Hi everyone,

I know that the Raw topic probably gets done to death here, but I would really appreciate any more specific advice anyone is willing to give me for my puppy as I am reading so many things I feel more confused than ever - and I am also nervous about changing!

I have an approx 20 week old (not sure exactly as she is a rescue) OES x Lab puppy who is currently fed on Wainwright's Puppy Food. She is doing well on this and seems a good weight, healthy, etc, but I really love the idea of raw and want to try it, but I just don't know where to start!

My main concern is that she very much has the appetite of a lab (i.e. eating everything and anything as quickly as possible without even chewing - she has been known to eat her dinner so fast that it comes straight back up again, which is apparently brilliant as you get warm seconds... lovely!!). I don't give her anything like bones or rawhide chews myself, but she has got hold of a rawhide chew and a pig's ear from another dog and literally swallowed the whole thing after deciding that chewing was taking far too long - so, as you can imagine, I am very nervous of giving her anything else that she could potentially choke on! I guess that in some ways she did manage to swallow those things, so if she can do that (and they were both large!) and be ok, I guess she would cope with a lump of raw bone (I am assuming that once it has passed down her throat then I wouldn't have to worry anyway as the bone will be starting to break down as soon as it passes into the digestive system, unlike the rawhide which is probably still there?!). So, that is my main concern really.

I also then don't know what to try her on first and how much to feed. She is 14kg at the moment and growing rapidly - she is quite leggy and lean, but looks and feels very healthy, so I would want to mantain that ideally. I almost think it is harder to change things like this when everything is just fine - if something is wrong then it is much easier! So, for this size of greedy puppy what would you all suggest? I am guessing that chicken wings will be a good start but I will have to keep hold of them (at my peril!) so she does actually chew them - what else would be good for Mrs Greedy? And how much?? She is on 4 meals a day at the moment and her life revolves around eating (i am hoping that feeding raw will actually help with that but I am not holding out too much hope!).

And what would you guys suggest about how to swap over - should I gradually change (although I know some people say you can't feed raw and cooked together), or should I just take the plunge and do it in one go?

Any advice would be really appreciated as I just don't have the courage to take the plunge yet!!

With mine I did it over about a week reducing the kibble and introducing raw. As she is a bit of a glutton :)perhaps start with something like a chicken wing give it a bash with a hammer so even if she doesnt chew to throughly the bone will be in pieces alternative hand feed so you can holdon to it to get her chewing. Mince wouldnt be bad idea to beging with. I would also use one type of raw to beging with then add different ones over say a month. So for example add some mince and reduce the kibble for 4 or 5days to a week week to add mince plus say chicken wing and so on. Some dogs on the change over can have slightly odd stools dont worry it should settle after a week or two
I only feed raw meat fish and bones and dont do carbs in any form some people disagree and add carbs in the form of fruit veg and grain. Choose hwoch ever path you prefer but make sure you have agood range of both types of meat and fish including offal muscle meat and bones. Too much bone makes poo to hard and too little gives unny poo so be guided by the poo to get balance  right.
Approx amounts for an adult are around 2% just watch you dog like yoy would yourself you dont need scales to decide if you are putting on weight or losing :) My pup of 9months is on about 4% as still growing and she weighs around 29kg
I will pm you etails of a useful site

Thank you very much furriefriends (and for the PM). One more question - I am feeding 4 times a day still at the moment - how often would you feed the raw, would it be the same? And would you suggest that I stuck to 4% at her age (she is rapidly growing at the moment) or would it need to be more? I know it is probably difficult to say without seeing her though!

I think I am going more along the lines of minimal carbs as well to be honest - maybe with just the odd bit of something here and there. She does tend to 'pick her own' fruit, like strawberries (would you believe that up until a couple of days ago we had strawberries still coming through in the garden - well until a certain little furry person ate them all anyway!) and apples, so maybe that would be ok...

I love the idea of bashing the chicken with a hammer - genius ;-)

Yep I feed raw just like kibble, they have small tummies so need the frequency. My 9 month old os on two meals a day. If possible be guided by your dog but I would expect by 6months to be down to 3 meals.
Mind if yu let my Brooke decide for herself she would still be having four but of double the size but then she is a little piggy.
I wouldnt have thought more but have alook at her if she looks good doesnt appear starving she should be fine. If in doubt you could always add a bit it is only a guide 
Sounds fine in carbs area to me if she likes to pick your own as long as its not large amounts I would let her carry on.
You may however find some on here will disagree with me and give you details of BARf feeding  which includes the carbs. As I said before itis personaly choice after research and no carbs is mine and I am not alone btw

Our puppy came to us at 10wks on wainrights, and we  changed to raw too.  I remember thinking she'd wolf down her first chicken wing and be choking to death so I cheated.  I was going to hold it by hand but reconsidered and used a pair of pliers to grip the wing tip and I sat down with her and let her chew away slowly she was'nt able to gulp as I had a firm grip.  I admit to smashing up the wing when she first got one alone.  I am still amazed at how much she can swallow, but she raises her head up and stares dreamily into space while chewing then swallowing.  I imagine this position opens the gullet more.