raw diet!

When starting a raw diet it is best to go slow in the beginning. Stick with only chicken for the first couple of weeks and allow her body to adjust to digesting raw. It won't cause any problems if you feed an unbalanced diet for the first short while, so don't worry about that right now. I would feed just chicken (bone in and boneless) for about 2 weeks, then slowly start adding something else. Personally, I would do organs next, mixing meals of half chicken and half organ (liver preferably, as liver needs to make up 1/2 the organ allotment of the diet, very important stuff that is!). Then try some red meat (beef, pork, rabbit, bison, elk, lamb, venison, etc.). Take things slowly, allowing at least a week or two on a new protein source to allow her to adjust and monitor for any splart-action.

I've written up a couple of articles on the prey model raw diet (PMR) that I feed. They might be helpful for more reading! When you take on the responsibility of formulating your dog's diet on your own, there is no such thing as "too much reading".

Starting Raw FAQs:
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/2008/09/raw-food-diet-for-dogs-starting-raw.html

Supplements:
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/2008/11/supplements-for-raw-feeding.html

Average "Menu":
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/2008/10/raw-food-diet-our-average-menu.html

Intro to RMBs:
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/2008/09/pork-hock-specialty-intro-to-rmbs.html

And something else you might want to consider with a raw fed Sheltie ... body snood:
http://sheltie-hair.blogspot.com/2008/08/romeos-haircut.html

 

Hi. Good for you. I feed Chinook and Maia raw too, pray model. I've only had Maia for 5 days and she is doing very well. She's on chicken ground up necks and whole chicken patties. When I first started feeding raw I read 'Give your dog a bone'. In there, Dr. Billinghurst states actually not to feed a 'balanced' meal each time, so don't worry, as long as they get a balance over a few meals it is ok. I also supplement with vitamins too, that is in the book too. Also if you want more information there is a sheltie forum that only talks about feeding raw and natural too.
You'll notice a huge difference in the coat and breath, (and the stool, for the better!)

 

Exactly! If that was true, wolves would be all sick and dead, and so would all the dogs and animals that rummage through garbage and eat ROTTEN food, that is loaded with bacteria! Check out Dr. Billinghurst's web site too, he is the one that wrote that book I told you about and he's the vet that came up with the BARF diet, www.barfworld.com.

I found opposition too, but with information that I found in books and on the web, I am very happy with my choice, and so are my dogs! You should see them when I open the fridge. THey both come running into the kitchen thinking it's for them. (This does make it hard to get snacks and prepare food for me, as the little one, is right at my feet! LOL) You should see her, she claws at my calves trying to climb her way up to the counter! YOu would think she's a cat. I have NEVER seen dogs more eager and happy to get their food everyday.

 

Hahaha! I never thought of that! How true.

 

Do you feed her fruits and veggies at all or tripe? That should help constipation. When I feed Chinook the chicken necks and/or wings, his stool will be rock hard, but he does not get constipated. If she ever gets a bit of diarrhea, give her some canned pumpkin. When I first switch to a new meat, like venison or elk, Chinook would get runny stool and he would scootch his butt on the ground, but that only lasts a day, then he's fine.