Raw frustrations

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by naturalfeddogs

The 80/10/10 thing is just a guideline, nothing more. All dogs are different, some need more of one thing, some need less. I have never followed that guide at all. Do you think they follow that in the wild?

They also go through a detox period, that depending on the dog can go on for a year sometimes. If you started raw, then stopped and then started again the dog didn't have a chance to adjust. During the detox period, it can seem that they are doing worse when in fact they are adjusting through detox.

Obviously not since they munch on non-meat food for nutrients in the wild.

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by rubygirl

I tried it for half a year and she just had a dull/brittle coat, no energy, mucousy/nasty poops and her personality changed which was the worst part.
I did the typical 80/10/10 ratio and I transitioned proteins appropriately...
I'm not looking for help to try and switch her again. I tried it. Not once but twice.
I just know that it doesn't work for every dog.

Yep! I mean really... not a dog, but I have an obligate carnivore that can't eat raw, so I'm not surprised it doesn't work for all dogs


Hope Sloan is doing better!

[rubygirl]

Originally Posted by JessLough

Yep! I mean really... not a dog, but I have an obligate carnivore that can't eat raw, so I'm not surprised it doesn't work for all dogs


Hope Sloan is doing better!

I don't judge lol! My cat eats some kibble and some wet canned. He has IBD and serious constipation-- I tried him on raw and he almost became impacted to the point of death... but then- he would only eat boney chicken and literally NOTHING else. Stoopid cat lol
The diet I have him now is 50% Healthwise cat food and 50% Fancy Feast (blech I know but I'm in the process of switching that to Wellness or Evo if he'll allow it. <<< this is the only thing easing his bloody (literally bloody) constipation.

[rubygirl]

Originally Posted by jesslough

obviously not since they munch on non-meat food for nutrients in the wild.

^^ yes!

[AdrianneIsabel]

Sloan is doing very well on the infamous kibble raw mix. I'm debating moving her to total raw though because Denis hates feeding raw and when he travels with her he'll have to feed kibble so that will mess with her. As it is I'm just mixing the two and she's great.

Everyone else is on total raw and surviving well. Backup is going through an ugly detox, his coat looks like ****, but the pit bulls look fantastic.

[rubygirl]

Well good luck with whatever you choose! Hopefully the bloody poop goes away... I know all too well...

[naturalfeddogs]

Originally Posted by JessLough

Obviously not since they munch on non-meat food for nutrients in the wild.

Plant based "food" is more for taste than any real nutrition. What little they get out of it, is also in meat, bones and organs in a greater more usuable form for their bodies.

[RD]

Honestly this sounds weird, but the more I fussed over my dogs and their poop while on raw, the worse it got. When I just said "fck it" and gave them the food and spent awhile expecting it and dealing with it, their intestines manned the hell up and they were fine - I upped the bone content and the loose/mucus poo was gone.

I'd say it took a few months of nothing but raw to get them used to it, and I fed a good-sized meal once a day instead of small meals twice a day. It seemed that if they ate too frequently, it upset their digestion. I would feed a handful of kibble or something easy during the day if they needed the extra boost, but their mealtime was at night.

Eve in particular would get a big gorge meal after a one or two day fast, but honestly I don't know if that would be safe considering how ridiculously active your malinois are.