# Raw Feeding for a Puppy with a Sensitive Stomach?



## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Tayla has been on some form of raw since she was 8 months old. My suggestion would be to start out slowly with maybe a freeze dried or dehydrated food. I love Grandma Lucy's freeze dried and Tayla gets it in the morning and then at night with raw mixed in. Many people like The Honest Kitchen. Tayla didn't like it as well and frankly I didn't like the looks of it. We use Grandma Lucy's Pureformance Chicken mainly. They have a less expensive form which is Artisan. Check it out and see if it looks good for you. As he gets older you can switch and use the pre-mix and add raw, which is what I do at night. Keep it simple to start with and as you learn more and he grows some, you can do different proteins, etc.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

I feed all my dogs a raw diet. I can't suggest that it would work for Ella, but I wean puppies to raw food (recipe: 40# chicken necks, 1# liver, 1# gizards, 2# fozen blueberries, 3# frozen turnip greens or some other greens, powdered Vit C (for 40# I use about 1/4 cup), and probiotic blend from Nature's Farmacy- I put about 4 oz in the blend). When they are just first eating solids I add some goats milk or esbilac to make mush but quit that after a week or two. By the time they are 8 weeks old I have introduced some whole food, such as chicken wings for them to chew on while still feeding them ground mixture. At 12 weeks I start them into the same mix of proteins per week I feed everyone- 1# of canned fish such as mackeral or salmon a week,same day they also get 1# tripe for second meal, whole quartered rabbit one day a week, beef and bone from BLlue Ridge Beef one day a week, tom turkey necks another day and either venison or lamb another day a week (my dogs eat +/- 2# a day). The rest of the meals for puppy are chicken necks, while the other dogs get backs. The turkey day I usually just give the ground mix to the puppy, tom necks are way too big for a little one. 
We have tiny, tiny poops- great teeth- no anal gland problems,great coats, bright eyes and no ear issues. No one gets hot spots or has ongoing issues. You'd find that the poop is very small and dry, and your dog won't drink as much water as he does on a kibble. 
I don't find it expensive, it costs about the same as a good kibble, but I am able to buy in bulk. I get chicken by the case (.44/pound), turkey necks by the case (.88/pound), beef by the case (close to $3 a pound), and venison and lamb seasonally by the animal at the slaughterhouse. My rabbit comes from a rabbit judge here in town, he skins and quarters them for me, and charges me .75/pound. I buy the tripe from Amazon.com, I like Solid Gold brand for the poptop cause the idea of using a can opener on it is too much for me! The fish comes from Sam's by the case. 
EVeryone gets a fish oil a day, and Vit C every day. If you haven't given Vit C you may want to wait on that till you get the bowels under control, it can cause loose stools. I also give a stress B on weekends with meals. And no, weekends are not stressful here but I don't think they need B vitamins regularly, so I can remember easier to give them on Sat/Sun. They also get a boiled egg every weekend day. I started that a bazillion years ago and have no real reason for it other than they love to play catch with a whole egg/shell, and I am in the habit of boiling eggs on Sat AM. If I ever got up over 6 dogs, I would probably not boil more than the dozen I do now, since I see that as recreational eating. 
When my dogs are at the field trainers they eat kibble- she feeds Purina Pro Plan. They shift same day they arrive and same on return- never have GI issues either direction. That's short term, and the only time they eat kibble in their lives. I'm not sure if this helps or not, but it's one person's version of a raw diet.


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## Goldenhopeful (Dec 21, 2013)

My parents golden had lots of diarrhea when she was a puppy. They tried raw and it made it even worse... The vet said that their wasn't anything to "bind" her poop. Now this is just what I know second hand... But I know that Hannah had to be on prescription dog food most of her puppyhood and then she grew out of it 
and they switched her to a sensitive food with salmon... Good luck. I know it can be so frustrating. .. Just watching my mom struggle with it.


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## Calm dog (Sep 11, 2013)

I'm not doing raw, but I did take my Teddy to the vet for ongoing diarrhea and told her it disappeared when I stopped his kibble and gave him baby food ,chicken and rice . She told me to stop his kibble and I did.
So, I'd first stop the Wellness, if that has been the consistent in the diet . Then do the raw or cooked gradually.
I have to do process of elimination to make sure. Now he is eating cooked until I find a food that I'm comfortable with, just for a week or so. I give chicken, rice, yams, peanut butter, cottage cheese, and bananas. It's by no means balanced, but at least the diarrhea stopped and now I can introduce a new food.
Good luck with this,it's daunting but unfortunately sometimes they are sensitive .


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

Goldenhopeful said:


> My parents golden had lots of diarrhea when she was a puppy. They tried raw and it made it even worse... The vet said that their wasn't anything to "bind" her poop. Now this is just what I know second hand... But I know that Hannah had to be on prescription dog food most of her puppyhood and then she grew out of it
> and they switched her to a sensitive food with salmon... Good luck. I know it can be so frustrating. .. Just watching my mom struggle with it.


It is important to include raw bones in the diet - the calcium in the bones is what binds the poop. 

I recommend the book Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs by Lew Olson, PhD. She gives practical advice for incorporating whole foods into your dog's diet, even if you aren't ready to take the plunge to 100% raw. 

It's important to balance calcium and phosphorous in the diet, especially for a growing puppy. If you are feeding boneless meat, you need to add a calcium supplement. Prism mentioned Nature's Farmacy. I use their KA Calcium supplement with the boneless meat I feed - the recommended ratio is 1/8 tsp calcium per cup of meat. You can also make your own calcium supplement using ground eggshells - the ratios for that are outlined in Lew Olson's book. 

Kea doesn't do well with chicken necks. She doesn't chew them enough and then yaks up the bones. I stick with boneless meat, the occasional raw meaty knuckle bone for teeth cleaning purposes, and ground fruits and veggies. Nature's Farmacy has a "user friendly raw diet" - you can order a laminated card for free. We have it on the fridge. That's the plan I follow for the most part, and every meal consists of about 2/3 part protein (boneless chicken thighs, ground bison, beef or elk, scrambled eggs, mackerel, salmon or tripe, or some combination of those), and 1/3 part fruits and veggies. I pulverize these in small batches in my food processor. I have fed cauliflower, broccoli, celery, blueberries, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, kale, green beans, collard greens, beets, beet greens, butternut squash, pumpkin, strawberries, bananas, apples, pears...basically whatever is in season and on sale. Then, I feed one omega 3 pill per day along with the nature's farmacy joint health supplement with probiotics and DogZymes Ultimate (multivitamin). She eats about 1.5 lbs per day of food and weighs 55 lbs. 

Kea had some tummy troubles when she was Ella's age. It turned out to be due to giardia flare ups. She was treated with metronidazole by the vet several times, then we wormed her with panacur for 5 days on, 5 days off, 5 days on again. That seemed to take care of things. She's been eating raw since last March (started at age 2) and hasn't had diarrhea once since then.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Goldenhopeful said:


> My parents golden had lots of diarrhea when she was a puppy. They tried raw and it made it even worse... The vet said that their wasn't anything to "bind" her poop.


Did they feed enough bone? The appropriate amount of bone in a raw diet would "bind" the poop. Molly's stools have never been so solid (and tiny!).

Most people start with chicken when they start a dog on a raw diet. After a few weeks of success, they then introduce other proteins and organs. I feed prey model raw, so I stick to 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other organ. I balance it over one week. 


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