changing diet...advice needed! :)

hi i have a 6 month old bitch and up until now shes been on a dry diet but to be honest even though i mix it up for her and change flavours every other week shes lost interest...although she does have a full sunday roast evry week the yorkie puds been her favourite however i am wanting to switch her to a raw diet as its cheaper in the long run and much better than the dry! i was just wondering what the best way to switch her diet over was, i dont just want to do a straight swap in case of stomach upset etc. any advice would be appreciated

I don't feed raw but I think the general opinion is that you can just switch straight away Xx

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t6367-barf-again-for-caryll

thats a good link above, I feed billy raw cause he was really fussy, I just changed right away

If you are going to buy fresh meat for you dog freeze it for 72 hours so it can kill any bacteria...

Come on Caryll where are you....

Personally i did a straight swap with both my two and never had a problem. Have a look at this sit for some ideas

www.preymodelraw.com

You can switch straight away, but I'd have a good read up on the various ways of feeding first. Here are a few sites to have a look at. they are reasonably similar, but there are differences, and what will suit one person may not suit another...

www.preymodelraw.com
http://www.krisannriorawfeeding.com/
http://rawmeatybones.com/petowners/whatisrmb.php

If your dog isn't chicken intolerant, then a good first meat source will be chicken wings. If your dog tends to 'bolt' his food, then give them frozen to start with as that will encourage him to chew rather than swallow whole! Once he's got the hang of it you can try half a chicken carcass, or some lamb breast or ribs. Don't forget that you will need to feed a little offal from time to time (kidneys/liver/spleen etc).

Never fed raw, so i know bugger all about it, but have wondered, whats the score with poultry bones fed in a carcus ? arnt they like the worse thing for getting stuck/splintering etc ?

Andy wrote:Never fed raw, so i know bugger all about it, but have wondered, whats the score with poultry bones fed in a carcus ? arnt they like the worse thing for getting stuck/splintering etc ?

chicken bones only become a problem when cooked as there softer
also you need to make sure the chicken is really fresh as that can effect the bone aswell

Ahhh right, cheers mate

Vlad has roo meat and dry food in the morning and eggs and dry food for dinner. He absolutely LOVES his eggs! We portion everything out so he gets the correct amounts of everything He is muscular, healthy teeth and gums and a very shiny coat. He's growing nicely

Andy wrote:Never fed raw, so i know bugger all about it, but have wondered, whats the score with poultry bones fed in a carcus ? arnt they like the worse thing for getting stuck/splintering etc ?

Cooked chicken bones are terrible things - they splinter very easily & make needle sharp points. Raw, though, they stay quite bendy & break down well in the dog's stomach acid. It's the same with all bones, though; cooked bones (no matter what animal they're from) can splinter & produce sharp points.

Ahh right I've never looked into it cus I've never fed raw as I said, so I've learned summut there

what about those long needle-like bones you get in chicken legs/wings ? are plyable enough for the dog to cope with when raw ? (cus they look horrific for a dog on my roast chicken drumstick )

Seriously, they're fine as long as they're raw! A friend of mine's BT bitch has recently (well, 5 weeks ago) had a litter of 7 pups. They are now all on raw diet & you should see them chewing away at their chicken wings! He won't give them the drunsticks yet cause their teeth aren't strong enough.

thanks for everyones advice! im going to loook at all the links and decide whats best

I agree you should not rush in changing the dog's diet. I thing there are food guides about american staffordshire terrier's diet.