Author Topic: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......  (Read 1886 times)

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Offline butterflywings21

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Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« on: May 17, 2014, 02:53:37 PM »
After weeks of reading info and being 50/50 I'm going to go for it.  We went to Paws in the Park today and spoke to a lovely man called Ben who has his own company and answered all my questions (http://benyfitnatural.co.uk/collections/working-dog).  Tilly has done really well on Barking Heads Grain Free and sometimes Wainwrights grain free wet food but she still has dry flaky skin on her back and on her tummy is all spotty and rough (his wife said it was a skin allergy).  So I'm going to do one meal a day of raw food and slowly introduce it over a period of a week.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Any help would be welcomed as I'm new to this all.
I like the sound of this food and as it's complete I wouldn't have to add anything else (so makes it fool proof for me),  I also like the fact that I'm near to them so can get it when I need and not have to store lots of it.

If Tilly weighs 11.5 kgs am I right in finally feeding her around 220grams aday?? 
What amount would I start with when introducing it to her???

any help please.....sorry for a log post..

Offline elaine.e

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2014, 04:44:57 PM »
When I started my 2 on raw I knew they were slim and abut the right weight so I started them on 2.5% of their weight as most people suggest between 2% and 3%. So for Tilly, assuming 11.5 kg is the weight you want her to be, that would be about 290g per day. After a while I decreased William's slightly and increased Louis' slightly. Now almost 5 years later, they both have about 2.2%. So don't worry if you don't get the % right straightaway as it's easy enough to feed a bit more or less if Tilly loses a bit of weight or puts some on.

I started by feeding 1 raw meal per day and 1 kibble, because I was feeling cautious. If I were to change a dog now I'd just go straight to raw. Most raw feeders don't recommend feeding 1 meal of each. Kibble takes a lot longer to digest than raw so the reason given for not feeding both is that undigested kibble may slow down the digestion of raw. However, when I first fed raw, from 1987 until about 2002, I fed raw meat and a biscuit mixer together, because that's what most people did then. My 2 Cockers thrived, although it probably did have a bit of an effect on their pooping as it varied in consistency on a daily basis much more than with my current 2 raw fed boys (apologies to anyone eating their tea) :005:

I know that some people on COL (Helen for one) feed 1 meal of kibble and 1 of raw successfully, so if you want to make a gradual swap by doing it that way then go for it. Feed 1/2 her current daily ration of kibble for 1 meal and 1/2 her daily ration of raw for the other.

I've looked at the link you posted and it looks like a good "complete" raw and I see they do some without added veg. too. You might want to ask roughly how much bone is in the minces as anything more than 10% may be difficult for Tilly to cope with at first and may give her constipation. It did with William but Louis was fine.

Nowadays I feed about 50% "complete" minces and about 50% DIY raw (chicken wings and backs, whole lamb hearts, duck necks, chunks of chicken, turkey, green tripe or lamb and some lamb liver and kidney added a couple of times a week). That gives them more variety in taste and texture, cuts the cost a bit and enables me to customise their diets a bit to suit their individual requirements. William doesn't cope with as much bone as Louis, so sometimes Louis might have a couple of chicken wings or a carcass for a meal while William will have 1 chicken wing and some green tripe or other bone free meat.

You might want to stick to 1 protein source for the first week, chicken is usually the one suggested, and then start introducing others. Ultimately, a variety of protein sources will give the most balanced diet. Oily fish is very good too. Mine have fresh sprats once a week when in season, or any other oily fish I can source. But be warned, the first couple of times they had sprats they threw up afterwards. I think I gave them too much in one go instead of introducing it gradually.

Hope it goes OK :D

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2014, 05:46:41 PM »
Thank you for taking the time out to reply. I think I will do morning raw and pm wet tray for the week and see.  I'll email or phone them to see what % of bone is in it.  I wanted a complete raw mix as I get confused about what to feed to make sure she gets the right amount.  This for me is easier.

What other companies are good if this company has too a high bone content??

If I need any more help may I pm you??

Offline elaine.e

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2014, 06:21:57 PM »
Feel free to PM me :D

I think the bone content of most of the complete raw minces will be similar. I use Natural Instinct, sometimes Nurturing By Nature and I've used Wolftucker too, but they were only supplying 500g packs when I used them and 1 kg is easier for me with 2 dogs. I tried them on Nutriment too, but for some reason that I don't know William wasn't very keen on it, so I didn't order it again.

Nature's Menu is easily available in a lot of pet shops. I don't feed the nuggets because they contain rice (no idea why) and have a low amount of meat and fish. But their tripe chunks, chicken hearts, liver chunks and freeflow minces are useful. They come in 2 kg bags and are freeflow so it's easy to thaw out the amount you want.

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2014, 06:25:21 PM »
Thank you,  I did look at natures menu grain free ones as they have rabbit, venison and duck.  Can I swop between raw companies or do you have to do a change over period like other food???

Offline elaine.e

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2014, 06:27:14 PM »
Thank you,  I did look at natures menu grain free ones as they have rabbit, venison and duck.  Can I swop between raw companies or do you have to do a change over period like other food???

No changeover period once you're established on raw. I haven't tried mine on the rabbit, venison and duck NM because they're only 60% meat and the rest is veg. etc. If I used it I'd want to top it up with other meat to make the meal about 80% to 90% meat, which I could try of course, just haven't done yet.

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2014, 06:31:43 PM »
Thank you,  I did look at natures menu grain free ones as they have rabbit, venison and duck.  Can I swop between raw companies or do you have to do a change over period like other food???

No changeover period once you're established on raw.
That makes life easier....I'm hoping her skin will improve on the raw diet.  will let you know how I go. thanks again x x

Offline Sep1702

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2014, 10:03:08 PM »
Hi I have very recently swapped Mali to raw - we are using natural instinct.  Mali didn't seem to have any allergies but just wasn't enthusiastic about her dry food.  I'm so glad I made the change she absolutely loves it!!! I started off mixing the 2 and gradually increasing raw but I was advised to just make the switch straight to raw and we've not had any issues. Good luck x

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2014, 10:39:18 AM »
Thanks, Tilly has loved it. Only been giving it to her in the morning. She made me laugh yesterday as in the morning I was putting it in her bowl and I have turned around to find a huge dribble fall from her mouth, then I the evening she got her normal wet try but the look I got. She did eat it but was not impressed at all. I'll give it a couple more days and then she can have it fully.

Offline Murphys Law

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2014, 11:14:25 AM »
Hi I have very recently swapped Mali to raw - we are using natural instinct.  Mali didn't seem to have any allergies but just wasn't enthusiastic about her dry food.  I'm so glad I made the change she absolutely loves it!!! I started off mixing the 2 and gradually increasing raw but I was advised to just make the switch straight to raw and we've not had any issues. Good luck x

Murphy went straight onto 100% Natural Instinct following the advice from our supplier. He had no tummy problems at all from the first day onwards.

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2014, 02:37:53 PM »
Do you still use NI Murphy's law?? How's he been since being raw?

Offline Murphys Law

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2014, 07:44:13 PM »
He still loves it. We have tried all the different flavours and at present, Working Dog Beef is his favourite. Though next week it will probably be the chicken or turkey.

Health wise, he hasn't had any problems since starting on it and I have lost count of how many people have made great remarks on his coat. I have persuaded two of my dog owning friends to change to NI and they are pleased too.

The only negative I can come up with is that it can be very easy to over feed. Portion size can look small and the fact that they eat it so quickly means that you don't think they are getting enough.

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #12 on: May 19, 2014, 07:51:06 PM »
Thanks, I have brought Tilly her own pair of scales to weigh it all. I had to reduce her kibble by nearly half (and I wasn't overfeeding her to start with as the correct amount looked too much for her) as that had caused her to gain a little weight and so I am very careful as I don't want it to happen again.

Offline helenb14

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #13 on: May 19, 2014, 08:57:49 PM »
I feed Seve raw. I now buy the minces as so much easier and then he has some chicken wings to chew and crunch on! He is in great condition.
I have recently converted my friend with her border terrier and she feels her behaviour is so much better.
Hope it's all going well for you xx

Offline butterflywings21

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Re: Wish me luck, Tilly Is going raw.......
« Reply #14 on: May 20, 2014, 09:31:56 PM »
hi, do you add anything else to Seve minces.