# Transition to raw going well



## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

This board has been so helpful for me in my extensive research into prey-model raw feeding. We have slowly been moving from high-end kibble to premade raw to all- raw over several months, and so far, so good. We started with premade raw in the morning and kibble in the pm in the fall. then i introduced chicken drumsticks and thighs twice a week about a month ago (learned the hard way that a whole chicken quarter is waaaay to much for Sammi, and her eyes are bigger than her stomach!) i was amazed to see that the tartar on her teeth had almost disappeared by the end of the first week! We had Sammi on all raw for a few days last week, but went back to kibble over the weekend when here premade ran out. 

Yesterday, she had boneless, skinless breast for breakfast, and a chicken thigh with a whole egg for dinner. Here afternoon poop was so tiny (yay!!!) I plan to slowly introduce pork starting on Friday for the next month. There is a slight gross-out factor for me with handling raw chicken, but not as bad as I had anticipated before starting. But the idea of serving up jiggly organs makes me want to scream in terror!:afraid::ahhhhh:

I really hope this new diet will clear up the red stains and tearing from her right eye, as well as help her fill out a little more. Will keep you posted on this raw food journey.


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## cliffdweller (Jan 31, 2011)

Hi Karen,

Would you mind if I ask how big Sammy is, and how much she weighs ? Rain is about 23" and, now, about 43 lbs. (looks a little thin at this weight; see "Lean Machine ..." below on this board). She seems to eat an enormous amount of food (raw ~~~ can, will, _has_ eaten the better part of a whole chicken -- everything sans the back -- with no noticeable effect whatsoever !).

Also, Rain was very yeasty, but there is no sign of yeast since established on raw diet. Since It seems to be only one eye on Sammy, have you had your Vet look at it to see what might be the cause ?


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

When I first got my dogs, neither had ever had any raw meals. Carley took to it right away, but Stella did not care for it at all. I continued to offer her things and now she is eating most everything . My dogs eat both kibble and raw. Stella was very itchy when I first got her. Her first owner gave her shots every few months. I have had for almost 5 months and she is not itchy at all now ! If every dog owner only knew how important the food is, we would have a lot more happy, healthy dogs!


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

Sammi at almost-11 months is about the same size as Rain. She was 45 lbs about a month ago, and I measured her yesterday at about 24 inches at the shoulder. To us, she looks too skinny---or "malnutricious" as DH would say *lol!*--even though there is a good covering of muscle over her ribs. I want to up her percentage of raw meat, but her stomach gets upset when she eats too much of it just yet (gave her a whole chicken leg quarter twice; she threw up both times a few hours later and also had diarrhea the first time). But she devours it like crazy! I had never heard Sammi cry for food before we started with the raw chicken...so I am glad she loves it.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

Oh yeah, forgot to respond about her eye. I will be taking her to the vet very soon to look into it. It started tearing much worse when she was in pain from her spay in December. I also notice it running while and after she has been chewing her toys or antlers. Could it be a tooth problem? Hopefully the vet can offer some answers for the watering and the yeast. We had her on Angel Eyes, which was starting to work, but she has been off of it for the past two weeks since I have been ill and the discoloration came back.


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## tattoogirl73 (Nov 18, 2012)

glad it's going well for you  i was going to keep tricky on a mainly dry food diet with the occasional chicken wing until she was about nine month old but from day one she kept stealing my dobermann's meat and kept leaving her food. by ten weeks she wouldn't touch her dry at all so had to swap her to full raw best decision i ever made


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I don't think it's abnormal for eyes to tear a little when chewing on something hard like antlers or edible raw meaty bones. It happens to mine sometimes too.


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## AngelsMommy (Nov 3, 2012)

I would really check her eye to see if she has gotten a hair in the corner. I found an almost microscopic one in the corner of Angel's eye when I noticed her tearing a bit more than normal. It was almost impossible to see.  

I keep Angel on Satin balls to supplement her rmbs. She does love her chicken and deer. But I use the satin balls to add ground liver or chicken hearts into her diet and to make sure she is high enough in fat so she keeps her weight at a healthy level. 

I also add coconut oil, which she adores. Just a teaspoon or so each day. I also add cod liver oil off and on. I find it the hardest to get her to take as she is NOT a fish dog. She will not eat any kind of fish and I have tried the best. Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, herring, sardines and any other fish I could think of, no go. So we do what we can to find good omega 3's. 

I am glad that Sammi is doing so well on raw, I know I will not go back to the old way.... :cheers2:


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

*Is this hunger pukes?*

Since starting the raw bones diet, Sammi has been spitting up at times overnight, but only about once a week or so. It's just a tiny amount on her bed, and brown instead of yellow (tmi, I know, sorry!). She did it again last night and there were bits of chicken bone in it.

So I'm trying to figure this out so I can help her if I can...aren't hunger pukes supposed to happen on most nights and be yellow in color? Or it could be from the way she nearly inhales raw chicken drumsticks now; a few crunches and its gone. I'd love to give her the whole leg quarter to slow her down, but that's way too much food for her right now (caused some puke and diarrhea the last time I tried it about 4 weeks ago).

Right now she eats breakfast on most mornings at about 6:15-ish (raw boneless chicken or premade frozen) and dinner at 5:00 (bone-in chicken parts or turkey neck). Tonight for dinner I gave her bone-in breast instead of the two drumsticks, plus a duck stick to chew on and eat in her bed just to see if it would help.

Any advice?


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## DivinityPoodles (Jan 23, 2012)

Every dog I've ever fed raw has done that at some point if they swallow too big a piece of bone. I've never transitioned to raw as slowly as you, however, so don't know if that has something to do with it. 
Not sure if that helps but you might want to start feeding a bit more to see if it helps. 
How much does she weigh?


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Isn't it fun to feed raw food? I'm delighted by my dogs' response to it. Yesterday was the first full raw day, and so far, so good. Neither dog has pooped since yesterday morning, but I'm assuming it's because they're digesting the food more completely. I'm planning on one day a week of full raw, with RMBs a few times during the rest of the week. If that goes well, I'll do a complete transition.

BTW, Karen, if Sammi does have an eye problem, there's a very good canine opthamology department at VPI. We took Luke there for a persistent corneal ulcer. They're excellent and very kind.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

It has been slow going...I got very ill right as we started with the chicken bones and I didn't want to add new meats while being unable to monitor everything. I'm hoping to introduce fish in a few days, and then on to some red meat if all goes well.

She is due for a weighing too...on Presidents Day, she was 45 lbs. we've been giving her roughly 10 oz per meal.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

If the meat is not completely thawed it will slow her down some.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

JudyD said:


> Isn't it fun to feed raw food?
> 
> BTW, Karen, if Sammi does have an eye problem, there's a very good canine opthamology department at VPI. We took Luke there for a persistent corneal ulcer. They're excellent and very kind.


The raw food is fun (the price-comparison shopping and searching for deals), yet weird and gross on some level! Sammi is crazy about her raw food! I love how she drinks and poops less--she always spits up after drinking too much when she was on kibble.

And thanks for the tip about VPI. She's going in next week for her one-year-old check-up, so i'll mention the runny eye to the vet.


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## Angl (Nov 9, 2012)

*Good Book for Raw Feeding*

Someone on another thread mentioned this book and I downloaded it to the old iPad.

Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs by Lew Olson

Very good and gives sample amounts to feed for different weights of dogs.

An example is for a 50 pound dog- 1-1.5 pounds daily, or two 8-12 ounces each.

Something else I read in this book...throwing up of bones usually happens while transitioning until your dog's tummy adjusts. They aren't used to having bones so the acid content has to increase. We are also transitioning Max and he threw up the first day, I think because I overfed him (oops)

I found a little that he threw up yesterday after eating a turkey leg. Again may have been too large of a meal. 

I know he seems like he really enjoys his meals now and I tried putting some kibble in his dish last night to make sure he wasn't hungry.... he sniffed and walked away. lol


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I doubt a turkey leg was to big a meal as my seven pound toy polished one off easily with no tummy upset. I am very fortunate that Swizzle switched to raw with no issues. I hope things settle for you.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

*Sardines get a thumbs-up*

Sammi's new raw food for the week is sardines, which she is crazy about. She will devour them before the chicken and licks the tray to get the last bits. And she seems to be digesting it just fine. 

Next week I will introduce a red meat...not sure which one!


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## Lene (Jan 18, 2013)

Hi Karen

Do you get your sardines from the fishmonger? Do you feed it bones and all?

Storm is so far eating chicken, turkey and beef... I do have kibble available for him all day, but he tends to leave his kibble from the morning, until after he's had his evening meal, which the last 3 days has been 1/3 of a rib filet beef steak... After he's had his appetizer he'll eat his kibble...


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

I've been feeding canned sardines once a week, packed in water. Last week I carelessly picked up cans with soybean oil. I knew it would throw off the fat ratio, decided once wouldn't hurt, but I was wrong. Luke didn't eat all of his, so Jazz ate what was left plus her share, and for a day or two she had soft, oily stools. Won't do that again. This morning they shared a can of mackerel instead of sardines. It was a hit, too.

I made another trip to the slaughterhouse last week for fresh beef kidneys. They offered me the testicles--I turned them down because I wasn't sure about them, but I've since read they're okay. I guess as organ meat? I should have asked about the spleen, too.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

KidWhisperer said:


> Sammi's new raw food for the week is sardines, which she is crazy about. She will devour them before the chicken and licks the tray to get the last bits.


Where do you find the raw sardines? I can only get canned here.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

I've been feeding her the canned sardines, just rinsed off some of the salt water. We couldn't find mackerel packed in water at our regular grocery store, just oil. I need to shop around some more.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

I just realized this afternoon that the cans of mackerel I picked up at WalMart were packed in...you guessed it...China. I've already fed one can to the dogs. Now I suppose I'd better throw the other two cans away. Who knows what kind of "mackerel" is in those cans, along with what else? Yuk.

Lesson learned: Read the labels.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

KidWhisperer said:


> I've been feeding her the canned sardines, just rinsed off some of the salt water. We couldn't find mackerel packed in water at our regular grocery store, just oil. I need to shop around some more.


Oh, if they are canned they are not raw. Darn - thought I found a new raw idea!


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## Qarza (Feb 23, 2013)

But canned sardines would still be very good for them I am sure. Other opinion here please?


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

Oh boy...I didn't know human food from China was bad also! It never occurred to me to check. And are canned sardines really cooked? DH and I were trying to figure that out, since we've never eaten them before. They sure smell strong enough to be raw!!!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Perhaps I sound paranoid but I would not ingest anything from China or give it to Swizzle. China has sold contaminated baby food, toothpaste and toys with lead paint. Here is a Wiki article about some of the contamination. 

Protein adulteration in China - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Qarza said:


> But canned sardines would still be very good for them I am sure. Other opinion here please?


I think they are still very good for them too even though canned. Sure would love to find how to get them raw though too. I wonder about some of the little fish they use for bait? Not being a fisherman I am not familiar with them. I bought a package frozen but Tiki wouldn't have anything to do with them, whether partially or totally thawed.


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## Qarza (Feb 23, 2013)

CT Girl said:


> Perhaps I sound paranoid but I would not ingest anything from China or give it to Swizzle. China has sold contaminated baby food, toothpaste and toys with lead paint. Here is a Wiki article about some of the contamination.
> 
> Protein adulteration in China - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I just followed that link and another and I did not know that all those brands listed were made in China. I am glad I have changed to Raw.


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## sulamk (Nov 5, 2011)

Go to a fishmonger or the fish counter in your local deli for raw fish, just watch tuna can have quite high mercury levels.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

*Tried beef!*

Yesterday I gave Sammi a 4 oz. chunk of stew beef with bone in along with her chicken thigh for dinner. She kept sniffing the beef and then coming over to me with a "How'm I s'pposed to eat this?" look on her face. I had to sit with her and say, "This is beef, Sammi. Eat beef." (I love teaching her the names of things). Eventually, after licking it and looking at me, she used her teeth to turn it over and find the meat. She knew what to do after that, and thoroughly loved it. It's so fascinating how she communicates with me without a word, and how much I've learned to read her since she has been here!

Once the beef was all gone and the bone was too small to be safe, I convinced her to reluctantly drop it. She obediently dropped it, then snatched it up again, several times.

I'll see how she tolerates beef this week, and then it's on to organs.

BTW, she is so crazy about the canned sardines that when she was done eating them yesterday, she grabbed the empty tin off the top of the trash can and started licking it!


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

KidWhisperer said:


> Since starting the raw bones diet, Sammi has been spitting up at times overnight, but only about once a week or so. She did it again last night and there were bits of chicken bone in it.


I was very upset a few days ago because Tiki, who has been on raw for over two years now, threw up quite a few of what looked like pricky chicken bones. I scooped them up in a kleenex to look at later in better light. It turned out to be the inside spines from several pine cones! I am so glad I took them home to inspect. Now to just keep him from chewing on pine cones in the woods, but unfortunately he loves them and he is very fast.


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