Quote: Cathi Kemp

I've had a text exchange with my sister and she's ready to go!

I say GOOD FOR HER!

I own and have fostered all sizes. I've never had a dog who didn't thrive on a fresh raw diet.

 Quote: Cathi Kemp

I think she should start at 2%, see how it goes and increase until she finds a comfortable amount which apparently will be indicated by vomiting (or is this a bad idea?).

Starting low is always a good idea. She can always increase if the dog isn't holding weight or for some reason shows to need more food.

 Quote: Cathi Kemp

Do you think since he's been eating organ already she can include it at the beginning or do you think she should start without it as is usually recommended when folks are brand new????

Hold off on the organ meat at the beginning.

Keep the menu as simple as possible at first. Plain 'ole chicken. That way the backtracking won't be that hard if there is a problem again.

I don't know this dog, but I feel really good about a simple menu and food management controlling this problem. Later on, I don't think variety will be a problem, but portion control and policing the thief will have to be done from here on out. Those 2 things won't be a big deal at all, though.:smile:

Lord I hope I didn't just jinx the poor dog.

Big fat ditto, because when you add just one item at a time, you will never have any doubt about what caused it if there is any kind of G.I. upset (like diarrhea).

Like Michael, I think that careful portioning and no more stealing (for several reasons!) will go a long way here. Also, just as with bigger dogs, you want to make the first few raw meals extra-small.

Tiny dogs like this can have pretty rapid blood-sugar drops (which we have all seen manifested in episodes of shaking, shivering, or trembling, and which are something to avoid; many owners see their tiny dogs have regular episodes of shaking or shivering and still don't correct the feeding protocol --- I want to run over and slap them. But I digress. ) So unlike a dog with more body mass, a tiny dog needs to make up for the small beginner-meals with extra meals/snacks throughout the day. That is, if a half-size intro meal is given, then there would be a snack from the remainder halfway through the time to the next meal.

This is just while the owner is making sure that the poops are formed and the right consistency. Once the bone-digesting enzymes have kicked in and the dog is doing great with the new food, then three meals will probably be just fine. (A dog this size would never be best-served with a one-meal-a-day protocol, as others have pointed out.)

 Quote: Michael_Wise

.... I feel really good about a simple menu and food management controlling this problem. ...

Me too. I also think that tiny dogs get even more benefit -- an extra bonus -- from raw foods; they start eating foods that are far less likely to cause the blood sugar spikes and crashes that they are susceptible to. Meat, fat, and bones instead of cereal carbs -- kind of a no-brainer with a dog whose low body mass makes him vulnerable to hypoglycemia.

JMO. This is a lucky dog, with a good aunt, whose health is going to benefit hugely when the calcium is added, the sodium is dumped, and the fat is gradually added that dogs need (and which is almost zero in canned white chicken).

I did include in my text message to her that she'll have to keep Leo away from the other dogs food.

I should have asked for this help a long time ago when she told me he couldn't handle raw. Instead I just sort of argued with her because she was convinced, and trying to convince me, that he couldn't handle a raw diet and I knew it wasn't true. I just wasn't armed with answers like I am now.

Thanks so much.

 Quote: Cathi Kemp

I did include in my text message to her that she'll have to keep Leo away from the other dogs food.

I should have asked for this help a long time ago when she told me he couldn't handle raw. Instead I just sort of argued with her because she was convinced, and trying to convince me, that he couldn't handle a raw diet and I knew it wasn't true. I just wasn't armed with answers like I am now.

Thanks so much.

Yup, the dog will thank you forever. Probably spend all his allowance on you as well as making you his beneficiary in his will!

There will be a way to do this, and it will be easy, too. I'm with Michael: it's almost a sure thing that it will go just fine with the appropriate size of a regular raw diet. But even if for some reason it does not, there are options galore (like RMBs or meat with THK, or chunky-ground raw, etc.).

P.S. The stealing thing -- free-feeding is not good anyway, and eliminating that (if they are doing that) will mean that there is no big-dog food to steal. So the small dog can be kept out of the room for the twelve seconds it takes them to inhale theirs, and of course the big dogs won't be allowed to approach the small dog's bowl.

Other P.S.

 Quote: Cathi Kemp

... she'll have to keep Leo away from the other dogs food. ...

I have a small-breed (Pug) named Leo too.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

it's almost a sure thing that it will go just fine with the appropriate size of a regular raw diet. But even if for some reason it does not, there are options galore (like RMBs or meat with THK, or chunky-ground raw, etc.).

Absolutely! 5 to 500 lbs. This is do-able one way or the other.

Only cheaper on your sister's end with the 5 lb.-er.:wink:

I catch myself being proud of my little guy because he is a cheap feed, but damn......can you imagine having a dog that took a week to eat through a cornish hen.:laugh: Thats like $2.00 a week here.

I wish I had responded to this sooner. I'm glad your sister is willing to try a way more balanced route. So often when dealing with problems in how other people care for their dogs the issue doesn't resolve well.

Some small dog raw advice.

Feed in a crate. Chicken bones in the couch from the dog hauling their food away is a pain in the butt. I'm not a free feeding fan after 6 months old in toys however I do give them lots of time to eat. Usually about an hour before I start picking up dishes.

Think perspective. A chicken wing or thigh to a teacup is a little like a rib rack or a turkey drumstick to a larger dog. Some small dogs are very intimidated by food about half their size.

in the beginning feed small meals. Like 1/8 of a cup. if you do the cornish game hen thing skin it at first. I noticed my dogs when they first started would eat the skin, none of the flesh or bone. Puke.... On the flip side if they ate the flesh and bone I could then give them the skin and they'd always eat that with no tummy trouble.

Don't forget the veggies. Mine are awesome pickers so I usually give the veggies with ground meat or organs mixed in.

Make sure the dog is actually chewing bone. I have a dog who simply can't or wont chew bones.He'll neatly debone a chicken wing, or back and leave me the bits in a neat pile. To avoid the runs I very simply have to grind his food or do chunks with THK. You may find that with anything heavier than pork ribs you may have to grind bone.

Excellent post, Melissa.

I found out the hard way not to give mine fat at first. Now, with the Cornish chicken, she does OK. If I have to give her regular chicken, I still take off most of the fat.

It also sometimes takes her a little while to eat, but I always thought this was because she wasn't that hungry. This is one way that I try to monitor how much she needs. (I go by percentage of body weight, too) But on a day-to-day basis, sometimes she is not as hungry and I take that to mean that I may have over-fed her at the previous meal.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

it's almost a sure thing that it will go just fine with the appropriate size of a regular raw diet. But even if for some reason it does not, there are options galore (like RMBs or meat with THK, or chunky-ground raw, etc.).

Absolutely! 5 to 500 lbs. This is do-able one way or the other.

Only cheaper on your sister's end with the 5 lb.-er.:wink:

I catch myself being proud of my little guy because he is a cheap feed, but damn......can you imagine having a dog that took a week to eat through a cornish hen.:laugh: Thats like $2.00 a week here.

Mike, I always found your advice to be Wise, but I may need to consider.

I've never seen, nor heard of, a 500 pound dog.

A 500 pound person, but never a dog. lol