I wasn't sure if this should go here or the raising multiple dogs in one household board, but I feel it kind of fits here the most.

I use to feed a raw diet about... 10 years ago. When I got Coal (Lab X BC) I told myself I'd switch to Raw if I ever had any health problems come up that kibble may have been a culprit of. I realize now I was just giving myself an excuse to be lazy, really, as why treat the problem after it occurs?

Anyway, we recently adopted a second dog, Patrol Unit. Unit is 2 years old, and comes from a rough background. When she came into the Humane Society (where i volunteer) she had terrible skin problems due to allergies. I've put her on a grain-free kibble and given her a more stable home, and this seems to have helped a LOT but she's still scratching a lot. This was a good enough reason to me to look into Raw again, not to mention I was now buying a kibble for "sensitive skin" and another for "senior dogs" which doesn't make sense to me... I may as well be paying the same or less on a raw diet that they both are eating pretty well the same thing.

So, long story short, I have two concerns:

1. Coal is 9 years old, going on 10. Because of his age, should I do a more gradual switch to raw, and are there any concerns with switching his food due to his age?

2. this morning I pulled out some moose meat my MIL gave me for the dogs to give them their first little taste for breakfast. Before I could even get their dishes to put it in Unit attacked Coal :S I've seen her get growly with other dogs before, I attribute this to where she lived before (heavily dog populated, lots of problems with packs attacking other dogs and people too!). Usually once properly introduced she is fine, and she NEVER had a problem with Coal. This concerned me... Unit is a huge food hound. She goes crazy for just kibble. I think the smell of the meat had amped her up so much, and that was the trigger for the attack. How can I feed her a natural diet if she gets so worked up she attacks my older dog? Obviously the most simple and easy answer is to feed them separately, but is there anything else I can do to teach her to calm herself and not react this way?

Thank you for reading my very long post, and thank you for your time!

"the most simple and easy answer is to feed them separately"


Absolutely!

I stand there and police, but in your situation as described, I would not let that situation develop again, even by one percent of what you described. You do NOT want a food-guarding issue. In fact, based on what you say, I'd be feeding them separately anyway if I were you.

JMO!

"Coal is 9 years old, going on 10. Because of his age, should I do a more gradual switch to raw, and are there any concerns with switching his food due to his age?"


I don't. Just small meals to start, all one simple RMB, adding items only as I watch the poops.

I don't combine kibble and raw, anyway, which you would be if you were introducing it gradually, right?

Thanks for the reply

I feed Coal by the back door, where the food is kept as that was kind of his "feeding area" for a long time, and Unit I bring her dish to the kitchen, which is adjacent to where Coal eats, but there is a wall in between. The water is kept by Coal's dish, so Unit often would go over and drink while Coal was still eating, no problem. I do feed them a ways apart enough though because of Coal, actually. He had food aggression issues for years, which you cannot tell at all now.

For all I know, it could have actually been Coal who started it, maybe a look? I don't know... I do know Unit tried to finish it that's for sure :S

I think I will feed them separately (as in closed off, not just across the room), but would like Unit to calm herself during feeding anyway! I have her sit before her meal. She essentially does this little bum hop all the way from the food bag to where I feed her now lol

My suggestion would be to kennel her during food prep and ask her to sit or down prior to eating if she knows these commands. If not, I would teach them Some dogs (like one of mine) can work themselves into a frenzy during food prep time and raw meat is a high value item to many. Eventually, you could move to having a "place" command for her and the other dog while you prep food if you'd like (work on individually first, then together) but feeding separate still sounds ideal to me as the dogs will feel at ease while eating and eliminate any regression that could lead to escalated attacks.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I don't combine kibble and raw, anyway, which you would be if you were introducing it gradually, right?

I thought I would feed a raw diet in the morning (makes most sense as they need their energy for the day, not to mention I don't want to get up in the middle of the night to a dog with the runs if possible lol), and then a meal of kibble in the evening. I read once that because kibble takes more effort and takes longer to digest that mixing the kibble straight with raw meat can cause some problems due to the meat sitting in the digestive track for longer.

Not sure if this is true? Makes sense to me enough I don't feel comfortable mixing the two right together.

That is true.

But if you do it the way I mentioned above, no dog will have the runs, so you won't need kibble at all.

Diarrhea is from starting with meals too big, or with too much muscle meat, or plunging in right away with heart and liver, and so on.

Thanks for the advice! It's really appreciated!

Like I said, it's been 10 years so I'm a little rusty hehe

Another reason I wanted to feed kibble in the evenings was because, and I'll admit it, it's expensive food and I'd rather they eat it up than just throw it out, and because it's opened I don't want to donate it to the HS (they have enough opened bags donated, and do not take in that many dogs). Also, it would give me time to get some meats, organs and RMBs to get me started! So Maybe I will just stick with the kibble a little while longer until I feel I have enough meats saved in my freezer to get me going

"it would give me time to get some meats, organs and RMBs to get me started! So Maybe I will just stick with the kibble a little while longer until I feel I have enough meats saved in my freezer to get me going"


That's what I'd do!

And what RMB do you plan to start with? Can you get chicken backs? If you start with them (even "peeled" for the first couple of meals until you see the poops), then you'll have to really go off the tracks to trigger any diarrhea at all in either dog.

I am trying. I posted on Facebook to see if any locals can help me out, and have gotten a couple of contacts to look into. Our grocery stores over price ridiculously. There are two stores in town, the next closest is 40 minutes away. They over price because they can :S

So if I can get from local farmers/butchers I will. I know of a kennel who raise sheep, I am going to ask them about that, and there are plenty of hunters in town... the chicken, which I know is a good, easy staple easy on the tummies, is harder to come by it seems! I only know of one person raising chickens, and they raise them more for eggs than butcher.

I may be headed to the next town over, where things aren't as expensive, this weekend, so I am going to take a look and see if they have whole chickens or whatever that is in a better price range! Even if I can stock up on them every few weeks or so that would be a lot easier on the budget than buying here, that's for sure!