Switching to a RAW diet

As a few of you know I have been looking at in the future maybe getting another rescue. I feed Blue on a RAW diet and will be doing the same for the new arrival. What is the best course of action on changing the new dog over to RAW?
Is it best to continue to feed what the rescue centre has been until she has settled in more? If so what sort of timescale should I do this before even concidering changing to a RAW diet?
Thanks again for your continued advice

well as you no mike i swapped chance over at 18 months

they sent him with a box of bakers but he had EPIC squits so the bakers went to the roaches.

I think you are wanting an older dog aren't you rather then a pup?

Well with Chance i fasted him for the rest of that day he got home, and straight onto raw the next morning, starting with chicken wings/carcasses and he took to instantly

I'm on an american site predominately for raw feeding and we all have found it easier to swap dogs cold turkey regardless of age

Brilliant thanks Ella.
Yeah I'm looking at getting an older staff. That is better news for me TBH but I wouldn't want to force too much change on them if it was the wrong thing to do until they where more settled.

thought you were after an older staff

yes i would always recommend swapping to raw cold turkey (not like you would with kibble)

Also do bare in mind the older the dog the more then likely all they have eaten is kibble so may take longer to adjust to their new diet, so you may need to introduce foods more slowly

Will do. Have a good selection of chicken so I will just start with that at first. Then introduce turkey, lamb beef, offal etc later

yep sounds good

Thanks Ella.
Got a question I had on my mind answered.

no worries hope it goes well with the new addition!

i have to admit i didn't do it gradually - i just put them on it, mine have stomachs of steal anyway

A youngster can be swapped straight over - an older dog should be introduced gradually.

What do you think would be the best way to introduce it slowly Caryll? and at what stage should I start to introduce RAW to them? straight away or 4 months down the road when they are a bit more settled in for example

I'd do it straight away, fast the dog overnight and straight onto raw in the morning! I done it with Sierra, albeit she was 7.5 weeks so took to it better! She's pretty bombproof with her raw! Can fair put it away lol and eats anything put in her bowl

Caryll wrote:A youngster can be swapped straight over - an older dog should be introduced gradually.

really don't agree and from my experience makes switching alot harder and longer

I'm just open to all advice and then I can make the best decision for her

If you done it gradually, she may just refuse the kibble. I say swap straight away! Fast her over night and let her get her bearings and a bit of peace and then start on the raw in the morning.

Mike wrote:I'm just open to all advice and then I can make the best decision for her

from my experience no matter a dogs age i would swap cold turkey. It's very very different to feeding kibble and swapping brands and such

it's up to you at the end of the day though

It will probably be the way I will go but never hurt to get as much advice as possible. Thanks peeps, don't know what I would do without this forum.

Mike wrote:What do you think would be the best way to introduce it slowly Caryll? and at what stage should I start to introduce RAW to them? straight away or 4 months down the road when they are a bit more settled in for example

Straight away. No point putting it off, to be honest.

ella wrote:

Caryll wrote:A youngster can be swapped straight over - an older dog should be introduced gradually.

really don't agree and from my experience makes switching alot harder and longer

I know you don't agree, I think we'd already established that. How many dogs have you switched?

All I'm saying is that an older dog may get loose stools from a straight switch, whereas a youngster may not.

Caryll wrote:

Mike wrote:What do you think would be the best way to introduce it slowly Caryll? and at what stage should I start to introduce RAW to them? straight away or 4 months down the road when they are a bit more settled in for example

Straight away. No point putting it off, to be honest.

ella wrote:

Caryll wrote:A youngster can be swapped straight over - an older dog should be introduced gradually.

really don't agree and from my experience makes switching alot harder and longer

I know you don't agree, I think we'd already established that. How many dogs have you switched?

All I'm saying is that an older dog may get loose stools from a straight switch, whereas a youngster may not.

personally 2 dogs but have helped alot more people, but i'm in a lot of raw feeding groups, forums and whatever. Out of all the experience collectively it seems to work better switching cold turkey, that is from many hundreds of dogs of all ages

Whatever. Different opinions. Different choices.

sure is

I think what you have to be aware of, Mike, is that a straight swap may induce soft/runny poos for a day or two, and that will be more likely with an older dog than a younger one.

It's up to you to decide whether to put up with that for a couple of days or switch gradually. Having said that, some dogs won't eat kibble once they've tasted raw!

Thanks everyone I will take all advice on board and do a bit more reading on it myself. The more info I have the better chance I have of making the right decision for my circumstances.
Again thanks to everyone