Hey all!

Well me and my boyfriend are happily owned by 2 chihuahuas and 6 ratty boys. I guess I wont post about them since they aren't on raw though!

This is Phoebe, our little diva girl She is 9.5 months old (boy time flys) and I have had her since she was 11 weeks. She certainly has a TON of personality in her tiny, 3 lb frame, and I can't imagine my life without her anymore.
She has only been on raw for like 2 1/2 weeks now but has done famously. My issue is cost though. I haven't been able to get any free meat nor does the butcher want to help out with cheaper/free scraps. Phoebe also needs to gain weight and has been eating MORE than her fair share of food. Feeding her alone for these past 2 weeks has already cost about 15 bucks! And thats not even with organ meat and such yet *sigh*





Schroeder (like the Peanuts character) is our new addition who we have had for about a week and a half now. He is such a goober, and I'm so happy that we finally found another dog that fits in with our family after searching for a little while. He is 11 months old and has NOT been doing well with us starting him on raw. He doesn't seem to be able to hold anything down, and it tends to come out of both ends YUCK






It has been an adjustment but they are starting to get a lot more buddy buddy now.





Anyways we are happy to be here (and very late introducing ourselves sorry!) and hopefully will learn a lot more and get Schroeder adjusted somehow!

Welcome!!

What was Shroeder on before? And exactly how are you doing the raw transition for your kids?

Welcome! Glad to see you!

I lub your puppies!

SisMorphine, I suggested to Quinnchilla that she go cold turkey but start with an easy meat like chicken (that's what we did, and I've read a lot of people on the Yahoo groups who recommend that method). I believe Schroder was on... Purina? I'm probably wrong, but I know when we spoke it was icky!

Do you perhaps have a better way she can transition her poor boy dog? I would love to hear! I can relate to the tummy issues (as I have many myself), and it's no fun!

I also suggested that maybe he has a sensitivity to chicken, and starting with beef might help.. hope someone else can chime in to help poor Quinn and her babies.

When I tried to switch Wally (the Grey) it actually took me three tries. The first time it was cold turkey with turkey necks. Talk about an absolute DISASTER!! I don't think I've ever seen a dog vomit that much in my life. The second time it was slowly transitioning from kibble to raw using Nature's Variety (for both). It worked okay, but I still was having problems with soft stools. The best advice I got was from a Great Dane breeder, and vet. He said to use just chicken backs for 2 weeks. Absolutely nothing else, no treats, no ground chicken, no nothing. This diet worked perfectly for us. The bone to meat ratio is higher than in other options, which allows for a more solid stool. Plus it allowed his body to get rid of the rest of the junk that was still hanging out in there from his time on kibble (Euk *vomit*). Now the backs I get are a tad large for a Chi (LOL), but I have found that in most supermarkets they actually chop their backs into smaller pieces.

It is also suggested that they fast for a day, though with a dog as small as a Chi I don't suggest it due to possible blood sugar issues. Plus I could never fast any of my dogs. I just never saw the point in it.

Another thing to look at is how much you are feeding. If you are in fact feeding too much he may be getting diarrhea because of that. Multiple smaller meals, especially in the beginning, are key. Though I know people who feed once a day, I personally prefer to feed twice.

Just some stuff to think about for your adorable little kids I was SO CLOSE to breaking down and getting a Chi last week. She was at work for a festival and was up for adoption and she was simply fantastic with every single person and every single dog there. Unfortunately I can't have anymore dogs where I'm living now. But that little thing was almost mine!!! LOL!

Oh my goodness! What cuties! Welcome.

He was on Iams *barf*

I attempted what Kelly first told me, and what I did for Phoebe, which was to go cold turkey and just feed chicken (breast and wing). I didn't even get to feeding him bone. I fed him a little bit of breast, and it came out both ends, YUCK!

Then the next day I didn't feed him at all. I felt horrible (especially since I am OVER feeding Phoebe trying to beef her up) but he is larger than Pheebs and I wasn't as worried about blood sugar. So he fasted for a day and the next morning I gave him a drop. Probably less than the size of a dime, of chicken and he was vomiting for hours. I would try with wings, or backs, but I'm thinking maybe it is a chicken sensitivity since that is worst.

Beef made him vomit a little too. I'll try it again though...

Its so disheartening because I litterally had NO trouble so far *knock on wood* with switching Phoebe besides some weird scare that I still can't figure out. With Schroeder I feel like nothing will work. Its been a week of vomiting and gross smells. Anyone else with ideas let me know

I'm also going to go broke feeding them What we do for our "kiddos"

Alright if he's being that sensitive I would back up and do a bland diet for a couple days just to settle his digestive tract, and once he can handle that maybe try slowly adding in raw? If you're going with beef then do the extra lean as it'll be easier on his stomach. How was his stool on Iams?

It stunk to high heavens! Wasn't runny but wasn't all that firm either but it didn't seem abnormal to me.


I could try a bland diet and slowly adding in raw. How should I do, like how long to wait and how much to add in at a time do you think? I'm very new to feeding raw though I had been reading up on it. Phoebe was my first try and she went like a dream, so now with Schroeder's problems I'm just a bit lost. Just the fact alone that he can't seem to hold anything down at all is bizarre to me, he's obviously got a very sensitive system....

Hi and welcome, Quinnchilla! Your babies are adorable!!!

I hope Schroeder's digestive upsets smooth out soon. I know that's just no fun to deal with.

Welcome to the forum! Your dogs are adorable, Chis are starting to grow on me as a breed, though I've never been a small dog person, It's nice to see the difference that a good owner makes in the outgoing characteristic of the dog, sheltered small dogs give them all a bad name unfortunately. I love the pic of phoebe stretched out and I love Schroeder's color. I hope you can get things cleared up with his tummy, it must not be fun for either of you right now

Hello! Your chis are so adorable.

Two things jumped out at me from your post.

No. 1- What is the sodium content of the chicken you are feeding (anything over 90 mg has a sodium solution injected) and is it enhanced? It should say something on the package like such and such added to increase tenderness/juiciness.

No. 2- What is the temperature of the food you are feeding?

It doesn't say anything like that on the packaging at all so I'm not sure?

The temperature I don't know exactly, I make sure it isn't too cold though. I do the exact same thing for my girl and she is perfectly fine and has never had any issues. She wasn't being transferred from such crap food though, would that play a role?

What brand of chicken are you feeding? You may try thawing at room temp and when it's done, put it in a baggie in some warm water to further the process. All dogs are different, can tolerate different things in different amounts and at different times. My dog is now vomiting squirrel whereas before he LOVED it and kept it down fine. There's really no reason for it, I just feed him something else and hope one day he can eat it again. Try a different meat. I would go with rabbit. It's pretty much like chicken- bland, lean, soft bones.

I would try some ground tripe, the enzymes make it easier for your dog to raise up his immunity, which it sounds like he is having some problems with right now. He was on a pretty crappy food before, so not in peak condition, so he needs a little extra help. While dogs can tolerate bacteria no problem, they are still being introduced to new bacteria everytime you introduce a new meat to them, and they need to build up an immunity to it. A lot of dogs get runny poops, flaky dull skin, weepy eyes, and vomiting. The tripe will be good for him.

Also, if it turns out that he has an allergy to chicken, lamb seems to be fairly easy to switch onto, and most dogs really love it, more than a lot of other meats!

As to cost of food, you've got such little guys there, couldn't cost that much! I would look around for some new places to buy your food from, 15$ a week sounds high for such little guys! My girl is about 55lbs, still a puppy so eating a lot, and she eats about 15$ a week, so I would think your little guys should be less! (Canadian dollars, so even less if you make the conversion)

As long as it's about the same price as premium dog food, you're doing right by them price wise, cause if there wasn't raw, you'd be doing the premium thing right? Compare how much you'd spend if you were feeding evo or orijen, and see if it's close.

Actually it was MUCH less on Orijen (it was only Phoebe, Schroeder is a new addition). I got a bag of Orijen for $15 CAD (I'm in Montreal right now) that lasted about 2 months, maybe more. It has cost about $15 for 2.5 weeks for Phoebe buying wings and breast. I am feeding her LARGE amounts because she really has trouble keeping her weight up, doesn't seem to be a medical thing though, so that accounts for some of it I'm sure but still. I haven't had any luck getting free or cheap meat yet, so I've been buying from the store and butcher, I don't know why the hell its so much.
I will try rabbit and tripe.
I figured the crap food would have something to do with it, I wish his previous owners had more knowledge...

I would suggest instead of wings, use backs/necks. For Phoebe you could probably also start her on thighs/legs. Betty can eat a whole leg at one sitting (so it may help your lil one 'fatten up').

I hope the little man gets over his runs soon! Make sure the tripe is green and not bleached.

(I wish we could just send you the raw we get for free! LOL I feel so bad it's costing a lot more right now, but it will get better.. make sure you spread the word to friends/family that you need freezer burnt meat, too.)