Thinking about switching to raw

After meeting a wonderful lady here on CT from my hometown, i decided it was time to start a local cavalier club. And thats what i did.
There are 6 memembers..8 dogs so far.
I have been talking to a couple of them about some of my concerns with miss Maggie.
And one of the ladies suggested trying her on Raw. She said she had been thinking of doing this also.
One of the ladies already feeds raw and cant say enough good things about it.

Right now we are on Acana, I like it...Maggie has never had any stomach issues or skin issues (things we had with oliver)

but she is over weight..she needs to loose a bunch of weight.
We have started our long walks again.. (i have been having foot problems so our walks have been neglected)
and nothing seems to help.


This last week has been a nightmare.
She had been waking me up between 3-4 in the morning. sometimes twice a morning..desprate to get out..begging to get outside. i thought she had to pee..but no..she wanted otu to eat grass..come inside and puke bile.
At first i was really annoyed then got really nervous she had gotten into something. but her energy was all there.. no other issues nothing to tell you there was anything wrong... just the middle of the night. every night for a good 5 days.
I couldnt get off work (legaly..work in daycare and couldnt get a sub..cant leave out of ratio) and was close to tears thinking we'd be in emerg that night trying to figure out what was hapepning.
when i googled... a lot of google. What it sounded like was her stomach was empty by that time..and she was starving. making her tummy upset..shed eat the grass to throw up and try and relieve that.

So untill i was able to get into our vet on saturday.. i added a meal at the end of the day before bed. its solved the problem and vet agreed with me it was she was hungry.


Problem? Shes already over weight..
So he tried really really hard to sell me on hills science diet weight loss crap that cost 3x what i pay for Acana.


thats when a friend suggested the Raw.
She said it is more then im paying for the Acana, but could possibly help with the weight loss and keeping her full.





So i am going to go into the stores and talk to them asap. But i was hoping maybe you guys could give me a bit of info.

How do you portion out the meals each day? do i need a scale to weight it?
If you are traveling (say 3 hour drive or maybe 4 hours on the road) do you just keep it in a ice cooler?
how much do YOU pay per dog?
Have you noticed any negative side effects (sister is saying its going to cause her gas and upset stomach)
ive bene told you can NEVER switch back(not sure about reliablitiy of that) if this isnt working for us.

Just any info you can get both positive and negative woudl be great.

There are two raw food stores here in victoria and i think im gonna go talk to them this weekend.

Very few dogs have negative side effects from feeding raw. We feed raw, and mainly that is because Sophie has so many food allergies. Even with the pre-packaged raw mixes available in pet stores, we went through quite a few brands before I found one that worked. Otherwise, she itched & scratched like mad.

Feeding raw is expensive. I am glad I have a 17-lb Cavalier and not a large breed!

There are also many schools of thought and camps, regarding raw feeding. It's almost as bad as politics and religion.

Feeding raw is not as simple as going to the store and buying meat. One has to consider balanced nutrition and it takes a bit of self-education. I use a pre-packaged raw mix (meat & veggies) I buy from a local vendor, and I supplement it with a very good multi-vitamin and Omegas. The packaging label of the raw mix tells me how much to feed, according to the dog's weight.
I buy it in 2-lb "bricks", get it 80% thawed, slice it up into single portions, lay flat on a Ziploc bag on a tray, and re-freeze.

If your dog is overweight, just cut back the portion size and, of course, dog treats. You can also add cooked green beans or cooked pumpkin to a reduced portion of Acana. Lots of people do this to give their dogs' tummy a satisifed feeling, while there are no extra calories.


And, yes, you can switch back to commercial wet or dry dog food after feeding raw. In fact, we found one dry kibble (Zignature brand) that does not cause Sophie to scratch and itch, although it makes her eyes more teary. BUT, I give it to her once or twice a week so that her tummy is accustomed to it. She dances like mad for her dry kibble "happy meal". :*nana: It has never been a problem for her.
I have heard that one should not mix raw and cooked/dry kibble/canned in the same meal because that can cause some digestion problems. However, I'm sure there are people who do mix it all up with no drama.

Thank you for the lengthy response. Really appreciate hearing your experience.
Since posting here we have made the switch.

It's been a interesting week and I've been learning a lot.


Thursday night I wanted to make the switch so I headed into one of the pet store chains. - bosleys.and talked to them about it. One of the ladies tried to get me to choose a low cal dry, but I wanted the raw. It was red dog blue cat prepackaged.
Chicken and veggies.

Maggie thought she's died and gone to heaven.

But it was pricy. $25 for 5 days worth of food.
I decided since she is constantly hungry at night(to the point she gets sick) to try her on 3 small meals a day. .

I wanted to price out a bulk box. So I got off work early on Friday and headed to a natural pet food store with not so great hours. (I'll never make it during week days. )

I walked in and explains we had made the switch the night before but I wasn't sure what to expect and that I wanted to price it my options.


This lady was amazing.
They make their bags of meat in their factory a town over. And it looks much more like meat then red dog blue cat did.
It was much more affordable. 10 days of food for $17. And 40 days for $51. I didn't have 51 dollars so I got a small bag


But she listened to what out problems were , weight and still being hungry and what not.

She came up with a whole plan for maggie and how to introduce her to Each new food at the appropriate times.

It finally felt like someone was on our side. The vet was always trying to get us to buy science diet. But finally someone was working with me to get her healthy.

But by 630 the night we switched her tummy was so empty she was begging for grass to get sick on So We finished one packet of red dog blue cat while the new stuff de thawed and j have her some new stuff before bed Friday.


She threw up a small piece of bone by 630 am the next morning
But other. I have her her breakfast and she was just fine. I decided since she had been so hungry on the 3 small meals a day is divide her regular portion again into 4 meals a day. Every 6 hours. With the last one before bed getting just a bit more then the previous meals on the lady at the natural stores recommendation.

She threw up her dinner an hour after she ate it on Saturday- but since hen everything's run smooth.

She's alept trough the last two nights. Hasn't gotten sick at all. Her stools are normal for raw. Firm.

And she loves meal time.

I've added some enzymes I picked up at bosleys to every meal. And when I go in to the new raw store in gonna get theirs which also include probiotics.


All in all its going good and when I get my budget sorted I want to try and switch my cat too. .

I looked at the Red Dog Blue Kat website. Their raw meals are made up like the Oma's Pride that Sophie tolerates so well ---just meats, organs, and veggies. Your dog might need a multi-vitamin in addition. Sophie had several urinary tract infections until I added one. In fact, when I ran out, I bought some big box chain store type and ... voila! ... She developed a UTI. This problem might just be isolated to our particular Cavalier, but it won't hurt to add something. I use B-Naturals "Daily Blend". https://b-naturals.com/by-type-c-22...nd-vitamins-for-dogs-1-lb-p-115.html?cPath=29

Another nice thing about raw feeding is the poops are smaller; almost half the size!