Switched the older dalmatian, Domino, to a raw diet at the beginning of the year.

She was a hard switch. Had to take a VERY long transition from kibble to THK. Then a long transition to adding chicken RMB's and other meats to the THK, while reducing the overall amount of THK.

The problem is stopping THK completely.

I have gotten her down to about 3/8 of a cup(THK) per meal with the rest being RMB's or meat. Usually a chicken 1/4(roughly 10 ounces +/-) at one of her meals. The other meal consist of about 6+ ounces of tripe, pork, or deer along with the token 3/8 of a cup(THK). All excess fat and skin removed from everything fed. Her and fat don't get along.

Any less THK, and she goes soft serve on me.

She weighs about 45 lbs. I've been feeding her around the 2-3% mark.

As long as that 3/8 of a cup is there, no problems whatsoever.

Any ideas?

Recent fecals have come back clear. I guess this isn't a huge problem, since at just shy of a cup a day, the box last quite a while. It just seems weird that she is so dependent on it.

Could it be slowing her digestion down enough that her aged digestive tract gets enough time to absorb more from the food?

I think that THK is a good food.

But have you tried mainly white poultry with most of the fat and skin removed? (You mentioned her problems with fat.)

I had a dog once (geriatric) who didn't do well with a lot of animal fat after an attack of acute pancreatitis that followed a yummy snack of rancid, rotted, roadkill.

She did great, though, on skinless mainly-white poultry with fat added in the form of hemp oil (and, of course, fish oil).

P.S. I would have no problem with THK as a permanent diet ingredient.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (08/31/2008 02:56 PM)
Edit reason: p.s.

Absolutely! If she HAS to have a commercial food, then this is a good one to be stuck with.

Legs are the darker meat, right? If so, I'll designate the upper half of the next cut up chicken to her.

She doesn't even handle backs only well, either. All skin and fat removed. They need that stinkin' 3/8 cup, too.

A digestive enzyme that I use to give her didn't help that much, either. I found another I would like to try, though. http://www.clarksnutrition.com/shop/product_view.asp?id=2958&StoreID=2691B1FE187D41ACB869A85CA5957A0A&private_product=0 Heard of some people having good experiences with it is why.

 Quote: Michael_Wise

Legs are the darker meat, right? If so, I'll designate the upper half of the next cut up chicken to her.

Yes.

And if you do give this white meat with no skin a try, I wouldn't go too long on such low fat before adding a form that she handles better, such as cold-pressed oils with a good 6-3 balance plus, again, always, the fish oil.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I wouldn't go too long on such low fat before adding a form that she handles better, such as cold-pressed oils with a good 6-3 balance plus, again, always, the fish oil.

We already do fish oil and E.

What would be a good cold-pressed oil to add? The hemp oil you mentioned above?

Even though you can't help but leave *some* fat on a chicken 1/4, now I'm worried I should have been adding a different fat back into her meals all along. Ahhhhh crap......

 Quote: Michael_Wise

What would be a good cold-pressed oil to add? The hemp oil you mentioned above?

Even though you can't help but leave *some* fat on a chicken 1/4, now I'm worried I should have been adding a different fat back into her meals all along. Ahhhhh crap......

Oh, no, not at all. Dogs with dietary fat issues are not particularly common and are also highly individual, IME. It's really an experiment thing with them. And of course, the huge majority of dogs not only do very well indeed with raw animal fat, but also use it very efficiently as fuel, similarly to the way humans use complex carbs.

Hemp oil is particularly valuable because of its good 3:1 (or so) 6-3 ratio and its reasonable price (compared to evoo, grapeseed, flax oil, virgin coconut, etc.).

This kind of oil should be kept cool (ideally, refrigerated).

I would give it a shot with this dog, because of the individual reactions to fresh oils v. animal fats that I've seen in dogs with pancreas problems, etc. She might do very well with white-meat skinless poultry and fresh oils for the fats.

This is all JMO, and I'm not a health professional. I do think that fats (EFAs) are very important to dogs and that the kind they get in kibbles is not the kind that they are designed to process.

Cool!

She still acts wonderful, looks wonderful, etc.

I got scared there for a second that I was leaving her "fat deficient".

You know, I have it ALL figured out 'til I do something wrong.....