Hi, I’m not much of a meat eater, I can’t stand the smell & all the blood with red raw meat, I eat white meat like fish & chicken only & I make Patch lean pork or beef rissoles, I would never deprive my Patch from eating meat, a dogs digestive tract is short & made to digest a raw diet where our digestive tract is long & heaps bigger & can handle all the grains, carbs etc in our diet…..
I live Australia & most people feed their pets raw kangaroo mince, raw off cuts added with their dogs kibble as well as raw meaty bones for their teeth, chicken bone is the softest bone & easy to digest…or they added the Pre-made Big Dog Raw formulas or the Dr’s B Barf Pre-made raw formulas or some pet shops make their own pre-made raw meals you just thaw & put in her bowl + kibble….
Cause your girl has never eaten a raw diet & is 7yrs old maybe look at the pre-made formulas that have leaner meats & are lower in fat around 3-4% in fat that’s around 11%-16% fat when converted to dry matter (Kibble) same amount of fat she’s eating at the moment 15% fat…Wet tin food when you see 5%min fat on wet tin can 5%min is around 20-25% fat when converted to dry matter & was a kibble ….Some people say not to feed kibble & raw together as they digest at a different rate but everyone I’ve spoken with at the dog park & when Patch was going to his behavior training school seem to all mix kibble with the raw diet & have no digestive problems feeding kibble + raw meat to their dogs….I suppose it depends on the dogs……
I ended up contacting a animal Naturopath when I put Patch on a raw fresh home made diet cause of his IBD & skin allergies, he was 6yrs old, we started with lean human grade kangaroo mince, not pet shop kangaroo mince added 1-2 spoons of blended raw veggies broccoli, carrot, celery & apple + 1/2 teaspoon probiotic +1/4 teaspoon DigestaVite plus powder to balance the meal cause it had no bone or any organ meat in the beginning cause of his IBD, I didn’t want him to get diarrhea, then I noticed about 1 hour after eating his breakfast he was regurgitating water + digested raw up into his mouth after burping causing acid reflux, so we stopped the blended veggies but he still was burping up water, I had to give him some of his regular kibble to wash the acid reflux back down his throat & he seemed heaps better…… cause of Patches IBD bad acid reflux the raw diet didn’t work for my Patch but my kitten/cat 11months old is feed a pre-made cat raw diet + kibble in separate bowl + 1/2 a chicken wing 3 times a week, if I don’t give her any kibble she pinches Patches Taste Of The Wild kibble….
Do you rotate your kibbles? try the TOTW Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, it has the same fat & Protein% as the TOTW Pacific Stream, Smoked Salmon & their mouth doesn’t smell of fish after eating the Roasted Lamb & Patch seems to prefer the Roasted Lamb….
It will all depend on the boarding kennel if they will feed your dog a raw diet normally most boarding kennels just say bring all ur raw pre made & made up in daily sections etc or just before she goes to boarding kennel put her back on her kibble 1-2 weeks before she’s due to go to the boarding kennels & just pack enough frozen raw meaty bones to be given 2 to 3 times a week, I’m pretty sure the Boarding kennel will thaw & give the raw meaty bone …
My boy was biting the raw bone a few bites then gulping the whole raw meaty bone & swallowing big pieces of bone, when I first rescued him, that’s when someone told me chicken frames are the best to feed, the bone in the chicken frame is very soft & flexible & cleans their teeth, so if she is a gulper & swallows any big pieces of bone in the beginning maybe try the chicken frames from supermarket, they digest easier, I use to feed chicken necks but my vet said to stop feeding the chicken necks as they have very sharp pieces of bone & are full of fat, with no meat. In Australia our supermarkets sell chicken necks, chicken frames & brisket bones also turkey legs are nice & big just remove the inner sharp bone…your dogs teeth will clean right up after eating meaty raw bones, my last cat had heaps of tarter on his teeth & to clean his teeth was going to cost $450 to clean & remove any teeth if needed was an extra $50 per tooth, the vet said start giving him a chicken wing for breakfast & his teeth cleaned up….
