[SNOWFLAKE]

Hey/// Just joined this forum. I own a smooth fox terrier.. He is 2months old. Currently i feed him kibble .. but I think raw food is more beneficial for dogs ..there are pros and cons to this but if it will benefit my puppy i am willing to take the risk. please can someone suggest ways of starting him on Barf.. I am thinking raw chicken mince would be ok to start with .. Not sure. PLease help . need some professional advice.

[Anonymous]

I hope the folks here don’t get annoyed with me….but, I have found some helpful information at this site: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

And here: http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

Good luck with whatever diet you decide upon.

[aimee]

Hi Reewa,

Congrats on your new puppy! If I were to g with raw diet in a pup I’d want to use a commercial product that has undergone feeding trails, has been through high pressure processing to decrease pathogens and comes from a company that has a vet nutritionist on staff.

Growth is a very demanding stage and if the diet isn’t well composed it can result significant long term health problems. Growth is a life stage in which I wouldn’t choose to home prepare the food.

[SNOWFLAKE]

thank you so much for your advice.
Well in that case can I feed kibble and raw in separate meals> ? I am currently on Royal Canin . and I think I should switch to TOTW. The only problem is that I live in India. so there isnt much access to all good brands of kibble. But I am going to order it through amazon. So my boy is getting 4 meals / day. Is it a good idea to give him chicken mince for breakfast.. and then kibble throughout the day. ?/

[Jonathan S]

I’m not a professional, but I do feed raw to my pups. Do lots of research first. there’s going to be a time and effort commitment as well as a financial commitment. Check out different recipes. Go to youtube and look up Dr. Karen Becker… she’s got lots of really great advice. The hardest thing is going to be convincing yourself that you’re doing the right thing. You’re going to find information out there and opinion that make it seem like handling raw food is like handling poison… it’s not. Take the same precautions you would with handling the food you serve your family.

The next hardest thing is perseverance. You’re going to affect their digestion and it might be messy at first. That doesn’t mean you should stop. You need to give them time to adjust. You will also need to take into account what proteins may or may not agree with your dog. Also, your raw food, especially if you’re making your own, will likely be higher in fat. That can cause some issues if you’re still feeding kibble as puppy food is usually higher in fat. I had to take my pups off puppy food much earlier than I expected.

I read some good advice about not feeding 100% raw. Most of your really good commercial foods are focused to provide complete nutrition, so they have vitamins and minerals in there that you might miss. I feed my dogs 50% raw and 50% kibble to make sure I don’t miss anything.

Another thing I do is review this site very carefully. If dog food advisor thinks that a particular ingredient is a positive thing in a highly rated food, you can bet it’s going to make an appearance in my food.

I hope this helps!

[SNOWFLAKE]

HI JONATHAN//. woww. thanks for your help and quick response. Its so confusing, I dont want to affect his digestion. But we all want the best for our dogs. I will check out the link on youtube and decide. Have been researching since a month now. There are so many pros and cons and its very hard to decide. Please guide me on this.. I dont know anyone who feeds raw here and our vet is against it altogether. People here are very single minded for some reason, (lol) planning to change my vet.

[SNOWFLAKE]

Can you please also send me photos of raw fed dogs and explain how the diet benefited your puppies

[aimee]

Hi Reewa,

When adding a food that isn’t “complete and balanced” to a food that is “complete and balanced” the recommendation is not to exceed 10% of calories from the unbalanced food.

When feeding kibble I use some of the same criteria as I posted for raw. I’d use a company that has veterinary nutritionists on staff, does feeding trials and has good quality control measures in place.

[SNOWFLAKE]

Dear Aimee
My boy just hurt his hind leg bone and I feel he is a bit less energetic than usual. Specially when I take him out of the crate he limps a little. My vet said that he should be getting complete rest for a couple of days and epsom salt water compressions for a week. I got a few veggie recipes from the net.and will try feeding him that along with meat. When can I start giving him tripe>?

[SNOWFLAKE]

As we dont get natural raw products here.. I am planning to buy fresh or frozen from the market.

[SNOWFLAKE]

Ok its 6am here now. And just took out some mince I bought yesterday from the freezer. I am going to mix it with apples and blueberries and try giving a lil bit to WYNN(my dog) . Hopefully he wont have problems ..fingers crossed. Q – Can i then refreeze the rest of the mince for two days or so>> ? its human grade mince cleaned and preservative free (just wana be safe)

[C4D]

Hi Reewa R,

Although aimee and I don’t always agree, I do agree with her in feeding a commercial raw as it is very important to make sure the diet is balanced. This is particularly important since you have a very young dog who could suffer some serious deficiencies if he doesn’t get the correct vitamins and minerals in the right dose.

You could feed homemade raw or homemade cooked, but you need to follow a diet that is balanced. Whole Dog Journal has several articles on balancing a diet as does dogaware.com and as Jonathon said, Dr. Karen Becker has some balanced home made diets. Here’s the link to dogaware:

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_7/features/Home-Prepared-Dog-Food-Nutritional-Information_20568-1.html

http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade3.html

[SNOWFLAKE]

LOTS OF USEFUL INFO IN THESE LINKS.. thanks a million. I understood the balance of the diet now. One more doubt to be cleared please. He weighs about 6kilos now. So how much can I feed him and if someone can share a raw menu for puppies it would be gr8. I feed him 4times a day and have decided to give him 50%kibble and the other half raw. So he gets both benefits. Also can I FEED RAW AND KIBBLE ON THE SAME DAY? if not please share a day’s menu with me. THanks once again for all your help. any fox terrier owners here:????

[SNOWFLAKE]

Which is a good multivitamin for puppies? Is swanson good>

[SNOWFLAKE]

please reply people…!!!!!!!!!!! all vanished

[C4D]

Hi Reewa R,

Some of us have to sleep and work, so answers are not always immediate. Your posts were in the middle of the night in my area and I work as well.

I can’t answer your questions on feeding a puppy raw since I haven’t had a puppy in many years. I have adult dogs. I do feed kibble and raw as I have several large dogs. I feed canned/kibble for 1 meal and raw/cooked for the other meal. Some people feed raw and kibble together in the same meal. I don’t supplement with vitamins since I’m using commerical foods that already are complete and balanced. The links I included in the earlier post may be able to answer that question.

[aimee]

Hi Reewa,

As I don’t feed a homemade raw diet I can’t advise you on how to do it to ensure proper nutrition during such a critical life stage. I feel the risks of feeding homemade raw outweigh any proposed benefits. Sorry I can not help you further. aimee

[Jonathan S]

Feeding raw and kibble is something you’ll find a lot of opinions about. Some people say never feed them at the same time because they digest at different rates. Some people say that’s not the case. I say, it depends on the dog. My dogs find the raw too rich on its own, and they have some digestive distress when I feed them raw and kibble in separate meals. I started feeding them raw and kibble at the same time, and no problem! You’ll just have to try and see what works for your dog. I’ve been feeding raw since they were 6 months old and they’re both happy and healthy. I also use a digestive supplement, but I keep experimenting trying to find one that I like. I’ve had good results with Flora4, but right now I’m using a kelp extract that seems to be working really well.

I have two recipes I use to keep their meals interesting…

2 lbs. Bone in ground rabbit
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb green lamb tripe
2 lbs chicken hearts, gizzards, livers
1 lb blue berries
1 lb greens (Green Juju)
1 lb peas
3 eggs
3 carrots
2 apples
1 can of organic pumpkin
2 tbs turmeric

Recipe 2
2 lbs ground duck necks
2 lbs turkey organs
2 lbs ground chicken backs or turkey necks
3 eggs
1 lb butternut squash
1 lb broccoli
1 lb frozen mango chunks
1 cup hemp seed hearts
.5 cup fennel seeds
1 can pumpkin or 1 cup of Firm Up!

All the veggies or whole things go through the food processor to make them readily digestible. The seeds get ground up. The apples are grated. I make both of these recipes at the same time, put them in individual serving containers, then freeze them. Makes enough for two weeks for both my dogs.

The common advice I’ve found is to feed your dog 2 to 4% of their body weight in raw food. Since I’m only feeding half raw, I just took the top end and cut it in half.

Oh, and I feed them twice a day, but when they were younger I was feeding them 3 times per day. Went to twice a day at around 8 months… about the time we shifted from puppy food to adult kibble.
2 tbs ground turmeric
coconut oil

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Jonathan S.

[SNOWFLAKE]

Thank you Jonathan.!!!! Really appreciate all your help. Will try these recipes soon . and as for c4D wasnt sure of the time difference and really sorry to have bothered you.Its just that i am super careful and excited about my wynn and his new diet so couldnt be patient. Take care and thank you for your time and effort. Aimee, I didnt notice you dont feed raw ..its all cool. THANKS ANYWAYS.

[Pitlove]

edit: nevermind

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Pitlove.

[InkedMarie]

I once had two smooth fox terriers; wonderful girls! Snowflake, are you in the US? If yes, i can give you links to where I buy raw but they aronly in the US.

[Author]

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