Ok, I'm a convert

[Anna]

Darwin has been on raw for about a week now and Oh. My. God. The difference so quickly is amazing!
His coat is even shinier, if you can believe it.  His ears are pristine, no more law licking or ear scratching, and he's suddenly all playful!  And dances for his dinner, lol.  I am amazed. 

[lmcpug]

such good news, Anna!

so happy you made the switch

you will see more amazing things!

have you started Ada yet??   
     
 

[Anna]

Ada needs to finish off her kibble bag so she will start in about a week.

BTW, we have a bunch of sweet potato and venison kibble left from Darwin, does anyone want it?  I can bring it to Pugintine.

[blanche]

Darwin has been on raw for about a week now and Oh. My. God. The difference so quickly is amazing!
His coat is even shinier, if you can believe it.  His ears are pristine, no more law licking or ear scratching, and he's suddenly all playful!  And dances for his dinner, lol.  I am amazed. 

ROTFL.  Did you think we were lying?  Just kidding with you, Anna.  Yes, the change can be amazing--especially after kibble.

For all the expense, mess, potential extra work (although I don't find it that way), it's still way cheaper than dealing with an allergic, itchy, stuvite ridden dog.

[lmcpug]

Yep!    ROTFL!   for sure   lol!

every 3-4 mths I spend 2 maybe 3 days of
food prep!
I consider this a good thing also considering
that the pugs are fairly healthy with hardly
any reg or emerg visits.
They have healthy coats, shiny eyes, ears
are pretty good!
oh and poops are smaller and less stinky!

With all the placess out there offering raw human
Grade food; it is only a matter of mind set
Once you get your mind around the idea, you
Will feel better about what you are offering

     

[RockysMom]

I'm curious Ana - what are you feeding Darwin?
Is a commercial product or do you prepare it yourself?

[Kathy]

Huey's switch to raw went well for such a former fussy pants  ::)and he never even had an upset tummy.

Even the premade is cheaper than the canned food was. He has had chicken, turkey, beef and bison all without problem.

Glad its worked for Darwin too!

[Anna]

Darwin is eating the Healthy Paws Big Box turkey dinner right now.  One "square" feeds him for 4 days and costs $5. We crunched numbers and once Ada is on raw too it will cost us about $65 a month.  We won't be switching to homemade raw until we move though.  This kitchen is to small and the freezer too tiny to manage it here.

[Sammers]

Darwin is eating the Healthy Paws Big Box turkey dinner right now.  One "square" feeds him for 4 days and costs $5. We crunched numbers and once Ada is on raw too it will cost us about $65 a month.  We won't be switching to homemade raw until we move though.  This kitchen is to small and the freezer too tiny to manage it here.

That is cheap Anna, it costs us a fortune to feed two dogs raw right now. Sami is on Homemade 4 Life Rabbit, $23/ for 8 days along with 3 cans of Wysong Rabbit @ 3.99/can(lasts about 9 days). Odie is $17 per week for the chicken.
So just in food, we spend over $200 for 2 dogs.
It's insane! I am switching Sami to a more whole carcass diet, which will be cheaper and no carbs - I won't have to add the canned food.

Glad Darwin is doing so well on it!

[lmcpug]

Whoa! that is a whole buncha moolah

I switched Pugsley to raw; way back when;
and if not for the raw food, I would not have ever been
able to afford the other 3 tag alongs
It would have been a bank bust!

This is how much it cost me this time around.
Lucky for me, No Frills had the chicken on for 1.00 /lb
For the three pugs it takes 2 legs / 3-4 legs per bag /
approx. 1.00  a leg / soooo 2.00 for 3 pugs will go 2 meals
per 2 days / 12  meals @ 33 cents each / each pug gets approx 1/4
cup of chicken plus 1/4 veggies 2x per day!
AND still missy piddle pots or "the young offender" is gaining weight ?!?!?!?!?!?!

LOL hope the equasion makes sense! If it doesn't let me know
I'm on er uhm drugs right now

[RockysMom]

I'm convinced.  I'm going to switch Rocky to raw. 
I had a look at the commercially prepared raw products that Darwin is on and that is the best option for me at this point.   

How do I know how much of the raw to feed him and how do I switch him over???  I assume it is done gradually??

Believe it or not Rocky eats nearly 2 cups of Natural Balance LID Venison and Sweet Potato every day (and he hasn't an ounce of fat on him......but I have a lot of grey hair from racing around after him to keep him safe!)

[Sammers]

I'm convinced.  I'm going to switch Rocky to raw. 
I had a look at the commercially prepared raw products that Darwin is on and that is the best option for me at this point.   

How do I know how much of the raw to feed him and how do I switch him over???  I assume it is done gradually??

Believe it or not Rocky eats nearly 2 cups of Natural Balance LID Venison and Sweet Potato every day (and he hasn't an ounce of fat on him......but I have a lot of grey hair from racing around after him to keep him safe!)

you can't mix kibble and raw, so you either have to do home cooked like I did or straight raw.

Well as a pug - he is probabaly overeating - which they would tend to do anyway. Secondly he may not be getting what he NEEDS from the LID.

I used to overfeed Sami, and when we switched to raw, I took her weight (22 lbs) and gave her 2 1/2 oz of food per meal to maintain body weight.  It should only be 2% of their body weight to maintain it. If you feel that Rocky could lose some weight cut it down a bit.

Here is a calculator http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

Just putting this out there - this is what nature intended them to eat. I am sure you will see a difference for the good in Rocky if you decide to switch. It made all the difference in the world for our costly pug.

[blanche]

I have always switched dogs cold turkey.

And you actually can feed raw and kibble, just not in the same meal.  One in the a.m. and the other in the p.m.  If you're going to do that, remember that kibble takes MUCH longer to digest than raw so you need to take that into account.

Yes, 2% of their body weight is average, but it varies based on each dog's metabolism.  Tank gets2.5 ozs per meal and weighs between 23 and 24 lbs.  Hazel gets 3 to 4 ozs per meal and weighs about 16 lbs--she just burns energy so needs more.

I always start at 2% and adjust up or down based on how they do.

[Sammers]

And you actually can feed raw and kibble, just not in the same meal.  One in the a.m. and the other in the p.m. 

Ooops - thanks for clarifying that Blanche

[Anna]

I do the Big Box squares split up.  Each square is 2 lbs.  Darwin gets 1/2 lbs. Per day so I cut the square in for and then divide each square into breakfast and dinner.  I bought big Starfrit lock&lock containers that have dividers so there is one day in each removable section.  It's really easy.  Ada will need less so her square will be divided into 6, then split on half.