# New to Forum, New to Raw, Need your Help, PLEASE?



## Kota&Tana'smom (Aug 27, 2015)

I want to apologize for starting up another thread on the same raw food subject, but I am so confused. 
Let me give you some background first on how I obtained my precious gals. I had wanted an apricot teacup poodle for the longest time. I found a breeder in TN that had a female that was old enough to go to her news home. I spoke to her on the phone and I even called and spoke to her veterinarian about the puppy. Everything sounded great. Three days later my husband, our 11 year old lab, our 2 Timneh's and I loaded up in our RV and headed out for our 12 hour ride to pick up our new baby. We drove straight there, all excited, only stopping to pickup the essentials we needed to get the lil girl home. When we arrived at the 'breeders' we were in shock. It was what I would call a puppy mill. There was about 15 toy poodles in the fenced-in front yard. More poodles in a side yard pen, and another breed of dog with puppies just running around. My heart broke. We went inside and there was 6 or 7 more poodles with 2 puppies inside a pen. You can only imagine the smell inside the home. There was newspaper and pee pads all over the cement floor that had not been picked up for a couple of days. The water bowl was disgusting and there was a mound of kibble thrown in the corner. They handed us the little ones and the smell of the girls was horrendous. The couple was so proud because they claimed they had just bathed the puppies. I knew I was not leaving them in that home another second. They practically gave us the second puppy if we would take her. So...I am proud to say we now live with 2 poodles. And remember they were suppose to be teacup? We just went to the vet this week and they weighed in at 12.3 & 9.6 lbs.
DaKota, miss chunky, was just diagnosed with a luxating patella. While we were at the vet, I had him check out the girls ears because Kota had been digging at her right ear for over a week and I couldn't seem to clean it. Surprise, surprise..ear trouble for both girls. The vet said they were not exactly infected, but they were inflamed and irritated. He believes it is due to allergies, probably the food they are eating. He told me to change their food to a 'grain-free', 'chicken-free' diet. He also gave me ear wash and ointment to put into their ears. Unfortunately, my apricot pup {DaKota} has been itching any part of her body she can get to and chewing on the bottom of her feet. This upset me very much. Before I actually looked for a puppy I had investigated commercial dog foods the best I could. I am a 100% believer in buy American so I decided on Halo for my dogs. From the day I picked my poodles up, Halo hard food is all they have eaten. I even changed my lab at the same time. I was so angry over CHINA and all the food recalls I didn't feel I could trust anyone with the safety of my girls. I picked Halo because it had no chicken meal, no by-products, I didn't see any recalls on it and it was made on the USA.
When I got home from the vet I got on the internet and have spent numerous hours looking for a food that was good enough for my girls. I can not find one that I trust. They either have grains, by-products, high in carbohydrates, vitamins from China, bought out by Purina, etc...
So here is where I begin to need some clarification. I think raw is the way to go. But, there is so much info it is confusing. I think raw, raw is the best, but I see you can buy bags of freeze dried raw, air dried raw, etc. Also, how do you know that the person you get your raw meat from is giving you healthy food to give to your pet? I worry if I buy a turkey neck and feed it to the girls that in a couple days there will be a recall on it. How do you get pass the fear that the raw meat might be contaminated? Since my vet doesn't want me to give my girls any chicken at all, what type of raw meat should I start them out with? Any direct advice you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks for reading. This got really long and I'm sorry. Before I ever take in an animal I always vow to give them the best life they deserve and that's all I'm trying to do for these two lil gals that didn't have the best 3 month start. Thanks again.
JA : }


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Well the first way I got over it was giving them my own meat that I had butchered. But then I realized the danger really isn't in the bacteria causing them harm its in it causing us harm. Our systems aren't capable of handling the bacteria like dogs are. So as long as you are practicing safe handling skills and cleaning properly you shouldn't have issues. By the way the exact same thing goes for recalls in dog food. It is most always recalled for human safety. 

Here are some videos by Dr Becker on feeding raw that might help you 

http://youtu.be/Qx2YIIpF4cc

http://youtu.be/TJPToVsJj-c

http://youtu.be/Pn1F7AsmEkw


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Hello and welcome ! i hope you find your answers, there are knowledgeable people here ! Just want to say I couldn't read your post because of the faint color. Maybe stick to black font so you'll have more people reading you.

Have a nice day !


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## Kota&Tana'smom (Aug 27, 2015)

Excellent videos and Dr. Becker seems very knowledgeable. I see she has a 4th edition 'cook'book out for raw food. Do you own her book and is it worth buying?


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Dr Becker rocks! Another good source of information is Dr Jean Dodds she and Dr Becker share many of the same beliefs! 
See her article on line..... Dr Jean Dodds' Pet Health Resource Blog/ Raw versus cooked


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Kota&Tana'smom said:


> Excellent videos and Dr. Becker seems very knowledgeable. I see she has a 4th edition 'cook'book out for raw food. Do you own her book and is it worth buying?



Yes I do and I was not impressed. I'm sure she had to write things a certain way to keep liability away, but the diets in the book are just way to complicated. She has you grind everything up (which gets rid of the chewing bones to keep teeth clean) and also get many different types of name brand vitamins and grind up to mix in with the food. It was just all to complicated and difficult to do.


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## Critterluvr (Jul 28, 2014)

I have not read the book but I just have to add after reading the above post that grinding up all of the food takes away the benefit of feeding raw....feeding some meaty bones is very important. Also, adding vitamins is totally unnecessary as long as you feed a variety of food sources.

Feeding raw does not have to be complicated....there is loads of info on the Internet, easiest to just do some research and go from there. Start simple.


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## Kota&Tana'smom (Aug 27, 2015)

After watching a few videos on feeding raw and watching Dr. Becker I am committed to doing the raw diet for all 3 of my girls. It can't be any worse than feeding them commercial kibble.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Me too, I'm trying to find a place close where I can buy it all made and ready to eat.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I have found DogAware.com: Diet & Health Info for Man's Best Friend very helpful for advice on home prepared diets of all kinds, from adding toppers to kibble to all raw. It explains the principles very clearly, and how to achieve a balanced diet with or without supplements, and is one of the few sites that does not seem to be focussed on selling a particular brand of food or a particular supplement!


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