Want to start 2 Chihuahuas on a Raw Diet- Advice Please!

Hello,
I'm momma to 2 Chihuahua's. A short coat male named Flash and a long coat female named Elly. They are both beautiful dogs who are brave little champs who have made the transisiton from living in HOT Texas to Chilly Oslo, Norway!

Flash is 6 pounds and very active. The problem is Elly. When we moved here 1 year ago, she was maybe 7 pounds. Today she is almost 11! She only gets 50 grams of adult Royal Canin food per day and exercises. She can no longer jump on the couch, (couldn't really before as she has short legs), but we live on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator. She used to run up all the stairs, now she can only run up ONE flight and then starts sliding back down!

I saw the post earlier of the woman who had the 11 pound chihuahua who now weighs 6 pounds after being switched to a RAW diet!

I want to start my kids on that! Especially for Elly's sake.

I have read through all of the pages here, but I would like for someone to give me some tips on starting with SMALL breed dogs.

should I start them on Chicken wings (the kind used for Buffalo wings)??

any advice is appreciated and needed. I really want them to be healthy, especially want Elly to be able to run and jump like she used to!

By the way, Elly will be 2 this month, Flash will be 2 in February!

Thanks all!

(i think this should be moved to the RAW FEEDING food forum - any admin can do this?...) :dog:

any dog of any size can eat a raw diet and reap the innumerable benefits, the only thing that changes is the size of the raw meaty bone pieces - the proportions remain the same:

-60% raw meat
-15 to 20% raw meaty bones (RMBs)
-10 to 15% organ meats
-various foods

(this is a general guideline)

while a raw meaty bone (RMB) might be a big bone-in pork roast for a german shepherd, a Chi would be better suited with a small chicken leg. if you choose to feed really boney pieces for RMBs (such as large chicken wings, or turkey necks, etc), make sure to feed a meat-only meal during the same day to balance it out.

here are some great sites to get you started:

http://www.geocities.com/havens_home/feedraw.htm

http://rawfed.com

http://www.rawfeddogs.net

Feed your dogs about 2 to 3% of their body weight in food per day, although you may want to stay on the smaller percentage for a dog that needs to lose weight and on a higher percentage for a more active dog. since this diet contains no grains, fillers, etc you will see a weight loss accompanied by muscle growth. Feed smaller dogs twice per day.

Please make sure your vet has cleared your overweight girl of any thyroid problems before you switch to raw, as *maybe* her weight gain is related to that and not anything else.

if you have any specific questions, fire away! :highfive:

We have been feeding raw for 3 days now, and I do not know if I am hallucinating or not, but our two chi's have SOOOO much more energy than they did!!

My big 10.5 pound chihuahua girl RAN up all 4 flights of stairs for the first time in 2 months today!!

I was so worried about the bones when we first started and I have to admit the crunching sound had me on pins and needles, but they are doing great.

I joined another raw feeding group that has a lot of small breed owners feeding raw and the general consensus is that the smaller dogs tend to need 4 to 5 percent of their body weight a day. We are keeping Elly at about 3 to try to get her down.

We are feeding chicken legs, thighs and wings and lamb riblets.
In addition I premade a breakfast 'slop' with ground beef, pumpkin, cabbage, sweet potato, carrot, parsley, spinich, eggs with shells and liver all mixed together that they gobble up in the morning as we do not have time to throw them a bone so to speak in the AM.

I still want to supervise them as they eat the RMB's. Their poop is good so far. No detox that I have seen.

I am just amazed at the increase of energy they have had!

Oh, and they are no longer begging at OUR dinner time. They just lay there by the table. THAT is amazing!

WE are liking RAW so far, and are very optimistic that they will do well on it. Just keeping our fingers crossed that the bones continue to go down without any DRAMA!

Thanks for your help!!!!