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Feeding has NEVER been my specialist area and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Usually in the past trying to get enough cover on a puppy to get into the ring at 6 months or so has made me think 'ho hum, pups are almost always loose...' but here I am two dozen pups or more later from the first, and I am still unhappy with the consistantcy of my 4 and 5 month old pups stools.
I have always used JWB puppy. I have tried Chudleys, Beta and I have tried Skinners, neither seem to be any better, and the Skinners unfortunately really gave my boys the squirts. Now that coincided with a bout of guardia which both had antibiotics and prokolin for.
Anyway long story short I decided to consider feeding Raw. All who use it swear by it and I'm sick to death of squirty pups over the years to be honest. So I have been lent by kind people both Ian Billinghurst books and I have read both cover to cover these last few days.
Questions:
1) I have 8 dogs here, is this going to be a task of manmmoth proportions getting enough raw meaty bones here? Will the freezer space needed for that lot be monumental? I don't have a lot of time and I don't have a lot of freezer space. Is this not the feeding method for me with this many? Does any Butcher give that much to anyone? Or should i just maybe be thinking about putting one or two dogs over to it?
2) Both books talk of food scraps. We don't have food scraps here really. What I cook, we eat. Cooking extra specially starts to become a bit of a pain when you consider eight need covering? Any thoughts on that one? We only have two humans in the household.
3) Can you / has anyone gone, a half way house type route where they do a meal a day raw and a meal a day of complete? Does this screw the whole thing?
4) Blocks of frozen tripe tend to float about here. Course I can add this in but having tried to with a reduced portion of complete a few weeks back, slowly, both pups has the terrible screaming runs on them.... Ditto frozen chicken blocks... and the amount of blocks needed for 8 is huge is it not? Or isn't it? I must admit I'm really quite baffled...
I really like the idea of it. But not sure the actual practice isn't beyond me... Am I trying to fix something (because the adults do great on dry complete) that isn't broken and maybe my pups are just harbouring a infection somewhere along the line? I know its a year for runny poos because of the stupid humid hot but wet weather we have been having... am i secretly no different here to anyone else?
Am i still trying to put too much into my tiny fine boned working bred pup? Is THAT why he is loose? He is 16 weeks and fed 300gms a day of JWB over 3 meals. And varies between nearly solid but the last bit loose, to virtually liquid. Obviously spoke to his breeder but she feeds raw (and has two freezers the size of space shuttles which is what is worrying me!) So its tricky working it through like for like in grams.... but he looks like a rescue case to me. You can see, feel and play a tune on his ribs. Yet he is fit fast lively and settled at night so...god...I don't know....? ;-)
The 5 month old is better, and is on about 380gms a day over 3 meals, but is mostly showbred and seems to handle a bit more a little better but is still pretty loose most days. I've reduced it down, and at starvation level they come solid, but they look like coatracks and then eat loads of poo!
I feel a complete novice right now asking the above but I'm not proud, if anyone can answer any bit (and I know WHY the pups are loose is in the lap of the gods there is no one answer to that!) I would be grateful for any input.
I hate feeding! Can you tell! ;-)
Di
I have always used JWB puppy. I have tried Chudleys, Beta and I have tried Skinners, neither seem to be any better, and the Skinners unfortunately really gave my boys the squirts. Now that coincided with a bout of guardia which both had antibiotics and prokolin for.
Anyway long story short I decided to consider feeding Raw. All who use it swear by it and I'm sick to death of squirty pups over the years to be honest. So I have been lent by kind people both Ian Billinghurst books and I have read both cover to cover these last few days.
Questions:
1) I have 8 dogs here, is this going to be a task of manmmoth proportions getting enough raw meaty bones here? Will the freezer space needed for that lot be monumental? I don't have a lot of time and I don't have a lot of freezer space. Is this not the feeding method for me with this many? Does any Butcher give that much to anyone? Or should i just maybe be thinking about putting one or two dogs over to it?
2) Both books talk of food scraps. We don't have food scraps here really. What I cook, we eat. Cooking extra specially starts to become a bit of a pain when you consider eight need covering? Any thoughts on that one? We only have two humans in the household.
3) Can you / has anyone gone, a half way house type route where they do a meal a day raw and a meal a day of complete? Does this screw the whole thing?
4) Blocks of frozen tripe tend to float about here. Course I can add this in but having tried to with a reduced portion of complete a few weeks back, slowly, both pups has the terrible screaming runs on them.... Ditto frozen chicken blocks... and the amount of blocks needed for 8 is huge is it not? Or isn't it? I must admit I'm really quite baffled...
I really like the idea of it. But not sure the actual practice isn't beyond me... Am I trying to fix something (because the adults do great on dry complete) that isn't broken and maybe my pups are just harbouring a infection somewhere along the line? I know its a year for runny poos because of the stupid humid hot but wet weather we have been having... am i secretly no different here to anyone else?
Am i still trying to put too much into my tiny fine boned working bred pup? Is THAT why he is loose? He is 16 weeks and fed 300gms a day of JWB over 3 meals. And varies between nearly solid but the last bit loose, to virtually liquid. Obviously spoke to his breeder but she feeds raw (and has two freezers the size of space shuttles which is what is worrying me!) So its tricky working it through like for like in grams.... but he looks like a rescue case to me. You can see, feel and play a tune on his ribs. Yet he is fit fast lively and settled at night so...god...I don't know....? ;-)
The 5 month old is better, and is on about 380gms a day over 3 meals, but is mostly showbred and seems to handle a bit more a little better but is still pretty loose most days. I've reduced it down, and at starvation level they come solid, but they look like coatracks and then eat loads of poo!
I feel a complete novice right now asking the above but I'm not proud, if anyone can answer any bit (and I know WHY the pups are loose is in the lap of the gods there is no one answer to that!) I would be grateful for any input.
I hate feeding! Can you tell! ;-)
Di