switching to raw

[kathysboxer]

Well, after trying to find a food for Tyson (8months today!!) and nothing agreeing with him much (loose stools right now like water) I have decided to give him raw. I am making him chicken and rice right now to clear up his stools. BF isn't too happy with this, but I am going to do it anyway. I just have a few questions. First, I know I should start him out with chicken, but do I need to add offal with at least one meal, or should I hold off and just give him chicken quarters until he is used to raw? He does eat bones (lots of meat on them) from out local slaughterhouse. Second, he is about 47 pounds, not overweight, would 1 1/2-2 pounds per day be too much? Third, we do juicing. Would I be able to give him some of the pulp (apple, carrot, etc) once in a while? Fourth, I am giving him fiber and acidolphlis, should I still give this to him? I know you have much more experience with this than I. Thanks

 

[BetsyB]

Yay! Congrats for trying out the Raw-side! Let's see if I can answer some of your questions... First of all, to find out the amount you should be feeding daily, multiply to find 2%-3% of his estimated adult weight. Assuming your guy will grow to be average sized, you can figure he'll be around 65 pounds, you should be feeding between 21 and 31 ounces per day. So you're doing great feeding 1 1/2 pounds per day, and may need to feed another 1/2 pound or so. Use your dog as a guide of how much to fed him. If he looks a little thin, you can feel and clearly see more then 2 or 3 ribs, up his food intake a bit. If the ribs disappear, feed less. Puppies sometimes need the higher amount recommended. Since he's only 8 months old, you should break the amount up into 2-3 feedings per day.
It's usually easiest to start on one single protein source with a little more bone then you would normally feed to help firm up the stools to begin with. Chicken leg quarters or bone-in chicken breast would be great. You should probably remove the skin/fat for the first few days at least so as not to overwhelm his tummy which could result in cannon-butt! :eek:
I would hold off on adding organ or other protein sources for at least two weeks, and then only add a tiny fingernail sized piece at first.
As far as supplements go, you do not need to give any! (And fiber is a grain=undigestable) It's like throwing the fiber away so I wouldn't waste money on it The dog will get all the vitamins/nutrients he needs from eating meat, bones, and organ. Some people who do not feed fish in the regular diet do choose to give salmon oil capsules, but you could just feed a fish once a week or so...
As far as the juice thing, a dog cannot process fruits or veggies so it would have absolutely no nutritional value to him at all, and could cause digestive upset, so I would skip it and just stick to the diet.
Hope this helps some! Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions

 

[kathysboxer]

Thank you for your help. Greatly appreciated. I am assuming I am right in giving him some cooked chicken and rice before raw just to clear up his diareah (sp?)? I guess I'll just use his fiber. Wasn't thinking about them not digesting fruits and veges. Have to come up with an idea for the pulp. I would like to get him started as soon as possible, but not jump in too quickly with his upset stomach. He has just now eaten, the first since lastnight about 8. He had some of the chicken and rice. Now if I can get everyone else in the house to not think it's digusting, but they aren't usually around when I feed him. Going to WalMart in a while, so I'll pick up some chicken quarters. Would it hurt him to start tomorrow morning if he has diareah now. thanks again

 

[thedogmother]

Regarding Walmart's chix leg quarters or any other meat....some are injected with stuff to keep the meat fresher longer, you'd best look elsewhere for meat! We are feeding raw to keep that kind of stuff out of our boxers!

Claire

 

[BetsyB]

Actually, Walmart carries a line of chicken leg quarters that are NOT enhanced. It's called Gold Leaf, and is a red 10lb bag. An easy way to tell if a product is enhanced or injected is to look at the sodium content per serving. If the level is 90mg or under per serving, its NOT enhanced. As far as the chicken and rice mixture goes, I would stop it, fast for a meal, and start cold turkey (or chicken as it may be

 

[kathysboxer]

Sorry so late in getting back to you. I bought the chicken last night and it is the red bag. I knew what kind it was just by the way everyone said about walmart and the price. I actually use it when I make chicken soup or dumplings (yum). I haven't given him any more cooked chicken since lastnight. He was starving this morning, so I have him a little bit of the raw chicken. Took most of the fat off of it. He loved it once he started eating it. He has had meaty bones from the slaughter house, so he had a really good idea on what to do. He pooped this morning before eating, and nothing until tonight around 7. I was still kind of runny, but had a tiny bit of hard poop too. Don't want to gross anyone out, but it has the color of butterscotch pudding. Just keeping my fingers crossed. Going to take his almost full bag of Merrick back tomorrow. Thanks again. One question though. Am I right in only giving him a bone meal once a day. Whether it be morning or evening. BF feels he would choke on bones, so it would be in the mornings when he isn't around.

 

[BetsyB]

For the first week or so, it would probably be best to feed only bone-in meals. More bone helps to firm up stools, which should certainly improve the butterscotch poo I belong to a rawfeeding yahoo group which is a fabulous source for any and all rawfeeding aspects.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/

 

[kathysboxer]

Thank you for the info. I will definately be checking that out. He seems to be in heaven eating raw. I feel bad that I didn't do this sooner. Just a human and their quessiness. I tried to get him to eat supper last night about 7:30, and he just licked it some and left. I did as suggested, and left it out for about 15 min, but no go. I put it back in the fridge and he did the same thing this morning. Finally just at about 8 he decided it was time for breakfast. So much to learn. Thanks again for your help. Tyson also thanks you.

 

[kathysboxer]

Just a quick update and question. Well, yesterday he still had diareah so I gave him a teaspoon of pumpkin. He ate his chicken for supper (after coaxing him to eat it and not lick it). This morning about 5:30, he went for his normal pee and poo. Was I surprised when he slouched to poo and out popped turds (sorry if gross).:D I couldn't believe it!!! Never has he had normal stool! Thank you boxerworld. I know without all your advice, I would still be trying to figure this out. Now for the couple questions;

1. He is eating 1 1/2 chicken quarters 2 times a day. Morning and evening. If he is hungry in afternoon, I give him a half and just take that portion out of his supper meal. Am I right in assuming this is what I should do? I just don't want to over feed him. He is 8 months old and weighed 47 pounds last week.

2. Instead of giving him half a quarter in the afternoon, could I give him some sardines or some type of fish? Not alot, just enough to tide him over to supper. That is usually around 6 or 7.

Thanks again everyone

 

[BetsyB]

If you think he needs an afternoon "snack", it's fine, just make sure you deduct it from the next meal so as not to overfeed. At 8 months old, he should only need 2 meals per day, but feeding 3 certainly won't hurt. Just curious, how do you know he's hungry?? I would be hesitant about introducing fish or any other type of food other than chicken until he consistently has good stools without help. (Pumpkin is also one of those unnecessary fruits/veggies.) No it won't kill him, but will only mask the problem if one exists. Usually when a raw-newbie has diarrhea, it's a result of "too". Could be you're feeding too much at a time, too often, too much fat/skin, or some other "too" issue... No worries, it'll all get settled down soon.