GatorRay
I am in total control....I think
- Feb 25, 2011
- 3,432
- 227
- Bulldog(s) Names
- Gator & Lucy Goosey, the Basset and Gigi (AKA Gypsy)
Well, things are rolling along. I upped Gypsy's food to 3% of her projected adult weight and she gained back the weight that she had lost. I also decided to throw in some new things. I have added some chicken gizzard, chicken livers, beef kidney, pork roast (boston butt), an egg, and beef roast. They seem to be doing ok with it but I am still trying to get their poops normalized.
I am adding the new things in while continuing the chicken breast, leg or thighs in order to give them the bone they need to keep their poops in check. We are still going back and forth with the not so firm poops. I will grab some chicken legs when I go to the store so that I can up their bone a bit to counteract the new organ content of their diet.
Lucy seems to strain a bit when she poops. It is strange because I don't think she is "stopped up" as what is coming out is holding its shape. If she was constipated, it would most likely be just liquid that can come out around the hard bit. It is also not too hard...there is still some mush to it. I am not sure why she is having this issue. Maybe because she is used to pooping HUGE poops and now they are small and less often?
I kind of feel that I jumped in with both feet by adding so much variety but I feel a bit of urgency with Gypsy's mange. She needs the zinc/vitamin c in the liver and she needs a more complete diet rather than just chicken.
Adding the egg was fun! I put a whole, uncracked egg in Lucy's bowl to see what she would do. She licked it and then walked away! lol. So I just smashed it on the bottom of the bowl and called her back. She licked up every bit of the egg, licked the inside of the shell and left the clean shell. Guess she doesn't like the shell! lol. Don't say as I blame her. I then did the same to Gator with the same reaction. Gator did put the shell in his mouth and then spit it out. This morning I put an egg in Gypsy's bowl and she devoured it (sans shell) and then proceeded to eat Lucy's egg.
Lucy doesn't seem to like the chicken liver. I froze it in 1oz portions (my daughter calls them doggie cookies). First I rinsed them in a colander. Next I weighed the portions and put them on a foil lined cookie sheet kind of like cookie batter. I then froze them, peeled them off of the foil and put them in small freezer bags with three in each bag. I think this would work great for treats! You can break a piece off instead of feeding them the whole cookie. I gave one to Lucy and she just spit it out! It was so funny seeing her sitting there with a glob of melting liver at her feet. Of course, Gypsy came along and ate it...not so good since she had eaten hers already! Cannon butt here we come! lol.
We are still in the stage of them feeling hungry all of the time. They follow me around the house like they are obsessed. I know that I am giving them enough to eat. Maybe it is like a human when you go on a diet? You are STARVING but then after a while, your stomach adjusts and you get full quicker?
On a side note, I am still holding smaller pieces with bone for Gator to chew. For regular meat, I have no problem cutting it into chunks and just giving him a bowl. I am still nervous about bigger pieces with bone. He can fit a whole chicken breast (with bones) in his mouth. He doesn't chew it enough and will try to swallow the whole thing. The solutions are to either give him bigger pieces that he cannot fit in his mouth (hence, whole chickens) OR you can try giving it frozen it so that it is hard and they need to chew. A whole chicken is more than one meal for Gator and since his is under a year old, he needs two meals a day. I would give it to him and take it when he got about halfway through it, refrigerate it, then give it back for dinner.
Several veteran raw feeders have mentioned a detox period. Lucy seems to not be having any issues. As a matter of fact she has started running up the stairs again instead of just taking them slow and one at a time. She also runs off on me at least twice a day now! Ok, I don't want her running off (don't worry, I am actually right there by her and it is only into the yards that are connected to mine) but I am hesitant to scold her as I am just too happy to see her running! She is like a new dog.Even her coat is soooo soft now! She had a patch of dry, flaky skin on her back but that is getting smaller.
For Gator, I think it is coming out in his ears! They have been very waxy lately but I am hoping it will pass. Gypsy doesn't seem to be having any issues with "detox" but I will keep my eyes open.
Kind of off-topic but Gator seems to still have a few hives. They go away with a dose of Benedryl and then come back. There are three or four and the biggest is about half the size of a dime. I am not concerned at this point as he isn't scratching them (they are on his left flank) and they are small. We are still watching them.
Later today will be another first! PIGS FEET! Whoo hoo! I am very curious about how they are going to manage them. I am thinking about putting Gypsy and Gator in their crates with them as I suspect it will take them a while to eat them. I also fed them a meal with no bone this morning (just chunks of meat and an egg) and have bagged meals for tomorrow with no bone since they are a bony meal. But I think they will be fun! I really think they will like them. I will keep you posted!
So far the best part is how much they really enjoy meal time now. Even Lucy who was semi-indifferent at meal times is so excited when it is time to eat!
I am adding the new things in while continuing the chicken breast, leg or thighs in order to give them the bone they need to keep their poops in check. We are still going back and forth with the not so firm poops. I will grab some chicken legs when I go to the store so that I can up their bone a bit to counteract the new organ content of their diet.
Lucy seems to strain a bit when she poops. It is strange because I don't think she is "stopped up" as what is coming out is holding its shape. If she was constipated, it would most likely be just liquid that can come out around the hard bit. It is also not too hard...there is still some mush to it. I am not sure why she is having this issue. Maybe because she is used to pooping HUGE poops and now they are small and less often?
I kind of feel that I jumped in with both feet by adding so much variety but I feel a bit of urgency with Gypsy's mange. She needs the zinc/vitamin c in the liver and she needs a more complete diet rather than just chicken.
Adding the egg was fun! I put a whole, uncracked egg in Lucy's bowl to see what she would do. She licked it and then walked away! lol. So I just smashed it on the bottom of the bowl and called her back. She licked up every bit of the egg, licked the inside of the shell and left the clean shell. Guess she doesn't like the shell! lol. Don't say as I blame her. I then did the same to Gator with the same reaction. Gator did put the shell in his mouth and then spit it out. This morning I put an egg in Gypsy's bowl and she devoured it (sans shell) and then proceeded to eat Lucy's egg.
Lucy doesn't seem to like the chicken liver. I froze it in 1oz portions (my daughter calls them doggie cookies). First I rinsed them in a colander. Next I weighed the portions and put them on a foil lined cookie sheet kind of like cookie batter. I then froze them, peeled them off of the foil and put them in small freezer bags with three in each bag. I think this would work great for treats! You can break a piece off instead of feeding them the whole cookie. I gave one to Lucy and she just spit it out! It was so funny seeing her sitting there with a glob of melting liver at her feet. Of course, Gypsy came along and ate it...not so good since she had eaten hers already! Cannon butt here we come! lol.
We are still in the stage of them feeling hungry all of the time. They follow me around the house like they are obsessed. I know that I am giving them enough to eat. Maybe it is like a human when you go on a diet? You are STARVING but then after a while, your stomach adjusts and you get full quicker?
On a side note, I am still holding smaller pieces with bone for Gator to chew. For regular meat, I have no problem cutting it into chunks and just giving him a bowl. I am still nervous about bigger pieces with bone. He can fit a whole chicken breast (with bones) in his mouth. He doesn't chew it enough and will try to swallow the whole thing. The solutions are to either give him bigger pieces that he cannot fit in his mouth (hence, whole chickens) OR you can try giving it frozen it so that it is hard and they need to chew. A whole chicken is more than one meal for Gator and since his is under a year old, he needs two meals a day. I would give it to him and take it when he got about halfway through it, refrigerate it, then give it back for dinner.
Several veteran raw feeders have mentioned a detox period. Lucy seems to not be having any issues. As a matter of fact she has started running up the stairs again instead of just taking them slow and one at a time. She also runs off on me at least twice a day now! Ok, I don't want her running off (don't worry, I am actually right there by her and it is only into the yards that are connected to mine) but I am hesitant to scold her as I am just too happy to see her running! She is like a new dog.Even her coat is soooo soft now! She had a patch of dry, flaky skin on her back but that is getting smaller.
For Gator, I think it is coming out in his ears! They have been very waxy lately but I am hoping it will pass. Gypsy doesn't seem to be having any issues with "detox" but I will keep my eyes open.
Kind of off-topic but Gator seems to still have a few hives. They go away with a dose of Benedryl and then come back. There are three or four and the biggest is about half the size of a dime. I am not concerned at this point as he isn't scratching them (they are on his left flank) and they are small. We are still watching them.
Later today will be another first! PIGS FEET! Whoo hoo! I am very curious about how they are going to manage them. I am thinking about putting Gypsy and Gator in their crates with them as I suspect it will take them a while to eat them. I also fed them a meal with no bone this morning (just chunks of meat and an egg) and have bagged meals for tomorrow with no bone since they are a bony meal. But I think they will be fun! I really think they will like them. I will keep you posted!
So far the best part is how much they really enjoy meal time now. Even Lucy who was semi-indifferent at meal times is so excited when it is time to eat!
