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Raw Food Diet??!?!

Basenji Feeding
  • Hi! Just read this thread as I too had done quite a bit of research as I wanted to determine if raw was the way to go for Uzie. Every food I tried just seem like he eventually got dry skin, itchy, and just seemed hungry all the time. Well, for the past month he has done well. but I do not give him so many fruits or veggies on a daily basis. I love to vary it for him, a few days chicken (no side effects), some frozen prepared, and then beef and throw in organ meat as well. What did you mean by this quote: "We feed her cooked and raw vegetables once a week mixed into a day's worth of meals."? Maybe this is the culprit for the diarrhea. The vet found a lot of fluid and if you mashed it or however you gave it, it just could be that there is too much of the fluid from the veggies. Remember, their gut is made to digest meat, as the veggies we give them just go through as bulk. Maybe your girl is getting too much? just a thought and hope it helps. Every time I read about a problem I immediately think' go raw!' Know it is not for everyone. I am still learning. Just the other day, I found out Uzie is a 'GULPER' and not a chewer for chicken necks! I freaked when I saw half the neck go down his throat! He is ok, a semi fast the next day and a little tunafish for dinner the next made me feel better thinking about those bones in there! So it has been three days and all normal stools-phew!

  • Amazing how much their poop can tell you, best thing you can do is keep a close eye on it, have gotten very good at dissecting Kaisers. If I had been more conscious of what is healthy poop and signs of problems in his earlier I may have picked up his leaky gut sooner. Agree with Buddys Pal regarding vegies, waste of space. Vegies for Kaiser is green tripe. Glad my boy is a cruncher, still manages to swallow big bits( hold my breath and hope it goes down) but only after he has crunched the bone to pieces, cat gets chicken necks and Kaiser gets turkey necks.

    Jolanda and Kaiser

  • We've been feeding Juniper dry Orijen only since the vet visit and all her digestion issues have cleared up. The simplification of the diet does seem to have worked as it eliminated whatever variable was causing her GI distress. She's eating less with the Orijen but certainly not starving herself. We may work raw food back in with small portions every other day or something like that, depending on how she digests the first few raw meals we'll give her in a week or two.

    When I said we fed her veggies, we would cook small portions of carrots and peas or sometimes give her a frozen raw carrot (great for chewing and amazing for a teething puppy)…and if we cooked the veggies we'd normally we'd just dump them over her raw food and she'd eat it all like the veggies weren't even there. But I think now we're done with the added veggies since it seems like an unnecessary addition to her diet otherwise. The Orijen is completely balanced so she's getting all she needs from that, raw on top of that would just be for her enjoyment since she lops it up like a steak dinner.

    About swallowing food/treats, Juniper has scared us before with a turkey neck. We thought we could look away for a minute, then we were ripping apart our home looking for the neck...but it was never found, so we had to assume she swallowed it in under 60 seconds! That was months ago so she's definitely passed it without issues since then. The good news is she tends to chew on every food item especially the larger it is, just never as much as we'd like (seems like a common feeling of owners of B's). Now we know to watch her like a hawk in case she's feeling too lazy to chew. Thankfully the more crunchy it is the more she seems to like to crunch on it, so she will work on a quarter-cut of a duck neck for a minute before she swallows the pieces she broke apart.

  • @nobarkus:

    I just took Paolo to the vet as he had been throwing up 4-7 hours after eating last week. Vet said he had some gastritis. When I told the vet I fed him some (1/3) frozen raw (Steve's Frozen Raw) mixed with canned he was like "I wouldn't feeD him raw as he could get bacterial poisoning". I've had Paolo for over 3 months and have been feeding him that and he seemed OK although had been itching and licking himself a lot which could be anything. I was experimenting last week to see what was giving him trouble and it seemed that when I did not include the raw he was not throwing up and when I added it back he would vomit (4-7 hours after). Now one day I came home and gave him a little cook chicken breast, we went for a walk and after we got home he threw it up. I feed the same to my other B, Buddy and he seems fine. They both were getting probiotics in their food as well. This what it says on Steve's Raw Food website.

    What about E.coli, Salmonella and other microbes?

    Steve?s Real Food uses only the highest quality (100% human-quality) ingredients, but this is a very legitimate concern, and is often the first question pet owners have. It is also an easy question to answer. Properly prepared raw meat-based diets are very safe for dogs and cats. Always be sure to use safe handling procedures including washing hands, bowls, counter tops & utensils used for raw feeding.

    "We regularly test our foods for our guaranteed analysis, Salmonella, E.coli 0157-H7, & Campylobacter (click here for our latest test results) to ensure our products safety. We also test our foods for hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides (our food sources are of such high quality that residues are very unlikely, but we love our pets too much to take any chances).

    We then instant flash freeze (-50 degrees ) our foods to eliminate the possibility of parasites. This also locks in the freshness of the vital nutrients raw foods have to offer. "

    Anyway I have Paolo on just canned right now and the vet has prescribed antibiotics for the week.

    Hi! I too took to the idea of feeding 'real' food instead of the processed stuff that keeps getting recalled. Even the high quality food, there runs a risk of salmonella due to the time it takes to digest it. With raw, the dog's stomach is suppose to digest it and will not sit in the gastro-track. The advice of the others is right on, you will find websites, books, and forums with some differences. What I have learned so far in this past 6 weeks:

    1. don't mix raw with kibble on the same feed. you can still give kibble if needed.
    2. every dog will not thrive on a raw. It is up to you to know your pup and do accordingly.
    3. you have gulpers and chewers. when I watched Uzie 'gulp' the chicken neck, I freaked!! (not out loud and didn't disturb him). He processed it and pooped just fine.
    4. you will be an expert in poop reading! this is how you determine how they are processing the food. http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dry-canned-dog-food/3092-poop-chart.html (this is good! put your snack down before you look at this!)
    5. no need to grind up eggshells (yep, did it…) cause when you feed bone in, they get what they need.
    6. here is basic calculator for how much: http://www.bravorawdiet.com/howmuch.html
    7. no weight being bone of large animals. I have feed wings but not thigh bones….working up to it. the best and less costly way to start is the chicken back. they love it. you many want to start feeding outside or guard the doorway to the kitchen cause they want to 'go somewhere' and munch!!!
    8. some links I liked :http://preymodelraw.com/page/articles.html
      http://www.njboxers.com/top-50-barf-faqs-for-beginners.html#.UpC9liewWp0

    ps: some may say to fast before switching, not so. but if it makes you feel good, cook it a little like I did for the older guys(11 &12) and then watch how they love to get fed!!! good luck!

  • I have mentioned ZiwiPeak before and been ignored - is it not available in the US? It is very expensive, and the scoop makes it easy to underfeed, but Butu really likes it. (He's not that keen on Orijen, though he will behave for the Orijen treats!)

  • ZiwiPeak is available in both the U. S. and Canada, according to their website. It appears to be a dehydrated product, much like the NRG I feed.

  • It is indeed dehydrated and has the stuff like the organs and tripe - it seems very good….

  • My guy didn't care for ZiwiPeak. I use Primal (either freeze dried or raw) for breakfast and dry for dinner. I still haven't found a dry food he really loves but the Primal has been a hit so far.

  • Thanks for the info. Haven't seen Primal here. Unfortunately the big pet shops here don't tend to stock the good stuff, but a new store near me has Canagan, Orijen and Ziwipeak, so have a happy boy….

  • Ok, just had to add some more. Had a friend over yesterday (our first thanksgiving turkey, then Thursday again!) and she saw Hershey 12.8 years old and she mentioned how alert he was. Coat and eyes were clear and shiney! I was really excited to hear this as I read this about others' dogs in different forums etc. So, anyone thinking about it, it is not a fad…..it works and they all love it!

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    Basenji Feeding
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    S
    I would find out what he scared of or what he dislikes about the car. Is it the car itself, the sensation of being closed in, the movement when the car is being driven? Then work on whatever the problem is, with food. As for food, I use raw duck and vegetables. And I hand-feed all meals, so I never have a problem with not eating/partially eating. I would also recommend hand-feeding for anyone who does have a dog with food issues. Shredded chicken is good (as long as he doesn't have any reactions). But that and some kibble isn't a balanced meal. You may wish to look into a vitamin supplement, specifically something that has a focus on omega 3 (since chicken is high in omega 6), Vitamin C & the B vitamins (because if all he's eating is chicken and kibble, where is his source of vitamin C and the B vitamins?), zinc & copper (same reasons). All the best. EDIT: I just realized this thread is a year old and was bumped by what is almost certainly a bot.
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    Buddys PalB
    wow, read all through that facebook link you gave, so scary! thanks for the flag to be watched, definitely!
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    dmeyD
    every time I hear things like that about raw feeding I ask myself the same questions.. what about Prime rib? what about steak served rare?. what about carpaccio, steak tartare, sushi,. and all kinds of meat and vegetables we eat raw..and like you mention. what about everyday handling of meat by.. uh everyone?
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    Basenji Feeding
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    barklessk9B
    I would highly recommend the fish oil. As I stated before in a previous post, I put Zak on a grain free diet and added fish oil pills daily and a Cosequin DS (glucosamine & chondroitin) capsule sprinkled on his food each day for arthritis and he has not had a problem with arthritis since. There are foods with these supplements included, however, it is my understanding that they are just sprayed on the food. My vet had in the past suggested for my senior dogs at least 1000mg fish oil daily for cognitive health and the arthritis. For Zak and some early kidney disease he is showing she is recommending, and I have also read on line, 100mg fish oil per 10 lbs. of body weight (2500 mg daily). I don't think you're going to find the best level of fish oil supplement in a kibble. Oh, and his coat this year is sooooooooo soft! :)
  • Starting our dogs on the raw diet-pics added

    Basenji Feeding
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    basenji_fanB
    @JazzysMom: I have some concerns about the raw diet, but was thinking about giving once a week or so raw to give the dogs a treat but have decided against it. I had been giving them raw bones to chew, purchased from a local butcher, but then realized that every time I did that, Keoki got severe diarrhea for a day. So…. I'm sticking with kibble and cans. What really might be the problem is not the bones but the marrow, if you scrape out the marrow prior to giving them to your dogs then they should have no problems AT ALL with chewing on the raw bones and it will greatly help with cleaning their teeth and giving them something to do. Good choices are like beef knuckle bones as there is very little marrow there (also can cut off excess meat too) and beef ribs are good too (again scrape out as much marrow as you can) the bone marrow is what can cause the looser stool not chewing on the bones themselves or anything to do with actual raw feeding. So go ahead and try it again, I'm sure Keoki would love having it again just takes a little prep she can have it :D
  • Raw Diet Poop

    Basenji Feeding
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    dmcartyD
    If they are too hard - how about adding some Flax Seed - I'm think that more fiber might help. or a small bit of Karo Syrup.