# Switching senior dog to raw



## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

I know I JUST posted a new thread but...

I'm adopting a senior dog tomorrow. She's a 12 year old Cocker who was adopted from the shelter a year ago and was in danger of being returned . The idea of a 12 year old Cocker being returned to a shelter broke my heart so I told the person (on craigslist) I'd take her if no one else did. No one else wanted her so tomorrow my mom and I are driving an hour to go get her.

At this point all of the dogs in the house are eating raw so we no longer have kibble around. Are there any special considerations when switching a senior dog to raw? She's currently on a decent food (Blue Wilderness) but I'd rather not buy kibble if I don't have to. Should I get some just in case? Or go straight to raw chicken?

Apparently her ears need constant cleaning. It sounds like a yeast infection to me, do you think raw will help "cure" that? Since she won't be getting carbs?

I'm a little nervous about adopting such an old dog but I also don't want her to spend her golden years in a shelter.

Oh, and if anyone has any tips on training deaf dogs, let me know! I'll post about that in the training section if needed but any quick tips would be appreciated. I've never had a deaf animal.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My boy was almost 11 when we switched him over. We went kibble one meal then all raw. He had a hard time realizing he was now being encouraged to eat "people food" but once he understood he enjoys it. It took about three days of cutting small pieces off his chicken and handing to him until he realized it was all for him. Otherwise he has done very well. He dropped all his coat but got in a gorgeous new coat and his white just glistens where it was yellowing before. He looks about 5 or 6 no one ever guesses his real age. We did do chicken about 3 weeks until he was very comfortable but everything else went very smooth.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

Thank you, that's encouraging . I'm not sure she'll be able to chew through chicken drumsticks so I'm going to start with wings, necks, and breasts. What pieces of chicken did you start with as far as RMBs go?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Wings, necks, backs and breast bones should be perfect for her to start out on. I wouldn't worry about her at all...there have been plenty of senior dogs switched to raw without issues. Most people say that their oldies get that puppy spunk back after the switch. 

IMO there's nothing different you should do for a senior dog if that dog is otherwise healthy.

What I would do to help train a deaf dog is to reinforce that dog EVERY time the dog looks at you....that way she will look at you more which means you can train her more. Thats where I would start :wink:


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## OnyxDog (Jun 15, 2011)

> What I would do to help train a deaf dog is to reinforce that dog EVERY time the dog looks at you....that way she will look at you more which means you can train her more. Thats where I would start


Definitely this! This method will encourage her to "check in" with you often, making training a lot easier! Also, giving her a distinct hand-signal for everything you teach her will help her so much!


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## Pimzilla (May 1, 2011)

I'm so happy there are people like you who are willing to take such an old dog instead of letting her spend her last days at a shelter.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Pimzilla said:


> I'm so happy there are people like you who are willing to take such an old dog instead of letting her spend her last days at a shelter.


Ditto! Good on you!


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Good luck with your old girl. I just did the same thing. I have not changed her yet to raw and I need to get on it so she will be even happier. I think she is so happy she gets to go for walks in the country now. She even gets along with my dogs fairly well and she didn't like other dogs at all at the shelter. She plays with Richter and it is to funny. It gives me great pleasure to see her happy and it will you also. I will never understand how people can dump there old dogs, I just love them when they get old.

To me that is the hardest part of being at the shelter.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Herzo, I agree. The personality of dogs past age 5 is the best imo! Both my kitties were older cats when I got em.

I'd say just take it slow with transitioning. She has been on kibble her whole life so her system is used to it, so the slower the better!


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## rawdogs (Jan 29, 2011)

I took on an 11yr old poodle at the end of april,been fed crap all her life,she was chomping down on a drumstick just 2hours after arriving,not had any probs at all so far,and happy to eat anything that is offered including raw liver.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

Thank you, everyone! 

I'll be getting her on Monday now. Today ended up as kind of a crazy day with my mom needing to go to the emergency care center (Lyme disease...it's so common here that almost everyone gets it at some point so it was her turn, I guess). I work on Tuesday which kind of sucks but my brother will be home so it shouldn't be a huge deal.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

good for you for doing this....

how are her teeth....? even if they aren't in the bet of shape...starting her off with chicken backs or drumsticks or boney chicken wings...should give her a nice intro....

i had a friend who had a havanese who was deaf. vibrations on the floor were used as signals...because the dog could feel them. i don't know the details...but one tap on the floor was to get her attention. also hand signals were used...


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

magicre said:


> good for you for doing this....
> 
> how are her teeth....? even if they aren't in the bet of shape...starting her off with chicken backs or drumsticks or boney chicken wings...should give her a nice intro....
> 
> i had a friend who had a havanese who was deaf. vibrations on the floor were used as signals...because the dog could feel them. i don't know the details...but one tap on the floor was to get her attention. also hand signals were used...


I don't have her yet so I'm not sure how her teeth are. At her age I would be nervous about having dental work done so hopefully they aren't too horrible.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

swolek said:


> I don't have her yet so I'm not sure how her teeth are. At her age I would be nervous about having dental work done so hopefully they aren't too horrible.


i would do it....i don't think age matters because we're a clever bunch. we can pretty much devise a system that overcomes most obstacles.....if her teeth aren't great....then start with soft bones or hammered chicken boney backs....which will help.....


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

So her ears need a lot more than "cleaning", they're pretty badly infected . She smells horrible and seems to be in a lot of pain. I have various ear drops, ear rinses, ear wipes, topical antibiotics, etc. but I'm a little overwhelmed! Right now I'm avoiding the antibiotics because I've read that it could make things worse by killing the bacteria that would be competing with the yeast. Apparently the vet couldn't figure it out but I'm going to call the vet to get the full history tomorrow.

Am I right to assume that this might go away on a raw diet? Or should I be seeking more vet opinions? I gave her chicken necks for breakfast this morning and she loved them (and is a careful chewer).


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

My dog Emmy had nearly endless ear trouble for two years before I switched her to raw....not a single problem since in nearly three years. 

How long has she been on raw? I am fairly certain that on a raw diet her ears will get better, but any current infection must be taken care of.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

We clean ears out with hydrogen peroxide - gently and only what I can reach with a cotton pad. It really helps. The raw feeding should also bolster her immune system so she can fight the infection. When I taught obedience we had severeal deaf dog and a couple of the familes used a vibrating collar to get the dog attention for hand signals. It wass mostly used for when the dog was out doors or in a highly distracting atmosphere. I don't know if you would need one though.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> My dog Emmy had nearly endless ear trouble for two years before I switched her to raw....not a single problem since in nearly three years.
> 
> How long has she been on raw? I am fairly certain that on a raw diet her ears will get better, but any current infection must be taken care of.


That's really good to hear! Oddly, her ears are already smelling less...I'm not sure if it's the cleaning or the diet.

I just adopted her Monday and she was switched to raw right away. She's been getting chicken necks and drumsticks. What would you recommend for the infections? Since the vet had prescribed so many things, I have access to pretty much any commonly prescribed medication for ear issues (plus OTC wipes and washes).



Liz said:


> We clean ears out with hydrogen peroxide - gently and only what I can reach with a cotton pad. It really helps. The raw feeding should also bolster her immune system so she can fight the infection. When I taught obedience we had severeal deaf dog and a couple of the familes used a vibrating collar to get the dog attention for hand signals. It wass mostly used for when the dog was out doors or in a highly distracting atmosphere. I don't know if you would need one though.


I thought hydrogen peroxide was too harsh, how do your dogs react? Her ears are really hurting her so I don't want to use anything too abrasive.

Funny you should say that, I've already picked out a vibrating collar that I plan to save up for and get in a couple of weeks .


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

My dogs have never really reacted to the hydrogen. I just dampen a cotton pad and wipe out their ears. Witch hazel might be a little less astringent. I had a lab we pet sat who always had ear infections once they started cleaning his ears with hydrogen or witch hazel he rarely got any. I hope it may help.

The vibrating collar is very cool, they also work well with distractable puppies.


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## SonyaBullyDog (Jun 6, 2011)

My vet told me not to clean with hydrogen peroxide if the ears are still raw from the infections. Use the cleaner that you have been prescribed, that won't hurt and will dry the ear out the same. When the ears do get better, my vet suggested using a mix of vinegar and water if you don't want to buy the cleaner (or use hydrogen peroxide then). Sonya has had yeast infections that were treated with anti fungal drops and antibiotics in pill form (and she was on additional antibiotics at the same time for heartworms and the vet didn't think that it would be a problem at all, and it wasn't as far as I could tell). When she had a ear staf infection, he prescribed antibiotic drops in addition to antibiotics in pill form. When she had an ear infection and they couldn't figure out what was causing it, he prescribed "Posatex" (ingredients: orbifloxacin, mometasone furoate monohydrate and posaconazole, suspension), it did wonders! The vet told me to make sure to put the ointment not only inside the ear channel but also on the inside of flaps of the ears. That made her ears much less red, flaky, and swollen. Obviously you should follow the vet's advise, but I just wanted to share my experiences with Sonya in case it is helpful. 

Thank you for saving that dog!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

we used to make our own concoction, which was part water, part hydrogen peroxide and a tiny whiff of alcohol.....

we now use zymox ear cleaning, simply because i got too lazy to make my own...and i realise no one asked...alcohol acts as a drying agent and is in every ear cleaner and should be.

if an ear is sore or has an open wound, any ear drop the vet prescribes will have something in it, that will cause a little discomfort.....mainly because the ear is already uncomfortable or is inflamed or has an open sore.

hydrogen peroxide works wonders....


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

swolek said:


> So her ears need a lot more than "cleaning", they're pretty badly infected . She smells horrible and seems to be in a lot of pain. I have various ear drops, ear rinses, ear wipes, topical antibiotics, etc. but I'm a little overwhelmed! Right now I'm avoiding the antibiotics because I've read that it could make things worse by killing the bacteria that would be competing with the yeast. Apparently the vet couldn't figure it out but I'm going to call the vet to get the full history tomorrow.]
> 
> Am I right to assume that this might go away on a raw diet? Or should I be seeking more vet opinions? I gave her chicken necks for breakfast this morning and she loved them (and is a careful chewer).


yes, you are right to have high hopes that most if not no all of this will resolve itself on a raw diet....that and a little help from the groomer and some scrunchies and a hair cut around the eyes, nose and mouth...

at this point, you've asked some awesome questions.....and my suggestion would be for you to research, so you can make up your own mind.....

if your dog has a bacterial infection, i would expect the vet to take a scraping to find out if it is yeast, fungus or bacterial or viral. if it is viral, then cleaning the ears and airing them out is about all you can do...that and feed raw.

if i recall, this is a cocker spaniel....tying her ears up in a scrunchie for several hours a day go a long way in keeping them healthy because they are heavy and it gets dark and wet in there.....providing a perfect environment for infections.

that's what we did with our cocker....and his ears were pretty healthy....eyes, ears and mouths on cocker spaniels are what i'd be watching and providing preventative care...like keeping the ears shaved and or plucked on the inside....cutting the hair close around the mouth and eyes....to keep them able to get aired...

and, of course, to put them on a raw diet, to provide a non yeasty, non fungus environment for them in whole...


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

I have been going on at least 2 1/2 years of bad ears on my Basset. You need to go to the vet or get her history if it is just yeast infection or is it also bacterial infection. I also thought I could fix it by going to raw but that did not do it. She had some strange bacteria that was very hard to kill and I had to put Trizedta ( this was to break down the cells of this bacteria so that the antibiotic could kill it) in her ears, rub her ears for 5 minutes so she would not shake it out then wipe it out and put in Baytril which is a antibiotic and do this twice a day. I did this for 4 weeks with having to have the vet check it in 2 weeks and it was not killed. I had gone through this once before and it kept coming back maybe because he did not have me do the Trizedta. She also went through a flush from each vet which they have to put them out for ,I don't even want to tell you what I have put into this dogs ears and I was taking her to a vet 1 hour away from me.

Then when the bacteria was killed I was so happy you would have thought I would have been good at doctoring at least every other day or so but I didn't as it is not fun to do her ears. So I was going to long before doctoring and then I wasn't watching good and she was eating the bird seed and she started getting it back. So I'm back to doctoring every day with my mix of stuff from the vet and My Clean Blue that I bought from a Basset Hound sight. They are looking better again. So you have to find out if it is just yeast or is it also bacteria because if it is I think you will need to go to the vet. Don't be as stubborn as me and just because my usual vet did not fix it, it took me almost a year later to go to another because as much as we want it to raw doesn't fix everything.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

when we switched to raw, i was told upon examination of bubba's ears, that his ear canals were narrow...one was so narrow that he could not see the ear drum.

admittedly, we allowed the vet to put bubba under a light anaesthesia to clean out his ears....there was a huge wad of hair in the very narrowed ear drum. i think that's an extreme case, but it took a vet visit to find that out. 

since then, he's been fine...we use zymox to maintain his ears.....and he is a pug....they are known for their ear problems. 

we also keep the inside of his ears either plucked or shaved.


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## Onyxmom2 (Jan 10, 2011)

Congrats, she is a lucky girl!!


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## liannescavaliers (Mar 28, 2011)

I switched our senior Cavalier over and he had a few set backs, but for us, it was key to take it slow, cut up or grind up his bone for the first few months, and not overwhelm his system at all... ALSO, I have had several foster cocker spaniels and our own senior rescue had really horribly infected ears when he arrived. I have always sworn by the Blue power (goes by different names, has gentian violet solution in it), that I make myself and it has been a miracle for all the spaniels in my life. After Bosley, our senior Cavalier, had been on antibiotics for six months in foster care, we switched him to grain free food and took him off all vet meds/drops, and within two weeks his ears were clean and so much less sore. I cleaned them twice a day for the first week, then once a day for a month. He used to cry and try to bite when I combed his ears, now it doesn't bother him at all...
THANK YOU for taking in this sweet soul and good luck with the transition!


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