Breakfast: vege fruit delight and frozen minced chicken.
After reading quite a few different viewpoints about how to best introduce your pet to a Raw Food Diet I decided to try what Netty from Nurturing by Nature suggested. One idea I read began with a 24 hours fasting and I wasn't keen on that one (neither was Gemma). We came home from Nurturing by Nature with a large bag of frozen raw minced chicken, frozen packs of mushed up veges and fruit, and of course a variety of healthy treats. Gemma began this morning with about a tablespoon of the chicken and the same of the vege mix. She was slightly concerned that her cereals didn't appear but showed enthusiasm towards the new morning delights. It wasn't long before it was gone. Later in the morning I gave her a fish jerky treat to make up for the tiny breakfast.Tonight she will get her usual dinner including biscuits. She will have the chicken and vege mix for breakfast for another 2 days but doubling the amount each morning. On the 4th day she will have the mix for breakfast and dinner. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts to no 'dogfood' in her plate. She will finish the week off with this diet and then we will go back to Nurturing by Nature for more advice on where to go from there. The next step will be the whole Raw Food Diet, bones and all. I am quite sure that Gemma is going to love it. She just loves bones but she hasn't had many because we have believed all horror stories about bones being bad for dogs.
Wednesday 24th February
Gemma moves onto the next stage of the transition to Raw Food. We introduce minced frozen lamb mixed with the raw chicken. I think she is going to love that. She still really enjoys her meals and is looking so bright and bouncy. It's lovely to see. Also her coat is getting softer and softer. I guess this is due to the extra fat and oils she is getting. Her treats now are dried sprats or fish chews instead of dog biscuits.
Found some more interesting reading from www.quebex.co.uk
ReplyDeletehttp://www.quebex.co.uk/NUTURING%20BY%20NATURE.pdf
Hi Gemma,
ReplyDeleteGlad you're enjoying your new diet! Yes, of course you're very welcome to ask any questions and my human will try her best to help although she is no expert! :-) Has your human read Dr Billinghurst's books, "Give Your Dog A Bone" and "The BARF Diet"? They're very good and full of useful info & advice, including troubleshooting - like if we get upset tummies or constipation, etc - what to do and not to panic! :-) My human found them very helpful.
And of course it's fine to link to my blog- I am honoured to be mentioned!! :-)
By the way, my human is a writer for Dogs Today magazine in the UK and she wrote an article for them last year on emigrating with your pets abroad which your human might find very helpful (and reassuring!) to read - Hsin-Yi interviewed lots of vets & owners & pet travel consultants and everyone said that basically, the owners suffer more than the pets! :-) Unless we have a medical condition or are very, very anxious, most of us cope fine with the journey. Anyway, you might like to get a copy of that issue from Dogs Today to read as it includes tips on how to make the journey less stressful. Sorry - my human can't remember which month it was published in (Oct? Nov?) but if you contact Dogs Today, they can tell you and send you the right one! Their website is: www.dogstodaymagazine.co.uk
Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane
Thanks again for your advice. Have ordered both of the books you mentioned and made an enquiry about the magazine article. I have heard that travel is harder on the humans than the pets but such a long trip for a dog can't be pleasant. I hope she sleeps most of the way which is what the transport companies claim. Loving your blog.
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