Thanks Natalya, if he grows up to be as handsome as Oscar I'll be lucky.

He seems to be better all the time, thank God. Another normal stool last night, eating OK, no signs of discomfort at this point, increasing energy. Still not 100% but I'm happy with his progress.

I have printed the leerburg sample menu and startd buying some things for the official switch to RAW. YAEH! I'm actually excited about this. I have some questions though. Sorry if these have been covered a hundred times elswhere.

My first questions are in regards to the viamin c powder and kelp/alfalfa mix. Do I need to order or try to find this? I already ordered the salmon oil. How important are these two supplements, will it be OK to start without them? How many of you actually use these supplements?

How many of you feed veggies? Are they necessary for nutrition, or is it more of a fiber thing? I bought some frozen blueberries because I know he likes them and some of you give them to your dogs. How often and how much? Is this considered a part of the "veggies" amount? Are there preferred veggies?


It will still be several days until I'm ready to start his transition off of the bland diet to a regular, but I am wondering what would be the best way to do this? What meats should I introduce first? In what quantities? Since he has had an issue with his digestive system, I don't want to overwhelm it and set him back again.

Thanks so much.

I started off with 1 meal of his dog food and 1 meal of Natures Variety raw patties ( I didnt give him those for very long). Then I eliminated the Kibble and used Honest Kitchen as a base and started giving him ground chicken(Bone included) then turkey,fish, and last beef heart and ground beef. Once I eliminated the Honest Kitchen I started supplementing with Ester C, Acidophilus,and Apple Cider Vinegar(for minerals).Salmon Oil and Vitamin E I was already giving on his kibble. For fruit or vegetables I usually give a jar of baby food. Peas,green beans,carrots or apple sauce. Now I'm comfortable with giving him most chicken parts intact, he's learned to chew them up except leg bones. He still tries to swallow them. I've been giving him canned green tripe because it's been easy to get here. He gets between 2 and 2 1/2 lbs of meat a day. I quit weighing it a while ago. The most expensive things I have used are the ground turkey and beef hearts at 1.49 a pound. Canned tripe is a little pricie too. But overall its a lot less cost then premium dog foods and he's in great shape. Good luck Shody, I don't think you'll ever switch back. Oh yeah-5cubic foot freezer-used for 25 dollars.

Hey Shody!

I know I sent you a PM with where I shop and the prices I pay, but also look at Spencer's for some harder to get stuff and the Mexican grocers for more variety.

I try to get up to the butcher I mentioned at least twice a month and they carry tubes of tripe there pretty cheap. I'll grab one next time I go for you to try out, but or now stick with the chicken as a base when he feels better. Start there and expand a little at a time and watch how he adapts.

I use fish oil and vit E daily and yogurt twice weekly. I used to give all kinds of random supplements, but found that it was a PIA and that many use none at all (except for fish oil and vit E) with excellent results. I also don't do veggies. I will give Quinn a squash or carrot once in a while. If he eats it, great, if not it goes in the pond for the Plecos to graze on (or to the horses :grin. I bought a food processor at first, but again it was a PIA and many don't do veggies at all... But I love Steve's idea of the baby food. I will try putting it in a kong to freeze tonight to see how that goes. As a second thought, a meat baby food might be good too...

I don't know of anyone around here that sells Honest Kitchen, and with the health problems at home (human and doggie) that might be a little costly for his size, but if you can order it I think it would be a great way to start.

Anyway, my method work great for us, and the dogs look great. We can meet up and you can see for yourself how they look and act if interested. I'll even bring along a meal so you can see how much I give and how it is fed for a reference...

Great starters instructions so far! I'll offer my humble experience as well - we started feeding RAW pretty much "cold turkey". We might have swapped a meal of kibble for a raw meal about twice, but then we just pressed ahead with every meal and never looked back at the kibble. Oscar's digestive system took a few days to adjust, but he never got "sick" (just a few minimally loose stools) I admit though, it took some time for me to stop watching nervously as he ate his RMBs - fearful he'd choke on a poorly chewed bone... Knock on wood, never had any problems with swallowing and digesting even pretty big chunks (including whole chix thigh bones)... VERY rarely he'll even PASS a whole chix bone, but it's never an issue.

A lot of people don't feed veggies at all, we do, but very simply (this may just be me projecting human nutrition on a dog, but it makes me feel better, and it can't hurt as long as you're feeding "dog safe" items in small quantities). Currently, my alternating staples are zuccini, green beans, berries, apples, and cooked winter squash, with some leafy greens occasionally. Instead of grinding a big batch to have on hand, I take a fine cheese grater (like parmesan grating fine) and just grate a TBSP or 2 of the veggies right into his bowl then shove the remaining chunk in the fridge for the next day. Takes 30 seconds. If you do feed fruits or veggies regularly, stick with primarily low sugar items.

Salmon oil and vit E are a must, and I was just recommended ester C, so I will probably start that up. I have the alfalfa and kelp that Leerburg sells, though don't give it daily. I do give a TBSP or 2 of plain yogurt daily, and a raw egg about every other day - crushed shell and all. Sardines also (packed in water) when they're cheap. Can't say as that I've never bought anything over a buck 49 (I wish!) but until recently I didn't even have access to a proper butcher - which is, in my case, a real key to economy. My butcher (and even the Whole Foods down the road) sells packs of "chicken parts for soup" which is a perfect mix of RMBS - backs/cages, necks and a few wing or leg parts. I add muscle meat to this - whatever is on sale - and a little varied organ meat. Same as Steve, about 2+ lbs a day, all combined, and bagged into breakfasts and dinners - though Oscar thinks that's FAR from enough!

*Since Oscar broke his tooth I've been a bit leery of cattle and pork bones, but I know lots of dog's don't have problems with this... If you do go this route, I'd suggest you keep a regular eye on Leo's teeth, to check for chips or fractures...

Sorry to be long winded! It's actually not as complicated or difficult as it sounds once you get into a weekly shopping and prep rhythm. Ok, so it IS more complicated than scooping a cup of pebbles out of a bag... but it's SO worth it!!!

Cheers,
~Natalya

I'm with you about buying the occasional slightly more expensive protein.

Variety is a huge plus, IMO. No other way to cover the nutritional bases than to give different protein profiles and different foods, period, since our dogs can't follow their instincts to search for and eat what their bodies tell them to get. (You know: like candy bars and rancid roadkill.)

So even if I pretty much rely on poultry for the RMBs, I try to provide variety in the muscle meat.

I do feed produce regularly. Regularly, but in very small amounts. And as you say, low- and no-sugar items only.

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

It's actually not as complicated or difficult as it sounds once you get into a weekly shopping and prep rhythm. Ok, so it IS more complicated than scooping a cup of pebbles out of a bag... but it's SO worth it!!!

Cheers,
~Natalya

And if a new raw feeder follows the Leerburg sample diets (which even have photos of the bowls of food) for a while, I don't know of a better way to become familiar with what a balanced diet looks like before branching out. ;-)

Somewhere a long time ago I picked up the Idea to not feed Lamb so that if your dog had problems with other proteins you would have something completely different to feed. I'm not sure if it really matters or not, do you have any thoughts on that Connie?

 Quote: connie sutherland

since our dogs can't follow their instincts to search for and eat what their bodies tell them to get. (You know: like candy bars and rancid roadkill.)

I can't imagine what Oscar would look like if he had to "fend for himself" - if it were in the WILD, he'd probably starve because he's just a little too big and slow to catch anything (and has ZERO concept of patience and "stalking") - and if it were on the streets of Cambridge, his diet would consist solely of half eaten pastries, a pizza crust here and there, and whatever he could lick out of discarded Starbuck's cups! (Sadly, that's probably a more expensive diet than the healthy fresh stuff I feed him now - chicken is CHEAP compared to designer breakfast scraps!)

~Natlaya

Thanks guys. I feel pretty comfortable with it, I'm just worried about introcucing Leonidas too it after this illness, ya know? What is the easiest RAW thing for him to digest to start? Should I do a gradual switch with the chicken & rice, slowly adding raw so he doesn't get stomach upset?

And should I be Looking for the C? And is the kelp/alfalfa a necessary thing?

 Quote: Shody Lytle

I feel pretty comfortable with it, I'm just worried about introcucing Leonidas too it after this illness, ya know? ...

I would give different suggestions based on what he had going on.

For example, if he had enteritis from campylobacter, salmonella, shigella, E.coli, etc., then I'd be looking to reduce the pathogen load.

How is he doing now? Zero pudding or water poop?