# Bad Raw Experiences



## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

First thing.. No current raw feeders allowed 

I would like this to be for people who have had bad experiences of raw, possibly even problems involving vet visits for informational purposes.

I do not want this thread to be one where people feel they need to justify themselves or feel intimidate by those of us who are pro raw. Only by finding out the good and bad can people make informed decisions on raw feeding

I expect this to soon be lost down the pages but worth a try.


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## wellinever (Jul 31, 2011)

Goblin said:


> First thing.. No current raw feeders allowed
> 
> I would like this to be for people who have had bad experiences of raw, possibly even problems involving vet visits for informational purposes.
> 
> ...


So if no current raw feeders are allowed how are you going to find out anything good!!! Just about sums things up on here,


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

wellinever said:


> So if no current raw feeders are allowed how are you going to find out anything good!!! Just about sums things up on here,


I think you are jumping to the wrong conclusions here Wellinever. If anything, Goblin is probably one of the most considerate raw feeders on here (alongside a few others) who is able to see both sides of the raw feeding argument. There are lots of raw feeding threads on here - perhaps you could acquaint yourself with the search function or just have a scan through some of the threads on this section. There are plenty!


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

I have had one bad experience with raw with my eldest! (least I think it were that) raw chicken it were! and we had to visit the vets! That dog will NOT touch raw chicken now and if I do put anyinwith his meal he will pick it out and leave it! The vet says NO!! this is impossible - but he definately does!


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

hobbs2004 said:


> I think you are jumping to the wrong conclusions here Wellinever. If anything, Goblin is probably one of the most considerate raw feeders on here (alongside a few others) who is able to see both sides of the raw feeding argument. There are lots of raw feeding threads on here - perhaps you could acquaint yourself with the search function or just have a scan through some of the threads on this section. There are plenty!


I think this person was only here to cause problems for another memeber so best ignored


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## Staffx (Jan 12, 2011)

wellinever said:


> So if no current raw feeders are allowed how are you going to find out anything good!!! Just about sums things up on here,


I think the point was to have some negative exerperiences of raw to counter argue the pro raw stance of this forum, to see the argument from both side so to speak.

I think what the OP was trying to get was this to happen without raw feeders jumping to its defence... that lasted long.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Cleo38 said:


> I think this person was only here to cause problems for another memeber so best ignored


I gathered that but thought it wise to post something for others reading this too


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## Staffx (Jan 12, 2011)

How quick do you guys type 

I need to go away and practice


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## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

Goblin said:


> First thing.. No current raw feeders allowed


Aw - was going to say have a very bad raw experience, he insists on eating bones on the sofa


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## wellinever (Jul 31, 2011)

Cleo38 said:


> I think this person was only here to cause problems for another memeber so best ignored


whatever


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## Staffx (Jan 12, 2011)

When we first changed Major we did it because we ran out of kibble so we just went to the butcher and got his dog mix, it was very offal based and we had a lot of runny poos in the early days, however the grass had recently been cut round ours so there was plenty of dry grass to help pick it up! 

OH was also very shocked to get bits of bone coming out the other end, however ever having read up and been on this forum I was ready to reassure her!


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

None for me but i would be interested in others bad experiances.. not cos id stop raw feeding but so id know what symptoms to look for IYKWIM. 
Always good to be armed with knowledge and lets be fair you can have problems with whichever way you choose


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## Blondie (Feb 27, 2011)

As a raw breeder I will watch this thread with interest


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

wellinever said:


> whatever


That was mature
If you have nothing nice to say on the forum (I notice all 3 of your posts are negative) don't bother coming on here


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

Cleo38 said:


> I think this person was only here to cause problems for another memeber so best ignored


t'is the !!! marks thatare worrying me!!!


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

Ceearott said:


> As a raw breeder I will watch this thread with interest


Hehe   whats a raw breeder?


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## Blondie (Feb 27, 2011)

SeriousTrouble said:


> Hehe   whats a raw breeder?


I just mean as a breeder, I rear the pups on raw too, not just feed the adults on it, lol!! Guess it does read a bit funny like


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## Elles (Aug 15, 2011)

> I have had one bad experience with raw with my eldest!


 What was it? What did the vet diagnose?

Maybe a question and answer type thread would be better?

eg: How long have you fed raw?

What is your breed/type of dog/s

Age of dog/s

Any pre-existing health issues?

Describe your negative experience, symptoms, food involved etc.

Veterinary treatment/advice received?

Have you continued to feed raw?

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your experience?


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

Ceearott said:


> I just mean as a breeder, I rear the pups on raw too, not just feed the adults on it, lol!! Guess it does read a bit funny like


Yep! well it did to me! but I DO have a 'weird' sense of humer!! thought you were breeding raw meat or summat


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## Blondie (Feb 27, 2011)

SeriousTrouble said:


> Yep! well it did to me! but I DO have a 'weird' sense of humer!! thought you were breeding raw meat or summat


HAHA!! I wish I could be self-sufficient to that extent actually - have me own little smallholding etc..............................................dreams huh?


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

Elles said:


> What was it? What did the vet diagnose?
> 
> Maybe a question and answer type thread would be better?
> 
> ...


Never did! there is/was a thread about it on here! under me erm other name!
Certainly started after the raw chicken - and it was M&S at that! can only assumeit were some sort of allergy!! BUT! that said that is NOT writteninconcrete - just my theory!


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

SeriousTrouble said:


> I have had one bad experience with raw with my eldest! (least I think it were that) raw chicken it were! and we had to visit the vets! That dog will NOT touch raw chicken now and if I do put anyinwith his meal he will pick it out and leave it! The vet says NO!! this is impossible - but he definately does!


Can you give more details as it may be of use to others ?

Edit: noticed you already did it. Oh well.


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

I am heartily pro-raw but purely down to logistical reasons I am currently feeding Wainwrights wet, and so I think I can just about squeeze myself into the 'currently not feeding raw' category, lol!

TBH the only bad experiences I have had have been with butchers when I try to explain what I am looking for. I did talk to a few who were OK but many were shocked and some even quite rude. The majority of the stuff I was after would be things that they would normally have to pay to dispose of and so you would think we were doing them a favour, but I got the distinct impression that many of them were unwilling to let anything go over the counter that was not perfectly fit for human consumption. Such a waste.


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## foxyrockmeister (May 30, 2011)

Trying to keep quiet as a RAW feeder but am definitely watching this thread with interest. Part of me really wants people to post about any negative experiences they've had as it's always good to know about and be prepared for any potential problems. But the other part of me is quite relieved of the lack of problems posted so far!

Come on peeps speak up, you wont be attacked by an angry mob of pro RAW!!! Well.... not me anyway, can't speak for everyone


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## LeeM018 (Aug 26, 2010)

I have one: Green tripe really, really, really smells bad! rrr:


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2011)

Just posting so I can keep an eye on the thread. With interest as a new raw feeder.


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

LeeM018 said:


> I have one: Green tripe really, really, really smells bad! rrr:


LOL, I picked up my raw order from The Dog food Company awhile ago now & my car still smells of tripe 

It's lovely for the bloke I car share with


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

LeeM018 said:


> I have one: Green tripe really, really, really smells bad! rrr:


Lol, yeah, there really is nothing quite like that smell is there? I have been to TPMS a couple of times to collect and I really don't know the guys work in there all day!


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## Sacrechat (Feb 27, 2011)

When I had my first and only litter of kittens, I was raw feeding them and they became sick needing antibiotics. I don't know for certain it was the food but it frightened me off raw feeding.

I also once read something a woman wrote who fed her dog raw beef mince. Something in the mince killed her dog, don't know what, but she later found out from the vet that raw beef should only be given to dogs after it has been frozen and defrosted, otherwise, something in the beef can cause a dogs death. 

Those are the only negatives, I know about.


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## niki (Jan 14, 2009)

shetlandlover said:


> Just posting so I can keep an eye on the thread. With interest as a new raw feeder.


yep, me too!!!


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## LeeM018 (Aug 26, 2010)

Sacremist said:


> When I had my first and only litter of kittens, I was raw feeding them and they became sick needing antibiotics. I don't know for certain it was the food but it frightened me off raw feeding.
> 
> I also once read something a woman wrote who fed her dog raw beef mince. Something in the mince killed her dog, don't know what, but she later found out from the vet that raw beef should only be given to dogs after it has been frozen and defrosted, otherwise, something in the beef can cause a dogs death.
> 
> Those are the only negatives, I know about.


Katiefranke's post (#4) here talks about some of the precautions to take, including wrt the freezing of beef.


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## kat&molly (Mar 2, 2011)

I know I'm not allowed to post but still interesting to read.
Agree about the Tripe though:crying:


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

Sacremist said:


> When I had my first and only litter of kittens, I was raw feeding them and they became sick needing antibiotics. I don't know for certain it was the food but it frightened me off raw feeding.
> 
> I also once read something a woman wrote who fed her dog raw beef mince. Something in the mince killed her dog, don't know what, but she later found out from the vet that raw beef should only be given to dogs after it has been frozen and defrosted, otherwise, something in the beef can cause a dogs death.
> 
> Those are the only negatives, I know about.


I can't remember what it's called but there is a bacteria in red meat that's been minced, that is killed off by freezing thoroughly. I don't feed minced anything, so no worries about that one.

I know I'm a current raw feeder, but I don't feed raw fish because I have consistently had problems with them firstly eating it, and secondly not keeping it down, and boy does it smell bad the second time round (green tripe is nothing compared to half digested manky fish).


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## xkimxo (Jan 4, 2010)

My vet recommended feeding raw to one of my shih tzus as he is sick alot, he said i should start off with natures menu frozen nuggets so i bought 4 bags in different flavours as i thought id start feeding my other shih tzu with it aswell but neither of them would touch it! It smells so strong and i thought they would eat it right up. Im not brave enough to go out and buy fresh meat, ive been vegetarian since i was 11 and although i have no problems handling meat i have no idea about it as stupid as that may sound. I found it very confusing when looking up about raw feeding  And i now have a freezer draw of natures menu, if anyone on here wants it fo free then feel free to inbox me im in rainham essex.


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## 8tansox (Jan 29, 2010)

niki said:


> yep, me too!!!


me an' all!


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## Beau-a-saurus (Jan 26, 2011)

Ok, I will fess up, we had a bad raw experience. When we got Beau, nearly a year ago he was fed mainly raw and sometimes Burns, I really enjoyed and wanted to continue feeding raw (have great butchers in the area with loads of cheap and freebies) but had to give up after repeated serious behavioral problems.  

I quite strongly believe raw is the most natural way to feed a dog however because of his particular issues and past, he has connections to unpleasant things happening with raw feeding, it provokes his resource guarding, he is dangerous (has properly bitten) when given raw meaty bones and chicken wings or chunks of meat and it stresses him out. Beau actually fits the (totally rubbish) myth that raw feeding can make dogs aggressive it makes him scary.

We now feed a combo of wet (Wainwrights trays) and dry (Skinners lamb and rice sensitive) but are struggling to reproduce the same consistency of 'output' if I can put it that way  We have a very happy, relaxed dog with no signs of the issues he came to us with and which nearly made one of his previous 8 owners have him pts coz they couldn't be bothered to work them out with him 

I know this post won't help raw feeders spot potential symptoms if something goes wrong etc but it was our 'bad raw experience' and might help those with rescues or dogs with behavioral probs who haven't considered if associations with certain food types may be a trigger.


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

Whilst on the raw verus dry verus wet!
JUST a reminder to all!
NEVER feed raw and dry togheter in the same meal!
DT


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## WhiteRabbit (Jun 22, 2011)

As I'm just starting out raw feeding, I want to keep an eye on this.

Although with how it seems to be going, Purdy isn't liking chicken wings very much...


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I've noticed lots of dogs changed over to raw get upset tums and it's a bad thing.

Yet if they get upset tums on a wet or kibble it is We go thro the "fish/chicken and rice", protexin etc, yet raw feeders add a bit of yogurt and "they will be "fine tomorrow" 
Raw feeders go with the flow yet non raw contemplate or involve the vet????????
To raw feeders, it's not a bad experience yet so many kibbles/wets get barred if they cause upset???? 
So how come any other food giving an upset tum is bad, yet raw isnt???

Also, if non raw feeders change brands, it's advised to do it gradually to avoid upsets - not start with chicken and then move to thro the other proteins in that brand. I could be wrong but most seem to change immediately to raw and expect upset

Is raw really so different???

Probably my ignorance but it baffles me.


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

Beau-a-saurus said:


> Ok, I will fess up, we had a bad raw experience. When we got Beau, nearly a year ago he was fed mainly raw and sometimes Burns, I really enjoyed and wanted to continue feeding raw (have great butchers in the area with loads of cheap and freebies) but had to give up after repeated serious behavioral problems.
> 
> I quite strongly believe raw is the most natural way to feed a dog however because of his particular issues and past, he has connections to unpleasant things happening with raw feeding, it provokes his resource guarding, he is dangerous (has properly bitten) when given raw meaty bones and chicken wings or chunks of meat and it stresses him out. Beau actually fits the (totally rubbish) myth that raw feeding can make dogs aggressive it makes him scary.
> 
> ...


That is a really interesting story and it sounds like you did exactly the right thing, but does it really demonstrate that raw food makes dogs aggressive? From your description it sounds more like it was the treatment he has received and associated with feeding rather than the food itself that has caused the problem and if so, the same thing would have happened if he had been fed kibble. I am glad you found the trigger and removing it has obviously solved the problem.


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

Mum2Heidi said:


> I've noticed lots of dogs changed over to raw get upset tums and it's a bad thing.
> 
> Yet if they get upset tums on a wet or kibble it is We go thro the "fish/chicken and rice", protexin etc, yet raw feeders add a bit of yogurt and "they will be "fine tomorrow"
> Raw feeders go with the flow yet non raw contemplate or involve the vet????????
> ...


With raw feeding it is much easier to identify the cause of any problems than it is with a commercial diet, firstly the ingredients are much more specific and are usually fed one at a time, so if a dog has a particular reaction after eating a particular food, the culprit is obvious. With a commercial food that has an extensive list of ingredients it is so much harder to track down the culprit and can take weeks of exclusion and experimentation to find. Secondly, raw is processed through the body far quicker than dry food because it is easier to digest (once acclimatised) and so the effects of feeding something that upsets the dog become apparent that much quicker.

Raw feeding requires a change in the dogs digestive system, stomach acids for example, become stronger. Once the change is made however (within a few days) it allows the dog to process and digest a far greater variety of foods more efficiently. The only way to do this is literally to go cold turkey (pun not intended) and so there can be a short period of upset, but this quickly passes.


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

Jasper's Bloke said:


> With raw feeding it is much easier to identify the cause of any problems than it is with a commercial diet, firstly the ingredients are much more specific and are usually fed one at a time, so if a dog has a particular reaction after eating a particular food, the culprit is obvious. With a commercial food that has an extensive list of ingredients it is so much harder to track down the culprit and can take weeks of exclusion and experimentation to find. Secondly, raw is processed through the body far quicker than dry food because it is easier to digest (once acclimatised) and so the effects of feeding something that upsets the dog become apparent that much quicker.
> 
> *Raw feeding requires a change in the dogs digestive system, stomach acids for example, become stronger. Once the change is made however (within a few days) it allows the dog to process and digest a far greater variety of foods more efficiently. The only way to do this is literally to go cold turkey (pun not intended) and so there can be a short period of upset, but this quickly passes.*


Sorry Goblin, I've been keeping my fingers off the keyboard for this thread, but just wanted to heartily agree w ith this bit, and this is also I feel the main culprit for upsets I hear about. So many times people give raw a go, and choose the wrong meaty bones, a lot are lucky, but some not so. Chicken and turkey in my experience are the best to try first with dogs, they are the most all round nutritional meats, and easy to bash up and teach a dog that hasn't eaten raw to chew properly, which of course they don't have to do with kibble. So for me, the most problems/accidents I've heard about are from feeding the wrong sort of meaty bones initially, and not supervising to teach the dog to chew, which can leads to upset tums and injuries from bones either to the mouth, or because they've not broken them down before swallowing.


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## Amy-manycats (Jun 15, 2009)

OK I don't know if my experience counts, but I started my pup on Raw at about 6 months old, she is still on it. However it really really bought out her resource guarding side. She has never been abused just raised as a normal puppy, but it does add to the myth that raw meat or the taste of blood makes them agressive  She is a springer spaniel BTW, even though its nothign to do with the breed they are not the sort to have the "aggressive" lable usually. (The book also made me understand about resource guarding and it is absolutely not to do with raw feeding more about how your dog thinks)

Anyway, with time and effort, inc hand feeding raw (YUK) and working through a book called Mine by Jean Donalson, I have a happy pooch who brings be food to share (yuk again) particularly if she can't get a bit of meat off the bone and want help holding it 

My other experience with raw was on feeding her pork ribs. OMG I have never seen such explosive diarrhoea, one very unhappy dog :crying: She only had 2 ribs as one meal. That is just to say it does not suit her, everything else she eats she is fine with. There was no need to panick though even with the massive amounts of poo she did, we starved her for 1 meal and then went back to chicken lamb beef etc and she was absolutely fien no need to panic.


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## ballybee (Aug 25, 2010)

I had a bad experience with raw...it hasn't put me off though as it was my fault really.

Tummel is a kibble eater but we like to give him the occasional raw meal as i love the idea but i'm not comfy with getting the balances right in a raw diet  usually he got rabbit as he doesn't like raw chicken and we'd just take the guts out(leave in the yummy bits), pop the legs from the skin and leave it like that(my OH shoots the rabbits, we leave the skin on so Tummel has to spend more time carefully chewing before getting anything off it) but this time OH skinned the rabbit and we let Tummel at it(we're always watching when he's got raw). Tummel swallowed a big bit of spine that sut his intestines and gave him a massive infection. 

He was pooing blood, the poo coming out was like a brown waterfall, he was throwing up within minutes of eating(if you could get him to eat), not drinking, not moving around and really not himself, took him to the vets where he was given antibiotic and anti-emetic injections and sent home with a rehydration thingy he had to drink before going back the next day, if he hadn't perked up they were going to x-ray him but thankfully within about 4 hours after getting home and having some of the solution he was doing better and got a week of antibiotic tablets instead but it was terrifying for me and OH 

Now i'm wanting to do more raw meals, we've started with mackeral which he loves and is very careful about chewing, he'll eat rabbit, red deer venison, mackeral, he tried to steal a trout when fishing yesterday so he might eat them too, he has had beef meaty bones before and been fine but i don't really know what else to try him on, my OH's a butcher and he's going to try and get some lamb ribs for Tummel too. Tummel won't eat liver unless it's in a rabbit either. I'm eventually wanting to have one raw meal and one kibble meal each day but would like a bit of variety


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2011)

I feed Ziwipeak which, while it is technically raw, is very different to feeding 'real' raw so I think I should be allowed to post here 

For a while I supplemented McKenzie's Ziwipeak with some raw and had a rather explosive experience with chicken wings, which surprised me somewhat as this is usually recommended to start raw on. It wasn't pleasant for either Kenzie or myself, but I didn't put me off raw (although it did put me off feeding chicken!) 

I always intended to feed 'proper' raw next year when I have the freezer space, but to be honest now I'm just not sure. I'd love to feed it, but I'm just really scared of feeding bones - maybe I've read too many horror stories


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## Beau-a-saurus (Jan 26, 2011)

Jasper's Bloke said:


> That is a really interesting story and it sounds like you did exactly the right thing, but does it really demonstrate that raw food makes dogs aggressive? From your description it sounds more like it was the treatment he has received and associated with feeding rather than the food itself that has caused the problem and if so, the same thing would have happened if he had been fed kibble. I am glad you found the trigger and removing it has obviously solved the problem.


Oops sorry, yes, I wrote that a little badly, Beau def associates his many bad experiences with raw hence triggering his problem, it is *not* the raw causing the aggression but the learnt behavior associated with it.

Just got to find the best combination for him now balancing enjoyment, nutrition, behavior and poo :biggrin:


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

Beau-a-saurus said:


> Oops sorry, yes, I wrote that a little badly, Beau def associates his many bad experiences with raw hence triggering his problem, it is *not* the raw causing the aggression but the learnt behavior associated with it.
> 
> Just got to find the best combination for him now balancing enjoyment, nutrition, behavior and poo :biggrin:


Cool, just didn't want to give the impression that the food itself was the root of the problem. like I said I think you took the right course of action but it doesn't mean you can never feed raw again. If you go about it carefully it may be possible to re-introduce it with more positive associations.


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## Blondie (Feb 27, 2011)

Reading this with much interest. Just ahd to comment, cant zip it any longer, lol!!

regarding the people who found their dogs becoming more 'guardy' with raw food - I have a bitch who did this to such an extent, she had what I called a 6 foot 'bubble' around her when eating, lol! I didnt put it down to raw feeding though, as she was reared on raw. By some complete coincidence, when I persisted in training for her pulling on the lead when walking (cured in one walk ) this all but stopped her food agression, leading me to think it was a leadership issue all along.

I will also add that if your dog had been fed kibble rubbish, then became food agressive with raw, what about the possibility that the dog enjoys this diet so much better, he's worried you will steal it away and change him back onto that 'nasty kibble stuff'??? Just a thought...........:wink:

I would regard it as a behavioural issue though, and react accordingly with suitable training.

I think reading betwee nthe lines here, most of the problems people have encountered have been due to pure ignorance of raw feeding - I dont mean that nasty either - just that as I know Goblin has stated on many posts - its not for the uneducated to start feeding raw. I believe people should teach themselves about the canines basic digestive system and how it works, then move onto learning about the canines nutritional needs too.:wink:


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## EmCHammer (Dec 28, 2009)

I don't feed raw but would love to but a lack of freezer space and anywhere to ptu anothter freezer are holding me back at the minute...



> I will also add that if your dog had been fed kibble rubbish, then became food agressive with raw, what about the possibility that the dog enjoys this diet so much better, he's worried you will steal it away and change him back onto that 'nasty kibble stuff'??? Just a thought...........
> 
> I would regard it as a behavioural issue though, and react accordingly with suitable training.


I do get things from the butchers for them for treats when i see something, lamb spines, chicken necks / wings sometimes, ribs

One of my dogs is food possessive with strange dogs (he was very skinny when found as a stray and old habits). On the times he has had a big raw bone he started to get very possessive with it around us as well, he couldn't stand it if you were in the same room as him he would run off growling and I wasn't going to push going any further!

I always saw it as a "wow this is amazing, no ones taking this off me" behaviour rather than the raw meat side of things itself.

Using kind positive methods we got him feeling a bit more secure with his bones and he will now bring them to me to hold.

They were big knuckle bones which I know are a no-no? He has quite powerful jaws and would ya on them so much that even after twenty minutes with one he would have eaten so much he was seriously constipated - so he can't have them any more as they really block his system up... we stick with the lamb spines as about the biggest bones but they don't last very long at all.


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## EmCHammer (Dec 28, 2009)

Another thing; not necessarily a bad thing but driven from my dogs insane obsession with food; he was much worse at being obsessed with food when he has nice raw food; today he had a whole pilchard for breakfast and he has been mithering in the kitchen all day.

When he was ill he had lots of nice treats, one day he spent the whole day crying and unsettled I was really worried until I twigged it was cos had a bacon joint on all day on a slow boil and the smell was driving him nuts (he was on steriods too which sent his greed even sky higher!)


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Jasper's Bloke said:


> With raw feeding it is much easier to identify the cause of any problems than it is with a commercial diet, firstly the ingredients are much more specific and are usually fed one at a time, so if a dog has a particular reaction after eating a particular food, the culprit is obvious. With a commercial food that has an extensive list of ingredients it is so much harder to track down the culprit and can take weeks of exclusion and experimentation to find. Secondly, raw is processed through the body far quicker than dry food because it is easier to digest (once acclimatised) and so the effects of feeding something that upsets the dog become apparent that much quicker.
> 
> Raw feeding requires a change in the dogs digestive system, stomach acids for example, become stronger. Once the change is made however (within a few days) it allows the dog to process and digest a far greater variety of foods more efficiently. The only way to do this is literally to go cold turkey (pun not intended) and so there can be a short period of upset, but this quickly passes.


Thanks for that explanation, makes a lot of sense. Raw isnt something I can contemplate. I'm too much of a worry wort. The thought of raw and 2 young grandchildren doesnt sit well, I have issues with raw and cleanliness that I wouldnt overcome. I like feeding my dog to be a happy experience for us both. Something I can do and then forget about. I would be constantly fretting and that wouldnt do for me. Abominable shame because my OH is a master butcher

Hats off to all those who do - and to the manufacturers who are now taking a leaf out of the raw book and simplifying their ingredients and proceedures keeping the likes of me and my dog happy.


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## bearcub (Jul 19, 2011)

Beau-a-saurus said:


> Ok, I will fess up, we had a bad raw experience. When we got Beau, nearly a year ago he was fed mainly raw and sometimes Burns, I really enjoyed and wanted to continue feeding raw (have great butchers in the area with loads of cheap and freebies) but had to give up after repeated serious behavioral problems.
> 
> I quite strongly believe raw is the most natural way to feed a dog however because of his particular issues and past, he has connections to unpleasant things happening with raw feeding, it provokes his resource guarding, he is dangerous (has properly bitten) when given raw meaty bones and chicken wings or chunks of meat and it stresses him out. Beau actually fits the (totally rubbish) myth that raw feeding can make dogs aggressive it makes him scary.
> 
> ...


Just wanted to say, thank you, for being honest and posting this. The aggression is exactly the problem I've had with Louie since trying raw. (He's primarily on Burns) but have been trying out bones a couple of days a week to see how they take to it. I seriously worry about him biting me when he's given a raw bone and he has growled at me (which he would never ever do under normal circumstances), he's usually the most loving, gentle, soppy boy. He and Florence had a fight over a raw chicken that Louie stole from my worktop which could have turned nasty if I hadn't of intervened.

I know I can work on this through training, but I honestly don't see the point. He's happy with his kibble and I can pick up his bowl, stroke him, stand or sit near him when he's eating it. I would also never be able to feed him and Florence at the same time which would make life very difficult. A raw chicken wing now and then wouldn't hurt, I can hand feed him these and they're gone in a matter of minutes, but a bone can last an hour and I can't risk not being able to take it off him.

It's a shame, and if I had Florence who is totally trustworthy (the most she would do with a raw bone if I approached her would be to give me a sulky look) I would feed her raw 100% of the time. But bones make Louie panicky, stressed and put him into a very strange and scary state of mind


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

bearcub said:


> Just wanted to say, thank you, for being honest and posting this. The aggression is exactly the problem I've had with Louie since trying raw. (He's primarily on Burns) but have been trying out bones a couple of days a week to see how they take to it. I seriously worry about him biting me when he's given a raw bone and he has growled at me (which he would never ever do under normal circumstances), he's usually the most loving, gentle, soppy boy. He and Florence had a fight over a raw chicken that Louie stole from my worktop which could have turned nasty if I hadn't of intervened.
> 
> I know I can work on this through training, but I honestly don't see the point. He's happy with his kibble and I can pick up his bowl, stroke him, stand or sit near him when he's eating it. I would also never be able to feed him and Florence at the same time which would make life very difficult. A raw chicken wing now and then wouldn't hurt, I can hand feed him these and they're gone in a matter of minutes, but a bone can last an hour and I can't risk not being able to take it off him.
> 
> It's a shame, and if I had Florence who is totally trustworthy (the most she would do with a raw bone if I approached her would be to give me a sulky look) I would feed her raw 100% of the time. But bones make Louie panicky, stressed and put him into a very strange and scary state of mind


The problem then, to me, is simple, don't give your dog something it can guard, because it will. I don't actually give large marrow bones, too many friends have had dogs that have had problems with them, large pieces splintering off and injuring their throats. They don't need marrow bones as the nutritional value is poor compared to chicken and lamb, so stick to those, and problem is solved


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## EmCHammer (Dec 28, 2009)

It doesn't seem to bring out the best in my dog which is a shame cos he loves it all but as I put above his food obsession is crazy and it makes him worse when he knows there are higher value nicer food things around.

He has a brain tumour and one of the side effects seems to be his food obsession has gone through the roof.

Its a shame cos I recon would be a really good time to put him on a raw diet!

That and I have no spare freezer space adn the OH feeds the dogs mainly and he doesn't want to touch bones and bits of raw meat.


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## LeeM018 (Aug 26, 2010)

bearcub said:


> Just wanted to say, thank you, for being honest and posting this. The aggression is exactly the problem I've had with Louie since trying raw. (He's primarily on Burns) but have been trying out bones a couple of days a week to see how they take to it. I seriously worry about him biting me when he's given a raw bone and he has growled at me (which he would never ever do under normal circumstances), he's usually the most loving, gentle, soppy boy. He and Florence had a fight over a raw chicken that Louie stole from my worktop which could have turned nasty if I hadn't of intervened.
> 
> I know I can work on this through training, but I honestly don't see the point. He's happy with his kibble and I can pick up his bowl, stroke him, stand or sit near him when he's eating it. I would also never be able to feed him and Florence at the same time which would make life very difficult. A raw chicken wing now and then wouldn't hurt, I can hand feed him these and they're gone in a matter of minutes, but a bone can last an hour and I can't risk not being able to take it off him.
> 
> It's a shame, and if I had Florence who is totally trustworthy (the most she would do with a raw bone if I approached her would be to give me a sulky look) I would feed her raw 100% of the time. But bones make Louie panicky, stressed and put him into a very strange and scary state of mind


I think you made a good call on returning to commercial food. As appealing as the raw argument tends to be to us (myself included), it isn't worth doing if the trade off is a major (or even minor) negative change in character.

I've recently started out with raw. If I notice anything wrong with the way my boy responds then I'll happily return to commercial. There are plenty of high quality commercial foods and we shouldn't forget that, despite a lot of raw literature making it seem like anything with a logo is the same quality as Pedigree Chum. As always, we humans are quick to form a black vs white argument, when in fact the problem is nearly always vastly more complex than that.


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## sezra (May 20, 2011)

I have been lucky with the raw feeding but when I first gave a lamb breast bone to Daisy she whizzed it off out to the garden. I always feed in the crate so I followed her out to put it back and she growled. I was a bit apprehensive about removing the bone but determined to take it from her. After a firm 'leave' I removed it and put it back in the crate! She still tries to take them outside and yesterday at my sisters buried a lamb bone in her veg patch! Ooops!


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## maryrose1977 (Aug 7, 2011)

As requested I am posting here.

When i was a teenager my parents rescued a Collie Cross dog from the RSPCA.
When they got him he was on some cheap food the RSPCA had him on.

Gradually over time my parents decided to introduce raw foods to his diet in the hope better nutrition would benefit the dog.

They started off slowly just adding little bits of raw to what he was eating, liver, kidneys, heart etc. 
After a couple of months they started adding some chicken with bones (cant recall if they were wings or legs sorry.)
Then one day he was vomiting and had blood from his back end and he just collapsed, lifeless on the floor.

My parents used to live opposite the vets and my father just picked up the dog and ran with him in his arms to the vets. He was put on a drip and they felt something odd with their hands ( I can only assume it was the bowels or stomach but wasnt there)

An hour later they opened him up and found a chicken bone piercing out of his bowel and they removed it and stitched him up. My father was actually given the bone. Was only tiny but caused so much damage.

Was told chicken bones were a definate no no. Hence why i always make sure my pets have no access to them.

Also about 6 months after this incident the neighbour without thinking threw a lamb bone over (leg) this was cooked but the poor dog got sick and ended up on chicken and rice for a while until he was feeling better.

When we got our dalmatian i have to admit we never did raw feeding but did used to get him bones from the Butchers. He ended up with chronic smelly bum syndrome and with the runs. 

After reading the forums and some others i have read that raw healthy option but for my pets i will stick to commercial foods simply because of the bad experiences we have had.


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

sezra said:


> I have been lucky with the raw feeding but when I first gave a lamb breast bone to Daisy she whizzed it off out to the garden. I always feed in the crate so I followed her out to put it back and she growled. I was a bit apprehensive about removing the bone but determined to take it from her. After a firm 'leave' I removed it and put it back in the crate! She still tries to take them outside and yesterday at my sisters buried a lamb bone in her veg patch! Ooops!


Can't keep my fingers off the keyboard  I tell mine where to eat their bones, and am able to always take them off, handle them, and give them back. I don't do it all the time, but it's nice to know I can if I needed to .

Mine eat their bones either on their bed, or outside, depending on the weather. I've always associated *bed* with food, either a treat or a boney meal, and they are comfortable settling down there to have a gnaw at something like a bit of lamb back or neck.


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## jadecat (Nov 2, 2010)

We have tried to feed Eddy raw, he got very bad colitis, frequent bloody stools he was poorly each time we tried him on raw!! Well after Eddy going from a healthy for him 26kilos to 20kilos in a month. (we took him to the vets a number of times over that month). After many tests it turned out the Eddy has a beef and chicken allergy hence the colitis and weight loose. We had been feeding poor Ed mainly beef and chicken!! Unfortunately Eddy has gone on to be intolerant to duck, turkey, venison, rabbit, he only seems to be able to tolerate lamb and pork which is odd! We would love to feed Eddy just raw but we can not afford to, as to keep his weight on, he puts away around a kilo of food per day and lamb is so expensive, and too much pork makes him ill too!!


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## pogo (Jul 25, 2011)

Sleeping_Lion said:


> Can't keep my fingers off the keyboard  I tell mine where to eat their bones, and am able to always take them off, handle them, and give them back. I don't do it all the time, but it's nice to know I can if I needed to .
> 
> Mine eat their bones either on their bed, or outside, depending on the weather. I've always associated *bed* with food, either a treat or a boney meal, and they are comfortable settling down there to have a gnaw at something like a bit of lamb back or neck.


I agree with this, my lad knows if he is eating inside then it's on his towel, or if the weather allows then he eats on the grass only. I also know 100% that i can go and take and food bone etc out of his mouth and he won't so much a bat an eye lid.


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## Hawks1980 (Aug 21, 2011)

DT said:


> Whilst on the raw verus dry verus wet!
> JUST a reminder to all!
> NEVER feed raw and dry togheter in the same meal!
> DT


As someone who has just started this past weekend to feed the odd raw chicken breast or fish fillet to their dog, can I ask why you can't feed raw and dry at the same meal, and what can happen if you do?

I confess I fed Mishka two white fish fillets tonight (200g in total) along with half the usual dry food I normally give her hmy:

Thanks

Tom.


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

Sleeping_Lion said:


> Can't keep my fingers off the keyboard  I tell mine where to eat their bones, and am able to always take them off, handle them, and give them back. I don't do it all the time, but it's nice to know I can if I needed to .
> 
> Mine eat their bones either on their bed, or outside, depending on the weather. I've always associated *bed* with food, either a treat or a boney meal, and they are comfortable settling down there to have a gnaw at something like a bit of lamb back or neck.


Totally agree with this, in my case, I have always associated food with his crate and the two then reinforce each other. As time has gone on, I now feed anything that can be carried around, such as joints or rmb, in his crate. This is primarily a hygiene thing, chicken wings tend to get distributed around the house and then eaten one a time, but it also reassure him that he can eat in safety, he can leave the crate and return knowing his dinner will still be there. I also practice a lot of impulse control, he knows when food is coming and of course it excites him, but if he can't sit and wait until told to eat he doesn't get it until he can. With practice he has gotten very good at this and can now be called away even mid-mouthful.


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## bearcub (Jul 19, 2011)

Hawks1980 said:


> As someone who has just started this past weekend to feed the odd raw chicken breast or fish fillet to their dog, can I ask why you can't feed raw and dry at the same meal, and what can happen if you do?
> 
> I confess I fed Mishka two white fish fillets tonight (200g in total) along with half the usual dry food I normally give her hmy:
> 
> ...


I *think* it's because kibble takes a lot longer to digest than raw so bacteria can form in the gut, but have also read that this is a myth. I wouldn't worry too much about it tbh.


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

Hawks1980 said:


> As someone who has just started this past weekend to feed the odd raw chicken breast or fish fillet to their dog, can I ask why you can't feed raw and dry at the same meal, and what can happen if you do?
> 
> I confess I fed Mishka two white fish fillets tonight (200g in total) along with half the usual dry food I normally give her hmy:
> 
> ...


When I began raw feeding I read an awful lot of articles on the subject and can distinctly remember one that dealt with this in depth. However, that is as good as my memory gets because I am buggered if I can remember where I read it!

Basically, raw food is digested much quicker than processed foods, not only because of their physical differences, but also as a mechanism to prevent illness. The reason people do not eat raw meat is because it very often (yes, even fresh off the shelf) contains nasty bacteria such as salmonella. In the relatively small quantities found in raw meat these bacteria are of little threat to us, but once they get into our digestive system they find the ideal breeding ground and are able to multiply in vast numbers, very quickly, therefore overloading our immune systems and causing any number of distasteful symptoms. Cooking the food of course destroys these bacteria entirely, so as long as you cook your meat properly and avoid my barbeques, the chances of you getting ill in this way are pretty slim.

It is a scientifically proven fact that dogs cannot cook, and so they have had to develop an alternative method of coping with the bacteria. The way they do it is simple but effective and involves merely having a super fast digestive system that gets the stuff in, gets out what it needs, and chucks the rest away. If the bacteria are not in the system for long enough to multiply in sufficient numbers, they are not there long enough to cause a problem. This is also the reason you often hear of anti-raw studies claiming to have found nasties like salmonella in dog faeces, the dog eats raw food and is infested with salmonella and subsequently spreads it around like wildfire before dying a horrible death. Well, no actually, you find bacteria in dog poop because they eat the food containing it, they process the food they need and they discard the stuff they don't, like the bacteria. The short version is that all the nasty bugs go straight through before they have time to do any damage.

Now, if a heavily processed food like kibble takes longer than raw to digest, somewhere in the linear digestive system we are going to end up with a queue, and if that slows down the processing of the raw food containing bacteria, guess what happens?



bearcub said:


> I *think* it's because kibble takes a lot longer to digest than raw so bacteria can form in the gut, but have also read that this is a myth. I wouldn't worry too much about it tbh.


Like I say I can't put my finger on the exact article and it may all be hoohaa and speculation, but it does seem to make sense (to me at least, probably not to anyone else going by my description!) and the fact is I have seen for myself, as well as heard countless accounts from other raw feeders, just how quickly what goes in can affect what comes out. If you change your dogs kibble for example and it turns out to be a bad idea, you will likely see the effects within 2 - 3 days. With a raw fed dog, making a mistake that leads to cleaning up with a hosepipe rather than a plastic bag is more likely to become visible in as little as 24 hours. This is in fact one of the many benefits of raw feeding, firstly if you do make a mistake, you find out about it pretty quickly which makes it easier to identify the source and secondly, your dog is able to get rid of the cause of the problem quicker, before it gets worse.

It is true that many people feed raw and kibble, but if you speak to those that do, they usually without exception keep the two meals separate and feed one in the morning and one in the evening, so never the twain shall meet as it were.


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

Well, lets not let this thread get lost too quickly :wink:


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## LouJ69 (Feb 28, 2009)

I had a slight bad experience with raw myself a couple of months ago.
Monty seemed to be in pain around one of his pain legs. Originally we thought he had landed funny when jumping for a ball, but later on in the day he was struggling to get up from his bed. I had been working nights and had been asleep for most of the day and when I came down he didn't even get off his bed which is highly unlike him. He just lay in his bed and when I went over to him he started shivering. I helped him up and when I touched his back leg he yelped and just shivered again. We brought him to the emergency vets straightaway. The vet poked and prodded at him and of course he seemed much better (typical!). She had a root up his bum and asked if he had been eating any bones lately. I told her we had given him a bone the night before (didn't mention raw as I wasn't in the mood to get into it with her!). She said that she reckoned that was the reason for his soreness. She gave him an enema and a small piece of bone eventually came out. It had obviously turned around in his bowel or wherever and couldn't pass out so that was why he was in pain as it was pressing against him inside. She just said 'no more bones', I agreed and kept him off them for a few days.
Luckily anough that was my only bad experience with raw and the 2 dogs seem happy on it. It's nearly a year that I've had them on raw and I'm glad I made the changeover.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I dont feed raw but have had similar experiences to LouJ69.

Heidi is v often sick after bones with the exception of chicken wings. Lamb and beef ribs dont seem to digest and she eventually brings up amounts of liquid full of pieces of bone. 

The thought of the sharp edges going down and then coming back up again combined with the damage they could to has made me stop and now she only has chicken wings.

Presumably there is a way round this if you feed raw but as I only use bones for teeth and anal cleaning chicken wings will do fine.


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## walkingcarpets (Aug 11, 2011)

I have cats, not dogs and support raw feeding however had a bad experience wherein outcome is, brought about a necessary change where I had to rethink about the whole feeding and what is the best for our cats in light of what happened.

Our oldest has never had issues with raw feeding, she has been on raw for 6 years, whereas our youngest (2) has and as a result was diagnosed with suspected TOXO to the point a year ago, we almost lost him. We are not sure whether it is rabbit which caused this, since the bulk of his diet had been wild rabbit whereas the oldest had organic chicken, free range turkey.

He continues to undergo blood tests to measure his levels, good news is he is much better and whilst displaying no symptoms as he had done, clinically the results show different, we and the vet are in agreement though clinical results are not as they 'should' be, our boy is healthy. The vet college has also got involved since this is where he was referred so his case is 'ongoing' as he is being studied so to speak due to the 'unusualness' of it.

To make it easier and less of a risk, we decided to feed both of them cooked though the older one does occasionally get raw turkey breast treats since she still has an acquired taste for this. The younger one does not and has a home cooked recipe using premix as well as Lily's and ZP dry. The girl has ZP and Lily's. 

So this is our experience yet we would never say to people 'don't feed raw'- my philosophy is everything is life involves a risk, there is no formula and it isn't about 'right' or 'wrong'. When it comes to the individual, important to factor in all are different and what works for one may not work for another. Good practice is flexible and 'open minded' as opposed to rigid and opinionated. 

I read recently an acronym for PRIDE, a human condition affecting the heart of us all 

People Recognising Individuality (identity) Differences for Equality


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

Last time I'll bump this up. Will say thanks for everyone who has contributed and also to the raw feeders who mostly stayed away. I know it was hard 
I will put a link to this thread in the http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/111437-raw-feeding-everything-you-need-know.html thread so it can still be found and read by people doing research into raw.


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## Zayna (Apr 19, 2009)

Roz had one bad experience with a ham bone. She was ill for about 2 days, off her food, no energy etc. Had booked a vets appointment and was due to take her in when she suddenly popped out a huge lump of bone (ouch) and was straight away fine! 
it did put me off raw feeding initally but i did some research and started her off on chicken wings. I always watch her when she eats to make sure she chews carefully and she will let me remove things from her mouth so i know i can take a bone off her if i feel that shes not eating it right.
The only other issue i have is the smell of tripe! smells like something died. still she does well on it so guess i will have to put up with the smell!!


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

Zayna said:


> Roz had one bad experience with a ham bone. She was ill for about 2 days, off her food, no energy etc. Had booked a vets appointment and was due to take her in when she suddenly popped out a huge lump of bone (ouch) and was straight away fine!
> it did put me off raw feeding initally but i did some research and started her off on chicken wings. I always watch her when she eats to make sure she chews carefully and she will let me remove things from her mouth so i know i can take a bone off her if i feel that shes not eating it right.
> The only other issue i have is the smell of tripe! smells like something died. still she does well on it so guess i will have to put up with the smell!!


Ham bones are not the best to feed, especially for a beginner dog, usually too hard.

As for the smell if tripe, totally agree, it does smell like something died but then, it did!

Glad you have given it another try.


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## wyntersmum (Jul 31, 2011)

im still in the prosses of changing colin over and he was doing great on just chicken then we introduced tripe and that went great but then i got all excited and gave him ox heart and oh no runny poos didnt get better with resting and rice and chicken so ended at the vets he had to have a week of mild antibiotics the vet didnt tell me off coz of the raw but just said take it more slowly lol. ive lernt my lesson and we are introducing lamb at the min but i was giving him tripe chunks and chicken wings and doing great but my hubby gat him tripe mince and chicken mince and for the past 2 days if he has a little poo in the night its more a few drops of liquid then he has a big poo when he first hets up which is samy runny but also soft-firm but as the day goes on it gate more firm. im thinking its not the lamb but coz its 2 minces in one day. so think will get tripe chunks again and see if i can get chicken chunks.


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## Dogsbody53 (Oct 10, 2011)

Several years ago we took on a 9 yr old dog that had been fed RAW, the breeder she came from was adamant that we continued RAW, well, after a few months she got a piece of lamb rib bone stuck at the back of her throat, it was only her excellent temperament that saved her as I had to get it out with my little finger, we lived 25 miles from our vet. Had this dog been unsupervised or not let me deal with her there is no doubt she would have died. This dog lived another 4 yrs happy & healthy eating Biscuits & Butchers Canned.

At the time I also started feeding my Papillon on chicken wings, which he loved but I always removed the sharp piece at the end when he had nearly finished, I have no idea how strong a dogs intestines are but some of the splinters on chicken wings can be very hard


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## Malmum (Aug 1, 2010)

OMG - butchers and biscuits! 

She probably only lived another four years because she had a good constitution by being fed raw most of her life. Poor girl having to switch like that after nine years eating raw just because you panicked! At least with a chocking dog you can see the damage and treat accordingly, with food like you fed the damage goes unseen, affecting internal organs, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening.

You should *never* leave a dog with bones unsupervised anyway and if you had been an experienced raw feeder you would have known that. Dogs have died with kibble stuck in their throats too, someone should always be present at feeding times, just as you are with children.

I would be devastated if someone took on one of my raw fed dogs under the premise of keeping them on raw then fed them Butchers crap!  Mind you my dogs are going nowhere cos you just can't trust people to do what they say!


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## Zayna (Apr 19, 2009)

Jasper's Bloke said:


> Ham bones are not the best to feed, especially for a beginner dog, usually too hard.
> 
> As for the smell if tripe, totally agree, it does smell like something died but then, it did!
> 
> Glad you have given it another try.


i would never feed a ham bone again.. has but me right off. The only bones she has are chicken wings, legs and thighs and lamb ribs. I would give her chicken necks and lamb spines too but havent seen them for sale anywhere.


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## Treacle1 (Dec 28, 2011)

Couldn't agree more. I spend the next hour spraying the house to get rid of the stink. lol


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## Amy-manycats (Jun 15, 2009)

Back to this thread as I recently had another bad raw experience. 

I now have 2 dogs both fed raw. we don;t do much fish though and I will probably stick to skinned fillets and cans of fish from now on. Both girls had a whole megrim each. Both took abotu and hour to get their head around it had a good old much and polished it off. About 40 mins later one was sick then the other. Both promply re ate the fish 

Unfortunately throughout the night they were both sick several times again. The worst bit about it all was waking at 2 in the morning and putting my bare foot in a warm pile of fishy dog sick! 

Fish the 2nd and 3rd time around is RANK. Its definately something I will be in no rush to feed again, or will reduce the quantity greatly.


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## emmaviolet (Oct 24, 2011)

Malmum said:


> OMG - butchers and biscuits!
> 
> She probably only lived another four years because she had a good constitution by being fed raw most of her life. Poor girl having to switch like that after nine years eating raw just because you panicked! At least with a chocking dog you can see the damage and treat accordingly, with food like you fed the damage goes unseen, affecting internal organs, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening.
> 
> ...


Wow thats a little harsh! Especially since a lot of dogs lead happy and healthy lives on butchers. I doubt that the only thing that got her through the four years was a raw diet tbh.

I would also prefer a dog to go to a good loving home with someone who would care enough to panic about their life then be fed a raw diet!


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## flosskins (Jan 27, 2010)

Malmum said:


> OMG - butchers and biscuits!
> 
> She probably only lived another four years because she had a good constitution by being fed raw most of her life. Poor girl having to switch like that after nine years eating raw just because you panicked! At least with a chocking dog you can see the damage and treat accordingly, with food like you fed the damage goes unseen, affecting internal organs, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening.
> 
> ...


I think this is very harsh and the thread was for people with bad experiences to share and not be criticised. The OP was clearly not an experienced raw feeder as they were following the wishes of the person they got the dog from. And there is no way to become 'experienced' at something without first starting out as a novice.

I have 6 dogs and feed mine ad lib, I leave a full bowl down all the time and they all eat what they want. I know a lot of people don't agree with this but it works for me, they are all the correct weight and I have no problems whatsoever. Therefore I don't think raw would work for me as I would need to split them all up and wait for however long it took them to eat it twice a day!


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

Keep it on track people if you are going to comment. Could argue the downsides of commercial foods till the cows come home. Not the purpose of this thread.


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## Leanne77 (Oct 18, 2011)

Apart from a handful of incidents involving bones wedged in the roof of the mouth, the most notable bad experience with raw feeding was when my dogs saliva gland was pierced by a chicken bone. He had a swelling on the side of his jaw, I didnt know what it was so took him to the vets. It was nothing serious and it went down after a couple of days of being on AB's.


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## Canine K9 (Feb 22, 2013)

My boy choked on a bone and it sort of put me off ever since.


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## catz4m8z (Aug 27, 2008)

Leanne77 said:


> Apart from a handful of incidents involving bones wedged in the roof of the mouth,


Ive had that happen once...but it was a bone Hannah picked up on a walk and shouldnt of been eating anyways!
TBH the thing my lot often get stuck are gravy bones!:001_huh: Whenever someone is licking their lips alot after their bedtime snacks I usually find abit of gravy bone wedged at the back of their mouths!


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## Wildmoor (Oct 31, 2011)

How long have you fed raw? prior to the dog developing his reactions I had raw fed for over 15 years

What is your breed/type of dog/s GSD

Age of dog/s he was aged 2 years when problems developed 

Any pre-existing health issues? No

Describe your negative experience, symptoms, food involved etc. he had severe adverse reactions to the majority of meat proteins 

Veterinary treatment/advice received? started on Atopica developed seizures so this was stopped and so did seizures started on steriods and maintained on this until he developed heamolytic aneamia - required massive doses of steroids 2 blood transfusion and was pts at age 5years 3 months 1 week

Have you continued to feed raw?
no as during the years he was alive I couldnt let him have access to raw, current dogs occassionaly have it


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