Samsons first week on raw diet

[Piamitch]

Hearing about all the great results from raw feeding does make it very tempting to try, but I'm just not at that point myself yet. It has nothing to do w/ cost. I have over 100.00 in food now since I'm in the process of switching( not happy still), not because of convenience, we all know how much effort we put into our babies, so what would be one more thing lol!! I guess you could say I just get grossed at the thought, sounds crazy but I can't eat fresh meat myself, anything I buy has to be frozen first, and I still have issues. Who knows, maybe I will get the guts, but I'm just not there (yet),

 

[karenben]

i never cook anything all is raw ,the only thing i dont give raw is fish ,its so expensive lol,karen

 

[Sherry]

i honestly cannot see why people disagree with raw,unless theres a medical problem then there really is no reason to at least not try it!!as you have read dogs smell better ,their teeth are cleaner,they poop maybe once a day ,no farting well apart fromGatorRAY bully lol,they are less likely to become allergic as their immune system is working at its highest,they very rarely get impacted anal glands,coats clean and glossy,clean ears,less chance of yeast infections,though it can take months for a kibble fed dog to rid its system of all the chemicals and rubbish thats in kibble its a case of persevering but you will see the difference eventually and may i add that its a fraction of the cost to raw feed a dog,plus once your dog is fully into raw then there are less vet bills,lotions ,antihistamines,and shampoo for the very smelly dogs lol,dogs dont need fruit and veg so i personally dont feed either, neither do i feed any dairy ,she gets ox heart as her main protein,chicken backs for her bone content,kidney and liver once a week,i give her flaxseed and primrose oil and of course the best apple cider vinegar i can buy,she has been allergic to something for the last 4 months this is why i switched her to raw,she has not itched for the last 2 days now her belly and pits are clear and healthy,i have kept her off grass and carpets so another week then i will introduce the grass ,if she starts to scratch then i will know its the grass,but i do know its not food related,im interested in the reasoning behind being against raw feeding ,is kibble feeding easier?cheaper?cleaner?your thoughts please.karen

Yes Karen, you hit the nail on the head, this is why I have not switched yet, my husband refuses to help clean up after the 5 . I feel that I will need his help in cleaning up 5 dogs. We went and bought the freezer 2 weeks ago, I had him on board then, and it sits running with only blueberries that I froze and some homemade bread dough. He change his mind almost overnight. Got the freezer I think, just to shut me up. My husband is a stone mason and is out in the weather all day. He say's the last thing he wants to do after a long day is help clean up greasy feet and floors from 5 dogs. He says they'll get it all over the furniture. If I could get his help just to keep them under some sort of control, until I get them cleaned up, we could feed raw, as a team. He wants no parts of cleaning up. He says this is what makes kibble easier. I know kibble is not cheaper!

 

[karenben]

it would be more work feeding raw to 5 dogs i understand this,have you got a downstairs laundry room that could be used,or a garage,i can honestly say that if ever i feed annie bones in the kitchen there is never any mess,i clean up with neat white vinegar,also its really only the bone that they may drag around they can eat raw meat from their bowls,they can eat the bone outside,tho with 5 you would have to be careful at first just in case of fighting,you could try and persuade him that you can feed raw for 1 meal and kibble for the next meal,as long as the meals are spaced out,it takes approx 6 hours to digest raw and approx 10 for kibble ,i think i remember that correctly ,sure someone will correct me if im wrong lol,then if that works out then in time you may be able to go full raw,im sure you could get round him,use your god given gift as a woman lol or you could do what i do scream and shout till i get my own way lol,only kidding i have the gift lol i can get anything out of my old man ha ha ,karen

 

[karenben]

lol just reread your post tell him your not sending the dogs out hunting and them comming in covered from head to toe in blood lol,beleive me the dog makes no mess they are too bleeding greedy to leave any ,they even eat what they regurgitate!!,karen

 

[Sherry]

[MENTION=2242]karenben[/MENTION] too funny, how do you think I got that nice new freezer. I used my womanly wiles. lol I wasn't sure if it would work mixing the raw and kibble diet together. and yes i have a 2 car garage, guess what, there's no cars in it. Empty freezer, empty garage. Perfect!!! and fenced in back yard, I know I want to do this. How long does it generally take them to eat a chicken hind quarter, half frozen? 15 mins, half hour?

 

[izstigspunks]

@Mod85 - Great to hear that Samson's doing well on the switch. Don't worry about the excess eye boogies and ear wax, it'll subside soon. My Stig was going through the same thing when he was on detox, and he was only around 7-8 months old, only lasted a couple of weeks tops! If you can find green tripe in your area, it's good to add it to his meals the first month or so as the probiotics will help him transition better.

When (not if! lol.) you have questions, please ask away. We're always here to help.

@Sherry - Some rawfeeders feed their dogs in their crates to make cleaning easier. I feed Stig in his x-pen where the floor is vinyl. He basically cleans / licks every crumb so all I have to do is wipe his face and feet with vinegar/water solution, then do the same thing for the floor. I put the solution in a spray bottle so it's more portable. Every so often, I wash the floor with soap. I try to limit the use of cleaning chemicals for this area just so he won't lick anything he's not supposed to. But the bleach/water solution @GatorRay does sounds optimal as well. I may just steal it! I find that it's not really that much different when you clean the floor from all the drool or other mess. And if your bullies are old enough, say over 7 months or so, it's a common practice to feed them just once a day. Not like kibble where it's at least twice.

 

[izstigspunks]

@karenben too funny, how do you think I got that nice new freezer. I used my womanly wiles. lol I wasn't sure if it would work mixing the raw and kibble diet together. and yes i have a 2 car garage, guess what, there's no cars in it. Empty freezer, empty garage. Perfect!!! and fenced in back yard, I know I want to do this. How long does it generally take them to eat a chicken hind quarter, half frozen? 15 mins, half hour?

Stig only takes a couple of mins to finish a quarter. Maybe even less!

 

[Sherry]

yep [MENTION=1209]savemejeebus[/MENTION] I've read all of [MENTION=1906]GatorRay[/MENTION] posts and blogs. I have been doing all my research on this. Everything I could find. The three youngest are all siblings at 8 months old. I thought of feeding them in crates too, guess I have these visions of chicken schmegma getting caked on the crate grates. and that would be a long clean up process ! If it wasn't the number of dogs, 5, I would have started this and I would be the one giving advise. I also think once I start, there's no going back . The mess is the only thing holding us back from feeding my bullies the best thing for them. When I say it like that, doesn't it sound selfish? I know, I know!

 

[GatorRay]

I do not feed fruits/veggies. All that they need is in the meat. Cooked meat destroys all of the goodness but raw still has a beautiful variety of vitamins. Plus, actually, dogs can't digest the fruits and veggies unless you puree it. Notice, mine pooped apple slices out mostly whole and no dog digests grass either. They just aren't necessary . I do occasinally give them a bite of apple or green bean or something but I know it is just because they like it, not because it will do them any good. Dog food generally add these things because they cook all of the good stuff out of the meat and they add the grains/carbs to help with binding like raw feeders use bone. They can't digest the grains either.

 

[GatorRay]

It takes mine all of about 2 minutes to eat a meal. Sometimes longer if I give a bone. Lucy likes hers in the grass (I mean ON the grass), Gypsy eats in her crate and it has a pan in it that I just wipe down (takes two seconds) and Gator eats in the kitchen. Believe me, it doesn't get slung around or all over them. Like [MENTION=2242]karenben[/MENTION] said, they love it and are too greedy to miss a single smidge so it is easy to just wipe up anything germy. lol. Look at it this way, with the time you will save cleaning poop out of the lawn, you can easily clean up! lol. Mine poop only once or twice (rarely) a day and they were pooping 4+ on kibble.

 

[Mod85]

[MENTION=1906]GatorRay[/MENTION] Samson takes about 15-20 minutes right now to eat a leg quarter. Did it take longer at first? Or did they always eat quickly?

 

[izstigspunks]

@GatorRay Samson takes about 15-20 minutes right now to eat a leg quarter. Did it take longer at first? Or did they always eat quickly?

In the beginning, they would take awhile as they're still learning the ropes. Samson should be a pro in no time and be able to finish within a couple of minutes soon enough.

 

[GatorRay]

It helps mine if I pull the skin off. Then when they are finished, I give them the skin since they really do need the fat.

 

[cowsmom]

i was wondering since raw doesnt seem to be an option for me as im gone 3 days a week and i dont think my partner is going to do this. are the medallions a good alternative? there is a place here that sells the nv raw medallions. could i use that with kibble?