# New proteins



## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

We're a little over 4 weeks raw, no problems on chicken and turkey (except itchy that I'm relating to grocery store chicken which I hope to feed much less of when they're doing well on other meats). Next week I will have rabbit, beef heart, goat, emu, and ground tripe, as well as mackerel and sardines (whole frozen, not canned). I also have some liver and kidney that a bought a while back, but I know it's much soon or those. Opinions on what order I should introduce these welcome. Donna/Nana


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I would do rabbit next but that's just me.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

It doesn't really matter, any protein can cause a problem with loose stools if introduced too quickly, pace yourself, and your pup and it will be just fine. we did pork after chicken, then beef heart, and we never had a problem :thumb:


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

I was leaning toward rabbit, because I think it's supposed to be lean (as is beef heart but richer or so I'm thinking), and I'm still watching Kody's fat (previous pancreatitis and still elevated lipase level). So basically either should be okay (in theory) so long as I intro small amount and increase slowly as long as no problems encountered, correct? My plan is to give a "sliver" of the new protein along side regular meal, probably with bone-in; is that the best way to do it? As opposed to whole meal of new protein by itself?


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Nana52 said:


> So basically either should be okay (in theory) so long as I intro small amount and increase slowly as long as no problems encountered, correct? My plan is to give a "sliver" of the new protein along side regular meal, probably with bone-in; is that the best way to do it? As opposed to whole meal of new protein by itself?


This is the PERFECT way to introduce new proteins. I think as long sa you stick with slow and steady, you'll be just fine. :thumb:


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

CorgiPaws said:


> This is the PERFECT way to introduce new proteins. I think as long sa you stick with slow and steady, you'll be just fine. :thumb:


Thanks for the help, one and all. I'm really trying to go ssslllooowww and easy; like I said, no problems so far (knocks on wood ... a lot), and I really really (really) don't want to mess up. It's tempting sometimes to feed something new sooner, but I seem to remember reading that there's no prize for doing too much too soon :tongue: Right? And if Kody starts vomiting, I'm going to immediately scream PANCREATITIS and go into full blown panic mode. Would just rather not. 

Thanks again, Donna


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Nana52 said:


> I was leaning toward rabbit, because I think it's supposed to be lean (as is beef heart but richer or so I'm thinking), and I'm still watching Kody's fat (previous pancreatitis and still elevated lipase level). So basically either should be okay (in theory) *so long as I intro small amount and increase slowly as long as no problems encountered, correct?* My plan is to give a "sliver" of the new protein along side regular meal, probably with bone-in; is that the best way to do it? As opposed to whole meal of new protein by itself?


Exactly :thumb:


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I did chicken, turkey, fish, pork, lamb, eggs, beef, liver, rabbit, and am working on kidney now. I would start with the rabbit next and work towards red meats after that.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Same here - I would go rabbit then goat and so one.


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

Kat said:


> I did chicken, turkey, fish, pork, lamb, eggs, beef, liver, rabbit, and am working on kidney now. I would start with the rabbit next and work towards red meats after that.


You've been at this a long while, haven't you? And you're just working on kidney? Boy, I've go a long way to go! No hurry. Just want boys to be okay. Thanks, Donna


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

Liz said:


> Same here - I would go rabbit then goat and so one.


I think that's where I'm headed - rabbit and then goat. I did order a small amount of emu, but I get the impression it's pretty rich, so will move it down the line a bit. I'm wanting to get some fish in pretty soon as well. Thakns for all the advice and encouragement. I'm trying to remain calm .... still scared of the freaking bones but I'm hanging in. I think the fear of bones is gonna turn out to be be like my snake phobia; doesn't matter how many times I hear "it's not poisonous" or "it's just a baby" or "it's a rubber toy for crying out loud" or whatever; heck, I'm afraid of pictures of snakes in books and on a TV show! Completely irrational and just no help for it! 

Kacy will try to swallow a hunk of turkey neck, but it's still attached by a "string" of tissue to the part not being swallowed. He yacks it back up and chews a bit more, then down the hatch. I just sit on my hands and let him handle it. Oy vey!


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Nana52 said:


> You've been at this a long while, haven't you? And you're just working on kidney? Boy, I've go a long way to go! No hurry. Just want boys to be okay. Thanks, Donna


It will be one year August 19. I've been trying for kidney for a while... Can't find one Ruby will eat. There was a hiccup with beef which threw the transition back a few months. Each dog s different and with Ruby it went slow with red meat intros.


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

I guess in the realm of raw transitioning, a year isn't really that long, is it? Good luck finding Ruby some kidney she'll eat. That one is way down the road for me. Happy day to you all.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Nana52 said:


> I guess in the realm of raw transitioning, a year isn't really that long, is it? Good luck finding Ruby some kidney she'll eat. That one is way down the road for me. Happy day to you all.


It's really all about the adage "know thy pet" if you know what your pups system will handle you can transition a bit quicker, we were doing full beef heart meals within 3 months of starting raw, liver, kidney, spleen etc within 5, he was able to do full meals of liver very quickly without any upset, whereas on kibble every meal was upsetting his "sensitive tummy" as i called it. I guess what i'm saying is that you really have to get to know how your pet handles it, and you can adjust accordingly. :thumb:


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## Ziggersmom (Jul 4, 2012)

I'm sorry, I'm hijacking the thread for a second. I've had a question related to transition for a while now, so this seems a decent time to ask it (I hope). I'm curious if when just starting out with raw how much you have to rely on poop? Basically I'm wondering do you go exclusively by poops in transitioning, time, or condition of the dog? For instance, I started Ziggy on chicken quarters a little over a month ago and went through all parts of a chicken I could get my hands on. He got it bone in, bone out, skin on, skin off, etc. His poops looked great so I added turkey, again he did fantastic for the most part. All I could find of turkey was either whole, drumsticks, or ground. I then gave him some lamb breast and he did ok on that too. I think this is when I added in tripe. That stuff is his crack! He not only does great on it, he adores it and it seems to have helped with transitioning.  Pork gave him soft serve poo so we backed off on that. I decided to try sardines, tuna, and eggs on which I have seen no ill effects. Last night I gave him a sliver of filet mignon with his chicken quarters and tripe. I'm curious in regards to the stools, how good do they have to be to move on to the next protein? I've been pretty proud of Zig, but occasionally he'll have bone fragments and mucus in his stool and that makes me wonder if it's safe to move on to the next meat? This has turned out to be a long hijack, I'll get out of here and give you your thread back ;D. Thank you for your time!


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

Tobi said:


> It's really all about the adage "know thy pet" if you know what your pups system will handle you can transition a bit quicker, we were doing full beef heart meals within 3 months of starting raw, liver, kidney, spleen etc within 5, he was able to do full meals of liver very quickly without any upset, whereas on kibble every meal was upsetting his "sensitive tummy" as i called it. I guess what i'm saying is that you really have to get to know how your pet handles it, and you can adjust accordingly. :thumb:


That makes sense. We shall persevere and hopefully all will be well. Thanks ever so!


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## tuckersmom20 (Dec 12, 2010)

Nana52 said:


> That makes sense. We shall persevere and hopefully all will be well. Thanks ever so!


It's really .. Slow and steady wins the race.

Rabbit is super lean and won't cause weight gain quickly. 
I dont think rabbit will cause much stomach upset either but I could be wrong.

I have tried so hard to feed rabbit but the boys refuse.
Rabbit is a "cool" meat so it's perfect for epileptics by the way


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

tuckersmom20 said:


> It's really .. Slow and steady wins the race.
> 
> Rabbit is super lean and won't cause weight gain quickly.
> I dont think rabbit will cause much stomach upset either but I could be wrong.
> ...


Both boys ate their rabbit bites without hesitation, but I've only given them just a sliver so far. Honestly, I think they'd both eat anything that didn't bite them first. Gonna wait and see how their next poop looks before proceeding. Don't want to get too cocky just because they've had no upset thus far.

I didn't know about the "cool" meat thing. Not sure I buy into that but whatever works, right? I've been meaning to do some reading about all that, just to see what it's all about. When I get a round toit.

Donna


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## tuckersmom20 (Dec 12, 2010)

Nana52 said:


> Both boys ate their rabbit bites without hesitation, but I've only given them just a sliver so far. Honestly, I think they'd both eat anything that didn't bite them first. Gonna wait and see how their next poop looks before proceeding. Don't want to get too cocky just because they've had no upset thus far.
> 
> I didn't know about the "cool" meat thing. Not sure I buy into that but whatever works, right? I've been meaning to do some reading about all that, just to see what it's all about. When I get a round toit.
> 
> Donna


I don't completrly buy into it... But it works here.

Chicken, turkey and rabbit seem to agree a lot with tuck.
Beef makes him pant a lot the day of.

I watch him like a hawk and notice the simplest of changes.. I don't know maybe I want to believe it lol!


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

tuckersmom20 said:


> I don't completrly buy into it... But it works here.
> 
> Chicken, turkey and rabbit seem to agree a lot with tuck.
> Beef makes him pant a lot the day of.
> ...


Interesting. I think I'd like to read a bit more about it. It's good to have something to believe in, yes?


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

Day 4 on rabbit intro. They didn't even blink about eating it. We're about 50% rabbit/50% turkey. Maybe a whole rabbit meal this weekend. No problem thus far. Somehow the rabbit bones seem a tad less scary for me. No idea why that is. Maybe I'm getting a grip .... or not.


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