Poppy
New member
- Dec 15, 2011
- 246
- 23
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Poppy, Bunk
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share my experiences so far with RAW, we are on our 4th month and thriving. I know there are a lot of people who are on the fence or don't know where to start. By no means is this a strict how-to, but maybe if I document my progress, successes, and mishaps it may help someone out there!
First things first I'll tell you a bit about our dogs, and how we wound up feeding RAW..
Poppy is a 2 year old EB with a wonderful temperament. She is an "athlete" as far as bullies go, she has few wrinkles and folds, and is very lean and quick. From puppyhood she's had various health issues, from constant diarrhea to being diagnosed with growing pains due to crazy growth spurts. It has been said in raw fed communities that puppies on kibble have crazy growth spurts, whereas pups on raw grow at a more appropriate rate and are leaner. While I don't want to theorize this, I do sometimes wonder if I could have spared my girl the pain of limping around for those weeks. She is otherwise very will kept, although while on kibble we had to clean her ears every day (more on this later).
Bunk is an 18 m.o. EB bruiser. He has classic bulldog folds, a cuddly disposition (to people!) and is currently reactive to nervous energy dogs (and sometimes bulldogs!). He's a work in progress and we think it's all down to confidence building. He used to chew his paws raw, scratch himself constantly, and just like Poppy, his ears had to be cleaned daily.
Fast forward and my fiance and I are at the end of our 10 week obedience course for the pups. We attend a nutrition seminar and are astounded by the size of the raw feeding community in our city, not to mention all the resources and people willing to assist us.
We began with pre-packaged raw, i.e. frozen ground patties, and supplemented with chicken necks and turkey necks for bone. To teach the dogs to chew I held the end of the chicken neck for the first week and helped them out. Some recommend smashing the bones if you are feeding chicken quarters. They eat all their meals on a towel and know they have to stay on it or the food will be taken away. Their meals roughly follow the 80-10-10 ratio although it depends week to week what is available, and as long as their poops are healthy I don't worry about it.
Their poops instantly halved in size, and the gas decreased by 80%. I couldn't believe it. A bulldog that DIDN'T clear the room?!?! In addition to this, about 2 weeks into their diet, Bunks breath went from "I just ate crap" to "stale". Their coats became shiny, and incredibly soft. I check their ears everyday, but now they only need to be cleaned once every 2 weeks.
I continued with the chicken for about a month, and slowly began introducing new proteins. First it was beef, then elk, and even rabbit (this I did by accidentally buying the wrong patties!). After 10 weeks I began adding TINY pieces of liver and kidney to their meals. They also started getting sardines canned in spring water once a week.
At some point during this transition I started to source my own meat and cut out the patties altogether, making $1/lb my goal. Meat is very expensive in Canada, and at first it wasn't easy. Eventually I found a butcher that sells me grain-fed cow hearts for 99 cents/lb, and a pet boutique that sells chicken backs for $1/lb as long as I buy it in 15lb boxes (I also purchased a craigslist deep freezer). I'm still trying to source game meat, but recently came across pork ribs for $1.09/lb. I know it sounds like a lot of work, and honestly, at the beginning - it was! But now that I know what I'm looking for, it became a part of my grocery shopping habits. I spend 2 evenings a month cutting, portioning and freezing the food. I can also finally say we are spending less on Raw then on Orijen.
I should mention about 2-3% of their diet is veggies and yoghurt, so I'm not strictly feeding prey-model. While they don't "need it" so to speak, it does provide good fiber and the yoghurts provide probiotics. I grind spinach, applies, squash, and sometimes blueberries and keep it in a ziploc bag. 3-4x a week they'll get a spoonful of this on top of the hearts, organs etc. I also put a spoonful of plain probiotic yoghurt on some of their meals, and crack an egg in their bowls once a week (shells and all).
Gosh I just realized how much rambling I've done! Anyhow I'll post updates on here every once in awhile, hopefully this encourages some of you that have pups with allergies and whatnot, to just give it a crack
I just wanted to share my experiences so far with RAW, we are on our 4th month and thriving. I know there are a lot of people who are on the fence or don't know where to start. By no means is this a strict how-to, but maybe if I document my progress, successes, and mishaps it may help someone out there!
First things first I'll tell you a bit about our dogs, and how we wound up feeding RAW..
Poppy is a 2 year old EB with a wonderful temperament. She is an "athlete" as far as bullies go, she has few wrinkles and folds, and is very lean and quick. From puppyhood she's had various health issues, from constant diarrhea to being diagnosed with growing pains due to crazy growth spurts. It has been said in raw fed communities that puppies on kibble have crazy growth spurts, whereas pups on raw grow at a more appropriate rate and are leaner. While I don't want to theorize this, I do sometimes wonder if I could have spared my girl the pain of limping around for those weeks. She is otherwise very will kept, although while on kibble we had to clean her ears every day (more on this later).
Bunk is an 18 m.o. EB bruiser. He has classic bulldog folds, a cuddly disposition (to people!) and is currently reactive to nervous energy dogs (and sometimes bulldogs!). He's a work in progress and we think it's all down to confidence building. He used to chew his paws raw, scratch himself constantly, and just like Poppy, his ears had to be cleaned daily.
Fast forward and my fiance and I are at the end of our 10 week obedience course for the pups. We attend a nutrition seminar and are astounded by the size of the raw feeding community in our city, not to mention all the resources and people willing to assist us.
We began with pre-packaged raw, i.e. frozen ground patties, and supplemented with chicken necks and turkey necks for bone. To teach the dogs to chew I held the end of the chicken neck for the first week and helped them out. Some recommend smashing the bones if you are feeding chicken quarters. They eat all their meals on a towel and know they have to stay on it or the food will be taken away. Their meals roughly follow the 80-10-10 ratio although it depends week to week what is available, and as long as their poops are healthy I don't worry about it.
Their poops instantly halved in size, and the gas decreased by 80%. I couldn't believe it. A bulldog that DIDN'T clear the room?!?! In addition to this, about 2 weeks into their diet, Bunks breath went from "I just ate crap" to "stale". Their coats became shiny, and incredibly soft. I check their ears everyday, but now they only need to be cleaned once every 2 weeks.
I continued with the chicken for about a month, and slowly began introducing new proteins. First it was beef, then elk, and even rabbit (this I did by accidentally buying the wrong patties!). After 10 weeks I began adding TINY pieces of liver and kidney to their meals. They also started getting sardines canned in spring water once a week.
At some point during this transition I started to source my own meat and cut out the patties altogether, making $1/lb my goal. Meat is very expensive in Canada, and at first it wasn't easy. Eventually I found a butcher that sells me grain-fed cow hearts for 99 cents/lb, and a pet boutique that sells chicken backs for $1/lb as long as I buy it in 15lb boxes (I also purchased a craigslist deep freezer). I'm still trying to source game meat, but recently came across pork ribs for $1.09/lb. I know it sounds like a lot of work, and honestly, at the beginning - it was! But now that I know what I'm looking for, it became a part of my grocery shopping habits. I spend 2 evenings a month cutting, portioning and freezing the food. I can also finally say we are spending less on Raw then on Orijen.
I should mention about 2-3% of their diet is veggies and yoghurt, so I'm not strictly feeding prey-model. While they don't "need it" so to speak, it does provide good fiber and the yoghurts provide probiotics. I grind spinach, applies, squash, and sometimes blueberries and keep it in a ziploc bag. 3-4x a week they'll get a spoonful of this on top of the hearts, organs etc. I also put a spoonful of plain probiotic yoghurt on some of their meals, and crack an egg in their bowls once a week (shells and all).
Gosh I just realized how much rambling I've done! Anyhow I'll post updates on here every once in awhile, hopefully this encourages some of you that have pups with allergies and whatnot, to just give it a crack
just kidding!
I agree with you. It is the best thing I have ever done. Matilda has pearly whites, beautiful coat and no itchies!! 
