Trasto's switch

[Roberto de Molero]

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Hello there! I am new in this forumMy dog Trasto just started his raw diet, he is a mixed breed (which ones I have no idea!) 9 years old, 10kg (22lb). So I started feeding him a 3% of his body weight. Will get an average 80% meat,10% bone and 10% offals. Then work from there with weekly weight and poop checks.  Right now he is on his 3rd day being fed only chicken breasts for the firsts 1-2 weeks.

I will have many questions to ask, but right now I was just wondering how should I weight the bone meals for him. Earlier I was bagging portions of meaty bones  but then I thought that I should be weighting plain bones (edible) instead of meaty? Or how should I do it?

I am really pleased to join this forum, seems so helpful and professional!

This is Trasto, so you have a physical reference

 

[JoanneF]

He is gorgeous!  Tagging @excuseme?

 

[excuseme]

Hello, I love your little chap, it sounds as if he is lucky to have you as his owner.

Good choice with the changeover to raw feeding ! You will find it easy and "Trasto" will benefit tremendously. Just keep using plenty of variety, raw meaty bones, meat types from different animals and important too are various types of offal. All of these products will balance themselves over a period of a few weeks so there is no need to worry about completely balanced meals every day.

I have never been worried about the exact % these figures can only be a guideline but a good variety  / assortment of products is important.

(meat, gristle, fat, bone, skin )  a little fur or feather attached to the skin will do no harm. I would suggest edible bones to be included  2 to 3 times a week, there is a lot of good nutritional value in bones, and chicken wings, necks, carcases are fantastic and very safe.

This may not have helped you at all !!

Best wishes.

 

[Roberto de Molero]

Thanks for your replies! I hope he does benefit and I don't mess up his little tummy. 

So, should I just find him the % of bone by eye instead of an accurate amount? 

Am I doing right on only feeding him chicken breasts for the first couple of weeks? Or should I give more variety anytime soon?

And another thing, I have been reading a lot about the detox he might go through and one of the effects was tiredness. Since yesterday he is taking his time to come down even for lunch! He spends quite a bit of time just sleeping and being lazy, although he still loves taking around all his toys and playing around with them. He does seem happy, but getting bit sluggish. Should I be keeping an eye on him for other signes in case it is something else?

And thank you so much again for answering. This is a really big step on his health and as he is getting old he will need THE BEST possible care. I want to do the things right for him, but I might make little mistakes without your help!

 

[excuseme]

The change over is very easy and can be done an just a few days.

I would suggest that you included some chicken bones into his diet, (these are very nutritional and he will get his calcium from them too). You can start straight away.

Where do you get your raw meat from, is it a supermarket, pet store, butchers or online ? This will affect what sort of variety you can obtain.

Sometimes a lot of bone can cause very hard white poo's, this is not a problem, just make his next day's food a meaty one.

Too much offal in one feed especially liver can make poo's very black and loose. Again not a problem it will correct itself by using less offal or maybe by feeding some chicken wings or necks next time. You will learn by a few mistakes what to use and how much of certain things. You will not harm "Trasto".

If you like reading and wish to understand more about the feeding of raw products to our gorgeous pets  there are 2 little books that are easy to read and to understand.

"Honey's Natural Raw Feeding Handbook for Dogs" by Jonathan Self,  and   "Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats" by Kymythy Schultze.  These books are fantastic for information and always there if you need to check up on any problems.

They can be purchased from Amazon for 1p each.     

 

[excuseme]

Whatever you do DON'T feed any cooked bones and remember that cooking meats can destroy many of the nutrients that are in the raw product !

 

[Roberto de Molero]

That's great that I can start feeding him bones! I'm sure he'll love that!

I purchased a couple of days ago from amazon this book "Give your dog a bone". Many websites suggest this reading so I am now waiting for it to arrive. 

I have bought all his food from either supermarket, butchers and fish market. I was looking for chicken, turkey or duck necks but couldn't find them anywhere. I will order this online along green tripe (also, unable to get hand of it!). So yeah, I am more than happy to rely in different sources

What about his tiredness, should I keep checking on it or just see it as detox?

EDIT:

By the way! could you suggest me a reliable UK based online supplier? 

 

[Roberto de Molero]

NO! no cooked meat or bones will touch Trasto's bowl!

 

[Roberto de Molero]

Just one quick update: Today is his 4th day on raw diet. He hasn't eaten anything. He doesn't seems to want. I offered him chicken thighs, I went to a pet store outside the city to get some duck necks, but he doesn't want to eat. He has vomited bile like an hour ago and keeps panting... he does drink. Just not eating... what should I do?

 

[excuseme]

You did say in one of your posts that he has been a bit "quiet" and not much energy! This could all be part of his detox !

Keep a close eye on him, don't panic about him not eating, but taking liquids is a good sign. If you are worried about him tomorrow it may be worth a check up with the vet. 

 

[Roberto de Molero]

Oh my this is horrible! If this is detox what a horrible thing I have made him go through by eating all that dry food

I won't panick anymore for the next 24 hours then... 

 

[Roberto de Molero]

Well, I couldn't keep my promise and I did panic a little. He was so low and uninterested on eating that I tried giving him one of the Pork shoulders (130g) I stored in the freezer. In case he was just being picky with the chicken. And indeed he IS picky! That pork shoulder was frozen and still was he munching and tearing the meat! I could feel how much was he enjoying it. So I steamed the rest of the uneaten chicken from this morning and he did eat it pretty well. I know cooked meat isn't good as it looses nutritional value, so I thought that maybe steaming (ONLY the chicken) would keep it nearly "untouched" and wouldn't be so bad? I think is the texture, consistency and lack of flavour of raw chicken what is putting him off. Tomorrow I will try getting some turkey meat. 

Hope I'm not messing too much...