Feeding a Raw Diet - YorkieTalk.com Forums

sullita84 · 02-21-2010, 08:41 PM

I am considering switching Marley to a raw diet. however I have so many questions about it. I would like to know how is your experience with feeding a raw diet.

sullita84 · 02-21-2010, 08:52 PM

I've ready on many different sites that I should start him off with a chicken thigh. Would that be a good option?

TwoforFun · 02-21-2010, 09:50 PM

You have to be careful with chicken bones although the vitamin(or something) in the bone is extremely important your baby can choke on it. I know some stores carry frozen raw chicken for dogs.
I wish I knew the answer but I'm still researching myself. I was interested in putting mine on it but since I don't have all the right info it's on hold. Hopefully someone is nice enough to share some knowledge.

YorkieChick1 · 02-21-2010, 10:06 PM

All my dogs have been on a raw diet for almost 2 years, the puppies started on raw at 8 weeks old. They are all fit, trim, no allergies, love their food, great shiny coat and overall well being but I did do quite a bit of research before I made the jump over to raw. There was a really good and long thread on here awhile back, I searched it for you and found it here: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...odel-diet.html
Hope you find this information helpful and good luck.

PrincessDiana · 02-21-2010, 10:11 PM

We have been feeding raw for the past 5 months and couldn't be happier! Franklin had his annual check up about a week ago and the vet went on and on about what great health he was in! Perfect weight, muscle tone, coat.. everything! Plus I really love seeing my dogs enjoy their food so much.

Depending on the size of your dog, a chicken thigh might be too much! Franklin and Maggie are 8 and 11 lbs and get chicken legs (the drumstick) and chicken wings. If your Yorkie is smaller, a chicken wing is a perfect raw meaty bone to start off with!

The link that YorkieChick1 gave you is great! This is another one that helped me tremendously! So you are interested in feeding raw ...

Feel free to PM me if you ever have any questions

Sweetlips6 · 02-22-2010, 04:29 AM

My pup came to me as an itchy, scratching puppy. I took her to the vet several times, while they gave her one cream and oral medication after another. I was at the point where I was giving her tavist (allergy med so she wouldn't itch and scratch) Some type of oil capsule, and applying a cream on her itchies twice a day. It was so bad that she had chewed all the hair off of one arm, from the joint to the arm pit and it was raw. I felt so bad for her.

I decided to switch her to raw and take her off all grain. At first, I tried chicken legs, but she would not try to eat the bones. And I read that eating the bones is an important part of "raw" feeding.

So then I tried NV raw medallions. I found them frozen at our local feed store (Farm store for those of you not living in the sticks. LOL)
She LOVES them. She actually cries when I am fixing it for her. We can get a variety and I don't have to worry about balancing meat/bones/organs. We have tried chicken, lamb, venison, and this week we are eating bison. Imagine that = bison!! There is not one she won't eat.

All of Bonnie's skin itchies had cleared up, she is no longer on the meds or creams. I do give her 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil each day to keep her skin and fur in good shape. She gets bullies for her teeth.

I will say this, my vet was not happy at all when I told her I was feeding raw. I took her in not too ong ago when she was throwing up. The vet gave me a lecture on why I shouldn't feed raw.. It made me feel guilty and have mixed feelings. So I put her totally on a very high prem. kibble and wellness canned (also high quality). Bonnie ate it, but was not excited about meals. Her breath smelled like she had been eating cat food, and she had big poops. I switched her back to raw, and now everyone but the vet is happy (well she is still happy, cause I didn't tell her

)
In the wild, dogs will eat anything they can find and not get sick. One of the farm dogs we had would eat road kill -nasty I know

!!But he never got sick. I am not suggesting this (road kill) as a diet for any dog, but it happens.

carmen in nj · 02-22-2010, 04:56 AM

I also switch to Natures Variety not too long ago, my Dogs love it, the kibble has a raw coating on it, the variety of flavors is incredible and my dogs LOVE it. they love the raw medallions, I also do the coconut oil therapy. their coats and overall is fabulous.the only dog in my house that eats different is my yorkie Prada, she suffers from colitis she eats wellness simple with her coconut oil.
raw is good for my silkies so far, even my last litter I added a bit of raw medallions to their diet when they were about 8 weeks and they love it.
best of luck with your decission.
hugs,
Carmen in nj

ChantalB · 02-22-2010, 02:06 PM

I feed my yorkies mostly prey model raw for a few months now ( + occasional veggies). I am very happy with the result.

TwoforFun · 02-22-2010, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetlips6

In the wild, dogs will eat anything they can find and not get sick. .

That's what I thought, good point.

sullita84 · 02-25-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YorkieChick1

All my dogs have been on a raw diet for almost 2 years, the puppies started on raw at 8 weeks old. They are all fit, trim, no allergies, love their food, great shiny coat and overall well being but I did do quite a bit of research before I made the jump over to raw. There was a really good and long thread on here awhile back, I searched it for you and found it here: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...odel-diet.html
Hope you find this information helpful and good luck.

Thank you so much! i'll take a look

sullita84 · 02-25-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrincessDiana

We have been feeding raw for the past 5 months and couldn't be happier! Franklin had his annual check up about a week ago and the vet went on and on about what great health he was in! Perfect weight, muscle tone, coat.. everything! Plus I really love seeing my dogs enjoy their food so much.

Depending on the size of your dog, a chicken thigh might be too much! Franklin and Maggie are 8 and 11 lbs and get chicken legs (the drumstick) and chicken wings. If your Yorkie is smaller, a chicken wing is a perfect raw meaty bone to start off with!

The link that YorkieChick1 gave you is great! This is another one that helped me tremendously! So you are interested in feeding raw ...

Feel free to PM me if you ever have any questions

hi thanks for the info! I have a question about how much to feed my yorkie? he is 7 pounds and is almost 7 months old. should one drumstick a day be okay?

PrincessDiana · 02-25-2010, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sullita84

hi thanks for the info! I have a question about how much to feed my yorkie? he is 7 pounds and is almost 7 months old. should one drumstick a day be okay?

Well to figure out how much to feed your Yorkie, you have to conver his weight to oz. 7 x 16oz = 112 oz. You want to feed 2-3% body weight, although we give a little more, closer to 3.5%. 3% is 3.36oz a day and 3.5% is 3.9oz a day. One drumstick is usually a lot more than that.

Also, one drumstick a day is not balanced. It is way too much bone content. Are you giving organ too? The diet needs to be 80% meat, 10% bone, 10 organ with 5% liver. There is a great spreadsheet in the YT Library that can give you all the correct values in oz and lbs.

sullita84 · 02-25-2010, 06:04 PM

no, I want to transition him from kibble to raw food. I've read on some other sites that at first you need to start them off with one source of protein such as chicken, and they say at first it's fine to start them with only meat, and then later on start adding organs, and so on...

I'm just a bit confused because I see so many different opinions. I really appreciate your help and you cleared up some of my doubts.

PrincessDiana · 02-25-2010, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sullita84

no, I want to transition him from kibble to raw food. I've read on some other sites that at first you need to start them off with one source of protein such as chicken, and they say at first it's fine to start them with only meat, and then later on start adding organs, and so on...

I'm just a bit confused because I see so many different opinions. I really appreciate your help and you cleared up some of my doubts.

Yes yes, definitely start with just chicken. After a week or two you can introduce other proteins and then organ.

02-21-2010, 08:41 PM	#1
sullita84 Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 55	Feeding a Raw Diet I am considering switching Marley to a raw diet. however I have so many questions about it. I would like to know how is your experience with feeding a raw diet.

02-21-2010, 09:50 PM	#3
TwoforFun YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TX Posts: 646	You have to be careful with chicken bones although the vitamin(or something) in the bone is extremely important your baby can choke on it. I know some stores carry frozen raw chicken for dogs. I wish I knew the answer but I'm still researching myself. I was interested in putting mine on it but since I don't have all the right info it's on hold. Hopefully someone is nice enough to share some knowledge. __________________ XOXO JiJi , JiJa Lil' Man and Mommy

02-21-2010, 10:06 PM	#4
YorkieChick1 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 2,249	All my dogs have been on a raw diet for almost 2 years, the puppies started on raw at 8 weeks old. They are all fit, trim, no allergies, love their food, great shiny coat and overall well being but I did do quite a bit of research before I made the jump over to raw. There was a really good and long thread on here awhile back, I searched it for you and found it here: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...odel-diet.html Hope you find this information helpful and good luck. __________________ Nanci 's her furbabies!! Brooke,Binky,Bunny,Buster & BooBoo And My Chichis: Baby & Bitsy There's nothing that brightens my day more than a puppy kiss!

02-21-2010, 10:11 PM	#5
PrincessDiana I ♥ Franklin & Maggie Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 2,068	We have been feeding raw for the past 5 months and couldn't be happier! Franklin had his annual check up about a week ago and the vet went on and on about what great health he was in! Perfect weight, muscle tone, coat.. everything! Plus I really love seeing my dogs enjoy their food so much. Depending on the size of your dog, a chicken thigh might be too much! Franklin and Maggie are 8 and 11 lbs and get chicken legs (the drumstick) and chicken wings. If your Yorkie is smaller, a chicken wing is a perfect raw meaty bone to start off with! The link that YorkieChick1 gave you is great! This is another one that helped me tremendously! So you are interested in feeding raw ... Feel free to PM me if you ever have any questions __________________ Diana , Mommy to Franklin, Maggie, Oliver, and Millie - RIP Piper

02-22-2010, 04:29 AM	#6
Sweetlips6 YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Taft, TN, US Posts: 603	My pup came to me as an itchy, scratching puppy. I took her to the vet several times, while they gave her one cream and oral medication after another. I was at the point where I was giving her tavist (allergy med so she wouldn't itch and scratch) Some type of oil capsule, and applying a cream on her itchies twice a day. It was so bad that she had chewed all the hair off of one arm, from the joint to the arm pit and it was raw. I felt so bad for her. I decided to switch her to raw and take her off all grain. At first, I tried chicken legs, but she would not try to eat the bones. And I read that eating the bones is an important part of "raw" feeding. So then I tried NV raw medallions. I found them frozen at our local feed store (Farm store for those of you not living in the sticks. LOL) She LOVES them. She actually cries when I am fixing it for her. We can get a variety and I don't have to worry about balancing meat/bones/organs. We have tried chicken, lamb, venison, and this week we are eating bison. Imagine that = bison!! There is not one she won't eat. All of Bonnie's skin itchies had cleared up, she is no longer on the meds or creams. I do give her 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil each day to keep her skin and fur in good shape. She gets bullies for her teeth. I will say this, my vet was not happy at all when I told her I was feeding raw. I took her in not too ong ago when she was throwing up. The vet gave me a lecture on why I shouldn't feed raw.. It made me feel guilty and have mixed feelings. So I put her totally on a very high prem. kibble and wellness canned (also high quality). Bonnie ate it, but was not excited about meals. Her breath smelled like she had been eating cat food, and she had big poops. I switched her back to raw, and now everyone but the vet is happy (well she is still happy, cause I didn't tell her) In the wild, dogs will eat anything they can find and not get sick. One of the farm dogs we had would eat road kill -nasty I know!!But he never got sick. I am not suggesting this (road kill) as a diet for any dog, but it happens.

02-21-2010, 08:52 PM	#2
sullita84 Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 55	I've ready on many different sites that I should start him off with a chicken thigh. Would that be a good option?

02-22-2010, 04:56 AM	#7
carmen in nj Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Hopatcong, NJ, USA Posts: 4,615 Blog Entries: 74	I also switch to Natures Variety not too long ago, my Dogs love it, the kibble has a raw coating on it, the variety of flavors is incredible and my dogs LOVE it. they love the raw medallions, I also do the coconut oil therapy. their coats and overall is fabulous.the only dog in my house that eats different is my yorkie Prada, she suffers from colitis she eats wellness simple with her coconut oil. raw is good for my silkies so far, even my last litter I added a bit of raw medallions to their diet when they were about 8 weeks and they love it. best of luck with your decission. hugs, Carmen in nj __________________ My Etsy shop is OPEN... Carmen in nj

02-22-2010, 02:06 PM	#8
ChantalB Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,042	I feed my yorkies mostly prey model raw for a few months now ( + occasional veggies). I am very happy with the result.

02-25-2010, 06:04 PM	#13
sullita84 Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 55	no, I want to transition him from kibble to raw food. I've read on some other sites that at first you need to start them off with one source of protein such as chicken, and they say at first it's fine to start them with only meat, and then later on start adding organs, and so on... I'm just a bit confused because I see so many different opinions. I really appreciate your help and you cleared up some of my doubts.