May 06, 2011

My puppy is starting to lose bone mass at the front after being on a raw diet. My breeder recommends putting him on kibble until 6 months. What do you think?

Full Question:
I am sorry to bother you, but I really enjoyed your articles on raw feeding on your web site and I was wondering if you would share some of your experiences with me. I am the proud owner of three Australian Shepherds that all are fed raw and have been since they came into my life. Recently I purchased the youngest of the three from a holistic breeder, who is very knowledgeable and ethical. The puppy was raised raw and of course is very healthy, but within the past week he has become a bit "wristy" and has lost some bone mass in his front. The breeder has recommended switching him to a holistic kibble until 4 to 6 months. She says that her mentor who has bred Aussies for thirty years and is a HOF kennel always feeds a fully kibble diet until 6 months because on the raw diet they always seem to have week pasterns. I would rather stick to the raw diet so I began doing more research which brought me to your web site I was wondering if you have noticed the same trend in your Malinois? My concern is that this is just a growth spurt and that there is no need to switch. I also think that possibly these breeders have always switched to kibble when they first see this problem arise in fear of loosing a great dog and just automatically switch without seeing it through. This puppy is now almost 10 weeks and had a fabulous front at 8 weeks. I am hoping for him to be a successful show dog as well as performance and possibly the beginnings of a very healthy and sound line of Aussies ,so I feel a lot rides on how I handle this issue. I would really appreciate your advice and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Christi
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
The last thing I would do when faced with something like this is switch to kibble. I feel that it’s probably a growth spurt, since the pup was fine 2 weeks ago. Keep in mind that I haven’t had anything like this crop up in my Malinois before, but if it was MY pup I would stick with a species appropriate diet. I can’t see how switching to kibble will change the outcome for the better, if you know what I mean. It may make the pup grow differently but at what cost?

As long as you are feeding a species appropriate diet, with lots of raw meaty bones and a variety of proteins I think that’s the best you can do for your pup and your prospective breeding program.

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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