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Hi, I've just started giving my dog raw food. After watching dogfooled on Netflix I started reading about raw feeding and started to realize it is the best option. So I did the math, checked the fat/protein/amount according to her weight, everything set up. I started with minced 10%fat meat and she did good, so I added some liver because I've read it's good. The result, same day my house had vomit and diarrhea all over the place, carpet, bed, living room, kitchen, bedroom, everywhere!!! We stopped giving liver, but It took 3 days to reestablish a good poop and eating. So now I've tried some diced lean meat and chicken, apparently the chicken was refused. I've read here that the poop amount decreased is normal, also the appearance, her is tiny, very dark and runny. -Any tips to make her poop better? -Any more parts of the cow that should I avoid , like liver? I added some shredded vegetables, but it seems she finds a way to separate them from meat and just let them untouched. -Is it bad to give only minced meat? I mean for the jaws because she doesn't have to chew a lot. I've read here that people buy "premade" meat, but I have no idea where to get it and I think it's cheaper and healthier to just buy meat in grocery store weekly and prepare myself. If the idea is reduce the processed food on industries, buying pre-made mix is a way of buying the same, but "lightly" processed. But I know on those mix they have bones and more things, instead of just meat. I already add some fish oil and coat supplement, because she is mostly bald. Although I really have to confess, she loves minced meat and her bad breath is really better!

Raw has been an adventure in the past few weeks, I got a little freaked out over a bout with the big D, but I'm sticking with it. I have a few questions so far.. 1- What do you use to keep everything sanitary? I've got stainless steel bowls and always clean them right after they eat. I rinse, spray with diluted bleach water, rinse, then wash with hot soapy water. I usually do the same for other surfaces that came in contact with raw meat. Pretty sure this is close to the method I was taught when I got my food handlers card years ago.. BUT even diluted the bleach smell kills my sinuses and irritates my asthma.. anyone know of anything else I can use that actually works to kill germs but doesn't smell so bad?? Am I overdoing it? 2-I live in a SMALL apartment. The kitchen is the only place without carpet and that is also small. Feeding them large whole pieces of bone in chicken doesn't work since they always drag it somewhere carpeted to eat it. I'm not about to tarp my living room or section off the kitchen every day, so I just chop up the pieces with my cleaver (which I kind of like doing). I try to keep the chunks large and not splinter the bones too much.. is it ok for them to eat it like that? They still chew the pieces but don't drag them all over the house this way.. 3-How long does it take for their digestive system to adjust to eating this way? I know every dog is different but is there a general timeline? I previously thought Gambler was sensitive to chicken, but he seems to be fine with raw chicken.. however he did have wicked diarrhea last week (about 10 days into the diet, which is a long time for him to show sensitivity, as it usually takes less than 24 hours) so I'm a little concerned that I might be feeding him something that he's sensitive to. 4-With Gambler's sensitive stomach, should I try a probiotic to help him transition? 5- Chicken skin.. should they be eating that? Right now I'm cutting about half of it off.. should I just let them eat it?

After that super long post about what dry food I should try next (I ended up with Earthborn, then back to Iams Sensitive) I decided, after tons of reading and recommendations (thanks Remolacha and NeedleNoseJake) I've finally made the jump to raw. It's been only 3 days, and I don't want to put the cart before the horse.. but they're both doing good so far. Here's what I did... I read the Raw Feeding Basics super thread... http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/242512-raw-feeding-basics/?hl=greyhound9797.. and after deciding to stop overthinking the bejesus out of it (or I would never get anything done) I just ran to the grocery store next door and bought a big pack of chicken thighs (no added salt), chopped it up and threw some on top of their morning kibble (in the right proportions). Holly absolutely loved it. She loves any food though, haha. Gambler sniffed at it, licked it a couple times, then went back to sleep. Later on in the day, I chopped it up more and he gobbled it down. The next morning their poops were amazing. Same thing the next day, raw chicken with bones on top of their kibble. For the first time in goodness knows how long, Gambler actually came when I called him for breakfast. He chomped down a bone too. Now he happily runs to the kitchen for food. He's never done this for any "dog food". Their poops continue to be awesome. Not soft, and very minimal, with very little effort to go (especially on Gambler's part that's freaking awesome). He seems to have no problem with raw chicken. There has also been almost no gas, and if there is, it doesn't smell like toxic smokey rubber. Then something weird happened.. I sat down to eat my own food, and neither one of them came begging! I also noticed this today.. Gambler is less... "puffy". He looked like he gained weight over the past couple months though he actually didn't. He was just looking extra flabby lately even though he wasn't eating more or getting less exercise. I looked at him today on a walk and noticed he looked extra handsome and lean I don't want to jump the gun, because let's face it.. it's been 3 days. And they're still doing about 50/50 with kibble.. But so far so good! I'm crossing my fingers that it only gets better!

Sorry guys.. nevermind.. couldn't delete

Hi everyone.. So I've been searching and searching through GreyTalk for topics on feeding and though there's a lot of good info I still can't find exactly what I'm looking for. I'd also like more specific advice if anyone wants to chime in. So here's the low down. I have 2 Greyhounds Hound #1, Gambler is a 5yo (will be 6 in February 2016) male. He weighs around 67-69. Coincidentally this was also his racing weight (If I'm reading the charts correctly). I will have had him for 3 years in January. I'm not deliberately trying to keep him at his racing weight, this just seems to be his normal maintenance weight. He usually gets about 3 cups (all together) of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream dry kibble with a couple tablespoons of TOTW canned Southwest Canyon or High Prairie mixed in since he gets bored with his food. He typically eats a little less than this during summer when he's not exercising as much and a bit more during winter when he exercises and runs more. I was always able to free feed him and he was never one of those dogs that would eat until they pop or when they were already full. HOWEVER... in the past couple months.. his poop isn't very firm anymore (it's never been very firm). He's taking much more time than usual to go. He's normally picky about where he goes, but all the sudden it takes 2-3 times longer for him to find a spot, and he strains more. He doesn't have diarrhea but its more like.. over ripe banana soft. And light green. He was healthy on his recent vet check. I'm inclined to think TOTW changed something. Even if they didn't I'd like to change feed since obviously something isn't agreeing with him. --When I first adopted him, I fed Iams sensitive because I couldn't find anything that would firm up his poo. That worked great for a long time. At least I thought so. --6 or so months ago I started feeding TOTW Pacific Stream and he was much less "snarky", had more energy and was more calm in general. I don't want to go back to Iams for this reason. --I'm on the fence as to whether he's sensitive to chicken. The first months of adoption a chicken based food made him nauseous, as did any pieces of chicken we gave. Chicken was stopped, he was switched to fish based food and I avoided all chicken. However a few months ago he at some chicken jerky at a restaurant and was completely fine after. --I do know he absolutely CANNOT have dairy. No Yogurt, no cheese, nothing. --Pumpkin does nothing but make his diarrhea orange. --Fish oil/ any oil added gives him an upset stomach (even if just a little) Here's a recent pic: Hound #2 is Holly, She just turned 3 on November 1st, weighs about 55lbs and I've had her since.. her birthday on the first this year She was eating Authority Chicken kibble at her foster home (which she was at for about 9 months). And did fine on that. I transitioned her over to TOTW these past few weeks because it's just easier to feed them both the same thing. She eats pretty much the same as Gambler, 3 cups a day. She doesn't get the wet food as much as I don't want to throw too many ingredients in her food yet. She however is a canine vacuum and will eat and eat and eat and always seems hungry. She isn't as sensitive as he is. She definitely has more energy than Gambler. However with the TOTW food, her poops are much softer, a little greenish, and she poops much more. I understand it hasn't been long and she could still be transitioning, but it makes me suspicious if they are both having issues. Here's a pic of her (and me) Their Exercise: I live in an apartment so playing in a yard is not an option yet unfortunately. They get a 30-40 min walk in the morning. 15-20min in the evening, and another 30 or so around 8-9pm. I take them to a baseball field to run until they're tired once a week. Sometimes I can get there twice a week. Ideally I'd like to give them the same food to make it easier, but is there a good chicken (and other bird) free dry food that's good and gentle on the stomach??? I would love to switch them to a raw diet but I'm worried about the cost / chicken element / space ( I live in an apartment). I'm still researching raw but need something they can thrive on in the meantime. Thoughts??

This is really interesting and goes against what a lot of raw feeding information says about raw digesting faster than kibble and that there is danger in mixing the two. I personally feed both raw and kibble and have for years, so I appreciated this piece and am reassured that I am not putting my pups at increased risk. http://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2015/01/08/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw/

Help please! I have been feeding only raw food to my Riley since August 20 and he is doing fantastic with it!! When I brought him home last September he weighed 73 pounds, which was his racing weight, but now he is up to 81 pounds. Is that too much of a gain for him? Should I try to get him back around 73-75 pounds? He had a lot of problems with food sensitivities and never showed much excitement for his food. Since he has been on raw his health is much better, he is more active, and he seems to feel much better. He also LOVES his food now! He eats each meal in minutes and always acts like he is still hungry. He will go back to his bowl a few times to lick and sniff it. I have been using a raw food calculator to figure out how much to feed him. It showed 24 ounces a day to get him to around 75 pounds, so I have been giving him 24-28 ounces a day. Is that enough or should I feed him more? Does he look like he is at a good weight? I don't want him to be overweight but I don't want him to be hungry all the time either. Thank you!! Michelle