# Dog keeps being sick on raw diet



## littlebranshill (21 October 2016)

My dog is going over to the raw diet.  Trouble is he keeps sicking up the bones.  In the morning I find some phlem with small pieces of bones mixed in with it.  He does eat them quickly but I feed on his own so he doesn't have competition.  It started off he just sicked up the lamb bones but this morning I found lots of chicken bones which he had last night.  Also the lamb bones make him very squitty. Any advice please?


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## Leo Walker (21 October 2016)

Mine was sick a lot when he was transitioning. It did stop though. Hes still sick occasionally now if I add anything really different. Mine usually pukes then eats it again and is fine. Its hard work digesting bones and it takes them a little while to be able to do it.


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## MotherOfChickens (21 October 2016)

I've not had a problem with changing them over. are you feeding whole bones or minces with bones in? Might be worth trying one of these if he's having trouble with whole bones. Where are you sourcing your RAW from? My last dog was a very fast eater-I had to use a slow feeder bowl and also not give small whole bones as try as I might, they would go down almost whole.

Feeding lamb bones from a butcher once cost me quite alot on vet fees and two very squitty dogs-although I've not had a problem recently. Personally if something is making them ill, I would stop feeding it and try and change tack a bit.


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## Micky (21 October 2016)

Personally I would stop feeding bones/raw to your dog, his digestion is not coping well with the food...ask your vet re raw diet and your dog, it doesn't suit all dogs...good luck.


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## littlebranshill (21 October 2016)

I get the lamb bones from the butchers.  It was a chicken quarter he had last night.  Previously I have given him and drumstick and a wing and he seems OK with that.  He is a Big Boy (46kgs) that's why I thought he could handle a large lamb leg bone.


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## Teaselmeg (21 October 2016)

Weight bearing bones are much harder to digest. I would cut down on the bones for now and stick to chicken wings and lamb ribs when you do feed bones until his digestion is used to bones, then maybe add chicken necks etc.


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## Micky (21 October 2016)

If chicken wings etc as suggested above agree with him, can you not just stick to feeding them? Is it necessary to feed larger bones?


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## Cinnamontoast (21 October 2016)

Smaller bones, one protein only for a week.


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## cremedemonthe (21 October 2016)

Mine were like that when I first started feeding raw 10 years ago,any bones that is, but it does stop when they adjust. 
They used to bring up any small sharpish pieces, it seems to be the bodies way of stopping anything sharp going through but it's very rare now as I don't feed weight bearing bones (which were giving the sharpish pieces). I only feed  rib and spines of lamb and pig or chicken necks,wings and turkey necks.


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## cremedemonthe (21 October 2016)

Micky said:



			Personally I would stop feeding bones/raw to your dog, his digestion is not coping well with the food...ask your vet re raw diet and your dog, it doesn't suit all dogs...good luck.
		
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Vets are the last people I would ask about raw!
You have to give your dog time to adjust and not listen to all the scaremongers out there about raw feeding.


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## planete (22 October 2016)

A good way of helping your dog's digestive system adjust to raw bone is to feed a mince with bone in it for a time before adding whole bones.  Bringing up small pieces of undigested bone occasionally is a safety mechanism and nothing to worry about.  I would not give weight bearing bones either unless they are so large the dog has no chance of crunching them up but is merely stripping them of meat.


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## Micky (22 October 2016)

You must have some crap vets then as mine are very helpful when asked about stuff whether it be raw feeding or homeopathic .....however I'd rather research something exhaustively,see how the animal is thriving, ask a pro and then make my mind up about animal related issues..


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## twiggy2 (22 October 2016)

How long has your dog been on raw food and do you feed anything else? Is your dogsbody weight God as well as energy levels being good?


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## {97702} (22 October 2016)

cremedemonthe said:



			Vets are the last people I would ask about raw!
You have to give your dog time to adjust and not listen to all the scaremongers out there about raw feeding.
		
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This entirely - people talk such a load of rubbish about a raw diet......


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## CorvusCorax (22 October 2016)

The marrow in large bones can be too rich for some dogs. I've eaten it myself and it's pretty minging 

Agree, try feeding the mince with the bone in.


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## SusieT (22 October 2016)

If the dog is vomiting it doesn't suit the dog - change the diet.


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## Leo Walker (22 October 2016)

SusieT said:



			If the dog is vomiting it doesn't suit the dog - change the diet.
		
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Thats not true. It is a big change for dogs previously fed other types of food. I transitioned my big dog when he was about 9 months old and he was sick occasionally and can still be if its something new or difficult to digest, the pup hasnt had an issue with anything so far as hes been on it from the start. 

However throwing up something thats hard to digest and then eating it again is completely normal behaviour for dogs


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## SusieT (22 October 2016)

If the dog was being sick on Bakers everyone would scream change the diet, must be the diet. 
Just because the diet is the raw idea does not mean it works for the individual dog. It is not a miracle. It is wrong to tell people who have an unwell dog that they should continue doing the same thing. 
Change what the dog is eating, be it a different type of raw or a good quality dry food. And DO talk to your vet if your dog is persistantly vomiting - it could be completely unrelated to diet and a sign of underlying illness. Medication may help.


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## Leo Walker (22 October 2016)

Who has an unwell dog?! If a dog was throwing up Bakers then I'd be looking to change as its designed to be easily digestible even if its horrifically bad for them. But throwing up hard to digest bone isnt a sign of an unwell dog. Its completely normal behaviour for dogs. I'm pretty sure that vets only do a day or so of nutrition training so they almost certainly arent the best person to ask about raw feeding,

However I do agree if you have a dog thats vomiting a lot with no cause then you definitely do need a vet


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## cremedemonthe (23 October 2016)

FrankieCob said:



			Who has an unwell dog?! If a dog was throwing up Bakers then I'd be looking to change as its designed to be easily digestible even if its horrifically bad for them. But throwing up hard to digest bone isnt a sign of an unwell dog. Its completely normal behaviour for dogs. I'm pretty sure that vets only do a day or so of nutrition training so they almost certainly arent the best person to ask about raw feeding,

However I do agree if you have a dog thats vomiting a lot with no cause then you definitely do need a vet 

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THIS ^^^^


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## Goldenstar (23 October 2016)

Just like barefoot for horses there's not a problem in saying this does suit my dog our life and doing something different .


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