# Comsidering raw when my puppy comes home at 9 weeks



## sna1987 (Jul 22, 2011)

I am getting a new puppy in August and wanted to try a raw diet with her. She will have been eating Purina One Healthy Puppy Formula when she first gets here, and I want to make sure that I get her onto her new diet properly. She will be approximately 9 weeks old when she gets here. I would appreciate any advice that I could get. Also, if anyone knows how to suggest this to my husband(since I'm not sure what his opinion of this would be) I would appreciate that as well. Thank you.


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

HI!
I just started offering chicken wings right off at 8 weeks, and a little kibble in the evenings the 1st few days. He's done great. I still give a little TOTW kibble as a snack a few times a week, but he's on 99% prey model raw diet.

As far as the hubby... mine was about the biggest pain about everything off the beaten path. I just told him what I was going to do... casually, (not that he was ever really interested in anything I did anyway... ) and when he started getting curious enough (or his friends told him I was nuts ) he asked some questions.

Good luck  I dunno why no one else answered you


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## malinois_16 (Aug 8, 2010)

I dont have a husband to worry about. But I would just bring it up and say its what wolves eat in the wild and its natural etc. 

I would start the pup off on chicken. Back, Quarters and wings will do just fine. Then start adding in other sources after a couple weeks. But add them in small. Then you need to introduce organs SLOWLY. Liver/kidney. 

I would google around as well.


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## GSDSammie (Dec 13, 2010)

We started out our GSD on raw with chicken leg 1/4 which he adjusted to pretty quickly. We stuck with chicken for a few weeks (some breast, some chicken heart) before we introduced some ground beef and soon after that tripe and small amounts of organ meat. After about 3-4 months on raw we became more adventurous with some turkey, pork, lamb and duck. 

If you need help discussing the raw diet with your husband print some articles that discuss the various health benefits of a raw diet. GSDs are prone to various intestinal and digestive problems which can be costly and make them sick (this is what pushed us to try a raw diet) Our puppy was not adjusting well to even the most expensive organic kibbles. Since we switched he has no more stool or stomach problems, and great teeth and coat! Also, cost wise we've found it to be comparable because we bought a freezer and buy meat in bulk.

Hope this helps!


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

All of the kibble puppies I have switched to raw at a young age I have fed ground for the first week or so. This seemed to help their systems deal with the bones better. Then I would introduce whole bones with the ground. If their poops are still OK then I stop with the ground. Depending on the pup this may only take a few days. 

Chicken is the easiest for puppies to work with and I will buy either split fryers or whole chickens that I cut up. This gives a much more balanced meat to bone ratio over time. Wings are far too boney and sometimes little puppies have a problem with the larger bones in the leg quarters. If they do OK with the chicken I will add the small ends of turkey necks that I break up a bit for the pups. Meanwhile they will have had some beef/pork/lamb heart introduced, small amounts of organ meat, eggs and their fish oil/Vit E (when I use it). This will be over several weeks and not all at one time. Once a pup is old enough I will introduce mutton, pork neck and the occasional beef neck bone. 

I switch cold turkey since I do not keep kibble in my house. Pup comes home and the diet is changed. The better the quality of kibble the pup is on the easier the switch will be.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

When I switched my dogs my husband just accepted what I was doing, BUT he never fed them. The couple of times I left and he had to deal with the dogs I packaged each dogs meals into a baggie and he just had to dump it in a bowl. He knew I didn't jump into anything without a lot of research so trusted my judgment. A few years later he actually called me while on a trip (he was a truck driver) and asked me the names of the books I used for reference. He had been talking to another driver about the raw diet and couldn't remember the names of the books.


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## sna1987 (Jul 22, 2011)

Thank you for all the advice. As for the books, where do you find them?


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Honestly I haven't read any books specifically about raw (I have a couple that briefly mention it), I learned mostly from some sites others shared with me and the experiences of other raw feeders. Not sure that I'd recommend that, heh, but it seemed to work out for me.
Here's a thread on another site with links to several good websites: So you are interested in feeding raw ... - Raw Food Diet Forum

I don't have a husband, but to help convince him do your research and tell him the facts. He'll probably be more likely to accept it then. When I started raw, that's how I convinced my parents to let me. (I was 15 when I started feeding my dogs raw. That was a few years ago.)


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I actually recommend Dr. Lonsdale's "Work Wonders" that can be found on his site. There is also a lot of other information. 

Raw Meaty Bones

Another source is the Yahoo groups email list called Raw Meaty Bones and then the VERY large Raw Feeding group also through Yahoo. 

Then Lauri's site I believe also has a faqs section. Welcome to the Raw Dog Ranch


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## swing2hard (Apr 19, 2011)

I am trying to get a grasp on the raw feeding & the benefits of it. One of my good buddies is a cop on the K9 unit & thinks raw feeding is crazy & dangerous & that it leaves kids prone to getting parasites & that the K9 officers DO NOT feed raw to their dogs. What is the length of time that you all have raw fed your dogs & has there been any issues with parasites?

Looking for answers on how many years people have given their dogs raw?


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Three years. No issues with parasites as far as I know. There are some meats to be avoided because of parasites, like salmon (except from a certain location that I don't remember for certain), and pork not from the US. Meat from the grocery store should be safe.

Raw only seems crazy because we've been conditioned to think that dogs are meant to eat manufactured, crunchy pellets out of a bag.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

swing2hard said:


> What is the length of time that you all have raw fed your dogs & has there been any issues with parasites?


12.5 years, 5 litters, quite a number of dogs. No, never an issue with parasites.


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## Furonthefloor (Aug 14, 2009)

Been feeding raw going on 3 years (9 dogs). Least amount of vet visits ever. No parasites.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I've fed raw for 4 years, only two times have my dogs had digestive upset, and I really can't say or pinpoint it to the diet. One time it was either a fresh venison heart or the water from a wading pool that we were storing our pond plants in that made Kacie sick for a few days(barf, not pudding poo). 
Onyx got sick about a year after Kacie's illness~ barfing for 24 hours, she vomited blood, which freaked me out. I let her have water(no food) which was aggravating her digestive tract to that point of ruptured blood vessels. She was fine after a day of resting her gut and giving her slippery elm when I started a bland diet.
They never have runny poo or barfing issues(knock on wood) other than those two times in 4 years. Parasites have never been an issue, I do limited vaccines, no heartworm prevention other than Ivomec once a month, and do not give spot on's for flea/tick prevention. I do supplement vitamins and oils and the immune system is strong.


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