[UmyDo]

To keep this short & sweet...I am new to the forums, semi-new to feeding raw & not such a new dog owner. Ha

I had been puttering around for quite awhile with the decision to feed raw or not. When I first started researching all you could find was info about the BARF diet & honestly...I don't put that much thought into *our* meals. :wink:

I started thinking about it again recently & found info about the raw diet. I always thought that dogs needing veggies/fruit/random multivitamin/expensive supplement was a bit over the top.

What finally kicked me in the butt to start?? My dutch shepherd Lilly. Not that long ago she ended up eating a kibble that was not her usual kind (it was a sleep over at grannies, ha). That was the start of it all. She had been prone to ear infections before, or so the rescue tells me. After eating this food it has been almost constant. Ear infections, hot spots, itching, rash, smell, the works. Apparently something in the food triggered an allergic reaction & nothing we have fed her has made it better. We are working on pin pointing the item/s but not yet!!

I paid nearly $200 to a vet to tell me she was allergic (duh) & they want me to buy an $80 food to 'try' if that doesn't work then I get to buy a more expensive one & keep going til we figure it out. They said it could take a few years to pin point it with all the ingredients in the different kibbles. I asked...why I don't just feed raw & go from there?? Yeah, they didn't wanna hear that one. So not only do I gotta figure out the food thing I gotta find us a new vet too:wink:

I guess my very simple (or not, ha) question is, for those of you who switched how long did it take for you to start seeing results??

 

[RawFedDogs]

I guess my very simple (or not, ha) question is, for those of you who switched how long did it take for you to start seeing results??

It's been so long ago I can't remember but I'm guessing it was around 2 days. If you're wondering how long the alergic symptoms will stay with them, I'd guess maybe a couple of months but they should start improving almost immediately.

 

[rannmiller]

Yeah, it generally takes 8 weeks for a diet to get fully integrated into a dog's digestive system and really see a consistent change. That's about how long it took with my dog with skin and coat issues too. However, the immediate effects you'll see are a happier and more excited dog, cleaner teeth, fresher breath, and WAY smaller stools. Read the link on RawFedDogs' signature for a much easier, cheaper, and more logical way to feed raw, too. That'll definitely help!

 

[UmyDo]

I did throughly read RFD's awesome web page. Thanks for putting all that out there!! I read so many threads on this forum & your webpage & links before I posted. Think I had system overload cause I still didn't know. Ha

I did mean the allergic issues. Wasn't sure how long to wait it out before I deemed one thing a possible culprit. She is so much happier already. Lilly is such a heavy chewer that she always got meaty bones just to keep her busy. She loves getting them, so all this...pretty sure she thinks she is in heaven!!

Her rash has seemed to clear, she is still licking, sorta itchy & smelly too. We have only been at this for a couple of weeks though.

Strangely enough...the day I put my foot down & decided to make the switch a local grocery store sent out an ad announcing an awesome meat sale!! A sign perhaps?? :biggrin:

 

[RawFedDogs]

Her rash has seemed to clear, she is still licking, sorta itchy & smelly too. We have only been at this for a couple of weeks though.

Be sure you don't feed anything that comes from a plant. If she has a food allergy, it's probably from something plant based. If she still has problems at the end of 2 months, there are other things we can try.

Strangely enough...the day I put my foot down & decided to make the switch a local grocery store sent out an ad announcing an awesome meat sale!! A sign perhaps?? :biggrin:

Of course!! :smile: Fill up the freezer.

 

[UmyDo]

I sure did stock up!! Thankfully when we moved into our house 6 months ago it came with a freestanding freezer :biggrin:

My mom commented on how much chicken I had & wanted my new recipe. Ha. Told her it was for the dog & I thought she was gonna have a heart attack!! She argued with me about the whole thing. After much of me talking & her not listening I finally ended it with a "Hey, I can feed her on less then .50/lb, that dog food you buy is at least $1/lb & you gotta feed alot more then 1 lb a sitting!!"

So anyways...Princess Lilly has suddenly decided she doesn't like the chicken. She sniffed, licked & walked away. Tried the searing it real quick, still nothing. She ate a bit more the next day but she gave me a look like she was doing it purely so I would leave her alone. So today I peeled the skin off to make a flap & cooked that longer, just enough to give the skin a bit more crisp without cooking it, folded it back over & voila. She snarfed & quick too. You could blame it on the skin thing...or the fact that she was just hungry enough to eat it. Ha!!

**yes, the skin fold was probably over the top, but I am so paranoid about cooking the bones. I'm a dork I know:wink:**

 

[RawFedDogs]

So anyways...Princess Lilly has suddenly decided she doesn't like the chicken. She sniffed, licked & walked away. Tried the searing it real quick, still nothing. She ate a bit more the next day but she gave me a look like she was doing it purely so I would leave her alone. So today I peeled the skin off to make a flap & cooked that longer, just enough to give the skin a bit more crisp without cooking it, folded it back over & voila. She snarfed & quick too.

Stop catering to your dog's whims. You are the human and you make the decisions. Put her "undoctored" chicken down and let her eat it. After 10 minutes of no interest, put it back in the fridge and bring the same piece out next meal time. No between meal snacks or treats. Don't try to get her to eat. Just put the food down and walk away. Don't hover over her. Let her decide whether or not to eat. She will soon learn her antics don't get her something better.

You are creating a picky eater and she will give you tons of problems in the future if you let this continue. She will eat what you put down if you insist on it.

**yes, the skin fold was probably over the top, but I am so paranoid about cooking the bones. I'm a dork I know:wink:**

You should be paranoid about cooking bones. Don't cook anything with bones that you are going to feed your dog. It's dangerous.

 

[UmyDo]

After 10 minutes of no interest, put it back in the fridge and bring the same piece out next meal time. No between meal snacks or treats. Don't try to get her to eat. Just put the food down and walk away. Don't hover over her. Let her decide whether or not to eat. She will soon learn her antics don't get her something better.

& that is exactly what I have been doing. I have been very strict about her not getting any treats, etc because we have to watch what exactly she is eating. She has a time limit. I give her about 20 minutes to eat her meal & what is left has gone in the fridge. Can't have raw meat layin around. I don't have time to hover. I have 4 kids all under the age of 10 to attend to. Ha. We had switched from backs to leg quarters & the only reason I 'babied' her was because I was confused to why she wouldn't eat it. She took to the others well, the only difference was the shape & size.

When I said 'ate a little' I should have been more clear. It was more lick at it for a few minutes. Never any biting.

You should be paranoid about cooking bones. Don't cook anything with bones that you are going to feed your dog. It's dangerous.

I know it is. I saw you suggest to another poster about quickly searing. which i did. I didn't know how long exactly when it would start to effect the bones, you stated a few seconds, a few seconds to one person is something different to another. A few being 3 seconds or 30 seconds?? ...hence me being paranoid & I chose to heighten the skin flavor. Not to risk it by sticking the whole leg in the pan.

I apologize if I have seemed to wrongly follow the 'rules & guidelines' As I had said before I am new at this & was reading & using any information I could find to help instead of badgering y'all with a million questions.

I appreciate your help. Thank you for your time.

 

[RawFedDogs]

We had switched from backs to leg quarters & the only reason I 'babied' her was because I was confused to why she wouldn't eat it. She took to the others well, the only difference was the shape & size.

Ok, I am now confused. Are you saying she will eat backs but not quarters or vice versa? If she just won't eat chicken period, do as I said in my previous post. It will work. It works everytime if you are strong and don't give up. It make take her 3 or 4 or even 5 days but she will eventually learn that she must eat what you offer or she gets nothing.

I prefer not to sear or dress up food in any way. Occasionally I suggest it to someone who has an unhealthy dog and don't want to let it go for days without eating. The average healthy dog can go for a week without eating without any harm. When I speak of sear, I am talking about 2 to 3 seconds max. in a hot pan.

I apologize if I have seemed to wrongly follow the 'rules & guidelines' As I had said before I am new at this & was reading & using any information I could find to help instead of badgering y'all with a million questions.

As far as I'm concerned there is only one rule/guidline. That is "feed raw meat, bones, and organs from a variety of animals. Feed mostly meat, some bone and some organs." Everything else is optional. I'm merely suggesting a way that will definately cure your dog's pickyness. You can sear and "dress up" food all you want to but it will only encourage your dog to be more picky.

Please don't hesitate to ask questions. I can handle close to a million a day. :smile: I seriously doubt you will ask a question I haven't seen before and figured out the answer. I've been answering questions about raw feeding and helping people switch their dogs for 7 years.

 

[BGBY]

...

What finally kicked me in the butt to start?? My dutch shepherd Lilly. Not that long ago she ended up eating a kibble that was not her usual kind (it was a sleep over at grannies, ha). That was the start of it all. She had been prone to ear infections before, or so the rescue tells me. After eating this food it has been almost constant. Ear infections, hot spots, itching, rash, smell, the works. Apparently something in the food triggered an allergic reaction & nothing we have fed her has made it better. We are working on pin pointing the item/s but not yet!!

...

I guess my very simple (or not, ha) question is, for those of you who switched how long did it take for you to start seeing results??

My Casey is the same way that I bolded in your message. Exactly.

I started her on RAW chicken a few days ago and the improvements on her are remarkable. I invite you to see her pics here in my thread. Her stink is almost completely gone and her hair is growing!