Not getting on with raw feeding my dog. Same benefit if cooked?

[HelenP]

Hi, I've been persevering with raw feeding my dog for some weeks but it is not a success. He will eat the bare minimum when he's really hungry, looks miserable and has lost weight. He's also started trying to eat dog poo and steal food. I've been giving him chicken breasts and minced meat and eggs on the advice of someone from here so should be ok for a beginner? I've told him he is a wolf by nature but he is not convinced. He is a 13 month old labrador.
I have just given in and cooked up a huge batch of minced beef and kidney to freeze and give him as normal tinned dog food. That would have the benefits of raw feeding in that its all organic and no nasties- will it be as good in all ways? Obviously more inconvenient but not too bad if I cook in bulk.

 

[TheSnowQueen]

you need to remember that your dog was bred from a dog who was owned and fed by a person and your dogs parents were fed by people and there parents too. so your dog is not much of a wolf. yes, they still have a lot of the instincts they were bred for but there are some things the have forgotten and i can tell you right now, if you left your lab in a forrest expected it to get its own food it would probably just sit there and wait for you to come back or try to find you.

personally i think food is really important for a dog this age, my pup is 6 months old so i've been researching it a lot as well. dry dog foods like Advance feed your dog all the nutrients they need to grow up healthy and strong, but it makes for a pretty boring meal. the canned stuff is rubbish so i don't like to add that to her food.

what i do is i give her the recommended amount of dried food- this guarantees she gets all the nutrients she needs- then i add some cooked chicken and rice for taste, also because dogs need protein and grains too.

by feeding her this i'm giving her some of the best dog food on the market (Advance is one of the top brands) i'm also not giving her rubbish chemicals or processed junk, i'm giving her real chicken and wholegrain rice. my vet says this is a really good idea and that chicken and rice is gentle on the tummy too. also, i change it up if there's something like steak or mince on special and this works out so much cheaper than canned food so even though i spend about $30 for 3kg of the dry dog food the cheapness of the other stuff makes up for it.

so this is what i suggest you do, give him the good dog food that guarantees he has everything he needs for health and then give him something yummy that adds to that. still give him nice meaty raw bones, he'll love them as a treat and they clean dogs teeth the way a tooth brush cleans ours.

 

[lady]

I always cook for my dogs. It allows me to make more thrilling concoctions for them. Like browning meat with eggs and cheese. But I also like to feed them good brand dog food, with a twist. Here's one thing I do a lot that your baby might like.

Buy some ham (they sell parts of ham at places like Walmart all the time, doesn't have to be a full one). Cook it in a slow cooker with a good deal of water, it'll take many many hours but it's worth it. Once the ham is cooked they can have the bone as a treat, the ham itself they'll love to eat, and save the broth it was cooked in. I like to pour this broth on their regular dog kibble. They eat it up like it was the ham itself. It'll last about a week. That's just an example of how I mix up kibble and cooked foods. It has done them really well having the things they need from both mediums.

 

[Hoolagal]

the raw diet is over-rated ... why not try him on a high quality kibble mixed with some canned food ???

 

[oddimals]

Oh no... this is NOT a good diet. Yes, long ago they were wolves, but long ago you and I were apes and can our bodies handle a lot of raw foods? Especially since the meat isn't from a deer in the forest, it's from a cow who has sucked on chemicals all its life and lived on a ranch with two hundred others who probably have illnesses that pass along into the meat.

Your dog could get worms from the food, or could be sick! What you really need to do is go to the vet, ask for a recommendation in dog food while he's making sure your dog doesn't have a tapeworm, and then go and get a nice, high-quality brand of kibble. It's good for them-- maybe not the super cheap $2 bags at the grocery store, but good dog food helps with their digestion and keeps their teeth clean and strong. Get a high-protein brand like Eukanuba and see if your dog doesn't start feeling more like a dog and less like a sick wolf.