Water intake on raw diet??

[MarissaV]

Hello all! So I recently made the transition to feeding raw (completely on raw for about a week now) and Sonny just loves it! He has never been this excited for meal times! I have him on Primal Pronto - Turkey and Sardine. It was a somewhat bumpy transition. He had a few upchucks when he burped and sometimes a few water/slime regurts. But he's been good for the past few days (I've been keeping a super close eye on him just in case!) With that being said, I have noticed that there has been a significant decrease in the amount of water that he drinks! When he was on kibble, he would down a bowl like he was dying of thirst! And now he barely drinks anything! Is this normal on a raw diet or should I be concerned (I mean, I already am, I just wanted an opinion first!).

I was also curious about goats milk. He does not seem to tolerate it at all!! Within minutes after lapping it down it all came back up. Has anyone else experienced this with their overly sensitive pooch? I've read posts mentioning kefir and supplements. Does anyone have any recommendations for an alternate probiotic?

 

[Frenchie Grrrl]

Totally normal to decrease water intake, due to the food being so filled with moisture.

Do you think he's drinking too fast or do you give the milk on an empty stomach? If you think that's a possibility, maybe try mixing it with his food.

Edit: also best to add it in slowly to ease transition

 

[Cbrugs]

Yup, totally normal to drink less when on raw because it’s already filled with so much moisture.

I’ve never tried goats milk but I tried kefir and Jax always threw up when he got it. I use Benebac Plus powder which is pre and probiotic. You can also get probiotics from food...unbleached green tripe, fresh sauerkraut from the refrigerated section (not canned), plain yogurt just to name a few.


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[MarissaV]

Totally normal to decrease water intake, due to the food being so filled with moisture.

Do you think he's drinking too fast or do you give the milk on an empty stomach? If you think that's a possibility, maybe try mixing it with his food.

Edit: also best to add it in slowly to ease transition

Ok that's good to hear!

I did give him a little bit the first time (by itself) and he kept it down. The second time I tried mixing it with his food (at half the recommended amount for his weight) and everything that went in came out! Should I try again but at a slower transition or try a different alternative??

 

[MarissaV]

Yup, totally normal to drink less when on raw because it’s already filled with so much moisture.

I’ve never tried goats milk but I tried kefir and Jax always threw up when he got it. I use Benebac Plus powder which is pre and probiotic. You can also get probiotics from food...unbleached green tripe, fresh sauerkraut from the refrigerated section (not canned), plain yogurt just to name a few.


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Thanks for the recommendations! I'll definitely look into those!

 

[Honeys Owners]

I find my dog is more likely to throw up on frozen raw than she did on dehydrated raw. eg. she threw up every time I gave her frozen raw boar, so I have to give 1/3 boar and 2/3 turkey to keep the boar down. I make my own water kefir from the grains, so I give her the excess grains and she has never thrown those up. I think green tripe is healthy, but not as good a source of probiotics as live sauerkraut or kefir.Yoghurt is the least potent source of probiotics. Doggie probiotics like Proviable DC and Probiotic Miracle are worth buying if your dog is on antibiotics. I don't give my dog probiotics all the time, maybe 3 times a week. Humans and dogs probably should get a break from probiotics every so often.

 

[MarissaV]

I find my dog is more likely to throw up on frozen raw than she did on dehydrated raw. eg. she threw up every time I gave her frozen raw boar, so I have to give 1/3 boar and 2/3 turkey to keep the boar down. I make my own water kefir from the grains, so I give her the excess grains and she has never thrown those up. I think green tripe is healthy, but not as good a source of probiotics as live sauerkraut or kefir.Yoghurt is the least potent source of probiotics. Doggie probiotics like Proviable DC and Probiotic Miracle are worth buying if your dog is on antibiotics. I don't give my dog probiotics all the time, maybe 3 times a week. Humans and dogs probably should get a break from probiotics every so often.

Thank you for all the info!!
I think he just might have been eating it too fast so I raised his food bowl and no more upchucks! I'm thinking of trying the sauerkraut or the water kefir and was wondering what would be an adequate serving amount??

 

[Honeys Owners]

For sauerkraut: start with very small amounts and build up gradually to 1 to 3 teaspoons per 20 pounds of body weight. I give a tablespoon.
Water kefir: 1-2 tablespoons per day of the water, but I usually give about 1 tablespoon of the grains instead since my grains overproduce and otherwise I'd throw them out.