Dachshund Feeding

Dachshunds like all dogs, need to be fed a well balanced diet, specific to their needs.  Laci Dachshunds are fed a raw diet as they are weaned.

Yes, that is correct. We feed raw at this house. In the beginning, I thought I would go insane insuring proper proportions of ingredients, weighing proper amounts per dog and getting enough protein variety and then... calm ensued. It really is NOT that difficult a regime to switch to and the benefits are great! I started on raw because Wrinkles ,at 6 weeks of age, refused to eat anything I put in front of him and his siblings. He would wait to nurse even though I made sure he was hungry before I tried feeding. I tried every kind of kibble imaginable and then Dawn-Renee Mack turned me on to raw feeding. Wrinkles thought it was fabulous from the moment I introduced it to him.

Then the decision for the rest of the dogs - I wasn't going to feed two completely different types of diet. Everyone in the household was switched to the raw diet. The results were amazing. My older dogs lost weight they badly needed to lose (they were on 1/4 cup of dog food plus green beans for months with no weight loss AND they were beggars because of being hungry), the coats improved, the energy level was vastly improved and since that time of switching I have never had a picky eater.

There are many pre-made raw diets available to make it easy on you. They may be more costly per pound than making it yourself but it is a great time-saver. To name a few of the brands that I have used: Farmore (sadly now out of business), Bravo, and Nature's Variety. There are many others out there.

The book, Switching to Raw by Sue Johnson, helped me with the switch. It is an easy read and can help you through the transition with minimal difficulty. Another good read would be Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale. There are many other books available on reasons why to feed this diet, how to make the transition and *how to* feed.

Some links follow that you can use to get help or advice:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/DFW_BARF/ - DFW raw feeding http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raw_weenies/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Nutrition/