It's Day 9 of the kids' raw diet now, and things are going pretty well.
I was quite please with the delivery as all the chicken came frozen and packed quite nicely, 1 chicken leg quarter per pack, and 4 chicken wings per pack. So I didn't actually have to re-pack anything. I will let you know how the kids take to the DQ chicken in a couple of days.
Observations:
I'm glad to report that Lucky has had really nicely formed and firm poos for the last 3 days. I am really hoping that this means that his tummy is recovering well and that he will not have a relapse.
I guess I am really amazed that he has good poo just from eating raw meaty chicken bones. I wish I had realised this sooner instead of subjecting him to so many different courses of anti-biotics and medication for the last 2 months.
Cleo and Belle seem to be doing really quite well too.
Rascal's poo has also improved after I ensured that he got his fair share of chicken wings and not just the leg quarters.
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| Rascal playing with Mishka |
4 comments:
Hi Natasha - I came across your blog when I was researching Sakura chicken.
I have been raw feeding PMR (Prey Model Raw) for 2 years now. I have 3 shelties (one 17kg and two 12kgs) and my cost is way less than yours.
One of my boys has a weak digestive system and after 2 years on raw, I think he will stay that way - probably IBS.
The reason I'm posting is that I think you're feeding your dogs too little - it should be 2% of their target weight. My 17kg boy eats 350g and their other two eats 250g.
For a dog with no other outward health issues, no supps are necessary except Omega 3 from salmon or anchovy/sardine oil to balance the excess 0mega 6&9 from the meat of feedlot animals.
As I'm not sure where you get your info from - your dogs will need to start red meat once their stool stabilizes on chicken - poultry is ok to start a newbie, however red meat should be the mainstay. I feed a variety of red meats with chicken carcass/feet for bone plus a variety of organs from different animals - my cost for just the raw excluding salmon oil ranges from MYR100 to 600 per month, depending on what I feed.
Btw, for Lucky who has the sensitive tummy, trying to reduce cost by serving organ meats is suicide though.
After going through your posts, I saw that you may not consider raw as a lifetime diet for your dogs, and this is the other reason I wrote - you should never go back to kibble - it's THE WORST possible diet we can give our dogs. Once your dogs have been on raw for a while, you will notice way more energy and alertness, amonst other things. My boys have the energy of puppies!
FWIW - Lung, heart, tongue is fed as meat - which is how my cost can remain low.
I would be happy to share more if you're interested.
Hi there Hazel,
Thank you very much for your comment....
This post was written almost a year ago when we first started raw feeding and hence why they were on chicken mainly at the time. And also they were definitely on at least 2% of their body weight - the amounts of food I put up were for one meal - and at the time I fed them 2 meals a day... :-)
And I think I was just suggesting to people how they can bring down the cost of feeding by adding a variety of meats, bones and organs... They only get a small amount of organ meat every now and then and it certainly is not a staple... ;-)
We have come a long way since and I have also realised that the prey model is what I prefer and am now currently practicing.
The kids are eating a nice variety of meats including alot of red meat now and are on the BFFLO method of eating which seems to be really quite good for them.
But anyway, it's really just good to hear from someone else in Malaysia that feeds raw... There aren't many raw feeders here, and most people stare at me like I have gone stark crazy when I tell them what my kids eat!
And yes I will never ever go back to kibble! See http://cleopatrathelabrador.blogspot.com/2013/01/why-i-will-never-feed-my-kids-kibble.html
Cheers,
Natasha
Oh wow - sorry for not reading your post date and kudos for sticking to raw!
I read your more recent posts, saw the Thundershirts and quickly realised that I saw your brochure before in Dr Susanna's clinic. What a coincidence.
My older boy has severe anxiety during car travel, and I've read extensively that it may not necessarily work on such severe cases - he drools a pool, tries to bury himself, stress sheds etc.
So I do need to ask - does it REALLY work?
Thanks.
Hi again Hazel,
Right where do I start... Well personally I believe it really works. And in my opinion, the more severe the case, the more visible the results although it may take some time.
With travel anxiety, my Cleo was very bad as well. She used to drool so badly from the minute she got into the car till we arrived at our destination. And what was worse was that she would vomit several times in the car on even a very short trip.
For example, when we used to take her to obedience classes as a pup, she would vommit at least 5-6 times during a 20 minute car-ride. It was so bad that it meant that we couldn't take her anywhere and especially not on my own.
So has the Thundershirt helped? It has made a huge difference. These days, we can manage a 30-40 minute car ride without incident about 70% of the time and the drooling has stopped almost completely. The other 30% of the time, if traffic is bad, i.e. alot of stops and starts, she would drool a little and maybe vommit once, and only a small amount.
So these days, I take her out alot more even if I have to drive on my own, e.g. to Dr Susanna's :)
But what I have found is that with continued use, you would see better results, and in severe cases, you should use the Thundershirt together with conditioning exercises.
What I did with Cleo, was put on the Thundershirt and make her jump in and out of the car, while rewarding her with yummy treats. I also took her for short car rides every now and again and make sure that we get out and play ball after 5 minutes or so. She started to associate the car rides & the Thundershirt with positive things, i.e. treats and the ball.
This is of course just in relation to travel anxiety.
My best results with the Thundershirt was for my Lucky boy - a rescued dog that was abused terribly - who had severe fear aggression. He was afraid of everything and anything and was therefore very very aggressive and would bite people, including us!
It was so so bad that we considered putting him to sleep because he had ZERO quality of life and our lives were miserable as well. We couldn't have visitors at all cause we weren't sure if he would attack them. Even my parents couldn't come over...
And then as a last resort I went for a training course with Sarah Fisher in the UK and discovered the Thundershirt.
Let's just say that the Thundershirt (together with TTouch and clicker training) changed everything for us and saved us from making that terrible decision to put him to sleep. He is now a lovely and happy dog, and we love him to bits! He still has issues but now we know that we can work through it, and that he will and can respond positively...
Hope this has given you some helpful information about the Thundershirt.
Best regards,
Natasha
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