A Few Technical Questions On Raw Feeding

[Guest HeatherLee]

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?

Edited December 31, 2015 by HeatherLee

[XTRAWLD]

1. My bowls go in the dishwasher when I run a cycle. I was obsessive initially, but have cut back.....never an issue unless you have kids that stick their hands in the bowl and then in their mouths, imo.

 

2. Chunks are fine, or you could try to train them using a towel. Or restrict feeding to only in the kitchen with a gate or chairs or something. Keeping it on the tile is definitely a plus though.

 

3. Mine adjusted pretty immediately, should not be experiencing D, re-consider and re-measure your ratios. You shouldn't be having D on raw. You are either feeding too much organ or not enough bone.

 

4. Probiotic helps for sure, but there might be an underlying issue regarding the D.

 

5. Chicken skin is fine, but I would limit it. Fatty stuff doesn't do their livers much good and if he's already sensitive, that's something to be cognizant of.

Edited December 31, 2015 by XTRAWLD

[seeh2o]

Good for you!

 

In terms of #1 I use a separate sponge with a hollow handle filled with soap to clean their bowls and any containers I use to manage the raw meat. I use wipes to clean all counter surfaces, area around the bowls, water faucet and fridge handle. I hate th Chlorox and Lysol wipes, but buy them when I have to. I much prefer. The 7th Generation cleansing wipes, they seem like they clean a lot better and are way more gentle on my skin.

[dante2zoe]

I trained mine to eat on a towel. I leashed them initially and kept redirecting when they tried to wander. Now, they run to their respective towels and wait for their bowls. As for cleaning, I am much more relaxed now. I don't go past what I would do for my own dishes - I wash their bowls out after every meal and run them through the dishwasher periodically. I wipe my counters with vinegar most of the time, but will use wipes a couple times a week. I remove the fat pockets but leave most of the skin. If mine get too much meat and not enough bone, their stools will soften but they don't develop the big D. I don't use probiotics but it certainly won't hurt.

 

Keep us posted on how you do!

[Remolacha]

I just wash the bowls and anything else used with soap and hot water. When I was feeding whole RMBs I trained them to eat on towels, but now that everything is ground or chunks, I don't need to.

 

Chicken skin is fine, but too much might be too rich. I have heard others say that it took their dogs a few weeks to adjust, but mine have never had any problems, so I can't say about the diarrhea.

[seeh2o]

I had to stay away from chicken with Carl. He had terrible big D on chicken kibble, runny poop from raw chicken. He was fine with turkey, duck Cornish hen and chicken feet.

[RedHead]

I never use bleach to clean anything... I don't have a dishwasher so I just wash the dog and cat bowls with hot soapy water. Never had a problem in 15 years. I generally feed bigger bones outside to make things easier, but I also throw down a table cloth on the floor sometimes as well. Ground or chopped raw goes straight into the food bowls.

 

Chopping the chicken should be okay if they aren't swallowing and choking on small pieces. Generally speaking, the lower the fat the better...so if you don't mind removing the skin from the chicken, then I would continue with that. I am often too lazy to do that though, and things are still fine.

 

I have always found that raw works almost instantly to help tummy issues. If a dog's digestive system is completely out of whack though, sometimes introducing raw and "live" foods can really through things off more. If your dogs are having occasional issues, probably not a big deal, but if you aren't seeing good results after 2 weeks I would try switching proteins.

[Guest chickenpotpie]

Hmmmm Well, I just throw it in her food bowl. She has a food area that I trained her to eat on (its a cheap rug wrapped in a black trash bag...lol). Just like we eat in a set place, she does too. Once she knew what I wanted, it was all cool with her. So she gets her bowl stuff , and then for the chunkier stuff like her turkey necks, she wants that on a soft surface, hence the rug wrapped in a trash bag. BTW, the turkey necks are always preskinned. I'm sure some places aren't but where I get them they are.

 

If you think it may be too messy, do what I do; feed partially frozen. Makes them take a little longer and also cuts down on the gunky stuff. Afterwards I clean up with a soapy towel, I don't use bleach. we're all still alive and no one gets sick so I figure its ok...lol I change the garbage bag about twice a month or sooner if she ripped it (which is rare unless she gets overly excited and does zoomies on it...) If you don't like the thought of a plastic bag, try kraft paper. You can get rolls of it for pretty cheap and throw it in the recycle bin afterwards.

 

I still give kibble, like a handful, but she likes it and it doesn't cause her issues, but with that, she also gets a doggie vitamin (Life extension for dogs) and fish oil.

 

I don't tend to give skin unless its a chicken back which when frozen is hard to remove. But I also adjust her other food accordingly because thats a lot of fat she's getting.

[Guest HeatherLee]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I've been doing raw again for about 10 days and they're both doing fine now.. no diarrhea They're getting better with staying off the carpet with larger chunks and I've cut back on being paranoid about sanitizing.

 

I do take most of the skin off the chicken and leave a little on every once in awhile and they seem to be doing much better. I'm slowly adding in some salmon oil. However neither one of them seems to be fond of the liver or gizzards that I added to their food (very small amounts). I think I'll try whole foods for liver as theirs just looks better, and I don't really blame them on the gizzards... way too rubbery, haha. I just have to figure out what works and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Right now I'm getting most of my meat from Costco since they have the best prices on chicken but they're really lacking on anything "novel" like organs or turkey necks.. but I'll figure it out.

 

I'm just thrilled that Gambler loves eating now and looks so amazing lately.

[XTRAWLD]

The easiest organs that worked for me were chicken hearts. Not too small, not too big and didn't have to cut anything up! There is a local chicken plant that I picked that up from. By the case load. Might be hard to find in stores though. It's not something regularly stocked next to steaks sort of thing.

Edited January 7, 2016 by XTRAWLD

[Guest chickenpotpie]

My local store carries beef liver, beef heart, and kidney on a regular basis. I can't get any of those things at whole foods. Otherwise I go to the butcher in Cambridge for necks and feet (ask your local grocery store if they can order turkey necks for you, some will do it!) My store even occasionally carry rabbit too.

 

With the beef liver, I sometimes have the guys in the store slice it in thin strips, then I take those and put them in a big ziploc and freeze them as "liver pops". (so gross but whatever, she like them that way ) Strangely enough, she dosen't like gizzards unless I cook them. Last time I did that I also made a broth which she also liked.

 

Its good to hear how well your pups are doing with the change in diet. Once you figure out what works best for them, it gets so much easier.