Switching to Raw Dog Food

If you have read our behavourist series then you will know that it was suggested for us to move Roo onto a raw diet and if you have read some of our other posts you will know that we have had issues with Roo's eating since day one!

We thought about making the switch to raw when Roo was about 6 months but due to a lack of freezer space and knowledge, we decided against it and ended up putting her on nature's menu wet food. Following on from that, Roo underwent intolerance testing and we found out that she was intolerant to the food we had been feeding her and most other foods. You can check out our blog post on that here.

When we first met our behavourist, raw is something she encouraged us to look into but advised we didn't switch Roo's food straight away as she didn't want too many changes being made at once. She had been feeding her dogs raw for years and swears by it being the best thing for them. We were happy to consider it but really were still on the fence about whether to actually do it or not.

Fast forward to three weeks of trying to get Roo to eat the food she was on (Skinner Salmon wet food - basically the only wet food we could find that agreed with her) and we were getting no where. It was then that our behavourist suggested we make the switch. She was concerned that Roo was still not eating properly and that when she was eating we needed to make sure she was getting the most nutrient dense food possible. Roo is a very small cocker spaniel and this probably because of her anxiety causing her to not eat and therefore not grow to her full potential.

You hear both sides all the time. Some people swear by it, other claim it makes no difference. Vets seem to be against it but then again they are more treatment than prevention based. From all the research we did, we couldn't find anything claiming that raw feeding was a terrible idea, more just that it might not be as amazing as some make it out to be. But each dog is different so what works for some might not for others. We were willing to give it a go, if it had the potential to be the best thing for Roo. What did we really have to lose? If she didn't like it, we could always go back.

We were advised to find a complete raw food that didn't contain anything Roo couldn't have rather than do DIY raw. Sounds easy right, well still not quite. Roo can't have turkey, duck, lamb, pigs liver or peas mainly, there are a few others but they didn't seem to be to hard to avoid. Most complete foods seemed to add in peas or be a mixture of chicken and turkey or chicken and pork. We had to avoid pork based foods as liver is typically added in for organ meat.

Luckily, Nature's Menu puppy raw nuggests, chicken and salmon were free of everything we needed to avoid and were really easy to transiton Roo over to. They come as individual frozen nuggests, meaning you can just take a couple out at a time to deforst to add to their existing food, rather than having to defrost a whole pack. We started Roo off by adding two nuggets to have food, then upping to three and so on. Until over half her meal was raw.

We couldn't and didn't want to keep Roo on Nature's menu going forward though. One, the cost and two, their adult raw food all contained peas. We are however very lucky to have a raw food specalist not too far from our field which stocked a wide range of complete foods Roo could eat. They also offer consultations to help you find the best food for your dog.

The next issue was freezer space. We only have one freezer and really didn't want to have to buy another one. Given the location of the raw food shop, we figured we could just buy it fortnightly and give up a draw in our freezer for now. If she gets on well with it, then maybe we will look to getting a second freezer for her.

The change in Roo's eating habits were instant. From the first meal when we were only adding in two nuggets of raw food, she was suddenly very interested in meal times and was licking the plate clean. At first we were sceptical as when we have changed Roo's food before, she has scoffed down the first two or three meals then completely gone off it. But this hasn't happened once. Twice a day for the first week Roo was eating every meal with no issues. If your dog doesn't have food issues then this seems like nothing but for us, it was the first time ever she had eaten all her food for a week. You could see that she was gaining more weight and filling out. Another thing we noticed was just how shiny her coat was, since getting spayed her coat had lost some of its glossiness but that was back now.

During the transition period, we didn't really have too many issues. On days 4 and 5, she poos were a little softer than they had been but by day 6 they were back to normal.

Roo has now been eating raw for almost three weeks and is still going strong. We have noticed that if we try to add anything into the complete raw food such as veggies or the Dorwest keepers mix we got (it's a supplement for raw feeding), she won't eat it. Still so particular about her food so we just don't add things in, other than ground pumpkin seed. This she is fine with.

Complete raw food, is a complete meal so you don't have to add things in but it is advised that you feed your pup fresh veggies and fruit along side it, either added in at meal times or as snacks. As Roo won't eat it in with her meals, we give her a mixture of fruits and veggies throughout the day. Just something small like a 1/4 of an apple, a few blueberries, raspberries, carrots or broccoli.

Other than her finally eating all of her food without any complaints, the other big change has been her poos. They are tiny now and much less frequent. Before we did the intolerance tests, she would go 3/4 times a day and they would be soft, sometimes runny and huge! Now, it is twice a day and they are small and firm, no issues picking them up.

It finally feels like we have one major issue ticked off. Having a dog that won't eat is tough, no one wants to watch their dog go a few days without eating.

Please keep in mind this is just our experience. If you want to try out raw, do your research and reach out to a professional for help if needed.