Rocky Start on Raw Diet ... Please Help ....
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Rocky Start on Raw Diet ... Please Help ....
Submitted by Brandon on April 21, 2010 - 12:37amI started Hurley on the raw diet last night and it has really seemed to upset his stomach. I bought bone-in chicken breast and using a scale and meat grinder I ground up what was very close to 90% meat and 10% bone (my plan was to reduce the meat to 80% and add 10% organ after a month when his stomach has gotten use to the diet change).
After his dinner last night, everything seemed to be fine. He loved it and seemed fine after his meal. He did cough up a very little amount on his after dinner walk, but it seemed to be mostly water and drool ... not really any food.
This morning, he again ate up his breakfast and really seemed to enjoy it. However, he just didn't seem right when I took him for his after breakfast walk. He was panting more then usual and when he went to eliminate, he had diarrhea. He tried to eliminate a second time which he never does, but he strained and nothing really came out. Then he started to drool a lot and cough up what mainly seemed to be water and more drool (not really any food). What really had me concerned is that he started to do this dry heave thing like he was trying to throw up but couldn't. He's 10 months old and I've never seen him do this before. While he appeared to be dry heaving, drool/water was coming out of his nose and for some reason he was keeping his mouth closed. After we got home, he settled down and is sleeping now.
Any way, I would really appreciate any advice or guidance. I have to imagine that going from kibble to raw meat has got to be a pretty severe shock to the little guys system, but I want to get a better idea of whether or not this is normal. Also, is there anything else that I can do to help settle down his stomach? I gave him Flagyl Liquid for the diarrhea that I had left over from when he was a really young pup.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Brandon & Hurley
raw
Glad he is better. He might not poop right away and it will be different poop..should be a lot smaller. However, you don't want him to have to strain either(you didn't add any veg's with fiber to his raw just the meat right) you might have to add something small to help him out at first. I have adding a teaspoon of mineral oil at times and sometimes a tablespoon of Karo syrup to help get the poop passing. Some people have added apples and even a fiber cereal.. good luck
Linda
great news!
I am so glad he seems to be adjusting well!
Cathy
when she first came home
Update on Hurley ....
Hurley is doing much better today. He enthusiastically devoured both his dinner last night and breakfast this morning with no issues. The only thing that concerned me a little was that he didn't poop after his dinner last night or when I took him out first thing this morning. However, he did poop a couple of hours after he ate his breakfast this morning. It was still on the loose side, but no where no near diarrhea (I never in a million years thought I'd be writing so much about poop!). I'm hoping that it'll start to firm up as he is stomach adjusts.
Thanks again for the help!
Re: raw
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your response. When I took him out this morning it was a good 1 1/2 hours after he had eaten, but I do think that the combination of him running around and his stomach being a bit off kilter from the new food was probably a key factor in at least the drooling, coughing up, etc.. I fed him the same portion for dinner this evening and he devoured it. No drooling, coughing up food, etc. The only bummer is that he hasn't pooped yet, but sometimes he wouldn't poop after dinner when eating kibble as well. Hopefully is stomach is coming around. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!
raw
First never walk a dog after a meal.. Dogs can bloat for that reason alone. I have never had this experience feeding my dogs raw. I make my own sometimes but for the most part I buy the prepackaged. I am hoping Hurley had this problem because of the walk.. keep us updated and good luck! Linda
well it is a change....
first it takes alot less to digest raw then it does kibble with all its grain....you will see less water intake as you go along which is good...again becasue raw has alot of moisture ve dry kibble that needs all the liquids it can get....
so my wilson is 52 lbs and he gets 1 to 1 1/2 lbs a day....i break both his and charlies in three meals...becasue they come to work with me and we have luch together....
so good on breaking your meal down....get back a little with the meat...keep with chicken...if you think he is having problems with chicken then go to pork or lamb....they can some times be a little easier on the tummy.....
give him a tums before he eats each meal for a week....i give wilson two tums every nite becasue he has acid reflux in the am.....
and remember some dogs will go thru a wicked detox and you will see runny eyes,cyst on toes, so a little vomiting and dirrhea is ok as lost it does not last for more than 3 days....if it last for more than 3 days give your chicken a lite sear in a frying pan...
feel free to ask lots of questions.....
Re: how much does he weigh.....
Hi Judy,
Thank you so much for your response. He weighs 52 lbs. and I've given him 12 oz. per meal in each of the 2 meals that he's had so far (dinner last night and breakfast this morning ... he eats twice a day).
In the past, when I've transitioned him to a new brand of kibble over the course of 10 days, his stools would get soft during the transition and then eventually firm up. So, I was expecting some sort of adjustment period since this was such a drastic change. The diarrhea doesn't concern me so much, it was the dry heaving type thing that he was doing. The odd thing is that he hasn't actually "thrown up" his food He just coughs up some some drool and in general drools more then usual. Maybe he's nauseous?
Maybe I'm making this out to be a bigger deal then it is. I've got to imagine that going from kibble to raw meat has got to be a pretty drastic shock to the system.
Thank you again ... I really appreciate you walking me though this.
how much does he weigh.....
how much exactly did you feed him....i would start with making two if not three meals....some dogs just take to it and never have a problem...some dogs need adjusting....its just like us when we do some thing new....slow and easy....
how much does he weigh are you going 3% of his weight...then make two meals....some pepcid or tums wouldnt hurt....to keep his tummy settled....
what else was included....organs you can wait...
i will post a little guide line for you.....
actually
This one is also good....
http://www.rawlearning.com/
raw food
This site is great for newbie's but watch him close and be sure to get him to the vet if it gets too bad. Good Luck
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/join?yguid=422553249&finish=sub