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Sandra I Newbie
Joined: 18 Nov 2012 Posts: 13
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:01 pm Post subject: New puppy.....raw feeding |
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Hi. We are getting a new labradoodle puppy, called Flo, during the Christmas holidays. She wil be 7weeks old when she arrives. At the moment she is being weaned onto Bakers dry food but we would like her to eat raw. How soon after she comes to us should we start to change her diet? (I don't want to upset her any more than leaving her mum will already upset her) can we go straight, but gradually from dry to raw? Do we offer her a wee bit of each at the beginning gradually becoming more raw & less dry?
I have been reading through lots of posts about this and I am a bit confused about what should be in the mix. I have read that there should be some meat, bone, offal & oil. Is there a ratio of each of these or do you just vary what you feed regularly?
If you buy it at Greysmill, can you get all of these there? I also read that veg doesn't add anything to a dogs diet, yet it is mentioned everywhere, is this just to bulk out the meals? Sorry for all the questions but I think this may be a case of too much info available on the Internet & not all saying the same thing! We just want to do it properly!
Thank you xx |
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John Thomson Site Admin
Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 4780 Location: Cumbernauld
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Sandra,
Welcome to the forum.
First thing get the puppy off Bakers as soon as you can....it is full of strong colourants and preservatives.....a major cause of hyperactivity in dogs.
I feed raw and would never change back to commercial food.
raw is about balance and finding what works best for your own dog.
I feed mainly beef mince and bones.....occasionally adding some heart.
You are doing the right thing asking questions and doing research before your puppy arrives.
I am sure you will get plenty of advice and support.
John _________________ John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk |
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Janis I don't have a life ...I'm always here!
Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 4643 Location: CUMBERNAULD
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Sandra and welcome to the forum... looking forward to seeing pics of Flo over the festive holidays. I have to agree with John and say get Flo off Bakers as quickly as possible.
My daughter and I have 4 Cockapoos and they are all on raw and we too would not go back to commercial dog food..... with our two youngest we started raw as soon as we collected them form the breeder so they were both 8 weeks old and never looked back! _________________ Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!
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Sandra I Newbie
Joined: 18 Nov 2012 Posts: 13
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Janis, how did u go about changing to raw at such a young age? Did u change gradually, maybe a wee bit raw along with the dry food? I am not sure the best way to make the change although I would like it to happen as soon as we can. Thanks for any advice you can give! Xx |
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Janis I don't have a life ...I'm always here!
Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 4643 Location: CUMBERNAULD
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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We just started both Echo and Delta on raw from the first meal we gave them when we got them home. In fact I actually forgot to defrost a bag of raw on the 4th day we had Echo... so I just opened the sachet of puppy food I was given from the breeder... on popping it in her dish, she literally looked at it and then at me.... her expression said... ''and I've to do what with that?''
We've never looked back though it takes a little forward planning.... we invested in a second had freezer from the snips and then went to the abattoir for our 5Kg bag of raw and now my daughter bags up the meat into 300g for each dog including a teaspoon of ground up egg shells for calcium and a cod liver oil tablet...I can't think off hand what weight she made the puppy bags up to but depending on the breed and size of dog it will vary... my daughter now also adds veg in blitzing it first with in a blender. _________________ Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!
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shazzabing Newbie
Joined: 30 Mar 2011 Posts: 40 Location: condorrat
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:11 pm Post subject: Raw food |
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Hi
Where do u buy raw food??? _________________ Shazzabing x |
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Janis I don't have a life ...I'm always here!
Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 4643 Location: CUMBERNAULD
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:08 am Post subject: |
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I go to Grayshill Sharon, next to the Irn Bru factory. It can come fresh or frozen and £3.50 for a 5Kg bag. _________________ Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!
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shazzabing Newbie
Joined: 30 Mar 2011 Posts: 40 Location: condorrat
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Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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How much do u have to feed them a day
Do u give them dried food aswell _________________ Shazzabing x |
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Janis I don't have a life ...I'm always here!
Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 4643 Location: CUMBERNAULD
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Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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no we don't and what you feed them is down to the size of dog... kendal tends tends to give our lot 350g each every night. you generally find the dog's poo's become smaller and almost like bunny poo's and the coat becomes glossier and much calmer sleeping better too. _________________ Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!
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kendal I don't have a life ...I'm always here!
Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 4956 Location: cumbernauld
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Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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With raw feeding you need a bit of forward planning and freezer space.
There are lots of different websites on raw feeding and there are a number of compleat raw food suppliers who balance the food with a mix of veg organ meat and bone.
I raw feed in a DIY way where the brace of the diet is beef and I add different meet other days such as fish, lamb, rabbit, and chicken. Also from time to time liver, heart, kidney anddirty or green tripe (not the bleached one)
Then for their bone part of their diet I give them chicken wings/carcass/neck(same with turkey). I also feed pork or lamb ribs. I also get marrow bones from the place we beet out beef for the dogs so they get them as well.
I also feed raw eggs I keep the shells and crush them in an old blender so that I can ass a teaspoon of shell(works out to be about 1egg she'll) into their dinner on days that I'm not giving them bones. It's just extra calcium.
Do a good but of google before you start raw feeding as you do need to be a little bit committed to it. I can go for week just giving my girls basic meat without the organ met or veg but you really should add the extras every so often.
As for how much it depends on your dog but in general you looking at 2 or 3 % of their ideal body wait (but for a puppy you feed more). However it's really more about the feel of your dog. Feel the ribs if its hard to feel them you cut the food down, if they feel to skinny feed them more. I am for ever upping and downing the amount as my girls go up and down from time to time at the moment in feeding them up as they are a but to skinny.
So look into the different ways of raw feeding you can pick some up and pets at home (the one in Falkirk has a better selection). Some add veg and rice other just pure meet.
Other online companies will deliver too your door(some you need to buy in bulk others you can order as much or as little as you need.
Some people start raw feeding then find it to hard work so switch back to kibble but raw is always with a try. But start off with that you can find at the super market or a pets at home. _________________ microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk
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shazzabing Newbie
Joined: 30 Mar 2011 Posts: 40 Location: condorrat
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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U really are a fountain of knowledge Kendal .... Am exausted reading that lol _________________ Shazzabing x |
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