New Puppy Food questions

[Brett Johnson]

First, I am so happy I have joined Top Boerboel. The pleathera of information available on the forums alone has made me so much more confident in what I am doing. It is so great to see a whole group of people who care for there dogs as much as I do and don't see them as a great lawn ornament.

 

I will make my question short and simple. I will be getting a my first Boerboel pup in 1 week. I am very excited. I have been reading your posts about Raw feeding and I really like the idea. My questions are listed below.

 

1)Is this something you can introduce to your pup immediately or would it be ok to start with a grain free kibble and some eggs?

 

2)If the Breeder has had on kibble, what can I do to make the transition easy for the new guy?

 

3) Because I am new with raw diet process, can someone verify that my understanding of general Raw food diet guidelines is correct.

Proportions by weight:

Around 80 meat, 10 bone, and 10 organs (1/2 organs should be liver)

Any uncooked bone is fine except large weight bearing bones for the safety of dogs teeth.

No rawhide.

 

Sorry, there is one question that i forgot to ask. It doesn't quite make sense to me. I was always under the impression that as a dog aged and grew larger, you could start feeding them more. But a lot of those who endorse raw diets suggest that a dog eat 2-3% there ideal adult body weight. does this mean they will be fed the same amount from pup to adulthood? Shouldn't we start with smaller portions in the earlier months?

 

Thank you for any info you have to offer. It's very much appreciated.

 

Brett 

[Lisa Tiro]

Hi Brett,

You feed 2-3% of your dogs adult weight always, except if your dog seems skinny or is very active (working dog) or pregnant/nursing, then you would increase their food. Pups should eat 4 X daily with their meals split up between them. I would start right off the bat. Puppies adjust more quickly than an older dog. Don't buy kibble. Buy a whole chicken, quarter it and hand your pup a piece. Watch him/her closely. I would remove skin and score the meat for the first few times. Stay with one protein for about 2 weeks and then you can start adding a different protein a little piece at a time to his/her chicken meal until she/he adjusts. I would not introduce liver or organs until she/he is having good stools. Don't give bones that don't have meat attached. Oh and feed your pup as big a piece as you can and when he's done or when you want him to be done, take it and put in the fridge until the next meal. Good luck!

~Lisa

[Brett Johnson]

Lisa, thank you so much. I was really nervous giving him his first boney meat. Always been told no chicken bones or dogs. After doing research it's obvious that its a natural choice. Still took a little bit to make the jump. He is loving the chicken. I quarter it and he goes to town. This afternoon was his first neck and he enjoyed that as well.

There have been some things I didn't think about. Clean up. It seems that there is more energy spent cleaning the floors and the puppy then preparing food. He has a hard time working with it in the bowl. Also, soap...I know they have sensitive skin as a pup. What kind of soap do you use to sanitize. Any tips and tricks?

Thank you again.
Brett

[Lisa Tiro]

No problem Brett. I have been doing a lot more reading myself too. I am getting a pit bull puppy in 3 weeks and am considering doing the same as you but the clean up has been making me think twice about it too. On my RAW site people use vinegar. If you get a gentle dog shampoo I'm sure that would work for quick paw clean-ups or baby wipes. Bleach is too harsh and exposure everyday to those chemicals is not good. Another thing I'm thinking about is where to feed her. I feed my boy outside but it is still too cold out for a puppy. It snowed here again last night. I think I'll do it in the crate for now until the weather breaks. They say it is much easier to start them off as puppies so the extra clean up hassle is definitely going to be worth it along with the health benefits.

Here is a link to the RAW facebook group. There is tons of info there and a lot of knowledgeable people who have been doing it for years. Read the files and use the search bar to look up different discussions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/261761471359/?ref=ts&fref=ts

ttyl, Lisa

[Brett Johnson]

Lisa How has it been so far? Are you still on raw? We have a nice little pattern going that has allowed us to keep our sanity. We have been parting the chicken/turkey into small enough pieces so that he doesn't have to use his paws but at the same time he can't swallow anything whole. We are also thinking about grounding his food up and giving him a bone a day to gnaw on for teeth purposes. Hope all is well!

Lisa Tiro said:

No problem Brett. I have been doing a lot more reading myself too. I am getting a pit bull puppy in 3 weeks and am considering doing the same as you but the clean up has been making me think twice about it too. On my RAW site people use vinegar. If you get a gentle dog shampoo I'm sure that would work for quick paw clean-ups or baby wipes. Bleach is too harsh and exposure everyday to those chemicals is not good. Another thing I'm thinking about is where to feed her. I feed my boy outside but it is still too cold out for a puppy. It snowed here again last night. I think I'll do it in the crate for now until the weather breaks. They say it is much easier to start them off as puppies so the extra clean up hassle is definitely going to be worth it along with the health benefits.

Here is a link to the RAW facebook group. There is tons of info there and a lot of knowledgeable people who have been doing it for years. Read the files and use the search bar to look up different discussions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/261761471359/?ref=ts&fref=ts

ttyl, Lisa

[Lisa Tiro]

Hi Brett,

Well I just brought the new puppy home this past Tuesday. I had ground up egg shells all ready to supplement along with the chicken. I cut up the chicken the first time and sprinkled some eggshells on it and she gobbled it up so I gave her a bigger piece of chicken and she devoured it. The next feeding I gave her a deboned thigh and a chicken neck and she crunched away and devoured that too so I guess it's raw! lol....No need for the shells because she is eating enough bone aleady. She is 8 weeks old and a pit bull so nice strong jaws. I feed her 3 times a day instead of 4 because she is handling more food and if I feed her less food at a sitting I think she will be hungry so combined with freeze dried liver treats I think it will be enough. She has grown already in just a few days and looks lean already, no baby fat. I put down an old towel and the only time I needed to clean her paws was after I gave her a half a chicken to work on and she used her paws to hold it down while she ripped it apart lol...My Boerboel Axel is loving playing with her too. She already knows to go to the door to go out to do potty too. I hope she stays this good!

~Lisa