# Diving in ...



## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

So I have decided to give Darwin's raw food a try for Leo and Rex. I had Leo on The Honest Kitchen until the end of November when he started having severe stomach pains. Vets couldn't figure out any cause other than gas in his abdomen. I switched him to Canidae Pure Sea and he has done pretty well. He has had 2 minor incidents of stomach pain since I made the switch. 
Rexy was on kibble when he came and I moved him to Canidae when I switched Leo. He has had a bit of an ear issue that I haven't been able to clear up entirely. He's on a second round of Cameo Otic Ointment now. 
I am hoping that a switch to a completely raw diet will help though I have to say I am kind of nervous about it. 
For those of you that feed Darwin's do you have any suggestions for transitioning, feeding, storing, defrosting, or otherwise managing this diet?
Thanks in advance.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I'll have to take a picture of how I store the Darwin's in my fridge. Once a package is defrosted, I open it up, measure out what to feed Emmie on a scale, and then store the rest in a glass container with a lid. Darwin's also comes with a plastic container you can use for defrosting, so I usually have the glass container and the next package defrosting in that plastic container.

I love Darwin's; Emmie does well on it and the best part is her poos are small and non-smelly. I order bison, turkey, duck, & beef and whenever I defrost a new package, I rotate one of these proteins. Since she's so small, one package (8 oz) is around 3-4 meals for her. I don't recall the transition period but it probably wasn't very long. Because she doesn't have a sensitive stomach I doubt I went slow; however, this will vary for each dog.

I also make sure to wipe Emmie's face after each meal.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Thanks Marinagirl. A question - I have a 2.5 year old granddaughter who sometimes gets kissed by Leo. Is washing his beard after eating enough or do I have to keep them separated entirely?


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## patsan (May 22, 2016)

I have fed my Maltese raw for the past 14 years, with no problems.
Little kids have been around them and kissed them with zero problems either. I wouldn't keep them apart.
I found most vets are the ones trying to scare us not to feed raw food. Considering they get very little education on feeding while in school and the parts they do get are from the dog food companies, I find us dog owners usually have more knowledge in the feeding department.
I do use a holistic vet, after years of trying to find one and he's perfectly fine with raw feeding.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Thank you! Now just have to wait for the Darwin's introductory box to arrive!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I don't worry about germs when I kiss Emmie after she eats. I mainly wipe her face so it's not sticky, and I've never gotten sick from her. If you have a suppressed immune system you may want to be cautious and check with your doctor, but other than that you should be fine.


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## patsan (May 22, 2016)

MarinaGirl said:


> I don't worry about germs when I kiss Emmie after she eats. I mainly wipe her face so it's not sticky, and I've never gotten sick from her. If you have a suppressed immune system you may want to be cautious and check with your doctor, but other than that you should be fine.


Exactly! I should have said that in my post.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MarinaGirl said:


> I don't worry about germs when I kiss Emmie after she eats. I mainly wipe her face so it's not sticky, and I've never gotten sick from her. If you have a suppressed immune system you may want to be cautious and check with your doctor, but other than that you should be fine.


Yes, this is the only reason I don't feed raw.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Here are pictures of my Darwin's setup.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Thank you Marinagirl. Our first order will arrive Monday or Tuesday. I will start transitioning the boys as soon as the first pack of food thaws. I hope they like it and do well on it.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Well the Darwin's order arrived today along with a small Midea chest deep freezer. I put 2 of the beef packs in the refrigerator in the plastic container that came with the Darwin's food order. I will start with a bit either tomorrow or the next day as soon as it defrosts. Should I feed kibble in the am and then a bit of the beef in the evening or should I just put a bit of the beef as a topper on a slightly lesser amount of kibble?


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Pucks104 said:


> Well the Darwin's order arrived today along with a small Midea chest deep freezer. I put 2 of the beef packs in the refrigerator in the plastic container that came with the Darwin's food order. I will start with a bit either tomorrow or the next day as soon as it defrosts. Should I feed kibble in the am and then a bit of the beef in the evening or should I just put a bit of the beef as a topper on a slightly lesser amount of kibble?


Here's info on Darwin's site:
Transitioning Your Dog to a Raw Food Diet


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

So I may be jumping out of raw feeding as quickly as I jumped in! Rexy has thrown up both mornings he has had a bit of raw Darwin's added to his kibble. He eats it without a problem but it comes back up within 15 minutes. He hasn't thrown up at the evening meal. Aside from feeling bad for Rexy, cleaning up the regurgitated raw is gross! With all the animals and children I have cared for over the years, it really takes a lot to gross me out but this might do it.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

How odd!

I mean about him throwing it up, not about it being gross. I have heard though that you shouldn't mix raw with kibble because it digests at different rates, so I've never given both together. Does Darwin's suggest mixing them?


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Darwin's says to transition by adding a small amount of the new food to the current food and slowly over a few days to weeks ( depending on dog acceptance) increase new food and decrease old food. The food isn't really staying in his stomach long enough for much digestion to occur. Going back to all kibble tonight and will talk to Darwin's tomorrow if I get a chance.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

So after taking a bit of time away, I decided to try to feed Darwin's again since I have the remainder of the introductory shipment in the freezer. I chose a packet of duck and placed it in the plastic container Thursday night. It was thawed this morning (Saturday). I reduced Leo and Rexy's kibble by half and added some (less than a measured tablespoon) of raw duck. For Rex, I broke the amount up into tiny little bits spread over the reduced amount of kibble. Then I put a bit of water in the dish as I always do when I feed kibble. Rexy sniffed at the food then ate and it stayed down. Yeah! 
Leo doesn't seem to have an issue with the food so far. 
Maybe it was the beef that was an issue for Rex or maybe breaking up the raw into tiny bits rather than a mushed clump or reducing the amount of kibble a bit more who knows? The total amount he ate for breakfast isn't sufficient to sustain him and he has no excess weight so I will have to bump up the raw portion before too long. Anyway, we'll continue to try. I did talk to Darwin's and had them suspend the next shipment until I could decide if I was going to pursue raw feeding. We'll see how it goes.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

So this evening I decided to for go kibble entirely for Rexy and Leo. They both ate their duck meal and it stayed down. Fingers crossed that we are on our way to raw meals!


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Leo and Rexy have been on raw for a week and are doing well. They did both lose weight which they didn't need to lose so I am now trying to determine an appropriate portion for each of them. Based on percentage of weight the folks at Darwin's suggested that Leo and Rexy should have 1/4 of the half pound package twice a day. Over 5 days Leo dropped .50 lb. and Rexy dropped .80 lb. I doubled their portion so each dog has been getting a whole packet (1/2 lb.) over 2 meals per day. They are both maintaining weight on this portion size. Rexy weighs 9.2 lbs which is a little under the 9.5 lbs that I think is ideal for him. Leo is right at 11.5 lbs which is his ideal weight. 
Poops on the raw are REALLY small and the pups don't go as often - 1-2 times per day rather than a more typical 3 times per day. I have added pumpkin to Leo's as he is the one that is going just once per day and I don't want him to get constipated. 
Both dogs LOVE the food though neither dog has ever been picky about what they would eat. Leo hadn't had anymore tummy pain. We'll see how that goes over time.


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