Making the transion to raw

[Dot]

During my time as a vet I’ve seen balanced fresh meat diets make a huge improvement in everyday health along with helping to prevent and reduce a multitude of long-term health problems including obesity, dental issues, allergies and diabetes. Ideally a raw diet should start right from the puppy/kitten phase but if you have an older pet the switch from a traditional commercial diet is still possible. With a little time and perseverance your furry friend will be enjoying a nutrient dense, balanced diet of fresh meat and vegetable matter in no time at all!

Here are my tips for making the transition as smooth as possible….



If your pet is used to a highly processed diet expect some resistance at first, it will take time to wean them off the taste of familiar artificial flavours used in most commercial foods. If they have never had fresh meat in their diet you can start by mixing in some pre-prepared VAN Mix to their usual food. Slowly increase the amount of (VAN Complete mix) and decrease the amount of the original diet with each meal until you’ve completely converted them.

Frequency
Allow your pet to develop a healthy appetite for each meal by feeding them at a set time each day. Animals who are fed too often and with too much variety often become picky with their food. If your dog has fussy tendencies, try putting the food down and give them 5-10 minutes maximum to eat. If they don’t eat, put in back in the fridge and offer again in 12-24 hours and repeat this process until they start to eat.

While fasting can be good way to encourage good appetite in dogs it is important to never use this method with cats as fasting can lead to liver problems (such as fatty liver syndrome). For feline friends, slow and steady is the key and it can take weeks to months to fully transition them to a raw food diet.

Temperature
Serve your pet their new diet at room temperature or warmer. Cold food straight from the fridge can be a turn-off, especially for cats.

[Chuck]

Found these letters... 't & i' floating around my screen earlier & was about to delete them.

However, figured they may have escaped from the title of this thread.

If they have...you're welcome.

If not... feel free to delete them.

[Greynomad]

Dottie,
Our hounds can count to four.
We feed them regularly at 1600hrs, and our chiming clock is the signal.
When they hear three 'bongs', they start to get interested and head for the laundry (where their food is kept).
When they hear four 'bongs' they start barking!
If we're otherwise preoccupied, they come & tell us, barking madly.
One time, I silenced the chiming clock... they completely missed 1600hrs, and didn't start getting agitated until 1700hrs... presumably tummies were rumbling by then...
Another time I put the clock forward an hour. They nearly tore the laundry apart at 1500hrs (real time) because they'd heard four 'bongs'!~
So I reckon they can count to four!