I have a question?

[JERMAINE]

i started porkchop on the natures intent raw chicken and veggie and he luvs it appicon ive never seen him gobble down food faster than that, any way in the morning i feed him 4 nuggets and 1 cup of rice, and in the evening i cut it to 2 nuggets and 1/2 rice,
heres the question,
is it allright to feed him raw in the morning then feed him a combo of dry and wet food at night?

because i noticed that when i try to feed him dry food his poop gets soft,

ive read i can add some pumpkin to his raw, but what kind of pumpkin is it?
is it the canned ones where do i buy this pumpkin?
but again since the raw diet hes been happy and alot mor playful and energetic, hes muscles seems a little bit toned than before, and he is getting heavy and not fat :lol:

any suggestions and adviceis appreciated

[franp]

Stop feeding him the kibble and he will not have a soft bowel movement. And stop feeding him the rice.,

Dogs are not meant to eat grain; rice is grain.

There is really no point to feeding raw in the morning and comercial food in the evening. Why do you want to do that?

If you just feed raw, he will have a normal bm..

Jermaine , you need to read and be knowlegable about raw.. Learn ; don't just feed haphazardly.. You are not doing your dog a favor feeding the way you are..
fran

[JERMAINE]

Stop feeding him the kibble and he will not have a soft bowel movement. And stop feeding him the rice.,

Dogs are not meant to eat grain; rice is grain.

There is really no point to feeding raw in the morning and comercial food in the evening. Why do you want to do that?

If you just feed raw, he will have a normal bm..

Jermaine , you need to read and be knowlegable about raw.. Learn ; don't just feed haphazardly.. You are not doing your dog a favor feeding the way you are..
fran

so rice is a no, well ive been researching about the recommended or ideal feeding for dogs in raw diet but the info i keep getting is that, mixed a % of dry food and raw in relation to the pups weight, and some people on the board recommends a switch on bothe raw and dry, im really confused with the conflicting ideas and suggestions, but any way thanks for the help

[Borgan]

"Cold turkey" raw is the way to do it. You might have diareah/constipation for the first day or 2 (if at all), but as long as the dog is hydrated, it's not that big a deal. Just like Fran said, no rice, wheat, grain. If you want to supplement, sprinkle a little kelp on top, and/or feed 1 tsp of omega 3-6-9 oils. The only other thing to pass your dogs lips should be healthy treats throughout the day, which will help keep the weight up on a pup with a high metabolism. We like liver treats and fish treats. Even peanut butter in a kong.

I think the most important rule to consider with feeding is that it's the right amount. A dog can easily become overweight on dry OR raw (ours did in the beginning). 5-7% of bodyweight for pups, 2% for fully-grown adults. Make it easy for yourself and go with something pre-packged and frozen. At least you will know it's balanced.

[franp]

Be careful with Kelp; it has a VERY STRONG SMELL.

When I first switched Dari to raw, I put kelp in her food. No one told me to use a very tiny bit. She was put off by the odor and would not eat..
So if anyone wants to try kelp as a suppliment use a tiny bit to start and work up to the recommened amount.

Jermaine ,as to transtioning.. I transitioned WET to raw. NO kibble.Perhaps that is where your confusion lies.

Again to ALL that are changing or new to raw.. Learning about raw is SO important to feeding.Please get books and read.
We can talk about it here and you can get on lists. But books are the best way to go..

[gmacleod]

A couple of book suggestions: "Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health" by Dr Tom Lonsdale and by Dr Ian Billinghurst "Give Your Dog A Bone" and "Grow Your Pup With Bones" :)

[JERMAINE]

well im going straight raw with him but how much raw is ideal he is 19.8 lbs now and i feed him 4 nuggets in the morning but i noticed that after his done he still wants more he actually goes down to my sisters apartment and tries to eat her fb's dry food, am i not feeding him enough if he scrounges for more food? or hes just being a pig, i give him doggie biscuit when we go out.

regarding raw bones is it ideal to give it to him when hes in the crate after breakfast? maybe that will satisfy him, how often do you give an fb a bone?

Omega OIl is this the same oil you can buy from any vitamins store?
thanks for the help and advice appreciate it

[Borgan]

Hi Jermaine,

If your dog is 19.8 pounds and he has a high metabolism (very energetic), feed him 7% (1.4 pounds/day over 2 meals) of food until he is fully grown. If he is only moderately active, or starts to look overweight (waistline should be defined, individual ribs not showing), drop the amount to 5%, then 2%. The bag of food should indicate how much each "nugget" weighs.

My dog scrounges, too, even when she's not hungry. She would eat until she exploded if I let her. Just tell him to get out of the kitchen, and yes, this would be a good time to give him a bone to keep him busy, during his most active time of the day.

Omega oil for dogs is available at the pet store, often with vitamins added. I suppose you could feed a human grade 3-6-9 from health food store if it was pure oil and no additives, but don't quote me on that.

[JERMAINE]

oh ive been reading in this forum about feeding them chicken hearts and liver, how about gizzards are they good for our dogs?
is it okay to mix the heart liver and gizzard with the raw food??