Question for raw feeders

[diabolicalangel]

Hey everyone,

I pretty much just lurk on this forum and rarely post but I would like some raw feeder opinions. Casey is eight now and in great shape and health. I have been feeding her Wellness Core since March of this year and she is doing very well on it and I believe the food switch has helped her become more muscular. She also experienced a slight weight drop which I feel came from eliminating grains.
I have toyed with the idea of switching her to a completely raw diet and do believe that she could handle the change well. She has received raw eggs or raw venison on occasion and seemed to be fine and of course she loved it! She also gets a raw meaty bone once a week and I have seen no problems.
Since she is an older dog I am seeking opinions on the value of changing at this point to the raw diet? My reasons for changing are purely selfish....I want her to be healthy for a very long time and I want to keep her around for as long as possible. Oh and of course she loves meat!

Thanks in advance....

[Baloo317]

I firmly believe that it's never to late to jump on the raw train, I think it has tons of benefits for dogs of any age.

I feed raw for the very same reasons. I'm selfish too.

[diabolicalangel]

I appreciate your thoughts Kate......and I think sometimes it is good to be selfish!

[ObedienceLabs4Me]

Before my first yellow boy got really sick and I had to cook for him, I had switched him to raw with Caleb. He did like the raw chicken but once he started to not feel well I cooked things to make it more appealing to his sense of smell. But Tobie was about 13 when I did the switch.

[diabolicalangel]

That is interesting that your 13 year old lab did better with the cooked chicken. Now that I think about it, I have given Casey some pieces of raw chicken as well but she seemed ok. The drooling in anticipation was pretty impressive!
Have any of your other labs responded in a negative way to raw chicken?

[ObedienceLabs4Me]

Nope, none of my others have. I get the bowls down and the chicken or whatever I have for them is gone.

[Labs4me]

I have been feeding her Wellness Core since March of this year and she is doing very well on it and I believe the food switch has helped her become more muscular.

Yes, this is because of the higher protien, the protien builds muscle and also burns fat.

[YellowLabProject]

Good for you.... :-)
Since you have tested the waters and things seem to be working w/out any issues then prepare yourself. Purchase enough to make the switch for one week at a minimum. This would be 14 meals. I feed twice a day. I know others try to feed once a day, but IMO it serves two purposes to feed bi-daily; 1) Easier on the digestive system 2) Dogs don't go hungry in-between meals and provides pleasure... if we only once a day we long for the next meal which can cause some anxiety.

Also: Food is a stress reducer... even the happiest of dogs have stress, and not all stress is bad stress. But by reducing meal amounts to two times a day you are, again IMO, creating a nicer experience for your dog's day.

Good Luck

[diabolicalangel]

Thanks for the pointers Yellow Lab Project about feeding. I agree with feeding twice a day and would continue that practice with Casey. She knows when it is time to eat and has even gotten used to a small kibble snack in her orange "treat ball" at night.

So some of the posts on this board have talked about feeding one kind of meat choice in the beginning such as chicken. In a first week, planning 14 meals do you feel it is best to keep it really simple for the dog?

Casey is in the middle of feeding from a large Wellness Core bag so it will be a week or two before I can look at implementing this idea. However, Casey is outside at this moment chomping away on a RMB.

[YellowLabProject]

If you proceed w/ caution you could probably get away w/ a few beef meals.... like hamburger and an egg since you feed eggs anyway, maybe like three of the 14 meals. For variety you could do a whole chicken and chop it up in quarters and give her the giblets from the inside. But if you experience problems w/ the beef just go back to chicken. Now that I have been feeding it for 8 months I am very comfortable with feeding raw, but in the beginning I was a complete head case.... it takes time and adjustment for us too, what to make of their stools, how they process it.... things like that. But John- Jlab and Dana Fall River were a big comfort and helped me in the beginning. Not serving them up on a platter , but John's dog was diagnosed w/ cancer and told only had a couple months, when he switched to raw and his dog was 12 at the time, he told me she lived to be 19 yrs old. So never too late and I am of the attitude, go for it and never look back. The stuff they serve ina bag is either crap or it is good but w/out the full nutrition that you get w/ raw.

good luck,