My road to raw feeding for my hounds:

I started off by ordering chicken fillets, pet's mince, tripe, chicken carcasses and pork ribs....

I then got together carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, blueberries, apples, pumpkin and broccoli.


After my research (please contact me if you would like more on my thought process behind my "conclusions") I decided that I wanted all the "meats" minced and mixed together and decided on an 80% meat to 20% veg/fruit ratio. 


In a following post I will describe in more detail the recipe and process of the rest of this preparation.


On the first morning after the first day I woke up to Bailey throwing up. It was clear the new food did not agree with him and he was not interested in having more. Fudge very happily ate his. I took out the chicken carcasses to thaw as I looked it up and someone suggested feeding my dogs only chicken carcasses for 2 - 3 days to ease them into the raw diet. I also took out some pork ribs to defrost in the fridge.

Long story short - neither of my dogs were interested in the carcasses.......AT ALL.
I gave them ribs - Fudge was happy as larry - Bailey didn't want to touch that either.

Bailey refused to eat anything for 3 days - to the point I was considering giving him kibble until I figure something else out, I put the kibble in front of him and he was not interested in that either. I jumped in my car and off to Pick 'n Pay I went. I bought chicken breasts, cubed beef goulash and a venison and beef mince mix. At home I chopped up the chicken breasts, mixed it in with the beef and mince to get to his recommended 205g per meal..... He inhaled it - my dog seemingly wants to be what I refer to as a "posh raw eater". 

Of course this will not be nutritionally balanced for him and definitely not affordable. This means my research carries on. Every bit of research I have found online tells you how the dogs all gobble this diet up from the word go. I cannot imagine mine are the only ones that have reacted this way.

These are not dogs that get table scraps or have been spoiled by "human food". Everyone tells you that it is fine to put your dogs straight onto this raw diet. So far with my little bit of experience - it takes some getting used to for some of them. Not all of them will necessarily jump in "with all paws".

As some of you are aware I have been quite a bit of research on the diets we feed our dogs.
This quest started because of Bailey. He has been allergy prone since he was a pup. He had some skin issues and is more prone to ear infections than his dad. I tried Vets Choice, Eukanuba for medium dogs and then Eukanuba Restricted Calorie. His allergies did seem to get under control but his weight stayed an issue. They did not get many - but I cut out any treats. They never get "human food" other than the odd 2 table spoons of plain rice maybe once every two weeks. They get walked twice a day, and we have a good run around and play at home at least once during the day. I was getting concerned but in my ignorance just carried on "in the hope"...

That's when I was told about Acana (I will be going into more detail on the various  dog foods I have tried and my opinions of them in posts to follow). This to me was a far better option than what I had them on - so I switched, they loved it. Bailey's weight still did not go down and his ears still are prone.

I was desperate - the poor little guy looks uncomfortable. 

I am a (human) nutritional consultant and decided I want to follow my gut in my pursuit to find something better (the best) for my hounds. I decided that I think Bailey may be wheat (and probably Gluten) intolerant.
At the time I had started doing a lot of research for people wanting to switch to a raw food (raw/vegan), my cousin had gotten me started on this. 
My friend and mentor (Maxine vd Berg) mentioned making my own dog food during one of our conversations. We chatted for quite some time about cooked food and raw food - and so began my research into a doggy diet and slight switch of interest from humans to dogs.

After a few months of gathering as much information I can I have decided that I want to try this "Raw Thing".

I will be sharing with you over time some of my research, references, my decisions, my rationalisations and my conclusions. Two days ago I started my beloved hounds on a raw diet and alongside my research I will be sharing my "diary" of their reaction, their progress and so forth.

 I really believe it is what would be best for my dogs. I am heading into it with an open mind so please, if any of you have input or experiences to share, opinions to give and questions to ask. We can learn together.

I hope that you will find it as interesting and enlightening as I have and enjoy (and join) the journey....