Opinions on feeding a Raw diet?????

[hollie91999]

Just wanted to give everyone an update. I switched my baby to primal raw (he got tired of the orijen and would only eat less than 1/4 cup per day...sometimes every other day), he loves the primal raw...I also give him raw beef and chicken to supplement the primal...I have to say he enjoys the real raw food better than the premade. I am hoping he will stick with the primal...since it is complete with all the vitamins that he needs.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by hollie91999

Just wanted to give everyone an update. I switched my baby to primal raw (he got tired of the orijen and would only eat less than 1/4 cup per day...sometimes every other day), he loves the primal raw...I also give him raw beef and chicken to supplement the primal...I have to say he enjoys the real raw food better than the premade. I am hoping he will stick with the primal...since it is complete with all the vitamins that he needs.

Yay! So glad to hear he's liking it .

[Euro]

After having my little yorkie throw up at least once a week and my chihuhua having an abcessed anal gland, I decided to try raw. It's been three weeks and the results have been nothing less than miraculous. Both of my babies weigh 4lbs so they are small. I started with a frozen raw chicken quarter for each fed on a towel with me sitting between them. I watched them pull knaw and crunch. I was amazed. The yorkie really crunched threw it like she had been eating bones her whole life. Same with my chihuhua ,only it took him more time. The chicken quarters were really small. I alternated three days frozen whole boneless chicken breast ( took it away when it was chewed down to 1/2 and refroze for next meal) and 4 days skinless chicken quarters. ( removed those when bone was 1/2 gone) . My yorkie has not thrown up in three weeks,not once. My chihuhua acts like she's a puppy again, wanting to run around and play. Both of their coats look like they have sheen on them they are so shiny. I feed them only once in the morning . And yes I was a nervous wreck about the bones but they really o crunch them up. Will keep everyone posted as time gos on.

[hollie91999]

I tried to give Dooney a raw chicken wing but he looked at me like ". What am I suppose to do with this?" He did not want to eat it at all. He will eat raw chicken breast cut up into pieces but I have to hand feed him...so spoiled, I don't think he likes to chew.

[Euro]

My two little ones had never had raw anything before. I started with a frozen chicken quarter ( thigh and drumstick) . I just put it on the towel and my yorkie went right to it. My chihuhua started by licking then chewing and pulling bits off it. I had a towel ready to throw over it when it got to be just bone left. That was the easiest way for me to get it away from them. Once they have a bone they don't give it up that easily. I would be afraid of the wing because it's all skin and skin is to stringy and chewy like fat. I remove all the skin before I give it to them. It's only been three weeks. Oh also I don't cut up the boneless chicken thigh. I sometimes hold that for them so they can just chew scrape pieces off the frozen chicken. That still gives their jaws and teeth a workout. I'm hoping the bone part will make my chihuahuas stool hard so he won't have any more anal gland issues. I already see the teeth value. Probably no more cleanings.

[tem_sat]

On occasion, I will feed frozen. Frozen is great for teeth cleaning.

Originally Posted by Euro

My two little ones had never had raw anything before. I started with a frozen chicken quarter ( thigh and drumstick) . I just put it on the towel and my yorkie went right to it. My chihuhua started by licking then chewing and pulling bits off it. I had a towel ready to throw over it when it got to be just bone left. That was the easiest way for me to get it away from them. Once they have a bone they don't give it up that easily. I would be afraid of the wing because it's all skin and skin is to stringy and chewy like fat. I remove all the skin before I give it to them. It's only been three weeks. Oh also I don't cut up the boneless chicken thigh. I sometimes hold that for them so they can just chew scrape pieces off the frozen chicken. That still gives their jaws and teeth a workout. I'm hoping the bone part will make my chihuahuas stool hard so he won't have any more anal gland issues. I already see the teeth value. Probably no more cleanings.

[theporkieyorkie]

I am wondering if anyone here does rescue work and/or can tell me how long it typically takes to put weight back on a dog after it's been rescued after starving and being on the run .

My 2 year old yorkie was rescued back in January and I adopted him 3 months ago and I still don't feel he is at the weight he should be. I suspect some of his slow weight gain at the rescue was because they werent making sure he was eating and other dogs took his food from him...and since I've had him, I have managed to put on twice the amount of weight that they did...but he still seems skinny to me...especially compared to my other yorkie, who is anything but too skinny.


I am starting to wonder if there is an underlying health issue that I am unaware of...or does it just take a while to put weight after a dog has been starved?? I can't see his hip bones or rib cage anymore, and he no longer has the rickets...but he's still thin. He's playful and seems happy, but I am worried that it's taking too long for him to get back to a normal, healthy weight. He also looks like a puppy and he is 2 years old.

He's on vitamins and premium dog food. He has been vetted and is UTD on all of his shots...doesn't have runny poop or any other visible digestive issues or health issues. He is a picky eater and I sometimes have to hand feed him to make sure he eats...but he does eat...almost as much as my yorkie that weighs twice as much as him.

[theporkieyorkie]

I have tried so many different dog foods and just bought my first bag of Sojo's Turkey the other day in hopes that my picky eaters would dig in. Of course, as with most things I've tried...one loves it, one doesn't. I even tried warming it up, in hoping to entice them with the good smell.

My older male did eat the food the first day, but has turned his nose up since and I am wondering if it's because it's not sitting well with him. He has gall bladder issues and he may not be able to process the raw food well. He hasn't had runny poop or anything, but he didn't eat his breakfast this morning, and that typically means he's got an uspet stomach.

So, for now, I will be keeping him on his Wellness and I may continue the Sojo's with my younger guy who is having problems with weight gain.

I really want to feed my dogs the best food I can. I am just not sure what that is, with the various health issues they are dealing with. Unfortunately, the vet isn't much help. They recommend science diet and I am just not a fan of it...and the boys won't eat it anyways

[Euro]

My 4 1/2 lbs yorkie just ate swallowed a whole frozen boneless skinless
chicken breast. I left it on the table to thaw and when I went to the
bathroom for no more than 5 minutes tops, she had jumped up on the
chair and then the table and ate it. It was frozen. It was to big to swallow
Whole .i don't know hw she didn't. I'll she be ok. Frantic morning but she seems
Ok.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Euro

My 4 1/2 lbs yorkie just ate swallowed a whole frozen boneless skinless
chicken breast. I left it on the table to thaw and when I went to the
bathroom for no more than 5 minutes tops, she had jumped up on the
chair and then the table and ate it. It was frozen. It was to big to swallow
Whole .i don't know hw she didn't. I'll she be ok. Frantic morning but she seems
Ok.

Ruh roh! That had to be scary. As long as she swallowed it okay, the stomach acids and enzymes will take care of the rest .

Amazing how demanding a little 4.5 creature can be, eh? And determined!

[Cherie6446]

Well, after 3 1/2 yrs on raw Zoey had her second attack of pancreatitis yesterday. Now she will be on Royal Canin low fat for the rest of her life. She seems to love it as she is a good eater. Guess the fat and protein was just too high for her. My Maltese has no problem with thr raw.

[IDPiper]

Originally Posted by Cherie6446

Well, after 3 1/2 yrs on raw Zoey had her second attack of pancreatitis yesterday. Now she will be on Royal Canin low fat for the rest of her life. She seems to love it as she is a good eater. Guess the fat and protein was just too high for her. My Maltese has no problem with thr raw.

Bummer!! Sorry to here about your little Zoey!!

I've been feeding Piper PMR from Darwin's since the first of September and she has been doing awesome!! She was a rescue dog and when I got her she weighed a little over 2lbs. She refused to eat kibble or any processed dog food for that matter and she was constantly having bouts of runny/bloody poop. Took her to the vet and she wanted to put her on RX Science Diet for sensitive tummy's and when I asked her about raw she literally went off on me. I started her on raw anyway and as of yesterday she weighed in at 3lbs 6oz and not one single bad poop since. She loves her raw food. I pray that she never have any issues with it.

[Teegy]

was actually just reading this article
Why Organ Meat Is Important For The Raw Fed Dog | Dogs Naturally Magazine

I feed a mix of prey model and ground, the ground I feed in the morning, prey model at night for time allowances.
You need to ensure if you choose a premixed that it contains 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% organ 5% of which should be liver.
Don't buy brands that contain vegetables and fruit, you want to ensure your dog is getting a proper balance and they shouldn't count to that, save them for treats if you choose to feed them at all.
Make sure that you rotate the protein source and if you can find it add some green tripe to the diet. My dogs on the prey model side of things have beef brisket and lamb shank, the bones are cartillage so very soft to chew and they get lots of meat from them too, they get whole sliced rabbit and beef cheeks all served frozen. It slows them down and they get a good bit of mental exercise trying to work around it. For the evening meal I also serve them ground up organ and tripe in a meal size % portion and freeze them. I just leave them out when the get to work on dinner and when done they get the thawed organs.
The pre-ground is a balance as I've mentioned above.
In Canada we have several great raw food companies that sell the premixed, Bold Raw, Mountain dog food, Tollden Farms and Raw Paw are ones I'm familiar with.

[Teegy]

Yahoo Groups

good group to join for raw feeding, there is also a raw chat where you can ask all variety of questions

[Teegy]

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 wish I had a photo to show you, I'll see if I can find it. My friend feeds her long haired Yorkie raw (Donalee and Princess are adorable). We call her sock puppy. Donalee got a sock, cut the foot of and puts it over Princess's face to hold her hair out of her dinner