as well. Both have bad eczema in their ears and I feed both Acana pacifica because its the one out of the acana they seem to do better on. We have been through a lot of foods and in the mornings their stool is hard but as of rest of the day it seems to go down hill. We are not over feeding because if we cut back on the food he gets hungry and it does not firm up anymore. Tired of trying foods grrr. So we decided to go raw maybe? Just hear so much about it all and wondering if we should do a fast before or mix the foods first? Idk any input would help because we want our pooches healthy and want them to have hard poops all day ! Sorry but poop talk never nice

 

[sjtorr]

Most sites that talk about raw recommend a 24 hour fast between kibble and raw, and once you switch, don't go back and forth between raw and kibble. Make sure to do some research and decide which approach you want to take... Is it pre ground, raw meaty bones, hard core meat only. The ratios of meat to bone to organ are important as well. Have fun, it's quite the experience! Oh... And don't rush it. One protein at a time, up to a week each time you introduce a new protein.

 

[Stub]

my pup was 8 weeks when I brought him home and he had eaten kibble right before leaving the breeder (which he then threw up being carsick) and I fed him raw that night for supper. And then later that night he ate a young bird the cat brought in for him, feathers and all. He was a natural! I would not fast a ten week old growing puppy for 24 hours unless he was really sick. Certainly not just to switch his foods. Raw feeding, like anything else people do in this world, can become a militant thing with all sorts of people saying you have to do it one specific way or its all wrong. What is most important is that your dogs get proper nutrition, not how they are switched or if their food is mixed with kibble during switching or even what ratios are fed for each meal. After all, even if mixing raw and kibble is not ideal, it won't kill them, and probably won't even make them have runny poop. Balance over time is the mantra. You want your dogs to eat enough bone content to keep their poops firm, but not so much that they don't get any other nutrients, like a diet of nothing but chicken backs would be. Yet there is nothing wrong with feeding chicken backs for a meal or two or three if your dog needs it. Young dog stomachs are much more forgiving, their systems are not firmly entrenched into eating kibble for 14 years like my last dog was when I switched him to raw. With young dogs, you can feel free to experiment with different foods, see what they like and what gives them runny poops and what gives them the most energy/shiniest coat/whatever. My dog, for instance, gets the runs if he eats the tiniest bit of organ meats, yet organs are vital for proper nutrition. This is so even though he is now nearly 4 years old and has been on raw since he was 8 weeks. His system just can't handle organ meats in any quantity. So he needs much more bone in his diet than a dog who is not so affected by organ meats. This is where the experimentation comes in and it can be frustrating. Patience, as sjtorr said, is key. Good luck and your dogs will thank you for the yummy new food!

 

[sjtorr]

Well? How are things?