Rescue Journal

Tucker is finally eating raw!!

 ·  Jul. 9, 2008

Yeah :)

We are dedicated raw feeders and Tuck just wasn't into it when he arrived. The poor guy didn't have a clue what to do with a knuckle bone. We reluctantly fed him kibble and canned food, but kept trying to entice him to try raw with tidbits of what everyone else was eating.

Today Tucker was switched over to raw completely (stewing beef, cut into dainty bite-sized pieces that he hoovered). Hopefully it'll help with his dry skin and fur, and he'll gain some weight. Even if it doesn't, we'll feel better knowing that we're giving him the highest quality food we can.

Not only is Tucker a very good dog, he's a very smart dog!

Comments

Heidi

oops, thanks Angelina for you info too, I missed it the first time! Can Trev have chicken with his allergies? I was told to stay away from the more common proteins like chicken/beef/liver etc. Or does being raw make a difference?

Larraine

I adopted my german shepherdx from LAPS. When I got her she didn't have much fur and skin abrasions. She had been found in some field. I put her on the RAW food diet. The first day she danced around the food in fear. She had no idea what it was. Our other dog already ate the raw food. After two days Charlotte was eating raw and now 2 years later has a thick coat of fur and she is a very happy girl. When I took her back to LAPS to visit the person who had picked her up was shocked at how good she looked and her thick fur.

Heidi

Wow what a crew! your'e a mini Saints! Thanks for the info Deb and Lynne, I thought you had to buy it from a pet place and measure/weigh it out. I'll look it up and consider it for Trev. I'm sure he'd love it and being one one food for life due to his allergies doesn't seem very appealing.

lynne

heidi if you go ongoogle and just type in raw food diet for dogs it has everything you want to know. when i first put my dogs on it i was soooo careful to measure out just the right amount of everything and thought if i have to do this all the time i wont. so i did not. i made sure they had a decent ratio and they loved it. it fills them up so they need less. anyways get some info off the computer.

Deb

We have 10 dogs. Mollie (Pomeranian, 5lbs of toothless shark who can clean a chicken leg in 15 minutes flat), Mabel, our 17 year old Shih Tzu who prefers her chicken cooked, Madison, our 15 year old recent stroke survivor, a GSD X Blue Heeler, Tucker, our 15 tear old new-convert-to-raw Lab, Kirby, 9, a Retriever X, known locally as the only purebred North American Brown Dog, MacKenzie, 8, a Husky X Shark with many, many issues, Clio, our 5 year old blind, brain injured BYB Shih Tzu rescue who was thrown from a moving car (PEOPLE SUCK), Sienna, Angelina's rescued Pittie, who is 3 and sweet, Piper, also 3, a Pug Thug, and Kiefer, 2, a gorgeous Newfoundland who knows just how valuable he is as eye candy. :)
We've also got a Maine Coon Cat, Bella, who hates everyone but Chris, two hedgehogs, Booker and Brodie, and Angelina's Cockatiel, Hazel.

Trev WILL benefit from raw feeding, Heidi! Try him on some chicken backs and necks, they are easiest to digest. You can pick up a package at any grocery store you might frequent. The crunching is a little scary at first, especially with chicken, but raw chicken poses Trev no harm, only cooked bones. Truly, it is as simple as buying Trev meaty bones wherever you buy your own food. He does not need vegetables, fruit or grains, but he does need organ meats occasionally (liver brownies work for our crew, as does dehydrated liver, beef or chicken, and they go gonzo over the treats!)
Do some of your own research and take the plunge. It can't hurt. :)

Angelina

We feed what you find in grocery stores. in Vancouver we like to shop at Victoria 88, on victoria and 31st?

you generally want to feed 3-5% of your dogs weight, although some need more and some less. you will want to start your dog off on chicken and then branch out from there. Our dogs get chicken every two days and beef or pork in between.

Heidi

How many animals do you guys have Deb? Where do you get the raw food from? There is a place in Vancouver that I stopped in at but it seemed too complicated (weights and portions of veggies to meat) and too far away to get. I thought Trev with his allergies might benifit from raw.

Deb

Our dogs love you, Eva. Kirby's affection is not easy to earn, but if he trusts you, and knows that you are good and kind, he's your friend for life. I've been Kirby's mama for over eight years, and I can count on one hand the number of people he reacts to as joyfully as he does you.
Maddie looks great, doesn't she? For a 15 year old who had a stroke a week ago, she's doing exceptionally well.
All of our dogs enjoy having you here, they know when a person is genuine. Some might be more affectionate (or demanding of attention, like Kiefer) than others, but they all love "Nan".

Eva Stock

Thought I would tell you about Mo's babies too. Levi looks at me warily, as if he thinks I am cofused about being at his house, Roxy cusses me out for coming, tolerates me while I am there, then really cusses me out for leaving. It is a riot. The kitties follow me, talk to me and act as if I am a little peculiar. I love them all!! Eva

Eva Stock

Thanks to Deb, Chris and Angelina for sharing their fabulous dogs with me. Maddie was so great and greeted me with a huge smile. Kirby gave me hugs and kisses. Sienna layed her head on my knee and cuddled with me, Mckenzie let me kiss her and listened while I talked to her, Tucker decided to hang out with me for awhile. And the biiig dude talked to me and let me hug him too. Keifer that is. All the little guys let me hold them too. Bella (the cat looked at me momentarily and went back to sleep). I think she was letting me know she would check how well I cleaned her area later. I had a great time, thanks, you guys. Nan Aka Eva

Deb

Our dogs get pure meat and bone, no fruit or vegetable matter, and no grains. We made the switch from meat/bone meal/veggies combos after Chris did a huge amount of research, and we were convinced that the diet closest to that which a dog would eat in the wild, as a carnivore, is one of meaty bones. So our dogs get chicken quarters or legs, or thighs or necks and backs. Kiefer used to regularly get half a chicken, but he doesn't need that much food anymore. They get bone-in steaks, cross ribs, oxtails and a whole lot of other species that I won't elaborate on. They are all hale and hearty dogs, and we rarely ever have to visit the Vet. They love to eat, and don't mess around when dinner is served.
Kirby is fussy. He rejects more and more food that he is offered, the older he gets, and MacKenzie will often refuse anything but kibble, although she used to eat purely raw. It's not for every dog, certainly, and there are always going to be people who give you grief, mostly out of pure ignorance.
People do what they feel is best for their furry family members. I'm just glad Tucker-Mucker has come around.

lynne

i always fed my dogs raw and they just loved italthough i did get flack from a lot of people who apparantley did not know the first thing about the diet. so much better for them ar least i think. they especially loved chicken legs with back attached and hamburger with raw ground up veggies and fruit mixwd in. i read somewhere that blueberries are very good for them and their brains they equated it to humans having plugged arteries and the same kind of thing happens to dogs brains and berries seem to help. alittle tidbit of info.

Chris T

Dogs are funny that way - they instinctively know what is good for them!

Carol

i wondered how long it would take for you to convince him....apparently not all that long.