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Specific Q about Raw Diet


INU
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I started Jazzy on raw over a week ago. I have a blog for it now (tell me obsessed)

I?ve been feeding her only chicken (and some egg, yogurt and cottage cheese) and her poop is still soft and very yellow. Other than that, she is doing very well. I haven?t noticed any improvement on her teeth and coat but I am enjoying the intimacy of hand-feeding raw meat and bones. How long should I expect to see some improvement on her teeth? Also is this normal for her tummy to take time to adjust to new diet?

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I can't believe you took a pic of the yellow runnies! :rolleyes:

 

You're giving her too much bone. I read the blog and you're giving her mostly chicken legs which are much more than 10%-15% bone. Cut back on the bone by giving her the meaty breast quarters also.

 

Boy had no digestive problems from the switch other than occasional yellow bile on an empty stomach that first month. Since then, no digestive problems at all.

 

Fynne took between one and two weeks to adjust to the new diet. It took around 4 weeks or so for all that plaque to scrape off her teeth. Her skin and coat were in horrible shape and it took about 4 weeks or so to really notice a difference there too. She still has a ways to go as far as her skin and coat are concerned.

 

I'd give a fish oil cap every single day. One a week isn't nearly enough without including oily fish in the diet on a regular basis.

 

Over time you won't worry so much about the bones. Honest.

 

Yeah, keep her on the chicken until she fully adjusts. Just be sure to cut back on the bone intake!

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OK, I was thinking completely the opposite. I thought if they had a run, they you give more bone. I have tons of chicken breast sitting in the frig. I am sure she won't mind it plus the fish oil.

 

Thank you!

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It takes 21 days to recycle coat completely, sometime after that is when you will notice substantial change in rescues. That goes for any "upgrade" in feeding regimin though it's most noticeable (and sometimes faster to see) in the switch to raw, probably because of all the whole unprocessed amino acids and readily available fats.

 

I'm still waiting for Kat the Nekkid Dog to show more improvement on her venison and veggie diet - it's only been about ten days so I'm irrationally impatient. But today for the first time I noticed new hair growth in the demodex-ravaged areas - yay!

 

She has incredibly sensitive skin - when I get some money I'm going to a) get her thyroid tested and :rolleyes: get her a collar that won't rub, not sure what I'm looking for there but I'll find something. Her current collar is plastic covered nylon with a big ring in the back that rubs. She's got a sore place where the metal touches skin. Any suggestions?

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inu,

 

the poo piccie looks just like what tikki produces if he manages to get hold of anything dairy, it might pay for you to cut out the cottage cheese and yoghurt. tikki cant tolerate ANY dairy, if he gets it he has loose stools and terrible itchies. hope this helps a bit, way to go for switching her to raw!

love

donna

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I agree with cutting back on the dairy...I just had a recent 'lesson' myself. I normally give Dublin a bit of yogurt once or twice a week. A few days ago, a large amount plopped into his dish as I was portioning it out. I scooped as much as I could back into the yogurt container, but there was still much more than he normally gets. I thought, "oh well, he gets a treat". BIG MISTAKE. I came home to one heck of a mess in the crate and one miserable looking dog. He had the 'runs' that evening and woke me up at 3:30am to go out again, and again at 5am. You would have thought I gave him the whole container!

 

So beware of the dairy...

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A few more questions from a newbie

 

Do chicken gizzards have any nutrient? worth giving them to our dogs?

 

when you say raw food helps clean their teeth, is it because of the actual chewing? Does the nutrient (ex, calcium) have anything to do with it?

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I'm told that gizzards don't have a whole lot of nutrients. I get the gizzards & hearts rarely for the dogs and use them as training bits. I would say yes, give it to her now and then just for variety (maybe once every couple months?), but that's about it. Maybe Chris will chime in on this.

 

As for teeth cleaning, the bones scrape the teeth clean. At least that's how it goes here. Perhaps there are some other factors involved, but I'm not aware of them.

 

You haven't updated her blog yet tonight. :rolleyes:

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posted by INU:

A few more questions from a newbie

 

Do chicken gizzards have any nutrient? worth giving them to our dogs?

****

They are muscle meat and as part of the chicken they have nutritional value. They are not so great as to be worth stocking up on though...just feed them when you feed chicken, they come one to a bird.

 

 

when you say raw food helps clean their teeth, is it because of the actual chewing?

*****

Dogs don't do much chewing like we do chewing. Mostly they smash and mash and crush and slobber the food all up with saliva, then swallow. Their stomach juices do the real destruction. Whole meat chunks/wads/clods/flaps that require ripping and tearing scrub the teeth, massage the gums and the meat fibers and sinew act like dental floss. The back teeth need crunchy meaty bones for their cleaning.

 

 

Does the nutrient (ex, calcium) have anything to do with it?

*****

Nope. The nutrients work from the inside out. The calcium helps make bone bone; in that regard it will indirectly help clean the teeth by having hardened the bone. The actual scrubbing, rubbing and scraping of bone on tooth, and bone against gum is what does the cleaning.

Chris O

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Thanks for answering. At my grocery store the gizzards are always on sale and wondered if they were worth giving them, that explains why they are cheap, look pretty chewy too. I didn't even know what gizzards were until I looked up tonight.

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