Raw feeding

[rek]

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Hi all,

I have recently been asking a question on this forum with regards to feeding my Lakeland who, we have now found out via allergy tests, is allergic to all cereals, potatoes and rice and so following these discussions and my own research, it appears the only real avenue I have is raw feeding.

I have looked at Nature's menu website but will unfortunately not be able to use the pre-prepared raw meals as even the grain free varieties have a high sweet potato content so thought I would semi-prepare the meals myself by purchasing the mince, veg and fruit pellets and then give him the heart/liver and bones as advised.

However, before moving to this diet I do have a few questions which I hope you will be able to please help me with. Firstly, my dog also has epilepsy for which he is taking Epiphen and so I did want to know if moving to a raw diet will be detrimental to him in terms of his kidney function, for example.

Also, I read that you can feed raw chicken wings/bones but I've always been led to believe that chicken bones are the absolute worst for dogs as the bones can get stuck in the gut/throat?

If someone could please help that would be fantastic as this is completely new for me!

Thanks so much.

 

[banana]

Raw chicken bones aren't like cooked ones - cooked ones splinter which is the issue..

Try 'Raw Meaty Bones' - they are a great resource for raw feeding:

http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/

 

[Rosie33]

Dogs on the Barf or Prey Model Diets are routinely given chicken wings whole and raw. As long as they're not cooked, they're perfectly safe.

There is a Group on Facebook who are solely a raw feeding group. I think they're called the Barf Diet Group, or something like that. I don't know if you would be able to find them, but they seem very knowledgeable on raw feeding.

Somebody signed me up to the Group, so if you can't find them and you have any specific questions or worries, I can always ask for you if you like.

 

[petitsfilous]

Your dog will love you for changing him over to a raw diet!!

"Also, I read that you can feed raw chicken wings/bones but I've always been led to believe that chicken bones are the absolute worst for dogs as the bones can get stuck in the gut/throat?"

All raw bones are absolutely fab for dogs. If you're worried about choking you can chop them up into slim pieces. I would suggest cutting at the knuckles of a chicken wing just incase it does go down whole! Dogs have a stomach PH of 1 or 2!! Which makes it ideal for breaking down bones! Chicken necks are brilliant, I cut these up for my pup otherwise he would swallow the whole thing. Lambs ribs are another really good one. Where are you based? I know a few good websites for buying raw

 

[pippywhippet]

Raw bones shouldnt be a problem at all, but of course you should supervise when they are eating them. I feed raw chicken wings and necks, lamb ribs, whole sprats, liver, kidney, whole rabbits, beef, lamb,tripe, and chicken mince, and heart :thumbsup: Its best to avoid weight bearing or beef bones as these are very hard and could damage his teeth; although I know people do feed them.

If you have researched a little you will already know that you need to feed a certain percentage of offal and bone as well as muscle meat. As an added benefit a raw diet will help keep your dog's teeth in lovely condition.

Good luck- its easier than it seems. Hope it helps your dog with his allergies. I first started feeding a raw diet years ago when I had a Ridgeback with allergies to cereals

 

[Oreo]

Just jumping in here so please excuse me.

How did you establish what your dog was allergic to? What type of tests did you have?

Raw feeding has been suggested to me a few times and I was always worried about bacteria and such causing problems for the dog.

I'll be interested to see people's views on this thread

 

[rek]

Hi All,

Thank you so much for the feedbck. Rosie33, I have found that facebook site and have added myself as a member so thank you :- ) Petitsfilous, I am based in Oxford.......

Cadac21, I had the Sensitest - its not cheap by any means but we have been going round in circles for the past year or so and nothing has worked so we had the full-blown test done which revealed he is also allergic to dust-mites and storage mites and a few other things. All horrible really. He will be starting the anti-allergy injections soon so hopefully they will also work.

Now though, I have yet another problem which my research has brought up :- ( My dog is also epileptic and takes epiphen and so thought this may be a bit of an issue with the raw feeding - I have now come across an article which says do not feed a raw diet to dogs with epilepsy as their organs are already working hard as a result of the drugs and now would be working even harder to process the meat.

Does anyone have any experience here please? Thanks :- )

 

[jeano38]

Hi Rek

My dog is fed raw and she has been diagnosed with Epilepsy - we are about to start with a drug called PEXION, it works in the same way as the conventional drug but does not effect Kidney function, so we are told and being that she is just 3 we were happier to use this rather than the Phenobarbitone that requires regular blood tests etc etc.

I dont know anything about the drug as it has only been licenced since Feb 2013 and my Vet has never used it but we beleive that the only way forward is to ensure the new drugs are given the chance to prove themselves otherwise we would not evolve so to speak

If you are keen to feed raw and eliminate allergies this may be worth speaking to your vet about.

i will let you know how we get on as hopefully the drugs will arrive today.

BTW - they are alot more costly x2.5 more but if you take into account the regular blood tests + kidney function test costs it levels out.

 

[Poochbypost]

if i were you i wouldnt look at the complete meal, id go for the freeflow mince

 

[eingana]

Finding a local wholesale butchers who will sell you their 'waste' chicken carcasses and similar is a good way forwards with raw feeding. I wouldn't buy any sort of pre prepared raw meals- the whole point of raw feeding is that you control what your dog is eating so you know what you are including and excluding. Molly has food from 3 places- a raw feeding shop that stocks DAF raw meats, our local wholesale butchers and a local farm shop that make her up a batch of mixed meat and offal for a change.

Molly is currently lying by my feet valiantly making her way through a very very large raw rack of pork ribs which were donated to her by a friend who bought a large piece of pork which the butcher boned out for her. Her dinner has taken her just over half an hour to get through, and that's half an hour of contented chewing which makes for a very happy dog.

When your dog enjoys their food and eats ONLY the raw meat and whatever vegetables you choose to include in their food then you are truly getting to the bottom of what food they do (or don't) tolerate.

I hope you're well on the way to getting your dog well balanced and happy on a raw diet already