# Trying to switch my Bully over raw...



## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

Hello everyone!! First post woot woot!!

Anyways, I'm hoping some of you can shed some light on my situation. My English Bulldog Lilly is currently in the process of being switched over to raw, but isn't doing well. Right now shes on chicken, but just stopped eating it today. It's day 2 of her transition and she has had the runs like WOAH. She ate chicken necks for the first couple of days, but this morning I got some quartered chicken ready and she's not touching it. Tried thawing out a small steak, and nothing either. I feel like her belly is turning her off to the idea of eating raw to be honest. But what bugs me is now she's gonna be play hard to get, and just getting her to eat it is going to be a challenge. If there is any way of making this easy please let me know, because right now...Its gross and shes destroying my rugs with her random bouts of runs.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

PS

Already tried the following:
Heating the meat up
Sprinkling cheese or garlic powder
Rubbing it on her nose
Chopping it up to make it easier to eat
Putting some kibble in the mix (shake n bake kinda thing)


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

Just stick it out with the chicken,when I first started my bulldog on raw I only fed chicken backs/frames for 2weeks then started adding a different meat like turkey for another couple of weeks and so on,within a couple of months she was eating all sorts,but then she had a cast iron stomache,don't cook it or add seasonings it's defeating the object of raw feeding ,karen


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

I agree with Karen, stick with the chicken, dont doctor it or give into her pickyness what so ever. 
This post on the blog owned by a couple mods here is great for picky dog owners: Picky Eaters 101 | Prey Model Raw

Offer her one cut, and that one cut is all she gets offered until she has eaten it!:wink:

I would also be making sure that you arent over feeding(which is something that can lead to upset stomachs,) and that the chicken is not enhanced.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

welcome....ah, you've got yourself a wonderful dog, one of my faves...honestly...and stubborn like a rock...

transitioning to raw is as much about adaptation for your dog as it is an adaptation for you.

take a nice piece of bony chicken....personally, i recommend the back.....and put it down. give twenty minutes. if not eaten, take it back up.

serve next meal.

don't sear it, put cheese on it, offer a different protein, just the chicken.

lily needs to learn how to eat raw. and you need to learn how to feed raw. you're both in school.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

lily said:


> Just stick it out with the chicken,when I first started my bulldog on raw I only fed chicken backs/frames for 2weeks then started adding a different meat like turkey for another couple of weeks and so on,within a couple of months she was eating all sorts,but then she had a cast iron stomache,don't cook it or add seasonings it's defeating the object of raw feeding ,karen


Just curious but with your bully how long did he/she have the runs for? Because like I've never seen runs this bad lol. When she went to the bathroom this morning, it was like high pressure diarrhea. I know thats a disgusting way of describing it, but DAMN! My only concern is knowing at what point to STOP and tweak what I'm doing. I just don't want to hurt her. I will stop seasoning and cooking it though for sure.

Also I should mention that I removed the skin too because I heard that can cause some stomach issues in the beginning of transitioning.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> I agree with Karen, stick with the chicken, dont doctor it or give into her pickyness what so ever.
> This post on the blog owned by a couple mods here is great for picky dog owners: Picky Eaters 101 | Prey Model Raw
> 
> Offer her one cut, and that one cut is all she gets offered until she has eaten it!:wink:
> ...


Thanks for your input!!

But I do know for a fact that it is not enhanced, and I'm not overfeeding from what I gathered. She's a mini english bulldog so shes tiny and only 35lbs!! So were feeding 10oz's in the morning and that's all. I was feeding twice a day, but decided to do it in the morning so it's more satisfying to her.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

magicre said:


> welcome....ah, you've got yourself a wonderful dog, one of my faves...honestly...and stubborn like a rock...
> 
> transitioning to raw is as much about adaptation for your dog as it is an adaptation for you.
> 
> ...



Lol, why thank you!! Bulldogs are my absolute favorite animal in the entire world!! Glad to know theres a bunch of people feeding raw to their bullies!!

But one thing I'm worried about is it's some kind of allergy or something? She's normally itchy, but not anymore then she usually is. So I don't think she's allergic but it's just crazy how it destroys her stomach as bad as it does. There's not one bit of solid poo in there, its just liquid and bones!! Ugh yuck!!!


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

Scarlett_O' said:


> I agree with Karen, stick with the chicken, dont doctor it or give into her pickyness what so ever.
> This post on the blog owned by a couple mods here is great for picky dog owners: Picky Eaters 101 | Prey Model Raw
> 
> Offer her one cut, and that one cut is all she gets offered until she has eaten it!:wink:
> ...


Well she's 35lbs so I'm giving her 10oz's at the moment. She's a mini in case anyone was wondering if I had an anorexic Bulldog lol.

Now, if she doesn't eat it...Do I wait till the next day? I feed in the morning so, if she doesn't eat in the morning do I just wait till the next day? I don't wanna feed her at night because I want her on a consistent bowel schedule. From what I heard most dogs that eat in the morning defaecate right after they eat and they're done for the day. Also, the hypothalamus is most active in a dog during the morning and helps them absorb the food a little better.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

Bullies4life said:


> Just curious but with your bully how long did he/she have the runs for? Because like I've never seen runs this bad lol. When she went to the bathroom this morning, it was like high pressure diarrhea. I know thats a disgusting way of describing it, but DAMN! My only concern is knowing at what point to STOP and tweak what I'm doing. I just don't want to hurt her. I will stop seasoning and cooking it though for sure.
> 
> Also I should mention that I removed the skin too because I heard that can cause some stomach issues in the beginning of transitioning.


My bulldog had a cast iron stomache and could eat pretty much anything without the runs,don't panic when the runs appear just feed extre bone in her next meal,feed nothing but chicken with bone in it,I fed my bully once a day in the morning ,when your bully gets used to the diet then the poops will be nice and firm and infrequent lol,just be patient,but don't feed any treats ,absolutely nothing else but chicken until transitioned,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Bullies4life said:


> Well she's 35lbs so I'm giving her 10oz's at the moment. She's a mini in case anyone was wondering if I had an anorexic Bulldog lol.
> 
> Now, if she doesn't eat it...Do I wait till the next day? I feed in the morning so, if she doesn't eat in the morning do I just wait till the next day? I don't wanna feed her at night because I want her on a consistent bowel schedule. From what I heard most dogs that eat in the morning defaecate right after they eat and they're done for the day. Also, the hypothalamus is most active in a dog during the morning and helps them absorb the food a little better.


i think you're overfeeding by a bit.

i have a 38 lb dog who only gets 8-9 ounces given her activity for the day......it can make a difference.

you may want to increase the boniness of the food for a bit to slow down the diarrhea....


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

lily said:


> My bulldog had a cast iron stomache and could eat pretty much anything without the runs,don't panic when the runs appear just feed extre bone in her next meal,feed nothing but chicken with bone in it,I fed my bully once a day in the morning ,when your bully gets used to the diet then the poops will be nice and firm and infrequent lol,just be patient,but don't feed any treats ,absolutely nothing else but chicken until transitioned,karen


Hmmmm....

That's pretty interesting that your bully was able to just get right into it, funny how some dogs don't think much of it and others do. This morning seems to be going good though for Lilly and boy was she hungry!! This time when I put the bowl down she dove right in and started eating. You can tell she's getting used to it still, but I think she's starting to gain a little more patience. She used to inhale her food, and we needed to buy her a slowfeed bowl when using kibble. She'd be done in less the a minute. I like how it's so much more stimulating for them when eating raw, takes them more time for them to eat it, and builds the muscles in her jaws. She's still getting the hang of it, and it's take her a while to eat. She seems to be giving up on certain pieces and has trouble eating some of the bigger pieces. She also likes to pick them up and carry them on to my carpet which I don't dig, but I'm sure I'll get around that. No stools this morning either. Hoping it looks a little better...


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I am glad she is doing better. Remember she has a lot of changes to make also. She has to work at her food now which is great for her but we all get lazy. She also needs to build up her jaw muscles and teeth. Very soon she will be a pro and leave nothing. I am with Re in that you might be feeding too much. I am sorry if I missed it but how much do you expect her to weigh as an adult? And how old is she again?


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

Bullies4life said:


> Hmmmm....
> 
> That's pretty interesting that your bully was able to just get right into it, funny how some dogs don't think much of it and others do. This morning seems to be going good though for Lilly and boy was she hungry!! This time when I put the bowl down she dove right in and started eating. You can tell she's getting used to it still, but I think she's starting to gain a little more patience. She used to inhale her food, and we needed to buy her a slowfeed bowl when using kibble. She'd be done in less the a minute. I like how it's so much more stimulating for them when eating raw, takes them more time for them to eat it, and builds the muscles in her jaws. She's still getting the hang of it, and it's take her a while to eat. She seems to be giving up on certain pieces and has trouble eating some of the bigger pieces. She also likes to pick them up and carry them on to my carpet which I don't dig, but I'm sure I'll get around that. No stools this morning either. Hoping it looks a little better...


Anything withbone I always fed in her crate ,I gave her an ox tail once and she went at it for over an hour and slept about 4 hours after,I always cut her meat up as she tended to just swallow big lumps the bring it back up,she never really got the hang of ripping meat but held her bone and shredded the meat off it,very strange dog was Annie! Lol,karen


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

there is a difference between a fast eater and a gulper.

gulpers swallow without crunching at all. watch my pug eat a drumstick. swallows it whole, he does. well, did when he first started. with him, it's the wideness of his mouth.....poor thing doesn't realise his throat is not as wide as his mouth...so he's like a little kid shoving food in his mouth.

a fast eater will just crunch a time or two and down the hatch. dogs don't savour food as we know it. they eat because they are hungry.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

magicre said:


> i think you're overfeeding by a bit.
> 
> i have a 38 lb dog who only gets 8-9 ounces given her activity for the day......it can make a difference.
> 
> you may want to increase the boniness of the food for a bit to slow down the diarrhea....



Damn...I already have everything portioned out waiting in the freezer hwell:

She'll probably top out at around 38, but is like 32-35 right now.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

magicre said:


> there is a difference between a fast eater and a gulper.
> 
> gulpers swallow without crunching at all. watch my pug eat a drumstick. swallows it whole, he does. well, did when he first started. with him, it's the wideness of his mouth.....poor thing doesn't realise his throat is not as wide as his mouth...so he's like a little kid shoving food in his mouth.
> 
> a fast eater will just crunch a time or two and down the hatch. dogs don't savour food as we know it. they eat because they are hungry.


Well when she was on kibble with a normal bowl, she would just scoop it into her mouth, and swallow lol. Now chewing whats so ever. But with the raw she's a whole new dog its great!


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Well if everything is portioned out at about one pound then just feed half per day. Wow, you have a lot more food than you thought>


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

Bullies4life said:


> Well when she was on kibble with a normal bowl, she would just scoop it into her mouth, and swallow lol. Now chewing whats so ever. But with the raw she's a whole new dog its great!


That's great news,most bulldog owners seem to think bulldogs are special needs dogs lol,they are dogs with dog needs especially good wholesome food ,raw tends to sort out most problems and with patience the results can be wonderful,I fed my Annie 14 months on raw with the help of these guys and even tho I had to let her go I will always remember the sheer delight of her crunching on her bones and thoroughly enjoying her meals,yes kibble is easy but full of crap!,keep with the raw and if you have any problems this is the place to as ,karen


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

lily said:


> That's great news,most bulldog owners seem to think bulldogs are special needs dogs lol,they are dogs with dog needs especially good wholesome food ,raw tends to sort out most problems and with patience the results can be wonderful,I fed my Annie 14 months on raw with the help of these guys and even tho I had to let her go I will always remember the sheer delight of her crunching on her bones and thoroughly enjoying her meals,yes kibble is easy but full of crap!,keep with the raw and if you have any problems this is the place to as ,karen


Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about Annie!! I just lost my bully Chester in april and I'm still getting over it...It's amazing how much a dog can impact your life. Hope your feeling better soon, it takes a while to be ok with it. I actually rescued Lilly 2 months before he passed(he was 11). It sucks because they were great together, and I wanted him to teach her the ropes but his body just gave up one day. Funny you mention it but Lilly actually IS a special needs dog, and I'm her fourth owner within one year! The last person put her on ebay where I found her completely by accident. I picked her up and the guy said she can't stay with him because she doesn't get along with his dogs. She stunk like urine/feces, and was hiding in the back of his van. Then a week later he picture texted me a picture of his new bully puppy. He only had Lilly for a week!! Talk about giving up too soon...He had somewhat good reason, because not everyone could deal with her. She won't go outside, and is extremely fearful of the outdoors. Mostly on a street with cars, but as soon as she knows shes going outside she hides and will lay on her back trying to resist. This means all pee and poop is happening inside. I got her trained to go on pads, but she'll miss sometimes and I'm always cleaning up after her. And she'll like to surprise me with a mess on the rug or some place else...It's very hard to deal with but I feel like I was meant to find this dog and fix her. All I know is I'm not giving up on her, and I love her to pieces. All I want is THE best for this dog because that's all she deserves having to put up with all she's been through.


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## Bullies4life (Jul 11, 2012)

UPDATE:

Well, she went poop this morning and it was still diarrhea. Was a little less runny thin and was a little thicker with some blobs that were "turd" like. I think she's starting to adjust, but still got ways to go. She also refused her food again...Just when I thought it was gonna turn around. She's going to need to learn that if she doesn't eat in the morning she ain't eating at all...I hate doing it to her though :[


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## Hopie (Feb 17, 2013)

Bullies4life said:


> Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about Annie!! I just lost my bully Chester in april and I'm still getting over it...It's amazing how much a dog can impact your life. Hope your feeling better soon, it takes a while to be ok with it. I actually rescued Lilly 2 months before he passed(he was 11). It sucks because they were great together, and I wanted him to teach her the ropes but his body just gave up one day. Funny you mention it but Lilly actually IS a special needs dog, and I'm her fourth owner within one year! The last person put her on ebay where I found her completely by accident. I picked her up and the guy said she can't stay with him because she doesn't get along with his dogs. She stunk like urine/feces, and was hiding in the back of his van. Then a week later he picture texted me a picture of his new bully puppy. He only had Lilly for a week!! Talk about giving up too soon...He had somewhat good reason, because not everyone could deal with her. She won't go outside, and is extremely fearful of the outdoors. Mostly on a street with cars, but as soon as she knows shes going outside she hides and will lay on her back trying to resist. This means all pee and poop is happening inside. I got her trained to go on pads, but she'll miss sometimes and I'm always cleaning up after her. And she'll like to surprise me with a mess on the rug or some place else...It's very hard to deal with but I feel like I was meant to find this dog and fix her. All I know is I'm not giving up on her, and I love her to pieces. All I want is THE best for this dog because that's all she deserves having to put up with all she's been through.


i loved reading this. thanks for being such a great person! i recently got my first bulldog - first dog as an adult if truth be told and she's had a TON of problems. my friend has her sister though and he's had none so i just got a very special girl. she is recuperating right now from hernia surgery and i am contemplating feeding her RAW or a combination... just doing some research. she's nearly 7 months and only 22 lbs which is because she didn't like eating before she was diagnosed i think. anyways, too much info, i am learning and just wanted to let you know your post touched my heart! xo


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