F.A.O Caryll

Hi Caryll.
As you know, I'm getting Charlie home on sunday, and I intend to feed him raw. I was just wondering if you had any advice on when and how I should start this, and should I keep him on a high quality dry food while he's still young or perhaps add a bit of minced meat to get him accistomed to raw food? When he's older, I plan to feed him raw meaty bones, some tripe and some lamb necks like you suggested, maybe with some fruit and veg as a treat, but I haven't got a clue what to do while he's so young or when and how to introduce him to it. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Sorry to be a pain, but you're the only person I know that feeds raw and I can see from Dempsey's pics that he thrives on it and I want to do the same for Charlie.

sorry for buttin in shan but dont take at as read that he will go for a raw diet as iv known dogs that will only eat biscuits.
last night a bought memphis two lovely lambs hearts and he would not touch them same with tripe and liver.
a lot of pups get there taste for food early on and they will stick with it
the only things he will have are meaty bones and beef skirt

Oh really? I always assumed that most dogs would go for raw meat over biscuts anyday! Ah well, I'm gonna give it a go and if he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. At least I can say I tried

No, not all dogs will go for raw! Most will, though. For example, MOST dogs absolutely LOVE liver, cooked or raw, Dempsey won't even SNIFF at it - he hates it!

When you get him home, give him whatever he's been used to for a few days so that he can settle in without too much change.

Once you feel he is fully happy in his new environment you can introduce a little raw mince. Minced tripe is a good raw feed to start with. Chicken or lamb is also good, beef can be too rich & high in protein for a youngster. As you increase his food intake, just increase the raw element, not the commercial & soon you'll find he's just on raw! If you are worried at all about vitamin/mineral intake, you can always add a puppy supplement. When Dempsey was really young I used to sprinkle a small amount of SA37 on his food. Unfortunately that's no longer available, but any puppy supplement from your local pet shop will be fine.

A couple of times a week give him a raw chicken wing to chew on. These feeds at first must be strictly supervised. Although most pups will happily chew a chicken wing, some may try to swallow it whole! Once he starts to teeth, you can give him lamb ribs and then lamb necks. Don't give the big bones until his adult teeth are fuuly through, and even then, only as an occasional treat. The big marrow bones will be too rich as a day to day food.

Once you can see that he is managing bones well, then you can feed a raw meaty bone a day, plus whatever other meat you want - tripe/hearts/kidneys/liver/lung/spleen etc. Make sure, once he's on a full raw diet, that he gets offal at least once a wekk, plus some fish if possible (sardines, mackeral etc are all good - if you give him tinned stuff it saves you worrying about fish bones!)

Thank you so much Caryll. I think I'll keep him on his food for a week or so then introduce some minced lamb with it. And i'll remember to make sure he gets the offal and fish. I'll buy it all in bulk and freeze it to save me going to and from the butchers all the time! When he's on raw fully, how much would you recommend giving him each day and how many times? I know they dont need as much or as often as commercial foods......

a weaning puppy up to 3 months should be fed 4 times a day

Ok, will keep that in mind. Cheers Shane.

I've never really gone in for weighing food etc. I take it from the dog. If he's losing weight I up his food, if he's putting it on, I cut back a little.

Dempsey gets a raw lamb bone every day (half a neck or about 6 ribs), usually at lunchtime, but sometimes late morning, and then about 3/4 lb of tripe or offal in the evening. But remember, Dempsey is a Bull Terrier & being bigger will need more food than a staff. The bone can stay the same, but about 1/2 lb meat in the evening should be fine. That's of course, as Shane says, once he's on adult rations. Charlie will need 4 meals a day for a little while yet.

Ok, thanks for all the advice and tips, much appreciated

Great tips there,
Holly refuses to eat more than twice a day..... now that i am mixing raw with her dry is it ok that she has 2 bigger meals say 8am and then 5 pm?.. or should i try and do the 3 smaller meals and hope she eats them?
thanks
Mel

How long have you been mixing the two? Most dogs will eat if its got raw meat in it. If not, I would guess that 2 bigger meals are ok. But if she's getting tired and just wanting to sleep, try and see if she'll have a meal during the day to keep up her energy.

Yes, I'd try to get her eating 3 meals a day. It isn't the end of the world if she won't, but it would be better if she can.

You could try cutting down each meal slightly so that she's hungry for the next.

same as caryll you really would be better with three smaller if not four meals at her age and go down to three in a couple of weeks

bigwazza wrote:sorry for buttin in shan but dont take at as read that he will go for a raw diet as iv known dogs that will only eat biscuits.
last night a bought memphis two lovely lambs hearts and he would not touch them same with tripe and liver.
a lot of pups get there taste for food early on and they will stick with it
the only things he will have are meaty bones and beef skirt

Its true, some dogs can be funny. Tali has been fed on raw her whole life, she was eating chicken wings at 4 1/2 weeks (or trying to) but with some things she can be really wierd. She won't eat raw offal I have to sear it for her then she gobbles it, she won't eat fish either unless its cooked and doesn't have a head or tail on it.

Her Mum Skibadee on the other hand only went onto raw at about 3 years old and will eat absolutely anything, even whole mackarel with the heads on But then she does have a much stronger stomach, she never really brings anything back up whereas Tali will be sick if she eats raw fish.

Its so funny thought when she doesn't like the look of it, she walks round the bowl smacking her lips and if left too long will start shaking and foaming a bit at the mouth, freak!

Can I just ask what are the benefits of feeding a pup 3-4 times a day?

Molly would never eat that many times, I was lucky if I could get two meals into her a day.

Cornish-Muscle wrote:Can I just ask what are the benefits of feeding a pup 3-4 times a day?

Molly would never eat that many times, I was lucky if I could get two meals into her a day.

It's just that, when they are very young, they need far more nourishment, pound for pound, than they can eat in one or two sittings, so it's better to spread it out over 3 or sometimes even 4 meals a day.

Having said that, they are all different, and some will not eat 3 meals a day! (Dempsey would happily eat 6 if I let him!)

Caryll wrote:

Cornish-Muscle wrote:Can I just ask what are the benefits of feeding a pup 3-4 times a day?

Molly would never eat that many times, I was lucky if I could get two meals into her a day.

It's just that, when they are very young, they need far more nourishment, pound for pound, than they can eat in one or two sittings, so it's better to spread it out over 3 or sometimes even 4 meals a day.

Having said that, they are all different, and some will not eat 3 meals a day! (Dempsey would happily eat 6 if I let him!)

Ah, I guess that makes sense! Thank you.
And I'm glad it's not just Molly that was stubborn