Can anyone help me I have just recently, within the last 2 weeks I have started my 5 month old labrador on a raw meat and bones diet (BARF). At the begining he would finish his bowl of food off completely and lick the bowl spotless, now although he is still keen to have his food he doesnt seem to finish it off. I currently feed him over the course of the day approx .5kg - 1kg of raw minced meat and bones supplied by my friendly local butcher, with this i mix in either Wholebake biscuit or a variety of vegetable and fruit that I have put through the juicer and pulped up, and then for good measure he has a couple of chicken wings, which he absolutely loves. Is this too much?? or has he just become picky. Also I have noticed a change in his poo, when He first started on this diet his poo was very solid just how it says it should be in the book but now it is very loose, is this just a case of his body sorting it self out and getting rid of all the bad toxins?? Apart from that he is healthy very alert and we have no bad dog breath which is a bonus. I think I may have rambled on a bit but I do hope someone can help me on this as I do not want to stop feeding him in this way

Um, can you re read your quantities on your post and confirm they are correct? I am surprised he hasn't burst on that amount :D :D :D

Ooops no they are not correct, Have just gone and weighed the food and its .5kg (500g) of minced meat and bones that I feed over the course of the day, do u think that this is too much????

Suggeststhat he is getting a bit too much - try cutting it down a bit

Daisy

Think it is probably too much. My 5 month old sibe is still on 3 meals a day and she would have across a normal day 2 wings for breakfast, 250g mince for lunch and 2 wings for dinner. No treats. She sometimes has 1/2 tin pilchards or a can of sardines. She gets 2 or so veggies meals a week which would be a spoonful of juiced veg & pulp, some mince, some liver and an egg.

I think it sounds like your boy is getting too much and is selfregulating his intake ...unusual in a Lab :P It's not so much the meat and bones, it's the mixer and veg

I wouls day that if yioyu are feeding wings and micer and veg on top of over a pounsd of meat that it may be a bit much. Have you weighed him recently? Does he seem plumper thinnner? I would cut it down to say12 oz and see if the poo improves and the bowl clearance.

i would cut out the mixer bicuit part of the meal, as without it the diet seems balanced.

However, do add fish, oils, kelp, brewers yeast, fruit (a little over ripe preferably) raw eggs and yoghurt, and offal as well.

At 5 months, i would want to see the dog not carrying too much excess weight, a slight covering of fat, and i mean slight, should be fine, but not so much that you cant easily feel the ribs, or that he 'rolls' when he walks/runs (i e the extra fat wobbles).
Are u giving large raw meaty bones, as recreational bones? as these are fun, clean the teeth, and provide jaw, neck, back and leg exercise too!

Good luck
Em

Hi thanks for the suggestions, it would appear that I am feeding him too much from what you are all saying :o he currently weighs approx 21 kg and although not fat is well covered.

I havent fed him fish yet, but I do give him an egg once a week which he loves to take out into the garden and play with before he finally eats it all, the offal part of it is included with the mince that my butcher prepares for me. With regards to the kelp and brewers yeast how much of this should I be giving him?

Thanks
Jan

i would give about a teaspoonful of kelp powder every couple of days, alternate it with the brewers yeast. I get that in tablets, so just sling in a small amount with the food.

Its not an exact science, but there is nothing in there that will do any damage if u give a bit too much, so dont panic.

Are u going to cut out the mixer? Cos in general, i have found its the cereal content taht makes them get runny (or too much fruit, but that happens to us all huh!)
If you quit the cereals, and add a big dollop of live yoghurt every couple of days, u should be fine.

Em

My dogs have a holistic mixer or rice or potatoes - never had problems with runny poos I would think that too much fruit is more likely the cause.

Daisy

Thanks for the advice. I have started to cut down on his daily intake and it seems to be working, they are starting to look normal again!!
I dont think I will cut out the mixer for now, just reduce it along with everything else. I can only assume that they were runny because of the amount of food I was giving him, will just keep an eye on him.

Jan