I have tried to switch my pointer to RAW, but she always throws up her meals. She is now eating Innoa EVO, but, I would like to make the switch to RAW A.S.A.P.

I have tried to feed her full RAW meals on three occasions.

1) First time eating RAW, she loved it. Ate everything voraciously, but threw it all up less than twenty minutes after eating.
2) Second time, ate half her meal, then began to fuss over it, walked away, and threw up in 10-15 minutes.
3) Repeat of the second time.

My pointer will eat small amounts of RAW at a time without throwing up, but, not a whole meal of any kind. I would have to feed her small amounts every 1-2 hours throughout the whole day to have her keep a days rations down without vomiting. Which I can do if I have to.

Does anyone have experience dealing with something like this or can offer much needed advice.

It could be that her system isn't ready for the switch, in which case adding probiotics and digestive enzymes might help.

As for what to add in and how, I don't know... you'd have to ask someone with lots of experience dealing with switching to raw (a holistic vet?)

Another issue could be that she's eating too quickly and not chewing the food enough.

I know this sounds gross, but when my pup was little he ate a whole unskinned rabbit too quickly and swallowed a huge strip of rabbit fur without ripping it up. He threw up the large piece of fur/hide within 15 minutes and went back to eating it again . The second time around he chewed it up more carefully and it didn't cause any more issues...

You could try giving your girl a really, really big meaty bone (like a pork leg but without too much meat or fat on it at first) so that she has no choice but to chew and rip off small pieces of meat before swallowing.


I hope some of this information is helpful... the enzyme additions are often useful in helping dogs make a smoother transition to raw. Or if you're patient enough, you can just stick to feeding wee little bits at a time until she adjusts on her own

BEAUTIFUL dog by the way! So lean and elegant, you must be so proud of her!
Was she bred by your family? I remember you saying a while back that your family has been breeding pointers for years

I have a puker....if he gets too much fat and skin is what I have figured out. So you could try and get as much fat off and try that.
You can try leaner meats and if she gulps her food you can handfeed her. I add plain yogurt to some of my meals also.
My Mal bitch would swallow whole pieces of chicken, so if I do the handfeeding routine and she is fine, but if I quit the HF she will just crunch once and swallow. She never gacked it up though.
So what I do for her is make up some THK and make it thick or firm, or use my own veggie mix and then cut her chicken into pieces, I then mash it up and to the bottom of the dish so she has to lick and lick before she can get the chicken or whatever meat out. Takes an extra minute or two but she eats alot slower now.
I do grind her meat also when I do my once a month RAW day for the dogs.

My puppy threw up his raw meal... don't know if it was the first time he ate raw or "one of the first" times he did.

How much are you feeding him? And what are you feeding him? I assume you've fed him three times but with intervals (as in a couple of days apart)?

My pup threw up some rabbit lungs and liver yesterday. When I saw him, he was eating it again. I didn't let him eat it the first time, but I did let him eat the lungs yesterday (2 vomits in 3 weeks of feeding).

He could be throwing up because he's not used to raw, or because he's eating too fast, or because he's eating too much. I bet once he gets used to eating raw this will all stop.

If you have to feed him every couple of hours at first, so be it if that works. I'm sure that won't last long as soon as his stomach gets used to it.

Thank you Yuko - Advice much appreciated!

 Quote: yuko blum

BEAUTIFUL dog by the way! So lean and elegant, you must be so proud of her!
Was she bred by your family? I remember you saying a while back that your family has been breeding pointers for years

I have family that have been breeding German Shorthair pointers for over 40 years. Carried the same bloodline for the majority of that time, too.

My uncle is the main Pointer breeder and hunter of the family, who lives in Texas. Good hunting area....I remember when I flew down there and picked my bird dog up, she would go into an instinctive point and hold it on both sight and scent of a bird, and she was only eight and half weeks old then! Amazing dog! -Too bad I don't hunt as often as I should.

If only I could bottle her drive and energy and put it in my GSD, I'd be set. My pointer is off the wall!

I am concerned about her though, she has lost too much weight this winter and am worried it may be more serious than just proper nutrition and diet. This is why I'm trying the switch to RAW with her again.

Big Wave and Hello from Megan Von Ricklar a.k.a. "Meggie" - Pic #1

Big Wave and Hello from Megan Von Ricklar a.k.a. "Meggie" - Pic #2

James, if Meggie eats 2 meals a day normally, I would trade one meal for a small amount (not a full meal) of stew meat or a couple of chicken necks, then give a little more of the kibble for the 2nd meal (to make up for the much smaller meal with the RAW if you have to).

If you feed one meal a day, then I would still do the same thing, consider the lst meal as a snack, then basically deduct that 1st meal from the 2nd kibble meal.

I'm not a raw food expert, although I feed raw, but that's what I would do if in your situation. She's bound to keep a little raw down better than a whole meal of it. After a few days when she's keeping it down, you can increase the raw and decrease the kibble til you get to all raw and just one meal (if you want to only feed one meal).

 Quote: Richard Pryor

If you have to feed him every couple of hours at first, so be it if that works. I'm sure that won't last long as soon as his stomach gets used to it.

I hope it is as simple as that!

By the way, beautiful vomit Pic, I think I'll wait another hour before I eat lunch.


Carol - Meggie doesn't really bolt her food whole, she eats at a moderate rate and chews her food a bit. But I'll hand feed if as you reccomended if she ever starts that. Unfortunately, Meggie needs to gain weight....badly......so I'll have to maintain a very fatty RAW diet.

Have you taken her in for a blood panel and health check?
You mention that you are concerned it may not be diet and nutrition.
I would start there.
My Dutch, who is crazy with drive, also throws up meals, and like I said I cut the fat out and that helped. When he started doing it more and more often, we went to the vet and bloodwork is normal, heart, lungs and temp were normal but since he has anxiety issues and is so driven, the vet wants to scope him for an ulcer to rule that out as well because he will also throw up bile.

Hey Sandy -

I'd be willing to try mixing Innova and RAW until she is used to it, but, I have read conflicting advice about mixing RAW/kibble....even good kibble like Innova EVO. Something to do with how it is digested....I think.

Are there any other opinions on this mixing of food?

James, you posted she was losing weight while I was posting so didn't read that. Hope the vet can get that diagnosed for you quickly. Please keep us posted.