AGGRESSIVE RAW FED DOGS

It's been awhile since I posted anything... have been super duper busy with work... Anyway here's a picture of my 2 kids eating their breakfast this morning... Yup, raw fed dogs are sooooooo aggressive! :)

For those of you who have not made the switch to raw because you think it will make your dogs aggressive and fight over food, I hope that this picture will show you that it does not. Food aggression has nothing to do with raw. If a dog is possessive about food it's because he is worried that it will get taken away. It has nothing to do with feeding raw...

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

CHOW TIME

Just thought I'd share some pictures of Cleo & Lucky enjoying their large hunks of pork!

If you still think that feeding kibble to your dog is better, please read my previous post "Why I will never feed my kids kibble ever again". I think it will really change your mind about kibble...
 

 

RAW FEEDING FOR HEALTHIER DOGS

2 days worth of chicken for the lot of them

The kids have been doing really well on BFFLO (Big Food Fed Less Often). They seem fuller and more contented. Basically for those of you who are wondering what on earth this means, it simply means that they get a much larger meal and only eat every other day or so.. Note that this does not equal fasting!

One giant meal for Cleo

What happens with my lot is that (after some tweaking etc) they eat on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only. They essentially get a double meal at each meal time except Wednesdays (they get a single meal here). I have scheduled it such so that I remember when to feed them and how much. Otherwise I may forget if they need to eat... ;-)

We are now almost 10/11 months into raw food for the kids. And I must say I am so pleased that I made the switch early this year! I cannot imagine ever putting them back on kibble! They are generally doing very very well.

Cleo's health has improved although we still have issues every now and then. But she is doing so well compared to before we made the switch! No one believes that she is an 8 year old labrador with a heart problem!

Lucky and Belle's skin have cleared up completely! No more nasty hot spots and sores and stinky coat!

Rascal has put on weight and his coat is so shiny and glossy eventhough he hasn't had a bath in 3 months already now!!! Lucky also has a really nice coat and he hasn't had a bath in a few months as well. Cleo and Belle have just had a bath yesterday after 2 months - and that was just because I felt that they needed one before the new year as opposed to them actually needing the one. The boys refused to get bathed so I gave up...

But seriously feeding raw has made my life so much easier in terms of bathing them. It used to be once a a week and it took me a really long time to get all of them bathed. I would be exhausted by the time I finished with them. And the worst part was that their skin (esp Lucky and Belle) was still not great and they would stink towards the end of the week! I have no such problem now!

The best part of raw feeding is that all of them have no ticks at all (even without regular baths) and we have stopped using Frontline for over a year now and they are not on any other tick or flea prevention remedies!

So if any of you out there are still sitting on the fence and contemplating whether or not to feed raw, I would say just do it! The benefits from raw feeding OUTWEIGHS the inconvenience of preparing the food by far...

In the mean time Happy New Year everyone!

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Note: This post is intended as a guide or reference and is not meant to replace veterinary advice. The information on this post is based on conclusions that I have made after extensive reading, advice from other raw feeders in particular the Raw Feeding and Raw Chat Facebook groups, and on my experience with my own dogs. Please consult your holistic veterinarian for advice on the most appropriate way to feed and supplement your dogs.

RASCAL - POST BREAKFAST SNOOZE!

I love feeding the kids BFFLO (Big Food Fed Less Often) cause they are really so content afterwards. All of them have a long snooze after their meal which is great for me cause it means that I can get some work done as they aren't demanding my attention every minute!

Rascal getting ready for a snooze!

BFFLO?

A 5kg block of Buffalo Meat

Some time ago, I mentioned that the kids have giant meals on Saturdays and rest on Sundays (i.e. no food on Sundays). Anyway, we have now progressed to the BFFLO (Big Food Fed Less Often) method of feeding, and the kids seem to be doing great on it. 

Cleo

The idea behind this method is that it mimics how wolves would eat in the wild, in that they would only eat every few days depending on whether or not they have managed to hunt for their meal. 

So these days, the kids eat 4 times a week: on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays  and Saturdays. They eat enough for two days at each meal, with the exception of Wednesdays where they have a meal for the day. I have yet to progress to feeding them for 3 whole days!, hence the reason for having a single meal on Wednesdays.

Cleo

They really seem to enjoy their super duper large meals, and Belle in particular is very contented after every meal, and sleeps for the most part after eating.

This is actually really great for us as it means she isn't barking her head off at everything and anything that passes in front of our house like she normally does. Don't get me wrong, she is still very alert and will bark (quite ferociously mind you) if there is actually someone right in front of our house, but she doesn't bark unnecessarily anymore.

I am definitely going carry on with this method of feeding :-) as it really makes things so much easier for me in so many ways!

Rascal eating his portion for 2 days.

*Note: Our cat Mishka is not on the BFFLO method as cats are supposed do not do well on this method. Mishka eats 2 or 3 small meals a day.

GIANT MEALS

We have moved the kids to eating once a day now. And they seem to enjoy eating giant meals!  

Cleo is chomping happily through her meal in the picture above... She's chomping on about 600g worth of beef steak, and there's a chicken quarter which is about 300g and a pork rib of about 300g as well...

This is a 1.2 kg meal of pork meat and ribs

Basically, I have moved all the kids to eating once a day now, where they eat their whole 2% of meat (against their body weight) in one sitting. Cleo gets 600g, Lucky 500g, Rascal 400g and Belle 300g. They seem to eat better this way and their digestion seem to work even better... Their poop is now even less than it was before!

And then as previously, they have a massive meal on Saturday and rest (i.e. have no food on Sundays), and they seem to be quite content to do this too... Of course, now that they eat once a day, their meal on Saturday is really HUGE... i.e. Cleo gets 1.2kgs, Lucky 1kg, Rascal 800g and Belle 600g.

Interestingly enough, I have noticed that they actually seem less hungry with being fed once a day. I no longer have to feed them exactly at a specific time... Feeding times have varied by half an hour to an hour these days and they don't seem to mind it. Previously, (esp when they were still in kibble), I literally could not even be a minute late with their meals!

I am now thinking of going for the BFFLO (Big Food Fed Less Often) method of feeding. This method mimics how wolves would eat in the wild, where you give your doggies a really LARGE serving and let them eat as much as they want (with you knowing how much they have eaten of course so that you know how many days they have eaten for), and then skipping meals for a couple of days.

I will keep you guys posted if I decide to adopt the BFFLO method...

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Feeding Dogs a Raw Diet: Practical Answers to Practical Questions