So nice to find you here! I'm happy to hear that you have taken an interest in this thread and are reading much info. The 2-3 % feeding guideline is just a starter figure and I never went by that. Most people know their dogs and how much they should eat. Also, us people with small dogs feed at least 2 times a day so that makes it easier to eyeball as well! I have a female that weighs 5 1/2 pounds and she eats half of a chicken drumstick at one sitting and the rest of it at another sitting. My 10 pounder eats the entire drumstick at one sitting. My 1 1/2 pound girl eats the equivalent of half a chicken wing at one sitting. I feed my dogs 3 times day, the little one eats 4 times a day. Breakfast is raw meaty bones, lunch is organ meats and/or eggs, snack for the little one is a little boneless meat and dinner consists of raw meaty bones again. Don't waste your money on the ground meats. You live in Texas, right? Most places nowadays have Ethnic grocery stores and places with a large latin population have stores with an awesome variety of meats you won't find anywhere else and cheap as well! Here in Arizona I shop for my dog's meats at Food City, Fry's Mercado, El Super and Rancher's Market grocery store where I watch for meat sales. I regularly score on chicken and turkey for less than 60 cents per pound! I feed about 15-20 pounds of food per month between 3 dogs and I never spend more than $20 per month, if that much!
The skin issues were not made overnight and they won't get better overnight. Systemic yeast infection is a stubborn and hard egg to crack. The right diet is a start but you will have to treat the skin as well! The Chlorhexiderm shampoo is a bit pricey, but it's given me great results! What also works is Selsun Blue shampoo followed by the baking soda rinse. You will have to wash your dog several times a week, as your dog is detoxing, the emerging dying yeast toxins need to be killed off with the antibacterial/anti fungal agents in the skin treatments. Vinegar is a great, cheap and non-toxic way to counteract the yeast. I used to make a diluted vinegar ear wash for my dog. I was carefully swabbing all over the ear and then wiped the flap to remove the yeast with cotton balls. During the more severe stages of detox I would also use that diluted vinegar solution to spray my dog's body down several times a day. I also kept his hair cut to a skin close shave so I could monitor his outbreaks better and so the topical treatments could seap in better. After each shave down, I would re-bathe my dog and then applied 100% pure Aloe Vera gel. It smells pleasant, is non-toxic not sticky and it soothed his skin! I would suggest to go as natural as possible, avoiding any harsh chemicals! During that time, I also started using an organic, non-chemical dish washing soap for cleaning the food and water bowls which are ceramic bowls that have been made in the USA and glazed with non-toxic materials. I also looked at his bedding and toys etc. I am now using all organic cotton bedding/blankets and stopped buying toys from China. I make sure that his toys are either un-dyed or that natural vegetable based dye was used. Basicially, I went over everything in my house that he could get in touch with, taste, smell etc. So one day I realized that my floor cleaner was toxic as well! I now use things like vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, grapefruit oil, baking soda and Castile Liquid soap to clean my house with! I was sceptical at first because my shiny wood floors are my pride and joy but I can honestly say that they look just as beautiful if not better by using these natural products instead! I also only use a natural/chemical free laundry soap for my dog's bedding and toys! I know this all sounds nuts and incredibly neurotic, but I found that this really not only helped my dogs but my human family as well as both my husband and my son have allergies and dry skin! And I save money in the process by not having to buy expensive cleaning products! After all, these are all things that our grandmothers used to clean with and back then things and foods just weren't as polluted as they are today!
Keep us posted on your dog's progress!
LOL, you have found somebody to ramble with in me, I guess!!! Ha Ha Ha
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Originally Posted by Michmill  Hi guys, Im new to Raw. I started out posting about my dogs skin issues. Got great response that lead me to do my research on systemic yeast infection. I found Raw is the best way to go for my guy. We started June 3rd. I didnt realize until after reading many of these posts on the PMD thread, that you should feed only one type of food for the first few weeks. Well I bought Drumettes, Beef heart, Boneless pork, Ground turkey and beef. I putt all of this in little meals in baggies and froze them. So he gets a little bit of each every day. So far no nasty poop. He loves his food. I have been having a hard time deciding how much to feed. Each bag weights about 4-5 oz. I came across several sites that said you should feed about 2-3 % of body weight. He weight 6.6 lbs. That would be 0.18 oz a day?? That seems like nothing. I was giving him the entire 4-5 oz bag twice a day. This morning I cut it down to half of that bag and I will give the rest this evening. As far as changes I have noticed..... He doesnt mope around the house. I know when he doesnt feel good, he mopes. when hes mad he mopes and he also poops right behind where im standing so I will step in it. He is so vengeful. lol But that only happens when he is really mad. which isnt very often. He has more energy, is more excited. The itching hasnt stopped but it seems to have slowed down alot. The bad breath isnt as bad but his smelly skin is still there. Its only been a few days. Only time will tell. My other dogs are on K*bble. Only because they havent had any problems. I have a Rottwieler, Carrin terrier mix, female yorkie, my sick male and a female yorkie pup from there last and final litter. My female yorkie has very thick course hair and has never grown. She is almost three and her hair is so short. Now the female puppy I kept from their litter is gorgeous. Her pic is the one I have on here. She is going to look like her dad. She is 5 months and weights three pounds. Her hair is so diff from her daddy's too. His was curly and wavy and never really laid down. Gidgets (the puppy) is not as thin as his was but not thick like moms and lays straight down to her sides. Strange that two diff yorkies coats can make suck a gorgeous coat. If she begins to have trouble I will put her on the diet as well. I cant afford to do all of the right now, even tho I would love to. I hope I havent rambled I tend to do that.. |
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