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Troubleshooting
REFUSAL/RELUCTANCE
Most dogs and cats will eat their raw perfectly fine after a 24hr fast before beginning. They are hungry, and the food is placed in front of them. Some clients I have worked with have needed to use a fast occasionally in the beginning before their dog would decide to eat. This is ok. Fasting is a natural carnivore behavior. Sometimes feeding 1x per day is helpful as well.
Raw food had much less of smell to dogs and cats than processed food with added flavors and sprayed with chemicals to entice them to eat it. Sometimes we need to do things to entice them, such as making some cuts in the meat for them to grab easily a hold of or *lightly* searing the outside (you do not want to cook bone).
It's usually much better to make the switch completely, but you can try putting a very small amount of raw food in with what they are currently eating and gradually switch over. Sometimes cats need to switch this way as they are a bit pickier than dogs.
Be aware that it is safe for a cat to fast 24-48 hours, but not beyond that. If a cat has not eaten longer than that, be sure to offer them a meal that they will eat. A cat can intentionally starve themselves.
If you have a dog or cat who is reluctant to eat their raw meal, some ideas you can try are the following:
• Fast your dog or cat before offering their first raw meal.
• If they eat part of their meal, put the remaining meal back in the fridge and offer as the next meal.
• Make cuts in raw meaty bones for meat that is easy for them to grab a hold of.
• Very lightly sear the outside of their meal.
• Mix in a very small amount of raw food into their current food and very gradually change over.
GULPERS
The jaws and teeth of dogs and cats are designed for grabbing and puncturing, tearing and shearing chunks of flesh, as well as crushing bone. The jaw does not have a lateral movement for chewing, so it is unnatural for a dog or cat to do so.
"Gulpers" try and gulp their entire meal at once. If you have a "gulper," some ideas you can try are the following:
• Feeding foods larger than your dog’s head
• Feeding foods that are frozen or partially frozen, so your dog must gnaw.
• Feeding hard to eat foods that are awkwardly shaped such as racks of ribs or heads.
• Cutting food into pieces, freezing the pieces into awkward shapes and feeding frozen. Leftover pieces can be refrozen for later eating.
• Freezing whole cuts of food together into awkward shapes. Leftovers can be refrozen for later eating.
• Freezing the food to a flat surface (plate, cookie sheet, etc.) and feeding frozen.
• Try holding the food until your dog learns how to eat correctly. With some dogs, this can make gulping worse. Some dogs are fine with their food being held. Know your dog.
BOLTERS
"Bolters" have the perceived notion that they have competition for their food and run with it, or they want to have time to steal another dog's food.
If you have a "bolter," some idea you can try are the following:
• Feed in a crate.
• Gate off areas so you can observe your animals while eating but the animals can’t see each other.
• If separating the animals while they all eat at the same time isn’t possible, you can feed each animal separately in a quiet location away from any competition.
RESOURCE GUARDING/TAKING FOOD AWAY SAFELY
Raw food is very high value to dogs. If your dog is a resource guarder, trying to take away their, food can turn them into a gulper or bolter above.
If your dog resource guards, a way to take away their food, if needed, is to trade them for it. Use a treat that your dog loves and practice trading them at times other than their meal time to start. This teaches them that when food is getting taken away it is because they are getting something else that they love.
If you have a resource guarder, some ideas you can try are the following:
• Practice trading food for high value treats other than meal time so that they will understand what is happening at meal time.
• Feed your dog in a separate location or crated away from other dogs and cats.
LEFTOVERS
It is perfectly safe to refreeze or re-refrigerate meat for later use as long as it has not spoiled. Refreezing does change the taste and texture of the meat, which is why humans typically don't do it.
If you have leftovers, some possible solutions are the following:
• Refreeze or re-refrigerate for another meal
• If it is too small for what is considered a safe size for your dog or cat, the meat can be taken off and used as treats or part of another meal OR you can refreeze it with other small pieces that stick together until it makes the proper portion size for your dog or cat and feed it frozen, so they can not gulp.
BILE VOMITING
If a dog vomits a yellow to greenish colored discharge, this is bile produced by the gallbladder. Raw food is digested at a faster rate than kibble. When a dog's stomach is empty and they are anticipating their next meal, they may vomit bile. This happens more often when a dog is fed on a set schedule.
If you have a dog or cat that vomits bile, some possible solutions are the following:
• Feed on a random schedule. If you feed between 8-8:30a, feed between 7-10a.
• If feeding on a random schedule doesn't work, feed a midday or bedtime snack.
• If a snack does not work, feed a smaller meal in between the normal larger meals.
ABNORMAL STOOL
Making sure that you are feeding a balanced diet over time of about 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ can help ensure normal stools. Also knowing how different combinations of bone, meat, fat and organs interact together for a particular dog helps avoid surprises. The following are changes in stool and what they mean.
Hard, Powdery, White, or Crumbly Stool:
You have fed too much bone. The next meal should be a meatier meal.
Dark colored, Tarry, or Soft Stool:
You have fed too much organ or too little bone. The next meal should be a meatier meal. Adjust the next meal accordingly.
Slimy or Mucousy Soft Stool:
This can mean that your dog or cat has eaten too much fat or skin.
Color Changes In Stool:
Some foods will naturally change the color of the stool. For example, feeding chicken can produce a yellow to orange colored stool. The darker the meat, the darker the stool. Certain organs can also change the color of stool.
WATER INTAKE
Raw diets naturally contain about 80% moisture, so dogs will naturally drink less water. However, if your dog is not drinking any water at all or very little, you'll want to be sure they are hydrated.
Here is a great video to check to see if your dog or cat is dehydrated.
If after watching the above video, assessing your dog or cat, and learning they are dehydrated, here are some possible solutions to increase water intake:
• Get a pet drinking fountain, many dogs and cats are attracted to and will drink running water more often.
• Place your dog or cat's meals in a bowl filled with some water. Then offer the water with their meal. Placing the meal in the water will flavor the water.
• Add homemade bone broth to your dog or cat's meal.
PARASITES
Meat from a farm or facility that is fit for human consumption should not have a parasite risk, even pork.
If feeding wild game or food from a non-USDA inspected farm, there could be a risk.
If feeding meat that is not recommended for human consumption, to avoid the risk of feeding meat with possible parasites, I recommend the following:
• Inspect the meat, if something doesn't look or smell right, do not feed.
• Freezing meat for at least 2 weeks will take care of most parasites.
• Foods with tapeworm need to be frozen at least 30 days.
• Some facilities implement a freezing process before meat is distributed, you can ask your facility if they have a freezing policy if it is not USDA inspected and not fit for human consumption.
VETERINARIAN AGAINST RAW
Veterinarians are taught very little when it comes to nutrition. The nutrition they are taught during vet school is sponsored by the kibble industry. The multi-biollion dollar kibble industry is not interested in funding a study that could show that there may be a food better than their own.
Veterinarians have seen health problems from dogs and cats improperly fed homemade diets, whether cooked or raw, so without knowing much more or researching a raw diet, many are against it. They know very little about these diets unless they have taken the time to do their research outside of veterinary school. A veterinarian may pose the following arguments:
Bones can kill, choke, or fracture your dog or cat's teeth...
Anything that goes into your dog's mouth has the risk of choking them - kibble is no exception. After going through the lesson on bones and knowing proper portion sizes for your dog you will understand what is safe and what is not.
You must feed fruits and vegetables to balance the diet...
After going through the Fruit, Veg, and Nut lesson, you will understand why this is not true. Dogs are scavenging carnivores or opportunistic carnivores, so they will eat plant matter if offered, but they are not omnivores and are not designed to eat plant matter consistently as you also have learned in the Anatomy & Physiology lesson.
It's a fad diet...
Raw diets are the original diets of dogs and cats. As you have learned in the History of Pet Food lesson, processed diets weren't readily available until about 1930 and took off further in the 1950's.
The bacteria are dangerous...
Your dog or cat is more likely to get sick from bacterial contamination in kibble. The food contains ingredients that feed bacteria - just have a look at the recalls!
Handle your pet's raw food the same as you would handle your meats: wash your hands, clean any countertops handled on, use glass or metal bowls and wash after, etc. Use common sense.
Dog saliva contains lysozyme, an enzyme that breaks down and destroys harmful bacteria. Their stomach has a pH of about 1, very acidic, which can kill any harmful bacteria. Any dog can shed salmonella in their stool. (Side note: I'm actually helping find participants for a raw study which is check saliva of raw and kibble fed dogs, and the kibble fed dogs are much more likely to have harmful bacterial strains in their stool and saliva. Once the study is over, I plan to add it to this course)
Dogs lick themselves, lick each other, get into rotting trash, and other animal poop without any issues or health problems.
If your veterinarian is still giving you problems or making you feel guilty for doing what is right...
Find a new vet who is open or non-judgmental to the choices you have made for your pet's diet. Remember; you have essentially hired them as part of your pet's health care team. If you don't like what they are doing, it's time to find one who suits your needs.
Most dogs and cats will eat their raw perfectly fine after a 24hr fast before beginning. They are hungry, and the food is placed in front of them. Some clients I have worked with have needed to use a fast occasionally in the beginning before their dog would decide to eat. This is ok. Fasting is a natural carnivore behavior. Sometimes feeding 1x per day is helpful as well.
Raw food had much less of smell to dogs and cats than processed food with added flavors and sprayed with chemicals to entice them to eat it. Sometimes we need to do things to entice them, such as making some cuts in the meat for them to grab easily a hold of or *lightly* searing the outside (you do not want to cook bone).
It's usually much better to make the switch completely, but you can try putting a very small amount of raw food in with what they are currently eating and gradually switch over. Sometimes cats need to switch this way as they are a bit pickier than dogs.
Be aware that it is safe for a cat to fast 24-48 hours, but not beyond that. If a cat has not eaten longer than that, be sure to offer them a meal that they will eat. A cat can intentionally starve themselves.
If you have a dog or cat who is reluctant to eat their raw meal, some ideas you can try are the following:
• Fast your dog or cat before offering their first raw meal.
• If they eat part of their meal, put the remaining meal back in the fridge and offer as the next meal.
• Make cuts in raw meaty bones for meat that is easy for them to grab a hold of.
• Very lightly sear the outside of their meal.
• Mix in a very small amount of raw food into their current food and very gradually change over.
GULPERS
The jaws and teeth of dogs and cats are designed for grabbing and puncturing, tearing and shearing chunks of flesh, as well as crushing bone. The jaw does not have a lateral movement for chewing, so it is unnatural for a dog or cat to do so.
"Gulpers" try and gulp their entire meal at once. If you have a "gulper," some ideas you can try are the following:
• Feeding foods larger than your dog’s head
• Feeding foods that are frozen or partially frozen, so your dog must gnaw.
• Feeding hard to eat foods that are awkwardly shaped such as racks of ribs or heads.
• Cutting food into pieces, freezing the pieces into awkward shapes and feeding frozen. Leftover pieces can be refrozen for later eating.
• Freezing whole cuts of food together into awkward shapes. Leftovers can be refrozen for later eating.
• Freezing the food to a flat surface (plate, cookie sheet, etc.) and feeding frozen.
• Try holding the food until your dog learns how to eat correctly. With some dogs, this can make gulping worse. Some dogs are fine with their food being held. Know your dog.
BOLTERS
"Bolters" have the perceived notion that they have competition for their food and run with it, or they want to have time to steal another dog's food.
If you have a "bolter," some idea you can try are the following:
• Feed in a crate.
• Gate off areas so you can observe your animals while eating but the animals can’t see each other.
• If separating the animals while they all eat at the same time isn’t possible, you can feed each animal separately in a quiet location away from any competition.
RESOURCE GUARDING/TAKING FOOD AWAY SAFELY
Raw food is very high value to dogs. If your dog is a resource guarder, trying to take away their, food can turn them into a gulper or bolter above.
If your dog resource guards, a way to take away their food, if needed, is to trade them for it. Use a treat that your dog loves and practice trading them at times other than their meal time to start. This teaches them that when food is getting taken away it is because they are getting something else that they love.
If you have a resource guarder, some ideas you can try are the following:
• Practice trading food for high value treats other than meal time so that they will understand what is happening at meal time.
• Feed your dog in a separate location or crated away from other dogs and cats.
LEFTOVERS
It is perfectly safe to refreeze or re-refrigerate meat for later use as long as it has not spoiled. Refreezing does change the taste and texture of the meat, which is why humans typically don't do it.
If you have leftovers, some possible solutions are the following:
• Refreeze or re-refrigerate for another meal
• If it is too small for what is considered a safe size for your dog or cat, the meat can be taken off and used as treats or part of another meal OR you can refreeze it with other small pieces that stick together until it makes the proper portion size for your dog or cat and feed it frozen, so they can not gulp.
BILE VOMITING
If a dog vomits a yellow to greenish colored discharge, this is bile produced by the gallbladder. Raw food is digested at a faster rate than kibble. When a dog's stomach is empty and they are anticipating their next meal, they may vomit bile. This happens more often when a dog is fed on a set schedule.
If you have a dog or cat that vomits bile, some possible solutions are the following:
• Feed on a random schedule. If you feed between 8-8:30a, feed between 7-10a.
• If feeding on a random schedule doesn't work, feed a midday or bedtime snack.
• If a snack does not work, feed a smaller meal in between the normal larger meals.
ABNORMAL STOOL
Making sure that you are feeding a balanced diet over time of about 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ can help ensure normal stools. Also knowing how different combinations of bone, meat, fat and organs interact together for a particular dog helps avoid surprises. The following are changes in stool and what they mean.
Hard, Powdery, White, or Crumbly Stool:
You have fed too much bone. The next meal should be a meatier meal.
Dark colored, Tarry, or Soft Stool:
You have fed too much organ or too little bone. The next meal should be a meatier meal. Adjust the next meal accordingly.
Slimy or Mucousy Soft Stool:
This can mean that your dog or cat has eaten too much fat or skin.
Color Changes In Stool:
Some foods will naturally change the color of the stool. For example, feeding chicken can produce a yellow to orange colored stool. The darker the meat, the darker the stool. Certain organs can also change the color of stool.
WATER INTAKE
Raw diets naturally contain about 80% moisture, so dogs will naturally drink less water. However, if your dog is not drinking any water at all or very little, you'll want to be sure they are hydrated.
Here is a great video to check to see if your dog or cat is dehydrated.
If after watching the above video, assessing your dog or cat, and learning they are dehydrated, here are some possible solutions to increase water intake:
• Get a pet drinking fountain, many dogs and cats are attracted to and will drink running water more often.
• Place your dog or cat's meals in a bowl filled with some water. Then offer the water with their meal. Placing the meal in the water will flavor the water.
• Add homemade bone broth to your dog or cat's meal.
PARASITES
Meat from a farm or facility that is fit for human consumption should not have a parasite risk, even pork.
If feeding wild game or food from a non-USDA inspected farm, there could be a risk.
If feeding meat that is not recommended for human consumption, to avoid the risk of feeding meat with possible parasites, I recommend the following:
• Inspect the meat, if something doesn't look or smell right, do not feed.
• Freezing meat for at least 2 weeks will take care of most parasites.
• Foods with tapeworm need to be frozen at least 30 days.
• Some facilities implement a freezing process before meat is distributed, you can ask your facility if they have a freezing policy if it is not USDA inspected and not fit for human consumption.
VETERINARIAN AGAINST RAW
Veterinarians are taught very little when it comes to nutrition. The nutrition they are taught during vet school is sponsored by the kibble industry. The multi-biollion dollar kibble industry is not interested in funding a study that could show that there may be a food better than their own.
Veterinarians have seen health problems from dogs and cats improperly fed homemade diets, whether cooked or raw, so without knowing much more or researching a raw diet, many are against it. They know very little about these diets unless they have taken the time to do their research outside of veterinary school. A veterinarian may pose the following arguments:
Bones can kill, choke, or fracture your dog or cat's teeth...
Anything that goes into your dog's mouth has the risk of choking them - kibble is no exception. After going through the lesson on bones and knowing proper portion sizes for your dog you will understand what is safe and what is not.
You must feed fruits and vegetables to balance the diet...
After going through the Fruit, Veg, and Nut lesson, you will understand why this is not true. Dogs are scavenging carnivores or opportunistic carnivores, so they will eat plant matter if offered, but they are not omnivores and are not designed to eat plant matter consistently as you also have learned in the Anatomy & Physiology lesson.
It's a fad diet...
Raw diets are the original diets of dogs and cats. As you have learned in the History of Pet Food lesson, processed diets weren't readily available until about 1930 and took off further in the 1950's.
The bacteria are dangerous...
Your dog or cat is more likely to get sick from bacterial contamination in kibble. The food contains ingredients that feed bacteria - just have a look at the recalls!
Handle your pet's raw food the same as you would handle your meats: wash your hands, clean any countertops handled on, use glass or metal bowls and wash after, etc. Use common sense.
Dog saliva contains lysozyme, an enzyme that breaks down and destroys harmful bacteria. Their stomach has a pH of about 1, very acidic, which can kill any harmful bacteria. Any dog can shed salmonella in their stool. (Side note: I'm actually helping find participants for a raw study which is check saliva of raw and kibble fed dogs, and the kibble fed dogs are much more likely to have harmful bacterial strains in their stool and saliva. Once the study is over, I plan to add it to this course)
Dogs lick themselves, lick each other, get into rotting trash, and other animal poop without any issues or health problems.
If your veterinarian is still giving you problems or making you feel guilty for doing what is right...
Find a new vet who is open or non-judgmental to the choices you have made for your pet's diet. Remember; you have essentially hired them as part of your pet's health care team. If you don't like what they are doing, it's time to find one who suits your needs.
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