# Switching to Raw



## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

I thought I'd switch Brody over to a raw formulation. I started him as a puppy on Orijen kibble and then switched to Acana because he was just pooping far too much. The poop amount has definitely reduced, but he still goes quite a lot. I've been meaning to try out the raw, but I procrastinate and he's 5 now and I still hadn't done it. I'm also hoping it'll help with breath.

I got a frozen patty formulation from a BC company called Pets Go Raw. They have about a billion different proteins to choose from from Goat to Bison to the standards. I'm going with Turkey because he seems to like it. He's supposed to get 1/4 pound per day. I give that to him at night (and I confess, I have to nuke it for a few seconds to take the chill off or Mr. Fussy Pants won't eat it) and he gobbles it down happily. 

Technically that's all he's supposed to get in the day. But he's STARVING - like crying and moaning and climbing all over me for comfort hungry. He typically likes to be near me but not in my lap, so that's unusual behaviour for him. As I was holding him on Sunday, his little tummy was just gurgling and churning away. I felt so bad that I caved in and gave him 1/4 cup of kibble. To me, that is kind of defeating the purpose of switching him to raw.

Is this normal, and do I just need to tough it out and ignore his crying (which is pretty hard) and hope he'll get used to it? I kind of feel bad for him. On the day he didn't get any kibble at all, I could already see how much less his poop output was. I thought about dividing the raw daily serving up into 2 servings, but that seems like such small servings, I don't know if it would help (but maybe it would).

Other than the hunger, he seems to really take to it, he's perky and happy and bouncy and playful.

Anyone gone through this? Advice? Maybe I'm just too wussy.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I think a small portion given several times a day would keep him more satisfied. If you are feeding one meal at night he is probably feeling hungry all day waiting for it. If you want to stick with one meal I would give it earlier in the day and give some treats in between.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I think you should split up Brody's raw meal into 2 meals. I feed Emmie Darwin's frozen raw and she gets 2 ounces twice a day.


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

Thank you, I will try splitting it up and see how that goes. I hate to see my baby suffering. The reason I went with once a day was mainly because he usually wasn't eating his morning kibble (maybe once or a twice a week he would) plus the portion looks so small. But we'll try that out and hopefully he won't be crying from hunger anymore.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Feeding kibble AND raw is a-okay (with 2 dogs, it's what we do to keep the cost down). You will still get the benefits of raw, just not as pronounced. The packaging on one of our raw treat bags says "A little raw goes a long way!" and it's certainly the truth.

That said, if a completely raw diet is feasible, that's always going to be the best option. Like those above me, I would recommend splitting it into two meals per day. Of course, not every dog is the same and you may need to feed him more than the bag recommends (ie a sporting dog that's in training for field work will eat almost double what's advertised). Get in contact with a nutritionist and see if they recommend feeding another amount.


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