Issues with food.

[Karl]

Goliath is 8 months old, and for the past week or so, snubbing the food he as always been fed, mind you, the Orijen grains have been out of his diet for 2 months now.

I've been feeding him raw meat, beef, horse, chicken, turkey, cranberries, blueberries everything good for him under the sun.

I've been buying from the same butcher for years, he suggested i purchased what he did for his dogs, which is chicken/turkey paste, this "paste" is everything that flies on the tiles in the grinder area of the processing plant, carcass, skin, meat, are all gathered into a bag, then frozen, it has all the protein's desired and more, but the only low side is it's missing fibers, so i will have to mix in brown rice with its bark in the future so Goliath's feces doesn't stay so "mushy" looking.

For the past week or so, he has been eating a lot less, like half or even less than that, of his normal feeding habits. I feed him with my hands to get him going, he can sometimes even turn away from that, he drinks the same amount of water, i got the result of his feces analysis last Friday, he is clear of worms, I'm totally clueless about what is going on... I bought raw beef today with cubes of fat, he ate it all, maybe the amount of 3 steaks, he would normally eat all of what i bought ( about 9 steaks i know its way too much food, but i followed what i was told since day 1, let him eat as much as he wants, he's growing)


Could it be that since he is closing in on 9 months his growth is slowing down? Therefor the appetite goes down ? I was told here he will grow (slowly) until he hits 18 months. he is presently 8 months and about 168 pds.


Regards,

Karl

 

[DMikeM]

I doubt that his growth has slowed at this age. They just get boered of some foods and the stuff you described is the stuff my Jade will not touch. If it is not fresh whole meat you can forget it. Also I don't agree with feeding berries or other plant matter. These are sources of sugar and gas which are things a Boerboel (or any dog) just does not need. Berries and fruit as a treat is fine in limited quantities but as a staple food source it is just a bad idea. Not just in my opinion.

Set up his morning meal one day and if he turns away from it just pick it up and put it in the fridge. Offer it again in the afternoon and if he turnes away take it back up until morning and offer it again. he will not starve and will eventually eat what you offer but you should consider feeding whole food and the sludge should only be used as a side dish if he will still eat it.

 

[DennasMom]

I agree with Mike - although Denna is not as picky as Jade.
Look up "Whole Prey Model Raw" and see if you might be missing something...
This is a good place to start: Raw Fed Dogs - Natural Prey Model Rawfeeding Diet

Mushy poops normally mean he's not getting enough raw bone in his meals (bone-in chicken parts, pork ribs, etc.). Too much fat might also cause loose poops.
Do you also provide organ meats? Liver and kidney, especially? Without the organ meats, you're missing out on a whole lot of necessary vitamins.

A complete carnivore diet has no need for any grain or rice.
Fruit and veggies are also completely optional.

Denna also enjoys big hunks of meat to gnaw on. Could be your pup is bored with the consistency of the "paste"?

 

[DMikeM]

Mine look at large meat and just walk away. It has to be in just the right sized cuts or they will leave it and go eat kibble.

 

[Karl]

Thanks guys, will apply this starting tonight.