Switching from raw food, recommendations?

[ikeepforgetting]

I have an 8.5 yo cockapoo who has always been a mix of starving and fussy. He hated kibble so I put him on a raw diet when he was smaller. At the time it was touted as miracle food for dogs but I am not sure its reputation is the same. Anyway, started him on a new brand before xmas and it has some visible white bits, I assume cartilage/bone, and he has had a couple of incidents of vomiting up undigested food the next morning so I am worried about it slowing down his digestion.

I think the time is right to move away from raw completely now, but what to? Happy to try mail order brands if they work best. Anyone have any recommendations? He loves food but has always had indigestion type symptoms (burping, lip licking) so want to steer clear of anything that would make it worse

Oh and also has dodgy anal glands!

I would personally find a better brand of raw. They are not all equal quality.

Agree with @Wolfiefan that not all brands are equal. But, more importantly, not all dogs can tolerate the same brands of food.

I have five dogs. All are on different food because what works for one doesn't work the best for the others. For example, my girl on Farmer's Dog gets allergies (skin rashes, throat closures) from Bella and Duke...even though both are raw 😑

I have;
One on Butternut Box (for example - which isn't raw) with biscuits.
One on Farmer's Dog (raw) without biscuits
One on Bella & Duke (raw) with biscuits
One on Bella and Duke (raw) without biscuits.

And one who has decided she's now an old lady and will eat whatever she wants and is currently living off cold butternut squash soup, spag bol and roast dinners.

I'd try another brand of raw before you change completely. Or go back to whatever he was on before.

I have a Westiepoo who is notoriously fussy. He won’t eat most foods because they simply don’t interest him. We tried him on raw as at one point it was the only food he would eat and there was actually a dedicated dog butcher near us who did very high quality stuff but his tum couldn’t handle it and he’d be sick. We moved to Butternut Box and it works very well for us - he chows it down! There’s a couple of the flavour combos he’s not so keen on (mostly the veggie ones).

I used to feed raw but had a bad experience so don't any more. I think it makes sense for dogs but too risky the way it's produced for me at least.

Whatever you decide to give him, I'd try some supplements to help his digestion. Sounds like he has gastro issues and might need a bit of help as well as different food.

Thanks - will talk to the vet too though they usually always recommend the expensive medical grade stuff don't they. What supplements would you suggest @redboxer321 ?

I think I always assumed that raw feeding would sort out any gastrointestinal issues but thinking back he has had gas/lipsmacking symptoms for much longer than this new raw food.

Butternut Box is great for fussy dogs. Expensive but worth it IMO and if you buy in bulk it’s cheaper. If you want a discount code message me (I get a discount too if you use it but you get something like 60% off a box so it’s a good way to try it).

My dog's gut is definitely better with the tripe blends with raw.

Smells like death and rotting flesh but she would sell her soul for a spoonful of it 🤷🏼‍♀️

My sister feeds her dog on Years dog food but for me it's just eyewateringky expensive

DH cooks all DDog’s meals in the pressure cooker about 3 times a week.

Large mixed breed dog, with a lot of Lab/Collie/Newfoundland in him.

Usually a variety of minced beef, pork, frozen mixed veg in a chicken or beef gravy. Also supplemented by fresh butchers bones from our local butcher.

@ikeepforgetting
I got some kind of disc things for her the other day from the vet. She was really struggling with loose poo/eating grass and it wasn't clearing. I don't think it was expensive but you know what vets are like, you kind of get used to it! They worked a treat but I told him I usually use a clay supplement if she's struggling and he said it sounded similar but not so strong.
I get the clay from Aniforte. They have a number of good products and are happy to advise.
Healthful Pets have lots of good products too but reluctant to advise.
She had a bit too much fat yesterday so I gave her Hilton Herbs Digestive Aid and some of the clay from Aniforte and she is good again this morning.

If yours has been on raw, he should be ok for digestive enzymes, but something to think about when you switch.

I wonder if the raw food is too high in fat for your dog. I think it was for mine. She just has normal Forthglade biscuits now (she was on cold pressed and it took me forever to work out it doesn't suit her, like the raw it's sold as so much better nutritionally but no good for her), she used to have a reasonable quality tray of wet food but now I cook for her (white fish, a little meat and offal, sweet potato, veg, fruit, berries)* natural low-fat chews like pizzle sticks and a veg/herb supplement thing (again from Aniforte). Oh and a sardine once a week.

• I did try her on fresh food that comes frozen but you've got all the hassle of finding space in the freezer and all the packaging and when I looked at the recipes, I realised I could make it myself so that's what I do now.

Hope you find a solution, it's horrible when they're not quite right.

Just found an offer for a starter box with Different Dog so I'll try that out - sorry @Tygertiger I didn't see your referral offer in time! I will come back to you if this doesn't work. It might be too expensive long term but will see. Kibble a no-no, he refuses that and I think I am done with raw so not sure what the other options might be. I already feed two fussy teenagers different meals (I know) so not sure I can add a special dog menu into the mix as well!

If you find it too expensive or inconvenient, you can just copy the recipes. I, ahem, know someone who did just that 😉

How do you do the vitamin/mineral supplements? I’d like to cook my own version but that’s what I’m not sure of.

We started on kibble but he began to refuse to eat it, so we tried Pure, which is dehydrated and you reconstitute it. However, he got dreadful upset stomach and was pooping 10-12 times a day! We are now on Bella and Duke, he loves it, down to 3 solid poops a day and couldn’t be happier.
Unfortunately, I think it’s just a case of trying to it and see. Different dogs like different things!

I transitioned my dog from raw food to Natures Menu wet food in pouches. It’s quite good quality. She’s always been a fussy eater and so I sometimes mix bits of chicken in it to encourage her.

I give her Aniforte Canine Complete. Also brewer's yeast, some vits in her GLM, herbal mix periodically, fish oil and sometimes spirulina but I've run out and most get some more.
Dorwest is good too, use products from them sometimes.

I find it easier than getting deliveries and can keep the fat content low and she's doing well on it but I'm keeping an eye on her as I haven't been doing it long. I gave her tray food before which seemed to suit her but I always put hot water on it to make it warm and the smell of the lamb in particular was just terrible. I thought what the hell am I feeding her? So I swapped. I am plant based myself so I don't really like feeding her meat but I don't think I could feed her vegan but I do struggle a bit with it.

I've never tried Butternut Box because I heard it can be high in fat, do you find it so?

It depends on the recipe. The beef for example is higher in fat but the chicken is lean. The website does tell you which recipes to avoid if your dog is on a low-fat diet.

I’d still prefer to cook my own just to get the costs down! Would you share your recipe? I wouldn’t know where to start in terms of ratio of meat to offal etc.

@Tygertiger
To be honest, it's different every time. Depends what I've got in but ratios tend to be something like:
Green veg 5%
Egg 3%
Carrot 3%
Fruit and berries 3%
Sweet potato 5%
Ginger 1%
Liver 5%
Heart 10%
Meat or fish 70%
Don't know if it adds up but to give you an idea.
A scoop of the canine complete and her other supplements.

When you raw feed I think they say 10%bone 10% offal (including 5% liver) and 80% muscle meat. Heart is muscle meat but very rich. So I try to stick to that kind of thing. For bone, she has bone broth, whole sardine once a week (gutted and no head) and dried beef tails and ostrich knuckles (I always have to be careful of the fat content).

I use the freezer a lot. For example, I don't eat eggs myself so I boil six eggs and peel them and freeze them chopped up and take a little out each day. Same with sweet potato.

I also give her kibble which she's happy with. Tends to be in treat dispensers and snuffle mats.

She gets dried spleen (just a little bit a day), collagen chews, beef tails, pizzle sticks, bladder chews, lung and ears (lamb and cow, not pig) and all sorts of nasties. I'd like to give her tripe but find it too fatty.

Hope that helps!
Sounds complicated but you get into a rhythm and it becomes easy and I find it the best way now. I do monitor though of course but think she's doing pretty well.

We’ve recently moved to butternut box and top up with some kibble (jollies life stage.)

My ddog has very sensitive guts and we have cut out chicken which has definitely helped a lot. He also gets reflux (similar symptoms to yours lip licking, burping etc) so he has three small meals a day.

Oh and my dog is fussy with kibble but likes Lifestage, I think because it’s a high meat content.