# Raw Diet Question



## jabellar (Jul 9, 2008)

So Castro has been on the RAW diet (NV Medallions) going on 3 months now. 
We got some great results the first few weeks - coat was nice & shiny, eyes were bright, tearing stopped and Castro ate EVERYTHING on the plate. 

I make it a point to switch the different flavors up to give Castro some variety. I sprinkle a little parsley with the food. For treats, Castro gets his flossy, baa baa que lamb lungs and the beef bones (also from NV). Castro loves the Organic Chicken, Beef, and Venison; he's not too keen on the lamb, we are going to try the rabbit next time. 

Lately, I've noticed Castro just completely ignore his food - he doesn't eat with gusto anymore - heck, he hasn't eaten much - - - period! 

On Saturday, I put out 4 medallions in the AM; I had to toss it out after the medallions were sitting there for about an hour; same thing in the evening. He ate 4 medallions on Sunday, but that's about it. Yesterday, we again wasted 4 medallions in the AM, and another 4 last night... I know Castro isn't going to starve himself, and that he will eat when he's hungry - but I feel like I'm wasting all this food! 

A few questions...
How long can I leave RAW food out? Would it be safe to put the food back in the fridge if it's been sitting out for an hour? What supplement should I add to the food to make it more appealing to eat? 

We really want to keep him on RAW and would love to hear any suggestions on how we can do so... 

Thanks again for everyone's input, comments and support!


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

Wow, I sure hope you get some good answers. We went through the same thing. We tried cooking it too. I hated throwing so much food away so that's when I switched to Evo small bites kibble. It is very much like the raw but it doesn't spoil when they don't feel like eating. I hope you have better luck than I did.
Carole


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Well my guys have been getting alfalfa mixed in with their food for the last year and no problems whatsoever. They also get half a mini after each meal to freshen their breath and never had problem.

I've never ever read anything about carrots being bad for dogs. If anything all evidence says it's good for them. The question comes down to how much are you feeding. My guys would never get more than a full mini carrot. It's just too much food period.

Too much parsely on the other hand is not good. If it's just a sprinkle then that's fine.

If you want to make your NV extremely tasty for you dogs do the following. It's guaranteed to make them want it.

I would definitely say that if the food is out for an hour then throw it out. Frankly if it's not eaten within 15min I'd put it back in the fridge.

Buy a package of Nupro Gold for small dogs. It's a supplement for raw feeders. Boil some water, mix in with your NV Medallions 3-4tbsp of the boiled water and a quarter of a spoon of Nupro. Mix up in bowl. Watch your dogs gulp it down. I don't use NV for my guys, I make my own. But I mix in Nupro and hot water everytime I feed them. Once the water hits the Nupro my guys start begging for the food. Over a year now and they have never missed a meal.

I do think feeding the food cold doesn't attract the dogs to the food. I noticed that with my guys hence why I started mixing in hot water to bring out the smell and flavours.

http://www.nuprosupplements.com/


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

I also have been feeding my Beamer raw food for the past 16 months. I feed him comercial raw such as, Natures Variety, Healthypaws, Urban carnivore and Tollendans. II also feed hime bones and rabbit carcus. The bones I give him straight from the freezer. The food i defrost and give it to him straight from the fridge. He has never missed a meal since being introduced to raw.

Ryan


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

I wouldn't exactly call adding 3-4 tblsp as heating the raw food. It basically just warms it up rather than leaving it out for 30min at room temp. But doing that also brings out the flavour of the supplement. Yes my food contains ground bone in it and no adding the little bit of water does not cook them.

As well, if you have something to read about alfalfa please share, in all my reading I've never come across anything. Typically alfalfa is good for nervous, underweight or high strung dogs. It can also help with muscle or joint pains or with urinary problems such as crystals. As I mentioned, this gets rotated and in small quantities. Feeding any type of supplement in too large a quantity will cause problems. Dr Pitcairn also seems to think it's fine. But as I mentioned if you have anything I can read please share.

I feed ground chicken, beef, turkey, Bison and lamb all with bone in. I also feed them chicken necks 3-4 times a week and beef neck once or twice a week.+ I add various supplements to various batches that I make so that my dogs are getting a much more balanced meal over time.

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=4799


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## PepperToast (Oct 27, 2008)

DanielBme, 

Clearly, you know what you are doing when it comes to raw feeding. Your dogs are eating a great diet! You never know. I knew a lady that was buying raw food and then cooking it for her dogs because she was worried about bacteria!

As far as alfalfa is concerned, most documentation out there confirms what you are saying. I don't disagree that it has many benefits but... in my experience, a surprisingly large number of small dog owners (met via forums, chats, doggie parks, dog stores) have found alfalfa to be problematic. It does not harm them but, if they eat it, they vomit it up. This was not news to my vets and they agreed I should just remove it. It sounds like you only give your dogs a small amount as opposed to a substantial portion every meal. That, or your dogs do not have this sensitivity.

I was suggesting that Castro's issue MIGHT be the alfalfa in his food (he would be eating this every meal as mine were) as this is what it was for my two havanese, my MIL's havanese, a recue Yorkie/Chihuahua I had and the raw food store owners ****zu to name a few dogs that I personally knew. I think it is worth experimenting or at least considering. The carrots too. Fortunately neither are an essential part of a dogs diet and can easily be removed with no worries about health. Feeding raw means we have pretty good control over what we feed our dogs. 

To Castro's mommy,

I hope you know that I am just giving you a suggestion based on my experience. I hope you find a solution. I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs who won't eat or who were not fed properly. It tends to be my 'thing' and those types of dogs are the rescue dogs I end up with. There is a deep pleasure in seeing a previously undernourished dog come running and dancing with joy at meal time.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

I know that if you dog suffers from summer allergies then most likely alfalfa would not be recommended as it is a grass so it could cause problems such as itchy skin etc. 

As well if your dog has a very sensitive stomach items such as flax and alfalfa may be best avoided from what I read. I would just give it a try and see how your dog reacts. Like all things, if something changes in your dogs behaviour or health, use the process of elimination to determine what's affecting them.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

jabellar said:


> So Castro has been on the RAW diet (NV Medallions) going on 3 months now.
> We got some great results the first few weeks - coat was nice & shiny, eyes were bright, tearing stopped and Castro ate EVERYTHING on the plate.
> 
> I make it a point to switch the different flavors up to give Castro some variety. I sprinkle a little parsley with the food. For treats, Castro gets his flossy, baa baa que lamb lungs and the beef bones (also from NV). Castro loves the Organic Chicken, Beef, and Venison; he's not too keen on the lamb, we are going to try the rabbit next time.
> ...


Instead of putting 4 out at once how about simply putting one out for 15min. If he doesn't eat that put it back into the fridge and try later. If he eats it, then give him the rest. Might save you some money instead of throwing out the medallions.

I'm not sure how active your guy is but it could simply be he's not hungry. I have 2 guys who not only go out 3 times a day for a good walk but they also chase and wrestle with each other 2 or 3 times a day. So when I put food out they have definitely worked up an appetite.


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## jabellar (Jul 9, 2008)

thanks for everyone's suggestions and advise... 

The other day, I put out the medallions, and topped it with the chicken treats. To ensure that he didn't just take the treat, I smooshed the treat into the medallions. 

Castro walked over to the the plate, and meticulously tried taking the chicken treats without touching the medallions. By the time he was done, half of the medallions were off the plate, on the floor and all the chicken treats gone... the little stinker!!!! 

I know Castro likes his food at room temperature, but will try adding some hot water, to see if that'll entice him. I will be trying each suggestion listed - one of them SHOULD work! He's gotta get hungry eventually... 
Thanks again, all!


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Good Luck!

Don't forget you can also try other raw packaged foods such as carnivore or healthy paws. 

If you get the Nupro, he won't be able to pick it out since it's a powder.


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## arlene (Jul 28, 2007)

I have been feeding NV medallions for close to 5 years and everyone is happy and healthy. I add some Salmon Oil to it but that is about it. I free feed kibble but for the most part they ignore it (Fromm's at the moment - but I've used Evo and NV kibble as well). 

I feed my guys twice a day . . . the boys eat in their crates and Phoebe has her special corner . . . I put the food down and it is gone in minutes. We were in Florida over the holidays and all of a sudden no one was eating . . . they went for three days barely touching their food. I would leave it down for 10 minutes . . . then put it back in the fridge . . . then try again later . . . if not gone in 10 minutes I would toss it. It was getting ridiculous to keep throwing out food . . . so I decided to buy a couple of crates for my Florida house . . . Believe it or not . . . I put the boys in the crates and found a corner for Phoebe that was close to the crates and everybody started eating again - instantly. 

So my question is . . . did you change anything else that might effect eating habits?


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

jabellar, I'm wondering if maybe 4 medallions at each meal in the day is too much... ? I feed Ricky, 16.5 lbs., never more than 6/day, 3 at each meal. They aren't terribly active, though they play outdoors in the yard and in the house. Sammy, 10 lbs, eats 2.5 medallions at each meal. I do sprinkle dried liver on Sammy's sometimes if I see he isn't eating with gusto. 

I also leave the raw out for 10-15 mins, then cover and put in the fridge if Sammy doesn't eat it. (Ricky always eats everything I put out!) I try again later, and again, will put it back in the fridge. I don't throw the medallions out unless they've been at room temp. for 30 mins. or more. The meat is still o.k. for them to eat. It isn't like for us humans, where you don't want to leave raw out for very long. They have the proper enzymes to eliminate the worry of them being sick from room temp. meat. I've never left it out more than 15 mins. or so, but I do take it out and back into the fridge several times if, for some strange reason, Sammy won't touch it. Check the feeding guideline on the bag to see if you are giving the right amt. to Castro.

I would not worry one bit about adding hot water to raw that has minced bone in it. It would take a lot of hot water over a long period of time to cook that little bit of bone.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

This is why I don't do the raw thing. It's way too complicated.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Okay I have a question that may be silly  I know raw means no/low carbs and the reasoning behind that. But is okay to give Belle some raw with brown rice or couscous. She always tries to eat some of this off Dash and Dora's plate and it makes me wonder if she craves it cause her body needs it. If it is okay is it okay to give at the same time? Like a table spoon or two of brown rice on her raw medallions? I have done it a few times but I wonder if it something I can just do or am really not letting her get the full benefit of a raw diet....


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

Amanda,

I've heard that you should not feed raw and cooked at the same time, because raw and cooked digests differently. Never the less, I've added raw meat to my guys kibble without any ill effects.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Amanda, Julia is right about not mixing raw meat with kibble, but I wouldn't worry one bit about adding a spoonful of brown rice, cottage cheese, whole grain couscous, pulped veggies, ...... a little bit won't hurt or throw things out of whack, so don't worry.  All those things can be served cold or room temp. anyway so it's fine.

You just don't want to add too much at each meal time.

Oh, and as far as thinking Belle's cravings are because her body needs it.... I crave chocolate and desserts ALL the time but I KNOW my body sure doesn't need it !! LMBO


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