CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Feeding => Topic started by: LesleyW on July 08, 2007, 11:29:21 AM
-
We get Bracken on Tuesday, at the moment she is fed on (moistened) Spillers dry food - have no idea what this is like, but I'm guessing its not brilliant! ph34r
I would like to get her over on to BARF asap, and am buying in foodstuff in preparation....however, as she is 4 years old, how quickly can i make the changeover, bearing in mind it will be a "new house, new mum....new food!" situation?? Shes not a puppy, so I'm thinking her digestive system will be well developed and she looks to be a pretty good weight at the moment - just lacking tone.
I also have no idea who is a supplier of Spillers round here, so was rather hoping to bridge the gap between commercial and BARF with something like JWB or RC (which i can get to easily)?
Any suggestions please???
-
All I can say is I brought home an 8 week old pup one evening and just started her on raw as from breakfast the next day and I had no problems what so ever, others have tread this path more carefully and gradually built up to a point were they are on raw but have say taken a month to get there.
If it were me I would fast her for 24-48 hrs (I'm a great believer in fasting and it will help cleanse her system of the old diet), then start off on the raw. If she seems hungry in the mean time just offer honey and water as well as her usual supply of fresh water. My friend had an older cocker who she wanted to switch to raw and she tried this method without problems. However you or other readers may not be so inclined to fast and if that be the case then you have 2 other choices, just go for it and be watchful of how she copes with the new diet or build up to the changeover by slowly reducing the amount of spillers you give and increasing the amount of raw, but make sure you keep the meals meals separate by at least 2 hours to help prevent aggrevating digestion of the differing foods.
-
I've decided to go for the "light" option, rather than fasting - which is good, i dont have a problem with it, and once we get going may well do a fast day per week.
Have whizzed up some broccoli, carrot, celery, watercress, natural yog, and very lightly poached some white fish to mix in for this evening. It will only be a small amount, and should not be too difficult to digest, will try her on some raw meat with the same veg mix tomorrow.
I havent bought her any Spillers or even biscuits as i had originally planned, because i want her to go straight on to BARF just hope she approves!
-
Good luck with the change over ;)
-
shes doing well, had her first chicken wing tonight - i cut into 3 just in case she wasnt sure what to do with it, but she happily crunched it up - her little stump wagging madly!! :lol: then tucked into her whizzed veggies with a bit of raw minced beef etc.
Her teeth look awful, i dont think they are bad enough to come out, hopefully the wings will help clean them off a bit ::)
She had scrambled egg (2) with a dollop of honey and natural yoghurt this morning, which she seemed to really enjoy too, but how much natural yoghurt does she need per day - i dont want to upset her tum?
-
Glad to see she is settling in, ours love their chicken wings.
-
I switched seven year old Fern over to BARF in one fell swoop. Took a few weeks for her digestion to completely adjust but nothing serious, just takes a while to find out the optimum veggie/muscle meat/bone ratio for her.
-
I hope she is getting enough - for the first two days i noticed that she (ahem) pooped twice a day, tonight she seems to have not bothered with the second one ph34r
I have been reading the very long BARF diary on this forum, and now i really need to get to a butcher - cant wait to get my hand on some decent bones etc, atm I'm having to manage on stuff already in the freezer and some bits i picked up on the day we collected her!
Will get the vet to check her weight tomorrow and will go from there....
-
You'll probably find she poo's less on BARF. Bella only goes once a day (morning), Zorro goes twice but he gets big dinners whereas Bella only gets her mini portions to keep her slim. :luv:
Good luck with it!
-
well, i came home this afternoon to a bit of an accident in the kitchen!
I think she is still getting used to the changeover of diet, and to be honest she did have a rather large breakfast today which included some lightly cooked chicken livers and i noticed on our walk this afternoon, she was rather "liquidy" ph34r, she seems ok in herself tho, her skins a bit itchy - which i think may also be her adapting to the new diet! Back to the chicken wing and raw lamb mince for tea i think...I may come home home lunchtimes for a while too, just in case (luckily I'm only 10 mins away from work, and home anyway at 3pm).
Had a chat with the vet about it this pm, luckily they are very pro-BARF, and also thought the excessive scratchiness may be change of diet, i will have to keep an eye on her.
She is being very good and patient with me though, whilst i get this right - the vet said she weighed 13kg, which i thought was pretty good as shes quite small?
-
Too much liver can cause diarrhoea ph34r
-
yes..........didnt think i'd given her that much either ph34r
At least now i know how much is too much :005:
-
yes..........didnt think i'd given her that much either ph34r
At least now i know how much is too much :005:
I am very cautious when I give Coco offal - she only has liver or lamb's heart really - she only has it every few weeks as it does make her very loose! >:( I find that giving her something boney like lamb ribs for her next meal quickly firms things up again. ;) It will take a while for you to get the diet right - I still look at Coco's poo to see if I am feeding the right proportion of meat/offal/bone ;) :005: It can vary from pebbles to puddles depending on what she has had to eat ph34r
-
yes..........didnt think i'd given her that much either ph34r
At least now i know how much is too much :005:
I am very cautious when I give Coco offal - she only has liver or lamb's heart really - she only has it every few weeks as it does make her very loose! >:( I find that giving her something boney like lamb ribs for her next meal quickly firms things up again. ;) It will take a while for you to get the diet right - I still look at Coco's poo to see if I am feeding the right proportion of meat/offal/bone ;) :005: It can vary from pebbles to puddles depending on what she has had to eat ph34r
thanks! its a work in progress really isnt it? I think Bracken is going to eb the same, shes seems fine on the meat and bone but the offal = even a small amount makes her loose!
-
yes..........didnt think i'd given her that much either ph34r
At least now i know how much is too much :005:
I am very cautious when I give Coco offal - she only has liver or lamb's heart really - she only has it every few weeks as it does make her very loose! >:( I find that giving her something boney like lamb ribs for her next meal quickly firms things up again. ;) It will take a while for you to get the diet right - I still look at Coco's poo to see if I am feeding the right proportion of meat/offal/bone ;) :005: It can vary from pebbles to puddles depending on what she has had to eat ph34r
thanks! its a work in progress really isnt it? I think Bracken is going to eb the same, shes seems fine on the meat and bone but the offal = even a small amount makes her loose!
It's the same here ph34r . Now I feed just a few pieces with a raw mince meat meal about once a week. Fern has pig, lamb or ox liver or heart chunks but never as a complete meal. Seems to have done the trick :blink: .
You will find some odd symptoms as she detoxifies. Runny eyes, scurfy coat, that sort of thing. It depends on the dogs metabolism. I think it took about 6 months for all detox symptoms to disappear with Fern but the worst was over in about 4/5 weeks. She had runny/gunky eyes mostly and her coat went a bit greasy for a week or two. All fine now though :D .
-
I feed offal about 3 times per week, but we are only talking of small amounts added to the main meal, say 10% max. You will see the effects as the stools will be darker but still firm. ;)
-
I mix it with her main meal too - eg this morning she has had half a lamb heart with a couple of small chicken wings ;) Hopefully that should help keep things solid!! :005:
-
When you think about, it BARF feeding does involve an awful lot of poo gazing doesn't it? :005:
-
When you think about, it BARF feeding does involve an awful lot of poo gazing doesn't it? :005:
....yes. I've only had Bracken for 5 days, and I'm getting quite obsessive about it already ph34r
-
Yes, I always peer at Coco's poo when she has done one - it helps me to decide what she is getting for her next meal! :005:
-
:lol: Well at least BARF poo is more interesting than ordinary poo. You never know what you're going to get from one day to another, colours of the rainbow, variable consistancy. The best thing tho' is that there's never too much of it and if you do forget to pick it up, it crumbles away into nothing in a day or two :D
-
...And there's very little smell ph34r
-
Sorry to jump on this thread (hope you don't mind LesleyW??-glad to hear Bracken is getting on okay with her BARF diet)
Monty has just eaten his first ever chicken wing!! We are starting on a path heading towards a BARF diet but just tentatively as he's had a few problems already with his (ahem) bottom...gland issues mainly but if he's loose it aggravates the glands and it's a horrible spiral!! I love reading threads with people who have done/are embarking on BARF, it's very educational, and reassuring!!
He took about half an hour to eat his wing-licked it for about 27 of those minutes then got the hang of it and polished it off very speedily!! Cleaned the floor and came in buzzing looking for more!!
Is there any other meat items people would recommend to complement his Burns for a little while while firming him up and (hopefully) helping his gland issues?? Once I know his gut is okay with BARF I'll be looking to change him over completely.
-
Monty has just eaten his first ever chicken wing!! .... I love reading threads with people who have done/are embarking on BARF, it's very educational, and reassuring!!
Is there any other meat items people would recommend to complement his Burns for a little while while firming him up and (hopefully) helping his gland issues?? Once I know his gut is okay with BARF I'll be looking to change him over completely.
Not at all - I love to hear about others embarking on BARF too! Isnt it something when they eat their first wing!! :lol: I chopped Brackens into 3, as i wasnt sure if she would know what to do, but she crunched it down eagerly and loves them now (i'm still chopping them up tho, as shes a little too enthusiatic to my mind).
I found she loves turkey mince - maybe you could use to supplement the Burns?
-
Is there any other meat items people would recommend to complement his Burns for a little while while firming him up and (hopefully) helping his gland issues?? Once I know his gut is okay with BARF I'll be looking to change him over completely.
Lamb ribs. You can buy breast of lamb (butchers/supermarket) and feed a couple of ribs. Try to ensure it's not too fatty though. Some fat is good but not too much. Or you could buy AMP freeflow mince (for working dogs) try your pet shop for this as most of their freeflow mince contains ground bone. This should help to firm things up.
IMO by feeding Burns and supplementing with BARF you are probably dragging out the changeover more than you need. Dogs guts wont know which way to go enzyme wise :-\ . Best to change straight off. Just my experience ;) .
-
IMO by feeding Burns and supplementing with BARF you are probably dragging out the changeover more than you need. Dogs guts wont know which way to go enzyme wise :-\ . Best to change straight off. Just my experience ;) .
I really appreciate the advice :luv: ...but I'm mindful that I don't want to take over this thread with my queries...would you object if I PM you with a couple of questions and specifics about Monty?? I do want to give BARF a proper go if it could help him with his anal gland issues (within reason I'll try anything to avoid him having to have surgery which is looking more and more likely all the time :'( so long as my 'trying anything' does not have a negative effect on him!!) He needs to have his glands expressed and we'll see the vet on Monday, after that I'm quite prepared to try anything with enthusiasm...prior to that I'm just a bit cautious as I don't want him to get any worse from my meddling!! It's late you'll have t forgive me if all that is a bit jumbled and confused ph34r
-
would you object if I PM you with a couple of questions and specifics about Monty??
Not at all :D . Will reply tomorow as v.tired tonight.
-
would you object if I PM you with a couple of questions and specifics about Monty??
Not at all :D . Will reply tomorow as v.tired tonight.
:005: :005: I'll PM tomorrow...as....Zzzzzzzzz.....ditto!!!! :005: :005:
-
YIKES! :o
...gave Bracken the end of the lamb joint (leg end, the bit that the butcher always cuts and leaves hanging) and i think shes eaten it! Cant find it anywhere, so i presume shes munched it up....
i suppose its possible that shes buried it somewhere, but i cant see a sign on anything in the garden....
Only took my eyes of her for a few minutes too...
-
Mine eat them too, I found 1 small piece left which was about 1" long. ;)
-
It made another appearance yesterday evening - she must have hidden or buried it, until it got to the optimum flavour/age ph34r
She was proudly carrying it round the garden when we got back from our afternoon amble, then promptly proceeded to chew and munch it before us - OH and I were in the hammock enjoying a glass of wine and watched the whole show...
She got it down to the last 2 something inches and I couldnt bear it any longer and took it quietly off her to bin it, was expecting her to try and swallow the last bit whole!
She did enjoy it tho, arent they dexterous with their paws? :D
On a BARF note, I managed to find a supplier near me that does AMP, so bought a 2k bag of Beef mince for her to try - so far, its got the thumbs up! ;)
-
On a BARF note, I managed to find a supplier near me that does AMP, so bought a 2k bag of Beef mince for her to try - so far, its got the thumbs up! ;)
The freeflow mince is great and very good for hiding pulped veggies in (Coco doesn't like her greens on their own ::)) Coco is not too keen on poultry mince (might be the texture - same problem with the frozen blocks :-\) but she loves the lamb and tripe ones so maybe you should go mad and try those next! :D
-
On a BARF note, I managed to find a supplier near me that does AMP, so bought a 2k bag of Beef mince for her to try - so far, its got the thumbs up! ;)
The freeflow mince is great and very good for hiding pulped veggies in (Coco doesn't like her greens on their own ::)) Coco is not too keen on poultry mince (might be the texture - same problem with the frozen blocks :-\) but she loves the lamb and tripe ones so maybe you should go mad and try those next! :D
We are looking into getting another, supplementary freezer to store her grub in, at this rate I will be buying ALL the varieties for her to try! :lol: