How many of you actually feed raw?

I know we have a lot of talk on this board about proper feeding, esp. raw feeding. I was wondering though how many of you actually feed 100% raw diets?

I'm really considering it. I have to admit that the thought of it terrifies me. THe bones and the raw food - if they choked or got sick I'd never forgive myself.

Another thing: keep in mind I have 2 St. Bernards to feed - is this doable? They need a lot of nutrition.

Indy just continues to have these allergy problems. He had another flare up today. I switched him to Lipiderm this past month but I don't think that was a good idea. I'm going back to the Grizzly Salmon Oil and see if he gets better. It could also be the seasons changing, with the leaves dropping and such. But heck, he could be allergic to the damn dirt for all I know. It is just so frustrating. Indy doesn't deserve to have his skin completely raw and oozy. He's such a good boy about it, he let me shave it tonight with no trouble, put on his powder and his e-collar and he went right into his room. He knows the routine by now. I gave him his meds which should clear it up quickly. I'm going to ask the vet if there is an anti-histamine that I can give to him daily. Maybe that would help some. The meds he is on are very good but they are strong steroids so I don't want to be giving it to him all the time.

Ok, I had to get that off my chest.

Here is a question I just thought of about raw: If he is not allergic to food, but something environmental, will raw feeding still help? Not in general health terms, but I need to see big differences in his skin issues. Other than the allergies, he is in great health.

Honeybears - did you switch to raw? I think Jake and Indy have similar issues and I think I read somewhere you were switching to raw. If so, hows it going?

And here is another question completely unrelated to raw food: Why does Indy's hot spots always happen on the same spot on his body? They are always on his butt. It's not fleas. I just wonder why it is always that area.

 

I feed totally raw. Even if the hot spots are due to environmental allergies, feeding raw could help because his immune system will be stronger. Of course, eliminating as many chemicals and drugs as possible is also best - such as yearly boosters, heartworm and flea preventives, etc.

I would also suggest homeopathy. Regular vets tend to fail miserably with any chronic problem. They treat the symptoms, usually creating different symptoms which they then treat, etc. Homeopathy treats the underlying CAUSE of the symptoms, treating every dog as the individual that he/she is. If you need the name of a good homeopath, PM me and I will give you the e-mail for mine.

 

Ive read quite a lot about the raw diet (thanks Jamiya) and I was going to put my dog on it. There are a couple of people I know here that have had their dogs on it for a while now and they strongly recommend it but my problem is I dont have a car, the closest place I can get the right foods is too far away so I havent done it (its not just a matter of picking up a chicken or pork chops from the local supermarket).

As far as the ongoing allergies, have you had thorough testing done. About 12 years ago I had a dog that was constantly breaking out and his belly was raw, pustules popping up all over the place, constantly scratching, I spent about a month or 2 trying different diets and then I did a R.A.S.T allergy test, its a blood test (used to be done by Spectrum Labs through your vet), they test for a couple of hundred different things including foods, pollens, other animals dander, fleas etc. and they give you a list of foods with ingredients that the dog does not react to. Then you get a vial, sometims 2 vials and give regular injections to build up an 'immunity' to the things they are allergic to, while they say the dog will need to be on thes once monthly shots for life every single dog that I know of that has gone this route has been able to stop the shots at between about 18 months to 2 years including mine. And my dog actually had the highest count of allergies to any other dog we'd tested in that hosptial, there was only 1 dry food and 2 canned foods that he could eat, it took less than 2 years of the shots and he never had a skin problem again. My bosses dog, same thing and about the same time, that dog is now 13 years old, a Pit Bull and has had no health problems throughout his life other than a cruciate. my friends Mastiff, same thing, she passed away at 10 years old.

Another interesting bit of info, I had a series of allergic reactions in 97, there have always been some foods, pollens, molds etc that Ive been allergic to and after a bout of pneumonia they got worse (or my body was so wiped out that I couldnt deal with them as well I had done), my doctor was convinced that I had developed a reaction to dogs and cats (I already had a mild cat allergy) and was doing what he could to make me change my job (vet tech). I asked him to do a R.A.S.T test on me, he had no idea what it was so I 'educated him', results came back pretty much as I expected but with additional foods on there, no allergy to dogs, minor allergy to cats, high allergy to rats and molds (it also gives an rating on how allergic you are). I didnt take any injections but I can definately vouch for the difference in avoiding certain foods, I have asthma and while I knew about dairy products being a problem there were other things that I was not aware of that were making it worse.

 

I will ask about that testing. I did discuss something similar with his vet awhile ago but the vet wasn't too positive about it. It was an allergy test, but it was the skin kind that he had a dermatologist do. He said it was $400 but that it would most likely be a waste of money. ? Usually vets push tests. Then after we had that discussion, he was hot spot free for about 8 mos. Then summer started up. His allergies are completely manageable, if I catch it in time I can clear it up in a day or two, but just looking at it, that has got to be painful. And I hate that.

I know you (Jamiya) posted a menu awhile back what you give your dogs. I guess I could just double what you do or something. I think I'll give it a try at least for a week or so.

 

To be honest I havent worked with any vets that use the skin testing procedure, although ive heard quite a few of them say they are unreliable.
Any vet should be able to get all the info from Spectrum Labs, theres usually a form to fill out with a client/vet questionairre about the pet. They used to need 12mls of blood. It was a little pricey back when I had it done but ir is throrough and in my opinion well worth it if there are ongoing problems.
Basically if your going to put out a lot of money for tests then make sure the tests are worth it.

That said, Ive never tried much in the of homeopathic methods, might be worth looking into.

 

Actually, I pick up a chicken or pork chops from the local supermarket.

 

Actually I had Smokey and Red dog on raw. Both did excellent on it. I did however have self feeders with dry kibble as "snacks" my dogs worked very hard, and my girls are starting too. So they "snack" occasionally on breaks to give them a little extra. Precious we don't let her self feed, she'll eat the whole feeder in one sitting. Kabuki on the other hand is a picky eater. She'll take a bite or two, then wonder off after imaginary butterflies or monsters... (yeah, I'm trying to wean her off the LSD and shrooms LOL)
BUt she's a growing puppy and is already taller and longer than precious but has such a lanky appeal. Long legs and a lean body.

I haven't put my girls on Raw. I really want to get to kow them "TOTALLY" and see what underlying health problems, if there are any, and document. Precious has dry skin, and Buki is allergic to ants. She really gets huge whelps when they bite her.
Other than that, they are in great health.
One thing too, they are giant dogs, not sure I could afford to feed them raw.

We usually hunt, and do alot of butchering ourselves. With Smokey and the ACD's it was no problem. We kill deer every season (leagaly and morally) and fowl and phesant, hogs, squirrls, ect.... so buying food wasn't so bad. However, it would take a large amount of that to feed my girls and with what we normally have, we'd be out in less than a month!

I have started taking "trash" meats (tougher more ligamenty and stringy) cuts, and smoking them. Making hard Jerkey treats for the girls. They LOVE that. And it takes them a good long time to chew them up.

I make smaller ones for Tubby. I don't add anything to them. Just slice them the size and thickness I want, and hang them in the smoke house. They smoke or dehydrate for a good 2 days, then I put them in Freezer bags and put them in the freezer and take them out every so often as treats.

 

arrrrgh did you guys ahve problems gettnig online yesterday?

Okay, Jake is on total raw, except I feed him packgd raw, I just cant get into what JImiya does, and I think I would have a real problem with Jake swallowing the bones whole. the prepackg I buy has ground up chicken bones, beef and beef heart. There is an exreemly good book to get and read up on it I loaned it out and havent got it back so I cant remember the name, its great reading about the nutrition. I think Jake has airborne allergies too. he is just getting over another hot spot, Like Indy his is always in the same place, on his head , but he is not chewing anymore, and he is not shedding at all and his coat is so nice so I think the raw has helped him in that. and his mouth ick has finally cleared up. Be careful in supplements I read that things like flaxseed oil and sunflower oil can be allergic too even though they are prevalent in allergy foods.


First, I would highly recommend getting him allergy tested, Its probably more airborne for him. Last week I watched animal planet and they had a dog on there going thru similar to Indy. they tested him and the poor dog was allergic to everything, like wheat, dust, the type of grass the onwer had just put in their yard and a lot more airborne stuff.

I went thru the tests with my cat, and he was allergic to varoius grasses and weeds. He would get so sick from it, that he got pnemonia a few times. the test was about $200. I would change vets, almost every vet does the blood test, which has to be sent out to third party. doing a skin test thru a dermotologist sounds leary to me. And blood tests are way more accurate in terms of diagnosis. Indy is young, I think you should give the blood tests a shot, that way you can find out what the culprits are and then how to manage it, either from eliminating the problem or getting the allergy shots.

there is a resident cat at my vet who had horrible skin allergies, they test him and of all things he is allergic to humans. isnt that wierd. he is now on shots and he looks so good

honeybear

 

I feed raw about 90% of the time. There are days when I feed them some kibble instead for one meal. Tournament weekends etc., but mostly raw.

Darby was a miserable mess with allergies and he was chronic with stones. He had had three surgeries when the vet told me that was it, he couldn't do another on him. He said he was chronic, nothing was helping and he was allergic to the prescription food..which also wasn't changing his urine ph. That was quite a long while ago. He had been telling me NOT to feed raw. But at that point he said he could no longer discourage me..considering Darby's situation. He didn't think it would help. I knew Darby was building stones at a rate that gave him about 8 months...I didn't have anything to lose by trying. I started with a premade..already done for you raw food, because thats what I was comfortable with at that time. After a week Darby's ph was in a normal range and it stayed there. It took alot longer for his allergy issues to clear up, but they did in several months. I rarely give him kibble, I'm afraid it will set him off. My daughters cat has the same two health issues as Darby and I also feed him raw, although he seems to do as good on a very high quality kibble. Both animals are white..which always made me wonder....

I STILL have vets tell me raw is bad, the vet who just cleaned his teeth tried to tell me that I was making a mistake with him. Bottom line is, it's is working for him and if there are risks...well Darby has to take them. He doesn't have alot of choices.