# Thank you for the comments - going to try RAW again



## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Dear all 

Thank you for the comments in my last posts in Diet and Nutrition.... I've taken some time off the board and thought about my dogs nutrition and have begun the process of doing RAW again. 

A video from Dr. Lonsdale posted here helped me with my decision too:

Dr. Tom Lonsdale on Feeding Your Modified House Wolf

and this one here:

Go Back in Time & Make a 42 Minute Investment in Your Dog’s Health

If you want to see their journey I am going to dialogue it here on videos since it is easier than blogging right now - I just upload from my phone.

Here is their breakfast from this morning:

YouTube - Dogs eating raw chicken for breakfast

Here is their Green Tripe from Last Night

YouTube - Dogs eating Green Tripe

Tonight more chicken (raw meaty bones)

So far stools are good.

I have some 6 Fish Orijen and PureVita (almost out) to finish up that I put out during this transition period. there is like 2 cups that sit out during the day....so if they want it they can eat it. And normally its gone.

When I took Louis to the vet last week and they told me he needed his teeth cleaned again at $500 minimum (without extractions if needed). I was like - "BS - they are going back to RMB!" The kibble is just caking up on his teeth!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!!

Let's see what they say next year when I go for his heartworm test :wild:

And with my girl I'm just going to watch her and her need to pee....So far no accidents. But if it happens, then I will know it is normal after I think it was Derek told me.

eace:

Robert
Angeles and Friends ? The World's Cutest Sable German Shepherd on the Web <--- taking a break from blogging though


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Good luck with the switch! I'm looking forward to reading about it.


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## Cluemanti (Jun 25, 2010)

Good luck, reading more and more on Raw and thinking of making the switch soon also.


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Thanks Brandi. Just got finished feeding them dinner (well Louis was asleep so I didn't wake him up - he doesn't know I'm home yet! LOL). Will post a link shortly.

Will do Cluemanti. Have a great weekend.
Robert


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Wow!...that's pretty amazing....we wish you nothing but the best....there's lots of people here to support you guys through the transition. I hope your girl doesn't have the urination issue again and hope it was a buried UTI that came out last time. Looking forward to the updates.....


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Gib Laut said:


> Wow!...that's pretty amazing....we wish you nothing but the best....there's lots of people here to support you guys through the transition. I hope your girl doesn't have the urination issue again and hope it was a buried UTI that came out last time. Looking forward to the updates.....


Thanks Dexter. So far things are going well. I tried to upload my last video to youtube and I kept getting an error. Oh well, I'm going to film again tomorrow. So far they are having a great time at it. I get my freezer next Thursday!!! YEAH!!! So now I can buy more than a days worth of food!

The one thing I notice again in this transition that I noticed last time was they are very calm after eating. Are yours pretty calm and laid back after eating (as in they aren't bothering you to play straight away)?


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Dex is as calm as he gets (which by some standards is not calm at all) after eating, but mostly b/c we eat at the same time and he finishes first!...so he usually lays down, licking and cleaning for a bit until I finish.....I find it also depends on what he eats and how much work is involved....ex. RMB's take more work than his MM meal...after a hard working meal, he tends to be somewhat more laid back afterwards.....


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Everything is going well with the raw transition.

We have a freezer full of Purdue Whole Chickens (we bought 14 fryers) - we joined the Costco. At .89 cents a pound I can't beat that around here. Plus they include the chicken neck, heart, kidney and gizzard - ALL in the Package! So each dog gets part of the "special treat" once a day cause I feed all three 1 chicken a day. The average price is $4.03 per chicken. And depending on the size of the bird I might have some left over the next day.

I love COSTCO!

Also have Tripe and some Ground Organs for them from the Green Tripe People.

The local Butcher is going to call tomorrow about the 60 lbs of Beef Hearts. I think that would last a whole year! And the price - he said between $50 - $60 bucks. He is also checking on fresh, grass fed only green tripe and any other parts he can get his hands on.

I also started to give them a fish oil pills from Costco/Kirkland brand - just to make sure they are getting all their omega 3's - EPA and DHA.

Oh well - thats about it for now.... just wanted to update yall on the progress we are making.



Robert


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

*Got some Parts on Order *

Just got call from butcher...they are ordering me 

30 lb Turkey neck
40 lb Chicken neck
40 lb Chicken hearts

comes in tomorrow or wednesday.....fresh from the slaughterhouse 

I figured this, plus what I have already bought will give some variety, especially since the whole chickens have a lot more meat on some pieces than bone. And the chicken hearts are small - so easier to weigh and split vs. a BIG Beef heart. 

I do have to dethaw some, repackage and freeze - but no big deal. :wild:
I'm having fun with this -and so are the dogs - I mean my modified house wolves :wub:


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

Keep us posted on how it is going!


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

I will - thank you..... Even my cats are getting a raw transition too...... They are getting NV Raw Medallions and now eating it w/out mixing with canned food.... hmmmmm they don't eat as much of it, but cool they actually are acquiring that "instinctive" taste! They still get some grain free kibble but I'm trying to get them on just raw and eventually some raw where they actually have to do some flesh tearing to help with their teeth cleaning.....that will take time.... but we wouldn't get there if we didn't start! It's the journey!


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Yay! Glad the transition is going well!


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

sagelfn said:


> Yay! Glad the transition is going well!


Thanks Brandi!

Too funny - this morning I was cutting up the chicken and in a hurry and after I started handing out the chicken I was like - dang - this chicken looks bigger than the other one.....I wonder how much it weights.... it was in two pack that was 8.44 lbs. 

So I probabaly OVER FED this morning....but they were NOT complaining! Although Angeles did look at me like - "are you sure you meant to give all of this to me?" 

They are NOT getting any dinner after all that. :wild:

They were def. resting their tummies after that meal - reminds me of Thanksgiving here int he USA  and all I want to do is sleep afterwards when I overeat.

I need to pick up the electronic scale this week and pay attention to the size of the bird! 

All doing well. And yep - if you put REAL MEAT next to kibble - they are not going near the kibble. They are going after the REAL MEAT first. Why overcook it, then add vitamins and amino acids back? Just give them the real stuff first! Plus it is great for their teeth and over all health. BIG SAVINGS!

I can't tell you how much fun I'm having this go around with the transition. They are doing so good. I'm proud of them. And me for doing the right thing by my carnivores! I :wub: them.

Robert


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

rjvamp said:


> I can't tell you how much fun I'm having this go around with the transition. They are doing so good. I'm proud of them. And me for doing the right thing by my carnivores! I :wub: them.
> 
> Robert


That's really great news Robert. So happy it is a better experience for you this time around....it really is amazing how good it makes you feel to watch them actually enjoy eating. Some days I feel like crazy butcher girl happily hacking up parts in my science lab I call the kitchen!!!.... 

Michelle and Dex


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I too am glad that the raw feeding is going better this time! I hope you can stick it out and get them fully over onto it. It makes such a Huge difference in the dogs overall health and the delight in their eyes when it is chow time makes it well worth it too!!


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Zisso said:


> I too am glad that the raw feeding is going better this time! I hope you can stick it out and get them fully over onto it. It makes such a Huge difference in the dogs overall health and the delight in their eyes when it is chow time makes it well worth it too!!


Here are some pics (http://twitpic.com/photos/robfdavis) of the turkey necks, chicken necks and chicken hearts....just finished filling up the deep freeze (plus we still have whole chicken and tripe!). We are good for at least 2 months!

We are sticking it out. Dogs doing great. No issues - except the dogs are just happy to be eating REAL food now :wild: and glad their daddy finally made up his mind


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Gib Laut said:


> That's really great news Robert. So happy it is a better experience for you this time around....it really is amazing how good it makes you feel to watch them actually enjoy eating. Some days I feel like crazy butcher girl happily hacking up parts in my science lab I call the kitchen!!!....
> 
> Michelle and Dex


To funny Michelle (Sorry I got your name wrong before!)

I was the butcher tonight!

Twitpic / robfdavis


Robert


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

"house wolves", very cute 

I'm glad that things are going so well :thumbup:


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

So glad everything is working out well  And please do keep updating as I am seriously considering going down the same track so this is very informative!


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## dakota20 (Jul 9, 2010)

I see you're a fellow Minnesotan. Did you know you can buy straight from the distributor instead of going thru your butcher. Swanson's meat in Mpls. has a site (www.rawsforpaws) where you can order and pick up from there. When I first got my new puppy, I asked around, different butchers etc., and found it cheaper to go thru Swanson's. It's really easy. I ended up ordering 225 lbs of food! And at a buck (roughly) a pound it was deal. I can do better than that on price next time cuz I bought some fancy, more expensive stuff for Jade the first go around. For example chicken quarters, and they're huge, are $.67/lb. They have all sorts of stuff...check it out.


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

dakota20 said:


> I see you're a fellow Minnesotan. Did you know you can buy straight from the distributor instead of going thru your butcher. Swanson's meat in Mpls. has a site (www.rawsforpaws) where you can order and pick up from there. When I first got my new puppy, I asked around, different butchers etc., and found it cheaper to go thru Swanson's. It's really easy. I ended up ordering 225 lbs of food! And at a buck (roughly) a pound it was deal. I can do better than that on price next time cuz I bought some fancy, more expensive stuff for Jade the first go around. For example chicken quarters, and they're huge, are $.67/lb. They have all sorts of stuff...check it out.


Thank you!!!! I didn't know that. :wild::wild::wild:

I'm going to check them out. My freezer is filled from top to bottom!!!! and maybe 10% is for us! Although we might borrow a chicken to roast from the dogs - now see, isn't that cool? we can SHARE food! I don't have to worry about my food vs. their food (except I'm not eating organs, necks and tripe - ROFL).

I've been giving kibble to the birds to get rid of it. There is some Freeze Dried Raw from Stella and Chewy's and some other company - forgot that name, but anyway - they are perfect for training. So I don't even have to keep kibble around once I'm finished with the transition - which by the way is 99% raw right now.....

They love their food. My girl is coming back out of her shy state. She smiles and grins more. She is feeling special again! I'm so happy to see this. :wub: They get Green Tripe with dinner tonight! They had necks for breakfast.

I remind myself everyday now - You are Doing it for the RIGHT reason - they are carnivores - house wolves and they need to eat appropriately. I am doing this to keep periodontal disease and other health ailments at bay. I wouldn't feed Mac and Cheese to a kid everyday because it is so "convenient" so I'm not going back down the dark path of kibble anymore (not saying the occasional quick meal of kibble is going to hurt - but I'm really not seeing any reason to have a quick kibble meal for them anymore...there is always a grocery store around if I ran out of something or if I didn't thaw their food the night before - which I haven't forgotten to do).

Last night I spent about 2 hours getting things thawed, bagged and put in the freezer. But guess what??? I wasn't sitting on my backside in front of the TV. I had it playing so I could hear (Stargate SG-1). And my dogs were bonding with me in the kitchen (I would hand them some hearts, and necks). Reminded me of getting the crops ready to freeze when I was a kid at my grandparents house. Such good memories. 

On the plus side for my health - they make me think about what and how I eat. So I'm even eating healthier....  scary isn't it? I might actually eat healthier too! :wild:


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

bianca said:


> So glad everything is working out well  And please do keep updating as I am seriously considering going down the same track so this is very informative!


Check Raw Meaty Bones - Dr. Lonsdale is the Vet in Australia that has promoted RMB for good health for a LONG, LONG time 

Will keep you updated. Thanks for following. I'm pretty sure the updates will go like this:

"Dogs doing great!" 
"They are loving their food" :wub:
"Kibble - what kibble?" 
"They asked what I fed my dogs and I said REAL species appropriate food as in raw meaty bones and offal and I can either buy in bulk or just pick up something from the grocery store." 
"Pet Store bonus cards - what is that? Oh...you mean the savings I get from not going to the vet all the time?" :wild:


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

LisaT said:


> "house wolves", very cute
> 
> I'm glad that things are going so well :thumbup:


Thanks Lisa!


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## dakota20 (Jul 9, 2010)

I know having a decent size freezer is HUGE!

Thanks for the training treat suggestion. I've done the best with what Petco/Smart has to offer, but I'll have to look into the ones you've suggested. My breeder also said cook liver (like 350 for 10 min.) and cut that up for treats. Got to do this one for her puppy classes coming up.

Where do you get the Green tripe? Is it the can variety?

I sometimes feed Jade semi-frozen...takes her longer to eat and she gets more of a workout! So I wouldn't worry bout food being completely thawed out. If you're into feeding whole or mostly whole fish, Cub usually has fresh rainbow trout in the fish freezer. It's somewhat expensive, I don't feed it too frequently, but she LOVES it. It's de-gutted, but otherwise intact. She goes right for the head and eyeballs first...it's quite a sight. I had someone catch me sunfish, but I don't think she liked the scales, but ate it anyway. Canned sardines and mackeral are favs too! And are more reasonable to feed more often.

I'm new to raw food, but am having fun with it! So is Jade! 

That's awesome you're more conscientious about what you eat too. Sounds like a win for all you guys there!


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

dakota20 said:


> I know having a decent size freezer is HUGE!
> 
> Thanks for the training treat suggestion. I've done the best with what Petco/Smart has to offer, but I'll have to look into the ones you've suggested. My breeder also said cook liver (like 350 for 10 min.) and cut that up for treats. Got to do this one for her puppy classes coming up.
> 
> ...


I get the tripe from Chuck and Dons or Its a Pets Life - it is frozen from the Green Tripe Company GreenTripe.Com Main Index 

Be careful about certain kinds of fish..... 

Salmon Poisoning Disease Can be Deadly for Dogs

Sardines - if in a can may have a LOT of sodium - so check. I'm not so good with fish yet - so I give them an Omega 3 pill every few days from the Costco 

Here is a post on Sardines... http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/b-r-f-raw-feeding/139245-sardines-too-much-sodium.html

Raw feeding is so much more fun (and natural) for us and the dogs! 
:hug: to Jade!


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Dogs continue to do well. I'm so proud of them! They are eating as nature intended and loving it!


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Ok, I hope you don't mind this, but I MUST ask.....what made you make the jump back to raw??? You were very passionate about Kumpi, about the most passionate I personally have ever seen and even took an excited tour of the plant last I heard!.....I apologize if you either a) don't want to discuss it or b) don't want to discuss it in a public forum....no worries either way, I am just curious......Regardless, I am very happy you are enjoying it and so are the furry kids......good for you....


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Gib Laut said:


> Ok, I hope you don't mind this, but I MUST ask.....what made you make the jump back to raw??? You were very passionate about Kumpi, about the most passionate I personally have ever seen and even took an excited tour of the plant last I heard!.....I apologize if you either a) don't want to discuss it or b) don't want to discuss it in a public forum....no worries either way, I am just curious......Regardless, I am very happy you are enjoying it and so are the furry kids......good for you....


Thank you for the understanding that it isn't something I want to discuss in public or in private. Suffice it to say, that part of my life that was passionate about Kumpi is over. I have chosen not to feed that food nor have anything to do with that company again.


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