JimNAZ

I tried doing a search but so many popped up I could not sort through. If this is in another thread please point me in the right direction :-)

Maggie has been on raw for about 2+ months. For the most part it is going well. She loves it more than anything!
We started her on a commercial ground mix (Bravo) that had some veggies in it, and have now switched to just ground from a local supplier. (All Natural Coarse Ground Chicken Breast Frames with Rib meat, Boneless, Skinless Breast Trim) I add a vitamin supplement and sardine oil once a day.

In the beginning she was just being fed the commercial premix. She was up to 14oz twice a day and still losing weight. After discussing with my vet (who is pro-raw) we determined she was not getting enough calories. I have been reading Dr. Picairn's book that has a lot of raw recipes to pick from. We went with the raw meat with brown rice then switched the rice out to millet. We cook it accordingly and it is roughly 2 cups per serving.

At first everything was good. She ate like a mad dog. Her stools were a little more soft and of course larger. She also appeared to have more energy after eating. I assume due to the carbs. After switching to the millet, she has thrown up a couple times. Once was the morning after her evening food, and there was still undigested millet in it. Yesterday she threw up right after she ate. She just came from the park and I thought she had settled down enough but maybe I was wrong.
Anyway, I am concerned about the millet. Should it not have been digested over night? Could I be feeding her too much of it? Should I go back to rice?

In all honesty we would rather not have to feed more ounces of raw to obtain the calories, however I appreciate honest feedback.

Thank you for any suggestions or comments

Jim

SaharaNight Boxers

You could try just adding more fat to her diet. I honestly would toss the grains.

2manydogs

Sounds to me like she isnt getting enough food.

Ditch the rice/millet. Dogs dont require grains.

This is your problem and the reason why she isnt gaining weight: (All Natural Coarse Ground Chicken Breast Frames with Rib meat, Boneless, Skinless Breast Trim) It's perfect to transition to but you need to start slowly introducing more red meats into her diet.

Please read this thread: Beginners Guide to Raw Feeding

Chicken meat is very lean and dogs will start to lose weight if fed a chicen heavy diet. You need more variety so that she is getting everything she needs from her food. She also needs organs and I dont see you feeding any of those. The most important thing is to take things slowly when introducing new meats. You should be feeding at least 4 different proteins monthly once fully transitioned.

__________________
Kari ~ Keeper, servant and mommy to the following crew



**Proudly Raw fed since 2010**

JimNAZ

Yes I read that post / sticky - very easy to follow. However, I am still going to stick to ground not whole. With that said and knowing I need to add variety and some organs, is there anything else (other than grains) I can add for more calories?

Thanks
Jim

2manydogs

You dont have to feed whole meats. About 50% of my dogs diet is ground. Once you have added in fattier red meats than she will start to put the weight back on.

Just make sure you are feeding her enough, what would you say a good weight for her is? Base your 2% on that weight. So if you think her ideal adult weight is 60lbs then you need to be feeding her 1.2lbs daily.

__________________
Kari ~ Keeper, servant and mommy to the following crew



**Proudly Raw fed since 2010**

jessmke

Aspen only weighs 50 lbs, but I have to feed her about 2 lbs/day of raw (mostly red meats but chicken and fish as well) because she is so active (~3-4 hrs/day) otherwise she loses weight. You can try adding raw eggs and oils (hemp seed, olive oil, etc) for extra fat which will help put on weight.

The reason you can see undigested millet in her stool is because dogs don't digest grain products, it's just a filler.

__________________
Jess
Mom to Aspen