When talking to people about what they feed their dog, I have often come across those that say they tried the raw diet and that it didn’t work out for them. This is a common issue, because RD is not easy and if you don’t know what you are doing, it won’t work. So lets go over three common issues that arise when mistakes are made when feeding RD.
1) So your dog didn’t like it? He refused to eat what you gave him.
No two people are the same and no two dogs are the same. We all know that one dog that will eat whatever lands in his path, the one that thinks the cookie jar is the cat litter box and that the trash can is a gold mine. But not every dog behaves like that. Some dogs are very picky about what they consider to be food. If this is your dog, he might be a little more hesitant to accept his new food.
There are a couple of things you can try if your dog is refusing to eat his new diet of freshly made food.
First, you should be transitioning him slowly from whatever he was eating before. As I had mentioned in my previous post, you should start by giving half RD and half kibble of whatever brand he was eating before. Slowly reduce the amount of kibble being offered. This should help him get used to the new food.
If that still isn’t working, then try changing the ingredients. You have your favorite foods and foods you absolutely hate. And so do dogs! If he isn’t eating beef, try rabbit, and so on. Dogs can also be very picky about grains and veggies.
Another thing to think about is that there are many options when feeding RD. Raw Diet is non-processed food. This does not need to be fed raw. I cook my dogs’ food, because I am being cautious. But I support feeding the meat raw as well. However this might not go over well with your dog. If you tried raw meat and he didn’t like it, try cooking the meat. If it smells more like your delicious meals that he is always dreaming about, he might be more willing to try it.
2) Allergies. Did your dog have side effects from the food?
Food allergies are common in dogs. Dogs can have allergies to food just the same way that people can. Symptoms are often itching, scratching a lot, ear infections, licking their paws excessively, etc. There is a pretty simple solution for this, just change the ingredients. Your dog may be allergic to grains and will need this completely taken out of his diet.
Also, feeding the same thing every day can cause your dog to become allergic to it. Switch it up every couple of days!
3) Days you were too busy to cook and compensated by giving the dogs commercial pet food or something else.
If you are going to only feed RD, you have to be committed. Even if your dog does not have a problem with eating whatever you put in his bowl, his stomach will. Feeding your dog RD and then occasionally feeding commercial pet food can cause him to have an upset stomach resulting in vomiting and/or diarrhea. He won’t be used to the commercial dog food and that could upset his stomach. The same goes for when you are feeding a commercial pet food, your dog should not be switched drastically between brands.
It is important to plan when feeding RD. Some days you will not have as much time to prepare meals for your dog. It’s important to cook ahead and have the dog’s meal ready to serve. You can even cook for several days or weeks and freeze the food until you are ready to use it.
Hopefully this was helpful for those that have tried RD without success and for those that are planning on feeding RD. I hope it will make your transition to RD a little easier.
1) So your dog didn’t like it? He refused to eat what you gave him.
No two people are the same and no two dogs are the same. We all know that one dog that will eat whatever lands in his path, the one that thinks the cookie jar is the cat litter box and that the trash can is a gold mine. But not every dog behaves like that. Some dogs are very picky about what they consider to be food. If this is your dog, he might be a little more hesitant to accept his new food.
There are a couple of things you can try if your dog is refusing to eat his new diet of freshly made food.
First, you should be transitioning him slowly from whatever he was eating before. As I had mentioned in my previous post, you should start by giving half RD and half kibble of whatever brand he was eating before. Slowly reduce the amount of kibble being offered. This should help him get used to the new food.
If that still isn’t working, then try changing the ingredients. You have your favorite foods and foods you absolutely hate. And so do dogs! If he isn’t eating beef, try rabbit, and so on. Dogs can also be very picky about grains and veggies.
Another thing to think about is that there are many options when feeding RD. Raw Diet is non-processed food. This does not need to be fed raw. I cook my dogs’ food, because I am being cautious. But I support feeding the meat raw as well. However this might not go over well with your dog. If you tried raw meat and he didn’t like it, try cooking the meat. If it smells more like your delicious meals that he is always dreaming about, he might be more willing to try it.
2) Allergies. Did your dog have side effects from the food?
Food allergies are common in dogs. Dogs can have allergies to food just the same way that people can. Symptoms are often itching, scratching a lot, ear infections, licking their paws excessively, etc. There is a pretty simple solution for this, just change the ingredients. Your dog may be allergic to grains and will need this completely taken out of his diet.
Also, feeding the same thing every day can cause your dog to become allergic to it. Switch it up every couple of days!
3) Days you were too busy to cook and compensated by giving the dogs commercial pet food or something else.
If you are going to only feed RD, you have to be committed. Even if your dog does not have a problem with eating whatever you put in his bowl, his stomach will. Feeding your dog RD and then occasionally feeding commercial pet food can cause him to have an upset stomach resulting in vomiting and/or diarrhea. He won’t be used to the commercial dog food and that could upset his stomach. The same goes for when you are feeding a commercial pet food, your dog should not be switched drastically between brands.
It is important to plan when feeding RD. Some days you will not have as much time to prepare meals for your dog. It’s important to cook ahead and have the dog’s meal ready to serve. You can even cook for several days or weeks and freeze the food until you are ready to use it.
Hopefully this was helpful for those that have tried RD without success and for those that are planning on feeding RD. I hope it will make your transition to RD a little easier.
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