Posting for DenyMcKusker

[Boxergirl]

Dany's having a hard time posting, so I'm posting this for her.

"I am having a tough time with Max and eating. I was feeding raw but it caused him to have diarrhea on a regular basis. I never had a problem getting him to eat the raw. I would keep mixing it up. I have been feeding him BilJac and a homemade mixture of ground beef and turkey , mixed vegetables and brown rice. The other dogs LOVE it Max turns his nose up to it and then does his diva dance. He is very hollywood.

I have seen on another site that alot of people mix their dry food with RAW. I thought it was a no no to do that That it would mess with his digestive system. That I should wait 2 hrs in between raw & not raw.

I am thinking of throwing in the towel and going back to raw?

He just went to the Vet a couple weeks ago for his annual. My Vet. retired and now there is a very young Vet. who bought his business. She was afraid of Max. Her hands were shaking so bad. The Tech who has known Max since he was 7 weeks, she just took over. I thought this whole situation was very weird. It is so convenient, but I am not sure I should keep going to this Vet. ??

I cannot mentally handle not feeding until he gets hungry . I know he is hungry and I want him to eat.

I am not sure exactly what my question is. just asking for your opinions."

 

[Sheila Braund]

Dany's having a hard time posting, so I'm posting this for her.

"I am having a tough time with Max and eating. I was feeding raw but it caused him to have diarrhea on a regular basis. I never had a problem getting him to eat the raw. I would keep mixing it up. I have been feeding him BilJac and a homemade mixture of ground beef and turkey , mixed vegetables and brown rice. The other dogs LOVE it Max turns his nose up to it and then does his diva dance. He is very hollywood.

I have seen on another site that alot of people mix their dry food with RAW. I thought it was a no no to do that That it would mess with his digestive system. That I should wait 2 hrs in between raw & not raw.

I am thinking of throwing in the towel and going back to raw?

He just went to the Vet a couple weeks ago for his annual. My Vet. retired and now there is a very young Vet. who bought his business. She was afraid of Max. Her hands were shaking so bad. The Tech who has known Max since he was 7 weeks, she just took over. I thought this whole situation was very weird. It is so convenient, but I am not sure I should keep going to this Vet. ??

I cannot mentally handle not feeding until he gets hungry . I know he is hungry and I want him to eat.

I am not sure exactly what my question is. just asking for your opinions."

Maybe Max is grain sensitive.....what was the ingredients in the raw that was giving him diarrhea..... I have to add water to my girls raw food because they get constipated.

 

[Smokeycat]

I don't feed raw but I do give raw treats and bones. I have discovered that raw venison and Jiggers do not go together with a subsequent mess. He can have the bones if the flesh has been scraped off (or eaten by Kryten) but even a bite of the flesh causes digestive issues.
As for the vet, if there is another option I would look into it. Kryten is very sensitive to the emotions of people around him and fear makes him defensive or maybe protective since he wants them to stay away from me. I know I've had to wait outside the vet's office because someone in the waiting room had obvious fear and I didn't want to put Kryten into that situation. I can't imagine the stress if I had to make him allow a person obviously fearful not only approach us but touch him.

 

[Sheila Braund]

Where does Denny live? Canada ? U.S.A ?
Do you buy you raw pre-mixed?

I buy mine from K9 Kitchen - https://k9kitchen.ca/

This raw diet and I buy the balk of their chicken blend.....

Maybe Max can't digest chicken or perhaps beef?

 

[glen]

I feed raw and kibble, i feed eden holistics kibble, i did speak to the company at length, and never had any issues.
I personally wont let a vet near my boys if there scared of them, the boys especially budcuss would play up to that, and if i havent got confidence in that person i know i send those vibes to the boys,
You say he wont touch the kibble have you tried the kong feeders, he has to roll it to release the food, it might just keep him keen.

 

[marke]

consider cooking food for him , it should eliminate the diarrhea associated with raw ………. you can gradually cook the food less and less …i.ve known folks who transitioned to raw like that ……. I just boil some chicken , put it in the fridge or freezer , when I go to feed them i run it through a meat grinder for the bones , microwave a potato , and add a raw egg , takes me maybe 5 minutes to feed 2 dogs …….. I add a kids flinstone multivitamin every couple days , everyday I don't add the multivitamin I add a fish oil capsule in every meal , and a b-complex once a day……occasionally i'll grind in some liver ….. I'm sure there are plenty of cooked food recipes for dogs on the internet…… I had a dog couldn't eat any dog food I ever tried , lots of meds , was told she may need to take tylan for the rest of her life , her problems cleared up within a week of starting to cook food for her and never returned ……… i'm not a rawfood person , but I have seen dogs that I do believe just can't eat commercial dog food for some reason …… I actually see it more now than ever , I don't recall seeing the amount of food issues I see now when it was just foods like purina , eukanuba , diamond , …………………… had a friend who cooked for his german shepherd , fed him every 2 days , he put him down at 21 yrs because he was lame …...

 

[Nik]

We have tried raw bones before. My dogs don't do well on raw so no raw for us. We also can't do any processed chicken but my dogs love boiled chicken and do great on that when we give it to them.

As for the vet I would never let a vet that is scared of my dogs near them. I love our current vet who adores our dogs and the groomer as well. It makes for a more enjoyable and less stressful experience for the dogs when they are being doted on during their visits. Our vet where we used to live wasn't scared of the dogs but he was very professional and distant. He was fine. But, since moving and finding the new vet who adores them they actually are so much happier to go to the vet and don't even hold the temperature taking or vaccines against her which is absolutely a great feeling.

 

[Boxergirl]

Deny, where are you located? I'd be looking for a new vet. I can't say enough how much I love clinics that practice cooperative care. Here's a link for anyone that doesn't know what cooperative care is. The focus is to cause the animal (and owner) as little stress as possible.

https://fall2018.iaabcjournal.org/2018/10/25/cooperative-care/

 

[DennasMom]

1. Yes, get a new vet. Bummer, for sure, but a vet who's afraid of your dog is not going to be very helpful in an emergency when the dog is potentially in pain and may be more reactive. Unless you think the tech can get you through this "introductory" phase and things will get better?

2. Raw - I feed Denna raw, but no grains or rice. I'd be concerned what you listed as a raw meal was all they got... no calcium in what you posted, for one.

It's perfectly FINE to mix raw and kibble - for Most dogs. Some have sensitive stomachs that don't do well, but most do just fine. The whole "don't digest at the same rate" idea has been debunked with science. I would suggest you keep the raw to 25% or less of their diet, with the rest being the kibble. The kibble should be balanced (assuming it's an AAFCO approved version), and keeping the raw/home-cooked/adders to <25% means you don't need to worry about that portion being balanced... the kibble will provide all the nutrition, and the raw/adders will be extra protein and lots of Love.

If you do want to go back to 100% raw... please do a bit more research on a "complete" diet, to make sure you're not leaving something out. There are lots of options for home-prepared meals - so, not saying you shouldn't do it (I think it's a GREAT option)... but just to be careful.

Just my $0.02.