Prey Model Raw

I always wanted to feed my dogs a raw diet, but didn’t have the resources or the support to feed raw up until a little over a year ago. Emmy had chronic ear infections, but that is about it when it comes to issues that were directly related to diet. When I made the switch over to a raw diet, no more ear infections for Emmy. Also, neither one of them have any tartar on their teeth anymore. Both of them are thriving, and love it when we say “Dinner? Dinner?”

-Natalie

For about a year now, I was always debating whether I should feed raw or not. The reason I kept holding back was because of the bacteria issue. I did my research on it, and it all made sense! If wolves eat like this in the wild, why not my dog? About 2 months ago, I tossed Aspen half of a tilapia, just to see what he would do, and he loved it!! He was a natural. He never had any diarrhea the next few days. I fully made the complete switch on January 18. It was a long battle with my family and boyfriend, but it was definitely worth every bit of it. Their main issue was the bacteria as well. But, I made them come to this forum and see the light!! What I’m happiest about raw is the amazing dental work that it has to offer. I have to admit, Aspen had a lot of tarter in the lower back molars when he was on kibble. There is barely any left now that he’s on raw! I am very, VERY comfortable feeding raw. More comfortable than when I was feeding kibble. I’ll never go back to kibble, and Aspen couldn’t be happier and healthier.

-malluver1005

I started Jemma on mid-grade kibble, which she constantly had loose stools on. I switched to a higher grain-free kibble, and she did better but still had an unpredictable stomach. By one year old, she was starting to get tartar built up on her back molars. Finally, after much research and support I took the plunge and switched her to Prey Model Raw. She NEVER once had loose stools during the transition. That was the biggest sign for me to know that I had done the right thing. Her teeth look like puppy teeth again, and she looks amazing and better utilizes her energy. I feel so good feeding my dog what she was meant to eat.

-Amy

At only one year of age, my Pembroke Welsh Corgi was on month seven of constant diarrhea and misery. He was in and out of the vet’s office multiple times a week during the whole thing, and nothing seemed to work. We tried antibiotics, probiotics, limited ingredient kibbles, isolation from other dogs, fecal exams, (a total of 8 actually) x ray, and the “rice and boiled chicken” approach. Nothing seemed to work for more than two or three days, and each time the diarrhea seemed to come back with an angrier vengence. It got so bad that he was having to go multiple times throughout the night, and could not hold his bowls for more than an hour or two. He had lost over four pounds, which for a dog that is lean and healthy at 20lbs, is one fifth of his body weight.

After trying everything, my vet came to the conclusion that Grissom’s body is unable to handle the carbs in his food. He recommended “steroid therapy” in which I would bring him in every two weeks for a steroid shot, as well as the highest does of antibiotics he could give a dog of his size, a dose so high I would have to watch for lack of coordination, ability to walk straight, and dragging of back legs. These treatments would be needed for the life of the dog. (a 1 year old PWC with a life expectency of about 14 years) He also wanted to put him on a VERY expensive, low quality Hills RX food.

I was not comfortable with all of these chemicals and drugs being pumped into Grissom’s little body, all for the sake of dealing with the high amount of carbohydrates found in all commercial kibble. I decided to put Grissom on a prey model raw diet, which he started on November 2nd, 2009. After 7 months of total liquid diarrhea and extreme weight loss, two days into raw feeding, Grissom had solid stools, and as of Feb. 2010, has NEVER had liquid stools, or even less than solid stools. Two days showed signs of great improvement for seven months of damage.

I am happy to say that just three months into raw feeding, Grissom no longer has a doggy odor, has pearly white teeth, and has every bit of his enthusiasm for life back. His stools are solid, and tiny. His coat is so soft and shiney, and his body condition is amazing. He loves meal time and handles every kind of meat we give him just fine. I truely believe that a prey model diet saved my Corgi’s quality of life, if not his life itself.

I guess that’s what happens when you stop pretending your dog is an omnivore, and feed him like the carnivore he was created to be.

-Linsey

My old lab/shepherd mix, Kati got hit by a car when she was 1 1/2 years old. She managed to pull through with three broken legs and the vets told us that she would have kidney problems her whole life and probably only live another 7 years. They put her on Hills Prescription Science Diet K/D to help with this. During the next several years, her quality of life dropped drastically. She limped horribly from the broken legs, which was to be expected. However, she also had random bouts of vomiting and diarrhea so her weight fluctuated every couple of months from being overweight to underweight, it never seemed to be at the healthy marker. Her fur started falling out in clumps, she had a raging yeast infection in her ears, her stools were always very soft, and her teeth were mostly yellow and brown by the time my mom put her into my full-time custody in February 2008.

Miraculously, she had made it to be 10 years old by this point.
I had done enough research on dog food by this point to determine that the prescription food she was on was total garbage and probably the cause of most (if not all) of her problems. I switched her to a mid-grade food and the only thing that got even slightly better was her stools, but not by much.

I finally took the plunge and switched her to prey model raw in September of 2008 and boy did I notice a difference! Her fur got super soft and shiny, it stopped falling out all the time (though she still sheds seasonally, being a GSD mix). Her energy levels shot through the roof and she now loves to do the “Kati dance” whenever she sees her leash, she loves to go for walks and can even out-sprint me. Her stools are now consistently nice and firm and she hasn’t had any vomiting or diarrhea since she was switched. Her ear yeast infection is finally starting to clear up, and her teeth are nearly pearly white again with no traces of brown and very little yellow. Prey model raw has literally saved her from a life of misery. She is now a happy, spunky old 12 year old gal!

-Rachel

I have 3 dogs…a 2 year old lab/hound mix, 6 month coonhound, and a 5 yr old english bulldog.
I was feeding EVO red meat kibble. It was costing me a ton to feed 3 dogs twice a day. I always wanted to switch over to raw feeding but was afraid of them choking on bones, the bacteria in the raw meat was also scary seeing I have 4 children as well!

After lurking around different raw feeding websites trying to talk myself into making the break I found dogfoodchat.com. I lurked around for a while and decided to join in their chats. Best move I made!!
My dogs have been on raw for 3 weeks now. I can’t even believe the difference in their energy level, their white white teeth, and the shiny coats you can almost see your reflection in!! Of course my dogs health is first and foremost but the other giant perk is the money I am saving by not buying kibble anymore!!!
Thanks to all my new friends who are always there to answer ALL my questions I feel very confident I did the right thing!

- lovinmylabs

For the first 8 months of Cali’s life, that poor dog had virtually constant diarrhea. Even if we were lucky enough to have days where it would be a little more firm, she was still going 5-6x/day, and in large amounts. It was hard for her to gain weight. The vet kept telling me she needed at least two pounds–and she looked it. There’s trim and athletic, and there’s skinny and unwell looking. She was often the latter. Something was just not right with my dog.

While on kibble, she was on Wellness, Evo, California Naturals, and Orijen–using tiny little bits at a time to change from one food to another. NOTHING worked. She pooped constantly. Fecal sample after fecal sample–7 total–at $43/pop were adding up. We ended up on some crap Rx food not knowing where else to turn, and that did nothing.

After months of the pudding poop or looser, stench that would nearly knock me over (Orijen was the worst), and 5-6x/day voids, I switched to raw with the help of the wise people here. Her poops have been as perfect as can be from the second day after the switch to now–5 weeks into it. Raw-fed dogs have a certain look, an intangible “something” the people comment on. Cali now has it, with everyone commenting how incredible she looks, how her eyes and coat shine. I swear her jaw muscles and her shoulders are more built up. She looks buff! Her poops are small and formed. The quantity is a fraction of what it was, and she only goes 2-3x/day in much smaller amounts. Every time she goes I still tense up waiting for the mess. Finally, I’m starting to relax.

If people want to stay on kibble, certainly one has a right to do so. But, in the end, I am thankful her intestinal issues led me to raw feeding–and breaking me free from the corporate dog food marketing machine. I know I’m never looking back. It is so gratifying to feed your dog real food. And once you do so, and see how they respond, you know it’s the right thing. I just wish Cali would not have had to endure those many months in intestinal, gurgling, discomfort

-LindaP

Our Success Story starts with my girl Casey. Casey is the main reason why I decided to take the time and read up on RAW feeding. I knew she had to have an allergy to kibble. The vet was always saying, FLEA ALLERGY! I didn’t buy it, not when she didn’t have a flea on her.

This is my girl Casey before reaping the benefits of RAW.

As you can see, she is an abosolute mess. The poor girl dug herself raw every day, all day. It was horrible to watch her suffer as I continually fed her kibble.

Then one day, I got sick of it and thought, there has to be a better way to feed this dog. I found this place and broke google trying to read everything I could. About 3 weeks later, I decided that I would go for it and feed Casey and her sis Ava a whole chicken fryer cut in two. Poor DH was devistated thinking he was going to get a stuffed chicken for dinner and here I am, feeding it to the dogs! lol

I waited, and waited and waited for her skin to heal. It was a long, slow recovery but well worth it! In the last few months, she has finally healed and now she looks healthy. She doesn’t stink and her hair is so soft! I love touching her butt now and her energy level is through the roof! I love telling her what a pretty girl she is!

She loves RAW and is patiently waiting for me to open her swimming pool so she can go swimming!

-BGBY

I am just starting raw, I don’t have the access that everyone has I’m limited, but I have a store a small one that is working with me.

So far my dogs have eaten sardines, buffallo, beef, lamb, turkey and cow stomach I forgot what they call it but the dogs love it.

I have three, I have adopted dogs my whole life and now I train them, fun stuff. They love the neck bones, teeth are clean and bright.

Its been since January 17th 2010. I hope to continue with the progress. I have one dog in particular with problems and thats how this all started. But all of my dogs get the same food. Stomach bloating is gone, bad smelling gas everynight is gone. The dog was so bloated she wouldn’t lay down at the end of the night I would have to burp her to get her stomach down, that issue was gone the first 10 days

-Chocx2

I have been raw feeding since November 2008.
Before I started feeding raw, I was feeding Wellness. My dog, Tiger, was doing okay on that, but he was still shedding heavily, didn’t have that much energy, and his coat was kinda dull. He was always like that on commercial foods.
Then, I heard about this thing called a raw diet. I thought it was crazy… your dog would choke on bones and get salmonella, right? But I was wrong. After doing some research, I found that many successful dog people feed this diet and their dogs thrive. So I looked into it some more. After awhile, I bought some raw chicken legs and started feeding!
A few weeks later, my dog’s coat was shining, his teeth were MUCH whiter, he was hardly shedding, and he acted like he was only 2 years old! (He was 8, I think, when I switched to raw).
I love this diet, and what it has done for my dog!

-rawfeederr

I had tried raw food once before but was a little concerned when my dogs fur started to fall out (in hind sight it was only his under coat and I had not properly groomed him in months.) Then about 3 years ago he just completely stopped eating entirely, we were feeding him an Rx diet from our vet and then we went to Pedigree. We then started to feed him raw freezer burned chicken, our vet at the time was totally against us feeding raw but he started eating again and his eyes, skin, and coat improved within weeks. He is now 13 and still going pretty good he is slowing down a little due to age. We found another vet who not only agrees with feeding raw but she feeds her dogs (she is a Golden Retriever Breeder) raw and has been doing so for well over 20 years.

-Sarayu14

I’ve waited a long time for this and now it’s my turn to post success.

First, my thanks to RawFedDogs for taking the time to help me through the second attempt at transitioning to raw.

the first attempt was an absymmal failure, largely due to my ignorance…

i have two dogs.

one. a corgi/lab/heeler/ditch mix who is ten years old and was starting to slow down a little too much. we had just had to put down our last shih tzu and she was alone. i watched her for a month and decided she needed some aggravation in her life to keep her alive. i knew nothing about raw, but i did know i had to get a better kibble than the one she was on. her coat was a dullish black. she had had to have a tooth removed because of a cavity that went into her brain, or so the vet jokingly told us. her geriatric panel was good, but she was showing obvious signs of slowing down and sleeping to her death, in spite of exercise and play.

a month after kimba died, we rescued a pug whom we named bubba. he truly thinks he’s a bulldog and we don’t have the heart to tell him he’s not. it was hate on first sight, but with intervention and time, she has learned to accept him into her pack.

bubba was fed a low brand food, kept cabled to a crate in the garage with his anus bleached, plus he had been abused. needless to say, he was not house trained, people socialised, dog socialised and had no manners at all. fearful and anxious and obnoxious.

we switched both dogs to wellness super five lamb/barley/salmon, added missing link and they looked good.

and then i started reading about behaviour for the pug. he was getting the best of me. i had seattle pug rescue on speed dial and i cried every day and threatened to turn this dog into stew meat.

through the course of my reading about training and behaviour and dogs who peed in their sleep and all the things that made bubba a daunting project, raw kept creeping into thread discussions…

one of the things that struck me was how it changed the energy of the dog….and then my ears perked up…

six months later, the perfect ditch dog, malia got giardia three days before we were getting bubba’s eyes operated on so he would not be in pain, nor would he lose further vision. we had already neutered him and fixed his breathing issues…..being a rescue, he came with all the requisite problems rescues have.

this giardia is a nasty little bug….sometimes false negatives and the medicine can be just as debilitating as the parasite…..

every time she got treated, he did. they both went through three rounds before she finally came up negative and so did he….

but now the vet suspected irritable bowel syndrome and colitis. well, duh. after three courses of antibiotics, humans get the runs. why not dogs.

and then i made the mistake of switching them to raw right after they came off the antibiotics, when they had no good bacteria….and before i had enough knowledge under my belt because i didn’t know what questions to ask. i just followed some formulas i had read about….not knowing there are some dogs who don’t transition like champs, my two amongst them.

we stopped after a week of cannon butt, which could not have done them any good.

and, we put them on home cooked to let their systems calm down…..while i read some more and contacted RawFedDogs, who kindly wrote back….

and said, had it been one dog, he might have thought there was something else going on, but two dogs? nah. it was me and i agreed.

so he made some suggestions. i followed them.

and here we are…

my dogs are leaner. they are black to begin with and they are brilliantly, blindingly shiny.
my ten year old acts like a five year old and my pug is not so hyper anymore. sure, it could coincide with him feeling safer, but his insides are cleaner, so his head is too…..has to be.

their teeth. in six short weeks, their teeth are white. the vet is amazed because bubba, at age three, was getting ready to go in to have his teeth cleaned….

their fur is so soft and so tactile, i can’t stop touching them.

while we haven’t yet added skin back, we are getting ready to to increase the fat….and we will not clean chicken backs as much as we had been….

but they are eating chicken, turkey, pork, fish…that’s four proteins in six weeks…stools are perfect.

and that is my success story….i am a convert.

-magicre

I started feeding my dogs raw Oct. 2009. I had tried all the expensive grain free foods, but Maks kept scratching and chewing his paws. So I switched “cold turkey” (no pun intended) to raw and they love it. My old dog had gotten so skinny I just new she wouldn’t be around much longer. She has gained 10 lbs. since eating raw I know her days are numbered but at least she’s eating and gaining weight and really enjoying her meals. She’s 16 and still hanging in there.
Thanks so much for all the knowledge that I got on this forum. I couldn’t have done it correctly without y’all.
I wish I had done this years ago. Clean teeth, breath, and their coats look like they just had a bath.

-Lynn In Tenn

I have been feeding raw now for about a month(well, almost) and I just have to let everyone know all the changes I have noticed since starting. First off their coats. They started shedding all of a sudden like I have never seen, and the new coat underneith is so shiny, and they have all softened up so much! Just overall their coats are much healthier looking. The “hard keepers” are keeping weight much better with what seems like less food, but its really WAY better nutrition. We have two of the dobes who Have always had bad digestive problems, having huge cow patty type poops. Now, both have nice, little perfect “pretty” turds! I’m so thrilled with that! And, our dogs have always loved to eat the horses’ poops. I mean gulping it down like they are starving to death. Now, (knocking on wood) I haven’t even seem them so much as look at it. That just tells me poop eating is a nutritional thing. Commercial food is just lacking all a dog needs. That is such a huge relief to me! Now, I just have to be able to start buying in bulk but I think that will come with time. Wayne(my hubby) just keeps on comenting on the poops of our two with problems, so he is now sold as well.
I want to thank Danemomma(Natalie) and Raw Fed Dogs for all their expert help!!!!! (and everyone else too)! I know I will have more questions, but I am learning sooo much from all ya’ll!!! Thanks again!!

-dobesgalore

I made the switch in late April and could not be happier with my decision. I actually did not have any intention of switching Koda’s diet until I stumbled upon this forum.

Our first golden was on a BARF diet and it went really well but it was expensive so I was reluctant to do the same when we got Koda.

After reading everything here, all of my misconceptions about the prey model were dispelled and I’m thrilled to report that Koda is going great. He loves his food and eats EVERYTHING you give him. He even comes to the freezer with me, like he wants to pick out what he’s going to have!

After the initial period of uncertainty, this method is easy and for the most part, inexpensive. I’m just now starting to track what’s it’s costing me.

Koda and I would like to thank everyone that has answered my questions and provided support along the way. This is the best forum!

-GoldenGirl

…both dogs are pooping NORMAL poops!

We got these Boxers on May 23rd – Hurley was 10 months old and Penny was 5.5 months old. They were being fed Beneful by their previous guardian. They both tested positive for giardia, which we treated and THOUGHT that would end the problem – no such luck! We tried adding plain boiled chicken and white rice with their Natural Balance kibble, and even added metamucil to their food at the vet’s recommendation. That helped – maybe got their poops up to a 50-75 on “The Poop Chart” on a good day, but most of the time they were still pooping between 25-50. I KNEW that was not a long-term healthy diet, so came here to research.

Dinner last night was their FIRST raw meal, consisting of chicken leg quarters. They were a little perplexed at first, but finished their quarters in about 20 minutes. Hurley had the WORST diarrhea I have ever seen twice last night and once this morning. Penny was at about a 50 last night. They both had chicken leg quarters again this AM for breakfast. Now, as I write this at 2:00 PM, I just picked up the most beautifully formed poops these dogs have ever left me! I know it seems strange to want to celebrate POOP, but I tell you, I am so happy! I debated taking photos and attaching them here, but thought it might not be as exciting to everyone here as it is to me.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH  for all the experience and advice and suggestions you share here with people like me. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the “perfect poops!” continue!!

MANY THANKS!

-Animal Quackers

Today I picked up my prescriptions at the local pharmacy. One of the clerks had to come out and see Bailey. He had been making his high-pitched bark. Here’s this 135 dog sounding like a little puppy barking. Bailey is a very sociable and friendly dog who just turned two.

The first thing the clerk noticed was his teeth. She couldn’t believe how white they were. I told her how they got sowhite. Raw feeding. She was impressed. What hooked her was the cost compared to kibble. The clerk was veryinterested.

I told her to research raw feeding on the web.

-3RingCircus

We tried: Natural, Wellness and Kirkland. Always loose stools and often diarrhea, since Gus had it done in the park, we need to pick up and that is nasty. On top of that he walks really funny, maybe because he is a puppy. His front half is forward but the back half is sideways (well maybe 10% off).

Switched to raw chicken, bone and skin, uncooked.

he is more alert, walk and run with high energy, walk straight and solid stools.

We are so glad to feed him Raw.

-zipper123

I switched my Great Dane, Ghosty to raw about 6 weeks ago. It has been so much easier than I anticipated. I did a lot of research before I did it, because I wanted to make sure it was right for me and that I would not switch to raw, dislike it, and switch back. He has done WONDERFULLY, and it has been really easy. He has had skin issues since I got him, and his coat was always really thin. But after just 6 weeks, it looks SO much better. The thin spots are filling in, and he is shiny and healthy looking. The biggest struggle for me has been finding reasonably priced stuff. I live in a small town and don’t have a lot of resources. But I think it will get easier over time as I learn where to look!

-deb9017

I don’t have any before and after pictures of Chelsy, but I have to talk about the difference in little Chelsy in only 7 days of eating raw chicken. She also has been eating Primal premade raw for 2 weeks prior but she refuses to eat that now that she has raw plain chicken….I put the two of them on the plate today for her mixed togther and she just stared at it. I ended up hand feeding her the raw chicken first and then sneaking the primal to her after the REAL chicken was gone! Once we’ve used up the Primal bag we won’t buy it anymore.

Anyway, Chelsy has degerative disc disease in her back and severe colitis and skin allergies. She is 13 years old and was completely paralyzed at age 3. She had back surgery and had her disc’s fused and recovered but in the last year had lost a lot of feeling in her back legs and was knuckling under significantly. She no longer could do steps, fell over backwards when she tried, and would fall over just trying to pee. She spent most of her days sleeping and we would carry her outside where she would just sit in one spot. We were actually looking at doggie wheelchairs for her and had her on daily Rimadyl. The vets has said she might have Cushings because of her hair loss, and inflamed red skin, and she’d have severe bloody diarhhea if she ate the wrong thing. The poor little dog was a mess.

Fast forward after 7 days of raw chicken and amost 3 weeks total of raw food combined. Last night she RAN across the back yard after our last evening trip out!! Yesterday afternoon I was working in the yard and instead of sitting on the deck, she followed me all over the yard, sniffing like a dog and checking things out. She hops up and down the deck stairs, follows me all over the house from room to room all day long, squats like a dog to go to the bathroom, and sleeps like a rock at night. She also really loves her breakfast and dinner now! Her hair has grown back on her tail for the first time in over a year and my husband has even commented on how active the dog has suddenly become. He has become a complete convert to the diet after being a skeptic at first.

Just wanted to post this for anyone who is hesitant about changing an older dog. Chelsy is 13 years and 7 months old and has very few teeth and a severe jaw malformation so right now we are grinding her food. We are going to make the pieces bigger and bigger as she builds up her jaw muscles. If she can switch at her age and with her problems and have such a drastic improvement so quickly, then any dog can. I never thought this would happen but she is living proof of a dramatic change that diet can make. If I can, I will post a video of her running across the yard.

-chowder

My boy, Jake, was a happy healthy pup until he reached the age of 7 months. then, back in November 2009, he started to lose the fur around his eyes, and he developed a really bad ear infection. he was given ear drops which helped, but his eyes just got worse. he lost more fur, and started losing it around his muzzle too. he also developed sores around his eyes and muzzle, that would bleed and cause him loads of pain. this was what his eyes looked like…

we spent 6 months going back and forth to the vets, achieving nothing. the vet was adamant it was a mite of some sort, but even after using stronghold it was still here! so she eventually admitted it was an allergy (i said thats what i thought it was back in November!). he went on an elimination diet, and we soon discovered he is allergic to wheat and grain. he was put on a hypoallergenic food, but i didnt want him to be on that one kind of food for the rest of his life, so i researched feeding him raw (i did back in December but it seemed so daunting so i didnt take the plunge). it seemed so great, so i decided to just go for it. and boy am i glad it did! he is doing great, his teeth are amazing, his coat is shiny and people are always commenting on how great he looks… and the best bit? this is how his eyes now look…

he couldnt be happier with his diet, and gets excited when its dinner time (something he never did when he was on dry food)! and i love the benefits! i also thought it would be really expensive, but it isnt at all!

so we are happy raw feeders

-lozzibear

This is Abbey’s story.
I first noticed that things weren’t quite right with Abbey (Abs for short) when she was about a year old. She had been on normal puppy food until I changed her over to dried adult food and with it came endless bouts of sickness and diarrhea and her first seasonal allergy outbreak.I took her to the vet and Abs was given a course of cortisone injections and I got some cortisone cream to use on her as well. As for the sickness, the vet said it was nothing serious and that I should change the brand of food I was feeding. Back then, I can’t even remember what it was. All I can remember is that I bought it from the supermarket so it was probably Pal or My Dog or something like that.

Over the next couple of years Abs was always sick on and off. I can’t even remember when she had normal poops, except when she was a baby pup and even then puppy poos is nothing to write home about.

She was in and out of the vets so many times. She moped around the house, wouldn’t eat and sometimes she got so sick she would stop drinking too so off to the vet she would go and they put her on a drip so she wouldn’t get too dehydrated. That was loads of fun.

When she was 3 going on 4 she was still sick and had many times where she had slimy, bloody poops and I had no idea why. She went off her food many times too.

2 years ago my sis and I started doing puppy raising for Guide Dogs so along came a beautiful little labrador pup to raise for a year. Her name is Patsie. She didn’t pass as a guide dog so my sis bought her and she is now a permanent member of our doggie family.
About 6 months after having Patsie, she came back from a stint at the Guide Dog kennels with a not so healthy dose of giardia. Guess who picked that up straight away. Yep, little Abbey.
She was so sick I can’t even begin to describe how bad it was. At one point I got really scared that I would lose her with her immune system already being so bad. She was at the vet for a week on and off a drip. She barely ate, she lost alot of weight and I nearly had a fight with the vet because they didn’t think she had giardia at all. She had every test under the sun done and still they couldn’t pick it up, saying that if it was giardia then it was a hit and miss to test for.

Well, finally Abs got a dose of antibiotics and she eventually came good but she was not right even when I got her home again. It took her a long time to get over that and put some weight back on again.

She went back to the vet not long after because of the bloody stools and throwing up and the vet put her on a prescription diet which helped a little bit but it was only short term. I think I bought every possible “high quality” dry food on the market but nothing made a difference.

In the last year I have been cooking for Abbey and my other dog. The throwing up mostly stopped but the yucky poos did not.

It has been 2 months now that Abs has been eating raw food. She had her first very normal looking poop almost immediately after the change over. I was overjoyed to say the least. I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t scraping it off the grass. I think I told everybody that would listen, lol.

The holistic vet I saw said that Abbey’s stomach and intestines would have to be repaired and that she probably even had some small ulcers in there somewhere. She is on supplements to put the good flora back in and so far so good with that.

We still have the bad skin issues and allergies to clear up so hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later and after reading so many stories of other peoples dogs here I have some real hope and encouragement that we will get there no matter what.

I honestly can’t believe that in Abbey’s 5 year of her life she has been nothing but a sickly little dog. The fact that the vet never once mentioned that she might have a food allergy really makes my blood boil. At least now, I can give Abs a shot at being healthy and well. I only wish I had heard about raw feeding years ago. We are well and truly making up for lost time.

I thought I would attach a pic of how small Abs was when she was a pup. The pic was taken on the day I brought her home. I always smile when I look at this pic. She was so tiny.

-Tarielle

My dog Coal had the worst gas on earth. He would fart outside and we would have to go inside. I liked the idea of RAW and was pretty convinced it was amazing so I started the switch. I dont know when it stopped but one day I relized I wasnt gagging everytime he stood up and looked out the window.There poop is also so small. I went out to clean up the yard and thought the neighbors mini pin must have excaped into our yard to pooped but it turns out it was from my 30lb dog and 65lb dog. Coal will even run around our yard now when before he was so scared of stepping in poop since its so easy to keep cleaned up.

They went from TOTW to RAW without a hitch.

‘Im so shiney I cant open my eyes!’

-Muck

Here’s mine.
I got Echo, my PWD (improperly coated, so similar to a border collie’s coat) at 5 months. She was eating Nature’s Balance food at the time.
I was feeding my bichon girls The Honest Kitchen, which they do pretty well on. I switched Echo slowly over to THK, in the meantime, she had HUGE cow plops that stunk terribly. Scooping the yard of this muck was nauseating and I dry heaved a few times in the process.

 

I switched her to a barf style diet and she is doing much better. I tried her on PMR but she will then go out in the yard and graze and graze and graze on grass, pulling up and eating the roots as well. She would spend most of the day ripping up the lawn munchng away. Anyway, 30% of her daily food is pureed veggies and fruit and she does not graze.

First thing was the struggle with soft poo stopped and her stools were firm and small. Next, her coat shed out and it is now so shiny and silky. All changes for the better. Also when we first got her, she already had brown plaque on her teeth (only 5 months old!). All the plaque is gone and she has wonderful white teeth and fresh breath.

It took me a while to really commit to feeding a natural diet, but now there’s no looking back!

-Shamrockmommy

Hello all just wanted to share my story with you all. I have a male reverse brindle Boxer named Rosco. My wife kids and me looked for months to find a breeder that had a puppy left. Good breeders sell quick. So we finaley find one. Now starts the 8 weeks of prep. I read three books, research online for the best food out there, not realizing its all a hoax. So eight weeks go buy we are ready for the baby its no longer a puppy, to come home. We make the 4 hour round trip to pick him up, went of without a hitch. took him to vet to be checked all was good.

We slowly start to switch to the best food (yea right) out ther. We took our time with the switch almost month, couple of kibbles at a time. Over kill, but the baby was worth it. Switch was made, he never really had a solid poop from day one. Then the shots started from the vet. The heart pills, the flee stuff poor baby was bombbarded with stuff. From that day on diareah!!

Trainer said might be the food. Put him on better food yea right. Keep in mind I wanted to do raw from the start. My wife did not want to do it.Went back to the Vet, meds 10 days. Did not work poop still soft. Went to another Vet who is friend of friend, nice guy, but I ask about raw he said its not safe. So we try more meds 10 more days to no avail. Poop still bad even a little worse at this point.

I asked my trainer what he thought about raw . He said its good but alot of work. That was so far from the truth.

So months later and now much more educated I take the plung into the raw world. December 4th was the start date. Within on day of feeding chicken backs my boys poop started getting firm. Next day more chicken backs (oops left organs in slight hick up on my part) Little soft not to bad though. Third and fourth day he is pooping like a champ. Yahooo!!!! Today is the fifth day going to give him a quarter chicken and the rest as they say is hitory.

My new motto is if it aint raw show it the door.

Thanks to all on this site.

-Mike594

I have been battling my dog’s demodectic mange for over a year. Her hair fell out, leaving a big bald patch on her body. She was on kibbles, then later I switched her to homecooked. I also put her on supplement after supplement to help with her condition. But nothing helped, her bald patch remained with no signs of hair growth. My vet was even telling me that her hair follicles were dead and he did not think any hair was going to grow back.

Then finally during the last visit, he advised me to put her on a raw diet and see if it can help. Even before his advice, I have already been reading up on raw and its many benefits, but couldnt quite get started cos I’m concerned about the handling of raw meat, the choking of bones etc etc. But after my vet advised me to go raw, I decided I must overcome all my psychological barriers and start her on raw.

So I went raw and so glad I did. When she was 2 months into raw, to my delight, her hair started to grow back where it had been totally bald. Then after 2 more months on raw, her hair has all grown back. After 4 months of being on raw, her bald patch is gone. To me, this is really amazing.

Recently, I took her to the vet for a review and a blood test. He was pleased to see that her hair had grown back and commented that she was looking good. Her blood test results were good too. He advised me to continue her on raw.

Now she is on raw for over 5 months. For me, it is most definitely raw all the way too and no turning back.

-300roses

Hoping for a success story, but getting some results already. We switched our American Bullies about a month ago to full raw. We fed 50:50 raw kibble the month before, thinking we had to ween them off. Or female has suffered with allergies since she was about 1 year old, so about 3 years now. Ears with nasty odor, and brown crud in them, countless visits to the vet, vet dermatologist. Allergy shots, antibiotics, ear creams, lotions etc…..you get the picture. They told us she was allergic to grass!!! A dog allergic to grass, why my dog!! Then they said she might be allergic to to something in her kibble, so the dermatologist recommended rabbit or kangaroo kibble!! i was like what the hell?!?! So we put them on high end grain free kibble, and saw little improvement in her. So after much research I bumped into Raw diet feeding Q & A’s and then this forum. I read probably every thread on this forum before joining. Then I decided what the hell, might as well try it, nothing to lose, and can always go back to kibble. The main reason I decided to switch, was because it just made sense to me. So I looked at their teeth, got a baseline on the tartar on there, did some non-scientific petting test to see how much shedding per stroke, and just looked at their over all build. So a month into nothing but raw I must say we have seen several improvements, all though I don’t think we can say success just yet. Our male, he is shedding less, he looks a lot leaner and the tartar on his back teeth is almost completly gone!!! He is a success but he really had minor issues before the switch. His coat looks a bit shinier too. Can’t wait to up his fat intake and see what that does to his coat!Now for our female Sheila, after swithcing to raw, the first thing we noticed was her new found enthusiasm for feeding time!! LIke a new dog, but can’t blame her for getting bored of kibble. We would put it down, and she would take a few minutes to start eating, sometimes would eat half, sometimes not at all. Just depended on what mood she was in. Since going raw, needles to say the food don’t last long, and she protests when her bowl is empty by flipping it around. Her ears while still an issue have gotten better. My wife says differently, but this is how I see it. Before her ears where full of nasty brown crud constantly, smelled bad and were always being scratched and irritated. She was good and scratching MUCH less for the past 3 weeks, and then over the last 2 days she had a flare up of the ears. Relentless scratching, red angry ears, wife freaking out “maybe the diet is not working” I looked at her ears, and while yes swollen,dry and red as usual I noticed THERE WAS NO BROWN CRUD AT ALL!!!!! I told my wife, that while the diet might not cure the symptoms, I am happy if it reduces them. Granted we stopped the allergy shots and antibiotics a month ago too. I did not want anything affecting the raw food. I wanted the raw food to speak for itself. Not second guess “oh maybe the shots are finally working” or “maybe the antibiotics have kicked in” Another improvement I have noticed is her paws. She is licking them alot less, and before the switch she had small sores/abcess between her toes, and they all seem to have dried up. Hair is growing on several areas on her feet she licked to death. So while not a success just yet, I feel she is DEFINETLY moving in the right direction. And hell, even if the allergies stay, the raw food stays because she seems SOOOOOO much happier eating!!! Hopefully in a few months I can post her story a success, but only time will tell.

- sheila-and-billy

My GSD was having bad stomach problems and had diarrhea. He had been on the same lamb based kibble for over a year. So I didn’t think that was the problem. I later decided to change to another kibble that was chicken based. No luck. I brought him to the vet where they did a poop sample and gave him anti-diarrhea pills. They told me if that didn’t work that I would have to come back and do some blood work. Well, it didn’t work. I did some research and found this forum and never turned back. Poops were looking perfect within 2 days. To even think that the vet didn’t first recommend a food change surprises me now that I think about it. They went straight to pills instead.

 

My wifes Pom always had this brownish-black stinky stuff in his ears. Coincidently that was also his lazy ear so we just thought not enough air was getting in to dry it out. We purchased all sorts of ear medication and cleaned it religiously. Well, when I made the switch to RAW for my GSD we did the same for the Pom and BAM, all the nasty ear stuff went away.

Thanks again to all the helpful people on this forum that helped with all of my questions

- illuzion18c1

My chihuahua was in liver failure two years ago and the vet recommended a homemade diet, which I did. He fully recovered and I went back to a grain free kibble. This winter, he started losing a little weight ( he’s never been overweight at all) and the weirdest thing, his back would crack when you picked him up. I was sure he had cancer or something. He also started having accidents in the house again,Including a night of diarrhea. He did this when he was in liver failure, too.

Anyway, he’s older and I wondered if he just wasn’t able to use his kibble anymore. So, I quickly switched him to a raw diet. His symptoms all went away, almost overnight! Even the strange back cracking! He’s gotten spunkier and acts like a young dog again. He’s also put on weight, which is a good thing for him as he was getting underweight.

My papillon puppy, around the same time, started to drag poop of all kinds, into the house and eat it. Cat poop and horse poop were her favorites. I decided to switch her to raw as well and the poop eating stopped immediately.

I was feeding my Doberman a few ounces of raw at the little dog’s mealtime but its a lot bigger commitment to feed an 80 lb dog raw than two 6-8 lb dogs. After three months, I’ve seen so much improvement on the little ones. The Doberman has always acted like she’s starving on her kibble, probably because to keep her weight normal, she is starving. So finally, this week I took the plunge and she went cold turkey ( literally, lol) over to raw. She seems calmer and happier, probably because she’s not starving and gets to eat more than a juice cup size glass of kibble twice a day. In 5 days I’ve noticed the fat pad on her chest is already decreasing and I haven’t given her incontinence pill for about three days without any dribbling!

- tracydr

We’re just over one month into raw feeding. When we got our weim I did all the requisite research, knew about the breed and also started reading about different foods. I was a constant browser of any site rating dog food. We settled on Blue Buffalo large breed puppy, it had good reviews and was available locally. Mouse (the weim) had room clearing gas, I mean absolutely foul, the air has gotten darker kind of gas in huge quantities. Okay time for a switch in food.

Went to Wellness large breed puppy,gas issue was better but poop consistency was worse. Picking up after him was nasty to say the least, and he always managed to poop in the worst possible places (outside the trainers, outside the vets. . .or on someones lawn during walks). About the same time Mouse started gnawing on his feet, whining and doing some serious flea chasing type biting on himself. He also developed a 2 inch raised patch on his stomach which the vet thought might be mange, the test for that was negative.

In a panic due to his suffering 5 to 10 minutes after feeding I told my wife I wanted to try a raw diet. We started with Bravo chicken patties in the morning, quartered chicken for his noon and evening meals. The results were amazing. His gnawing and itching disappeared with the exception of the one time he got ‘Enhanced’ chicken gizzards. The raised patch? gone in 2 weeks. The Vet, who had prescribed anti-mange meds (just in case) and steroid cream, asked what changed. I mentioned switching to raw and her response was “maybe there is something about raw feeding, I’ll have to look into that”.

Gas? what gas? if Mouse has gas we sure don’t know it.

Oh and poop? there is one problem with that, yard cleanup is a snap but sometimes it’s difficult to find his poops in the grass since they’re so small and compact.

Although I hadn’t registered I did get a lot of information from this forum (okay I was one of those ‘guests’), and for that I’d like to say thanks from Mouse and me.

- Marty