[Lilmonster]

Hi again Pugmomsandy –

No, I didn’t notice the fat content, thanks a ton for pointing that out. I have indeed been feeding very lean so far so I’ll make sure to transition slowly to the chicken. I had to place my order before your last response so I ended up getting the Ground Chicken without Giblets and ordering the organ meats separately. Interesting, I thought whole prey grinds were supposed to be balanced on their own?

Started Lily on the Ground Whole Young Beef. Since she was already eating beef I figured it would be an easier transition, but I think I may have given her a little too much organ meat since I used the Ground Whole Young Beef in place of the ground boneless beef in Dr. B’s recipe and then also added the specified amounts of heart and liver (it somehow slipped my mind that the Ground Whole Young Beef already had organs in it – guess I was too focused on the chicken). She had a bit of diarrhea for one poop, but the next one was fine again. I’m supposed to keep liver under 5-10% of her meat intake right? Or is that liver and heart combined? How much additional organ meat can I safely add to a whole prey grind without going over that?

[Lilmonster]

Thank you again pugmomsandy! Here are the product links:

Ground Whole Young Beef (w/bone & organs): https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=36&virtuemart_category_id=1&lang=en

There are a few different options for chicken, adding to my uncertainty. Would you recommend the Ground Chicken Supermix or the Ground Whole Chicken if I were to use it to replace Dr. Becker’s entire meat recipe? I was thinking of getting the Ground Chicken without Giblets then adding the heart/gizzard/liver separately as specified in the recipe, but if one of the other grounds has the correct proportions then I might just go with that to make things a little easier.

Ground Chicken Supermix (2/3 whole ground chicken, 1/3 additional hearts, liver, and gizzards): https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=50&virtuemart_category_id=2&lang=en

Fine Ground Whole Chicken: https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=49&virtuemart_category_id=2&lang=en

Ground Chicken without Giblets: https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=51&virtuemart_category_id=2&lang=en

[Lilmonster]

Unfortunately, I don’t have the space or budget for a grinder right now, so I have to stick with buying pre-ground. Trying to figure out how to use bone-in grinds with Dr. Becker’s recipes because it’s so much more affordable than boneless grinds. I guess a more simplified version of my question would be, if I use MPC’s bone-in grinds for the meat staple, add Dr. Becker’s veggie mix and her vitamins & minerals supplements, would that be balanced?

[Lilmonster]

Glad to know I’m not the only one RescueDaneMom 🙂

Thanks for replying pugmomsandy!

Dr. Becker’s bone-in recipe uses chicken necks and boneless chicken thigh – if I use MPC’s bone-in grinds instead, do I substitute that for BOTH the necks and the boneless thigh?

Also, one of the main reasons I was wondering whether I can just substitute the MPC grinds in Dr. B’s boneless recipes is because she doesn’t provide a bone-in recipe for beef, just chicken and turkey.

[Lilmonster]

Aww poor Bailey. Hope the vet visit goes well Cyndi!

I don’t have nearly as much to contribute as everyone else already has, but Lily was also shedding/itching a ton before I switched her to raw (that was part of why I took the plunge), and I’ve definitely noticed a decrease in her itching lately so my fingers are crossed that it was the kibble that was causing her issue. I know that doesn’t apply to your situation, but for what it’s worth I did give her a Benadryl at her vet’s suggestion (they told me to give her one 25 mg pill – she’s 40 lbs) when she itched til she bled and then wouldn’t leave the scab alone, and it stopped her itching immediately and lasted for the whole evening. If you do decide to give it, hopefully that will help relieve some of Bailey’s discomfort while you’re figuring out the root cause.

[Lilmonster]

Question about the pumpkin – I’ve been doing an approximately 50-50 beef pumpkin mix because I saw it suggested somewhere as a food elimination diet, but wondering if I continue to feed so much pumpkin if she’ll end up constipated from all the fiber? Currently it’s roughly 6 or 7 oz of pumpkin to 8 oz meat, twice a day. I’m thinking the answer to this is going to be “as long as her poops look fine then it’s ok” – someone correct me if I’m wrong please!

Actually, I feel kind of silly asking this but what exactly constitutes dog constipation? How many days of no poops would be considered abnormal? I’ve noticed Lily is already pooping MUCH less since we switched her to raw – we used to call her poop monster. I’m kind of amazed at the difference. So much unnecessary stuff in that kibble!

[Lilmonster]

Hound Dog Mom –

Thank you so so much, that info really helps! Also, if you have the time and feel inclined to do so, could you please take a quick look at my thread? If not, no worries at all, but I would love your input as all of the responses I’ve seen from you here have been so informative. Thanks again 🙂

/forums/topic/trying-to-make-a-plan-for-switching-to-raw-questions/

[Lilmonster]

Never mind about my first and second questions everyone, they’ve been resolved!

FYI to any other newbies out there feeling lost or thinking about buying one of the recommended raw books, Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy Dogs & Cats just arrived in the mail today, and taking a quick flip through it I already feel so relieved. I was on the fence about buying it because I had already read Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet and still felt confused, so I was worried that getting another book with more information would just add to the overwhelmingness. Fortunately, it’s really well organized and gives menu plans that are easy to follow, as well as detailed information about essential and optimal vitamins and minerals. While Steve Brown’s book is also very informative, it wasn’t quite as straightforward, at least to me.

[Lilmonster]

Hound Dog Mom –

Hi, after I read your above response I posted a question to you in a separate topic that I started with questions regarding switching my pup to raw, but realizing I probably should have just asked here since I’m not sure if you’ll see the other one. Copy & pasted below. Thanks!

– I know you can’t add the See Spot Live Longer dinner mix to bone-in meats, but am I also correct in assuming that if I begin adding RMBs in the PM and continue to feed boneless ground meat + See Spot Live Longer mix in the AM that it would be too much calcium? Ideally I’d like to continue using the SSLL simply because it’s the easiest way for me to not have to worry that her nutrition is unbalanced while I’m still learning to balance her meals myself. I did see the most recent topic mentioning CarnivoreRaw but that’s a bit out of my budget. **Hound Dog Mom, do you use the Twinlab Daily One with or without iron? Also, I noticed the Twinlab does have calcium in it, does that not matter because the amount is so low? If I choose to go the multivitamin route, can I then add other things like fruits and veggies and such without worrying about overloading on a specific vitamin/mineral or will I have to be careful with what I add?

[Lilmonster]

Melissa – Thank you so much for the info, I was getting myself into an irrational panic reading about renal failure. I also wasn’t aware that playing hard then peeing was a puppy thing, that pushes my opinion on her issue over to behavioral a little more since her age is estimated. She may very well be a few months under a year and still prone to puppy tendencies. Regardless, I did already start giving her the antibiotics and will finish the course then go from there.

[Lilmonster]

Thanks again Cyndi! 🙂

Kritterlady – thanks for responding! I hope my little one will be as healthy as your pups when she’s in the double digits. I wish we lived on a farm, I can only imagine how happy and healthy Lily would be with fresh food and so much space to run around. Sadly, we are big city bound, but we can dream!

[Lilmonster]

Hope it is just a UTI Akari! I am having a similar problem with my little one.

Melissa – your response worries me a little. My dog has also been peeing a lot more than usual lately, sometimes in small amounts sometimes in large amounts. We’re not 100% sure it’s not behavioral since we just adopted her two months ago, but prior to last week she wasn’t having accidents in the house at all (with the exception of the first two nights she was home when I was a softie and didn’t crate her despite her being used to sleeping in the crate at night and going out to pee immediately after being let out of the crate, as the rescue told me). Another reason we don’t think it’s behavioral is because she has soiled two of her beds now, and dogs generally don’t potty where they rest, no? She also doesn’t hide from us when it happens, twice we were playing tug indoors and all of a sudden she just stopped playing and squatted.

The vet did a urinalysis but said there was no sign of UTI bacteria in her urine, although the pH was slightly high. She didn’t say anything about the possibility of diabetes or kidney issues – is that because they would have seen it in the urinalysis if it was present? Are there separate tests I should ask for? She hasn’t shown any other signs of illness – no vomiting, no blood in the urine, no lethargy. She’s only around a year old so it’s not an age related thing. She has been drinking a good amount of water lately but I wouldn’t characterize it as excessive since it’s been pretty hot out and she usually does most of her drinking after playing or eating. Additionally, she used to get all of her pee out at once as soon as we went out, but now she will pee immediately, then once or twice more before we go in.

The vet put her on a one week course of antibiotics in case it’s the beginning of a UTI. I was reluctant to give her medication she might not even need, but I’m a little desperate to figure out what’s going on since we live on the 46th floor of a high rise and it’s to the point that we take her down, she potties, we come back up and 30 mins later she has an accident. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Lilmonster]

Thanks for replying Cyndi! You’re definitely way more pro than me at least 🙂

Yeah we love our little ball of adorbs – Bailey is super cute too, love the ears! I feel like such a creeper that I know your dog’s name lol, but I seriously read through that entire thread of yours from when you first started, and reading about you getting over the initial difficulties got me thinking that maybe I can manage this raw thing too. So I have you to thank most of all! 😀

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