Have You Experienced Good Changes In Your Dog Because Of Changing To Raw Feeding?
Posted by
editor in
Question & Answer on
Sep 26th, 2009 |
7 responses
Could you please tell me positive changes you’ve seen since you started feeding raw? (I just started and am not sure if I’m doing the right thing with my dog feeding him a RAW diet)
Similar Posts:
- Anybody Notice A Difference When Feeding A Raw Diet To Their Dog?
- Puppy Is The Only One Who Is Having Diarrhea On Raw Diet?
- Anybody Switch Their Dogs To Raw Feeding?
- Can You Tell Me How When You Switched To Raw Feeding It Benefited Your Dog Or Not?
- How Much Is Enough When Feeding Raw?
Since I started prey model about a month ago I have seen my boxer mix shed less (a huge deal for anyone who knows boxers), my akita sheds less, both have spectacularly clean teeth, NO breath odor, have shinier, softer coats, are more satisfied with their food and don’t scavenge/look for snacks all day long. Both have gained muscle mass and the akita filled out a ton (he didn’t get fat, just wider in the chest). They are absolutely beautiful. Before switching, we paid $1.60/lb and now we pay $0.80-$0.90/lb so unless we are feeding twice as much, we’re still coming out ahead on cost. Plus we don’t have to take them in for teeth cleanings or spend money/time brushing their teeth.
Please note that I do not recommend feeding any dog ground meat as a large part of their diet; it can be helpful when introducing new meats, but should be the exception, not the rule. Pre-made raw is nearly as bad as kibble in that you have no idea what is really in it and have no idea how much bone/meat/organ is really in there. Plus, it’s 2 or 3 times as expensive as feeding kibble and way more expensive than prey model. Good for you for making the decision to switch to raw. BTW, have you joined any of the yahoo! raw feeding groups? They are great sources of experience and info. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfe…http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawCh…
Bindi was skin and bones for 2 years, yet always found healthy. When she went from high quality kibble to raw, she gained and has maintained 10 pounds. She actually looks healthy.
Both of my dogs do great on raw but Bindi had the most dramatic change.
In addition to being underweight, her teeth were also brown at the age of two. Vet was recommending yearly dentals. Since being on raw her teeth are white again, she never needed a dental.
Both dogs have more even energy, their coats are awesome, they don’t smell, and yard clean up is sooo much easier.
I feed a prey model raw diet, I don’t use pre-made raw, it would get to spendy with a 150 pounds of dog to feed. Feeding prey model lets me know what exactly is going in my dogs, tweak as necessary, and cost much less.
Did you want to know about bad changes too?
My dog developed pancreatitis after changing to raw feeding because there was too much protein/fat in the BARF patties I bought.
(here’s an article about BARF myths: http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/barf-myth.h…
So, not all RAW is good.
I think it’s really a matter of the exact diet you give (rather than whether it is raw, cooked or processed) and how appropriate it is to the dog’s lifestyle.
I personally think that cooked and even quality processed food can be fine – it’s a matter of exactly what’s in it and how much you give.
I eat processed food all the time – not all processes rob a food of key nutrients.
My dogs do best on natural food, a mixture of cooked and raw.
My dogs have been on a raw diet for a couple of months now. My Kelpie (7 years) has lost some weight (which I couldn’t manage on Kibble without starving him) and his breath doesn’t stink any more. His teeth look much whiter.
The dogs don’t need as much water and they don’t poo as much as they used to.
The negative is that it is a little fussier (I do the prey model) but is getting easier, and a little bit more expensive. I do think, though, that when I pay for Kibble, even good quality, I am buying processed food and all dieticians will tell you that processed food is never as good for you as fresh food.
i have a maltese, and as soon as i began with the RAW diet, things like the brown marks on her eyes (from tearing) dissapeared, her breath never smells bad, and she goes to the potty at ease and solid. before she used to do too much pushing for a long time, and sometimes refused to eat at all.
i think you should definitely try it, maybe your dog is different, but all those by-products in regular pet food are not helping our pets!
I feed my dog one of the top brands of dog food. I don’t give her RAW.
She does get a marrow bone a few times a week, which is good for her teeth. That’s as RAW as she gets.
I don’t want to change to raw feed, i’m afraid the little guy can’t handle it.