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Beginner to Raw Food!

1000 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  RavenclawPrefect, 
K
I'm starting to tiptoe into raw food territory, but I'm having some difficulty. Teddy has always been a really picky eater. Unfortunately in the morning my grandparents feed him after I leave and if he doesn't eat what I put down, they will give him cooked chicken or turkey meat, making him completely disinterested in his other food: ZiwiPeak beside (previously) canned Fromm (but now) Nature's Variety Instinct raw bison.

The thing is.. he refuses to eat the Instinct. I guess because it doesn't have much of a smell. I'm trying to pick up his ZiwiPeak and keep everyone from feeding him ANY other food, including treats, in the hope that necessity drives him to try the Instinct and grow to like it. However, I'm nervous because he's 5 lbs and seems to quickly drop weight. I think he has a fairly high metabolism because even eating poorly one day makes him look like all skin and bones (he's a LC so you can't see his ribs or spine clearly, but you can feel them easily without any fat covering them).

He's been on high-protein, low-carb and low-fat diets all his life, I guess. EVO (before P&G), Orijen, ZiwiPeak, Fromm, Weruva, and now Instinct.

Is there anything more I can (or should) do to make his raw food more appealing? Should I add anything (like turkey skin, fatty table scraps, extra raw food, gravy, etc.) to make the food more appealing and get some extra weight on him? :confused:
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B
Raw food typically has little to no odor. It takes them awhile to get used to it, especially the pre-mades. Have you tried warming it? Not cooking obviously, but put it in a ziploc baggy and float it in hot water so that it comes to room temp or a little warmer. Then smash with a fork and sprinkle a tiny bit of garlic powder or parmesan cheese. I bet that will entice him to get going on it. :)

Good luck! Keep us posted!
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I thought about using the Wysong DentaTreat supplement. I've tried it once before as a teeth cleanser (it didn't work), but it's cheese-based and has a ton of probiotics in it. Do you think something like this would be safe to use on pre-packaged raw food?

Wysong DentaTreat™ - Wysong Healthy, Natural Cat and Dog Supplement
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B
I think that would be safe. Whether it's better than just plain old parmesan cheese is debatable though! I'd probably just try the simple route first before going with a product such as this one. Have you tried smearing a bit of the food on your finger and letting him lick it off? Maybe something like that to just get him started, keeping in mind that coddling him to eat may prolong his pickiness.
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R
i have a 11 yr old chihuahua with few teeth left do you think she could eat raw food?
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Yes :) I know many people on a raw list that feed their older dogs with few remaining teeth a raw diet. You can grind raw food with bone yourself if you have a grinder or there are commercially prepared raw food that have bone. She may surprise you at how well she can eat raw food.
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