Do you feed raw?

[Jordanmyles]

Hey everyone!

So Bella and I are very new to the whole raw diet, and we are still working at it. Currently we are doing Primal Raw Complete along with some other essential goodies. I don't think I will be buying Primal for the rest of Bella's life, and am interested what other products are out there so I can continue my research! Eventually I hope to move away from the raw complete and do all the supplements and other essentials on my own!

I was just wondering who feeds their pup raw, what type of protein, and which brand? Also how long have you been doing your current diet, and how has it worked for you?

Figured it wouldn't hurt to see who is feeding what, and how their sweet pups do on it

Shot in the dark on this topic, but hoping for some responses

 

[eeturk]

There are quite a few raw feeders here. [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] comes to mind as someone who does it all from scratch. There's also Kim B (I am sure she will see this, but her username has numbers in it I think and I can't remember them!!).

We've been feeding raw for almost two years now. I've been through all the commercial brands. My guy is super picky and his digestive system is incredibly sensitive. We are currently feeding Tucker's which is pork based. We alternate additional proteins weekly (bison, beef and lamb). I know Kim has a source she likes for her raw food that she orders.

I'm about to place an order from hare today, gone tomorrow to see how I like their blends. I like their philosophy and all of the different things they offer.

Raw has pretty much eliminated allergies for us and our guy's coat is crazy nice. he was a huge mess on kibble so it's been an enormous difference for us.


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[eeturk]

Oh, and I just saw you're in Canada! [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] will be a big help to you then, she's in Canada too!

 

[Jordanmyles]

Oh, and I just saw you're in Canada! [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] will be a big help to you then, she's in Canada too!

Yeah, we've actually met up a few times! She is right in my area. Very fortunate to have stumbled upon this forum, and so thankful she helped me out. I have no idea where Bella and I would be right now if it wasn't for [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] . Luckily, I buy my food at the Petstore she works at so I can pester her with questions there too

Bella and I are moving to Manitoba (Bella's home land ) at the end of April so I was actually just hoping to get an idea of what people are feeding, it is going to be a whole new selection in Western Canada. I've also just finally found Bella's breeder (I think) through endless Facebook creeping, oh the questions I have for them

 

[Cbrugs]

I started feeding Jax raw in November to see if it would help with his allergies and it definitely has! I have learned that some, okay a lot, of proteins make him itchy and lick his paws. I don't feed Jax any food with fruit or veggies in it so I use a brand called Vital Essentials. They have beef, rabbit, chicken, turkey, wild boar and duck. Jax can't do duck, last time he had the chicken he got yeast so that is out and I just recently tried the wild boar and he got super itchy. He is also allergic to turkey. So I am down to the rabbit which he seems to do fine on. I also order bison patties from bigbearpet.com and he does fine on bison.

I've looked on the Hare Today website and they do have some novel proteins like goat and llama that I may or may not try. The shipping can be a little pricey. I can get Vital Essentials at a local pet store and I get free shipping on the bison patties when I order 2 packs.

While Jax still has his allergy issues, feeding him raw has helped tremendously.

 

[southpaw1746]

How old would you suggest a puppy start a raw diet? I assume if they're too young that they are more susceptible to bacteria. My new puppy arrives in the beginning of September and want to make sure I don't introduce it too soon.
My last dog was an English bulldog and was loaded with skin allergies. At the time I gave Benadryl thinking this would fix the problem. It only was a bandaid. I believe now that his diet was the result of his skin allergies.
Anyways... Sorry to ramble. Just curious to learn more about raw diet.

 

[KimB3384]

How old would you suggest a puppy start a raw diet? I assume if they're too young that they are more susceptible to bacteria.

My breeder starts her puppies on raw as soon as they're ready to transition from milk to food. A dog's stomach has enough acid in it that unless it's sick or has a compromised immune system bacteria isn't an issue.

I don't do a traditional raw diet because my dog is a gulper and has inhaled a chicken leg in one gulp before, so I prefer to do pre-mixed meats that are harder for her to choke to death on. I order my grinds from Hare-Today.com. They're located in PA so shipping is crazy fast. If I place an order on Monday, I will have it on Wednesday. Their prices are really reasonable and their stuff is all locally raised and harvested, and much of it is grass-fed.

Also, for those who are interested in feeding raw but think it's too complicated or don't know where to start, here's a link to a fantastic video that shows how easy it can be to make raw food at home using stuff you can buy right at the local grocery store: https://www.facebook.com/PlanetPaws.ca/videos/1160712844003596. If your dog can't tolerate beef, I would guess it would be pretty easy to substitute ground chicken, turkey, or pork and get the same results.

I brought home my raw-fed puppy and switched her to kibble because I thought raw was a dangerous fad and had nothing but health issues with her for the next 8 months. Ear infections, infected hot spots from chewing and licking, rashes that wouldn't heal - there was a point where I actually thought to myself that I was going to have to surrender her because I could not continue to afford all the vet care she required. As a last-ditch effort, I switched her back to raw. I started with commercial products and noticed an immediate improvement, although we did still have some issues. It wasn't until I realized that we needed to starve the bacteria causing her yeast that we had real success. The majority of commercial raw foods contain fruits, veggies, and other forms of added filler protein (pea powder, beets, lentils). Anything starchy will continue to feed the yeast and cause issues, so once we cut those out our problems stopped. We now only do our regular twice yearly wellness visits and that's it. I just placed a big order for food and when I break it all down it comes out to under $50/mo. It's a little bit of work on my end but totally worth it, IMO.