# Today is the big day!



## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

So, thanks to my amazing grandma, we will be starting Monty on RAW tonight!! We fasted him yesterday and this morning so his system will be empty. My grandma agreed that it is ridiculous to go out and buy another expensive bag of dog food if we are planning on switching his diet. So she is going with me to the grocery store to stock up on enough meat until we can order from the wholesaler. We will be ordering next week.  Someone told me that food lion has whole chicken fryers on sale for $0.69/lb so I will be getting those and a bunch of leg quarters.

I am so excited and nervous at the same time! I love my grandma for doing this and am so thankful that I have the support of my family. My fiance has been with me the entire time doing research so he's not only on board, but will be able to feed Monty if I'm not there to do it myself.

We are only going to give him one chicken quarter tonight with all the skin and fat taken off. From there we will feed a little more each day until we get up to 2.5% of his weight, which is about 2lbs/day.

Thanks to all of you, I am way more prepared than I was when I was just doing research on my own. It is so nice to get advice from people who have been doing this a while, and from those just starting out so I know sort of what to expect. I will keep y'all posted on how it goes tonight!! I will take pics as well!!


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Congratulations and well done. We've all been there when we started, you've just got to bite the bullet and start. I've converted two friends now to feeding their small dogs raw as they were not interested in their kibble and my dog loves his food and it's great to see them enjoying what they were meant to eat.
I'm sure Monty will love you for it and thrive. What a handsome dog by the way.


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

I just got back from Food Lion. I'm kinda weird, but it was fun shopping for Monty and seeing the savings as I was checking out. Unfortunately the leg quarters weren't on sale, so I only got 10lbs of those. BUT, I got 5 whole fryer chickens, all of them 4-5lbs and the most expensive one was $2.30. I also got 3 whole chickens that were already cut up. Those were a little more expensive, but they sure were easier to divide up into meals! All of this was $35. I added it up, it was 42lbs of meat. The dog food we buy is 30lbs and cost $50! So I got 10 more lbs of meat for $15 less than I would have spent on kibble!



sozzle said:


> What a handsome dog by the way.


Thanks


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Nope. You're not weird at all! Most of us head straight over to the meat section when we go shopping. I sent my husband out this morning to get red meat for the dogs since we just got paid and were running low on meat and he came back all giddy and happy because he found chunks of beef heart that were $1.03/lb. That's the cheapest we have been able to find them for anywhere. I sent him out for just beef hearts but he came back with a whole chicken and two packages of chicken hearts too. Hahaha. I think once you really get into it and are able to buy more proteins you are going to have even more fun


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Not only the meat section, but the weird meat section. I wonder what the checkout people think when I buy 20 pounds of beef kidney or liver, or 10 pounds of turkey tails. It's kind of fun.

And congrats - this is very exciting for you! And monty is going to be very, very happy.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

Congrats and Good LUCK!!!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Yay! I'm excited for you! Let us all know how it goes! 

Getting excited over meat deals is part of raw feeding...you'll get used to it lol


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

Well, Monty loves chicken quarters!! When I first gave it to him, he kept looking back at me, like "Am I really supposed to have this?" It didn't take him long to chomp down! When he was done he searched all over for more! It was great to watch him eat. His poop was a little mushy tonight, but I'm sure it's because of the drastic change in food. Plus, his digestive system is a little more sensitive than most dogs. Well, here are some pics!


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

AWWWW!!!

He looks SOOO happy!!!!


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

xellil said:


> Not only the meat section, but the weird meat section. I wonder what the checkout people think when I buy 20 pounds of beef kidney or liver, or 10 pounds of turkey tails. It's kind of fun.
> 
> And congrats - this is very exciting for you! And monty is going to be very, very happy.


The weirder the meat the better! Hahaha. We bought 50 lbs of chicken quarters tonight and we ALWAYS get asked if we are having a bbq. Then, when we say no and that it's for the dogs we get weird looks. I wish I could have been with Nick today when he walked out of the store on base with nothing but big chunks of vacuum packed beef heart, 2 packages of chicken hearts, and a whole chicken!


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

DaneLover228 said:


> Well, Monty loves chicken quarters!! When I first gave it to him, he kept looking back at me, like "Am I really supposed to have this?" It didn't take him long to chomp down! When he was done he searched all over for more! It was great to watch him eat. His poop was a little mushy tonight, but I'm sure it's because of the drastic change in food. Plus, his digestive system is a little more sensitive than most dogs. Well, here are some pics!
> 
> View attachment 5285
> View attachment 5286
> View attachment 5287


Mine didn't even hesitate! At least yours considered whether he should or shouldn't before he ate it! Mine didn't question my sanity at all. I suppose I am lucky since I haven't had ANY problems getting them to eat anything outside of the one time Dude got tired of beef for a few days but your guy sounds like he's got more brains than mine! But mine have no conscience...

I wouldn't be worried about his poo. It sounds like his digestive system might be stronger than you think! Dude, for years, was the dog we called "The Dog With the Iron Stomach" but when he transitioned he got some pretty good cannon butt going. Consider yourself lucky! If all goes well, you won't have to deal with REAL cannon butt.


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

Well, we went the whole night with no vomiting or emergency potty runs! And he's already learned that if I pull a freezer bag out of the fridge its for him. As soon as I pulled the bag out he went straight to his mat in the living room where I laid out the towel last night. He is currently searching the living room for more 

And I'm really not that concerned with his poop. He's definitely had worse on kibble! Hopefully I will not see cannon butt. An 80lb dog with cannon butt would not be a good thing at all!


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

Ok, Monty is laying on the couch next to me. I can hear his stomach churning/grumbling. Is that normal? I don't want to give him more and upset his stomach, since he's just starting out. But I don't want to starve him either...advice?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

DaneLover228 said:


> Ok, Monty is laying on the couch next to me. I can hear his stomach churning/grumbling. Is that normal? I don't want to give him more and upset his stomach, since he's just starting out. But I don't want to starve him either...advice?


I'm not expert enough to answer that for sure, but I think it's normal. i also think dogs can anticipate food, especially in the am, and their stomach starts producing acid in preparation for it. Could cause them to puke. My Doberman puked every morning for about three weeks but I'm not sure about the stomach rumbling. 

If it were me, I'd probably give him a little food. The worst that could happen would be he'd throw it back up. He's probably just adjusting.


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## tuckersmom20 (Dec 12, 2010)

Tuck's stomach grumbles after each meal..... His stomach is quite the loud digester.


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

I am very happy to report that we have solid poop! And itty bitty at that!:cheer2:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Yay for Monty!


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