Monday 16 July 2018

After a good think....

We have decided to change Ruby over to raw food. Now, having done a great deal of research, there are pro’s and con’s and much heated debate! BARF stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones and Raw Food etc. Barf is also a word for vomit and quite frankly, the smell of green tripe inside the house can make you want to vomit!

Neither of us is at all keen to feed her whole raw bones for eating or gnawing on, especially as I trialled mincing chicken wings and was alarmed at some of the sharp shards that came through a 4mm blade attachment:(

We both know this is a ‘newbie’ knee jerk reaction and may change but not at the moment. We have bought green tripe, finely minced chicken and also lamb, the meat contains finely minced bone and feels better than my attempt.

Bones for gnawing on such as chicken wings, necks, ribs etc, seem to be generally used to clean their teeth and to satisfy their chewing needs. Both of these can be catered for with a dehydrated vegetable chew. Phosphorus and calcium extras, obtained from the bone, can also be found in whole eggs and their shell. Also, green tripe has the perfect compliment of phosphorus and calcium. When she is a bit older we will try her on a meaty decent sized bone if necessary.

She is being started on 6% of her current weight, which sounds a lot and will initially be more expensive. However, as a puppy, she needs more. Once she gradually drops down to 2% - 3%, it will be on a par with most other ways of eating.

She went ‘cold turkey’ meaning she finished kibble Friday evening and onto raw the next morning. Her stomach and bowels have to get used to this way of eating so for the first 10 days she will be on:

Green tripe, tripe, half tripe and half chicken, same again, chicken, same again, chicken and lamb, same again, lamb, lamb.

After that we can introduce different meats, fish and more tripe. We shall see how she goes.

Saturday was her first day and as some dogs can get the runs with newly introduced tripe, I added a 1/2 tsp of psyllium husk to all her Saturday meals.

It was almost 24 hours before she went for a poo. It was small, greenish (tripe), perfectly formed with way less smell!

Enjoy your breakfast!



9 comments:

  1. Thanks Sooze, dread to think how their skeletons are doing!

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  2. Replies
    1. Possible lack of calcium and phosphorus.

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    2. Oh I see. I do give Betty grated mild cheddar, cottage cheese and yogurt mixed in with her food sometimes, she likes all three. I also finely crush the eggshells on occasions and mix that in too.

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    3. I wasn't referring to Betty just in case you misunderstood, but the people you mentioned. Crushed eggshells are great, have you tried her with a whole egg?

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    4. Ahh! I understand now. Yes, I mix eggs in with her homemade food, and sometimes give her a raw egg with a bit of kibble, or she has scrambled egg sometimes when we do.

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  3. Well worth a try, I should think. Not that I know anything about feeding dogs but you do. xx

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  4. I thought about doing something similar for our aged cat. I did manage to find canned food that has meat listed as the first 4 ingredients with no fillers. We are trying that, but she seems to be eating way less. I wonder if it is more filling????

    You are much braver than me to give this a try.

    God bless.

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