Opinions on feeding a Raw diet?????

[hollie91999]

Thank you everyone for your opinion. My baby is very picky. I went through multiple different kibble before he settled on orijen for now. I am just keeping my options opened in the case that he ends up not liking it anymore. After doing a lot of research I feel that a PMR diet would be best for him eventually. I just wanted to start out with premade raw to transition him over. I also believe that if he is doing well on the food, then I wouldn't be switching. Yorkies sure are in a class of their own I have never had a dog who is picky about food, he sure is one spoiled dog...but aren't they all

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Even if it is short there is still hair there to catch those germs

Just so you know, pretty much all kibble contains salmonella, so they too get germs on their faces when eating.

I don't know why, but my babies faces/beards never have anything on them after they eat in terms of wet/moist mouth areas. Sure, they'll still pick up some germs when eating, but that's life, and so do I. Germs are everywhere...there is e-coli all over our money .

[Cherie6446]

My two eat Natures Variety and they devour it in about 20 seconds. You can buy a trail bag if you wanted to try it out before investing in a big bag. I bet your picky eater will LOVE the raw. Good luck with your decision.

[hollie91999]

I think I will start trying premade raw. I did research and Primal, Natures Variety and Stella and chewy all look good. He's been on the orijen for 1 1/2 week now and he still eating it but not as excited when he first started. Mi do see such a difference in his fur and no more tear stains. I have read that it is best to wait until he is a year old to start Raw, what do you guys think????

[brezofleur]

Originally Posted by hollie91999

I have read that it is best to wait until he is a year old to start Raw, what do you guys think????

I don't buy it. It's a matter of opinion though. Dogs have only been on people-made (dry and wet) food for just over a hundred years.

[Cherie6446]

I think Zoey was around 4 mos old when I started her on raw. She wasn't liking any of the kibble I gave her.

[hollie91999]

Thank you everyone, I think I will start out with the freeze dried raw and then advance from there. I know he will love raw because I gave him some pieces of raw beef the other day and he pretty much inhaled it. So far no diarrhea with any of the foods that I have tried him on, so that is a good thing.

[mygirllacey]

I started Lacey on Nature's Variety at 5 months because she just refused to eat kibble. After spending a small fortune on over a dozen different types of premium kibble, I decided to give it a try. I started with the Beef Medallions. She inhaled them in seconds. After about six weeks, she started turning her nose up at the beef. Switched to chicken and she is still gobbling that up. Tried a new bag of the beef and she still turns her nose up. Go figure. She also absolutely loves the Primal Freeze Dried nuggets, but I find them a little messy.

[LoALAnna]

I think I have the only dog in the world that REFUSES to eat fresh raw meat! Neo will eat some dehydrated or freeze dried raw like Stella and Chewys or Nature's Variety, but not frozen or fresh! Connor will eat fresh raw, but only tiny little bits, like for a treat. Strange boys, lol!

[Lola0571]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

My problem with raw is yorkies have long hair and there are always juices so they get in the beard of the dog and then whatever there beard touches is then contaminated with bacteria and germs.

I agree 100% and the funny thing is My Riley is so picky he wont touch anything with juices, gravy etc. He eats kibble from Merrick and Fresh Pet chick roll and chicken with sweat potato meatballs for dog from Fresh Pet

[gracielove]

I actually found YT while desperately searching for something to feed my anorexic puppy. She refused all kibble no matter what I did to it.

I cooked for her at first, then switched to raw freeze dried Stella & Chewy's. Although Gracie loved the freeze dried it was kind of expensive to feed her that all the time so I switched to the frozen. She loves that, too.

There are so many options and opinions about feeding pets these days that it can get confusing. I truly feel that the more natural a food is the more nutritious it is and more easily digested. That is if it hasn't been genetically changed like so many of our foods are these days.

Dog's bodies are designed to digest raw foods unlike humans. You do need to handle raw foods properly. Washing hands and prep areas and disinfecting. We have never had a problem.

[MikaTallulah]

Feed what works best for you and your furrbutt!

My 15 year old cat decided one day she would no longer eat dry food. Period end of subject. She has always loved wet food but Tallulah can't eat it gives her GI issues. Mika was trying to steal raw chicken, bacon, ham, beef, etc. So I just went with it. She eats Primal Primal Pet Foods: Wholesome Raw Food for Dogs and Cats She should be eating 4-6 nuggets daily. But she eats 8 and somedays is looking for more which at 15 she can have. She is still trim.

She will also get fresh raw chicken or fish if I am making it otherwise she is a pain in the butt.

[Teresiana]

Originally Posted by MikaTallulah

Feed what works best for you and your furrbutt!

My 15 year old cat decided one day she would no longer eat dry food. Period end of subject. She has always loved wet food but Tallulah can't eat it gives her GI issues. Mika was trying to steal raw chicken, bacon, ham, beef, etc. So I just went with it. She eats Primal Primal Pet Foods: Wholesome Raw Food for Dogs and Cats She should be eating 4-6 nuggets daily. But she eats 8 and somedays is looking for more which at 15 she can have. She is still trim.

She will also get fresh raw chicken or fish if I am making it otherwise she is a pain in the butt.

I honestly think there's something wrong with Primal's feeding guide. I know that mine would starve on the recommended 2 nuggets per day. I've heard that a lot of people feed more than the suggested amount on the bag/online.

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

I honestly think there's something wrong with Primal's feeding guide. I know that mine would starve on the recommended 2 nuggets per day. I've heard that a lot of people feed more than the suggested amount on the bag/online.

I have always fed the animal not the bag. Is she starts to gain too much weight I will cut her back.

[MikaTallulah]

I think about switching my porkies over to raw but then chicken out literally and figuratively.