My Raw Diary

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Okay so we decided to try Raw on our allergic dog and see how things turn out and I decide to post how things are going here in case it might help someone in the future. I will admit despite all my research that some stuff still had me lost which is why I love the lady who owns Totally Raw as she was fab for helping with a meal plan and getting me started with what will work for my dog.

We are using 3 meats that were not in his previous diet to see how he does. So he will be on a diet that includes Beef, Pork, Lamb and whole mackeral occasionally.

So we will catch up to where we currently are now...

Day 1: the dog loved them but no change yet!
Day 2: the dog again loved them but again too soon for a change! (Other dogs are getting ticked at the goodies going to this dog )
Day 3: the dog gobbled it up and the boss female is not pleased. Need to give him a bath to see if there is coat improvement but it does feel a little softer I think. Will hope that the weather improves so I can bath him and make sure that we are working with a clean slate so to speak.

Will continue to update as we go along...

 

[bullyBug]

This will be fun to follow! You need to post a before pic.

So you're doing one protein at a time? Don't get discouraged if you don't see instant results. (Wouldn't it be nice to loose 20lbs on day one of a diet lol) We usually ask allergy patients to try a food (and only that food, no treats at all during that time) for a minimum of six weeks before deciding if it's working.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

We are actually doing 3 proteins (Beef, pork, lamb and ocassional whole mackeral)that he hasn't seen before as we suspect that his issue is to chicken so we have cut that out of his diet. If he improves then we will try to add a small amount of chicken back to see if there is a reaction.

I didn't even think to take a picture of him before I can tell you his coat was getting super dry and flaky, and had a greasy feeling to it. Also was underweight despite eating around 6 cups a day.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Okay so day 4 and we were able to give him a bath today so we will have a clean slate to work from and see how we do. So far he is loving the food and it has been super easy to do with the providers of it packaging it in 1 1/2 lb. packages making it easy to feed him his 2 meals.

I have learned that tripe = crack for dogs! And while I have heard it stinks I don't actually find it to be so bad, certainly not any worse then some of the other things I have cleaned in my life

 

[Oak Hill Farm]

Are you talking about green, untouched tripe? Blech <- sound of my barfing! That only gets fed outside away from me you are braver than me!

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Are you talking about green, untouched tripe? Blech <- sound of my barfing! That only gets fed outside away from me you are braver than me!

Yup they just chop it up so it fits in a package like the supermarket and I just have to cut it open and throw it in the bowl so it isn't around long But to me isn't any worse then cleaning a deer or the wild bird gizzards when the guys bring them home(to tell you the truth Scott kinda sucks at it so I have to do it so it is done right ).

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Day 5: Food is going down well. I love that the amount of poop to clean up sometimes doesn't amount to more then a toonie and it is dry within and hour and breaks apart so easily.
Day 6: Well today was the first time he had whole mackeral lol and it was a blast to watch... he pulled all the fish out of his bowl and had them all around his crate and then looked out at me like now what do I do with these things... they are staring at me After a couple of time holding one or 2 in his mouth he finally figured out that it was food and not a toy.
Day 7: More crack for the dog today and he just about went crazy when I had to set the bowl down to straighten his rack before feeding him. He looks like his coat is improving so I am quietly optimistic at this point. It might have been the medicated shampoo but we will see how he does now as I don't plan to bath again until next month, so if it is the food then he should continue to improve. If the bath was the key then we expect the improvement to be short lived. Teeth are looking awesome though... got some extra bones for the other dogs as well to see how the other's teeth would clean up as well and am so happy to report that any tartar that might have been there is no longer there. So far am really like this RAW diet!

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Day 8 though 14: Well we are sold! The coat on this dog is fabulous now, skin is no longer dry and he is starting to put on weight like I was hoping for. We are going to continue RAW with him and see how things go but we are more then a little impressed with the turn around on this guy.

 

[ruthcatrin]

If it turns out its chicken be carefull with turkey too, my new pup just turned out to have problems with both (which I'm told isn't normal, but you know how that goes).

But yes, LOVE dealing with raw diet poo, SO much easier!

Enjoyed the diary, definetly keep us updated!

 

[LadyDogLover]

Glad things are going well Mary. And yes, green tripe is like crack to dogs...eeewwweee, it smells so bad but they love it so much.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Currently we haven't tried any chicken and won't until we are sure he is 100%. He is currently on wild game from here, and beef, pork, lamb, and mackeral. It is going well but we are giving it a 6 month trial to see how things go I don't really mind the smell of tripe but that is probably due to a hunting family that I got the cleaning jobs on a lot of the stuff

 

[chuckorlando]

Thats a great write up. I noticed Konas coat was getting dry and flaky as well. HHMM

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

If I had the room to store enough for 6 large dogs I would have them all on it but don't have the room for storing that much. Even a month for one takes up almost our medium family freezer so we are getting second one for just his food But the pros of the RAW we have seen are great! If it doesn't appeal and all you are seeing is a flaky coat try adding the Omega oils to the diet, it can make a big difference but sometimes it is just the winter weather and it won't matter what you do you will get a bit of flaking.

 

[chuckorlando]

Na we were using box store food under the impression they were better than the "no name" brands. Seems to be a common mistake. I'm very intrested in raw. But I can only wrap my brain around one book at a time and her training is more important for me to learn I think as she's now 8m. It's amazing the science behind getting your dog to stay and what you put in their bowl.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

There is always lots to learn and just when you think you know it all something comes out to contradict everything you learned

 

[ruthcatrin]

Chuck, consider an omega oil supplement, they often help with coat and skin issues (and it'll keep you from being overwhelmed while you keep up with training, which is of very high importance!)

 

[chuckorlando]

I'll pick some up this weekend. I will also be switching her food brand to grain free/chicken free as well. I thought the food I bought was but aparantly not

Thanks

 

[LadyDogLover]

Yep chuck, I do Omega-3's too for myself and the dogs. I'm new with the RAW diet thing
(still transitioning actually), but I just love those itty bitty poops LOL.