This morning, Ginger had a drumstick for breakfast. She put it down and Storm grabbed it and crunched the bone as he tried to get away. Hubby got him and Ginger's drumstick back, and they each finished their breakfast.

Storm had 2 bite size pieces of raw chicken in his breakfast, and he ate that first before his kibble.

SO...I'm thinking...
Since Storm, has seemed very interested in Ginger's raw dinners (he'll go lick her bowl after she's done eating her dinner), and Storm's BM has been formed, but a little on the soft side while I've been transitioning him over to Wellness Core GF RF kibble, maybe I should return the uneaten portion of WC and transition him to partial raw...?

I also need to make sure he still will lose weight on raw.

If I calculate 2-3% of what his weight should be, total raw in a day for Storm would be 1.7 - 2.55 lbs of raw at 85 lbs of body weight.

If I slowly start to transition him over to raw, would that still get weight off him? Is my thought process on the right track?

Ha, I was just thinking about Storm and raw this morning after the results we've discovered with Dakota. I will post more on that in the "Weigh in" thread soon enough.

cmanding wrote:

Since Storm, has seemed very interested in Ginger's raw dinners (he'll go lick her bowl after she's done eating her dinner), and Storm's BM has been formed, but a little on the soft side while I've been transitioning him over to Wellness Core GF RF kibble, maybe I should return the uneaten portion of WC and transition him to partial raw...?

If you do partial raw with Storm, what will he be eating in addition to raw if you return the Core? If you are still in transition I would probably wait until you're fully switched over to something else before officially introducing raw on purpose. Especially if he's producing soft BM's I wouldn't start mixing new things into the mix as you won't know what is upsetting his stomach if things go south. I love your enthusiasm for getting Storm started on raw but I would hold off a little longer.

Our Glory was the same, she was insanely interested in the raw meat that Dakota was eating and she would lick and lick and lick wherever he had finished eating. That's what really pushed me to officially try her out on raw was her extreme interest in it. But I waited until I felt the time was right to officially give it a try and she's a complete natural, chews her bones up well and no tummy troubles.

cmanding wrote:

I also need to make sure he still will lose weight on raw. If I calculate 2-3% of what his weight should be, total raw in a day for Storm would be 1.7 - 2.55 lbs of raw at 85 lbs of body weight. If I slowly start to transition him over to raw, would that still get weight off him? Is my thought process on the right track?

He will lose weight on raw if you feed it appropriately! Yes, you are right on track. Since you want to get him to lose a considerable amount of weight you might take the middle ground of the 2-3% and start off feeding 2.5% of his target weight. So 2.5% of 85 lbs is 2.13 lbs. You can start off there and adjust as needed. You want a slow and steady weight loss so if he isn't losing like you want then drop it down to 2% or if he losing weight too fast you'll want to up it to 3%. There are just so many factors that will affect what percentage is best for any individual (as you know) so starting off in the middle can be a good idea.

Right now, Storm is on kibble: half Native 1 which is what he was getting and WC. He's always formed, but never really firm - always been a little on the soft side, but easy to pick up. On Native 1, he seemed to be better - formed, and a little more firm.

This past week, I found dehydrated raw patties by Stella and Chewy's. They are 60 calories each patty and thought to try them as treats, and he (and Ginger loves them)! So I've been breaking them in 1/4's and using them as training treats on occasion as I try to limit the treats since he already gets a small piece of cheese in the morning and at night for his thyroid pill.

I have more of Native 1 and am almost out of the 5 lbs of WC I bought and I'm wondering if I should go back to Native 1 and see if I can get Acana Light and Fit? Native 1 has rice in it as Acana does, so I think Storm will be OK with the rice.

I really want to get away from Native 1 and find a better kibble option for him.

Is there any place that you can find Acana Light & Fit? Have you considered trying Innova or Innova Evo Reduced fat kibble? That's what I used for Dakota when he was having trouble losing weight and really the weight came right off him.

If the Core is the cause of the softer stool then I wouldn't continue to feed it, especially if he gets softer as the ratio of Core increases. I tried Core, Blue WIlderness, and Evo which are are similar formulas and Dakota did best on Evo while Faith on the other hand did best on Core. It wasn't until switching to THK that I could finally feed everyone the same food!

Oh the Stella & Chewy's freeze dried patties are excellent! I'm glad to hear both do well on them. I use the S&C FD patties as treats for my pack as well, great stuff!

Anyway, you might want to put him back on Native and then try something else like Acana Light & Fit if you can get it or THK.

I would love to get him on THK, but I think in the other thread for Storm, it sounded like a low fat, reduced calorie kibble would be better so that Storm would still feel satisfied and full on more (volume) of food vs. smaller amounts of THK.

I called my 2 fave pet stores convenient to me, and one of them is currently checking if they can get Acana Light & Fit. I'll see if they carry Innova Evo Reduced Fat kibble...

Yes, S&C freeze-dried patties will be something I'll be keeping around as treats! If I look at the feeding guide on the package, for Storm, the whole bag would barely feed Storm for a meal!

So, Evo doesn't have a reduced fat kibble (anymore) but rather a weight management grain free formula, but that has 458 calories per cup....

One of the pet stores near me called their buyer and was told Acana Light & Fit hasn't been approved for US sale....and I checked online and can't find it. There was one pet supply store online that has it on their website, but when I try to order it, it gives me an error saying it is not available.

Should I stretch out the transition period between Native 1 and WC? Or just go back to Native 1? Or should I just Storm at half Native 1 and half WC for a whole week to see if he just simply needs more time to transition to WC?

You can certainly try sticking it out with the Core if you want to.

Sorry, that's the one I meant. It was the Evo Weight Management one that we fed and Dakota was able to eat normal size portions without gaining weight. It really helped as he didn't feel hungry all the time and he did lose weight on it. We fed a mix of Evo Weight Management kibble with the Innova Lower Fat Adult canned food. Worked like a charm for us.

Have you considered trying THK Keen? I know it's not grain free due to the oats and it is 470 calories/cup dry matter basis but it is the "thickest" most filling HK formula that I've seen which might help keep him feeling fuller. Just a thought.

I'll definitely consider Keen...maybe I'll get a couple of 4 oz trial packets and start with a couple of tablespoons of Keen and decrease a little of Native 1 and see how he does...

Storm is now on WC and is doing fine! I guess I expected him to not have any issues with the rate I was transitioning his food, but when I think about it, he moved to Denver the beginning of April, went from no exercise to a mile of walking a day, food changed from Kansas to Denver, got poked and prodded by a vet, moved to another home with another husky in Denver (ours) 2 weeks later, and more food changes, AND weight loss....he's only been in Denver a total of 5 weeks! So I think he's doing fantasic after all of that!

I mentiontion this in another raw feeding therad, but last night I threw in a 2 oz meaty chicken thigh bone with his kibble, and he was fine. (This isn't something I'll do at every dinner for him - not right now).

I think Storm is going to take to raw like a natural, as he goes for the raw food first over his kibble...or maybe that's because of his Nupro...but he's good at chewing/crunching down the bone before swallowing. In any case, I also use Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw patties as treats for my 2, and he likes it.

It's just bits and pieces here and there for Storm right now, and I know I could do raw for his weight loss, but I think I'll wait another month and see where his weight is at then before I start introducing any more raw into his diet.

Well that's good news! I'm glad to hear that he's taking an interest in raw, Dakota was like that too...never hesitated and dove right into raw like he'd been eating it all his life.

I have to say Storm's handling all the changes very well!

I've been giving Storm a chicken wing or drummette with his kibble the past couple of days and he's been doing fine so far! No need to sear, but I'm sure his Nupro helps.

Yesterday, I came across Vital Essentials (frozen raw) and they come in both patties and kibble size/form, and decided to try it, so I bought the chicken 'kibble'.

For a mid afternoon snack, I took a few pieces frozen and gave them to Ginger and Storm, and they liked it! I think I want to buy the kibble form so I don't have to thaw it out, and they can crunch the cold, frozen kibble as a snack on hot days!

For Storm's dinner, he had a little bit of his WC kibble, and I thew in a Stella & Chewy's Chicken Dinner patty with a small raw chicken wing and he licked his bowl clean! And this morning, he had a firm BM!

So, with about 7 or 8 lbs of WC kibble left and Storm weighing at 102.2 lbs, I think I'm slowly going to transition him to THK and more raw while I finish up his kibble....

Rounding 10 or so lbs down from his current weight, calculating 2% of 90 lbs, he can have 1.8 lbs of food in a day and hopefully still continue to lose weight.

Hopefully, my thought process here is still on track.....

Yep, that sounds about right. Your doggies are in such good hands and awesome job on the great variety of foods they get!

Thanks Val!