[frenchiegirl]

Hi everyone. I recently switched my frenchie over from Hill’s prescription formula (he ate that for 5 years) to raw. He had him on the hill’s prescription formula for vomiting but then after he had a neuro injury some of the specialist we were taking him to said that it didn’t provide a feeling of satiety. They suggesting eating something with an exotic protein would probably still help with the vomiting, I talked to our primary vet and she said to try it. So we switched over to natures variety venison raw bites. He tolerated the switching well and had no emesis but I have noticed that he is shedding A LOT. Also his breath is bad, I have had to brush his teeth more than normal. I have read up on these things and notice people say the exact opposite happens when they put they’re dogs on this food. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this? do you think this brand may not be for him? any thoughts are appreciated. thanks

[PetClubEmployee]

Hello!
Can we have some more information?
I’m a huge raw advocate so Id love to help.
Have you changed anything else?
How old is your dog? What kind of treats do you give?
Was the hills canned or dry?

[Rebecca]

Hi frenchiegirl,

It sounds to me like your dog is going through a period of detox, which is nothing to worry about, and actually good.

In Dr. Karen Becker’s article “Common Raw Feeding Mistakes”, in a paragraph about what to expect when you switch to raw, she says,

“Oftentimes, after one to three months on a fresh food diet, pets go through a detoxification process. This is totally normal and is actually something to celebrate.

Detox for your pet will happen through the bowels and skin. During a detox, your pet will act completely normal. He’ll be happy, bright, and alert. But you might find that he’s shedding a tremendous amount of hair. Pets shed out their old, dead, dull hair, and begin growing a shiny, soft coat. You might also see a lot of earwax or debris being produced from the ear. That needs to be cleaned out. And some detoxing pets will pass blobs of mucus in their stools.

These symptoms of detoxification will pass on their own. They’re nothing you need to worry about, but are something you should anticipate or it might freak you out. Pets on a fresh food diet also consume far less water than pets eating an entirely processed diet. You need to anticipate that your pet’s water intake will diminish.”

-Rebecca

[Anne R]

Hi Frenchiegirl!
Just wondering how you’re doing with the Natures Variety Raw Bites at this stage? Did you find that your dog put on extra weight from them? One of mine has piled on weight and the other has developed a bout of pancreatitis – the only reason I can find for this is that the raw bites are too fatty?? But the irony is that they both seem to really like them (and one of them is really picky!!) so I am are really upset that they may not be able to eat them any more.

[Susan]

Hi, is it his teeth or his breath that stinks…after brushing his teeth try to smell his breath about 2-4 hours after eating. My boy had real bad breath after eating, he ended up having stomach bacteria & was put on Metronidazole for 2 weeks, the Metronidazole has cleared his bad breath, now I give him a probiotic daily, also like Anne R has said about being too much fat maybe the food is just sitting in his tummy.. My boys kibble was just sitting in his tummy as he’d vomit it up 7 hours later all still formed kibbles & that was a high fat kibble that he was eating at the time that lead to the stomach bacteria..You could mix 2 tablespoons of greek yogurt thru his meals & see if that helps….

[Author]

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