Ok, here is an update on the RAW feeding drama.
After my last post I went back to the numerous books I bought. A comment in the Billinghurst book stood out, so I decided to bite the bullet and wait it out.
I did
not feed kibble, despite my last panic post, and I also stopped all training
and treats.
I made 2 fresh meals per day.
Morning: Preference with raw skinless chicken breast, blended together.
Evenings: raw chicken wings.
She had 10 minutes to eat, and then it would be thrown away.
Funny thing was that she would go through all the pre-meal excitement when I was in the kitchen, but would sniff her nose in disgust and walk away when it was serving time.
She did not eat the first day.
The second day she had a bit of a nibble from her breakfast. In the evening she daintily decided to accept 1 chicken wing, which I was hand feeding her.
The third day she again did not eat anything.
But, the fourth day..bingo! Breakfast went down completely and dinner consisted of 4 chicken wings.
She is now eating properly, although not as much as she used to. I am guessing that this may be because summer is now here in near-full power, and it is hot. So, she probably does not need as much as during winter
She is also 8 months old now, she maybe she does not require as much food as when she was a pup. Her weight is 9kg, which is good, the correct weight for a young adult female is apparently 10kg.
My conclusion, the little manipulator must have decided that she preferred the Orijen I gave her after the poisoning drama, and was waiting for that. Hunger made her realize that is was not going to happen.
The throwing up of yellow bile is a difficult one, my guess is that it had to do with the Vitamin E. I usually gave her a Vit E cap before feeding. Problem was, the cap would go down, but then she would not eat. It is the only thing I can think of.
I now cut the cap and squeeze the content on her food, so if she does not eat, she wont have a cap sitting in an empty stomach.
I have also started training again, but now do this
after meals. She is crazy enough over the treats to still have her food drive, so that is not a problem.
Raw feeding is not easy, and I can understand why kibble is still popular with the majority of of owners. There is also a lot of contradictory information on the net, so in the end I have to make my own choices. This is scary, because it makes me feel like I am taking risks with my dogs health.
I have emailed Honest Kitchen and asked if they are ever going to sell their products in Taiwan, this is not likely in the near future.
I actually contacted the local ministry in charge of the import of dog foods, and they gave me an English PDF with all requirements, which I forwarded to Honest Kitchen.
After reading that I realize that getting permission to export meat based products will not be easy. It requires local FDA inspection of the manufacturing plant, as well as an inspection by a Taiwanese expert, all expenses to be paid by the company. SO for a start-up, which I assume Honest Kitchen is, this is probably not likely to happen soon.
Although, I have read a few consumer reports, and also a very interesting analysis I found on Google, by a Canadian export firm, where Taiwan is listed as an extremely good prospect for pet food, as they apparently spend a shit load of money on dog here. It is after all the latest fashion craze - bad for the dogs, but good for the pet food manufacturers.
So, until then I will stick with the Preference only, and have my Orijen as back up. I am glad that there is at least ONE product that is basically 'acceptable.'