Rosie and Edie go on RAW

[zeta1454]

Hi Sam, re the quantity of food, certainly I do adjust the amounts for individual dogs if their activity levels go up or if, for any reason, they seem to be losing or not maintaining their ideal weight. I must admit that we do not actually weigh our dogs that often but just go on how they look and how their body condition feels. If I can't feel their ribs or they are getting a bit portly then I would reduce or, if they seem a bit skinny, increase. If you know that your girls will be extra active in the summer months then do give them a bit more. The percentages are a rough guide so don't worry if you are feeding outside the suggested range if Rosie and Edie are looking good on it

[Oscar 12345]

Leigh, very helpful thanks. His raw food company do a plain beef tripe chunk which I could mince in the event he was ill, I will ensure there is always one in the freezer. Hope your dogs are over the nasties... can't imagine what that must be like with the number of dogs you have. All I can say is that you must be incredibly alert to who did what, when and where.

[zeta1454]

Julie - all fit and well now thank goodness. It was tiring as I had a couple of sleepless nights up and down with them needing to go outside but luckily not all the dogs were affected. The two that were the worst were the ones that eat grass when we are out and about and may have ingested the bug. Strangely our eldest dog at over 11 years of age and our ten month old puppy both remained well when they might have been thought to be the most vulnerable to catching something like this.

I wanted to add that it is important to make sure that dogs with diarrhoea/ vomiting don't become dehydrated as that is the main cause of them becoming really ill. If they are reluctant to drink water, I offer either slightly watered down plain yogurt and water in which I have boiled a chicken carcass or chicken bones (strained and cooled). The added flavour can sometimes do the trick and encourage them to drink

[Oscar 12345]

Very helpful again thanks Leigh. When Otto had HGE he couldn't even keep water down. Good to know that watered down yoghurt is an option to try.

[Schnauzer Sam]

Rosie and Edie have been on Nutriment raw food now for 4 weeks and I have no concerns at all. I've tried chicken, turkey, beef, lamb and duck and all of them have been polished off without any encouragement being necessary.

I'll probably avoid the duck except as a treat on occasion as it has a higher fat content than the others.

Rosie's on 2.5% and Edie's on 3% and in the month she's been on raw has put on 300g and now weighs in at 8.7kg. She's still a skinny wee thing though so I'm not concerned at the weight gain as at 7 months she's still quite a bit of filling out to do.

The added bonus of the past 4 weeks is that the poo's have been a delight to pick up (if there can really be such a thing)

[zeta1454]

Great news

[Schnauzer Sam]

I last weighed the girls in early Jan and on passing the vets yesterday I popped in to weigh them. Edie has put on 500g, now weighs in at 9.2kg and no longer has a skinny, gangly appearance. Her chest has deepened and shoulders broadened and I'd say is more or less fully developed. She has a very obvious waist and is beautifully lean.

Rosie who was 9.8 kg weighed in at 10.3 kg!! She has always been of a different shape to Edie but I was surprised at the increase in such a short time. I do need her to slim down a little as her waist is less obvious to see.

Obviously 2.5% is proving too much. Do I simply reduce it to say 2.25% and see if she starts too lose weight or should I drop it to 2%?

[zeta1454]

Hi Sam - it sounds as though Edie is maturing beautifully and great to know both girls are doing well on the Nutriment.
Re Rosie - probably drop back to 2.25% and see if that makes a difference before going to 2% although you may need to adjust hers down a fair bit compared to Edie who will be using a lot more energy now just due to maturing physically. Also if Rosie is spayed (?) she may need less anyway. We found that Magic definitely needed a reduction in her meals post spay, although Trilby and Pip have not, so it is not a certainty but is worth bearing in mind.

[Schnauzer Sam]

Thanks Leigh. When I weigh the food out, the difference is 12.5g each meal. It looks so insignificant!. I guess it's the same effect though as an extra Jaffa cake each day

[mikegoodson1]

Oh, I would have to take that extra jaffa cake each day