Friday, September 25, 2015

Oh gawwwwdd..I think we're going to do it!

Sooooooo...people who know me in real life know that meat completely grosses me out. I am a strict vegetarian, and aside from the "gross out" factor of meat, I also have huge ethical issues with it that I will not bore you with right now. The reason that comes in to play with the feeding of Hazel, is that it puts me in a moral dilemma. I have cooked for Hazel since her adoption, and I always felt so guilty buying more meat than I ever had before for her meals. I actually stopped cooking for my last dog because I couldn't get over it.

I came to a point with Hazel that I wanted to do the best I could by her, even if it meant buying meat. I have been doing ok with it and she seems to be doing well, however she still occasionally itches and something is telling me I could do even better for her.

I've read about RAW diets before and dismissed them immediately. Sure, I heard of the benefits, but if I was honest with myself, I knew I couldn't handle it.

Now, months later, I am seeing more and more dogs thrive on that diet, sooooooooo, have been researching. I have found some great groups to join and am learning everything I can before taking the plunge. There is a lot of planning involved before changing over.

When I first started researching, my head was spinning and I quickly became overwhelmed. There are so many things to consider to make sure your dog has a balanced diet. It's not a simple as throwing some raw meat in a bowl and being done with it. Because so many vets are not on board with a non-traditional diet that is not kibble, I really wanted to make sure I covered all my bases so that I can defend my decision. (Her current vet is awesome, but I could tell she was concerned about her having homemade food).

I found a nice little calculator that tells me, based on her weight and activity, how much food she will need. Math is not my strong suit!
 
I started to get nervous again, worrying about all of the ratios and making sure there was enough variety that I chickened out.
There are different types of RAW diet, the PREY and BARF. I have chosen the latter.


Hazel has always had raw meaty bones, so that part will not be a new adjustment for her. Here she is enjoying a turkey back on her "eating gross things" blanket.


I ended up finding a local source that makes the diet for me. They have the bone, organ meat, muscle meat, etc already set, so it will take the guess work out until I become more comfortable. I am reading everything I can get my hands on to educate myself before taking the plunge to doing it on my own. I am trying to find sources for organs and muscle meat that will not break the bank.

Tomorrow we receive our first delivery...wish us luck!
I have no idea how this will go, but will always doing what is best for Hazel. I am open to making changes, and who knows, we might find that this is not for us. This is just the beginning of our journey and I'm excited to see how she does. I would love to hear about anyone's raw feed experience!

1 comment:

  1. Good for you! I believe raw diets are the best for dogs too. Norman developed horrible allergies, itchiness & skin issues this year and so I switched him to raw. It nearly cured him overnight. I feed him pre-made from the pet store because I have almost no freezer space but he loves it. So far he only seems to be tolerant of beef though.

    Kaya felt left out so now she's eating freeze-dried raw mixed with her kibble. They also gets raw bones and only freeze-dried 100% meat treats for training. And about a bajillion supplements...haha.:)

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