Hi, i have been feeding my 2 and a half year old lab bitch on totally raw feeding now for 8 weeks.. She is mainly having chicken wings, chicken backs, fish, cottage cheese, lamb bones, liver, heart, yoghurt, green tripe and pureed raw fruit and veg. Not at the same time!!

In the first month she put on just over 1 kg.. No wonder she was skipping up and down the grass wanting more dinner, she was loving it. lol.

I have cut her down this month but i still dont think she has lost the weight she gained... She has plenty of exercise, usually 2-3 hours walking a day in woodland, so shes off the lead running about....

She has 3-4 chicken wings  ( or some fish, or some cottage cheese, or liver or tripe etc  ) for morning feed plus her raw pureed veg and fruit..... and then in the evening she has a chicken back or  lamb ribs.... Obviously this is still too much though !!

What am i giving her that is putting the weight on....  apart from too much food lol....

Please any ideas...

I would cut down the chicken wings, fat is obviously a weight producer.

Reduce her meat/fat intake by half.

My adult Weimaraner has 2 wings for a meal, that is plenty and she is extremely active.

Hi, Raw foods certainly pack on the pounds such as chicken,heart, green tripe and especialy liver.

But feeding a dog raw foods increase the chance of worms of all types. Personaly i cook all the meat i give to my dogs so theres not much of a chance they will get worms and so far over the past year they havent, its best to cook it as its more healthy.

But the other foods such as fruit and veg are great servings and cheese is too.

>Hi, Raw foods certainly pack on the pounds such as chicken,heart, green tripe and especialy liver.

Nonsense! Regardless of diet, if fed correctly, taking into account the dogs breed/ weight, exercise regime and lifestyle, these food are no more going to make a dog put on weight than any other food. My dog's are testament to that.

Do you have sound scientific proof that feeding raw food increases the chance of worms of all types? How do you come to the conclusion that cooking meat is more "healthy"? Healthy for whom? Your canine or your obviously preconceived ideas?

Cheese is extremely fattening for dogs and humans alike and a lot of dogs are dairy intolerant.

Suzy, I would follow Tohmes advice and see how you get on :)

But feeding a dog raw foods increase the chance of worms of all types.

How, exactly??

I buy human grade meat for my dogs. Thats animals that have been wormed all their lives. I freeze meat before its fed as well, killing off worms taht 'might' be there..... although i highly doubt they are!

The ONLY time i feel it necessary to worm my dogs now is if they have been having wild rabbit, OR if the cat has brought home fleas (fleas being part of the tapeworm cycle).

Raw feeding is GOOD feeding, and yes if you feed to much dogs will pile on weight. So avoid very fatty foods, lamb is often quite fatty.

I find on a raw diet my dogs seem to eat a smaller amount of food than they would on complete, purely b ecause raw food is far more useful and digestable than complete.

Em

Thanks for your ideas........

Obviously it was my fault for her weight gain... she can`t open the freezer and help herself thankfully !!!

I think I got so carried away with her new feeding regime...

I can`t believe how much calmer and changed her mood is on it...... she has always been quite an `odd` funny ole lab and not very affectionate, had recently started picking fights with other bitches and young males.

Within 10 days of being totally raw fed her moods had become much calmer and she is now much more chilled out she is ignoring other dogs/bitches when we meet them.....

I am also greeted in the morning by her dragging her bedding towards me or with one of the kids trainers in her mouth.... with the waggiest tail i`ve ever seen....

I have been increasing her fruit and veg (with no ill effects ) lol and have been decreasing her other stuff....

Thanks again

Hilary

Oh dear DobermanLord, where do you get your mis information?

Please elaborate on how the risk of worm burden is increased by the ingestion of raw foods?

If you feed commercially raised and slaughtered meat in this country the chances of being infected with any sort of parasite is miniscule and, contrary to belief, cooking does not destroy all worms.

Cheese is not really a fantastic food for dogs as it is a) very fattening, b) can be a problem with dogs who suffer from yeast overgrowths, c) be a problem for dogs allergic to milk protein (casein) and d) be a problem for dogs with a lactose intolerance (milk sugar).

As the OP was looking for advice on slimming down her pup, advising the addition of cheese is perhaps not terribly helpful

Must admit I have never heard of feeding raw human grade animals increasing the risk of worms - rabbit or deer maybe but not the more usual diets.

It is the amount that is fed that tends to increase the  weight on a dog, not what is fed.

Trichinella spiralis and raw pork.

Hi there....i feed my 2 sibes totally raw.....they love it and so do i.
i too was worried about the amount i was feeding mine.....the ratio didnt seem right and i felt i was starving them...
i only feed them one meal a day  and once a week i give them a rest from meat and they eat fruit and veg.....raw of course.
dont let this weight gain put you off though....she will lose the extra pounds now your not feeding as much
my male put loads of pounds on when i first started but now he is fine....my female only put on what was normal....in fact she looks a little thin...but if i put her extra down she wont eat it....so she musnt need it!!!!!

Try heart, beef or pork its less fatty, or chicken breast/thigh again less fatty than wings :)

Haven`t had to worm my lot in over 4yrs of feeding raw, all fecal tests have come back negative & they get raw pork too :D

My dogs love Pork ribs,got no worms here either.

To be honest i dont think we have to worry about Trichonella these days,it hasnt been seen for years.