# When is a good age to start raw?



## Aroseshook (Aug 12, 2012)

Peek is my 14 week old spoo. I was wondering when i can try to feed raw. I talked to our vet already and she is suggesting that I wait until Peek is around a year old. Basically begging me to wait until her growt is one before even trying a raw deit. She also doesn't seem to comfortable with feeding raw to any animal. She didn't tell me not to feed raw but you could tell that she was not comfortable with the idea stating that there isn't enough research to back making the recondition to feed raw. Anywho, I am having trouble getting her to eat kibble. She doesn't seem to have much of an interest in it and gets distracted easily from her meals. It takes her about an hour to eat one cup, she eats three times daily. I recently switched her food to Nutro Puppy from Organix Puppy. She seems to like it more but still takes frequent breaks from her meals. Any advice would be great along with what brands you feed your dogs. I would prefer to do the pre-made stuff, either freeze dried or dehydrated. Thanks so much!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Ummmm - about three weeks, when their teeth come through?! To be honest, if you are feeding raw it is because you believe it is the best, most natural diet for a dog - and therefore it makes sense to feed it as soon as possible. It is true that it is even more important to get the balance of nutrients right with puppies, and if you are unsure you might be safer with a good balanced commercial diet, but if you do your research you will be giving your pup at least as good a start as on commercial kibble.

I find the Dogaware.com site the most helpful for understanding the basics of raw and home cooked dets for both puppies and adult dogs. I can understand vets being wary of home prepared diets - their education in nutrition is provided by the major pet food companies, and they still occasionally see dogs suffering from unbalanced nutrition (I recall one owner bewailing the fact that their dog was desperately ill after months or years f eating nothing but chicken breast meat). Few dogs will die of malnutrition when fed a commercial food - but adequate is not the same as optimal.

http://www.dogaware.com/diet/index.html


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## Aroseshook (Aug 12, 2012)

Thanks so much! I started researching food five months before my pup was born! I'm crazy, I know. I just didn't think I had enough knowledge to start on raw. I was hoping that I would gain more knowledge by talking to folks who ready feed raw and have for many years. Any idea on a brand that might be able to provide nutritional value do I'm not worried about her getting the proper nutrition. 


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I'm in the UK so don't have experience of the ready made raw available in the US. There have been several threads comparing them, though - try searching for the names of those available locally. Or there are further details here: DogAware.com: Raw Dog Food Products and Resources and in the Puppies section here: DogAware.com Articles: Homemade Cooked Diets for Dogs


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

I worked at a breeding kennel that fed raw. Puppies were introduced to a hamburger, yogurt, egg, etc., gruel mixed up in a blender at 2 weeks. The consistency was gradually changed (more meat, less liquid) and by 5 weeks puppies were introduced to RMBs - chicken necks.

Never saw a sick puppy there. I think the BEST time to start is while they're still nursing!


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