Ok I started my raw diet 2weeks ago. I have three adults and three puppies. All the puppies and one adult female kept on the "too" thin side (I was going though 80 pounds of dry Nutro Max a week ) after researching this board and reading everything I could find, I decided to try it!

WOW!!!!! they are full and happy and is it just me or do others feel this way? but before I used to "just" feed my dogs. Now I sit and watch them be raw and natural when eating. It is really different seeing them eat this way! anyone else feel this way? or am I just weird?

I have to agree it takes a little more time but I find that when I feed them in the morning and give thier pills I started taking mine (which I am ver y forgetful) this has really helped me out too LOl. And lets not forget about the POOP !! I was picking up two-three times a day "PILES" of wasted dog food. Now I lucky (and very happy) if I pick up a full shovel and it's already breaking down It's great!!!

As far as them being too thin I already see a difference in my pups and so do everyone else! They asked if I changed dog foods? Oh, Lord that is all it takes to get me singing the paise of "the raw diet".


Thank you ED, staff and members for all the information. My dogs and I Thank you !!!!

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........WOW!!!!! they are full and happy and is it just me or do others feel this way? but before I used to "just" feed my dogs. Now I sit and watch them be raw and natural when eating. It is really different seeing them eat this way! anyone else feel this way? or am I just weird?..............As far as them being too thin I already see a difference in my pups and so do everyone else! They asked if I changed dog foods? Oh, Lord that is all it takes to get me singing the paise of "the raw diet"......Thank you ED, staff and members for all the information. My dogs and I Thank you !!!!

It's hard not to sound like a lunatic when you first see what fresh, real food does for a dog, isn't it? <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I really try not to be overbearing about it (and I do think that there are good commercial foods these days, such as THK* and a few others), but it's hard.

Weight control is just one benefit! I've had great success reducing an adopted fatty as well as increasing a previously-uninterested eater. It's what the dog wants, and it's also satisfying enough to avoid that sad look when a fatty finishes off a pitiful dish of "diet" dog food.

Best of all is the health my dogs enjoy, from teeth to coat to skin and everything in between.

*
http://www.leerburg.com/honestkitchen.htm

*What Connie Said* <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

We will NEVER go back from raw. We too had a picky eater who was always underweight, and a pork sausage beagle who was (I believe) STARVING on "Science Diet Lite" with little weight loss result.

Our former underweight dog is quite healthy, and I am actually working with her on the "two toy game" which plays into SchH obedience on many levels. Her "thing" is frisbees, and she is awesome.

Our former sausage beagle seems like he is half of his former age, and we have tons of fun tracking - he's such a natural.

Our "just shy of 2 years old" GSD male is currently WAY out of coat - something the show line people understand. His "out of coat" looks better than lots of "in coat" dogs.

Stay the course, keep studying and improving the diet, and enjoy what I'm sure will be extra years with your dogs!!

Beth

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..........I have to agree it takes a little more time ....

I forgot to assure you that, in my experience, it becomes streamlined, automatic, and simple after a few weeks. The shopping gets integrated with other errands and is no longer a separate chore; the preparation becomes much easier once you have a big picture in your mind; the variety is easier once you're confident of balancing over a week, say, instead of every single meal..... It just gets so much easier, just like any new thing. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I have posted about the raw diet before and Connie has pretty much been my 'go to girl' as she has been for many members on this forum. Thank you!
I feed THK because it is easier for me and my dogs still LOVE it! I also feed supplementary RMB with THK. I have a 3 year old Brittany who was chunky and also a picky eater. She is so alive and slim now ( healthy!). My Doberman also wasn't fond of kibble. She likes to gulp the wings where as the Brittany crunches the wings( does this mean that I am a little weird for watching them eat? ummm.... nope, don't think so) I am excited about feeding my dogs good, nutritious food. I am even more excited about exercising them and starting up obdience. I am slowly working on converting a girlfriend of mine over to feeding raw food. Next week, I'm going to introduce her to my girls. Congratulations, Barbara. It takes a lot to make that switch.

You know, I would really really love to try this, and I don't know why, but i really find it a bit intimidating!

All the percentages, making sure he has enough of one and not too much of another....
It sounds more complicated than it really is I guess.
And I am just never sure exactly how much I would have to give Tucker to make sure he's satisfied.
He's around 65 or 70 lbs right now and 24' high. Eats 3 cups a day with canned salmon/sardines etc mixed in. But how do I convert that amount over to raw?
Could I start by giving him raw in the morning, and kibble at night as a gradual change over?
so many questions???

Wendy,

I think we all find it intimidating in the beginning. I've been feeding my dog raw for about 8 months maybe. I was also feeding him cooked chicken or beef too. Now he has allergies and I've been forced to eliminate everything but raw venison and chicken. My experience has not been the same "WOW" that others have had with regard to his coat. But, he does not have doggy breath of any kind which is great (I also brush his teeth every night) but here's what I find so interesting; strangers (mostly kids) who I let pet my dog keep saying to me, "He smells so good"! That is funny to me b/c I think he smells good too but I thought it was my imagination! It's not from bathing him because the comments come weeks after I've bathed him. I think it has everything to do with his diet!

The other thing great benefit...my sister was in my backyard and brought her dog who promptly pooped in my yard. The tool to clean it is in a corner of my backyard where my dog poops. She came back from that spot telling me she thinks a little dog got into my yard b/c there's small powderey poop there! HA! That's Gunnar's and it's from the raw diet. I love it!

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You know, I would really really love to try this, and I don't know why, but i really find it a bit intimidating!........All the percentages, making sure he has enough of one and not too much of another....
It sounds more complicated than it really is I guess......

The idea, if you can't hand the dog a whole prey animal (a chicken, a rabbit, etc.), is to duplicate that proportion of bones and meat and organs.

Chicken backs and necks are remarkable close to that ratio, if you add 5-10% organ meat (slowly and gradually). Supplement with some processed produce (to mimic prey stomach contents or very ripe fallen produce picked up by scavenger dogs) and some salmon oil for Omega 3s, which we lose by not feeding brains, eyeballs, etc., and that's the basic diet.

Once you see the idea behind all the percentages, which is to duplicate an ideal wild diet, it falls into place.

But if you read these 50 Q & As http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
and Cindy's new page, it will all be clear! I SWEAR! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm

30 minutes total (or less) of reading, and I doubt that many questions will remain. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

P.S. I'd just forget the kibble amounts and start with 2% of the dog's weight. His body will show you if he needs more or less.

Wendy,
I have fed a combination of raw and kibble for about 10 months now. My dog *usually* gets raw in the morning and premium kibble at night (Merrick, Cal. nat, Canidae). Some days she gets all raw, some days all kibble. I also keep Beef 'n more canned food from Sam's Club (beef w/ a few veggies, made by Merrick) on hand and feed that a few times a week. She looks and acts great, and switches back and forth with no digestive problems.

I check her body condition a couple times a week, and add a little or decrease a little as needed.

Mara, I'm glad to hear you have no problem switching back and forth between raw and kibble, but this is not something I would advise just anyone to do. As we all know, and as Connie has explained numerous times, dogs do not digest kibble and raw in the same manner or timeframe. For someone just learning the new formula/food/changes, I would not add the extra pressure of figuring out when and how to feed raw, canned and kibble in the same diet. Just my opinion.

This is not a criticism of how you feed - obviously you have everything under control <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> . I just wanted to give a little warning for the newbies.