raw diet?

[abbie's mom]

Patti,

The idea of feeding raw can be daunting and quite unnerving after all the years of propaganda we've had from the dog food industry. The whole thing boils down to the fact that no matter how much we breed them to 'design', dogs (of ALL breeds) are still wolves inside. They need a prey model diet. Yes, even out little furbaby Yorkies! Abbie is the first puppy I've raw fed; and, I'm anxious to watch her development. I'm HOPING that using her teeth the way they're intended will alleviate many of the Yorkie teeth issues I'm reading about. I don't know how long this teething phase lasts; but, I'll sure be glad when she can return to chewing properly! I've not crushed the ends of chicken legs for her - making her work for it (a good thing ) - until the past couple of weeks. Some folks do crush the bones for the babies right off, but they need to work at their food to develop strong teeth, jaw and neck muscles.

[Little Bit]

Originally Posted by Repunzel

Hi,

I've been feeding our dog, not a yorkie, raw since she was six weeks old. We acquired her a lot earlier than expected. The first two weeks were tense for us because she had a lot of diarrhea and mucous. There were moments when we almost gave in to feeding commercial kibble. But I was given a lot of support off of one the raw diets for puppies forum that I joined. It takes an average of two weeks to detox puppy. After that it has been amazing!

I've observed the following:

1. Her teeth are a brilliant white
2. Her coat has a beautiful sheen
3. Her breath isn't offensive
4. She doesn't drink as much water because the meat is moist (my previous dogs were constantly thirsty due to the salt/flavor additives).
5. Her feces disintegrate in a day (you do the comparison with regular poop breaking down over a week or two, yuck).
6. Her eyes are bright and clear.

I've also read raw feeding slows down bone growth (versus rapid bone growth with additives in kibble) and usually results in fewer visits to the vet and pets usually live longer.

If raw feeding is a curious subject for you, I suggest you read the background on commercial dog food industry, it will turn your stomach.

Eight years ago, I was forced to euthanize my dog since he had cancer. Since then I've heard of many cases of pets dying of cancer that it has made me extremely suspicious. After euthanizing my dog, I began to wonder if it was the food or the water that caused his illness and vowed the next dog would eat raw. Maybe I'm overly concerned. I just believe an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I have heard so many testimonies of the benefits of raw feeding that I wanted to give our family pet a chance.

Hope this helps.

I have fed my dogs raw too, for about 3 to 4 years. I was a little apprehensive when I got my first yorkie this year, but he really took to it and has done well with it.

Nancy