Just transitioning Poppy to a raw diet

[David]

The Pop Dog started to turn her nose up at kibble so I've been having a look at feeding raw. Out trainer, Judy, feeds her dogs (Irish water spaniels) a 70/30 diet and my son feeds his dog pretty much 100% raw with just a few biscuits and a couple of vegetable cubes added. We happen to have a raw food store in the village here in Lingfield so I popped in and asked for advice. They were very helpful and I kicked off with just trying Poppy on 50% tripe for supper and breakfast with the rest her usual kibble. I think the food went down the little red lane faster than the speed of sound! So encouraged by that I've stocked up with enough raw for the next 2 weeks.

The lady in the shop has given me a mix of frozen packs and said I should transition Poppy working my way through the packs then move her on to the full diet. I'll have to get her to remind me what that means when I'm back in the shop next week, but Poppy has had 3 days on tripe and is half way through 3 days on duck and bone mix then 3 days on beef (I think - need to check that in the freezer).

So I guess the question is what to end up feeding Poppy. At the moment I'm leaning towards 70/30 and using up her old kibble as the "30". I also tend to include some chopped raw carrot and sometimes broccoli as well, but does she need any other supplements? The Lady in the shop said not?

Interested to hear the experiences of others?

 

[Beanwood]

Oh... well I am not the best to advise as all ours are on a bit of an "ad hoc" diet!

Generally speaking they get a ratio of 30:70 kibble to Butternut box and raw. Kibble is in the morning and raw / wet food in the evening when they naturally drink less. They have Millies Wolfheart, as with all the dogs, fosters etc over the past few years, MW and Fish4dogs always seems to suit them. I also add cooked dark green veggies about once a week, plus the odd raw egg. Every month or so they have a week of salmon oil.

I tend gauge by eye. If their coat, eyes, poops, waistline are OK then they stick with that. If they look a bit rounder, then I reduce the amount.

Treats... mostly homemade so I know what goes in them. I just throw various ingredients from the fridge, blitz themd in my nutrabullet and make up trays of treats which I cut into cubes and freeze. Chewy treats are things like fish skins, rabbit/venison/lamb skins and ears.

 

[kateincornwall]

Our two have a mix of raw and kibble, about 50/50 . I do lightly cook their veg as they can be indigestible when raw . For treats I buy Fish4Dogs dental sticks for the big lad and small salmon bites for Nelly .The raw element tends to be fish as we visit Looe and buy ( very cheaply ) offcuts of all types of fish from the fishmonger on the quay , or supermarket mince is fine but freeze it first to kill off any nasties . Reubs also has salmon oil every so often but thats all xx

 

[Selina27]

I swapped Cassie on to Cotswold Raw back in February and am so far very pleased that I did.
My reasons for doing so were different , but I feel she is much happier in herself whereas she really wasn't very happy back then.
She is on 80/20 protein to fat, apparently dogs don't need carbs.
It comes in tubs for the freezer like you buy meat in the supermarket and I weigh it out meticulously to the gram! She has lost 4 kgs.
I am undecided myself as to whether to continue giving her the supplement Pet Plus for dogs. It's designed for dogs on a homemade raw diet I believe, but Cotswold Raw says their mix as everything they need in it, although I see they themselves do some supplements! Confusing!
I don't like handling Raw meat, so it is a labour of love believe me! But all I need is spoon really!

 

[M.F.]

I feed Snowie a raw diet that I make myself. I order once a month and then cut up and create separate meals, as balanced as I can with 10% bone, 80% muscle meat, 5% liver, and 5% other organs. Also, lots of variety to try to get varied nutrients. This is what the group I belong to suggest. So as many different animals as possible—chicken, duck, ostrich, beef, sheep, venison, pig. Plus whole sardines, about 5% of the mix, I kinda think of it as the bone+meat part. Also, a raw egg usually every day. And then, when I have the energy, I make up a mix of turmeric paste, veg, crushed zinc tablets (raw diets are apparently deficient in zinc), ground flaxseed, ground pumpkin seeds (anti parasitic apparently; I don’t use chemical dewormers as they give Snowie seizures), olive oil, and joint supplement. And then Snowie also eats fruit every morning when my husband makes his own breakfast and a lot of raw and cooked veg from us through the day because he begs! His favourite is lentil curry followed closely by chunky vegetable soup.

I think a lot of variety is good for him. It’s good for us, so why not the same for a dog? And as fresh as possible.

Treats—we do buy ready made. Probably made from rubbish ingredients, but I don’t have the energy to bake treats! I use them for scatters and find it games.

A good diet takes effort. Just feeding “raw” doesn’t automatically make it better; it needs to have the right ingredients to provide good nutrition.

 

[Stacia]

@M.F. I so agree with you that is important to have the right ingredients to provide good nutrition.

Years ago when I worked for the vet, we had a dog come in who was very weak and it turned out that eating a raw egg once a day, inhibits the uptake of Biotin which is important.

 

[Selina27]

I too agree that it's very important to get the right balance of ingredients and variety.
It's the reason I have resisted raw before because I couldn't see how I could be sure to do so, plus I don't like dealing with uncooked meat.
Some of the food marketed as rwa appears to be cooked which I can never quite understand.
Cotswold Raw is the whole carcase minced up - bones, intestines the lot, and mixed with veg and some egg I believe.
Cass has mostly chicken, beef and beef and tripe with some turkey. I avoid lamb as it just doesn't agree with her. I add things for like sardines.
So far I am happy and hope I will continue to be so !

 

[Stacia]

I notice that some of you don't give salmon oil every day, I do, should I not?

 

[Loraseal]

I think the Cotswold is really good quality. I had it in the UK when we bought Hunter for the first time. Hunter has 80 /20 mix. The 20 part is berry and broccoli. I always add salmon oil for his joints and golden paste with a sprinkle of green mussel powder . At the weekend he gets sardines mixed in. Duck, sheep and beef. Chicken gives him powder pooh! We got told not to mix the kibble with the raw. On holiday we transition to kibble so he then gets kibble in the morning and raw at night. I really notice the difference when he eats kibble as I go through twice as many pooh bags. You have to work out which meat suits your dog. Ours is frozen raw and we invested in a freezer so we could bulk buy. You may also notice she drinks less on Raw. You could make it but I don't have time so we buy the prepared frozen. It's very personal but Hunter loves it and his weight control is easier with Raw. Unfortunately vets don't get much nutrition training and when they do it is sponsored by the big kibble companies. Good luck with the transitioning

 

[M.F.]

I notice that some of you don't give salmon oil every day, I do, should I not?

I prefer feeding the whole fish. Snowie gets whole sardines. The raw feeding expert in our group feeds salmon oil capsules every day. Studies show it is effective for humans. But I don’t like the idea of oil being extracted into a capsule; I’m sure it gets rancid easily.

 

[Stacia]

I prefer feeding the whole fish. Snowie gets whole sardines. The raw feeding expert in our group feeds salmon oil capsules every day. Studies show it is effective for humans. But I don’t like the idea of oil being extracted into a capsule; I’m sure it gets rancid easily.

The salmon oil Rourke has, comes in a bottle.

 

[Selina27]

@Loraseal - good point about who conducts the research. The whole dog food topic is a minefield, finding what suits your dog is very individual.
I'm told many vets dislike "raw" feeding because they often see the result if too many bones being fed and the resultant blockages requiring surgery.
In fact, it is an experienced vet who has encouraged me over the years to try a raw diet but does advise extreme caution over bones for that reason.

 

[David]

Thanks all for the feedback. Much appreciated. Early days, but I'd say Poppy is enjoying the new diet. She also seems more lively out and about on walks. It could be just the cooler weather at the moment, but I don't think so.

 

[Cath]

The salmon oil Rourke has, comes in a bottle.

I give Fred and Annie this too @Jelinga