[Marsha A]

Hi. I have an 8 mo. old Chihuahua, Tess. We took her to a integrative vet to get a different opinion on her care. The vet told us to feed her a raw food Answers or Barf. And also Answers goat milk. The conventional vet we have thinks raw food is dangerous. We wanted to get a second opinion for a number of reasons. I did not like that they promote Science Diet. And she recommended spaying at 6 mos. The integrative recommended we spay at 18 – 24 mos. because she has a recessed vulva. She has not had a first heat yet. We are now feeding her the Small Breed Wellness kibble and Wellness Core can chicken. I am really posting this for anyone that can help with their experience on the raw food and also any experience about spaying. I really hate to get her spayed but I am probably going to have to because of the chance of pyometra and mammary cancer. Any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you much. Marsha

[Erika I]

The key to raw food (in my experience) is “take your time with it!” What I mean is, introduce new ingredients slowly and start slowly. I started my 4-year-old pug on raw food with just ground beef and ground up cooked eggs(shell and all) along with fish oil and a vitamin powder. the first week she started with a 1/2 cup of food the first day and I slowly increased the amount of food till she was at 1 cup a day. She was on this diet for about 3 months before I changed her to a more complex diet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P85BMCCboI). From my experience, raw food has its ups and downs in the beginning but once you find what works well for your puppy it is the best! Bella (my pug) at first threw up the food had lots of bad diarrhea. and even months into the new diet she had bouts of throwing up and diarrhea when I introduced new ingredients too quickly. So that is why I suggest taking your time with it. Now Bella loves it and her coat is super shiny and thick and her seasonal allergies are even better!
– I had Bella on goats milk to try and help with her allergies and it is great it helps with all kinds of things – but I found it to be unnecessary now that I have her on a balanced raw diet.

As far a spaying, I waited till Bella was about 1 year old before she had the operation. Sometimes young pups don’t do so well with the operation and Bella was so little that we felt more comfortable waiting. She went through one cycle which wasn’t bad at all…just be sure to have diapers on hand!

Hope this helps!
All the best,
Erika

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