We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
Raw diet
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I thought about even giving him the medallions frozen but I worry that might not be healthy (or he might not like it).
I will do that for my Katie. Petey and Aries look at me like I'm crazy, and won't eat it.
I will give it to Katie when just the outside is somewhat soft, and the middle is still frozen, so that she has to chew on it a bit.
-Nicole
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I will do that for my Katie. Petey and Aries look at me like I'm crazy, and won't eat it.
I will give it to Katie when just the outside is somewhat soft, and the middle is still frozen, so that she has to chew on it a bit.
-Nicole
Maybe I'll give that a try as well. He doesn't seem to mind the temp considering I give him the medallions straight from the fridge. But hey, if I can feed him the medallions frozen, that saves me the step of thawing them.
I'll try it with one and see how he likes it. I know he likes frozen marrow bones, so I'd imagine it's a similar process to him.
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Just make sure he chews it and doesn't try to swallow it as one big frozen chunk.
-Nicole
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Just make sure he chews it and doesn't try to swallow it as one big frozen chunk.
-Nicole
Will do. I'll be watching him when he's fed his raw meal.
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I tried feeding him the medallions frozen. To my surprise he did not mind them frozen. It forced him to eat a small bit at a time and I'd say it went from 10-15 seconds of finishing to a few minutes. Perhaps I will do this from now on to slow down his consumption.
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Something i've wondered about and have to ask although you may think me stupid
How come Dogs dont get parasites like tapeworm etc and infections like salmonella from eating raw meat? -
Dogs can get all these issues from eating raw meat. Salmonella poisoning in most healthy dogs is fairly mild due to their shorter digestive tracts but can be problematic for dogs who are really young, elderly, or already fighting off another infection.
Dogs usually get tapeworms from consuming infected fleas or consuming infected wild caught animals.
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Ah thanks for the info, it's something i kept wondering about.
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I have got the fussiest of dogs. Sometimes he likes his food, sometimes he doesn't. He gets a chicken wing most days which he loves and a variety of raw mince along with his complete dry food. Today he got a raw lamb shoulder chop. This was human food bought from the supermarket. What I want to know is, being a vegetarian, I really know nothing about raw meat. How many of these chops should I be feeding him? If I get lamb ribs, how many of those should he have. He is a bit thin and we have Crufts coming up in 2 weeks so need to put a bit of meat on him. (pardon the pun)
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Please tell me about this raw meat diet. I don't know anything about it. Is the meat actually raw? Is it purchased premade in medalions? What is the reason for the raw meat? Thanks, Geoff
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do you notice that their coats are shiny? What about vet bills?
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I feed my Chance a partially raw diet. He gets complete food in the morning and chicken wings, minced meat or similar in the evening. Lately he has taken to Lamb bones. So far since Weds he has devoured a thigh, a shoulder and a full set of ribs. The thigh and the shoulder were still frozen and he loved them. I've never seen him eat so well as he is normally so fussy. However, I know he is not so keen on fruit and veg so that is why I still give him some complete food each day. It is quite messy and takes up a lot of room in my freezer but if Chance loves it then I'm delighted!
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Yes, my dogs' coats are shiny, very rarely require baths (three of my dogs aren't b's) and their teeth have cleaned up..
I feed Otis in the am and pm, he gets 2 chicken backbones and maybe a thigh or the equivalent in other meats, twice daily..and I finally managed to put some weight on him..
Sometimes I get ground meats that I mix with veggies, other times lamb bones..I vary the diet, but chicken seems to be their favorite..I have yet to feed fish, raw that is, but every now and then I feed them sardines, from the can and boy they love that.It could feel as more work up front, but once you get used to it, it becomes easier to portion and freeze larger bulk quantities, and just pull out what you need for a few days to a week. We haev it don't to an art now, but it took a few months.
My dogs only go to the vet if they are due for checkups or if they have something taht warrants a vet visit.
My vet says they are all 4 living proof that RAW is a very valid and safe way to feed dogs, regardless as to what other people might say..I feel the same way needless to say. -
I switched over to Primal Pet Foods for Kananga's raw diet. I'm feeding him the chicken formula (1oz nuggets, similar to Nature's Variety). The local pet store here is starting to carry more of the Primal brand instead of Nature's Variety, I'm wondering if it's due to the recent food recalls from Nature's Variety, but I guess this a better formula in regards to ingredients.
It was slightly more expensive ($1-2/bag more), but we'll see how it goes.
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Actually, I take that back, it's less expensive.
The Nature's Variety bags are 3lbs, and the Primal ones are 4lbs. I think this will be a solid replacement. Less $$ is always nice.
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I'm not at home, so I can't remember what we switched to, but I think it is the same thing.
It comes in 4lb bags, and has a pheasant variety that the dogs are nuts for.-Nicole
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I'm not at home, so I can't remember what we switched to, but I think it is the same thing.
It comes in 4lb bags, and has a pheasant variety that the dogs are nuts for.-Nicole
Yea, must be the same one. I picked up a 4lbs bag of the chicken formula and pheasant formula.
