Feeding Times

[Rockafella]

I feed Rocky twice a day.. around 6:30am and around 5pm. He's 10 kg and nearly 5 months old.

But it's in the late evening (around 8pm) that he goes out for a #2 and normally proceeds to eat it (and it's usually a runny one). It's at no other time of the day (that I've noticed anyway).

It's been suggested to me that I should either maybe wait till around 6-6:30 to feed him - or break his night meal up into 2 smaller meals and spread them out - maybe 5pm and 8pm.

Would anyone else agree that maybe, just maybe he's eating his poos out of hunger/boredom and that this could be the answer??

[WreckitWhippet]

Try your raw diet first and see if his poo becomes firm. I think once you sort that out, the rest will sort itself out. There's no point in breaking up the evening meal, breaking it up over a couple of hours is not long enough for the first part of the meal to be digested anyway.

[Rockafella]

Thanks PPS. I used to feed my beloved rottweiler carcases in the morning and raw mince (chicken/turkey/roo or a veg mix) with a little dry mixed in at night.

Would this diet be ok to give to a him???? Not necesarily the carcases - since he's much smaller than a rottweiler - but maybe necks, flaps etc in the morning and a good quality pet mince/chucks etc with some dry at night?

I have to small kids and a hectic life already and so I'm a bit freaked out over the thought of having to prepare freshly made meals for the dog aswell, if you know what I mean.

I'm just a little overwhelmed I guess at how small and young he is, I'm used to a dog who'd eat anything and everything and was in perfect condition (weight/coat/temprament) his whole 9 1/2 years.

Sorry for all the questions... I guess I should just trust my judgement - and the Orijin just may be too high in protein and too rich for his belly to handle.

[Dogsfevr]

Do you work??

[Just Midol]

A 10kg dog can easily devour a carcass.

Montu gets a lot of food, generally he gets a carcass in the morning, some wings at lunch and some more wings at night time and he isn't much bigger than 10kg. His total food consumption per day is anywhere from 500g->1kg (double to four times as much as my two huskies combined.)

I also feed chunks of frozen mince and frozen tins of sustainably fished fish

I agree with PPS that splitting his dinner won't achieve anything.

[WreckitWhippet]

A six week plus Stafford pup is capable of getting through a chicken wing and a carcass, so there's no need to worry there. It will also give him something to do and will help with teething.

Don;t mix you raw and dry together , they digest at different rates. He will get all that he needs from a diet of chicken wings, carcass, necks, lamb flap, rabbit, roo tail, mince and other raw meaty bones. Give him a hard boiled egg with the shell on a couple of times a week, the same with tinned sardines and also a dollop of natural yogurt.

If you can get a hold of fresh mackeral, you can give that to him whole, rather then the sardines.

I think you will find on an all raw diet , that is predominately chicken ( provided that this is not what is causing the intolerence ) the quality of his poo will quickly improve. In a matter of days it can turn from sloppy to hard, small and white.

Don't be too concerned about his weight, body weight has little to do with the ampunt of food that he requires. Chuck him a carcass for breakfast or four chicken wings and a piece of lamb flap for tea and see how he goes. He should be just covered and young pups are better off being a bit thinner than rolling fat. Just go along week by week, if you think he drops some weight and looks to thin, feed him a touch more. As he grows it's going to be a constant juggling act with the amounts you feed him , depending on his growth spurts.

ETA: you don;t need to worry about preparing him any kind of meal, just stock up the freezer , you don;t need to make raw feeding difficult.

Edited October 16, 2008 by PPS

[Rockafella]

Do you work??

yep!

And thank you, thank you, thank you one and all for your advice!!!!

I do have some turkey mince in the freezer and some chicken necks.. so tomorrow I'll start him.. and keep the dry for emergencies only!

I'm sooo excited now!!! I guess I just overanalysed the whole food thing.. basic is best and raw is even better!!!!

Cheers

[Rockafella]

Actually I've changed my mind.. I'm stopping in at the pet food shop tonight to get supplies up.. no time like the present hey!!!

[WreckitWhippet]

I agonised for ages over raw feeding and couldn't commit, thought I'd get it wrong, made it harder than it was. I've since let go and within reason just chuck the dogs a raw meal and be done with it.

My Stafford girls are glowing, all of the dogs are ripped and well have excellent muscle definition and tone.

[WreckitWhippet]

Actually I've changed my mind.. I'm stopping in at the pet food shop tonight to get supplies up.. no time like the present hey!!!

The main thing to keep on hand would be chicken wings and then work around that. You'll need less lamb flap and less of the other things. Start with a few meals of chicken wing only , get that poo firm and then introduce the other things one at a time and one meal at a time.

[Rockafella]

Thanks PPS, you're a legend!!

And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was freaked out at how hard "raw" was, when in fact it's not at all.

[Rockafella]

QUICK UPDATE...

I've had Rocky on wings since Thursday night and his poos have firmed right up, he also has NO wind at all and is doing just great! So now he can happily be where he wants to be all the time.. in our bed!!!

Thanks heaps for all the advice given and if anyone out there is freaking out a little bit about going raw, the DOL'ers are just great for offering top advice that works!!!!

And it is just as easy to throw your dog some raw meat etc than it is to scoop dry out of a bag!!!! Who would have thought!!!