Probably a couple of dumb questions from a RAW newbie

[jetscarbie]

I finally got my hubby on board with this raw feeding. I've been researching like crazy for the last couple of weeks. I just can't take the weirdness of the dog food anymore.

I have a couple of questions...I hope somebody can help me out.

Vegatables.....can I give them our leftover steamed veggies? We have a food steamer and I always have tons of extra veggie's left over, so is it okay to mix it in? Or is it better if they are blended up? Or better without?

Do dog's usually get the runny poo's on the Raw diet starting out? I think 2 of my dog's will be find...but my oldest always has a hard time with any kind of switch. Is there anything special I should do for him?

I found this out by accident....I dropped one of those low sodium V-8 juices on the ground. My dog's went crazy over it. Probably not a good idea to give them any??????

I hear a lot on here about Fish Oil. Is it the regular human fish oil or is there a doggie fish oil? Do you just mix it in with their raw food?

Do y'all think deer meat is a good meat to start them out on for the first week? We have a ton of the deer roast and deer sausage. I think the roast has bone in it...not sure.

AND....should I start them in the morning instead of starting them tonight? My hubby wants to wait until tomorrow morning...just in case

Is there any problems or dangers I should watch out for...something that warns me to stop feeding them raw right away?

Thanks in advance.

I am so excited to get this started. That probably makes me super weird. I am just excited to see the results.

[Marnie]

These are the things that I think about when feeding my dog. I am very familiar with the long list of foods that are toxic to dogs. If I feed any people foods, veggies, etc, I make sure there is nothing in them that can hurt the dog. If you are afraid of digestive upset, start out with very small portions. I've heard raw eggs are more likely to cause problems than raw meats but every dog may be different. I avoid anything with a small bone that can be swallowed whole. I avoid the bones that can chip a dog's tooth. I think deer meat and dear organ meat would be great.

Your husband and I think alike I always start new food on Sat morning so I can watch the results.

[lhczth]

Personally I would start with chicken since the bones are not as dense as those found in deer. I would not feed deer legs. Other than that venison is fine.

Dogs do not need veggies, but feeding some leftovers (as long as not toxic to dogs) won't hurt them as a treat.

I would start in the morning.

[jiujitsuchick]

I'm not a pro at this by any means but I wanted to take stab at some of your questions based on my experience.

Originally Posted by jetscarbie

I finally got my hubby on board with this raw feeding. I've been researching like crazy for the last couple of weeks. I just can't take the weirdness of the dog food anymore.

I have a couple of questions...I hope somebody can help me out.

Vegatables.....can I give them our leftover steamed veggies? We have a food steamer and I always have tons of extra veggie's left over, so is it okay to mix it in? Or is it better if they are blended up? Or better without?
I have never fed vegetables and don't believe that you need to. You'll hear a couple of schools of thought on this; do what you feel is right.

Do dog's usually get the runny poo's on the Raw diet starting out? I think 2 of my dog's will be find...but my oldest always has a hard time with any kind of switch. Is there anything special I should do for him?You will become a constant poo watcher... I am. It will be loose for the start but should firm up into nice small hard "pellets". You can add some canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) to the diet if things are really runny.

I found this out by accident....I dropped one of those low sodium V-8 juices on the ground. My dog's went crazy over it. Probably not a good idea to give them any??????
I think you'll be fine; just don't make a habit of it.

I hear a lot on here about Fish Oil. Is it the regular human fish oil or is there a doggie fish oil? Do you just mix it in with their raw food?
I buy a salmon oil and add two pumps to the meal each night. You need to be careful with oil because dogs can't digest it with out a certain amount of vitamin e. My girl gets her vitamin e though a multi-vitamin so that helps. Scour these threads for info on fish oil; there is tons of it...

Do y'all think deer meat is a good meat to start them out on for the first week? We have a ton of the deer roast and deer sausage. I think the roast has bone in it...not sure.
It's usually best to start on (bone in) chicken in my opinion. Poultry is usually the base for most dogs' raw diets so I would start there. Go a week or so on just chicken to make sure things look kosher then start adding protein sources one at a time to make sure there are no allergies.

AND....should I start them in the morning instead of starting them tonight? My hubby wants to wait until tomorrow morning...just in case
Agree with hubby.

Is there any problems or dangers I should watch out for...something that warns me to stop feeding them raw right away?
I can't think of any reason to stop raw right away. This is a learning experience and you'll have questions as you go. I've learned that I can't do any serious/dangerous/permanent harm as long as I continue to educate myself and read these forums.
Thanks in advance.

I am so excited to get this started. That probably makes me super weird. I am just excited to see the results.

I'm excited for you! Good luck! I'm always happy to see people making the commitment to be the best dog owners they can! There are so many way to tackle raw feeding; I just hope I am able to give you a little more information. Keep reading!

[jetscarbie]

Thanks a bunch for the great advice. I won't worry so much about veggie's then....well unless I have some left over.

I think we will start in the morning. I bet we might get some messy poo's.

My hubby's a little sad. He loves liver and gizzards and all that yucky stuff. He's sad that the dogs are going to eat so well, but he was convinced after I showed him the threads on here with all the before and afters that were posted.

Very weird also......a worker of his came over today and my hubby told him how the dog's were going to be eating good.....His worker goes "oh yeah, raw is the way to go. I've been feeding my cat that way for years"

So thanks

[Holmeshx2]

To answer some of your questions

Veggies are one thing raw feeders all debate on some think they need them some find them absolutely useless and then others are on the fence. Is it absolutely needed?? I don't really know but it's definitely not gonna hurt your pups to add them to the diet so long as they are safe for dogs in general. For snacks it doesn't matter if they are raw or not but they need to be blended or cooked to be of any nutritional value so if they are already steamed you can just give them to your dogs no problem.

The V-8 isn't something I would give daily but occasionally no big deal I have been giving the low sodium to Jinx for about 6 months now (not alot but my mom bought a pack of the cans and left it here and I hate the stuff)

It is quite possible to start with loose stools while the body sort of "detox's" just for the record you are not looking for "hard little pellets" if you have that then it means the dog is constipated and has too much bone in it's diet. If any of your dogs get loose stool just some simple plain canned pumpkin works wonders (not the pie filling)

Fish oil you can use human or dog varieties however human is generally cheaper just make sure every few days to add a vitamin E capsule (400 IU) to help replenish what the dogs body takes to utilize the added oil.

Venison is great but I would personally start with chicken it has bones easily able to be chewed up and digested since most venison bones are denser. Also, when you go to venison make sure not to give dense bones like the legs and small bones make sure they are fully removed before giving the dogs. The sausage I'd be careful of if it has spices and stuff added to it.

I generally feed the dogs an early dinner then let their systems kind of empty out the rest of the day and night then start them on raw the next day so their body isn't trying to digest a bunch of different stuff so I'd go with hubby on this one.

Also, not really any reason to stop raw I'd watch for them chewing good and probably feed the dogs separately for awhile. Stay on one protein for awhile to check for allergies and make sure the dog is doing well with that protein. Make sure not to start organs too fast or feed too much since those are main reasons for loose stools.

[jetscarbie]

Thanks for all the advice.

My dog's got excited this morning. They knew something good was up.

I was scared they were going to turn their noses up at the raw. NO. They dug in. I even heard snorting when they were eating. Bones crunching. My oldest is the pickest eater...but he ate every bite......then licked his bowl.

I think today when I get my scale...I am going to get some ziploc bags and make up a weeks worth of food. Put each serving in it's own ziploc bag and put in the deep freezer. That way, I can just empty the ziploc bag into each bowl. Does that sound like a good idea?

[Mac's Mom]

Originally Posted by jetscarbie

Thanks for all the advice.

My dog's got excited this morning. They knew something good was up.

I was scared they were going to turn their noses up at the raw. NO. They dug in. I even heard snorting when they were eating. Bones crunching. My oldest is the pickest eater...but he ate every bite......then licked his bowl.

I think today when I get my scale...I am going to get some ziploc bags and make up a weeks worth of food. Put each serving in it's own ziploc bag and put in the deep freezer. That way, I can just empty the ziploc bag into each bowl. Does that sound like a good idea?

Yep! My dogs love it too. Its likely you'll see a boost in energy and shinier coats. And I think its a great idea to measure out the food in advance and store it.

[Mac's Mom]

oh...also their teeth will be whiter, breath fresher and no doggie smell

[Miss Molly May]

Originally Posted by jetscarbie

Thanks for all the advice.

My dog's got excited this morning. They knew something good was up.

I was scared they were going to turn their noses up at the raw. NO. They dug in. I even heard snorting when they were eating. Bones crunching. My oldest is the pickest eater...but he ate every bite......then licked his bowl.

I think today when I get my scale...I am going to get some ziploc bags and make up a weeks worth of food. Put each serving in it's own ziploc bag and put in the deep freezer. That way, I can just empty the ziploc bag into each bowl. Does that sound like a good idea?

I found it much simpler to use Tupperware containers not as messy when separating ground stuff, or tripe!