Tracilee014

I'm sure it's on the raw threads about why you would hold off on the skin of chicken for the first week and I'm gonna go search for it now but it has me curious as to what the skin adds that one wouldn't want their babies to have when transitioning.

In regard to Wyatt coming off puppy food whether you transition to prey model raw or another food, I think it's a good idea and I'm about to cross that barrier myself soon. My babies are big! When momma was preggers with them, I added a mothers milk supplement to her diet 2 times a day, hence my vet says, I have bigger pups. However, I don't want them growing too fast from this point on because of all the health and joint issues so its time to get them off puppy food. I raise 3 of the desired protein sources right here in my own backyard and we are basically just waiting for an incubator so we can replenish our flock as we use them.

Anyway, sorry not trying to hijack your thread. The point I was trying to make is that I do believe pups should come off puppy food at about the six month mark if their breed are prone to hip and joint problems. Wyatt looks very healthy and I'd say he'd probably transition to raw fairly easy for you. Good luck and give him smooches for me to help him recover.

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Ril-Mas

The reason why the skin is removed initially is because it's fatty. When you start feeding raw it's a huge switch for their digestive system to get used to digesting raw vs kibble. When they're first switched sometimes they can get an upset tummy or loose stools which can last a day or two to a couple of weeks mattering on how sensitive their tummies are. By removing the skin you're removing extra fats which would just add to that problem. Once their stools firm up it's a sign that their digestive system is getting the hang of the new food and how to digest it properly. So at that point you can start adding skin.

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af_wx_wife

So is it better to take them off of a puppy food when they hit 6 months?? Pheona was on puppy food till she was a year old. Keep in mind she was the runt of the litter & still quite small at only 48 pounds. Murphy on the other hand is 4 months & weighs in at 27.7 pounds (per her last vet visit last week). She's going to be bigger than Pheona that is for sure.

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OctanesMum

Do all life stages! Rally has never touched a puppy kibble in her whole little life! We feed Orijen and she eats half as much as she did on TOTW. So even though we pay more per bag it's still cheaper i nthe long run and here the original adult bag is actually cheaper than TOTW if you don't have a chicken allergy like us!

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Wyatts_Momma

Oh no, don't feel bad at all. It's actually the question I want answered! Just stopped at petco and did some math. Even not on sale I'll be paying 1.50-2.00 per lb by switching to a better food that's adult food in a bigger bag. Spending an extra 10$ on a bag of food that gives me more than double what I get now just seems so much more logical in my head. I just don't know if switching from puppy to adult is ok at 7 months...


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Tracilee014

Thank you so much for the info, it makes complete sense. I have a lot of reading, preparing and downloading/printing to do before we take the plunge but I'm watching the threads that discuss the prey model and taking notes.

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Tracilee014

Well, I can't speak for Wyatt but my vet is strongly encouraging we transition now. All previous dogs I've owned didn't make the switch til a year old but my guys are growing like weeds. All of them minus Blaze have already surpassed mom and dad in height. If your concerned about missing some of the supplements that you get in your current puppy food, you could buy the adult food and supplement accordingly. Just a thought.

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Mom2Jax&Bay

OK I am considering going raw but my question is this,

2 chicken legs a day? That's it? Mine eat a whole chicken leg in less then 2 minutes. Seems like not near enough food to me.

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Owned by Jaxon- Flashy Fawn docked and natural 11/21/09 and Baylee- Fawn docked and cropped (kind of) 4/07/09 Rescue

Lone Star Boxer Rescue volunteer since 2010

Ril-Mas

That's not necessarily it. You go by how much those chicken legs weigh. If it's meeting their daily requirement (2-3% of their ideal adult weight) than that's probably enough. The 2-3% guideline is just a starting point though. If you can see they're losing weight you can add more likewise if they're gaining you can take a little away. Logan did lose weight on just two chicken legs a day, but then again chicken is lean so it's expected to lose *some* weight. Now that he's getting red meat he put the weight back on and has some great muscle tone! He's looks a lot more defined with more muscle now. He gets anywhere from 1.5-2lb a day. I gave up trying to be spot on. I just make sure he's definitely over the 1.5lb mark at a minimum.

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Wyatts_Momma

So, I think I'm going to stick with kibble for now. My dad is not receptive in the least bit of him being on raw But i've been doing research and going on the dog food advisor website and looking at the 3-5 star foods and checking them with petco/petsmart prices. Unfortunately neither of those places sell TOTW, I could only buy that online, which isn't a big deal, but dumb me would prob forget to re-order! So, I have, Avo Derm, Castor and Pollux, BB, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, and Merrick in the running so far...Does anyone have any suggestions? I'll prob go with BB. Not sure which formula to go with, he's on a lamb & rice right now. I'm not really worried about his tummy, b/c he sneaks Penny's old lady food and never has issues with that, so I'm sure he'll be fine. Any help would be great!