My Golden Retriever Baby Couldn't Handle Raw Food

[rawforthesoul]

So I've been sporadically experimenting with a raw food diet for my dog. In the past I just tried out different fruits with her regular dog food separate (I buy the Innova brand). I tried getting creative and after reading recommendations on this message board, I decided to make Lorna a full-on raw meal... minus the raw meat, which I substituted with her dog food (I need to research more about bacteria in meat before feeding it to her).

1 apple
1 serving of soaked oatmeal mixed with flax
1 carrot
powdered wheatgrass in water (just enough to moisten the mixture)
and I sprinkled a little cooked chicken broth in it (I know it's not raw, don't shoot me)

Lorna loved it!

Then late at night she started dry-heaving. Majorly. It sounded like there was some kind of alien trying to come out of her stomach. I wasn't freaked out because she didn't have any other symptoms, I just figured her stomach was upset. I sat with her on the grass in the backyard while she dry-heaved. We did this off and on until the wee hours of the morning when she finally fell asleep inside. She's perfectly fine now, I'm just feeling very disheartened about this.

What did I do wrong? Were the food combinations off? Was it the raw food mixed with the cooked dog food? Is my dog just so humanized that her body can't handle her natural canine diet?

*Sigh* I'm just a big mess of worries right now. My dog has so many physical problems at the oh-so young age of 1 and 1/2 years, I just want to prevent anything else from happening to her. I'm so dedicated to the notion of eliminating human-made food from her diet because I think that's what will make her health fail in the long run.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE any advice is welcomed! I want my little girl to be healthy!

[freespirit]

I would feed her raw meat- if you feed her twice a day, make one meal raw. their bodies have shorter digestive tracts and a different composition of stomach acid so bacteria in meat isnt so much an issue for them as it is to us...our dane eats meat mixed w fats and veggies, no fruit. although he will eat fruit seperately, drools over oranges and watermelon. i dont believe in mixing fruit with meat or cooked food(dog food) as it is improper food combining. And if you make the decision to feed meat make it organic, which im sure you already know.

by the way- your puppy is absolutely adorable!!!

[Zella Juice]

Dogs stomachs are different than ours. They have the stomach acids to break down the raw meat.

We use the pulp from our juicer and mix it with the raw organic meat at the health food store. Mix it up in a huge bucket and keep it in the fridge. I also give her avocados when I open them up and they are too yukky for me. She loves them and probably doesn't see why I wouldn't want to eat it.

There was about a week transition where she had runny poop. But that was about it. Then her coat turned silky and she is the healthiest happiest doggy.

[VibinOnLife!]

Also, be very VERY careful about gas. Dogs can die within an hour from severe stomach gas.

I remember once I decided to feed my little rattie a "nice meal" of baked chicken, rice, and broccoli. He's been eating raw foods all of his life...as snacks...and absolutely loves apples, oranges, mangoes, lettuce, and a few other treats.

Well, he loved this full course meal also! He loved it so much that even when he was full he would not let me take the bowl up! Every time I came near it he growled. He literally sat right at the bowl and every few minutes would take another bite.

After eating, he came and sat beside me and a few minutes later he yelped and fell over on his side. He could not walk or sit up straight. As I was ripping up the yellow pages (it was sunday night around 8 or 9 pm) trying to find a vet, he slowly got himself together and stood up and walked. He seemed fine after that so I just watched him for the rest of the night.

For the next 3 weeks, everytime someone tried to pick him up or reached their arms out near his belly he yelped. By this time, I already knew it was gas from the cold broccoli. I figure this out the morning after it happened by doing extensive internet research.

So for the next few weeks, I had to take him on really long walks in order to try to work the gas out of his system. It was a long right and I've been afraid to give him anything since.

It was probably gas. Because dogs are related to the wolf, they are not vegetarians. They are definite carnivores. A raw diet for a dog consists of raw meat. Some people add it some veggies for beta carotene, etc. But for the most part they are supposed to eat meat. Raw meat does for a dog what veggies do for us!

Glad she's feeling better. I'm almost sure that it was gas.

[RawKnitster]

My dog started developing stomach and skin problems as she got older. My vet recommended a single source of hypoallergenic protein (like venison) and sent me to Mud Bay Granery. It's a chain of pet food stores with a large selection of quality pet foods, including raw frozen and dehydrated products. My little dog now eats a raw dehydrated venison called "Addiction", that gets rehydrated with warm water. (That took care of her hydration issues, too.) For a treat she gets raw vege crackers, from "Raw Dog", and dehydrated sweet potatoes. She also gets to snack on a variety of fresh veges when I'm slicing and dicing, especially loves carrots, radishes, red peppers, avocado, and an occasional piece of banana. No more stomach problems!

Hope you find what works for your beautiful pup!:)

[Zella Juice]

I talked with my husband and he said he did transition our dog for two weeks. Mixed the pulp and the raw dog food with her regular kibble for that time and then after that ..just the raw meat and pulp.

Dogs have not been domesticated for that long. In the wild they were scavengers and had vegitation and raw meat. This is what works best for their bodies.

[rawforthesoul]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I'm going to give it another try!

[JennaBoBenna]

Rawforthesoul,

sorry, no suggestions...I just need to squeal a little bit about your pup:

Eeeee!! Look at those big ol puppy feet!!
So cuuuute!!

[Seabie]

What a beautiful puppy!

We can't give our dog broccoli because of the gas and pain she has after eating it. I've heard some dogs can have this problem with alfalfa and of course wheat. Kale is the worse!!! It doesn't take much of kale to give me cramps so I can certainly see why pets might have a problem with it. The recipe we normally follow IF we give her cooked is chicken, carrots, rice, yellow squash, and bananas. Sometimes I make the same recipe and add baked sweet potatoes. I don't add potatoes often since I read that some of the commercial food makers use potatoes as cheap filler. If you use them make sure not use any of the eyes. With apples avoid the core and any seeds. Very bad for pets!

[brydee]

First of all what a beautiful baby you have!!!

I agree with what most of the people have said. I think the point with our pets though is not about being RAW, well it is, but its also about studying what nature intended for them and with dogs that is mainly meat and little veg, supplements and no or hardly any fruit. I can recommend some great books and supplements for dogs if your interested, what country are you in?

[Pony500]

Honestly, I think the easiest way to start out on raw is to feed a pre-made food, like Primal or Bravo! It takes the guesswork out of it and it's all balanced. That's how I started and it was way easier. Eventually, I incorporated other foods along with RMB's, but my pup had no issues whatsoever. I also recently got another rescue dog and I used a mixture of Honest Kitchen and Urban Wolf with meat and that also worked out extremely well. He had absolutely no diarrhea or anything at all--it was a seamless transition actually. We brought him home and just started feeding him that way, although I did need to cook the meat for like a day or so because he didn't want to eat it, but of course now he loves it.

It's also a good idea to keep things simple and not give them too many different things in the beginning. I really would try the pre-made raws--they're just so darn easy and you could feed a variety of meats and do it that way for months. I raised our first dog on raw, well, I started feeding him raw at about 12 weeks and I did make the mistake of feeding too much variety at first. I let things calm down, then I started again using a pre-made raw and things were fine. What you fed the first night would probably give a dog the runs. Too much fruit and veggies with the grains and no real meat (a whole apple and a whole carrot for even a large dog in one sitting is a lot--I would give my dog an apple or two in a week). Dogs need meat and calcium with that meat, don't forget that--that is extremely important. Try the pre-mades, really, they are so easy you will love it and so will your dog. If you can't do the pre-mades, try at least getting on Carina MacDonald's Yahoo group called RAW-lite and get some help from those guys. There is more to it than just feeding whatever, you do need to have a balance and especially with a growing pup.

One more thing, please don't worry about the bacteria in the meat--a dog's system can handle a lot of bacteria--trust me! Unless there is something compromising the dog's immune system, they can handle it.