# Transitioning food... thinking of Raw



## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Hi there everyone ( again). I will come for almost anything I am unsure about, so expect a lot outta me! LOL. 

So, I have little Cullen, my almost 7 week old black/red Shepherd pup. When I picked him up, he was on Purina One ( blah). I am considering putting him and my pit bull on a completely Raw Diet. She cannot be put on until after her heartworm treatment ( vet wants to keep her 3 days, and they won't feed raw, so we will wait until after). So onto the actual question(s)

Should I switch him immediately at his age? I considered getting a no grain food just for a few weeks, and then transitioning to Raw... Just so I could start them at the same time ( but I don't want to keep him on PURINA!!!!)

Also, is there a website anywhere, something I can print for help with the Raw Diet servings? I would start out at our local fresh butcher and then after I am used to it and when Cullen is a bit larger and his portions remain steady, then I will buy in a more bulk portion and make/freeze portions! Any advice, awesome, because I am interested and from what I have seen, it is the BEST diet for them ( and plus, our Pit Bull has allergies)


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## bigskyfarm (Mar 1, 2009)

There is great info about the raw diet on Leerburg. They show you how to calculate how much your dog needs and talk about how and why to put a puppy on raw. The podcasts and ebooks on that site are amazing. 
http://leerburg.com/pdf/feedingrawdiet.pdf


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Thanks!!! I will check that out today! I just want to know I am doing the best I possibly can for him.


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## bigskyfarm (Mar 1, 2009)

I had not fed raw until about 1 1/2 years ago- now i wont do any differently. It was truly scary at first!! But... i got over that pretty quick.


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## StGeorgeK9 (Jan 5, 2008)

I am currently not feeding raw because of allergy issues, which we havent quite figured out yet. I would do it again in a heartbeat and plan on trying again when I can get some regular novelty protein sources. If you decide to keep the pup on kibble for a little while you may also want to research some good foods. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com is a pretty good website for that. Some people on here also do a partial raw and partial grainless kibble combination. Good luck!


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Sounds good! We have a pet store locally that sells all of the recommended foods. I walked around the pet store for about 2 hours just reading the packages, and I really like the Tast Of The Wild ( hubby says the fish/salmon, I say the venison/meat) but have read a lot that these are not good for puppies of a large breed? I am only going to do kibble for about a month, so I may go with one of the others, I hear that chicken soup, innova, are good brands. He has very soft stool that ranges with some diarrhea on the food he has now, so nothing is going to be any worse. He has solid stool the first one, as did all the pups at the breeder, but I think stress might have something to do with it?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

For a puppy, Orijen or Wellness are what I would feed if I had to feed kibble.
http://www.rawdogranch is a good site as well for raw info. You can also get so much info right here in the BARF RAW threads! Most every question can be answered here.


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## StGeorgeK9 (Jan 5, 2008)

I have heard that the Wellness large breed puppy food is pretty good. The only issue with some of the grainless varieties is that a few are not geared towards large breed puppies since you have to be careful that they dont grow too fast. I'm currently using Wellness Core Ocean for my adult, but have used TOTW Pacific Stream, take a look at the protein content between that and the other varieties of TOTW and you will see a huge difference in protein. I'm sure someone else can provide you with better ideas on what is best for a puppy though.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

The calcium/phosphorus ratio is what to watch out for with large breed puppies. Both Orijen and Wellness are the only two that I would feed for that reason. If you fed RAW, the ratio is automatically correct as long as the bone, meat, organ portions are there.


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

That's the neat thing about raw for puppies and this ratio. It's ideal! Raw is WONDERFUL for puppies, as they get more of ALL of their needed nutrients on a balanced raw diet!


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Yea, I don't want to sound selfish, but who DOESNT want less poop in the yard, healthier more beautiful dogs, especially when in competitions and shows and such... and a better smell!! Raw Diet had me at hello, just need time to get myself together and know how I will portion and serve, so wanted something just for a couple weeks til I can put him on Raw. I don't like jumping into anything.

Also, what is a good training treat to use when we do Raw. Like, he has Iams Puppy Biscuits, but when on Raw, want to make sure it is completely correct, so would I find something raw to use, or is there an alternative? Saw Jerky online, but I want small things, for enforcement and training.


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## StGeorgeK9 (Jan 5, 2008)

liver, chicken, chicken hotdogs.......anything really, just take it into consideration when calculating total food intake so you dont over feed on accident. As long as there are no allergies....anything your dog will go crazy for, works. I actually have used hot dogs, bits of sweet potato, bits of chicken liver.....she also loves cheese.....I will use meat leftovers.


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

I picked up the Taste Of The Wild yesterday, for both him and the pittie ( just until we start Raw). Is it possible that after two feeding ( got it around noon) that it's already in his system? Since I got him home Friday evening, he has had very soft stool. Starting this morning, this one was very firm!!!

Also, I weighed him just for food purposes... 11 pounds... not sure if that is good or not, he will be 7 weeks tomorrow!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: VaBeachFamilyAlso, what is a good training treat to use when we do Raw. Like, he has Iams Puppy Biscuits, but when on Raw, want to make sure it is completely correct, so would I find something raw to use, or is there an alternative? Saw Jerky online, but I want small things, for enforcement and training.


You don't have to be "completely correct". Unless you are stuffing your dog with training treats they really aren't going to make a huge difference, nutritionally.

I use the cheapest dry dog biscuits I can find - the puppy size - for treats for my big guys. I also have a bag of animal cookies that I use (they were on sale).

For Spike's training, I bought some Wellness WellBites and Pure Rewards (jerky type treats) because they are easy to cut into tiny pieces.


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Thanks. 

My husband and I are thinking about picking up a dehydrator ( food ) so we can make jerky treats at home for them completely natural. Also, found a recipe for some Peanut Butter/Honey no grain " drops" that would make perfect treats for training while he is small... 

Before I post somewhere else, I will try here.. but--

Anyone ever tried Raw and a dog didn't like it? Before feeding time last night, while I was cutting up and bagging chicken quarters and pork necks and pigs feet ( stocking up for a few weeks so we have MORE than enough before we start RAW) we decided since to give Cullen a small piece of raw chicken, he sniffed it, and left it there. And we mixes raw ground beef in with his food, and he wasn't really interested at all. My pit bull loves it and will go as far as picking the good stuff out and leaving the kibble. I am hoping that when we switch Cullen will eat, as he seems not to favor it!


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## balakai (Feb 9, 2005)

Some dogs just don't realize that raw is FOOD, at least at first. You can lightly brown a piece or two of the raw meat--do it fast, just enought to start releasing the smell--and he should figure it out.

~Kristin


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

OK. 

Well for now, I am going to start stocking up on meat, we have a huge deep freezer, and we only keep it about half full for us. In the meantime, they are eating Taste Of The Wild, and I will introduce small pieces/amounts of differant raw product I intend to use, just as a "treat" every couple of days, so they can get used to it. Gizmo takes to everything easily, but this coming from the dog that will eat ANYTHING dipped in ranch dressing!!!


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