# Help they hated the Raw



## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

:frusty:Is this normal for some of the dogs? What should I do next?

Today I started the raw and it was not a very good beginning. I read that you should start with a chicken or turkey neck. I was all excited for I thought they would go nuts with the turkey necks. I placed them on the floor and both dogs go over and sniff each other’s. Bailey literally back-up and Simba gave me the look "you got to be kidding". Called both boys onto the coach hoping they would start eating them if I held them. NOPE. Well, Simba did a little bit but Bailey no way. Now I am a little anxious and thawed a Nature's Variety chicken patty. When it thawed, I divided it in half, then little peices and placed it in their bowls...meanwhile they were whimpering because they were hungry, again, they sniff, and Bailey backs up further this time. I tried hand feeding them….no way. An hour later they permitted me to hand feed them the CP which they ate very grudgingly. In addition, I thought maybe they did not like the bones for they were cold and they are used to warm food so placed the bones in plastic bags and hot water for a little bit…and still wouldn’t eat them. Now what do I do?


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Colleen, I think you keep introducing it. Some will even start out with cooking the meat and doing it less and less each time they put it out. Dasher won't eat raw at all though. He can smell it and he backs up like what you are describing. I have introduced it countless times but he doesn't like it and he is fine with refusing it several days in a row. At one point, he wouldn't come in the kitchen. He didn't eat for 3 days and I quit and gave back into Evo. I just gave up on him eating raw.


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Amanda, thanks! I will try what you said for dinner. I'll first intro the raw chicken bones again and if don't work....cook the madallions. I really wanted them on a raw diet to see if it changed their coats, stain hair, etc. I'll let you know how it goes!!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Colleen ,what were you feeding before raw? Just remember not all dogs will like raw.


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## karlabythec (Nov 9, 2008)

I have also read, I think on the NV site, that you can mix the kibble with the raw when switching...some say you shouldn't, but there are other opinions too.
Maybe you could try adding some very hot water to it (just a bit)...and stirring it....with a bit of kibble too? 
Our cat is on raw...Gracie loves to go clean up his dish if he leaves some. LOL I thought about switching Gracie too...and still may.


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## deejay (Aug 19, 2008)

No advice but I have two dogs who think they should catch their own food. Simone my toy poodle caught a bird in the backyard today and her and Chico ripped the feathers off and ate it. Ugh.I disposed of the head but the feathers are still all over the yard. It was robin.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

If your Havs don't like raw don't sweat it. Just go back to a healthy kibble. However, if you want to enhance the flavour you could do the following for the patties. Mix in a bit of Nupro supplement with the patty and mix in a few tablespoons of hot water. The nupro supplement when mixed with water makes for a very tasty gravy.

The only problem is if your dogs still don't like the raw, then you are stuck with the Nupro.


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## Eva (Jun 20, 2008)

You can also try mixing it with a little of their favorite canned food or add some cottage cheese to it. 
I've read that mixing raw with dry kibble is a bad idea because the raw usually digests more quickly than dry food.
When you mix them together it takes longer for the raw to digest and it can cause more bacterial growth which can make your dog sick.


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

I have tried Cicero on raw several times, thinking it would be good for him...he will not touch it. After a year, I'm just going to have to settle on what he does like and eat. He is a picky eater!!


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

LuvCicero said:


> I have tried Cicero on raw several times, thinking it would be good for him...he will not touch it. After a year, I'm just going to have to settle on what he does like and eat. He is a picky eater!!


I think Cicero has good taste - didn't you say he was waiting for your DH to grill some meat for him on the barbecue???


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

Jane, I just wrote in another thread about how I have tired to get Cicero on kibble. No food or treats for 4 days...and he will not touch dry kibble. I caved in tonight. Yep, looks like DH will have to keep the grill going...and I have to boil those chickens. He has us wrapped around a big fuffy paw...lol


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Tonight I cut the turkey necks into small pieces, the boys sniffed and this time both boys backed up rather quickly. You would have thought it was poison. The chicken medallions got the same reaction. I do as Amanda suggested and heated them up just a tad in the microwave. Bailey chomped it down, Simba "no way". Simba's medallions go back in the microwave and heated a little bit more, they are still raw in the center and I mixed it with their kibble, Natures Logic. Finally, Simba ate but I feel it was out of hunger and not for the taste. That is before I read what Eva wrote. 
Dave, they were on puppy kibbles, Nupro until last month and then I switched to Adult Natures Logic. Bailey liked it but Simba, Mr. Finicky ate only when starving. This week I mix kibble with scramble eggs and cheese and that was a winner! However, I did not know if eggs would be good for them, every meal so that is what pushed me to go with the raw. 
Tomorrow I will try it all again. When I was sitting on the kitchen floor trying to feed them I thought of all the dogs I had in the past and what they ate. They ate regular store bought dog food and lived to ripe old ages except for Rags, who had other issues. My grandmother, who cooked meat until there was no redness at all, would be turning in her grave if she knew what I was doing!!! She was petrified of undercook meat. Oh my and if she knew I was giving bones she would try to take the boys away from me!! DH just shakes his head. It is a hard concept but I like what I read in many of articles and on the forum. So we will see tomorrow! Thanks for all the input!


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Colleen~ At first, Tori didn't like the raw and reacted in much the same way you describe your boys as acting. I just kept offering it to her (warmed slightly) over a few days (maybe a week?)and she eventually began eating it. I think her hesitation may have been because it was so different from what she was used to eating. Now, all I do is thaw it, and as soon as she knows that's what she's getting to eat, she starts whining, and puts herself in "a down" by her dish and impatiently waits for me to give it to her.


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Thanks Leslie! I will keep trying. Did you give Tori kibble that week?


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Tori still gets kibble and canned. She's on The Rotation Diet.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Leslie, do you do all Nature's Variety? Does Tori have any problem switching between them, like upset stomach or loose stools? Do you feed various types of meats or stick with only one as you rotate through the three types of food?


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Sheri said:


> Do you feed various types of meats or stick with only one as you rotate through the three types of food?


Leslie, I watched the video and it makes a lot of sence. On Monday I will go get the other items. Do you switch each meal or do the same food week?


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Breakfast, I boiled the chicken necks for a few minutes and they really liked them! I think I made a mistake by cutting the necks into pieces for I found them where they think they buried them.... in a blanket on the couch! Silly dogs but I don't want them to bury raw bones and then eat later when they could possible be bad. We went to the park today and I let them run wild and boy did they love that....they were free until they both gave each other a look and took off up over the ridge. The whole park is surrounded by woods and far from any roads. DH had to run after them for I couldn't keep up. They're all zonk out now!


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## Eva (Jun 20, 2008)

sweater32 said:


> Breakfast, I boiled the chicken necks for a few minutes and they really liked them!


I know that you meant well but please don't cook any raw other than the raw medallions.
Cooked bones splinter when your dog chews on them and can cause major problems.
The NV medallions are okay since the bones in them are already finely ground.


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Hi Eva, The water boiled only for about 2 minutes and the bones were not cooked at all. But I will be careful.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Sheri said:


> Leslie, do you do all Nature's Variety? Does Tori have any problem switching between them, like upset stomach or loose stools? Do you feed various types of meats or stick with only one as you rotate through the three types of food?


Sheri~ I don't do all NV. I use their raw and sometimes their canned. She won't eat their kibble, though, so she gets TOTW kibble. She prefers their wetlands version (duck & pheasant based) but, I give her their salmon one, too. I also rotate what brand and meat types of canned she gets (Merrick, Evo, Evangers, Canine Caviar, etc) She has never had any stomach upset or loose stools.



sweater32 said:


> Leslie, I watched the video and it makes a lot of sence. On Monday I will go get the other items. Do you switch each meal or do the same food week?


Colleen~ She gets kibble most mornings (occasionally she gets a chicken/turkey neck). Then, each evening she gets either canned or NV medallions. I don't have a set schedule as to which she gets. I do need to give her more raw meaty bones, though. She's only getting those a couple of times a month and I'd like to increase it to a couple of times a week.


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Yesterday the only thing the boys had to eat were the chicken necks and medallions. Bailey wouldn't eat dinner. Today both boys are constipated and Bailey has thrown up three times. I offer them their regular kibble and both of them refused it. I ususally only let the food available 20-20 minutes and then I put it away but today I'm letting it on the floor since everything has been so new to them.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

You definitely shouldn't cook the necks. They are soft bones and do cook very quickly. They may feel uncooked but that's because they are soft bones. I really wouldn't do that at all.

They probably threw up because the bone in the chicken neck didn't digest very well since it was cooked.

I think you are stressing yourself out too much over this. If they don't like raw, just feed a good kibble or mix with canned.


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## sweater32 (Dec 12, 2008)

Your right and I won't cook the chicken at all anymore. I am stressing over this and not quite sure why. Maybe it's because I had reservations before I started it. They didn't eat all day so tonight I fixed their kibble with eggs and cheese and they gulped it down. I think I rushed this to quickly and need to take a little bit more time for them and me to get used to it.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Colleen, 

I wouldn't stress over this, if they don't like raw, so be it. My Bugsy HATES raw and won't eat it period. He does enjoy his home cooked meals with a bit of kibble mixed it.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

juliav said:


> Colleen,
> 
> I wouldn't stress over this, if they don't like raw, so be it. My Bugsy HATES raw and won't eat it period. He does enjoy his home cooked meals with a bit of kibble mixed it.


That is exactly like Dasher. He won't touch the raw bones either even though he did as a young puppy. With Dora, I have to be careful cause she will eat the raw really fast and vomit. I do a rotation with her like Leslie except usually by day- like one day raw, one day kibble.

But I do a little of meat, rice, and veggie, mixed in with the kibble and Dash as a puppy was a horrible picky eater and now he is a champ.... well as long as I dont put raw on his plate! But if Dora leave some kibble or pushes it off the plate, he is always grabbing it.


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