How should I go about starting a 3yr old 70 pound male?

[obxterra]

I've read a lot, here and elsewhere, but still not certain how to start my adult (maybe questionable) GSD.

With me being off over the Holidays it would seem to be a good time to start. I had just started to shift him from ProPlan Performance to Blue Wilderness, but not yet certain I'm getting the results I expected.

What would be a good starter menu for the coming week? He's hardly ever even chewed a bone.

Another reason to start this change is that I've got a deposit on a new pup that the breeder has already started on a BARF style diet.

[lhczth]

Some good things to read to help you get started.

Raw Feeding

Switching to a Raw Diet

And another page:

http://rawfed.com/myths/feedraw.html

[billsharp]

1. We didn't need to "transition", just went cold turkey. Others have written here that that worked fine for them also.

2. Give him a raw chicken thigh. If he eats it give him 1/2 lb of ground meat. If he eats it give him a heaping tablespoon of liver. If he eats that you've got your basic menu, relax and read up and begin to add variety according to his likes and his digestion, as well as nutritional guidelines. If he leaves any of those try them again the next day, and if he still leaves them see #3.

3. If he skips any of these then your work will be harder--you'll need to find an alternate source of protein in that category (MM, RMB, or OM). Search this forum for , e.g., "won't eat RMB" or "doesn't like liver" and you'll read work-arounds posted by others.

4. Go to grocery stores that carry lower-end meat products and try some chicken/turkey necks, feet, pork neck bones, green tripe, whole fish, etc.

5. Once you've found the menu you and the dog are comfortable with, packaging needs to be considered. I tried to package a complete meal (hamburger, chicken, organ) in one ziplock but found that if certain items were left I ended up wasting or having to re-freeze a lot. I decide to package each item separately in cheap sandwich bags, so I could mix and match at will according to Liesl's likes and dislikes. That works well for us.

6. If your dog has trouble with digestion or poops once you begin this, you need to read the threads about allergic reaction and revert back to feeding only one source at a time to identify the offending items. Your dog will not starve or be harmed while you do this.

Welcome to the world of Raw, it is the greatest!

[obxterra]

Thanks for the responses, I've just got to gather up my guts and do it. It just seems counter intuitive.

It's probably irrational, but I have this fear of him choking on bones.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by obxterra

Thanks for the responses, I've just got to gather up my guts and do it. It just seems counter intuitive.

It's probably irrational, but I have this fear of him choking on bones.

I have been raw feeding my pack of dogs (present and past) for over 15 years.

In that time I've fed over 15 THOUSAND pounds of meat and bones to over a dozen dogs (mine, fosters, puppies, seniors, healthy, sick) and I have only ONCE had a dog choke on anything. It was my Corgi mix, Winnie, and she was trying to wolf down a turkey neck that was just too big.

[obxterra]

Tossed Ruger the turkey heart a while ago. He licked it, mooshed it around in his mouth a little and spit it out. Looked at me like "what the heck".

Good old Jazzie would have swallowed it whole without so much as a taste.

Looks like he'll need to miss a meal or two to get the idea.

[mtmarabianz]

I'd feed digestive enzymes/probiotic prior to & while starting raw.

Other than that, I switched "cold turkey" with chicken backs, if consistent "poo"
then added new "foods" slowly.
& still watch the poo = "tells all"

[obxterra]

Thanks mtm,

Not to worry about me watchin the poo. I've been described as anal about that ;0

All kidding aside, one of the first things I noticed when Jaz got sick was the change in color and the terrible odor of her poo. Within two weeks she was sick and only lasted another 6 days.

[onyx'girl]

If you are going to offer only chicken backs, you may get some constipation...you need to add some muscle meat to give the meal more balance.
I started my dogs(one 6 month old pup and one 11 yr old border/goldenx) out on leg 1/4's which are a good balance and portion for the average sized GSD.

[Verivus]

Better to start on chicken leg quarters; enough bone. muscle meat, and may even have a small amount of organs to get you started. Chicken backs are too bony with not enough meat unless you supplement with more chicken. Starting out with just one protein at a time is usually a good idea. Too much variety at once will result in diarrhea. Organs typically should be introduced slowly, they can cause diarrhea due to richness if given in too large quantities too quickly.