# Help Needed with RAW diet for puppy



## hmmm (Nov 8, 2017)

Hello everyone,

I am here to ask for advice from experienced poodle owners who feed their poodles a raw diet.

I am a new owner of a Moyen poodle (my first dog), and I've been struggling for the past 3 months with getting her to eat. She is now almost 6 months old, and I've tried all types of granulated food - from Acana and Orijen to other high quality brands. She'd barely glance at them, and even spicing them up with yogurt or cottage cheese or other goodies did not work - she'd pick out the stuff meant to entice her, and leave the kibble. She could even lick the yogurt off, and spit out the kibble!

I thought about raw diet even before I got her, but it was confusing to work out what to do, how much, when, etc. Too much differing information. Then frozen, prepared, raw food started to be sold in my country a few weeks ago - so I bought it. And she loves it! It's ridiculous how she wolfs it down, but a happy, pleased kind of ridiculous. 

Now, my questions are as follows:

1) How much to feed her? She is a puppy, and currently weighs somewhere between 5-6kg, so they recommend feeding more than once a day. I've been feeding her 125gr in the morning, and same amount at night. So 250gr per day. Is this enough?

2) How long should she be on the puppy feeding regime? That is, when should I switch to feeding her once a day? Or should I never switch? 

3) Is she getting enough nutrients that she needs right now? I want her to be as healthy while she is growing as possible, and am worried about her getting too much or too little vitamins.

Here are the links to the food I feed her. The first is the Starter option, when transitioning to raw diet (she's on that now for a couple of days). The second is what she will be eating from the day after tomorrow:

1. Hermann BARF Starter - Hermann BARF

2. Hermann BARF Original - Hermann BARF


I would really appreciate input from those who have experience with this diet and are more knowledgeable than me - is this a good choice for my poodle puppy?

Thank you!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

The food looks good, but I am a little surprised that it is almost entirely beef. You may want to consider including some other meats as you gain confidence with raw feeding - some chicken pieces, for example, and other meat and fish. 

How often to feed - I think twice daily is fine at 6 months. You could reduce to one meal a day when she finishes growing, or continue with two meals.

Quantity - I would take the amount suggested on the pack as a starting point, and see how she does. At six months she is not growing so fast, but will still be growing a little and building bone and muscle. Calorific need will also depend upon how active she is, so no two dogs will be exactly the same. If she seems to be gaining weight too fast, reduce the amount. If she seems on the skinny side, give her a little more. At around 9-12 months, or perhaps a little later, she will probably finish growing and then will need less food to keep her at her correct weight.


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

Fjm has great advice! Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. My mini does the same thing, he picks out what he wants and spits out the kibble. Lol


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## hmmm (Nov 8, 2017)

fjm said:


> The food looks good, but I am a little surprised that it is almost entirely beef. You may want to consider including some other meats as you gain confidence with raw feeding - some chicken pieces, for example, and other meat and fish.
> 
> How often to feed - I think twice daily is fine at 6 months. You could reduce to one meal a day when she finishes growing, or continue with two meals.
> 
> Quantity - I would take the amount suggested on the pack as a starting point, and see how she does. At six months she is not growing so fast, but will still be growing a little and building bone and muscle. Calorific need will also depend upon how active she is, so no two dogs will be exactly the same. If she seems to be gaining weight too fast, reduce the amount. If she seems on the skinny side, give her a little more. At around 9-12 months, or perhaps a little later, she will probably finish growing and then will need less food to keep her at her correct weight.



Thank you for answering! 

They say 350gr for a puppy of her weight on their website, so that's what I'm giving her as of yesterday (well, 375gr, since she's over 5kg anyway, and the packages are 125gr, so 3x125 ). She was eager for more at 250gr, but seems content after the third package, so I'll keep it at that and watch her weight. She has a lot of energy, and since she was eating so little she could put on a bit of weight so her ribs aren't as prominent . 

Yes, they use only beef in their food ... and they have this whole philosophy behind it. That's part of my problem and why I did not start my own raw feeding - I come across too much conflicting information when I look at making my own food. This company, for instance, claims that their guy, Hermann Palmer, is the originator/founder of the BARF diet, not the Australian vet who is now credited with it. They use his recipe, so no chicken and no vegetables (they have this whole thing about how he would be horrified if he saw people feed chicken to dogs) ...

I don't know ... I am just glad that someone makes a relatively well-put-together ready frozen food, finally, where I live ... I'll be glad to experiment on top of it as time goes by and give my princess some variety .

................................

@asuk

Thanks! I'm glad she's not the only one  ... well, not glad exactly, because I know the pain of trying to get them to eat something, but it is somehow easier to know it's not only my dog!


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## 1copper (Feb 10, 2018)

https://perfectlyrawsome.com/dogs/prey-model-raw-diet/


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## MathildaVienna (Dec 12, 2017)

Thanks, 1copper, for that terrific last link. I’ve been having a hard time trying to figure out the right proportions for our pup. The calculator gives an excellent baseline.


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## 1copper (Feb 10, 2018)

dont overthink it. pups usually need bout 8-10 percent of body weight 3 timss a day. key is figure out amount of food and divee it into three piles. eyeball 5 percent liver and 5 percent offal into each pile. aft couple weeks see if you need to add or cut back. you can do it....nothing you can do is worse than feeding bagged food remember that.


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## 1copper (Feb 10, 2018)

6-8mths feed 6 to 4 percent. 8-12months feed 4to 3 percent. over 12 mths 2-3 percent. use tht as a age guidline


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