Raw Feeding- Now with Pictures!

[k ! w !]

Jiti

Skeksis

Jiti

Because of this thread, I'm going to start giving my dog a raw food diet. I'll post some updates about it.
Yesterday my dog was farting a lot, and had pooping problems. D:
I'll research more about it first. C:

Yay! It takes a little bit of reading as first but becomes progressively easier as time goes by. smile
What sort of dog do you have?

She's a mutt
havanese, poodle mixed with a shiz tuor whatever you call it

pic:


She just keeps vomiting and having pooping problems. I just thought a change in her diet might help her tummy problems.

uh.. did you gradually change her diet? because you should switch your dogs diet over a span of 2 weeks, not just all at once.

and seriously, if she keeps vomiting for more than 2 days, take her to the vet. She could get really dehydrated.

[Jiti]

k ! w !

Jiti

Skeksis

Jiti

Because of this thread, I'm going to start giving my dog a raw food diet. I'll post some updates about it.
Yesterday my dog was farting a lot, and had pooping problems. D:
I'll research more about it first. C:

Yay! It takes a little bit of reading as first but becomes progressively easier as time goes by. smile
What sort of dog do you have?

She's a mutt
havanese, poodle mixed with a shiz tuor whatever you call it

pic:


She just keeps vomiting and having pooping problems. I just thought a change in her diet might help her tummy problems.

uh.. did you gradually change her diet? because you should switch your dogs diet over a span of 2 weeks, not just all at once.

and seriously, if she keeps vomiting for more than 2 days, take her to the vet. She could get really dehydrated.

She's not vomiting anymore. That's old news bro. smile

[DeeSpark]

I've started feeding raw to my dogs, but still feed kibble twice a week until I've learned a bit more.
So far they LOVE it (Of course they do. What carnivores don't lol). And I'm already seeing a bit of a change in my older dog. She's acting young again! I'm a big fan of raw diets, it's much more natural for the animal.

EDIT: Oh, and I have to say watching them munch on a chicken neck, or getting them to do super enthusiastic tricks for a peice of kidney, is really interesting lol

[marshmallowcreampie]

Eh, feeding my cat and dog fresh meat would be too expensive. Not practical for most people, really. emo I do give them meat, be it raw or uncooked, occasionally as treats. Or when I'm eating it while they're in the room and they beg. rofl And when we have a ham, we always give my dog the bone.

[Jiti]

marshmallowcreampie

Eh, feeding my cat and dog fresh meat would be too expensive. Not practical for most people, really. emo I do give them meat, be it raw or uncooked, occasionally as treats. Or when I'm eating it while they're in the room and they beg. rofl And when we have a ham, we always give my dog the bone.

raw is uncooked meat. o:
I got my bag of meat for free. smile There are some places where they just give you the meat scraps for free.

[Trash Mammal]

Question;

I have an 11 year old cat who was an outdoor/indoor cat, and recently now only an indoor cat.
Would it harm her in any way to let her now eat only raw? (Gradually) (we also have 4 other cats, 2 of which are hypoglycemic and on special vet diets. Our vet doesn't recommend raw foods for pets. What'd be the idea for my hypoglycemic cats?)

Second Question

I have some thick headed in-laws who don't believe "People food" should ever be given to pets.

They also have told me that pork should never be given to any animal.

Is this true?

Third Question, same as the first, but with a 5 year old dog that has an uneasy stomach, and a 3 year old chihuahua who is picky about anything he eats and gets diarrhea or throws up easily.

[Moth Feathers]

Morphine Kiss

Question;

I have an 11 year old cat who was an outdoor/indoor cat, and recently now only an indoor cat.
Would it harm her in any way to let her now eat only raw? (Gradually) (we also have 4 other cats, 2 of which are hypoglycemic and on special vet diets. Our vet doesn't recommend raw foods for pets. What'd be the idea for my hypoglycemic cats?)

Second Question

I have some thick headed in-laws who don't believe "People food" should ever be given to pets.

They also have told me that pork should never be given to any animal.

Is this true?

Third Question, same as the first, but with a 5 year old dog that has an uneasy stomach, and a 3 year old chihuahua who is picky about anything he eats and gets diarrhea or throws up easily.

1st question:
Most vets don't recommend it, yes; but that's mainly because their nutritional education was funded by creators of kibble such as Purina. Obviously, Purina wants to teach new vets that Purina is the best- you get it? Kibble is plain bad, no matter who tells you- too much carbohydrates, too little moisture for a desert-dwelling species that relies on the water content from their prey.
I recommend going to a cat forum and going on the raw feeding section..they have tons of information on that stuff.

No, it won't harm a cat to eat only raw, as long as you have the correct proportions of bone to meat to organ and muscle. What gets people into trouble is that all they might feed is just meat when really animals need a mix of meat and bone, and organ.
Not sure about your other cats. Most raw feeders would agree that all cats can be fed raw, but I'm not sure how exactly you would adapt the diet to fit them because of their special needs.

2nd question:
Tell them that raw meat, bone, and organ is not people food and should not be consumed by people. It is animal food- humans aren't meant to eat raw meat, bone, and organ.
As far as the pork thing, it makes no sense why they would think that, but since that's the case I would simply not feed your cats pork just to make them content.
Is it true? No, of course it's not.

[DeeSpark]

Does feeding partial raw still give the great results, even when still feeding normal food? Because at the moment my dogs are getting mostly raw, but I still want to do some more reseach etc. so they have normal food twice a week to make sure they aren't missing out on anything (Of course it's also giving them things they DON'T need, but once this bag is done...)

But Deedee my older dog has been acting like a young dog again. She's also losing weight (which she needs to). I mean, she's got like 500 grams and she'll be in perfect weight. 600grams have already rolled off her in the past couple of weeks! I thought I wouldn't start seeing these results until I started feeding fully raw. Probably has something to do with my pop being away on a holiday as well. He doesn't understand that the dogs don't need a daily biscuit that's meant for humans. I still feed her treats, but they're small and for training purposes.

But if she's like this with partial raw, I can't wait to see her on full raw!

And just to add my 2 cents, I wouldn't listen to vets who say not to feed raw. What Moth Feathers said is true. Whether raw food is good or not isn't just a debate that goes on with normal owners, all vets have their own opinion on it. My vet never said to feed a raw diet, or suggested any other diet, But did suggest we feed chicken necks every week or so. Other vets would say to never feed anything raw. Others would say never to feed anything NOT raw!

@marshmallowcreampie are you positive it would be to expensive? (since every area has different prices). Most things that butchers don't want (for example, chicken necks) can be sold really cheap.

[Skeksis]

Morphine Kiss

Question;

I have an 11 year old cat who was an outdoor/indoor cat, and recently now only an indoor cat.
Would it harm her in any way to let her now eat only raw? (Gradually) (we also have 4 other cats, 2 of which are hypoglycemic and on special vet diets. Our vet doesn't recommend raw foods for pets. What'd be the idea for my hypoglycemic cats?)

I won't pretend to be an expert on cats but I can't see any good reason why your cat couldn't do well on a raw diet if he was very gradually switched onto it. I would hazard a guess and say you would see an improvement in her oral health [chicken wings can bring up even nasty teeth bright and white] at the very least. I won't make any suggestions for you hypoglycemic cats as I'm not familiar with kitty health.

Quote:

Second Question

I have some thick headed in-laws who don't believe "People food" should ever be given to pets.

They also have told me that pork should never be given to any animal.

Is this true?

Raw meat, bones, organs and whole furry animals have been the food of carnivores for as long as those species have existed. Moth Feathers is right- those raw foods are more appropriate for our domestic carnivores than they are for us.

There are several issues associated with pork.

Historically:

This pork issue is an old one that became established before the modern standards of meat inspection and quality control. Consumption of raw pork used to carry a relatively high risk of tapeworm infection, however the quality control associated with pork production today ensures that pork is a much safer product- at least in the Western world. I won't speak for elsewhere. Pork is also notorious for going bad quite quickly-I have found this to be true. It does go bad fast. I buy bags of fresh pork bones and I have only six days to use them before they go off. Any longer than that and they are naaasty, whereas I can keep lamb and beef bones in the 'fridge for twice as long.
If your pork comes from a source which has stringent quality control and you can use it quickly then these two issues are of no great concern.

Fattyness: Some cuts of pork are just downright fatty and can trigger Pancreatitis in dogs. Many cuts have more fat than meat. I don't feed any meat cuts, but I do use pork bones and trim any fat off.

Cured pork products: Ham, bacon and any other 'cured' pork product is typically loaded with salt and should be avoided for dogs, cats and ferrets alike.

So basically, you have to use discretion when using pork products. I don't bother with it except for the pork bones, which I make sure are fresh and have all fat trimmed off.

Quote:

Third Question, same as the first, but with a 5 year old dog that has an uneasy stomach, and a 3 year old chihuahua who is picky about anything he eats and gets diarrhea or throws up easily.

Do you know what it is that causes their digestive upsets? What do they eat at the moment and what have they had a bad reaction to in the past? It could be that fresh raw food is just what they need and I would almost certainly try it if I was in your situation...but I would take it slow and be very aware that animals with sensitive stomachs may need quite a while to adjust and can get upset bellies in much the same way a person does if her/she eats something wildly unfamiliar...

I would check out a raw feeding forum for dogs and see what people are using for their sensitive canines. 3nodding

[Skeksis]

DeeSpark

Does feeding partial raw still give the great results, even when still feeding normal food? Because at the moment my dogs are getting mostly raw, but I still want to do some more reseach etc. so they have normal food twice a week to make sure they aren't missing out on anything (Of course it's also giving them things they DON'T need, but once this bag is done...)

But Deedee my older dog has been acting like a young dog again. She's also losing weight (which she needs to). I mean, she's got like 500 grams and she'll be in perfect weight. 600grams have already rolled off her in the past couple of weeks! I thought I wouldn't start seeing these results until I started feeding fully raw. Probably has something to do with my pop being away on a holiday as well. He doesn't understand that the dogs don't need a daily biscuit that's meant for humans. I still feed her treats, but they're small and for training purposes.

But if she's like this with partial raw, I can't wait to see her on full raw!

And just to add my 2 cents, I wouldn't listen to vets who say not to feed raw. What Moth Feathers said is true. Whether raw food is good or not isn't just a debate that goes on with normal owners, all vets have their own opinion on it. My vet never said to feed a raw diet, or suggested any other diet, But did suggest we feed chicken necks every week or so. Other vets would say to never feed anything raw. Others would say never to feed anything NOT raw!

@marshmallowcreampie are you positive it would be to expensive? (since every area has different prices). Most things that butchers don't want (for example, chicken necks) can be sold really cheap.

Feeding partial raw can still get great results. 3nodding In fact, even one good raw meaty bone a week makes a massive difference to oral health [hence your vet reccomending the chicken necks. Amazing what chewing on a bone can do]. Obviously what you are doing is much better than one bone a week though- I'm so glad to hear that your Deedee is doing so well and has lost weight. She must be feeling good. smile

I sympathise about your grandpa feeding her biscuits. My family would feed my animals all sorts of rubbish if they didn't think that I would go nuts. They actually wanted to feed my puppy cooked chicken bones and argued with me about it. gonk

[lllSykeslll]

Niyera

I feed my ferret cooked chicken on occasion. Considering giving her raw as a treat.

wow what a nice treat =3

[Jiti]

I tried to feed my dog raw chicken and she would immediately run under the kitchen bench. She hates it. Dx

I just fed her raw sandwich steak today. She loved it!
I gave her lam shoulders and she would try to rip the meat off the bone, but she eventually gives up trying to chew the meat off the bone. I had to cut the meat for her.

[Eatingbubbles]

I was thinking about feeding my ferrets raw food too but the thing is that worries me is parasites.

[Jiti]

Eatingbubbles

I was thinking about feeding my ferrets raw food too but the thing is that worries me is parasites.

{♫=♥}:


Freezing your meat takes off bacteria.
Just wash your hands, wash the bowl and throw in raw food. Don't let the raw food sit there the whole day. o:
Animals have strong stomachs that can kill bacteria that's harmful to us. We can't eat raw because our stomachs are not capable of handling whatever is in that meat.
edit; I'm still new to the whole raw feeding, but I researched about it before handling raw meat. My dog is slowly getting used to raw meat. I can't change her diet immediately. She loves raw meat and never had a problem eating it. xD She's happier eating meat than eating kibbles.

[Moth Feathers]

Eatingbubbles

I was thinking about feeding my ferrets raw food too but the thing is that worries me is parasites.

Listen to what Jiti said- ferrets (and other carnivores) are designed with a high stomach acid to quickly digest meat, they've evolved for millions of years for this.


Also, some people will 'parboil' meats before giving. Basically, you lightly boil the outside to get rid of any surface bacteria that may be lurking- it doesn't cook the inside or anything, still keeping the bones and the meat nice and raw. Doesn't help for parasites any, but like Jiti said, freezing will kill all the parasites. Parboiling will get rid of the surface bacteria, if you are concerned about that.
Avoid giving pre-ground meats, such as ground beef, as you really don't know anything about how it was handled and what contamination it might have faced before getting grounded (so essentially bacteria could have been 'ground in' with the meat, and there's nothing you can do about it). Feel free to feed ground meat (assuming you still provide bones for dental health), however, but grind it at home.