My confidence level in feeding RAW is very high I don't think even the vets can change that, I see a decrease in his scratching & biting and Iam expecting it to stop as my 2nd dose of revolution is applied. He is still on raw food with hamburger and rice but I have stopped his biscuits which he gets in the afternoon. Revolution to take care of parasites.

 Quote: Daniel Mathai

My confidence level in feeding RAW is very high I don't think even the vets can change that, I see a decrease in his scratching & biting and Iam expecting it to stop as my 2nd dose of revolution is applied. He is still on raw food with hamburger and rice but I have stopped his biscuits which he gets in the afternoon. Revolution to take care of parasites.

I don't understand. (1) Did the derm vet suggest commercial food made of exotic protein sources? Or raw food using exotic protein sources?

(2) What did the derm vet suggest was the cause of the itching? The parasites? Then what is the kangaroo, etc., about?

(3) You are feeding raw beef and cooked rice? How is he getting RMBs? What kind of beef do you mean? Ground beef?

You aren't giving a no-bone raw-meat diet long-term, are you?

Sorry for all the questions. I am completely confused about (1) what the derm vet said and (2) what the dog is getting in the way of calcium, mainly.

I've been feeding my dogs a combination of Honest Kitchen all natural dehydrated food, and raw ground beef. My four year old GSD eats a cup of Honest Kitchen (dry) and 14 oz of ground beef twice a day. This has been working well for us, the Honest Kitchen balances the diet and the raw beef is.........raw beef. Plus vit E, fish oil.

1) He suggested raw exotic protein sources. the kangaroo was suggested as one of these.

2)yes, the parasites.

3)raw ground beef with cooked rice. we give him bones every now and then (drumsticks- chicken)and 2 or 3 servings daily of this Purina Pro Plan biscuits thing that is calcium fortified.

Daniel, would you mind going into a little more detail on the current diet?

Like a weekly menu or something? Just want to make sure this pup is getting some calcium.

I'm afraid that the diet you descibed is a little lacking. Edible bone is not something that is "every now and then".

So the vet is prescribing an elimination diet for parasites? Sorry if I'm wrong, but that's what these post are sounding like.

 Quote: michael_wise

Daniel, would you mind going into a little more detail on the current diet?

Like a weekly menu or something? Just want to make sure this pup is getting some calcium.

I'm afraid that the diet you descibed is a little lacking. Edible bone is not something that is "every now and then".

So the vet is prescribing an elimination diet for parasites? Sorry if I'm wrong, but that's what these post are sounding like.

Huge ditto.

 Quote: daniel mathai

1) He suggested raw exotic protein sources. the kangaroo was suggested as one of these.

2)yes, the parasites.

3)raw ground beef with cooked rice. we give him bones every now and then (drumsticks- chicken)and 2 or 3 servings daily of this Purina Pro Plan biscuits thing that is calcium fortified.

Purina Pro Plan biscuits are "balanced" in and of themselves. They do NOT supplement the calcium for a boneless meat diet. Chicken drumsticks "every now and then" is NOT sufficient calcium. "Fortified with nutrients, these crunchy biscuits support your puppy's optimal growth and development. They provide 100% complete and balanced nutrition" means that the biscuits themselves are balanced (if anything for a dog that's mainly flour could be called balanced). Again, they do NOT supply the calcium to balance a diet of boneless meat. (They are also basically crap, but far more important here is the calcium-phosphorus ratio in the diet as a whole.)

 Quote: daniel mathai

He is still on raw food with hamburger and rice but I have stopped his biscuits which he gets in the afternoon. Revolution to take care of parasites.

 Quote: daniel mathai

As of yesterday I stopped chicken....

Daniel, please don't think I am being harsh or confrontational, because I am thinking only of your dog. If the diet you are feeding is rice and boneless ground beef, it's a nutritional disaster. I understand that you just recently started leaving out the chicken RMBs, so this has not been a long time with virtually no calcium.

However, PLEASE don't continue it.

Also, novel (exotic) protein sources mean nothing unless everything else in the diet is omitted (like those biscuits with flour and unidentified meat byproducts). And calcium HAS to be supplied in an elimination diet, either by giving RMBs (not recreational bones) or by supplementing, which I can help you with if you go that route.

I would probably watch the parasite situation and forget about the "sort of" elimination diet for now, because you have no other way to actually identify what the problem is than treating one possibility at a time. Also, food is by far the least likely problem.

Please let us help you with restoring balance to the dog's diet.

Please let us help you with restoring balance to the dog's diet.

Appreciate the help. Iam feeding him rice and ground beef 2 times a day with his grizzly salmon oil. Before his food he gets his vitamins fresh factor,bug off garlic and joint health from springtime inc. On the weekend he gets a chicken drumstick by noon. Now you exactly know what I feed my dog.
Atleast with me don't think about me feeling bad shoot what you have to say.
I look forward for the help.

Daniel, how long have you been feeding this?

Do you have any of the raw feeding books available through this site?

http://leerburg.com/diet2.htm

This article would be a GREAT place to start.

To be 100% honest here, what you are feeding is not very good at all. There is a HUGE lack of edible bone, organs, and any resemblance of variety.

Something needs to change now.

Michael,for almost 6 months now. I looked at the website leerburg.com/diet2.htm. How am I going to do that on a daily basis, I leave home very early he is a year old & 70lbs. You are suggesting to feed him once or twice if I follow the website. Please advise.
No, I don't have any books through the site.