I had a somewhat similar experience. Joey had a seizure which I correlate to taking Simparica. He looked terrible so took him to the vet when the first seizure happened and he was late Stage 2. Put him on Royal Canin kidney kibble and Hills kidney wet food and 4 years later he has only had 1 more seizure and his kidney values have remained constant. I will believe your homemade version is most likely better if you have the correct proportions. All the best to your Bs! Joey will be 15 in November.
Raw feeding programs
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I'm new to the Forums and I'll be getting my basenji pup sometime in February. I've done months of research on anything and everything Basenji! Literally can't find a link left on my computer to check out new info. I feel ready but then again is anyone ever really ready for a puppy or even a kid!? Ha well to the point.
I found a few websites that deliver raw food bi weekly or monthly and I want my puppy to only eat raw. Anyone ever done subscription services?
This is the one I like most. And they email me back immediately on all of my questions I have.
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Hello,
I'm in the same boat. I pick up my B this Saturday and will be feeding him a raw diet. I too have done hours and hours of research, consulted my vet, and will be going with wefeedraw. I receive my monthly shipment tomorrow. We will see how it goes.
Be careful with bones and a puppy. The milk teeth might be an issue. I'll be smashing and grinding to ensure he can eat it for the first couple of months. -
For their adult teeth, Raw Beef Brisket Bones (RBBB). These bones go into nothing, so they will not crack or chip the teeth. Keeps their teeth white and good smelling breath. Whatever you feed them use the hammer test - if the bones splinter, then they are not for dogs. No cooked bones, ever.
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Where can I get Raw Beef Brisket ones...my guy is 11 years old and I would love to give these to him
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My butcher gives me at least one huge haunch bone every Friday. I strip the fat off it (and render it down as dripping !) and then use a saw if necessary to cut the bone into two (or three) peices. Of course, if he gives me two large bones, they stay whole - no need to saw them up since the pack is now only two elderly Bs (down from 8 !).
The vet is always thrilled at the cleanliness of my Basenjis' teeth and healthy gums.
I wouldn't suggest giving bones to puppies - wait until they have their adult teeth but then get into the habit of giving them large bones which don't splinter. My kitchen gets to look as though grave robbers have been busy but old bones go on the bonfire and smash down to provide bonemeal for the garden - so waste at all.
Otherwise I have always fed commercial canned food and commercial kibble laced with left over veggies from our own table. In fact I tend to cook more than I think we need so as to have left-overs for the hounds !
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Luckily they have the type with bones mixed in so I'll be doing that until he gets his adult teeth then I'll switch over to bone in meat.
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No research support any benefits to feeding raw.
Raw feeding to elderly, immune compromised and dogs with other disorders can actually become very sick with raw.I loved feeding raw. The dogs loved it. Then I got 2 autoimmune dogs that had constant diarrhea on raw no matter how slowly I started them. (They were also on probiotics.)
I fed my litters raw chicken wings at 6 weeks.
So raw, not raw, feed what you are comfortable with. Be sure, if you have children, or people who are elderly, immune compromised, liver disease etc to really be careful about cleaning and disinfecting if you feed raw.
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we still have "butchers" here in Australia. these are usually local shops, that sell meat. After they have cut up the large sides of beef, they are left with some bones. The bones you are after are the breast bone, which is usually discarded as waste, but is good for dogs. Get them to cut the bone (which is about 1 metre (about 1 yard) long), into the size that is good (mine are cut into chunks about 7.5cm (about 3 inches)) or whatever size you want. The cutting is done on a bandsaw so no effort on their behalf. The advantage is that there is no debris left for the motor mower to fling at your windows, or for insects to settle on. Even at the supermarkets there are some to be had, but find out from the meat section when they get deliveries. You will pay more at the supermarkets, but you should not pay more than necessary.
