# switch to raw with underweight dog?



## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Raw is very palatable, and if she's a picky eater, that aspect of feeding raw could be helpful. With all her other specs being normal, I don't think it would harmful to make the switch, and quite possibly a good thing. Two years is too young to have tartar already. Some dogs are more prone to it, true, but the raw diet helps with that, too, more the bones, though, than the pre-made.

--Q


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

Quossum said:


> Raw is very palatable, and if she's a picky eater, that aspect of feeding raw could be helpful. With all her other specs being normal, I don't think it would harmful to make the switch, and quite possibly a good thing. Two years is too young to have tartar already. Some dogs are more prone to it, true, but the raw diet helps with that, too, more the bones, though, than the pre-made.
> 
> --Q


Thank you for the reply I will start reading up on where to begin today, I just hope she will eat it. She barely ate her breakfast this morning. I hate tartar and I am always checking for it so this concerns me too. Not set on the pre-made yet.


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## petitpie (Nov 16, 2011)

My older toy poodle started eating pre-made raw immediately, after never liking her kibble. We are very careful to monitor her weight and she is doing well.


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

My puppy Sophie is not fond of kibble either so I mainly feed her natures variety premade raw with a raw meaty bone every few days. I still try to sneak in kibble cause the premade ain't cheap but it def IS more palatable for the doggies and she's been gaining more on it since, well, she actually eats it!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

If you find something that works, _please share_! I'm having the same issue with anorexic and acrobatic poodle Vegas. He's 52lbs, but he could benefit from being 57-60. His hip bones cave in, I can feel his spine and his ribs. I've switched to probably 8 different dog foods, and even tried raw a bit. He even picks at raw! I can't think about it much because it will get me frustrated and worried and he reads off of that so bad, and will AVOID food.

I have Vienna on a diet, and am trying to put weight on him. Vienna holds and gains weight on very little, and Vegas is active and eats little and loses weight.

Typical man and woman problems. =/


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Is the pickiness a poodle thing or what? Every other dog I know will eat anything and everything!!!


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

sophiebonita said:


> Is the pickiness a poodle thing or what? Every other dog I know will eat anything and everything!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


I'm beginning to think this is true! They just have very discerning tastes. 

Every now and then I'll give Leroy "people food" just to see how he reacts. He sniffs it when I show it to him, geeeennnnnnttly takes it from my fingertips, goes to his bed, places the food on the bed, sniffs and examines it some more, then walks away. I've given cracker-chip type of snacks, bananas, veggies... He only wants to eat meat and dog treats. Sometimes Leroy doesn't have time to examine novel food I give him, because Louis swoops in and inhales it. I call Louis the Pig because he will eat anything I give him! Even if it's sour (pickles, fermented cabbage), spicy (very spicy meat, habanero pepper hot sauce), sweet, savory, veggie, carbs... he will eat it all. Leroy turns up his nose to a lot of things - but luckily it's all "people food" - stuff he shouldn't be having anyway.


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

I am still not sure what to buy but I do need to buy her more food today. She did not eat much yesterday or this morning. My husband doesn't think she will eat anything raw either so maybe I will just buy a sample bag of premade and some chicken thighs today. On a good note her ear infection is better, day five of ear meds. I just get tired of people commenting on how thin she is and what I should feed.


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## lrkellly (Jan 6, 2012)

Just seconding sophiebonita's experience with natures variety pre-made raw. Sprout gobbles it up and has gained weight. He is also very picky.

Good luck.


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

I did not have much luck with the raw diet at the pet valu store. Even though they are listed as a supplier of natures variety raw they only carry 'Healthy Paws' which I wasn't sure about. It came in bison, chicken, salmon, beef patties for about $30 for 24. I think that would last her less than a week but the packages had alot of ice crystals...
I did buy natures variety grain free kibble in the rabbit formula and a sample of 'The Honest Kitchen' embark grain free dehydrated. Oh and a couple beef meaty bones from Healthy Paws. 
I mixed up the embark and thought there is no way she will eat this pastey looking stuff but she INHALED it! She chewed on the bone for a few minutes eating some of the meat off of it. Anyone know how good dehydrated food is? I am wondering if I should open up the kibble or just return it and buy the dehydrated stuff?


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Depending on which route you go (premade or not) with the raw, I will BET she loves it. Just my experience with Jake (my previous poodle) and now Sunny. Good luck! And, have fun deciding which one!


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Dehydrated is same as raw, once you add the moisture, voila!!! I would return the kibble and jump in!


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

liljaker said:


> Dehydrated is same as raw, once you add the moisture, voila!!! I would return the kibble and jump in!


That is good to know thanks! I will take the kibble back tomorrow morning and buy more of the dehydrated, it was nice to see her lick the bowl clean!
I will try to find some chicken/turkey necks at the grocery store too.


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw is THE BOMB!!! Sophie goes completely nuts for it, even more so than frozen. I just crumble it into a bowl I don't even bother reconstituting it sometimes. Sprinkling it over/into other food usually makes said food magically disappear in seconds. I've tried chicken & lamb. You can also use small pieces as treats!


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

So far I am thrilled. I returned the kibble this morning and I bought a box of the Embark dehydrated grain free turkey. She inhaled the bowl within five minutes. This is something she has never done before! I also bought TD tartar control from the vets to feed in the afternoon to hopefully remove the accumilated tartar on her back upper molars. Then I hope to replace that with fresh bones. :adore: Thank you everyone, I have my hopes up that she will gain weight!


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## Ruscha_Baby (May 22, 2011)

I hate it, my dogs hate it and my cats REALLY hate it but I make myself brush all their teeth every day. No matter what diet an owner chooses (my Toys and Mini are on raw) teeth will always need brushing.

Good luck!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Ruscha_Baby said:


> I hate it, my dogs hate it and my cats REALLY hate it but I make myself brush all their teeth every day. No matter what diet an owner chooses (my Toys and Mini are on raw) teeth will always need brushing.
> 
> Good luck!


I _faithfully_ brush my mpoo's teeth daily, and did the same for our last dog who lived 16+ years. She crossed "The Rainbow Bridge" with every pearly white whole and still firmly affixed to her gums, never having had a dental from the vet, ever! Brushing your pood's teeth is a little thing that can make a _big _difference, IMO. And I know this may strike you as odd, but not only do I like doing it, Chagall _enjoys_ having his teeth brushed! He hops up on the bed and positions himself for it. But I admit I never attempted to brush any of my cats' teeth. Our longest lived calico girl was 17+ years old when she passed, and she surely would have abbreviated my life had I tried.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

S&C is great; however I am watching Sunny's "tuck" and if he stayed on the S&C, I fear it would be out of control. He loved it (so did Jake). Whatever works, stick with it and adjust the quantity. I ended up finding another small producer raw premade and they come in 4 ounce patties, which is his daily allotment, and I split in 1/2! He likes it just fine (K9Kravings). Good luck.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Sunny only started to warm up to the brushing after I switched to the poultry flavor Virbac enzymatic toothpaste, which was recommended on this forum. He doesn't love it, but he tolerates it. (Hard to get in the back though).


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## Fond of Poodles (Feb 1, 2011)

I have 3 poodles and a greyhound, all on raw.

Callie, my skinny minx and fussy eater, has put on a bit of weight, will only eat chicken and salmon, no white fish, and no beef, lol. She occasionally will eat game meats such as rabbit and venison.

Raven and Tyra are both hogs and will eat virtually anything raw, and any quantity! They both put on too much weight initially and had to be cut back.

Duke my senior greyhound has thrived on raw. He had horribly tartar buildup, but the vet and I decided he was too old for dental surgery. He suggested scraping with dental tools, one tooth at at time to avoid infection (Duke's an easy going guy and had no problems with this). However, within a month of switching to raw, there was a marked improvement with both his teeth and his breath. He also regained some muscle mass and energy.

Love raw!!

star, I noticed you are in Ontario, I'm in Carleton Place. If you are near me, feel free to PM me and I can send you info on where I get my meat, .


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

Lola is eating like a horse and is bouncing around all excited when I am mixing up her food. This is something she has never done! I offered her a raw piece of chicken thigh but she wouldn't eat it. Only licked it then walked away. Same thing with the beef bone. She ate alittle meat off the bone but wouldn't actually chew on the bone. Maybe I will try a turkey or chicken neck? 
I was able to crack most of the tartar off her teeth with my finger nail but her one back molar I cannot remove it. I will try and find a dental tool and see if I can crack it off. The TD kibble is starting to remove it but I really don't like the kibble ingredients so I would only like to use it temporarily.
Not sure about the tooth brushing, never done it. What type of brush do I buy etc? You are brushing once a day? Call me lazy I guess cause I have never done it but I do think Lola would tolerate it, she is pretty agreeable to anything I do to her. 
Thanks 'Fond of Poodles' I am up in Muskoka, we do have a couple of butchers up here I could go to.


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## Ruscha_Baby (May 22, 2011)

star said:


> Lola is eating like a horse and is bouncing around all excited when I am mixing up her food. This is something she has never done! I offered her a raw piece of chicken thigh but she wouldn't eat it. Only licked it then walked away. Same thing with the beef bone. She ate alittle meat off the bone but wouldn't actually chew on the bone. Maybe I will try a turkey or chicken neck?
> I was able to crack most of the tartar off her teeth with my finger nail but her one back molar I cannot remove it. I will try and find a dental tool and see if I can crack it off. The TD kibble is starting to remove it but I really don't like the kibble ingredients so I would only like to use it temporarily.
> Not sure about the tooth brushing, never done it. What type of brush do I buy etc? You are brushing once a day? Call me lazy I guess cause I have never done it but I do think Lola would tolerate it, she is pretty agreeable to anything I do to her.
> Thanks 'Fond of Poodles' I am up in Muskoka, we do have a couple of butchers up here I could go to.


There are usually plenty of toothbrush options in your local vets for not much money. You can start straight away with a human brush, even without paste it will have a great long-term effect. Of course, paste is best! LOL.

With my girls, I hold the mouth shut and brush paste all around the outside of their teeth. This should take no longer than a minute, and just once a day is great.

It's completely normal for a new "raw dog" to turn it's nose up at first. It's worth remembering that your dog is saying "What?? That's too good for the likes of me! Thanks for showing it to me though. I wish I was good enough to eat that, but I'll just eat the lousy kibble.." 

That's my theory anyway. 

Leave your dog - very quietly - with a chicken wing, put some restful music on and pick up a book (so you don't make eye contact with her - eye contact might be seen as a threat that she must not eat the wing).

If this doesn't work, leave her with a wing at night. I guarantee, if faced with "raw or starve" treatment, your dog will change and become the best you could ever hope for. 

Good luck!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Since you have a standard I would try something bigger than a chicken neck, that is what I give my toy. A chicken back would be great. You don't want to give something the dog could swallow whole, at least not till she has more experience with raw bones. I think the suggestion of reading a book with relaxing music in the background is a great one. If you are anxious if she will eat it or not she will pick up on it and since you are top dog she may not feel worthy to eat the bone.

I found a tool for dog tartar on Amazon - they are very cheap, I think is was 2-3 dollars. They look like what the dentist cleans your teeth with. I have one but with the raw I have not need to use it. I do brush his teeth but I am bad I should do it everyday. I have used both a fingerbrush and a regular brush, both work fine.

Once you have fed raw it is hard to go back. I love seeing Swizzle's absolute joy at feeding time. I am so glad to hear Lola is doing so well. She will pick up how to eat a bone in no time.


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## Ruscha_Baby (May 22, 2011)

Oops... it's a Standard. I didn't realise. My bad. All I see are Toys and Minis! LOL.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I'm so glad you have found something Lola really enjoys - isn't it wonderful when they go from picking at food to bouncing in anticipation of food?

My cats and dogs had salmon this evening - not just salmon, but M&S wild Alaskan salmon (other Brits will know what I mean!). One of my neighbours got it on a 3 packs for £10 offer, and then left it in the fridge past the use by date. I bunged it in the freezer, and was frankly very tempted to eat it myself, but the dogs and cats won. So tonight's supper, had I paid for it, would have cost around 10 times our usual average - and so will tomorrow's and the next day's. Sophy, as a connoisseur, reckons it was worth it - I just hope it doesn't give her ideas that the champagne life style is going to become the norm!


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

*Update*

I have to take Lola to the vets office for a weigh in. It has been almost a month on the dehydrated raw and I know she has put on weight. She actually has some padding on her ribs and chest that she never had before. I switched to the THRIVE food by honest kitchen because it has more calories. She is killing my bank account though and eats about 3 cups a day total ( I bought three 4lb boxes so far this month but it is cheaper to buy one large box). Oh and the samples are free so I was able to try the different types without buying a box and she hates the fish and the smell makes me gag too lol.
I also bought a dental scaler and I cracked the tartar off her back molars quite easily and I am now brushing her teeth every day and to be honest it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. 
She still won't touch anything raw but she is starting to chew on a raw beef bone when I offer it. So maybe she will be more accepting.. Oh and I offered her some kibble part way through the month to just try and use it up. Well she ate it and then promptly barfed on the floor. I think we are done with kibble!


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Star -- for the tartar, you may want to try Leba III which worked great on my Sunny. His breeder (Canadian) said her vet recommended and I used it for about 5 or 6 months and it really made a difference. It is not cheap, but it worked for us. Leba III Dog Cat Dental Spray

I have used raw meaty bones and raw recreational bones for years and though I would mention to be careful with weight-bearing bones (like a femur, marrow bone) as they can chip their teeth if they are strong chewers. Just thought I would mention, as I have heard of it happening and actually, someone on this forum had to take the poodle for a root canal because of a chipped bone.

Good luck. Star looks adorable!


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

My 8 year old will eat anything! I have to watch her or she will get over weight. I just adopted a 2 year old that is under weight. I am giving them both kibble in the morning and raw in the evening. My new girl doesn't like raw with bones yet... she loves chunks of chicken breast and beef roast, but give her a leg quarter or a turkey neck and she doesn't seem to know what to do with it. I plan to continue to offer these things to her and hope she will learn to eat them. She eats a bit more each time. I have only had her a little over a week. I am adding some Olive oil and canned tripe to her kibble and she loves that. She is a tall girl and only weighs 47 lbs, I think 55 would be a good goal for her.

P.S. she turned 2 this past Apr. and does not have any tarter at all.


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## Ruscha_Baby (May 22, 2011)

Star -

Glad to hear things are going well on the teeth.

When one of my dogs came to live with me, she wouldn't eat raw. It's only because they don't recognise it. After 2 days without food she got stuck in with everyone else. 

Dogs are "designed" to go without - it's part of their make-up. Good luck.


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

Thank you for the suggestions I will check out the Leba III even if it is expensive it would be cheaper than a dental cleaning. 

Took her to the vets and in one month on the dehydrated raw she has gained 1lb 7 ozs, not as much as I had hoped but I guess not too bad?


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Star - that's a safe rate of weight gain I would assume.....and yes, raw can put it on, so I have had to be careful with Sunny. He is a mpoo, but I try to limit his food to 4 oz day of his current diet. The Leba spray was around $50 and it lasted 6 months.


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

Happy to hear about the weight gain! I had my first victory with my new girl today! She ate a piece of raw with bone!!!!


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## poo lover (Nov 7, 2012)

Fluffyspoos said:


> If you find something that works, _please share_! I'm having the same issue with anorexic and acrobatic poodle Vegas. He's 52lbs, but he could benefit from being 57-60. His hip bones cave in, I can feel his spine and his ribs. I've switched to probably 8 different dog foods, and even tried raw a bit. He even picks at raw! I can't think about it much because it will get me frustrated and worried and he reads off of that so bad, and will AVOID food.
> 
> I have Vienna on a diet, and am trying to put weight on him. Vienna holds and gains weight on very little, and Vegas is active and eats little and loses weight.
> 
> Typical man and woman problems. =/


Kruz was a good 10lbs. lite when we got him and only sniff and nibbled the kibble then he started stealing the cat and ferrets food (raw) .So we now feed everyone raw and he also gets satin balls and he no longer misses a meal and has put on wieght but with the weight come the energy level too !
GOOD LUCK


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## star (Feb 20, 2011)

I don't think I could handle more energy Poo lover, Lola is SO active now. Actually since she has put on weight she naps more especially after she eats. I will look into the satin balls thanks.


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