[Robert B]

Hi guys,

this is going to be long, and drawn out, but is a build up of events over a few months, so i totally understand if you get bord of me real quick, but here goes

My name is Rob, I live in west London, Im 31 years old..

when i was 13, My dad let me get a puppy, wich was a beagle and jack russell cross, (he was my best friend) fearless, clever, loving etc etc,

his name was kane, and he was fed scraps from the table, potato, spagatti, sunday roast, smoked haddok, etc etc (he even got the odd cup of tea) all cooked stuff!!!!, he sadly died at the age of 12, as we had to put him down due to suffering from throat cancer!!!! ( he stopped barking in the end, and he loved to bark)

well, now, i have a 10 month old pure breed, short legged jack russell, who has been fed a raw food diet since the age of 11 weeks, until he was 10 months, but he devoleped gastro interitus, and the vets blamed the raw food!!!

but he was ok on the raw food for many months, so surely he just ate something bad on his walks (he chews everything)

the vet told me to feed him kibble, now his toilet is twice as much, bigger, and it stinks!!!!

I tried to introduce him back to raw, but he turns his nose up at it!!!!!

Is there any tips that i can apply to get him to eat raw food again?????

the problem with raw, is it is odorless, so theres no interest,, but is there a product avalible, that i can coat the raw food with, to make it more appealing to him?????!!!

any help greatly appreciated

rob

[anonymous]

I would listen to your vet, or consult another one, or a specialist. Is there some reason that you think that anonymous strangers on the internet would be able to advise you better than a veterinarian who has examined your dog and knows his history? Doesn’t make sense to me.
Unless, you are just looking for folks to agree with your opinions and encourage you to do something that may have dire consequences for your dog.
Gastroenteritis….that just happens for no reason. NOT.

I am more inclined to follow science based veterinary medicine http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/
https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/

Best of luck.

[pitlove]

Hi Rob-

Your vet is not crazy for considering the possibility that the raw food diet caused GI upset for your dog. Raw is not for every dog, my own included. Your dog is trying to tell you something by refusing to eat a diet he once ate and most likely that message is “this food makes my stomach hurt”.

You trying to force him to eat a diet that could be making him sick because you prefer it, is unfair and will only ruin your relationship with him.

[Acroyali]

Hi Rob:

I’ve been a raw feeder for decades and, like pitlove stated, it’s not for every dog. I have two animals now that can’t do 100% raw, and one that gets violently ill from ingesting bones of any description. They get cooked diets, which might be something you’d be interested in researching and trying if you’re not happy feeding kibble. Mary Strauss at the dog aware website has a ton of information on balancing a cooked diet correctly (it’s more of a science than raw when it comes to balance and supplementation, but can be done.)

If he was happily eating raw, got sick, and now refuses it, I agree that he’s trying to tell you that the food just isn’t agreeing with him. It might be temporary, it might be life long, who knows. While his gut is healing, I would steer clear of raw (think of raw as cleansing, and cooked as nourishing). You can boil down bones in a crock pot and feed the stock; mineral rich and very healing to the GI tract.

If, down the road, the time comes where you feel he’s ready to try raw again I would go easy on the bone content (it’s not uncommon for small breeds and cats to do better with less bone than larger breeds), or forgo the bones all together and use a calcium supplement. But for right now, I agree with the other posters, please consider trying something else if your dog is telling you raw food isn’t working for him right now. Best of luck.

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