Is raw really that much better?

DianeP

DianeP

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So, we’ve been working with a holistic vet for awhile for help with Mindy’s anxiety and GI issues. She’s on western meds for anxiety and herbs for GI and anxiety., and gets acupuncture. Things have improved, much to our delight....but now we are trying to switch from a diet of Royal Canin kibble to one of the raw diets. It’s not going well. I’m just adding tiny bits of freeze dried raw (Primal and Stella and Chewy’s) to her kibble and her stool gets soft. I’m not adverse to having her on raw, but I feel like these trials are not going well, while after adding the herbs her stools got better.

Any thoughts?
 
Freeze dried and raw are really two different things. I'd actually suggest you try a premade frozen raw (one that has all required nutrients) to start and see how she handles it. You could of course try making it yourself...I got lots of help from Margi when I started with Finnie (I was already feeding Piper raw but had never started a puppy) but you may not be quite ready for that. If you do use a premade raw I would perhaps start out with maybe 1/4 or the recommended feeding to start...even with raw you want to go slow so as to not upset their system.
I've been feeding Piper raw for over 4 years now and he's doing wonderfully as is Finnie (he's been on raw for 2 1/2 years)... great coat, perfect poops, NEVER had a problem with anal glands because his poops are nice and firm. Just had blood work done and he's doing great.
They get 1 meal of raw and 1 meal of bone (chicken back) and I try to vary the protein as much as possible.
 
I've always been told not to feed raw and kibble at the same time, because they are digested differently. I tried raw for one of my dogs years ago and she didn't do well on it, and didn't really like it. I've since gone to freeze-dried, which has worked much better for us. I use Grandma Lucy's Artisan freeze dried varieties from Chewy.
 
In the past I have fed both together and there really haven't been many studies done on this so absolutely feed separately if it's easier for you. Riley did fine on it, some dogs just have a more sensitive stomach...the jury is still out on this one.
Also, I should add that if Mindy is having softer poops try adding some pumpkin to her food or cut back on the dehydrated raw. It could just be too quick of a transition.
 
Zulu has been on freeze dried raw for a few years now, and he is going great. I rotate between brands/recipes so he gets variety of flavors. No digestive issues at all. It is more expensive than kibble, but we stretch it out by adding green beans (his favorite), other veggies, and an occasional boiled egg white to the mix.
 
So, after a break and reset, I decided to try again. Started feeding primal freeze dried rabbit a few days ago. So far, so good! I’m being a little more deliberate about it this time. But, I do have a question: can you freeze the freeze dried nuggets?? I wonder if before I had the bag open too long and it started turning bad?? Mindy is only 15 pounds so she’s never going to eat that much. If we can transition I will think about moving to frozen raw but in the meantime, wondering about freezing the freeze dried nuggets. Thanks!
 
DianeP said:
So, after a break and reset, I decided to try again. Started feeding primal freeze dried rabbit a few days ago. So far, so good! I’m being a little more deliberate about it this time. But, I do have a question: can you freeze the freeze dried nuggets?? I wonder if before I had the bag open too long and it started turning bad?? Mindy is only 15 pounds so she’s never going to eat that much. If we can transition I will think about moving to frozen raw but in the meantime, wondering about freezing the freeze dried nuggets. Thanks!
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I don't see why you couldn't freeze it...heck you can freeze flour lol. Does it have a short expiry date though? It should keep for quite some time (even dehydrated foods when stored properly will keep for over a year)
Great that it's going good so far!
 
The bag I recently purchased has a 2 year expiration date. Frost free freezers can add moisture during the defrosting cycle. They are more prone to freezer burn.
 
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