raw experts, I know you're out there...

[hemingway]

(Wasn't sure how many views this would get on the feeding page, so I'm posting here, forgive me.)

Hi!! Ok, want to make the transition to raw finally. Going with Bravo. I was told a "cold switch" to raw is the best thing because they metabolize raw and dry food differently, and feeding them together can cause GI issues. I foresee a cold switch being a week long nightmare of messy #2's and an upset newfie tummy. But if that is the lesser of two evils, then I guess I will try it. I come to you asking for your experience transitioning to raw and whether or not you agree that a cold switch is better than a week-long raw+dry transition.

Thank you!

 

[BlackLightning]

Yes, we went cold turkey. I started my two out on fish and nothing else. I was told the transition is made easier if you don't introduce a lot of different protein sources all at once, so we stuck with just fish at first. Many do just chicken for example at the beginning.

Not going to lie, the first week involved a lot of runny poop! But, we stuck with it and their poops firmed up on their own after about a week. We then slowly introduced different protein sources, always in small amounts at first and gradually increasing as they adjusted.

 

[R Taft]

I have had quite a few rescue dogs that went from whatever they were fed to our RAW diet and I have never had any issues......so just do it.

If you have read all the %'s and have all the stuff...you go

I have fed my dogs RAW (meats only from Supermarkets) in the morning and Kibble in the evening with canned fish when we travel. Because it has been too hard to have all their special Raw stuff along. this happens about every month or so for a few days here and there
My dogs do not seem to have any issues with sloppy poops. I do poop watch :lol:..If our poops are too dry, I cut down on bones for a couple of days, if they are soft, but not sloppy I increase bone. I hardly seem to have any problems, even witrh Foster's/rescues and my FOsters that are with my old friends (I am in charge of the food for those). The worst poop scenario seems to be occasionally Tessa goes chalky, which means too much bone. That is a rare occurence since we have added virgein cocounut oil to their diet. It happens becuase Tessa is the scavenger of any bone left-overs from all the dogs.

Good luck Ronnie

 

[Capri]

I would agree with a switch with no mixing. Start with non-bone foods that are easy to digest and don't usually upset the stomach for the first week or so, and then gradually introduce the bones once the dog's stomach has adjusted to the lower pH needed for digesting the raw (and bones).

 

[CMDRTED]

This is the "Recipie" we use if your going to use Bravo, as a base.

We use Bravo Chicken - while it's got vegis in it we supplement with more

This is what I call Bravo Basic (As we are feeding 4 Newfs and a Pom we use the 5lb Tube):

One Tube of Bravo
3 Tblspn Flaxseed Oil
2 Tblspn Cod Liver Oil
6 Tblspn Liquid Salmon Oil
1 Tblspn Coconut Oil
NR Supplement (5 capsules - Open capsule pour powder in mix)
1 tsp Seaweed extract
1 Can (Pureed) Peas/Carrots/Greenbeans (your choice we rotate them)
5 Myristin Tablets (crushed)
Mix together until blended.
Fruit (if you want to): We have used: Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, Banana, apple. They shoud be pureed for maximum absorbtion of nutriants.

We add the following to their bowl at meal time:

10mg Zinc (Only 2 time a week for example monday and friday)
1 Large serving spoon of SOJOS - (The Fruit and Vegis Formula)
(SOJOS is a dehydrated additive, follow directions to re-hydrate and serve. We make enough for the week and store it in a container in the fridge. The directions say 15 minutes, I'd wait 1 hour to hydrate the mix).

We also supplement with the following:

Tripe - We get it frozen in 5lb tubes (the smell is not that bad).
Ground Beef
Red Salmon (Canned use the juice it's full of goodies.
Mackrel
Sardines
Turkey Hearts
Chicken Hearts
You can rotate through these to add interest

Other supplements they get in their food bowl are:

Blueberry Supplement - For Eye Health
Tumeric
Ginger
Apple Cider Vinegar (in a pill form)

Other things you can try later if you can get it:

Fresh Whole Mackeral
Fresh Trout
of course beef (I cube it for easier eating)
Red salmon (You MUST cook it, uncooked salmon has a parasite in it, cooking kills it)

I'm not at home right now, so I think i've covered all of ours, but would be glad to PM you with more details. Also since your in the area, I can help you with some vendors for Bravo, Tripe, and possibly beef, that are in the area. If interested let me know. I also have a fabulos source of RAW Diet information. I'm sure she would be happy to talk to you about it. I will PM you my Ph Number so if you need help, have a question you can call.

You can add this later, when Hemi is used to the diet. Even though their is ground up bone in the Bravo, we add the following:

Chicken wings

It seems like a lot of work at first, but once you get the routine down, and get more confident, it will go quicker.

I would cold switch, as kibble and RAW are digested at different rates. As a bonus, you'll find poos, disinagrate in about 3-4 days to a powdery ash, once acclimated to the diet.

 

[hemingway]

Thank you everyone! What a wealth of info, Ted! Thank you! I still have some research to do, I guess! If I have any questions, I will get in touch. Thanks all. Looks like we'll go for the cold switch after all.

 

[NewfieMama]

Stacey, nice to "see" you!

I gave Zuzu raw satin balls this AM for her breakfast. She seemed OK with it, though she did look at me like "That's IT?!" since it just doesn't look like 2 cups of kibble + water in a bowl.

So far, so good...no poops yet and no apparent discomfort...

Good luck! Did you find a local Bravo supplier/coop? How are you sourcing it?

 

[hemingway]

Stacey, nice to "see" you!

I gave Zuzu raw satin balls this AM for her breakfast. She seemed OK with it, though she did look at me like "That's IT?!" since it just doesn't look like 2 cups of kibble + water in a bowl.

So far, so good...no poops yet and no apparent discomfort...

Good luck! Did you find a local Bravo supplier/coop? How are you sourcing it?

Nice to "see" you too! I've got a friend who's offered to order mine along with her order, and she gets it discounted through a vet. If that doesn't work out, I have a local spot that sells it. I have tons of dry food left so I think we will wait until we run out....probably about a month or so. Looking forward to seeing how he does on it!!!