# Jumping into week three- what to buy?



## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Grissom is concluding his second week on his raw diet- and his week and a half of solid stools, the longest he's ever been solid in about six months. we are thrilled. (Annie wants his food SO bad. We're putting her on raw as soon as she finishes her bag of Innova puppy, in a few weeks)
He's 22lbs, and eating a half pound each day, split into two meals of roughly 1/4lb. Some meals are bigger, some are smaller. We eyeballed it. 
All of his meals have been cut from Chicken Quarters, and all have included bone content. 
He has handled it very week, and really enjoyed it, other than raw egg. I tried to get him to eat one this morning, and it was the first time he has ever turned his nose up at anything.  I mean, the dog eats poop for crying out loud, but won't eat egg?! 
I have a week's worth of chicken left, but will be going to the store in a couple days, and wanted to check in with all you experts and see what to buy. No stores around here have turkey necks in right now, and the one I shop at (wal mart) says they never do, the rest said they sometimes have them, sometimes don't, and couldn't tell me if they'd have them anytime soon. We have no idependent butchers here, all I have to work with are chain stores.:frown:
I saw pork necks very reasonably priced. Since he's handling it well, would it totally ruin his progress to go pork next? I've read a couple different guidelines, both in RFD's sig, and on the yahoo group, and everything says something different. Some say introduce one new meat a week after two weeks, some say add them whenever and see how it goes. Some say do just chicken for a month. 
I know my questions are probably dumb, just after his history with digestion issues, I don't want to screw anything up- he's doing SO well.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

What about other turkey parts? Like a wing or a drumstick? That should suffice

If not then maybe feed one meal of chicken and the next as a small meal of pork neck and see how he handles it. Pork isn't as rich as other meats so it may be ok.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I thought about buying a small thanksgiving turkey (only 68 cents/lb at Target) but I imagine cutting it up into portions ould be a nightmare, considering his meals are only 1/4lb. I am not used to handling raw meat, at all. I eat meat so incredibly sparingly, and usually never prepare it for myself, so the thought of hacking up a whole turkey into portions makes my head spin a little.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

now that I think about it, Rann, youre relatively local, where are you getting your deals? SLC isn't that far from me, only about 30 minutes, and I'm there regularly, (volunteering in Murray Shelter) so if there are some sweet deals somewhere up there, I'd like to know! Or if you found somewhere that will bulk order, there are none down here. I've only got wal mart, target, harmon's, and albertson's to work with


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

CorgiPaws said:


> I have a week's worth of chicken left, but will be going to the store in a couple days, and wanted to check in with all you experts and see what to buy. No stores around here have turkey necks in right now, and the one I shop at (wal mart) says they never do, the rest said they sometimes have them, sometimes don't, and couldn't tell me if they'd have them anytime soon.


As rannmiller said, any turkey parts will do. I'm sure some of those stores will have some turkey parts. I agree that cutting a whole turkey into 1/4lb parts would be a chore :smile:



> I know my questions are probably dumb, just after his history with digestion issues, I don't want to screw anything up- he's doing SO well.


You aren't gonna screw anything up. The worse that will happen will be a couple of days of diarrhea and you are pretty used to that. :smile: There are many ways to start a dog on a raw diet. I developed my way to help minimize digestive problems and it does that very well. Many people use other methods and may have problems from time to time but they are not earth shattering.

You are doing great. Seems your dog is getting along just fine. Don't worry so much and enjoy it as much as he is. :smile: If you want to try pork next, go ahead. It won't kill him. :smile: I would do maybe one meal of pork then two or three meals of chicken then another pork meal, etc. In a week or so, you could be alternating pork and chicken and gradually add in something else.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

CorgiPaws said:


> now that I think about it, Rann, youre relatively local, where are you getting your deals? SLC isn't that far from me, only about 30 minutes, and I'm there regularly, (volunteering in Murray Shelter) so if there are some sweet deals somewhere up there, I'd like to know! Or if you found somewhere that will bulk order, there are none down here. I've only got wal mart, target, harmon's, and albertson's to work with


Man, that's a tough, expensive selection to work with! Well, WalMart has the leg quarters, but usually most of their other stuff is pretty pricey. I would suggest checking out the brand new Winco they just built in Midvale or West Valley City (whichever you're closer to). I'm completely in love with that store. I live about 3 blocks from Smith's but I'll drive the 20 minutes to Winco when I need to go grocery shopping because the prices and selection are just incredible. I'm so happy they decided to build them right after I moved here. That's my silly good luck though :biggrin:

Anyway, I know Winco has chicken leg quarters for about $.80/lb there which I know isn't great but since I can only get them for ten cents less at Walmart, it's worth it for me to just spend the extra dollar and save the time and support of that awful corporation as much as I can. I've gotten some other goodish deals on their meat there, I mean it's not rock bottom prices, but it's generally cheaper than any other store I've been to and tons of selection. Oh and sometimes Smith's has meat that's about to expire so they'll slash the prices (aka: "manager's special") so I got drumsticks for about $.40/lb once. But that's once in a blue moon.

So far though, my best haul has been from that one guy on craigslist, so I'd keep trying that as well if I were you.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

rannmiller said:


> Man, that's a tough, expensive selection to work with! Well, WalMart has the leg quarters, but usually most of their other stuff is pretty pricey. I would suggest checking out the brand new Winco they just built in Midvale or West Valley City (whichever you're closer to). I'm completely in love with that store. I live about 3 blocks from Smith's but I'll drive the 20 minutes to Winco when I need to go grocery shopping because the prices and selection are just incredible. I'm so happy they decided to build them right after I moved here. That's my silly good luck though :biggrin:


Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out. :biggrin:



rannmiller said:


> So far though, my best haul has been from that one guy on craigslist, so I'd keep trying that as well if I were you.


I'm hesitent to do this right now, as on and I are moving to Vegas in 33 days, and space is sooo limited, we're already going to have to ship some stuff to our new house. I am holding off on bulk stuff at this point with the move fast approaching. 
We're moving Champ, Grissom, and Annie with us, I drive a Honda Civic, and he drives a Prius. lol. (Max is staying at my brother's here. He's so old and already not in the best shape, so we don't think he could handle a big move like that. Poor old man)


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## BGBY (Sep 22, 2009)

CorgiPaws said:


> I thought about buying a small thanksgiving turkey (only 68 cents/lb at Target) but I imagine cutting it up into portions ould be a nightmare, considering his meals are only 1/4lb. I am not used to handling raw meat, at all. I eat meat so incredibly sparingly, and usually never prepare it for myself, so the thought of hacking up a whole turkey into portions makes my head spin a little.


I just bought my girls a turkey at WalMart for $.40 lb. It took me a good half hour or so cutting it up and packaging it in individual meals. Yeah, it was a bit of work but $.40 a lb was worth the time spent doing it IMO. :biggrin:


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

BGBY said:


> I just bought my girls a turkey at WalMart for $.40 lb. It took me a good half hour or so cutting it up and packaging it in individual meals. Yeah, it was a bit of work but $.40 a lb was worth the time spent doing it IMO. :biggrin:


This is what I am going to do today, well... I'm going to go by the turkey, but my fiance will do the hacking it up. lol. I'm trying to convince Jon to put Annie on raw now, she wants it so bad, every time we feed them she just stares at his food and drools. But, she goes back and forth a lot, and we're taking her to Vegas with us for the weekend in a couple weeks, and he wants her to finish her bag of Innova. 
We move December 19th, the day after our wedding, and then finally no more crappy living situation and restrictions on the dogs. i'm actually boarding Grissom when I go out of town because I know my grandpa will give him Champ's dog food.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

*shopping spree.*

I just went shopping, and got another 10lbs of chicken Quarters, as well as 4lbs of Pork Necks and a 6lb Turkey.
I'll introduce the turkey tonight, and see how he does, try that maybe two or three times this week, and maybe try pork next week. I can't believe I only spent about $13 for almost 40 days worth of food.
The pork necks expire day after tomorrow, so the 4lbs was only $1.79, but we'll get them portioned and frozen today. I love good deals. 

I move in a month, will these three sources provide him with enough variety for that time period? We are just starting his third week of raw, so by the time we move it will have only been seven weeks in. 

He still won't touch raw egg. He licks it, then backs away. Does he need it, or is he okay without egg in his diet.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

CorgiPaws said:


> I just went shopping, and got another 10lbs of chicken Quarters, as well as 4lbs of Pork Necks and a 6lb Turkey.
> I'll introduce the turkey tonight, and see how he does, try that maybe two or three times this week, and maybe try pork next week. I can't believe I only spent about $13 for almost 40 days worth of food.
> The pork necks expire day after tomorrow, so the 4lbs was only $1.79, but we'll get them portioned and frozen today. I love good deals.
> 
> ...


Good deals are always nice to find. We just bought 4 GIANT whole turkeys for like $.35/pound. Chopped it up...about two days worth of food at our house.

Chicken, turkey and pork should be the perfect amount of variety at this point in the process. You won't get to the full array of protein sources and organs and such til 2.5 to 3 months in. If you are giving chicken backs...they have a bit of organ meat on them usually, not much but some. Remember...a balanced diet happens over time.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

danemama08 said:


> Good deals are always nice to find. We just bought 4 GIANT whole turkeys for like $.35/pound. Chopped it up...about two days worth of food at our house.
> 
> Chicken, turkey and pork should be the perfect amount of variety at this point in the process. You won't get to the full array of protein sources and organs and such til 2.5 to 3 months in. If you are giving chicken backs...they have a bit of organ meat on them usually, not much but some. Remember...a balanced diet happens over time.


That's what I figured, but just wanted to double check. As you know we weren't planning on going raw until AFTER the move, but after that vet visit, we decided Grissom couldn't wait. 
I couldn't find backs, nor would anyone order them for me (I don't have any independent stores) so the chicken we're using is just quarters. I didn't plan on introducing organs until after we move. Is this okay? When we move he will have been on raw for about seven weeks. 
Great, that means that I don't need to go shopping again until after we move next month. I get the balance over time part, it just seems like such a slooooooow process right now. 
I'm just thrilled he is having solid poop. It was a bit powdery yesterday, so I gave him a meal with hardly no bone at all today, and he was right back to normal. 
I didn't tell my vet that I was going to take things into my own hands, and he called to see if I needed to pick up some bandages if he had started "dragging his legs YET" from the high dose of antibiotics he prescribed. Seriously?! lol. I never gave him the second round of antibiotics, I just fed him like a real dog, and bam, fixed.


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## g00dgirl (Nov 18, 2009)

So so great to hear about Grissom's improvement.
i am always reluctant to tell vets about my dogs being on raw too because I don't want them to blame raw for every thing that may go wrong without looking into other causes, but I think until we are able to stand up to them and make them realize that this IS a good diet, things will never change. They will continue to be deluded into thinking kibble is always the best. How could he possibly think that being on kibble with crippling meds is better than a raw diet? It astounds me.
Do you think you will eventually tell your vet that you've changed his diet?


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

g00dgirl said:


> So so great to hear about Grissom's improvement.
> i am always reluctant to tell vets about my dogs being on raw too because I don't want them to blame raw for every thing that may go wrong without looking into other causes, but I think until we are able to stand up to them and make them realize that this IS a good diet, things will never change. They will continue to be deluded into thinking kibble is always the best. How could he possibly think that being on kibble with crippling meds is better than a raw diet? It astounds me.
> Do you think you will eventually tell your vet that you've changed his diet?


I cancelled his checkup he was supposed to have next week because he's doing fine, and the vet was amazed. Shows how much confidence he had in his own plan. 
Probably not, because I am moving in a month and won't be back there before then. Utah doesn't offer many holistic vets, but there are quite a fw in Vegas where I'm moving, and the tend to be more supportive of this kind of diet, so hopefully we'll have more luck there.


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## oakley (Nov 18, 2009)

YAY for Grissom.


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## g00dgirl (Nov 18, 2009)

If you will never see this vet again anyway, I might be inclined to have a chat with him and say that he is welcome to take a look at him (without charge of course) if he is curious.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

oakley said:


> YAY for Grissom.


haha, great first post Oakley. 
All you BF folks need to post intros and show off your perrrrty Boxers. 
C'mon, hop to it! lol


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Linsey, I'm so happy that you're having such great luck with RAW!!! Keep up the good work


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

jdatwood said:


> Linsey, I'm so happy that you're having such great luck with RAW!!! Keep up the good work


Thanks! We are so excited about his progress. You know how much of a nightmare those six months were trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
No signs of mushy poo since about his second day on raw, and totally solid poop all day since day three. Amazing. he also is only going twice a day again, MUCH better than th seriously fifteen or so he was doing before! That is one mess I do NOT miss.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I believe you should take Griss back to your vet (don't schedule an appointment, just do a little walk-in visit) just to show him what raw can really do for carnivores! I mean seriously, he thought Griss would be half paralyzed by now and here his is pretty much fully recovered! It's amazing and he needs to be educated! But that's just my overly opinionated and pushy opinion :biggrin:

I'd totally do it if I were you though. If nothing else, it might help another dog in the future if he sees this kind of case again.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

For sure! Although you and I know that it wouldn't do any good...


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I agree 100% with rann...but definitely take a stool sample to show that they are really normal!!!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Alright CorgiPaws, I can't find where you asked it so I'll just throw in my two cents here: eggs are an important part of a carnivore's diet. However, if he won't eat them raw, have you tried cooking them for him? I believe that cooked eggs are better than no eggs at all. My cats absolutely won't touch raw eggs, but if I scramble them up, two of my three cats will eat them, one of them with gusto, the other hesitantly. The third one is hit or miss whether she'll eat them, which is stupid because she eats everything!

Sorry I have to use cats as the yardstick here, but my dogs love raw eggs, so that's no help to you at all!


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

rannmiller said:


> I believe you should take Griss back to your vet (don't schedule an appointment, just do a little walk-in visit) just to show him what raw can really do for carnivores! I mean seriously, he thought Griss would be half paralyzed by now and here his is pretty much fully recovered! It's amazing and he needs to be educated! But that's just my overly opinionated and pushy opinion :biggrin:
> 
> I'd totally do it if I were you though. If nothing else, it might help another dog in the future if he sees this kind of case again.


Maybe that is worth a shot. It would be nice for him to know that there is an alternative to the treatment he gave me. Keep in mind he is considered one of the best vets in the valley and is highly recommended. (Dr. Pew- Pet Medical Center, Orem) Maybe I'll give him a call when I get a chance, or just drop in if I get a minute. 



As for eggs, thanks for the info. I have given him cooked eggs before ever going raw and he did like them that way, I just did not know if I needed to do it. I'll give it another go in the morning, and just partly cook it, maybe it'll be enough to get him to eat it. He's NOT what I would call a picky eater and has never refused anything before, so I don't feel like it's a common case of the dog playing the human, I theink he genuinely finds them repulsive. 
There is no logic to grissom, I learned. lol Turn his nose up at egg, but dive into poop every chance he gets. That habit, has not improved one bit.


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