Need help... Please! (allergic, vet, stomach, training)
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My best friend recently started feeding her dogs raw. We have both done a lot of research on feeding raw over the last couple years and have wanted to try it. Finally, 5 days ago my best friend decided to see how her dogs do on a raw dog food diet. She was feeding them mostly chicken (chicken leg quarters). The first couple days she had mixed the chicken with some of the Natural Balance that she use to feed her dogs, that way she could kind of change them over gradually. After that, she was just feeding them the raw chicken (with the bones) with some carrots and apples (not much, just a little bit) and a raw egg each (with the shell), and today she added some liver (but some of the dogs didn't eat the liver). She was also going to give them each 1 whole fish a week and she was going to start adding in some organ meat.
So, today when she woke up, the dogs were all sick (except 1). They aren't acting sick really, they still have energy and all that, but they all have the runs and the younger ones are throwing up as well. Their stool smells horrible, is really slimy, and it's almost like a reddish color but she says that it's doesn't look bloody. Like I said, this is the 5th day or so that she's been feeding them raw, and she didn't have any problems until now. And again, all but 1 dog is sick (all 5 dogs were being fed raw, including the 1 that's not sick). Obviously this is really worrying her, but because they aren't acting sick and because 1 of the dogs isn't sick at all, we are thinking that this might just be because they are adjusting to eating raw. She was thinking about getting them some organic yogurt and seeing if that helps them some. I use to always give my dogs this organic vanilla yogurt when they had upset stomachs and it always seemed to help, not to mention, they loved it! She was going to start adding the yogurt to their meals anyway.
So, what do you think? Do you think that the dogs are just getting adjusted? Do you think the yogurt would help? Should she give them the yogurt and wait a day or two to see if they get better? Or do you think this sounds like they all need to be taken to the vet?
Yes it is true you have to ask a vet about it. Even if its just a little sickness that you think it will go soon you still have to take it to the vet. Better SAFE then GONE. And it is true you only can introduce a food at a time. But doesn't she know how to take care of their dogs health since she has 5 dogs??!!? Doesn't she have a dog care&training book at least? And feeding eggs with SHELLS?? Wont the dog get some cuts if it eats the eggs with shells? I just feed my dog food from the pet shop and i cook my own rice, liver, meat and some vegetables and my dog's food is ready. But of course i introduce it to the food. I let it try it to see if it likes it and wont be sick.
Was the raw frozen first to kill parasites? Egg shells are OK for raw feeders but I would worry that she did too many foods at once if all the raw was first frozen. Hope the dogs get better fast!
Poor dogs, sounds like to much at once, and I agree about the chicken, anything store bought, without cooking it till I knew it was done.. I hope they get better soon..
She's feeding too many different foods in a short time. She needs to start with chicken and bones, as it's the easiest to digest. Chicken and bones ONLY. For about 2 weeks. NOTHING ELSE!!!! No organ, no fish, no egg. NOTHING.
Feeding raw chicken IS FINE. You don't have to freeze it. As long as you're feeding raw chicken meant to be consumed by humans, it's fine to feed raw. HOWEVER, any raw meat must be unenhanced. No solutions, seasonings, NOTHING, just residual water from processing. That can also contribute to all the upset.
She's so totally doing this all wrong. Tell her to stick to chicken for a couple of weeks, then slowly start to introduce another protein (turkey, beef, duck, pork whatever) with the chicken. After about 3-4 weeks, I would then try feeding organ meat (kidney's good to start), then the liver. The diet needs to consist of 80% meat, 10% organ (of which half of the organ needs to be liver).
Egg shell is fine for the dog to eat, it's an excellent source of calcium.
Fish (certain kinds) are a good source of Omega-3's. I give my dogs a whole sardine a couple of times a week.
Tell your friend to join the Yahoo! group "Raw Feeding" and read, read, and then read some more. This is a MUST DO. VERY knowledgeable people there, and they're a great source of support.
she's feeding too many different foods in a short time. She needs to start with chicken and bones, as it's the easiest to digest. chicken and bones only. For about 2 weeks. Nothing else!!!! No organ, no fish, no egg. Nothing.
if you don't know what you are doing feeding raw can cause more harm than good. ras is a commitment for sure. if you don't feed a balanced diet of raw the dog can also get sick. go to the raw web sites, study before jumping in.
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