[bodzio]

We just got our 10 week old Eskie from the breeder and needles to say, he’s on Purina Pro program :(. I have been reeding these forums for information about nutritional needs of our new family addition and must say you folks are amazing with the amount of usefull information.

I had a couple of dogs in the past and never fed kibble, but rather raw/scraps/veggies to them. but that was 20 years ago or so. this time I am really looking into well balanced nutritionaly raw food diet.

Could you please recommend the best way of weening our Eskie of purina and should I still provide some kibble to balance his diet with raw food?

[theBCnut]

Whether or not you continue to give some kibble may depend on how hard you want to work at providing variety and balance. My dogs still get about half kibble so if the squeamish family members have to feed, they won’t die. Since my dogs still get half kibble, I don’t have to worry as much about getting every vitamin. I still make sure that I feed the right amount of calcium and phosphorus pretty much every meal, and I always add in enzymes, animal derived omega 3s, and some source of super foods. I regularly add in coconut oil, probiotics, vit E and D. Everything else is hit and miss because of what fruit/veg I’m currently feeding, what I’m adding for variety, and/or covered well enough by the kibble. I also add in complete and balance raw sometimes. If you are feeding 20% or less of raw then you don’t have to worry about even that much.

[Cyndi]

“so if the squeamish family members have to feed, they won’t die.” LMAO!!!

[bodzio]

Thank you Patty for the info. I think I am going to move towards kibble for initial 3-4 weeks with blend of wet/raw food. I am in NJ and found on this site info for Hare Today raw food distributor.
Was going to use their whole carcas grinds and prepare with veggies/eggs/fruit mixes.
When it comes to additives what would you recommend?

Probiotics – greek yogurt/goat milk?
Omegas – salomon or other fish oil?
Coconut oil – or garlic oil – for anti-backerial protection, some people use them?
Vitamin E and D? – I was going to use spinach, celery, carrots, pumpkin for raw meat mix – do I still need those?
What super foods would you recommend?

Thanks again.

[theBCnut]

For probiotics, I like kefir, it has more strains than any yogurt, IDK about goats milk. I like to rotate omega 3s(and about everything else), I just finished Krill, next is anchovy, then salmon. I prefer coconut oil as it doesn’t stress the pancreas and has a few nice properties that I see you are aware of. That being said, I also give fresh minced garlic ever third day too, just don’t give too much, it is toxic in large or too frequent doses. About adding vit E and D, dogs don’t break down veggies so they need to be cooked and pureed, which would damage the E and D. I wish I knew some way to process them so dogs would get the benefits without distroying the benefits, you know what I mean. As far as super foods go, I also rotate those. I always use some kind of algae/seaweed like spirulina or kelp. To that I add some kind of grass, like alfalfa, barleygrass, or wheatgrass. I also add bee pollen. And I like to add a berry of some sort for more different antioxidants.

Hare Today’s whole carcass grinds are some of my favorites.

[bodzio]

Great info , thank you.
We use kefir all the time, did not even think of it 😉
Algae- I use pure spirulina and kelp for my saltwater fish – no chemical additives – you just soak it and add it in to food mix?
For fruit I was thinking berries, cantaloupe, apple, pear and watermelon. – gonna use those as training snacks – hope this one likes blueberries like my previous dogs.

Thank you for the info Patty.

[bodzio]

Also for kibble I was thinking about Orijen Puppy for now.

[theBCnut]

Orijen puppy is good, so are Nature’s Variety Instinct and Nature’s Logic. Rotating kibbles is a really good idea. I don’t soak my spirulina or kelp, I have some in tablets and some in powder and they just gobble up both so I just throw it in. Mine love frozen berries, we have mostly blueberries, since we are surrounded by organic blueberry farms that turn into you picks after the first harvest. We eat them frozen too.

[bodzio]

If I can bother you again. Based on his age(10 weeks) should i switch his kibble right away or do it over a few days? Do you think his gi track can be already used to purina?

Thank you again

[theBCnut]

Yes, his GI tract is used to Purina, especially if that is what the mother was fed. Do a gradual transition, but watch his poop. Orijen is a much, much richer food. If it stays firm you can switch a little faster, if it gets soft slow down. Don’t forget that you can add a teaspoon of canned pure pumpkin to each meal to help with stool issues during transition. Those digestive enzymes and probiotics helps a lot too.

[bodzio]

Thanks. I did read about pumpkin here and already used it. 😉 this morning he got kefir, pumpkin purina and orijen 50/50. We’ll see. I ordered some carcasses from hare and will start him on it next week.
Thank you again.

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