My pug mum and 4 month old pup have just moved to raw. i had problems with little one having diareah but that seems to have resolved with a trip to the vets but i took the opportunity of moving to raw whilst he was eating the vets prescribed tinned food.

they are currently having chicken and rice for breakfast - only because i have some left from the upset tummy and chicken wings for tea 3 each.

Now, let's talk poo! mummy pug is passing rock/pebble size poos that are rich brown in colour but crumbly and a hughly reduced amount with no smell. They do have a red tinge but i am sure it's not blood. Is this normal. Son is just solidfying from his upset tummy but has reduced his output as well. Fantastic!

Now i have read two schools of thought on raw feeding. I have heard to add fruit, veg and variation to the meat and bones. Another site i have read has said that it has no nutritional value to the dog and they wouldnt eat it in a natural diet. Some say use raw mince, bones and veg and the other says big lumps of meat on the bone ie just give my pugs a chicken leg on the bone which has high meat content and nothing else.

I am also concerned about sticking to one meat. I have read i should stick to chicken for 4 weeks with the transfer from dry to raw and especially as one is a pup.

Advice please, which way as i am sure i am reading too much contradiction. I would love just to feed meat on the bone twice a day with extra additions as and when but want to know they are balanced.

sorry for the length of this post!

Hi Wiltshireone,

I'm off for a bit shortly but just noticed this so quick answer but I'm sure someone else will follow through :)  (whoops - hit post already LOL)

reply with info to follow :-D

>I have heard to add fruit, veg and variation to the meat and bones. Another site i have read has said that it has no nutritional value to the dog and they wouldnt eat it in a natural diet.

Just to say that dogs do naturally seek out fruit and vegetables, given half a chance! The gardeners among us will confirm that they like to help themselves to strawberries, raspberries, apples, pears, currants, blackberries etc etc. Some have learned to dig up carrots!

OK - I'll try again :-p

Crumbly stools - due to too much bone in diet.  Any fresh bloody flecks or coating on stools could be result of straining or bone 'scraping' the GI tract.

I have BSD - (much bigger than pugs obviously) if they got 3-4 chicken wings each on consecutive days, there would be crumbly stools and/or shards of evident bone.  Chicken wings have a lot of bone in them in relation to the RMB rule of them - RMB standing for Raw Meaty Bones, emphasis on meaty :)

I feed mine mainly lamb breast - most meaty and cartilegde (soft bone type) cut I can find and also chicken thighs rather than wings.  I never feed load bearing bones - so even chicken drumsticks or whole legs are a no go with them.  Load bearing bones are more likely to splinter IME.

Some schools of thought advocate feeding fruit and veg and others not - not all dogs like them or only like a limited type - however if we follow the 'what they'd get in the wild theory then it follows were they to catch a whole rabbit they'd eat meat, bone, FUR!, AND the stomach contents which would include grass and maybe veg etc :)

All that aside, starting a raw diet without studying the requirements first, especially relating to what is appropriate for certain breeds etc, is becoming very common - not a good thing IMO.

Should you want to go down this route do some very in depth research, speak to the breeder of your bitch or anyone else in your breed feeding raw (or against it as the case may be) weigh up your research and opinions received and then rethink how best to proceed.

Joining Britbarf is an excellent start as there's oodles of info for those who feed raw, home prepared or a mix of either with and without kibble etc :)  No hard and fast rules so nobody 'on their soap box' about the good, bad & ugly of dog feeding (well, not too many :-D )

HTH meantime - please, don't jump in blind.
regards Teri

Hi Teri

I have read and read on this and joined britbarf. I know no one in my breed who feeds solely raw.

I do however know two large dog owners in my street who feed raw but much bigger dogs. One a doberman and the other a newfoundland breeder/show person. They are advising me and supplying me with chicken carcusses etc to try them with. They seem to think it is the most staight forward way of doing things, i wasnt convinced.

Now you have convinced me further that this may be too complex to guarentee a balanced diet. If i really need to study more then perhaps i shouldnt go down this route. It just seems to natural to me but i am very worried about it as i have relied on pure dry food up until now. I have read about this for many months before even daring to give a raw chicken wing to them but maybe i should leave it to the experts!

Royal canin is looking good at the min!

Now you have convinced me further that this may be too complex to guarentee a balanced diet. If i really need to study more then perhaps i shouldnt go down this route.

Why don't you do what I have  just started doing -one meal of raw and one meal of complete food a day? We decided to do it this way because a) that way we know the dogs get what they need from the complete, and b) as a vegetarian, I'm afraid there is no way on earth I could handle the raw meat without feeling REALLY ill.(I can hardly LOOK at it!) So hubby feeds the raw, I feed the complete, everyone happy including dogs and our dog food bill has been halved. :)

Hi Wiltshire one-I feed a combination of raw and kibble also.The meat comes from http://www.food4dogs.co.uk/ also check out their other website which gives more info on their products http://www.back-2-nature.co.uk/
Their "varieties" are guaranteed to have the right ratio of muscle meat,organs and bone-so makes it easy.I stuff the mince into Kongs so the dogs do have to work at it a bit although its not quite so good for the teeth as feeding meat on the bone.I know lots of people who feed meaty bones with no problems but I'm still just a bit nervous-shouldn't be I know. I tend to give one meal of kibble as well,also a small amount of pulverised veg or veggie juice and spirulina.They also sometimes get raw tripe,raw eggs and tinned sardines a couple of times a week just for a bit of variety.

Hi, i have been away but that is just the route i have gone down. To add a bit of variety to their diet i am adding in some raw to thier complete diet. Making the odd meal raw and the rest complete, thus ensuring a balanced diet.

i did get a little nervous on the bone thing too.....what a wimp! Well have you ever seen a pug, they arent exactly normal shaped!!! x