Puppy raw feeding! Change to dry?

[burntoutmum]

Hi

We're getting a puppy next Monday - she's a cross Miniature Poodle x Mini schnauzer, currently she's raw fed ( her breeder raw feeds all of her dogs)

Is it easy to keep going? If we decided to give her dry puppy food how would we do it? I'm guessing gradually otherwise it'll upset her stomach?

If we choose to switch over, are any brands highly recommended?

I have easy access to most supermarkets and pets at home

Thanks

Dry every time, jameswellbeloved or Harringtons, excellent food in my opinion .

Thanks Aunt, I've bought some Harringtons and a couple of trays of a wet food too in case she doesn't like the dry!

I feed my puppy Akela Small Paws. It was recommended by my dog trainer. It is said to be the nearest dry food to a raw diet.
It is not available in supermarkets and big name pet stores, but you may have a stockist nearby. You can also order online.

Prior to that he was on James Wellbeloved, but he wasn't too fussed on it.

You are right that any changes need to be done gradually, over 10 to 14 days.

Another big hit with puppys I know are, Fish 4 Dogs, Sea Jerky Dental Bites 😀

Great tips Carlottos way, I have heard of Akela too, meant to be very good.

Thanks I'll have a look!

Please don't switch!!!

It doesn't matter how good or expensive kibble or 'normal' dog food is, it will NEVER be as good as raw and nor will the benefits!

Raw is easy I promise. It may seem daunting to begin with but it really isn't. I can't for the life of me understand why ANYBODY would take their dog off raw and put on crappy kibble or tinned food.

At the practice I work in we love breeders who promote raw. There are also many differences (in general) in litters of puppies that have been weaned on raw to those that weren't.

The health benefits for raw massively outweigh feeding kibble or other dog food.
Please do the best thing for your dog and not the most covienient thing for yourself. Trust me, your dog and your wallet will thank you for it.

Raw is easy if you buy complete meals. It costs me about £1.50 a day to feed my medium sized dog a good well balanced raw diet - that is on a complete food as she don't have motivation to diy. There is no mess and she has never refused a meal. All you need is freezer space.

Don't mix raw and cooked - they apparently digest at different rates. I'd stick with what the breeder has them on, raw is a really good diet for a dog.

Raw is good, but if you really want to move to kibble then there is FAR better than Harringtons out there.

Try a good 80:20 grain free.

Raw is best. You can get easy ready made frozen or fresh online. We fed our Cav raw for 10 years and he still looks like a pup at 14.

I feed my poodle raw (he is a large toy poodle or a small minature so probably the same size as yours will be).
I feed him nutriment so its like the trays your got but it is raw, (but they are kept frozen before feeding).
Its probably more expensive than other raw feeding but it's easier and I don't have to worry about 'balancing'.
It costs me £20 a month to feed him. Most dogs eat 2-3% of their bodyweight to stay at a healthy size, mine needs 4% as he doesn't keep weight on so even a dog a little bigger than him would cost similar (probably).
www.nutriment.co/
AT the end of the day though, your dog, your decision.

If you are sticking with raw please go for a commercial raw such as natures instinct.
Home made raw diets and inexperienced owners with growing pups = many problems.
Some dogs do well on raw, some don't. I have known dogs seriously ill from nutritional imbalances and others with perforations and inpactions from raw feeding, but others with glossy coats and fit and well.

Personally I get a very good quality food - Millie's wolfheart. It is a kibble but all natural ingredients and my dogs look amazing on it. I do many enrichments and trainings with my dogs and never feed out of a bowl, so the idea of having raw meat and the associated risks in the house would not be suitable for me. Plus one of my dogs has allergies to many meats so wouldn't be able to feed a balanced raw diet.

Try www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk and get the highest rating food you can afford.

Another vote for Nutriment or Natures Menu (from Pets at Home)

Kibble/dry food is so so inferior to raw food, even ones that claim to be 'close' to raw

Raw fed dogs don't smell doggy. They have much softer and shinier coats. Their poos are firm little pellets rather than horrible Mr Whippy things, they have better breath and healthier teeth

I've seen or heard of so many dogs with stomach and skin problems with are solved almost instantly when they move onto raw food that I can't be convinced that kibble is ever the best choice for a dog

You might get the hard sell from a vet to move them onto a food they sell, but that's because the vet wants to make money selling you dog food rather than they knowing a huge amount about feeding dogs

Kibbles are kibbles at the end of the day no matter what brand it is.
They are all nuked to high temperatures and then vitamins, minerals and preservatives are added.
Very processed. Commercial dog food has only been around for what, 150yrs? Probably less.
It's like human having meal replacement food instead of wholesome fresh meat, fruit and veg.
I know what I'd rather have.
Fresh is good for us, even if people think it's a fad they should see fresh is good for them too.

I think hte raw vs dry debate is really confusing,

Our Puppy was on raw with the breeder who was very keen on raw feeding.

However our vet whilst not actively trying to discourage it stated that se was sceptical about the benefits but koreover had concerns abou thr safety of raw, as raw can contain lots of bacteria that can cause illness.

Also I hated handling the raw, so in the end we swirched pup to a mixture if dry and wet food both good quality. He is doing well!

Our family business was butchery. Until recently all the dogs were fed raw because it was easily available to us (personal reasons for discontinuing).

Having seen both, personally i'm not convinced of the benefits of raw over a good quality kibble (you can get cold pressed ones etc) and it definitely doesn't suit every dog. I do dog sports and know of multi-dog households that are on a mix of kibble and raw and i can guarantee you i could show you a number of dogs and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between raw-fed and high-quality kibble fed (though almost certain you could pick out the poor-quality kibble-fed ones)

What i do believe is that some raw feeders are evangelical about it and pretty much tell people they are poisoning their dogs if they don't feed raw. It does not suit every owner and it definitely doesn't suit every dog.

Sparechange and marcopolo.

I have to offer some balance to your postings.
I have worked for years with dogs. I see hundreds, if not thousands of dogs.

Some dogs do well on commercial raw, some dogs do well on good quality kibble. Not so many, but still some, do very well on home made raw.

I have seen dogs die from impactions caused directly from eating a raw diet. I have seen dogs both obese and emaciated on raw diets who have looked incredibly unwell go on to thrive on good quality kibble. I have seen people get salmonella from their raw fed dogs. Nutritional deficiencies in growing dogs etc etc.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3003575/ Is an interesting study.

Yet I still accept they all have pros and cons, I admit the sound of a raw diet can be appealing, but as my dogs are all in perfect shape, why would I risk changing that?

My dogs have never eaten raw, their poos are perfect. Our old family dog lived to 17. Even my 'old dog' now has immaculate teeth, shiny coat, fit, active with a perfect body condition score and perfect bloods at her well pet senior check. This is all anecdotal, but as are your stories. But it is lived experience.

I don't condem raw, but the passionate raw feeders make out like anyone who feeds kibble is feeding crap like bakers or pedigree and all their dogs must be unwell, it is simply false.

Harking on to 150 years ago, just makes no sense! A lot has changed then for humans and canines and I would look at our increased life expectancies and advances in knowledge for a start.

My dogs food, Millie's wolf heart, has 5/5 on the independent rating - which is the same for many of the commercial raw.
I can use the food for fun enriching ways that the dogs love - no bowls here, and my family isn't at high risk for infectious disease which is an important consideration also, especially when recommending food to people with young children, elderly relatives or immune compromised.

It is great your dogs are doing well on raw, but selling it to people as the only way to do right by your dog is naive and inaccurate.

Interesting thread. The posters saying they don't use bowls, could you please explain how you feed your dogs? Sorry if this is obvious!

Amen Love.

One of my three labradors must be broken cos she won't touch raw fussy madam

Thanks everyone!

I would love to keep going with the raw feeding, just finding the thought a bit daunting!!!

Also I'm concerned about the hygiene side of it, my youngest has a weak immune system so I'm not sure if it's a good idea in that respect so I need to do more research

theseaweed
I feed my dogs by a mix of scatter feeding, feeding out of kongs and puzzle feeders. Hiding it for sniffing games. Even simple things like hiding it in a rolled up towel. Using it as reward for training.
Is a great Facebook group called canine enrichment with loads of good ideas.

It works on the premise that dogs should lead full and enriching lives and not just be handed their food. It makes meals last longer, enhances their day and makes them work for their food to keep their brains busy. It is so rewarding and simple to get started, you get hooked on thinking of the next challenge .

Maybe one day a commercial dog food manufacturer will conduct a large scale research in to raw food (one where the owners know what they're feeding, the types of bones and ratio between meat, organs and bones)

I think if you are worried about the hygiene then I would seriously think twice about getting a dog - they are dirty animals who eat and roll in poo, when they are puppies they poo and wee in the house, they like to be muddy and shake in the kitchen, they get worms and sometimes have clumps of fired poo in the hair around their bottoms , they have a high tendency towards vomiting all sorts of disgusting stuff all over the carpet.
They have pluses but hygiene is not one of them!

I work in a referral hospital. I've seen hundreds of raw fed dogs that look awful. Typical problems include obesity, bad skin, impacted bones requiring surgery, haemorrhagic gastroenteritis from bones, and most commonly bacterial problems due to poor hygiene and contaminated meat.

Raw isn't the be all and end all OP and I have the current bandwagon that all raw fed dogs are in amazing health as in our experience that isn't the case. Granted some dogs do well but it's not one shoe fits all.

I personally don't really care what people feed to an extent but wouldn't criticise someone for feeding a high quality kibble diet over raw. I don't feed raw as I don't want my toddler picking up raw meat as my dogs don't eat particularly fast!

I've just switched our puppy to 'Gentle' dog food as the kibble she was weaned on to wasn't suiting her. Debated raw, but feel more comfortable with a quality dry food. Plus, it's great to be able to keep her engaged by feeding via kongs, puzzles etc, as others have said.

This has made an almost instant improvement to her tummy & she seems more settled now too. The advice from the company is that you can feed alongside raw, so we have that option in the future. I can't see how one diet can suit every single dog, so i imagine it can sometimes be a bit of trial and error! Enjoy your puppy!