Hello from Texas :)

[funshine]

Hi all!
I'm a proud mommy of a 4 month old lab. I've been shy since I joined the forum but have learned sooo much just reading all kinds of threads. Thanks guys!
Our little one came to us as Eukanuba puppy and she was kept on that 'cause my hubby and I thought that it was ok. Well, live and learn, now she's on Orijen large breed puppy, but will be switched on raw on Saturday, yippee!!
I've never had pets before but raw diet convinced me almost right away after I started looking into pet food, even before getting the puppy.
Now I'm finally done talking my husband into raw and we're ready for better pet food. My hubby wanted Wookie (what a girlie name, right ) to get all her puppy shots first; from a vet's recommendation... and that's been a wait. But the good thing here is that although our vet doesn't necessarily recommend raw he doesn't discourage either.
We're currently renting a town home and looking for a house (and the backyard). Thus, we'll get a second freezer etc. after finding a new home. Right now I'm just waiting for Saturday 'cause Orijen might be a bit too rich for our girl (I'll save you from the poop talk )
In conclusion, can't get into a crazy meat hunt due to the lack of freezer space (and space in general) quite yet (can't wait!!), but I'm willing to spend the $ now for "handy portion size deals" and enjoy all the bulk fun later It'll probably be chicken leg quarter for the first week... (any comments?) because I haven't seen chicken backs in regular stores and I'm not ready for 40lbs boxes yet.

Thanks for the great forum! I feel that help is near hear!

Oh, and I apologize my shortcomings in English... it's my second language I've used for a few years now. Anybody else originally from Scandinavia?

[jdatwood]

Welcome! Glad to have you here

[DaneMama]

Hello and a warm welcome! Sounds like that little lab puppy has some excellent parents! I'm glad that the forum has helped you out a lot so far in determining what you think is best for that new baby of yours

Don't hesitate to post up with any and all questions dog related!

[CorgiPaws]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on making the plunge into raw, you definately will not regret it!!
Many people start with backs, I've started all of mine on quarters because that's what's readily avaliable to me, and never have had any issues. You should do just fine. Most younger dogs transition pretty easily anyway. :)

We're so glad to have you be a member of our little community! Feel free to jump right into our discussions, and ask any questions you might have. Oh, and we love pictures of your pupper! It's pretty much a requirement. haha.

[funshine]

Thank you!
This is so exciting!!!
I managed to set the avatar... hopefully you'll get a couple of other picks soon. You're guessing right, I'm not big on anything computer related stuff

Danemama&jdatwood, I love the "dane pile on the love seat" picks and yesterday I ordered some tuna treats from the King Wholesale

CorgiPaws, I think I'll follow you're example and go with the quarters. If only I could master the meat hunt as well as you do That "our cost" post was absolutely awesome for price comparison!

[DaneMama]

Thank you!
This is so exciting!!!
I managed to set the avatar... hopefully you'll get a couple of other picks soon. You're guessing right, I'm not big on anything computer related stuff

Ah, you are so new to raw and the excitement has already begun! Just consider yourself VERY lucky to have a raw supportive vet...it really does make a big difference because they wont tell you that you're killing your dog and blame any issue that your dog has on their diet LOL! And it seems to me like you're computer savvy enough to make due on here which is great! We love pictures!

Danemama&jdatwood, I love the "dane pile on the love seat" picks and yesterday I ordered some tuna treats from the King Wholesale

Thanks! We love our "pile" of dogs...at least most of the time when they are not being a wild bunch of knuckleheads!!!

And you have no idea how refreshing it is to know that you have actually read through the previous threads and done your own research on nutrition. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't hesitate to respond to any question you might have, I just think its great that you have done your reading and come down to your own conclusion. Most people come on here with a ton of questions, but don't realize that they have a HUGE wealth of knowledge in previous discussions/debates on here that they have access to. Using the "search" feature is a great tool because you can search for a topic before posting a duplicate thread that has already been covered extensively. Either way I hope that you find all that you are looking for on here! Welcome aboard

CorgiPaws, I think I'll follow you're example and go with the quarters. If only I could master the meat hunt as well as you do That "our cost" post was absolutely awesome for price comparison!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting with quarters...just make sure that you start with a relatively bone "heavy" type meal in the beginning for several weeks in a row and no other protein source.

Considering you have a young puppy the transition will be much easier for you since your dog hasn't had years of kibble "abuse" to heal from. If you feel that your dog is doing great and adding in a new protein source comes a bit "faster" as set forth in the "guidelines" of switching don't hesitate to add it in. Just make sure that you do things gradually and have patience.

[Jodysmom]

Your English sounds perfect! Welcome to the forums. Your experience with the high protein grain free dog food sounds just like mine. I wanted to give our GSD a high protein dog food but it was just too rich for her. She was underweight and wasn't gaining at all. The switch to raw was just what she needed and she gained the weight she needed and had good stools. Good luck with the transition and can't wait to see you at the raw forum. We talk about stools all of the time

We moved here from Round Rock, Texas and I miss it!

[wags]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Your puppy is absolutley gorgeous! I have a chocolate and yellow lab! They are sweeties! Love the pic.!!!!!!!!!!! You will get tons of info. here!

[funshine]

Jodysmom; good to hear that we're(were) not the only ones with an upset tummy on Orijen. Luckily those days are over now!!!

Thanks wags; she's a lot bigger now but still cute!

***
Now it's official: We did it!!! And it's awesome!
***
It happened a day ahead of schedule, but even better that way. I went meat shopping on Thursday, found some great and decent deals, so you can guess that I had some packing and freezing to do. Our little carnivore knew what was going on at the and of the day she finally got "a treat" from all that goodness (only 4h from kibble, bad mommy). Wookie got an end of a leg quarter, about a half of thigh, and although I was prepared to see her confused and tossing the piece around, she didn't wait a second to start chewing.

On Friday she got a chicken leg q twice and since Saturday morning her stools have been perfectly firm. Yes!!! We even gave her a beef rib, because it was pouring down. That kept her busy for a while and stools are still perfect. Kind of weirdly light color though, almost white (if I may wonder that loud, lol) but I guess that's normal.

Danamama, thanks for all the advice, I think we'll introduce even more variety pretty soon without any concerns, if she keeps doing this great.
Tuna treats (and some toys ) will arrive tomorrow!!!

Now I'll head to the raw feeding section

[DaneMama]

^^^ With puppies it's much easier to transition them and they still haven't been "brainwashed" from eating kibble for years LOL.

Sounds like you have done good so far! Keep up the good work!

ETA: Light or white colored stool is normal because of the bone in her diet. If the stool is coming out white or powdery it means she is getting a bit too much bone, so feed more muscle meat. If you notice stool is soft feed more bone. Bone is a constipator, and is what gives raw fed dogs bulk to their stool...replaces their dependence on fiber in kibbles and gives them natural nutrition from the bones. Perfect stool should come out with colored and well formed by then gradually turn white and powdery in a few days.