Raw Feeding..

[GermanShepherdOwners]

Following on from my post in the Dog Behaviour thread, and after reading the link sent to us on there (thank you ) we believe at the moment, Kaiser isn't getting the nutrients he really needs from his food, hence why he is perhaps drinking his wee/eating his poo!

The breeder we brought him from, fed him on Wagg puppy food, not a food most do I know. We slowly changed him over to Beta puppy, which gave him the runs terrible, all the time he was on it, so we have gone back to what the breeder was giving him, plus puppy meat. He is being fed twice a day, and good size meals, but come this time of night, he is hungry again.

After a long chat, we have thought about raw feeding him, and would really appreciate everyone's views on this, how good it is for your dog? What types of raw feed you use? Where you purchase raw food from (never done this before) Does it work out more expensive than feeding dry food + meat?

We spend around £15.00 a week at present (sometimes a little more as can only get Wagg puppy in 2kg bags) on the food for him at the moment.

Many thanks,

Sam.

[gloriab]

I have never fed any of mine on just raw - dry food and a little meat mix, but I do give things like breast of lamb raw (cleans teeth).

All mine, past and present, have loved fish, so 1 meal a week will be some dry food with pilchard (small tin) mix or tuna - also feed chicken (thigh is cheapest) 1 a week.

I was told many years ago not to feed a raw diet as it can be suspect for worms etc - don't know if there's any truth in that, but have stuck to it !

When I got Zennie (3 mnths ago - now 10 months old) previous owner had him on Wagg - cos cheapest ! It didn't suit him at all... hyper and constant runs etc. Changed to James Wellbeloved with small meat (pouch) mixes - he's much better and he's fine now. Also, 1 per week, as a treat, I beat a raw egg with just a little milk (or water) - loves it and helps coat shine.

He was eating poo - not now

I feed both mine on raw meat and bones, not BARF diet. The main reason was Remus had EPI and a very dodgy tummy on any type of kibble - and I spent a fortune trying all the brands. Researched raw pig pancreas as treatment for EPI and that took me to raw feeding sites.

Switched to raw and the change in his health was immediate. Firm, small stools as the food's more nutrient-dense and not full of fillers so there's less waste. His coat's lovely and shiny, clean teeth and no doggy smell. His pancreas enzyme level is also normal now.

When I got Zee a new vet at the practice advised me to feed her a large puppy breed kibble which initially I went with (vet wasn't clued up on raw, the other vet there however is and feeds her dogs that way). Anyway Zee was underweight when we got her and the kibble just wasn't putting weight on her, despite giving her 3 meals a day of more than the recommended amount. She was also pooing for England - 4 poos before 2pm and they were huge (2 poo bags to fit one in)!

She was also trying to eat Remus's raw stuff so I just went with my instinct and switched her too. Never looked back. She's gained muscle, coat's better and she smells less doggy than she did on the kibble.

As for cost, it works out at £10 per week to feed both of them. Last week it was £11 but I got extra lamb necks. They eat chicken wings, carcasses, a raw dog mix the butcher makes for me which is 'lights', lamb necks, meaty bones and green sheep tripe (which STINKS!)

It's also so satisfying to see them enjoying their food; crunching through the bones. Real high value food for them rather than pellets!

[Nanny Ogg]

Dex gets a good "handful" of what we call "Miscellanious chicken bits" with each meal (3x day).

It comes frozen from Sainsburys (basics!) and is a mix of bizarely sized (tiny and HUGE!) thighs and drumsticks. Its about 4 quid for 3 kilos (I think) and supplements Dexters kibble (Royal Canin Maxi Junior). It tends to last about a week and a half, and the 15 kilo bag of kibble (£40) tends to last for 4 weeks at the moment, so its probably costing us about the same as your budget. We order it off the internet with free delivery, which makes it a lot cheaper (by about £10-£15) than most of the pet shops round here.

We tried tripe, but it stunk so bad Dex didn't like it!

I don't really like the raw pellety stuff you can get from pet shops because they don't seem to do much for the teeth. When you see Dex chomping through flesh and bone and the enjoyment (and exercise!) he's getting from it, it makes the annoyance of handling raw chicken every day worth it.

[GermanShepherdOwners]

Thank you all for the advice on Raw feeding.
I don't want to keep Kaiser on Wagg and puppy meat if I can help it, his coat does look quite shiny however I don't think its giving him all he needs. As I say, we had him on Beta Puppy without meat, and it gave him the runs terrible. Would be good to find a good food, which he will eat without puppy meat, which won't give him the runs, and that will last us alot longer than Wagg is. I like the idea of feeding him pilchards/tuna etc once a week, so its more of a treat rather than a constant meal

So now to find the best dry food that agree's with him really.

Originally Posted by Nanny Ogg

We tried tripe, but it stunk so bad Dex didn't like it!

I don't really like the raw pellety stuff you can get from pet shops because they don't seem to do much for the teeth. When you see Dex chomping through flesh and bone and the enjoyment (and exercise!) he's getting from it, it makes the annoyance of handling raw chicken every day worth it.

I've got 12 tripes in the dog freezer; it even stinks when it's frozen. Luckily freezer's in the outbuilding so I prep it in there. Mine seem to like the fact it's stinky!

As for raw prepacked stuff from pet shops, I'm not convinced about the additives in those and agree about no jaw / neck exercise for the dog to eat it. Convenient if away though I guess...

My butcher thinks I do pretty well handling all the raw stuff seeing as I don't eat meat myself

[lozzy1]

hi. i do think that your dog would benefit from a change of food as quite often this can improve behaviour. i havent seen your first post but i had one dog (a rough collie) who ate her poo and we tried everything to combat it. pinapple, various herbal remedies etc. we know she done it as she was seperated from her mam at 3 weeks as the breeder was concerned she was "being vicious" towards the pups (dont ask) and hadnt gained the experience and training from her mam on what was food and what wasent. the only thing that worked with us was when we caught her saying NO and leading her away from the poo offering her a treat and cleaning it up! after a few weeks she would actually poo and run to the back door for her treat. i must admit that she was about 9 months when we started as for months we just cleaned it up pronto. eventually we could leave poo about so to speak and she never touched it. im not sure how you could intigrate that with crating though.

as for feeding i do agree that raw is a very good option for dogs. however it is not for everyone (myself included) but you can find good quality reasonable foods out their if you do your homework. i have recently changed to CSJ and cut my food bill by half and ive also been told mad dog is also good food though i have never used them so cant comment. i also mix feed. i am surrently running with 75% complete and 25% raw so like you i enjoy feeding the fish, chicken, meaty bones, raw eggs, offal, tripe etc as part of the meal but not having the storage, time and supply issues with going 100% raw. i have to say though alot of people disagree with mix feeding but ive never had any problems, have clean teeth and very shiney coats! make sure you do your research as what suits one may not suit another. xxx

[andrea547676]

Hi, I can agree with some of the others as i was feeding Tia on wainwrights dry complete mixed with wainwrights meat, but for the last month i have swapped the wainwright meat with raw mince chicken and raw minced tripe which i buy from pets at home from the freezer. Since this her poops are lovely firm logs rather that soft and in a pile. She has grown a lot since the change in her diet and seems to enjoy it more. We spend £20 a week but she is eating more than is recommended.
Andrea

[Caryll]

I see no problem in mixing raw with commercial. Just make sure that part of the raw are raw meaty bones - this'll give calcium, vitamins & minerals, plus keep teeth sparkly!

Originally Posted by Caryll

I see no problem in mixing raw with commercial. Just make sure that part of the raw are raw meaty bones - this'll give calcium, vitamins & minerals, plus keep teeth sparkly!

It can cause digestive upsets in some dogs, as they're digested at different rates - raw being processed in around 4 hrs. Some are fine having a mixed diet though.