cooking raw food?

[Brewfilek]

Hey talkers.
i have a 5 month old 8 lb yorkie boy. he is very picky and i've spent hour one here looking for answers. Mostly finding that i'm def not alone which helps alot! anyway our boy will eat but he tires of his food after only a few days. Our vey has oked putting some toppers on his high quail kibble to entice, but its pretty much the same story. likes it for a bit and then bored.
from what i have read on here there are lots of Yorkies that do great on the raw diet.
i asked my bet about the raw diet and they dont recommend it (i live in Canada, BC). they sell it at our pet stores. but my vet says they can get samonella just like we can. He said its a complete diet, but to "cook the pink out of it" to be safe. he doesn't recommeng pigs ears, hoofs, or bully sticks for that same reason.

any thoughts!!!

[Britster]

No, you can't just cook raw food and give it to them. There is an option of homecooking, but it entails a lot of work and balancing and supplements, etc. A nutritionist would have to be involved, IMO. Homecoming does not = raw, because, well you're cooking it. So it would no longer be raw. lol.

Some are not comfortable with raw, some have great results.

There is PMR, BARF and pre-made when it comes to raw. PMR is prey model raw, BARF is Bones and Raw Food Diet, and you can purchase pre-made brands like Bravo!, Primal, Stella & Chewy's, etc, at your local pet store/boutique.

I personally don't really worry about salmonella too much. Dogs stomachs are different than ours and while they certainly can be affected, it's very rare. Kibble can also contain salmonella.

You can look up the benefits and cons to each type of diet available to a canine.

I feed kibble and wet mixed. I tried pre-made raw at one point but my dog was picky with it and sometimes it would go to waste - it ended up just not being worth it. I've had just as good results on high quality kibble and canned food.

A dog won't starve themselves- if he won't eat, pick up the food. Try again later. They will hold out for something better if you keep giving in and the same thing could happen with raw.

[ladyjane]

I am a firm believer that people make pups picky eaters. As soon as they don't eat, their owners find something different to entice them to eat.

I put food down and my pups eat. If they don't eat after 15 minutes, I pick the bowl up and they don't eat again until the next scheduled meal. I do not have picky eaters! Now, if a pup does not eat a couple of meals, I know something is wrong with them....because they normally eat very well.

As for the raw diet and the other items you mentioned, my vet says the same thing and I agree. I have seen/heard of many pups being ill from all of those things.

And, YES, dogs can get salmonella. I had it years ago and thought I was going to die. No way would I risk that for any of my pups....I am quite sure it could easily kill one of them. It is awful.

[Brewfilek]

he does have problems with hypoglycimia as well (i know even as big as he is). i have def tried the "oh he'll eat" thing. he went all day until about 4pm one day when i was trying to hold out. he started to get wobbly and showing signs he may start crashing so i got him going on some high cal soft food. This is the only reason why my vet is oking the toppers in the first place. he has been bile and blood tested for shunt and other medical defects.

[Britster]

I feed Fromm kibble with Weruva wet food. I can't see a dog ever turning down Weruva. Take a look into it -- it looks like human food, *I* even want to eat it, LOL! May be worth a shot.

[ladyjane]

Yeah, you definitely don't want to mess around with blood sugar problems; but that should not go on for long. If it did, I would be doing some lab studies. Normal, healthy dogs do not get hypoglycemic that quickly.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Yeah, you definitely don't want to mess around with blood sugar problems; but that should not go on for long. If it did, I would be doing some lab studies. Normal, healthy dogs do not get hypoglycemic that quickly.

This!

[chattiesmom]

There are a lot of people in both the kibble camp and raw food camp. I don't have any experience with feeding raw If we lived the lifestyle that allowed my kids to hunt, kill their prey and eat it whole I'd consider raw, but only if I could somehow control the quality of the live prey. The only thing I can add about raw diets is that my vet(s) do not recommend it. On the other hand I know that many of our members feed raw with great success.

For the past few years I have fed Taste of the Wild, with great success. I top dress with a product from Mainly Dogs called Synergy ( Mainly Dogs - Products for dogs and un-dogs, but Mainly Dogs. ) which is for general digestive health as well as coat growth. I also give my dogs "human food" treats including meats - mostly chicken and beef, vegetables - generally green or yellow vegies that I have on hand, fruits - apples, bananas, strawberries.

When it's all said and done, we all go through trial and error, find what works for our paticular dogs and then SWEAR by it. You will get a lot of terrific advice from our membership.

[Brewfilek]

Originally Posted by Britster

I feed Fromm kibble with Weruva wet food. I can't see a dog ever turning down Weruva. Take a look into it -- it looks like human food, *I* even want to eat it, LOL! May be worth a shot.

Thank you!!!!! I'll go out today to see if i can find some of that. The site looks great. I feel like there is so much out there, something has to fit his needs.

We had him in at the vet for a half a day when he was about 3 months old. They tested him for everything under the sun, and all his results were all great. They say i have watch him until he is about a year, and even then, some dogs always have sugar issues. i'll push the issue a bit further once he reaches that stage. He is growing great and has no digestive problems. *knock on wood*

i feel like sometimes i think about his food more then i think about my own dinner plans. hahha

Thanks for the feedback so far

[Brewfilek]

Originally Posted by Britster

I feed Fromm kibble with Weruva wet food. I can't see a dog ever turning down Weruva. Take a look into it -- it looks like human food, *I* even want to eat it, LOL! May be worth a shot.

Just got a 12 can variety pack online

Thanks for the tip.

It looks great from the pictures. i can see why you say you would eat it. haha

[Ellie May]

Most pre-made raw diets contain bone pieces. There is already danger in that (imo). Then add cooking on top of it - cooking bones tends to make them more dangerous. Really depends on your and your vet's philosophy.

I would agree with them. None of those things are given to my pups. There is salmonella in some kibble (although the strain may be different from that in raw food). There are other bacteria of concern though. And if you want to cook the pre-made raw, why not just feed your pup homecooked food?

You won't be able to hold out long with a pup that goes hypo, but it does seem like that should start getting better by now.

[myteddybear]

I like raw and so does Rosie! I would though not go into raw without serious research and a good knowledge of what you are doing. I don't take what an average vet has to say about nutrition too seriously as they do not get a lot of training on it and would rather sell you on what they get kick backs on from Science diet and the like. I would also question a vet that would suggest you cook a raw diet as they contain bone (if premade most have bone ground right in) You should NEVER ever feed cooked bone, it is dangerous.

There is great debate on raw vs kibble so don't want to get in to all that, I just like that with it I know exactly what is going into her and with kibble who knows what's in there. I use human grade premade and human grade meat I buy for myself and have never had any problems. Rosie loves her meal times and the once full bowl of kibble that used to get picked at all through the day and left all over the house is no more. She stands and waits now and once it hits the floor it is gone every time.

My suggestion is to keep at what you are doing, possibly seek a vet nutritionist with experience in all types of diets and do lots and lots of research and then if you think it's for you and you have a plan go ahead.

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by Britster

I feed Fromm kibble with Weruva wet food. I can't see a dog ever turning down Weruva. Take a look into it -- it looks like human food, *I* even want to eat it, LOL! May be worth a shot.

Mine love Weruva wet food, too! We call it Yorkie crack around here, we even have my mom's dogs hooked on it. Paw Lickin Chicken is their favorite.

[Rhetts_mama]

Oops, sorry. Double post.