This is cheeky chappy Harvey, and he started me on the journey to a fresh dog food diet, raw feeding, natural healthcare and natural treats!!
I started raw feeding over 5 years ago when I took on my little underweight scraggly dot of a collie pup Harvey. All kibbles and tinned foods just came out as awful sloppy messes and a new friend I had just made, suggested raw, her dog was raw fed from the breeders so with her help and a week’s sample diet out of her freezer for Harvs, I was sold, his toilet habits changed, no longer did he need to poo continuously, and it no longer came out like Mr Whippy!
I had two other dogs at that time so I did some research and got lots of advice and changed my other two onto a fresh dog food diet, raw, they were then 6 years old and 3 years old.
I now have 5 dogs who are all raw fed and have all transitioned without any problems. The main differences in my dogs are: reduced amount of poop, better shaped, smelling, consistency of pooh, shinier, brighter, softer coats, better smelling breath and cleaner teeth, less gas, less ear & eye problems
Anyone that is new to raw or is considering changing over I would say start with a complete from a reputable raw dog food supplier. As you need it to be as easy as possible as it is a stressful process changing your dog’s food, and I want you to succeed, like me. Many groups told me diy from the beginning but honestly, the stress of the figures can be overwhelming!
Complete is usually advertised as 80/10/10 this means 80% meat 10% bone and 10% offal (usually 5% liver and 5% other organs)
DIY involves sourcing all your own components and putting them together yourself, this can be very scary & time-consuming as a newbie!!
I would definitely recommend the elimination diet. This means you introduce one protein a time, so you find out if your dog has any intolerances e.g. Week one you only feed chicken, week two introduce beef so chicken for breakfast then beef for the evening meal, week 3 half chicken half beef for breakfast and turkey for the evening meal.
A food intolerance can be shown in many ways, gas, itchiness, looses stools. But if your dog displays these when on a new protein take a step back, and then try a different protein.
As with any food you need to find the correct amount to feed your dog, usually with raw I start at 2.5% of my dog’s ideal weight (always feed your dog to the weight they need to be!) so a 10 kg dog would need 250 grams of raw complete food per day. Then monitor on your own dog’s shape, Jasper my 12 year old cavalier is fed on 1.5% as he is not that active, my crazy collies gets 8%!!! And don’t forget puppies need a higher percentage.
I personally add vegetables to my dog’s diet, this is controversial in the raw feeding world, you can find as many arguments for as against but I think they definitely get some vitamins from the veg although I do like to steam the veg so they digest it more easily. I like to feed healthy green vegetables like spinach, kale, green beans, and broccoli and carrots and butternut squash.
My Top Tips For Fresh Feeding are:
Freezer Space!! You need space as its cheaper to buy in bulk or if you get a bargain you need to be able to accept.
Do not feed fresh raw fish, even from a supermarket, fish do have parasites please ensure fresh fish is frozen for a minimum of 2 weeks before feeding raw.
Ask questions, do not struggle, lots of great advice sites out there. Or please msg me!
Make raw feeding friends! Online or in person, share tips, hints and stories
PS fabulous pic by https://www.capturedbyjude.com
Recommended by my personal experience 🙂
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