Raw diet (PP raw) and treats!

[PollySpaull]

Hi all,

I've an 11 week old sable show cocker pup called Monty!

I'm just about to move him onto the raw diet. I've got some boxes of raw mince from Paws Pantry in Essex? Lovely lady and all the reviews seem good. Does anyone else on here feed PP raw?

I was wondering about treats for the raw. Monty still has a lot of training to do and is currently being treated with natures menu treats and Lily's kitchen 100%dried liver.

Just wondered if anyone could recommend any other good training treats for dogs on a raw diet! Ideally things that I could take to my puppy classes etc!

Thank you!

Polly and Monty x

[Pearly]

Do you have to take treats or want to? I ask as I train without food incentives - Pearl becomes a gravy bone monster and Coral is highly food motivated so would be even worse!  Both dogs are "treated" with fuss and affection when they do well and ignored when not.

Natures Menu do treats for cats that may be suitable - they are small reveal able pouches so ideal for carrying 

[PollySpaull]

We are advised to take treats for them. Plus he can be bit of a piglet and loves a tasty morsel! And we're also doing clicker at home so have been re enforcing his positive behaviour with a treat now and again! This dog training stuff is hard work!! 

[elaine.e]

I feed raw and when it comes to training treats I'm slightly careful about what I feed, but not too bothered because I know that their meals are so healthy. Dried liver treats are a favourite, Harringtons Training Treats are cereal free and have reasonable ingredients and I've used tiny bits of cooked cocktail sausage or cheddar sometimes too, although they're not very pocket friendly.

[Joules]

I feed raw and when it comes to training treats I'm slightly careful about what I feed, but not too bothered because I know that their meals are so healthy. Dried liver treats are a favourite, Harringtons Training Treats are cereal free and have reasonable ingredients and I've used tiny bits of cooked cocktail sausage or cheddar sometimes too, although they're not very pocket friendly.

Same here.  I don't get too hung up on the treats being raw just reasonably healthy.  I use dried liver, bits of cheese or chicken and also buy a bag of good quality kibble (Lily's Kitchen or similar) and use that - Coco never has kibble normally so it is still a novelty to her 

[ejp]

I take tiny cubes of cheese to clicker class, and toss it in a little rice flour or corn flour to take the stickiness away. Cocktail sausages are a big favourite too.

[PollySpaull]

Thanks everyone!

I'm very new to all of this but my understanding was that you weren't allowed to feed any type of kibble as it has different digestion times? Or is it okay in small amounts. He's on (pretty much) 100% dried meat treats at the moment but there's a man at our local pub that carries lots of dog biscuits and although Monty hasn't been yet he will be coming with us. Is he allowed a "normal" treat every now and again even if he's on raw? Sorry if I'm being completely silly or not making sense!

X

[elaine.e]

Thanks everyone!

I'm very new to all of this but my understanding was that you weren't allowed to feed any type of kibble as it has different digestion times? Or is it okay in small amounts. He's on (pretty much) 100% dried meat treats at the moment but there's a man at our local pub that carries lots of dog biscuits and although Monty hasn't been yet he will be coming with us. Is he allowed a "normal" treat every now and again even if he's on raw? Sorry if I'm being completely silly or not making sense!

X

You're not being silly at all. Feeding raw is quite daunting at first because it's not as simple as pouring kibble out of a bag, plus you get people who turn pale when you tell them you raw feed (including some vets) and trot out the myths that abound such as your puppy will turn into a bloodthirsty killer once he has the taste for blood or will spread salmonella to you and yours

Raw digests faster than kibble, but I don't think that's a huge problem. The worry that some have is that if the raw is contaminated with bacteria, and digestion of the raw is slowed down by the digestion of kibble, there's a chance that the bacteria, instead of being quickly zapped by the very strong stomach acid that dogs have, will be in the system long enough to affect the dog. I guess that could happen. But UK raw dog food is mostly produced by DEFRA approved businesses that use human grade meat and there are very strict controls and testing.  I think the chances of it being affected by salmonella and other nasties is probably smaller than that of the supermarket meat we all buy and handle raw before we cook it.

Some people feed one meal of raw and one of kibble every day, or even mix the two at every meal. I choose not to, but that's just because I don't want or feel the need to feed kibble. But my two have non raw treats and have a bedtime biscuit every night too. There are some purists that will disapprove, but to me it's no worse than a person eating a healthy diet and having a few naughty treats. I'm sure Monty will love a biscuit from the man in the pub and won't be any the worse for it

[PollySpaull]

Thankyou very much Elaine.e! That's really helped! I was slightly worried that he would keel over if he had a bit of both but feel much better now! Starting him on the raw tomorrow so we shall see what he makes of it!
Took a lot of boyfriend convincing that the raw diet was best, and didn't help that our vet wasn't too pleased when he heard it!
Hoping it will help montys coat as he's very scurfy and dry! Fingers crossed! Xx

[Joules]

I agree with Elaine - don't get too hung up on everything having to be raw.  A few dog treats and extras won't really hurt - some of the shops we go to keep dog treats behind the counter and Coco would never speak to me again if I didn't let her have some!    It will probably take you a while to work out what works best for you and to feel confident in what you are doing. I found it quite daunting at first too, but now, nearly 10 years on, I would never go back.  There are plenty of us on here who feed raw, so always feel free to ask.   

When I first switched to raw, Coco had "normal" dog food for one meal and raw for the other.  Ideally I tried to leave about 6 hours between raw and processed food.  Now she has a tin of sardines with a raw egg on top about once a week - apart from treats, that is pretty much the only non-raw food she has.  It has never really been a problem though and it would make life very difficult if I could not be a bit flexible.  She is a greedy little madam though but she does turn her nose up at the usual treats - Pedigree and the like.  She likes natural and organic treats wherever possible 

[its.sme]

I use these, you can cut them up smaller and there easy to handle,

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-treat-reviews/0004/natures-menu-real-meat-treats

My girl has been fed on Raw for just over a year, very daunting at first as it can sound very complicated but I soon realised that if you buy a complete Raw food (I use Natural Instinct) than you just defrost a pack, weigh it out and feed a very happy spaniel 

Good luck.
Sharon.

[elaine.e]

Forgot to mention this in my previous post. I keep a few pouches of Nature's Menus wet food, or trays of Symply wet food for those occasions when I've forgotten to get raw food out of the freezer in time, so mine have that as a meal about once a week. It can be useful to have a non raw standby that they're used to and like.

[Gertie]

same here, I give non raw food for treats, Harringtons are good. I also used fish4dogs kibble which you can get in small bags as a sample when Maisy was very small and she got a treat for everything she did....eg going in her crate....I used to leave a jar handy to her crate so they were always there.  The natural instinct dried liver I found took my puppy too long to chew so I have her on softer treats which she can't choke on whilst she is busy running and enjoying her treat.

The funniest thing about feeding raw is my vet said " your dog looks so healthy and her coat is very shiny" but I don't recommend raw. Eh?

[Jessie_Pup]

I bought some treats from www.finerbynature.co.uk
Venison,rabbit,fish cubes in the Grab it and Go section.

[PollySpaull]

Brilliant thanks everyone, you've all been really helpful! Took the plunge and gave Monty his first raw feed this morning... He's licked the bowl clean!!
Also gave him a whole raw egg last night whilst we were in the garden... He spent about 20 mins licking it all out and then ate the shell! I think he's going to be very happy on raw!!