I need some advice.. I purchased a G.S. puppy that contracted Parvo. Thankfully, she has made a great recovery.. I have been feeding her Taste of the Wild. (That is what the breeder had been feeding her) I feed raw food to my other dogs.. I asked the vet about feeding her raw and I was told that it would be dangerous because the parvo had destroyed her stomach lining. I really want to get her onto raw.. My experience with Vets is they don't approve of raw under any circumstances..My other G.S. has been on raw for 4 years and he is doing great..Any thoughts regarding this would be appreciated. I don't want to make her sick, but I also want to be able to feed her raw food and I am frustrated because I can't get an honest answer from my Vet. It has been 4 weeks since she had Parvo.. She is now 10 weeks old. Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

I am new to raw feeding, but I would think that a more natural diet would be easier on her than a commercial kibble. TOTW is a great food from what I hear, though.

In my twisted logic, if there is something not perfect with her ability to digest, than something easier to digest would be, well, easier for her to digest.

I took a in 10 year old rescue several months ago. Timber had been on kibble her entire life. She also had chronic (foul smelling) diarrhea for 8 years. I have had her on raw since the middle of April. She no longer has diarrhea, her hair is growing back, her ears and eyes are cleaing up and her attitude is really coming around.

I think it's worth a try for your pup. Maybe try it for a few weeks while being very observant regarding stools, weight, growth, attitude, etc. Keep a journal (with photos - they help alot)and record every thing you notice (can you tell I work in a lab? lol)

I wish you the very best! Good luck!

Parvovirus causes illness by killing off cells which are responsible for protection of the body.Pups then get sick because every agent in their environment, normal bugs inside their GI tract and respiratory tract -- everywhere--begin to invade the body. It takes a few months before perfect immune function is restored. So at this point your pup would be real vulnerable to salmonella, E. Coli, all the ghastly bugs that are occasionally found on raw foods.
Give it a little time, another month or so, and then you can feed her anything that you want.
It is not necessary to feed a commercial diet IMO, but you need to feed a sterile or at least pathogen free diet. Cooking for the pup would be an option.

When parvo burned through my litter, they got roasted chicken breast and rice for their meals. I got the the breasts at Walmart for about $10/tray for 5 of them. Ran the cooked meat through the food processor, stirred in the mushy rice and pumpkin. It was pretty popular once their appetites returned.

I'd leave it to cook in the toaster oven at 175-200F all day.

After I while I decided the puppies were eating better than I. So I added an extra breast to the pile.

They also got pretty regular dollops of home-made yogurt to help replenish the proper gut bacteria.

But yes, as Betty said, parvo destroys the intestinal lining. The opportunistic infections are what kills the many puppies in addition to the dehydration. Tamiflu has been found to be a great help in treating this illness.

And yes, we saved them all.

@Charlie

How long did they go on that diet for? How were you replacing the calcium?

@ the OP:

How are your dogs poops looking? Any vomiting?

Like Betty said, feeding your dog raw so soon after a virus has destroyed all the "bad stuff" killing gut lining and possibly upset the stomach acid balance, is taking a risk. Wait another month or so, make sure your pup is completely regular, before you make the switch.

I use ground egg shell for the calcium replacement -- usual rate of 1 gm/lb meat.

I kept them on the that diet for about 2-3 weeks. Pretty much until they had a good, strong appetite, were gaining weight at the normal rate and looked and acted digustingly healthy.

i would try cottage cheese and add it to that wonderful recipe listed above jmo

Even after the puppy has a normal stool and isn't vomiting and looks super and full of beans, be cautious. Parvo causes bone marrow suppression, where the cells that fight disease and keep us alive are born.
The pup will look great as soon as he has enough "soldiers" for front line duty, but there are 0 reserves for awhile. How long depends on how bad he had it, if he had any immunity at all, either from his dam or from vaccine.
He can eat raw, or dead things he finds on the road (like my dog!) after a couple of mos, like everyone says.
The damage is deeper than you can see is my point.

I'm completely with Betty and Charlie and Niomi: Wait.

As mentioned, it doesn't have to be commercial; cooked is another alternative. Or a combo, like THK with cooked meat (see "add-ins" on the box).

If you do go with cooked for a puppy, you will want to balance it with calcium. (An adult is less in urgent need of the calcium, but still, a boneless diet is not good for any age dog for extended periods unless you balance it with calcium. Commercial diets are already calcium-balanced, of course.) Cottage cheese and/or yogurt added to muscle meat and rice is not sufficient to calcium-balance the diet. (Cottage cheese is a very salty food, BTW, unless you are careful to get no-salt-added, and it's also a relatively unfermented milk product, which means that a dog intolerant to fresh cow's milk will probably not tolerate it well; unsweetened plain yogurt, which is cultured, is far better tolerated.)

If you do decide on home-cooked, please post back and I'll be happy to help with calcium instructions.

Is your dog a German Shepherd Dog (GSD), or a Giant Schnauzer, BTW?

"Thankfully, she has made a great recovery."

Thank you all for your input! I am going to try the home cooked meals you all have suggested, she is eating just fine,but still has very runny stools and a lot of them! I have been feeding her the Taste of the Wild with some plain yogurt mixed in.. I do feed her 1 hard boiled egg shell and all every day.. Connie I would love to have the calcium instructions.. She is a German Shepherd..