How do I start

[Babydane]

My pup is 19 weeks, he's been on taste of the wild although his poops are not always consistent. I have darwins raw chicken and vegetable, (has ground bone in it) I've tried giving him a spoonful and he gets diarrhea Everytime. Could it be he has a reaction to the chicken ? Or is this normal at first?
How should I start raw?

[Kumah]

Long before switching to raw, do your research. Read through previous threads in the search function and get to know what your doing, before you start. Some dogs get diarrhea when starting out, but you can add more bone to make his poop more solid just not too much to make him constipated. I would stop giving him the mixture until you have a better understanding of how to raw feed. I started out feeding chicken quarters bone in for the first week or two, and then added in boneless chicken meals. After two weeks I added turkey. I bought a whole turkey and cut it up myself making some bone in and again some boneless meals. Again after about two weeks I added the beef. I'd give a chicken bone in meal and then an all meat beef meal and then another chicken or turkey bone in meal. About every two to three weeks I added a new protein and Kumah was eventually accustomed to eating chicken, turkey, Beef, pork, venison, and rabbit. The only thing I could never get her to eat was fish. They need organ as well. I also bought my own whole cow liver and ordered kidney and spleen and ground it up myself. I bagged all of her meals into individual baggies and added the organ mixture to about every third bag and just eyeballed the amount. Feeding raw is very nerve wracking at first but once you get going it's easy peasy. You'll also want to make sure you have the freezer space to feed raw. I had two 7cuft chest freezers dedicated solely to Kumah's food. I will eventually switch back to raw, but that'll only happen once I get out of this apt and have more space for a bigger freezer. I had to go back to kibble after bringing Nala home because it just didn't make sense to feed raw with the little freezer space I had. But all in all, do plenty of research before switching because if the proportions are not correct you could cause some imbalance in his system. Maybe also see if there is a co-op near you or there are FB pages and a yahoo group dedicated to raw feeding too.

[claudia]

Our new puppy Breeze was switched to RAW when we got her in December. She had loose stools for about a week. We did chicken for three weeks then started other meats. When I switched our other dogs to RAW last Jan I used Darwin's and had no luck with them and they were incredibly expensive.

[oshagcj914]

You might go broke buying premade raw for a Dane. I'm personally not a fan of Darwin's because it has a bunch of veggies in it. Try this link for how to switch a dog to raw. Chicken leg quarters are a good place to start, and make sure your chicken is free from enhancements and low sodium, those can cause . http://preymodelraw.com/page/article...l-raw-diet-r19

[ilovemydanes]

I wouldn't buy the premade...as suggested already you would likely go broke. Also you want the bones intact because "chomping" on the bones helps to keep their teeth clean. Read all the the articles but don't stress...it's really not that complicated.

I feed what I would call a "mixed raw" I guess. I don't feed vegetables except for a little cooked sweet potato...mainly because they like it and it gives me something to stuff the MSM/Glucosamine pill in.

I switched my puppy to Raw the day I brought her home because I didn't like the kibble the breeder was feeding (Iams adult) and I refused to even have it in my house. So...my choice was to switch to a premium kibble for a short time and then to raw ... or "just do it". My adults were already eating raw so..."I did it". She loved it from day one. She did have some diarrhea for the first week or so but I'm glad I did it right away. When I first started her at 8 weeks I was giving her chicken drumsticks or thighs with some of the meat cut off so she could get hold of the bones and crunch them up but i was shocked at how quickly I was able to give her whole pieces...probably within a week or two. At 19 weeks your pup won't have any trouble with whole pieces.

Chicken quarters are the most affordable thing I can get and since I am feeding three...well almost like four with a growing puppy I have to feed a lot of chicken. I do get other meats when I can find a good price.

Others have posted their dogs don't like fish but mine absolutely LOVE whiting fillets. I can get 10# boxes for $20 at Walmart so it's reasonable in cost.

A typical meal for my 100# puppy is something like this: (twice a day)

One raw egg
Half a small sweet potato (cooked and stuffed with an MSM & Glucosamine pill)
A glop of Greek yogurt
A glop of liver (evening feeding only)
One whiting fillet (two or three times a week)
A couple of average size chicken quarters totaling about 2 pounds per meal. Some times that means one large quarter plus a drumstick or thigh.
I also give fish oil caplets and Probiotic Miracle

My adults only eat about 2 pounds of chicken each per day so you need to adjust the amount according to how big your puppy is and his condition. More meat than he needs means diarrhea so keep an eye on that.

I would start with nothing but the chicken quarters for the first week or so...maybe just a drumstick or the back section (lots of bone there) only for first couple of days and then gradually add other items. Don't overdo at first and make sure there is plenty of bone in relation to the meat to reduce the likelihood of diarrhea.

Oh...the probiotic will also help if you have diarrhea issues.

Once you get started you can add other meats depending on what you can find and afford.

Good luck...if you make the switch your dog will love you for it

[mnmouse]

Just want to point out that dogs need a red meat, or any meat from a four legged mammal. I'd recommend about half the meat be red. Venison, beef, pork, bison, goat, elk, etc. They will eventually get nutritionally out of whack without red meat.

[ilovemydanes]

I don't disagree with that at all but economics force me to feed more chicken than other meats. I still feel like this is preferable to kibble. And a lot of quality kibble...like some of the Orijen formulas...are poultry or salmon based anyway.

I forgot to say that I do use beef liver and as I mentioned I try to get other meats whenever I can get a decent buy. Pork necks are pretty reasonable especially on late date sales so they end up in my freezer a lot.

I do think chicken legs are a good starter because the bone to meat ratio is pretty good and they can easily chomp up the bones.

[oceanbluedanes]

I don't disagree with that at all but economics force me to feed more chicken than other meats. I still feel like this is preferable to kibble. And a lot of quality kibble...like some of the Orijen formulas...are poultry or salmon based anyway.

I forgot to say that I do use beef liver and as I mentioned I try to get other meats whenever I can get a decent buy. Pork necks are pretty reasonable especially on late date sales so they end up in my freezer a lot.

I do think chicken legs are a good starter because the bone to meat ratio is pretty good and they can easily chomp up the bones.

Disclaimer: This is my opinion and not intended to be harsh so please don't take it that way. It's none of my business what or how you feed your dogs but I feel this should be mentioned for other readers/lurkers.

I do not believe in home-made (versus balanced, pre-made) Raw diets where POULTRY (not just chicken) exceeds more than 50% of the diet. Successful Raw diets are based on the concept of variety and without it, you are potentially doing more harm than good.

I absolutely DO believe a good quality kibble would be a better option than feeding a Raw diet based almost entirely on chicken (or even poultry in general).

And no, you cannot say that its the same as chicken-based kibbles. It's not. At all. Not even remotely. Kibbles are balanced and have a lot of things added to achieve that balance. When you prepare your own Raw diet - the balance is up to you and no matter which way you slice it (no pun intended) feeding almost strictly chicken is simply not capable of achieving that balance.

[CarolB]

Basically by feeding raw we are trying to come close to what a wolf eats and it would not be eating much poultry if any. They eat raw red meat.

[oshagcj914]

There was a lady in my raw co-op group who had been feeding a raw diet to her year old Dane. She was feeding only chicken and chicken liver on the advise of her breeder, and wrote to the co-op leader to ask why her Dane was so small and her legs were so short Chicken only or primarily chicken is not balanced, but chicken based kibble a are because they have everything the dog needs added to them, and unless you're using a ton of supplements, raw does not. That's what variety is for. I know they have Blue Ridge Beef distributors in Florida. I use the Breeder's Choice (cheaper than any grocery store beef) and sometimes the venison when I can't get it locally. Have you looked into that?

[oceanbluedanes]

There was a lady in my raw co-op group who had been feeding a raw diet to her year old Dane. She was feeding only chicken and chicken liver on the advise of her breeder, and wrote to the co-op leader to ask why her Dane was so small and her legs were so short Chicken only or primarily chicken is not balanced, but chicken based kibble a are because they have everything the dog needs added to them, and unless you're using a ton of supplements, raw does not. That's what variety is for. I know they have Blue Ridge Beef distributors in Florida. I use the Breeder's Choice (cheaper than any grocery store beef) and sometimes the venison when I can't get it locally. Have you looked into that?

And here I feed a TON of variety and still supplement. haha Better safe than sorry...

I am actually a Blue Ridge Beef distributor but I think I am located too far south for Ilovemydanes. BRB has a ton of great products and is super convenient. I get about half of my meat from BRB and its nice to have that convenience to fall back on when I am feeling lazy.

[oshagcj914]

And here I feed a TON of variety and still supplement. haha Better safe than sorry...

I am actually a Blue Ridge Beef distributor but I think I am located too far south for Ilovemydanes. BRB has a ton of great products and is super convenient. I get about half of my meat from BRB and its nice to have that convenience to fall back on when I am feeling lazy.

Just out of curiosity, what supplements do you use? I give a fish oil and also a little kelp and alfalfa powders. And I do love blue ridge beef It is by far the cheapest beef I can get ($1.50/lb) except heart, which is really lean and which I have to separate and cut up because it comes in 50 or 60 lb cases and leaks blood all over the place I love to just unwrap a frozen chub and toss it out the door. And my cats lose their minds for the duck and quail.

[oceanbluedanes]

Just out of curiosity, what supplements do you use? I give a fish oil and also a little kelp and alfalfa powders. And I do love blue ridge beef It is by far the cheapest beef I can get ($1.50/lb) except heart, which is really lean and which I have to separate and cut up because it comes in 50 or 60 lb cases and leaks blood all over the place I love to just unwrap a frozen chub and toss it out the door. And my cats lose their minds for the duck and quail.

Probably easier to list what supplements I DON'T use. ha

Powdered Supplements (Nupro, Seameal, Wholistic Complete, Filling in the Holes etc on a rotation). I also buy a container of the Spirulina or Sea Kelp from Wholistic Pet Organics and mix a couple large spoons into the canister of powdered supplement. Once one is gone, I get the other next so its rotated around.

Fish/Borage/Flax seed oil combo
Vitamin C
1 TBS coconut oil
1 TBS Raw, Apple Cider Vinegar
Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM tablet (adults only)
Flexicose

It's probably quite a bit of overkill, but I take home-made Raw diets pretty seriously.

[Babydane]

Thank you so much for the valuable information! This is very helpful!

[Babydane]

My next question is: if I start with the chicken quarters as recommended for the first few weeks, do I have to worry about it being unbalanced? Do I add any supplements during that time?
I will also do some reading through past posts