# Who feeds their vizsla puppy raw food?



## Monkeymands1977

Hi everyone

We have a 9 week old puppy and the breeder fed raw food so he came with raw, natural instinct to be precise. But I'm worried it's not enough for him. He seems hungry all the time, even the bet noticed it today. 

Does anyone else feed their puppy or adults raw and what's your thoughts?

I am now thinking about getting some kibble and mix the two...

Thanks
Amanda


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## texasred

I don't feed raw but if the pup is hungry I would increase his food. Just slowly up a little bit at each meal, till you find the right amount. It will keep changing as he grows.


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## riley455

Monkeymands1977 said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> We have a 9 week old puppy and the breeder fed raw food so he came with raw, natural instinct to be precise. But I'm worried it's not enough for him. He seems hungry all the time, even the bet noticed it today.
> 
> Does anyone else feed their puppy or adults raw and what's your thoughts?
> 
> I am now thinking about getting some kibble and mix the two...
> 
> Thanks
> Amanda


Hi Amanda,

I started feeding raw as well but then had to switch back to kibble and just mix it raw food from time to time. It was getting very expensive. Besides it became a hassle whenever I travel with my two vizslas.


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## einspänner

How many meals are you feeding per day? What amount (grams, oz, or lbs) and how much does your pup weigh? I'd go by body condition to judge whether you are feeding him the right amount. My dog is always up for eating and you'd think she's starving by how enthusiastically she eats, but body condition tells otherwise. 

If all he's getting his nature's instinct I'd definitely add in some kind of meaty bone. Poultry necks, wings, thighs and drumsticks are all very manageable for young pups and will be more satisfying as they take longer to eat. They'll also give you the dental benefit of a raw diet. If you've ever done a juice fast you'll appreciate the pleasure of chewing!

It's definitely manageable to feed an all raw diet and satisfy their hunger, but if you are going to add kibble, feed it at a separate meal, preferably at dinner so he has all night to digest it. I'd recommend not feeding it though. 

Here's a video of her chomping on a lamb shank. Probably took her 10 minutes to get to this point. https://flic.kr/p/naHaEP


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## hotmischief

Hi, I bought my HWV up on Natural Instinct. You are probably not feeding enough. With a raw diet you need to feed a lot more than with kibble - but a lot less will come out the other end. They recommend for a puppy 8 - 10% of the bodyweight for adults 3-4% of bodyweight. These are only guidelines, so if your puppy is very active or skinny you might need to increase the amount. Don't forget that as your puppy grows you will need to increase his food quantity every couple of weeks. As you will be feeding larger quantities than kibble, you need to divide the food in to 3 - 4 meals a day. By 6 months Boris was eating 800gms a day and when we tried to split it into 2 meals he would be sick as his stomach wasn't large enough to cope at that age. I think he was 9 months before we were able to get down to 2 meals a day. It is very important NOT to feed kibble with raw as the liquid content in raw will cause the kibble to swell in the stomach. You could feed kibble in the morning and raw in the evening.....but that is rather counter productive re the balance of the food.

The best piece of advise I can give you is to look at your puppy if it is thin you need to increase his food and decrease it if he is putting a bit too much weight on.

I have recently changed from NI to Nurturing By Nature and am very pleased with it and it is a bit cheaper than NI.

http://www.nurturingbynature.co.uk/barf_natural_raw_dog_food_bournemouth_s/1814.htm

Hope the helps. Where do you live in the UK? I live on the borders of Hants/Surrey/Berks.


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## Oquirrh the V

Just an example, but I feed raw and a high quality kibble. My 3 year old, 45 lb, intact, VERY VERY VERY active male eats 2 cups kibble and 1 pound raw per day. I feed the kibble and raw at separate times, one in the morning, one at night. I feed as much as he will eat because he gets so much exercise that I have a hard time keeping weight on him, but feeding any food is really simple, if they look fat - feed less, if they look skinny - feed more. For puppies, try breaking up into 3-4 meals throughout the day and as he gets older, decrease the times per day you are feeding.
Also, I didn't start feeding raw until he was about 8 months old, but once I started I could see a HUGE difference in his skin, coat, muscle tone and weight. Like I said, I have a hard time keeping weight on him but the raw has helped immensely. 

Here's what I feed. http://omaspride.com/mixes/ I like the mixes and also just ordered the Tripe Performance Dog to try over the summer when he usually gets even more exercise.


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## Oquirrh the V

hotmischief said:


> It is very important NOT to feed kibble with raw as the liquid content in raw will cause the kibble to swell in the stomach. You could feed kibble in the morning and raw in the evening.....but that is rather counter productive re the balance of the food.


Regarding the kibble swelling in the stomach...if anyone is feeding a kibble that swells that much, I would suggest switching to a better kibble. Most quality kibbles will not swell all that much. A quick test of putting a small amount of kibble in a bowl of water for a few minutes will show you the results of how much the kibble will swell. Don't quote me, but I believe the swelling happens because of all the fillers in the food. I actually put water in his kibble and raw before feeding him. Helps to moisten and make the food more palatable.


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## Mick14

We also mix raw with high quality kibble. We also switch between different brand kibbles often. Our trainer informed us that this helps to create a "strong" digestive system. We agree. Our V never gets upset stomach no matter what she eats. Her coat is also in amazing condition.


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## Monkeymands1977

Hi

Thanks for all the replies, first chance I've had to reply so sorry about that. 

At the moment he is fed 83 grams 4 times a day at the moment. I know puppies are normally hungry but he seems to be constantly hunting for it... He was weighed on Thursday eve and he weighed 4.8kg. He'd put on 0.8kg in 5 days! He is very active. 

I spoke with my natural instinct supplier and I've now got him on the working dog puppy which is fattier with duck in it. She recommended not to add kibble as it is different digestives.

So it is ok to give him bones now? Being only 9 weeks old?

Thanks


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## einspänner

I'd bump up the amount a bit then. 120g x 4 would be around 10% body weight. You could make some of the extra pureed fruits and veggies or lean leftover chicken, beef, etc. And yeah go ahead with bones. I've seen tons of videos and pics of pups younger than yours tackling chicken wings and bigger cuts. 

Use his food obsession to your benefit and get some training time in!


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## Monkeymands1977

Thanks Einspanner.

I will bump his food up more. I imagine he must be well over 5kg by now too! I will try the veggies too...and maybe even the chicken! I'll get some little chicken wings to start. Is it worth chopping them down a little or leave them whole so he knows to break down the bone?


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## einspänner

sorry just saw this! whole is fine. He'll figure it out! 

If you're on facebook, Vizslas, Raw and Natural is a fantastic resource. https://www.facebook.com/groups/277508778962425/

Here's a pic I pulled from the group that shows just how much a pup can handle. This is way more than one meal obviously and is great for keeping them busy.


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## Monkeymands1977

Excellent thanks Einspanner. I'll check out that group too.


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## hcrowder

I have fed Penny raw since she was about 9 weeks old. She is 6 months tomorrow and eats about 1300g a day. The Vizsla Raw and Natural group on facebook is amazing for help and resources.


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## duncan88

Just gave Chester his first Raw Chicken wing. He wolfed it down to quickly for me to intervene and started to choke and panic. How do I prevent this happening again?? heart is still racing!!!!


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## organicthoughts

duncan88 said:


> Just gave Chester his first Raw Chicken wing. He wolfed it down to quickly for me to intervene and started to choke and panic. How do I prevent this happening again?? heart is still racing!!!!


Hand feed ingestible bones, til he is used to them so you can ensure he crunches through them.


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## einspänner

How old is Chester?


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## Spy Car

duncan88 said:


> Just gave Chester his first Raw Chicken wing. He wolfed it down to quickly for me to intervene and started to choke and panic. How do I prevent this happening again?? heart is still racing!!!!


My V, now 21 months old, is also named Chester. He's been raw fed from 8 weeks.

Ditto on OTs suggestion about hand feeding. Also, it is better to feed bigger pieces (like chicken quarters) when starting so they are forced to chew rather than to attempt to swallow things whole.

Bill


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## trevor1000

Bacchus has had raw since 10 weeks or so.
I prefer the chicken and turkey backs that have some meat and skin attached.
They are a bit larger and when i can get them they are super cheap to buy.
He gets kibble every day, and raw probably every 3 days
He is fairly passive with his raw stuff, he licks it a bit before he eats.
He whines and does his happy dance when it is warming up in the microwave though.


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