Need Help With 'raw' Diet - My Dog Is Refusing To Eat It.

[kirsty37]

Hi everyone

I have been feeding all 3 of my dogs the raw diet for over a month now with no problems. But then over the last 3 days one of them has stopped eating it.........

She wouldn't eat it the first day but I thought she may have been feeling a bit off, but then the same happened on the 2nd and 3rd day as well. I ended up giving her some normal food to check and see if it was ALL food or if indeed it was just the raw food - it was def just the raw food because she scoffed down the other.

I know that sometimes this can happen with the raw food diet, but I don't really know what to do now?????? She has just had a cancerous tumour removed so the all natural approach is really important and I really don't want to stop feeding her raw food.

Any advice, suggestions would be so greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kirsty

[MolassesLass]

What are you giving her exactly?

[kirsty37]

Hi

All 3 of my dogs get the same diet, this consists of; pieces of raw meat (meat changes every few days) pieces of offal again this changes every few days, some Jalna natural yoghurt and a blended mix of fruit and vegies which also changes every 2 days.

She's a fussy eater and to be honest with you we didn't think that she would have even eaten it but to our surprise she did.

She has been fine for the past 5-6 weeks but now just wont eat it................ The other 2 are fine with this diet.

Thanks

[poodlefan]

Hi Kirsty,

Is your dog interested in eating other food? You need to establish whether she's lost her appetite or being picky. Offer her some roast chicken - that will tell you.

The diet you describe is not balanced. It contains no bone, which is an important part of a decent raw diet. You may want to do some reading about that.

While your dog is convalescing, I'd be more interested in getting her to eat than anything, try some canned fish eg. mackeral or tuna, perhaps some chicken wings?

[MolassesLass]

Agree with PF about the lack of bone and also that offal should be a fairly small part of the diet as too much can cause issues (esp. liver). The diet may be lacking and perhaps that's why after a short time your dog went off it. May feel like it's not giving her what she craves and so she doesn't want to bother eating it (being a fussy eater means the food itself probably doesn't motivate her).

Sometimes heating the food a little can help, put the food in a bowl which is placed in a larger bowl with warm water in it. I find this the easiest way to warm the food without risking cooking anything (esp. the bone).

[DeltaCharlie]

I ended up giving her some normal food to check and see if it was ALL food or if indeed it was just the raw food - it was def just the raw food because she scoffed down the other.

Not necessarily. I know I missed dinner a few times as a kid because I wasn't feeling well or had a migraine. If dinner had been McDonalds I'm sure I would have still eaten it though

I agree that you need to balance the diet a little better, the lack of bones was the first thing I noticed too. Can't imagine that causing problems in this short period of time though.

Is she normal in every other way? Just wondering if she is unwell for some other reason and not eating is a symptom of that. Possibly still a little residual pain from the surgery (if it was recent).

If she has been eating it fine for a few weeks and she isn't sick then I would say she is being fussy. How do you actually feed it? All mixed in together? Try just feeding her the meat part of it, whether it is mince, chicken wings, tuna, whatever. She really doesn't need the fruit and vege stuff anyway so don't worry about missing that out.

[Guest june.andnovas]

are you feeding her the raw straight from the fridge or bringing it to room temp?

[gareth]

are you feeding her the raw straight from the fridge or bringing it to room temp?

why should that matter? My dogs eat raw bones straight from the freezer sometimes.

[DeltaCharlie]

Mine very rarely eat anything that isn't frozen. Only room temp stuff they get is canned fish.

[Guest june.andnovas]

some pets can be fussy when their food is chilled thats all. just trying to help.

[Diva]

Mine won't eat anything too cold, even in summer they want it room temp. I wish they would it would be much more convenient. You could try adding some sardines, or warming it up, or sprinkling a little parmesan or dried liver flakes on the top just until she gets her nromal attitude to food back. I'd also agreed with adding some edible bones, for balance.

[kirsty37]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the responses.

They do get bones daily, I was only writing what I was putting in her actual dinner.

They have 2 meals a day - one in the morning and that is their bones, chicken wings etc and then their meal at night.

She will eat other food - she scoffed the other food that was given to her when she wouldn't eat the raw food.

I also add a small amount of almond meal to her meal easch day and also organic eggs once a week.

The two who have been sick also has a natural supplement added to their daily meal this is from my holistic vet.

Maybe she doesn't like some of the ingredients in the vegie/fruit mixes - the combination of fruit and veg we add changes every few days, perhaps this is the prob??????

She has never had a problem eating raw meat in the past. And their food is usually given at room temperature.