I totally understand how you feel. I am transitioning my 4 month old to a raw diet as well. I recently met a lady named Pat Mckay who is retired from running a holistic nutrition store in Los Angeles as well as vitamin supplements
and raw food. I bought some pre-made raw food from Harmony Farms that is like homemade to feed my little boy. He would not touch it. He's only had dry food so far and didn't care for the texture. I also noticed he was having a difficult time chewing the meat so I went out and bought Stella and Chewy's raw food (like Nature's Variety) and he ate this up. It is likely that fact the meat was grounded up more helped him consume it better. He still has his baby teeth so I plan on just mixing it up for now. I asked Pat about runny poop and she said that this should be nothing to worry about as this is a natural way for the body to cleanse its system. She assured me that eventually he will have good looking stools. She also suggested to me that the first few times I feed him raw, I should give him as much as he likes until he stops. She said that because a raw diet is satisfying his nutritional needs he will not over eat and eventually he will only need one feeding. I have read that dogs on a raw diet who are underweight gain the necessary weight and those overweight lose not based on a specific amount. I bought her book Reigning Cats and Dogs (easy quick read) just to keep as as reference guide. I bought him some supplements from ESP Supplements and Flying Bassett.
Here is what the book said regarding canned vegetables and egg shells:
"Do not feed the shell under any circumstances. When animals eat eggs or eggshells in the wild, the shell is still very fresh and soft. After the egg is a few hours old or has been cooked, the shell hardens. The edges of the broken shell become very sharp, which can cause internal bleeding."
"Veggies (with very few exceptions) are to be fed raw. They must be put through a food processor until the pieces are about the size of the head of a pin, because carnivores have very short, small intestines and they do not have the time during the digestive process to break down and assimilate large chunks of vegetables......If fresh vegetables are really not available, use frozen instead. Do not use canned or dried vegetables. The canned have been cooked to death and are salted. Dried vegetables will not reconstitute no matter how long soak them in water and cannot be digested by carnivores" She also states that she has seen dogs and cats having problems digesting beans and any vegetables will hulls due to their sugar content. They present a problem for dogs who have a predisposition to yeast infections, possibility of hypoglycemia, or hyperthyroid which can be too much stimulation from simple sugars that are created from these vegetables.
I plan to do the best I can for my little one which does not always mean I will be perfect or fanatical about holistic nutrition. Plenty of dogs have lived healthy long lives before it but I am going to the best that I can. Hope I was able to help a little. |