Has anyone fed RAW from an early age?

Just wondered if anyone has fed their dog RAW food since an early age? How is your dog coming along? Do they have any health problems? Anything noteworthy you'd like to share? Post pics too!

None of my dogs were raw fed from a puppy but Flynn was probably the youngest at around a year old when I started to introduce raw food several times a week, They've been fully raw fed for 2.5 years so I guess he was young.

He used to have a really dry, dull coat that looked awful and his skin was really flaky and scaly. He does still suffer with atopy but his coat is now glossy and isnt dry and the only thing i've changed is his diet. His atopy is much better too and he never scratches himself sore like he used to.

Flynn recently had a health check before he donated blood and the vet spent ages listening to his heart. She got me a bit worried and then asked if he runs around alot. I replied yes and she said that his high level of fitness would explain his slow heart rate. The vet nurses also commented on his leaness and athletic body.

Generally, all the dogs are in good health - their coats have never been better, their teeth always get a thumbs up from the vets, their stamina is brilliant and, from the amount of hard running they do and their quickness in recovery when they do burn out, they appear to be in top shape.

Also, Jed always used to have a problem with his weight and no matter how little portions of kibble I gave him or what kind of weight control food I bought him, he couldnt shift the excess kilos.
I do find that with raw, he tends not to put on the weight so easily and if he does, it's easier to get him back down. I find the options with raw to help me control this are better e.g I can differ the type of meat he gets, bulk it out with bone or with veg if I wish, ration his food out according to his exercise levels without it looking too meagre etc.

The collies are now both 5 years old and Flynn is approaching 4 so they arent old dogs by any means but i'm hoping their good health will last with the help of their diet.

Oscar was started on raw from the day I brought him home. He was on Beta puppy () and I gradually added raw meat and bones until he was on raw completely.

He doesn't have any major health issues, just the normal Wire Viszla traits - his ears seem to be sensitive to getting sore if wet and he does seem to be a bit itchy from time to time, but nothing that gives him any bother generally.

Here's little pic of him with his very first chicken wing with Isla supervising:




And here he is at 18 months old:




He's got a lovely hard wire coat on him now and is physically very fit. He's a bit lean as he burns off a lot of energy, but I really do believe he'd be a lot thinner had I fed him on dry as he can be quite fussy. It's also possible that the slight itchiness he feels from time to time could be far worse if he wasn't raw fed, but of course that's just speculation on my part.

I can't imagine feeding any other way now, they look forward to each meal time and the different variety they get helps keep it interesting for them.

The only major problem I have with feeding such a high quality diet is that for dogs that are relatively inactive or with a slow metabolism (eg Isla ) they only need very small amounts to maintain their weight. And when that particular dog is very greedy it can be hard on the conscience when forced to feed tiny portions!

Both of mine have been raw fed since pups, their breeder raw fed, so they had chicken wings from a few weeks of age.

Out of the two of them, Tau is the fittest, Indie is larger framed and a little accident prone. She ruptured her cruciate aged 18 months, although it's a long story, the short version is my prat of an ex insisted on overdoing it with her from an early age, which didn't do her any favours. Tau on the other hand, was all mine, right from day one, and she is incredibly lithe and fit. They generally see the vet once a year now, and he absolutely loves going over them, they are two of the fittest and healthiest Labradors he sees.

yes, flynn was, Bad hips. Wouldnt do it Again

Jake wasnt fed raw young, he was just turning one when he started his part raw part kibble for his elimination diet. Jake would be much worse off if he didnt get raw, he could be ok on hypoallergenic food but how boring would that be! I would never feed another way by choice now. He also used to get ear infections a lot, which could be cause of the allergies, or he could just be prone to them but he hasnt had a single one in over a year now!

Is it because Flynn has bad hips you wouldnt do it again, or did you just not like it? Just wondering.

Just out of interest, you seem to be saying that this was down to the raw diet? What reasoning do you have behind that, if that's the case. It's just that, even though Indie had problems with her knee, which I touched upon briefly, her hip score is 3:3 and her half sister's is 0:0. Having said that, Indie's elbow grade is high, 2:1, but there's a long story behind that as well, suffice to say, car accident, bad plates, and unhelpful BVA person at the time. She shows no sign of any problems currently, thank goodness!! Tau's grade is a 0, so I'm sure it's nothing to do with diet.

Im not unconvinced it wasnt related to be honest.

my friend also
R/F & has had two dogs with OCD
& anorther friend with Another case of OCD

Dont know for definate, just a feeling,
have also friends with OCD probs in young dogs ,whilst feeding raw. (see above post)
Im not sure just wonder because its balanced over "time" that maybe the right stuff isnt there when "required" in growth.
Id not do it again with a pup, unless there was no other option (allergies etc)

Thanks, I find that really interesting. I know more people with dogs that are fed on complete food that have joint problems, than those that have been raw fed. Having said that, I know of a dog fed half and half that has 2:2 elbows, but again, I have to say, I think it is 100% genetic, nothing to do specifically with diet.

I think we have to be careful these days with so many health tests available to start looking for what caused it; years ago, your dog would just have been lame, it wouldn't have had a bad hip score. And it would have been fed scraps most likely, and no-one would think twice about whether it was partly down to diet. And to be honest, I think they're right. There are certain conditions that dogs have the propensity to develop, because they are born with that propensity, and it's down to any number of reasons why they actually do go on to develop a condition, and again, part of that is genetic, some are born with a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, and no matter what you feed them, or how careful you are, they will, unfortunately, develop whatever it is.

I've helped quite a few people swap over to raw, and to understand the balance of feeding good quality meat/bones, offal, tripe and all the extras, and never once has anyone come back with any problems. So I find it interesting to come across someone who associates joint problems specifically with the raw diet. It's probably for a whole other thread but I find all the diet stuff fascinating, and health testing is a huge double edged sword, so to combine the two is probably a massive topic to debate, chuckle.