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WHat is the best? Currently using a name brand dry food, but I have heard that dry foods are full of fillers that they don't digest well (?) Are there any that produce less poop because they digest it better? Does anyone out there cook for your four-legged baby?
Dry foods have tons of grain and fillers, especially the cheap brands, the more expensive holistic brands less so but they still have more grain than is necessary for a dog.
I've been experimenting different types of food on my cats. In my experience when I feed them even an excellent brand of dry kibble or canned food, they take huge craps and it smells a lot. When I feed them commercial raw nuggets they poop half as much and it's not quite as smelly. And when I feed them raw meaty bones with raw milk their poop is even less and it doesn't even have an odor.
I have never cooked for my cats, only my dogs because one of them gets trouble with diarrhea sometimes. The dogs love the cooked way better than kibble and it produces less poop because you can alter the amount of fiber they consume.
DreamChaser, if you have some tips about how we can start the raw, we'd love to hear it.
My biggest piece of advice is to visit Jane Anderson's website www.rawlearning.com It is packed full of information including how to start out raw. No need for the expensive prepackaged raw foods. Start off with one protein at a time ex. beef or chicken. Stick with that one protein for a week...do not give kibble too!!! Not to argue, but all carnivores (DOGS and CATS) can "handle" RAW. They were designed that way!!! The key is you absolutely have to give your dog the raw bones, never cooked. The bones act as their fiber. Not enough bones...diarrhea. Too much bones, firm stool. Please visit her site and learn, learn, learn. If you need any help please don't hesitate to ask me . Good Luck!
Animals can have pretty sensitive stomachs and so if you're going to change their diet you must do so very gradually. If you just switched him over to raw overnight I wouldn't be surprised he got diarrhea. You should transition over one or two weeks, gradually mixing in raw meat with the kibble. It might also help if you start giving him a probiotic with his meals.
He's been getting probiotics, along with fish oil, since we got him. He's only 4 mos old now. The raw was gradual and one piece of chicken caused him to have diarrhea. We have since learned that he is allergic to chicken and is on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, which is a fish based kibble. We'll definitely try the raw again when he is older.
My biggest piece of advice is to visit Jane Anderson's website www.rawlearning.com It is packed full of information including how to start out raw. No need for the expensive prepackaged raw foods. Start off with one protein at a time ex. beef or chicken. Stick with that one protein for a week...do not give kibble too!!! Not to argue, but all carnivores (DOGS and CATS) can "handle" RAW. They were designed that way!!! The key is you absolutely have to give your dog the raw bones, never cooked. The bones act as their fiber. Not enough bones...diarrhea. Too much bones, firm stool. Please visit her site and learn, learn, learn. If you need any help please don't hesitate to ask me . Good Luck!
Thanks for the site. It's very informative. Do you have experience with cats on the raw diet? She stresses not to feed premade raw, but I have no idea how to give our cat raw food that we buy ourselves. And how much to give her. The one we buy is premade, frozen and in 1 oz cubes so she gets 2 cubes a day.
Raw food and Raw bones is the absolute best thing you can feed your pooch www.rawlearning.com. It is great that you asked and shows you want what's best for him/her. There is alot of information out there for anyone wanting to educate themselves on canine nutrition. Best of Luck!
I have some about feeding raw over the last year or so and I do want to switch Brooklyn to a raw diet, but I can't seem to find any website that will tell me exactly what to do. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't feel comfortable switching him to a raw diet until I know exactly what to feed him. For example, I was thinking I should go with chicken as the base of his diet with some fish once a week or so, but I don't know what parts of the chicken to feed him or how much to feed him. I also don't know if there is anything else I should feed him with the chicken. Is there anything you would suggest?
I have some about feeding raw over the last year or so and I do want to switch Brooklyn to a raw diet, but I can't seem to find any website that will tell me exactly what to do. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't feel comfortable switching him to a raw diet until I know exactly what to feed him. For example, I was thinking I should go with chicken as the base of his diet with some fish once a week or so, but I don't know what parts of the chicken to feed him or how much to feed him. I also don't know if there is anything else I should feed him with the chicken. Is there anything you would suggest?
Visit that link www.rawlearning.com it lays all of that out. The fish once a week is an excellent thing to do...the entire fish, skin and all. Base it on 2-3% of their body weight and breal that into 2 meals a day. Ex. A 100# dog would get 1 1/2 pounds twice a day. Give the bones and skin and all. Try to make up an entire prey animal over a few days (not all in one day or one feeding). Start out with leg quarters and next meal give a chicken back, they love turkey necks too. Visit her site and the FAQ's section there is so much info out there. If you want more links DM me and I will send you some.
I feed my pugs a raw diet and my husband and I do it ourselves. I have sent private messages to people about great sites I found, great books I read and a few group message boards that helped me learn as well. I researched for 6 weeks before I switched them. If anyone is interested, just send me a message and I'll send you all the info I have on the raw diet. I've been feeding them raw for almost 2 years and will never go back to dry food. There is so much of a difference in their skin, their coat is very, very soft and I get compliments on their health all the time.
Visit that link www.rawlearning.com it lays all of that out. The fish once a week is an excellent thing to do...the entire fish, skin and all. Base it on 2-3% of their body weight and breal that into 2 meals a day. Ex. A 100# dog would get 1 1/2 pounds twice a day. Give the bones and skin and all. Try to make up an entire prey animal over a few days (not all in one day or one feeding). Start out with leg quarters and next meal give a chicken back, they love turkey necks too. Visit her site and the FAQ's section there is so much info out there. If you want more links DM me and I will send you some.
Thanks so much for your help. I will definitely check out the link you posted. I want to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, I am so excited to get Brooklyn on his raw diet. I did have two other questions/concerns though, if you don't mind... When I do actually switch Brooklyn to a raw diet, do I need to switch him over gradually over a few days like I do when I change him from one type of dry dog food to another type of dry dog food? Also, DH and I have tried giving him raw bits of steak, or whatever it was that we were cooking at the time, and he wouldn't eat it until it was cooked! I would have thought he would have liked it better that way, that's why we gave it to him like that, but nope. He would take it from me and then spit it right out! lol! And he did that a few times until I gave in and cooked it for a second for him. Do you think he will like the raw diet? I mean, to me it seems like a dog would like a raw diet way better than some dry kibble.
PitBullMommie, I think it's great your leaning towards feeding raw. You may want to get a few other choices of meat to see if your fur kid will eat it. I, so far (knock on wood) have not had my girls snub any meat but we switch mainly between beef, chicken, pork and turkey. To answer your question about switching foods, how is your dogs digestive system? Does he seem sensitive? I have a book that offers 3 different ways to switch but it just depends on how their digestive system is. My girls are not sensitive so I switched them cold turkey and had no problems. But when you first start off, you may want to keep it simple, such as chicken in the a.m. and beef in the p.m. for about the first month. That way you can see how he is handling it. If he seems to be doing ok, then add in another source of meat. If you notice he gets loose stools when you switch him, you may have to switch him gradually or he may not handle fat real well so you may have to cut back a little fat from, say the chicken. Good luck with everything. You'll be glad you made the switch!
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. Good Luck!
I know it sounds stupid, but I don't feel comfortable switching him to a raw diet until I know exactly what to feed him. For example, I was thinking I should go with chicken as the base of his diet with some fish once a week or so, but I don't know what parts of the chicken to feed him or how much to feed him. I also don't know if there is anything else I should feed him with the chicken. Is there anything you would suggest? 
And he did that a few times until I gave in and cooked it for a second for him. 
