Indecisive owner needs help! ....... To cut a long story short ... dog with ongoing problems with digestion. Allergy test reveals an intolerance to beef, lamb, chicken, wheat, white fish, and milk. I'm sure some of you recognise the dog ..... ah, its Rosie I hear. I have been given reputable advice that a behaviour issue is related to her diet. She's on Wafcol, salmon&potato btw. I've been advised to think about raw feeding, which indeed I have started to do a lot of research on and am currently waiting for a book to arrive so I can get my teeth into the subject properly. I can totally agree with the principle behind raw feeding in that eliminating processed food from a diet is good, as it is for our children and ourselves but my dilemma is that Rosie's got all these allergies.  What advice can you give me ..... I'm beginning to be swayed but I lack confidence and knowledge.

The behaviour issue btw is the recall going from reasonable to appauling. I'm told that Rosie is hungry a lot of the time and is 'tuning out' off lead and is hunting. I am completely prepared to accept this as this change in behaviour started about the same time as the change in diet. Rosie hates the wafcol, isn't eating anywhere near the minimum amount suggested for a dog of her weight and is losing weight. I need to do something to change this.

Sorry folks, I don't mean to sound drippy about this, but I am in a dilemma.

What a dilemma :( I wouldn't know what to advise - I think that you either take your vet's advice or you just try what you feel is worth trying :)

For what it's worth :D I'm not a great believer in a lot of these allergy tests :D I'm a great believer in raw - purely because it is natural food without the additives. What's supposed to be good for humans has to be good for dogs - same principle. I'd probably just try the raw and see what happens :D But then I'm me and would only be accountable to me, if I did that :D

Good luck with whatever you try

I would go with the raw :D I switched my Dobe to raw 5 weeks ago. We have found that he is able to eat things now that previously would have brought his colitis on (things we had labelled as him being allergic or intolerant to after food elimination diets). I do not know if maybe being on raw has made his immune system stronger, whether the exclusion of ALL grain has changed the balance of digestive acids or whatnot in his system but toilet wise he is doing brilliantly. About 3 weeks ago he did start itching alot but our homeopathic vet seemed to think that he was going through detox, and it has begun to calm down over the last few days.

Will be interested to hear what you decide to do :D

As the others have suggested your dog may not reat to the meat types she is sensitive to in their raw form, but then seh might.

If I was looking at raw feeding I would try and find a relaible source of meat types she is not sensitive to.

Rabbit woudl seem a good choice, adn in fact whole as it comes woudl be a complete food in itself, though I woudl make sure that her worming is kept current, including tape worm.

It might be worth contacting any local fams where rabbits are bound to be culled, or contact ferret societies who will often be called upon to rid a field of Rabbits.

These links may help source rabbit meat http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Rabbit+meat&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB

Im with Daisy on Allergy testing.Esp. the blood test variety, they were initially developed for humans and the circulating antibodies that they test for are different in dogs and cats than in people. The result is that there are a lot of false positives.

My friend's Dally's scavenging got really bad when she had him on Wafcol and he was eating the full amount!

Well if the girl is hunting like you say, then she'll soon be feeding herself!
No really,I'd go for raw and then I'd go for tripe mix as that'll put the weight on like nothing else can.

Hi

Can I ask what book it is that you are waiting for please?

TIA

Since we've been feeding raw, I have found that all of ours (loony labs and awful aussies) seem a lot calmer - still mad, but not so "hyper"

Margot

Sorry I've not replied sooner - haven't been checking the forum for a few days - had a bout of food poisoning The book I was expecting is Work Wonders by Tom Lonsdale. I'm half way through and I must be honest, I'm not feeling confident at this stage that I'll be feeding a balanced diet. I guess its just confidence and knowledge. 

You can add a powder onto one meal a day.  Its called SA37. It contains all vitamins and minerals.  I feed our great danes a raw diet but I also add SA37 (1teaspoon) to one meal per day. 
Good luck.

Hi,

The thing to remember with raw feeding is that you are aiming for a nutritional balance over time, not days ;)

Yes, it does take confidence, but also time. The longer you feed what you believe in, the more confident you will get, especially when you see the change in your dogs.

I've been feeding Raw for about 2 yrs and believe me, my dogs have benefited no end. They didn't have any health issues, so I thought, that is, until I raw fed. Then I really saw the difference. My last dog has been on raw since she was 7 weeks  and is already, by comparison to the other dogs, superior :)

Why not, as part of your research, do a search on here, I'm sure with a bit of snooping about, your confidence will grow :)

Of course there are lots of books out there that you can read up on.

Good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it :)