Raw Diets

[LM1981]

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Mae has a sensitive stomach and has tried a number of quality foods to no avail (Note: If anyone is in the Peterborough area and wants a free unopened bag of James Wellbeloved Lamb and rice puppy food let me know :teehee: ). She is now on a vet prescribed food, which needless to say is very expensive and I am not totally convinced necessary as it has made only a very slight difference, so I am now looking at alternatives.

I have been reading up on things such as raw diets and have read a number of posts on this site supporting it. I have not yet made any decisions on whether to try it but would very much like some more information and advice from anyone who feeds a whippet with sensitive digestion or allergies in this way.

. Does it benefit the dog?

. Could anyone provide me with a typical weeks menu for their dog/dogs and how much do you feed?

. Where is the best place to get the food from?

. How do you go about introducing the diet to your dog?

Mae is very thin and bony and though I am not worried about it because she is still young and very active I would like her to bulk up a little (I am getting tired of the comments from well meaning but ill informed strangers about me starving my poor dog), will a raw diet help or hinder this?

Sorry for the long list of questions, this diet is not something I have ever tried before with previous dogs and want to make sure that if I do it I do it right so any constructive advice would be most welcome. Like I said I have not made my mind up and having just spent over £50 on her most recent bag of vet food she will be finishing this before I make any changes so it gives me at least a month to do all of the research.

 

[jinnyfizz]

I have fed all of mine on raw food from the moment they arrived and had no problems at all. Quite the contrary - no tummy upsets, hardly any poo and happy, healthy dogs :thumbsup:

It is a totally natural way for them to eat and their digestive systems are formed to cope with raw bones and meat, as they would in the wild.

As a rule of thumb, you should feed around 2% of your dog's healthy adult bodyweight every day but this is down to common sense and if the dog is underweight it will need more, overweight and it will need less

My adult dogs get 1 raw chicken wing in the morning each, followed by an evening meal of raw pet mince (made up by my butcher with everything in it - offal, meat, fat etc - even veins!!), raw rabbit with the bone in and sometimes extra tripe mince if they are needing a bit more weight on them.

They get raw bones (rib or marrow) on Saturdays and eat vegetation from the fields (including horse poo if they need it) and I add seaweed powder to their evening meal and also a codliver oil capsule.

Other things you can add/substitute are sardines in spring water, lamb mince, beef mince, lamb hearts etc etc. In fact, anything that they would find in the wild!!

I always freeze and defrost raw meat before I feed it to ensure that there are no "nasties" lurking. It is also important to worm your dog regularly when feeding raw :thumbsup:

 

[Nicola]

As well as Jane's advice above (which I've just read since I've posted this message), there's an interesting pinned topic on the Whippet Forum about feeding raw and how to prepare the food in advance. You'll need to register as member first I think to see the photos. it's under the Kennel/Health Club Forum:

http://www.thewhippetforum.com/forums/inde...?showtopic=6327

Lots of folk swear by feeding raw and I think it has a lot going for it. I don't feed raw myself as my two turn their noses up at many uncooked meats and veg and I like the convenience of storing and opening a sachet/pack of prepared food. That's not to say I'm a fan of dried complete foods or overly processed moist dog food, I'm not. I'm currently trying the Burns Penlan Farm, as it has good environmental credentials, is organic and they love it, but it's costing me a fortune so may have to rethink this.

There are a lot of raw food fans out there, so i'm sure you'll get some of the advice you're looking for, hopefully without it turning into a heated debate. :wacko:

 

[LM1981]

As well as Jane's advice above (which I've just read since I've posted this message), there's an interesting pinned topic on the Whippet Forum about feeding raw and how to prepare the food in advance. You'll need to register as member first I think to see the photos. it's under the Kennel/Health Club Forum:
http://www.thewhippetforum.com/forums/inde...?showtopic=6327

Lots of folk swear by feeding raw and I think it has a lot going for it. I don't feed raw myself as my two turn their noses up at many uncooked meats and veg and I like the convenience of storing and opening a sachet/pack of prepared food. That's not to say I'm a fan of dried complete foods or overly processed moist dog food, I'm not. I'm currently trying the Burns Penlan Farm, as it has good environmental credentials, is organic and they love it, but it's costing me a fortune so may have to rethink this.

There are a lot of raw food fans out there, so i'm sure you'll get some of the advice you're looking for, hopefully without it turning into a heated debate. :wacko:

I must admit I had thought twice about asking the question as I had seen that feeding was a controversial topic

 

[Suerose]

As well as Jane's advice above (which I've just read since I've posted this message), there's an interesting pinned topic on the Whippet Forum about feeding raw and how to prepare the food in advance. You'll need to register as member first I think to see the photos. it's under the Kennel/Health Club Forum:
http://www.thewhippetforum.com/forums/inde...?showtopic=6327

Lots of folk swear by feeding raw and I think it has a lot going for it. I don't feed raw myself as my two turn their noses up at many uncooked meats and veg and I like the convenience of storing and opening a sachet/pack of prepared food. That's not to say I'm a fan of dried complete foods or overly processed moist dog food, I'm not. I'm currently trying the Burns Penlan Farm, as it has good environmental credentials, is organic and they love it, but it's costing me a fortune so may have to rethink this.

There are a lot of raw food fans out there, so i'm sure you'll get some of the advice you're looking for, hopefully without it turning into a heated debate. :wacko:

I must admit I had thought twice about asking the question as I had seen that feeding was a controversial topic

Controversial, but very important! And I'm sure we can do controversy politely :thumbsup:

 

[TillynPip]

It is a controversial topic but debate is good and enables informed decisions to be made. As long as people respect the rights of the individual to express an opinion, without jumping on them, then it all makes for very interesting reading. I shall watch with interest. Good luck with whatever decision you make.