Switched To Raw! HELP!

M

MyHorseMyRules

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#1
Well, Raja started eating raw Friday night. I fed her a chicken quarter, a chicken liver, two chicken hearts, and a spoonful of yogurt. After that night, she's been getting all of that except the yogurt. I feed kibble in the morning and raw at night. Does all of that sound okay? Because she's had super bad diarrhea. I mean it. Really bad. I took Monday and Tuesday off of work to stay home and let her out, and I still had to clean up diarrhea both mornings from her crate because I didn't let her out enough at night. I didn't feed her raw last night because I really needed to go to work today. Advice, please? I want to keep feeding her raw, but I can't stay home to let her out and there's no one I can ask to go let her out for me. I tried Kao, which usually works, but it didn't help at all this time.
 

PWCorgi

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#2
Hm. Not sure why you are feeding yogurt, you really don't need it.

The diarrhea is probably from the organs, it's WAY too early to be adding organs. The norm I think is to not add organs to the diet for at least a month, they are very rich and do usually cause nasty BMs if not introduced well.

You could try adding more bone to help firm up the stool. Keep her on chicken only for a while, make sure she is getting bone and not eating meat only meals, too early for that too.
 

Gempress

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#3
Hmmm. Are you feeding a chicken quarter, a whole chicken liver and hearts every day? That's probably over a pound and a half of food in just one meal, without even counting the kibble in the morning. If I remember correctly, Raja is only 40 lbs. If she is, that seems like too much food...even for a growing puppy. I'm not exactly sure though--I've never fed raw to puppies.

At the very least, I would cut back on the organ meat. One chicken liver and some heart a few times a week should be plenty. That stuff is very rich, and it doesn't take much to keep your dog healthy. My dogs only get a few ounces of organ meat per week and they're much larger than Raja.

And give Raja's system some time to adjust. Raw can be a shock, especially organ meats, and it will take time for her to get used to it.
 
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M

MyHorseMyRules

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#4
Oh! I thought you were supposed to feed some organ meat with every meal. And the liver and hearts are reaaaaaally small. It is a whole chicken quarter, but the total meal is about a pound, maybe a little bit over depending. I was told to feed her a pound and a half of meat, not including the kibble, but I started a little lower to check whether her weight goes up or down. It takes a lot of kibble to keep weight on her, as she is constantly going a hundred miles per hour. But if I should cut down, I will.

EDIT: I know it should take time to adjust, which is why I started Friday. But I thought it should be gone by today. If it will take longer, I can't do it. Because there's no way for her to get out during the day while I work.
 

xpaeanx

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#6
maybe you could take even smaller steps? Like just giving her very small pieces of chicken and gradually increasing the amount... that way she can get used to eating it. and some digestive enzymes might help.

Hopefully Red comes around soon! She's got a plethora of useful information stored in that head of hers! Lol!
 

Gempress

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#7
Oh! I thought you were supposed to feed some organ meat with every meal.

EDIT: I know it should take time to adjust, which is why I started Friday. But I thought it should be gone by today. If it will take longer, I can't do it. Because there's no way for her to get out during the day while I work.

With the organ meat, it depends who you ask. ;) There are many different raw plans out there. I feed my dogs with the "balance over time" philosophy. That means that they don't get a 100% balanced meal every day, but instead get a balanced diet over the course of several days or weeks. I'll feed nothing but chicken quarters for a few days, then give them a meal of liver, heart, eggs and a bit of yogurt. Then the next day, they get some pork neckbones and some leftover veggies. And maybe the day after that, they get beef tripe for dinner.

Zeus took more than 2 weeks to fully adjust to raw. It just depends on how sensitive your dog's tummy is.
 

PWCorgi

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#8
How old is Raja?

I forgot she was a puppy. There are different rules for feeding a puppy raw.
 

Saje

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#9
Hearts count as muscle meat so you don't need to count those as organ meat. I only fed orgab meat about once or twice a week and my dogs did fine. I'd give a tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin once a day. the yogurt is a good addition too as long as it's plain.
 
R

RedyreRottweilers

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#10
Whole raw chicken is the hardest thing for my dogs to digest. If they do not get Digestive Enhancer with it, they have urpie burpies, gas, and sometimes loose stool.

I wrote you a PM, but others may benefit from this.

What I would do is fast her for 24 hours. HOw old is the pup again? If under 20 weeks, do not fast.

If you are fasting, make sure the dog has all the fresh clean water she wants to drink. Feed 2-3 tablespoons plain canned pumpkin am and pm.

If you are not fasting, mix the pumpkin with scrambled eggs and plain yoghurt.

Begin back with GROUND MEATS. Do not start back raw food until you have Digestive Enhancer on hand, I get mine at Nature's Farmacy.

Once your pup is back to normal stool, start with ground meats. Turkey, chicken, beef. Make a big patty and sear it on both sides in a hot pan, so it's brown on the outside and raw on the inside.

Along with this you can feed eggs, cottage cheese, plain yoghurt, and if you like pulped leafy greens like Romaine or Green or Red leaf lettuce.

Another bowel soother that I often use is Slippery Elm powder. Dogs like it, and you cannot overdose it. Look for this at your health food store.

Once she is good on the ground meats, start back with chicken wings and necks.

How big is your puppy, by weight, and what age?
 
R

RedyreRottweilers

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#11
With the organ meat, it depends who you ask. ;) There are many different raw plans out there. I feed my dogs with the "balance over time" philosophy. That means that they don't get a 100% balanced meal every day, but instead get a balanced diet over the course of several days or weeks. I'll feed nothing but chicken quarters for a few days, then give them a meal of liver, heart, eggs and a bit of yogurt. Then the next day, they get some pork neckbones and some leftover veggies. And maybe the day after that, they get beef tripe for dinner.

Zeus took more than 2 weeks to fully adjust to raw. It just depends on how sensitive your dog's tummy is.

Bravo.

Variety is important. This is just how I do it as well.
 
M

MyHorseMyRules

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#12
She's 38 pounds and six months old. Thanks for the help! I'll try to stop and pick those up today.
 
R

RedyreRottweilers

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#13
Part of the problem is a leg quarter is way too much for her.

Use necks and wings when you start back.
 
M

MyHorseMyRules

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#14
Should it just be one wing or neck at a time or two? I was under the impression I should be feeding her about a pound and a half, and the chicken quarter weighed less than that.
 

pacopoe

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#15
Bravo.

Variety is important. This is just how I do it as well.
And here I was thinking I was being a lazy raw feeder by doing it this way myself.

Also, it's very tough on the dog's body to be feeding kibble and raw simultaneously as they digest at different speeds. I've hardly met anyone whose dog did not suffer upset when they try to feed both at once (or same day), unless it's a very hardy dog.

I would do a fast then start in on the simple foods suggested above, like *just* wings for several days while her body adjusts. Then, as she becomes accustomed to it, start introducing new ingredients.

Good luck and good job for making the switch!
 
M

MyHorseMyRules

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#16
:confused: Blast it all! Even more trouble! I can't feed her kibble in the morning and raw in the evening? I was under the impression that a lot of people did that.
 

Saje

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#17
And here I was thinking I was being a lazy raw feeder by doing it this way myself.

Also, it's very tough on the dog's body to be feeding kibble and raw simultaneously as they digest at different speeds. I've hardly met anyone whose dog did not suffer upset when they try to feed both at once (or same day), unless it's a very hardy dog.

I would do a fast then start in on the simple foods suggested above, like *just* wings for several days while her body adjusts. Then, as she becomes accustomed to it, start introducing new ingredients.

Good luck and good job for making the switch!
This is open for debate and lots of people's dogs do just fine eating both kibble and raw. :)

I think you have to do whatever works best for your dog and your situation.
 

Gempress

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#18
And here I was thinking I was being a lazy raw feeder by doing it this way myself.
Me? Lazy? *innocent face* ;) Okay, I admit it. Convenience is the main reason why I feed raw this way.

I'm a bit in awe of the people who use a grinder and make their own 100% balanced raw mix of veggies, bones, meat, supplements and organs---and feed it daily. There's no WAY I would do that. My two eat anywhere from 4-5 lbs of raw meaty bones per day, not counting veggies and organs. I could trash my kitchen and spend half a day making 50 pounds of food and have it last barely more than a week. I'm just not dedicated enough for that.
 

DanL

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#19
I'd agree with the fasting for a day or so to get her system cleared out. Then I'd stop feeding the kibble and start with just the chicken leg quarter. A pound of chicken for a 40lb dog is about 2.5% of her bodyweight which is about right for an entire day's worth of food.

Your problem is too much too soon, simplify things for a couple weeks with nothing but the chicken legs. Then gradually introduce other muscle meats and put her back on some kibble if you want.

I do balance over time as well, but when you are just starting out, you can't worry about that. 2 weeks of a single food source isn't going to hurt anything.
 

ihartgonzo

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#20
:confused: Blast it all! Even more trouble! I can't feed her kibble in the morning and raw in the evening? I was under the impression that a lot of people did that.
I do this, a lot of days, and my dogs are doing FANTASTIC. I can even get by with feeding kibble for several days, and going right back to Raw. It does not phase them. They have been fed Raw for years, though, and their digestive systems can handle just about anything. Going from being all-kibble-fed to Raw-fed is a big step; imagine the reprecussions if you changed your own diet so drastically! Not exactly the same, but if a vegetarian suddenly ate a pound of meat, the results would not be pretty. D;

Many dogs go through a detox stage... I definitely second what Red said. Well, except that my boys have never done well with ground meats. Fast for a day, and if it's possible, I would feed all raw until her digestive system is full of all that good flora. Yogurt and pumpkin will help. Don't worry about organs until she has firm poops. I prefer wings, necks and backs/carcasses to quarters, as they are more balanced. If you need to continue feeding kibble in the morning, I would increase the kibble for her breakfast, and feed her a small Raw meal for dinner... then increase the amount of Raw as she adjusts.
 

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