# Question for raw parents



## 4bsingreece (Apr 11, 2012)

I have been feeding Chloe raw for about 8 months. I do a mix of duck in primal, ZP, and raw red meats on and off bone. Chloe doesn't like chicken. Tonight I tried a Cornish hen.... Won't not even taste it. Lately she seems to be eating less and less of her raw and I find her trying to steal Ike's acana out of his crate. 
My question is this, do I continue to feed her raw even if she seems to prefer kibble? Does the Benefit of raw out weigh her preferences? I am torn on what to do. Any suggestions and opinions are welcomed! Thanks is advance!!  


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## Kelliope (Mar 11, 2011)

Personally I do change up my dogs food from time to time. I think by changing the diet you decrease the risk of nutritional deficiency. I rotate home prepared raw, DNA air dried food, Stella and Chevys dehydrated raw, and k-9 naturals. The diet is mainly home prepared raw but at least several lunches a day are one of the high quality commercial feeds.

Maybe she is missing something in her diet and craving a change?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I think raw is always better than kibble, even a quality one like Acana. She probably just wants what the other dog has!
You say she is eating less, but is she still a healthy weight? She may need less food now and be self-regulating.
Variety is always good, try some different tastes and textures. Try some minces, tripe, heart, (chicken hearts are a huge favourite here) really big meaty bones she can chew the meat off, novel meats like goat, pheasant, kangaroo (my local farm shop sells kangaroo, crocodile, alpaca, all sorts of weird things!)
How often is she fed? Maybe by cutting out a meal she will be more enthusiastic when she is fed.
If you want to offer her some of the Acana, it wont hurt as part of her balanced diet.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

I think it's really about personal preference. If you want her to eat raw, I would stick with it. The Acana may smell more appetizing to her so maybe making sure she can't smell or access it might change her mind. Could you try slightly cooking the meat to make it smell more appetizing? Or if you're okay with her eating Acana, maybe offer a raw meal and a kibble meal per day? 



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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I'd give her one meal Acana, and one meal raw. That's just me. I feed Fromm, and give them a little extra each meal. Tiny amounts of either milk, cheese, chicken, beef or whatever we had for dinner.


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## 4bsingreece (Apr 11, 2012)

She is a healthy weight of 5 lbs. She eats 2 times a day. 1 ounce per feeding. I do offer her a variety. She was loving goat for a while. She just seems to be not interested in raw. I like the idea of Cooking slightly. I would like her to eat raw, but I also want her to enjoy her food. 


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## 4bsingreece (Apr 11, 2012)

I thought that dairy was bad to give them? I thought someone on here said they do not produce the enzyme to break the dairy down. 


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

4bsingreece said:


> She is a healthy weight of 5 lbs. She eats 2 times a day. 1 ounce per feeding. I do offer her a variety. She was loving goat for a while. She just seems to be not interested in raw. I like the idea of Cooking slightly. I would like her to eat raw, but I also want her to enjoy her food.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Try it! It seems that's what's recommended for dogs that are first starting raw and aren't interested so it might work. If you do have to end up doing the odd meal of kibble, it's not the end of the world though. As long as she still eats raw, she'll still benefit. 


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## Mrs.J. (Nov 29, 2012)

Mesha loves raw! She prefers it over dog kibble. Though, she prefers cat kibble over raw O,o
I tried switching the cat kibble and dog kibble (giving the dog food to the cat and the cat food to the dog) and they both went for the cat food that the dog had. So our problem wasn't that Mesha just wanted what the cat had, there's something actually making them want the cat food. Romeo has the same issue (except he wont eat raw, we're doing canned food mixed with kibble to try and transition him over).
So now I just feed the dogs in their separate crates, and let the cat eat her food all night and take it away when we get up with the dogs in the morning. If you don't crate, I'd just try feeding them in separate areas to see how that works. If it still doesn't work, maybe try mixing the kibble with raw?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Kibbles (all the cheap ones, I'd like to think the high quality, meat based ones are different) are sprayed with fat and flavouring to make dogs and cats find them appetising.


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