Moving from RAW?

cocker5 · 04-01-2018 2:46pm #1

Guys,

Probably a stupid question BUT I’ll ask anyway.

So Cody is fed RAW and has been for nearly 4 years now… in the beginning he LOVED his RAW and would do a merry dance for it.

Here is my concern, so he hasn’t been 100% over the past year due to all sorts of stuff but right now he’s doing ok BUT he now HATES the RAW. He will hold out for days. Normally ill let him hold out etc but even when he does eat he’s not happy I can tell.

Whereas during the sick periods in 2017 when he was ill again he wouldn’t touch the RAW so I gently boiled his meat and added small amount of veg – which he wolfed down. I’ve tried 4 different types of RAW and his reaction is still the same.

So my question is would it be ok to slightly cook the RAW for him or am I defeating the purpose?

I know he will eat it cooked and the thing is he’s nearly 13 and has had numerous health problems in 2017 and he used to LOVE to eat so I don’t want to keep making meal times not pleasant for him…

Any thoughts?

TIA

3dogs · 04-01-2018 3:41pm

if he wants it cooked cook it.
I feed raw and have done for about 6 years now and I would be an advocate for it but not a fanatic if my dogs were to tell me they weren't enjoying it anymore I would change

cooked diet can be really healthy so in my opinion go for it

cocker5 · 04-01-2018 3:48pm

Thanks... i just feel bad for him not enjoying his food anymore and at his age now i want him to be happy.

3dogs · 04-01-2018 4:58pm

at his age he's allowed whatever he wants

Cherry Blossom · 04-01-2018 5:05pm

Does the raw food contain bone?

mojesius · 04-01-2018 5:11pm

I've resorted to cooked dinners for my dog.

Usually a batch of mince with veg, chicken stew, whatever meat is on offer in butchers with rice/veg. He has bowel issues so can't tolerate dried food for too long and he will eat raw but prefers cooked meals. Cheaper than good tinned food, keeps him regular, ideal weight and shiny coat, bright eyes and bags of energy

cocker5 · 04-01-2018 5:45pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Does the raw food contain bone?

Yip 10% I think I’ll have to check

Bells21 · 04-01-2018 6:04pm

cocker5 wrote:

Yip 10% I think Iâ€™ll have to check

I wouldn't cook this food then as the bone will become brittle and may cause huge issues. Cooking other meat would be fine though if that's what your dog is really enjoying.

DBB · 04-01-2018 7:07pm

Cooked food is much more palatable to dogs than raw... And the nutrients lost through cooking are tiny, so much so that it wouldn't cost me a thought to switch him to cooked. In fact, I think you're making digestive life easier on an older dog to cook his food, quite apart from the comfort of a, warm, cooked meal... Okay, I might be anthropomorphising there, but hey! It's allowed sometimes!
I've had quite a few elderly dogs in the past 5 years, every one of them ended up on cooked food for the very same reason you're finding with Cody. They just seem to prefer it. Go for it!

Cherry Blossom · 04-01-2018 8:23pm

Cooked bone can cause compaction. By all means feed cooked meals but don't cook the raw mixes as those are meant to be fed raw. Why not make up a stew with meat, potatoes and veggies. It will keep 3 or 4 days in the fridge or freeze it in portions and defrost as needed.

cocker5 · 04-01-2018 9:00pm

Bells21 wrote: »

I wouldn't cook this food then as the bone will become brittle and may cause huge issues. Cooking other meat would be fine though if that's what your dog is really enjoying.

Good advice thank you I’ll buy him more meat and leave the raw x

cocker5 · 04-01-2018 9:04pm

DBB wrote: »

Cooked food is much more palatable to dogs than raw... And the nutrients lost through cooking are tiny, so much so that it wouldn't cost me a thought to switch him to cooked. In fact, I think you're making digestive life easier on an older dog to cook his food, quite apart from the comfort of a, warm, cooked meal... Okay, I might be anthropomorphising there, but hey! It's allowed sometimes!
I've had quite a few elderly dogs in the past 5 years, every one of them ended up on cooked food for the very same reason you're finding with Cody. They just seem to prefer it. Go for it!

thanks for your comment and reassurance it’s much appreciated!

It’s just my own guilt I suppose but at this stage of his life as long as he’s happy I’m happy!

Choc Chip · 05-01-2018 12:19am

Question to all those that cook instead of raw feed- where do you get the bone % from? Do you then just feed more chicken feet, necks etc? I always find getting large meaty bones a problem...

Cherry Blossom · 05-01-2018 12:44am

Just include calcium rich veg not unlike the ingredients in high quality kibble. There is no need for a 'percentage' of raw bone. A raw chicken wing or lamb ribs is fine for a treat. I feed kibble but teddy doesn't get bones at all Ashe tries to swallow every thing whole and they don't agree with him anyway. There is no bone in kibble.

The bone percentage is a raw thing where the dog is fed exclusively on meat so bone is included to provide the dog with calcium.

aonb · 05-01-2018 10:48pm

At 13 if Cody doesnt enjoy his food, I wouldnt give a second thought to cooking it for him Cocker5. Ive always home-cooked food for my dogs. They just LOVE it. Its so nice for them to enjoy their food in their old age! Its so easy to just cook up a batch, then into a tupperware and store in the fridge. I warm portions a tiny bit in the microwave before 'serving' - brings out the yummy flavour/smell. You'll soon find which meals he likes best. My guys rotated with chicken thighs/chicken legs/beef mince/lamb mince/white fish/turkey - whatever was on special offer - fire in veg, brown rice, potatos, sweet potatos, and boil. I feed raw chicken wing/week, a nice big bone from our friendly butcher, a bit of sardines or tuna, bit of coconut oil, odd egg scrambled - the ideas are endless, Cody will soon be a happy chap with yummy interesting meals to look forward to

cocker5 · 06-01-2018 9:49pm

aonb wrote: »

At 13 if Cody doesnt enjoy his food, I wouldnt give a second thought to cooking it for him Cocker5. Ive always home-cooked food for my dogs. They just LOVE it. Its so nice for them to enjoy their food in their old age! Its so easy to just cook up a batch, then into a tupperware and store in the fridge. I warm portions a tiny bit in the microwave before 'serving' - brings out the yummy flavour/smell. You'll soon find which meals he likes best. My guys rotated with chicken thighs/chicken legs/beef mince/lamb mince/white fish/turkey - whatever was on special offer - fire in veg, brown rice, potatos, sweet potatos, and boil. I feed raw chicken wing/week, a nice big bone from our friendly butcher, a bit of sardines or tuna, bit of coconut oil, odd egg scrambled - the ideas are endless, Cody will soon be a happy chap with yummy interesting meals to look forward to

Thanks a million .. I know his happiness at this stage is what matters..

So tried him today on boiled lamb mince , carrots and broccoli.. so far so good

I heated it slightly too before serving.

Stupid question .. do u add any stock / flavours?

Bells21 · 06-01-2018 11:10pm

cocker5 wrote:

Stupid question .. do u add any stock / flavours?

Unless they are home made I'd avoid them as they contain so much salt. I'd look into homemade bone broth if you wanted to add something, could be very beneficial.

cocker5 · 07-01-2018 12:02am

Bells21 wrote: »

Unless they are home made I'd avoid them as they contain so much salt. I'd look into homemade bone broth if you wanted to add something, could be very beneficial.

Thought as much thank you will look into it x

aonb · 07-01-2018 6:45pm

cocker5 wrote: »

Thanks a million .. I know his happiness at this stage is what matters..

So tried him today on boiled lamb mince , carrots and broccoli.. so far so good I heated it slightly too before serving.

Stupid question .. do u add any stock / flavours?

I dont really add anything to the home cooked meals - I let the meat do the flavouring. Between the meat/veg/rice/potoatoes etc being boiled, it forms a nice "soup" which is quite flavoursome. I add enough water so that there is a 'soup' liquid base. I'll add some brown soda bread maybe instead of potatos/rice/carbs to soak up some of the soup and add more body and for variety. I cook all the chicken on the bone, then debone it before chopping it all up into bite size pieces. I might add a bit of salmon oil or coconut oil. If I have a nice big marrowbone, I'll add that to the pot, then scoop out some of the marrow into the pot. Variety is so easy when you're home cooking food.

Dogs sense of smell/taste is so hugely more sensitive than ours, I dont think anything is needed other than the food.

07-01-2018 9:51pm

aonb wrote: »

Dogs sense of smell/taste is so hugely more sensitive than ours, I dont think anything is needed other than the food.

Their taste is far inferior to ours but their smell far superior so I guess they do most of their 'tasting' with their noses!

I was given 'The healthy dog cookbook' for Christmas. I already flesh out my dogs kibble with chicken (boiled on the bone and then removed from it), rice boiled in the chicken water and sweet potato and green beans. Some pretty nice sounding stuff in the book though so I'll be a little more adventurous now!

misschoo · 16-10-2019 2:25pm

Hi there resurrecting this thread as I’m currently going through the same thing with my dog. She did well on RAW for nearly 2 years but now won’t touch it so I’ve switched her to home cooked. I give her minced beef, turkey mince, sweet potato, broccoli, sprouts, carrots, brown rice, kidney beans. I give her a raw egg once a week. I follow a home cooked page on Facebook and they’ve brought up supplementing calcium. Some of them use powdered egg shells but I’ve been looking at bone meal and I was wondering does anyone else use this or can anyone give me any advice as I’m not sure she would get enough calcium in her food from the veg.
Thanks in advance

tk123 · 16-10-2019 9:48pm

misschoo wrote: »

Hi there resurrecting this thread as I’m currently going through the same thing with my dog. She did well on RAW for nearly 2 years but now won’t touch it so I’ve switched her to home cooked. I give her minced beef, turkey mince, sweet potato, broccoli, sprouts, carrots, brown rice, kidney beans. I give her a raw egg once a week. I follow a home cooked page on Facebook and they’ve brought up supplementing calcium. Some of them use powdered egg shells but I’ve been looking at bone meal and I was wondering does anyone else use this or can anyone give me any advice as I’m not sure she would get enough calcium in her food from the veg.
Thanks in advance

You could use egg shell powder either made yourself or cdvet.ie sell it if you’re too busy!

You could also use something like now foods calcium powder. From your list above though you don’t seem to be feeding any offal which is also very important?

misschoo · 16-10-2019 9:58pm

tk123 wrote: »

You could use egg shell powder either made yourself or cdvet.ie sell it if you’re too busy! You could also use something like now foods calcium powder. From your list above though you don’t seem to be feeding any offal which is also very important?

It’s not a case of too busy to make it myself - it’s a case of not having enough egg shell to make enough! I’ll look those products up. No I haven’t added any offal yet - I’ve only being doing this a week so I will add the 2-3% offal which has been advised on the Facebook page I’m following.

tk123 · 16-10-2019 10:10pm

misschoo wrote: »

It’s not a case of too busy to make it myself - it’s a case of not having enough egg shell to make enough! I’ll look those products up. No I haven’t added any offal yet - I’ve only being doing this a week so I will add the 2-3% offal which has been advised on the Facebook page I’m following.

Oh sorry that wasn’t aimed at you lol! I’ve just seen posts on FB with people making it and wonder how they can use so many eggs to have so many shells lol! I think we’re probably on the same group - I find it a bit preachy and have been afraid to ask anything(!)

misschoo · 16-10-2019 11:23pm

tk123 wrote: »

Oh sorry that wasn’t aimed at you lol! I’ve just seen posts on FB with people making it and wonder how they can use so many eggs to have so many shells lol! I think we’re probably on the same group - I find it a bit preachy and have been afraid to ask anything(!)

It’s probably the group Emily Maleck runs? I find her aggressive in her posts and I’ve found all the files very overwhelming so that’s why I’m sticking to basics. She doesn’t want people sharing recipes which I find strange!

tk123 · 16-10-2019 11:59pm

misschoo wrote: »

It’s probably the group Emily Maleck runs? I find her aggressive in her posts and I’ve found all the files very overwhelming so that’s why I’m sticking to basics. She doesn’t want people sharing recipes which I find strange!

Yep that’s it!

Taiga · 20-10-2019 7:01pm

I was actually going to start a thread on cooking meals tonight. Can I muscle in here? I've been wondering the past while about cooking my fella's meals. It certainly seems cheaper and I'd know what he's eating.
My worry is that he's nearing 6 months old so how do I know he's getting enough nutrients?
Also, is there a site I can find recipes on? How often should I give him a bone to gnaw on? (That leads me to ask if he's too young for a bone from the butchers?

misschoo · 20-10-2019 7:20pm

Hi I’ve joined these two Facebook pages I’ve circled for recipes etc. I’ve also joined the one I’ve starred but the admin of the page shut posts down and keep directing you to their files which are full of information but very overwhelming. I find they don’t allow discussion so I don’t like it.

My dog has congestive heart failure so I supplement her with salmon oil, she gets a heart support multivitamin, a kidney support supplement, and I sprinkle on “Eat Me” herbs from Hollistic Hound. I’m conscious that I need to add kidney/liver to her diet as well as calcium so I’ll be adding this to the next batch I make.

Taiga · 20-10-2019 8:45pm

Thanks Misschoo, I've joined those. Sounds like your doggo is a very lucky pooch! It's not easy when they're poorly. I'm going to read a bit more and start planning menu's. The pup will be better fed than the kids!:pac:

misschoo · 20-10-2019 8:51pm

Taiga wrote: »

Thanks Misschoo, I've joined those. Sounds like your doggo is a very lucky pooch! It's not easy when they're poorly. I'm going to read a bit more and start planning menu's. The pup will be better fed than the kids!:pac:

Ha yes - she’s better fed than I am. She’s doing really well - just coughs now and again. I’m conscious of the sodium content in her food too. Let me know how you get on and share any recipes you find good!

Moving from RAW?

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