Hi, I just adopted Loki last week, he is a very picky eater. I tried different brands including Blue Wilderness but he doesn’t eat it. I decided to switch him on a raw diet. Been starting him with chicken drumsticks.
He has been having runny stool and vomited this morning.
Is this a normal reaction when starting the raw diet?

he may be detoxing, or you may have not fed enough and it was a hunger puke. Some dogs do have these issues when going to raw. It could be too much fat, if skin wasn't removed. If you fed with bone in, it could be a combination of all of the above. You did make sure he chewed well, and not gulp down basically the whole bone. If swallowed a whole bone diarrhea and throwing up can also be a sign of a blockage. If you haven't read the section, I would read our raw feeding section, to help you transition.

If you feel it may be a blockage, you will know if he refuses food, or immediately vomits or has diarrhea after eating, this is an emergency, and you will need to see a vet. Chicken bones are fairly soft, so as long as he broke it up into a smaller piece or two, I would imagine it is not a blockage, but I did want you to be aware of the possibility.

Any drastic change in diet is apt to cause runny stools.  I'll let someone who's more aware of BARF diets respond to the 'vomiting' portion of your question (though I'd think it odd.)

From your avatar I'm guessing somewhere between a year and two years old?  Could I entice you to tell us more about him (and maybe yourself)?

If he's your first Husky, then I'll suggest that it's not unusual for them to 'go off diet' when things around them change - like being rehomed.  As a breed, they seldom need the amount of food that "bags" and possibly even your vet would suggest.  I think most of ours are fed about two cups of food a day, split between morning and evening.  Free feeding tends to enhance the "I'm not hungry" problem, so they don't eat as much as they should.

ETA: Okay, Renee's right on top of it today - she responded while I was typing ....
I had to have it explained to me, "ETA" - "Edited to Add"

Thank you so much for your replays, He's almost 3 years old. I am gonna remove the skin and give him more, he chews them pretty well and doesn't gulp, but he hasn't touch any food today except his vomit. And I am Moe and he's my first Husky.

Moe, let us know how Loki is doing. I can assist in the raw feeding aspect, I do feed a partial raw diet, and understand the principals of raw feeding. Did you just feed straight up chicken, with out organs, organs can do that too. If not, many start off feeding without skin, for a few days and then slowly add skin in. My gsd had loose stools when I feed chicken thighs skin on, since you are doing only raw, it could be the detoxing and added skin. Give us an update when you can.

Thank you, it was just straight up chicken with no organs. He did eat some later but doesn't finish it. He's doing better now and there was no more vomiting. I am really thinking he's going through detoxing as well.

Hi Renee, just wanted to update you that Loki's stool has been back to normal for the past 3 days and he's much more active. I have been giving him straight up chicken with the skin removed like you recommended. He doesn't eat much though. Barely finishes 1 chicken leg (1/4 chicken) per day.

That's all he's eating all day? No kibble or treats?

TwisterII wrote:

That's all he's eating all day? No kibble or treats?

He gets treats and started eating some of his dry food, I'd say less than a cup/day but I am planning on taking that out and put him on a straight raw diet.

Moe, glad to hear that Loki is doing better I am with Jenn tho, do you mind letting us know what you typically feed per day? And how long have you been feeding partial raw? And when you say a quarter chicken, are you then feeding a drumstick and thigh? What is Loki's current weight? I understand that your plan is to go all raw, which is awesome, but I really want to know if you have been researching, and knowing that it needs to be balanced and additional proteins will be needed. Currently, how you are feeding is ok, you do need organ meat in there, since right now it appears you are feeding 50/50 kibble and raw, so the raw portion needs to be balanced. We are happy to help, if you need it.

Thank you, It's been about 10 days now since I started the raw diet, been researching and they mainly suggest to start them with chicken first, then work your way to other types meats. Yes, I've been giving him the drunk sticks and thighs only so far, he's 80lbs, but I also have to say, I just got him from the shelter and was just neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated, so it might be stress too.

Stress and heat can slow a dog's appetite down. If he's never had raw before some dogs have to learn it a little. At 80 pounds he should be getting anywhere from 2.5 pounds of raw a day if feeding 3% to 3.2 pounds a day if feeding 4% of body weight (that's if you were feeding no kibble. You have to subtract to count any kibble meals he's getting obviously). How much percent of weight kinda depends on your dog though. My boy is 70 pounds and I am starting him at 2% of his weight because he is not very active right now. I actually started with a premix raw where I just add my meat. It might be something worth looking into to make sure your dog is getting the balance he needs as Renee pointed out. You need to get some organs in there. liver, kidney, spleen. If you can't get him to eat these things, or can't find them in your area then the premix will do that part for you. And he might be more willing to wade into eating all raw if you start getting him used to the texture through a mix. Chicken and turkey are both great starters. A drumstick is around 33% bone by weight.

I believe some have tried searing the meat just a little to entice them to eat it better and eventually sear less and less until it's fully raw. The searing invites the nose to get him excited about it.

Moe, I also recommend Grandma Lucy's, The Honest Kitchen or Sojo's, all have base mixes, so all you have to do is add the muscle meat. Makes going over to raw more simple, and gives you time to make sure you have a solid foundation on feeding raw. We have a lot of files in the forum under raw feeding that can help you. I am guessing here, but I assume you may want Loki to loose some weight? If so you will want to feed like Jenn, around 2-2.5 % of body weight, those %'s are typical to feed if you want your dog to loose weight or if your dog is not very active. Chicken is fine to start with, tho you will want to try and add in a little bit of the skin each day, huskies do need that fat, that is what they depend on for energy. If you want to stay at what you are feeding right now, with the added kibble, you do need to add in at least liver to his diet. You need 2 secreting organs, but at this point since you are doing a slow transition, adding liver will at least balance out the raw portion, since he is getting kibble still, not the best route, but it is needed. 5-10% of the diet needs to be liver and other secreting organs, like Jenn mentioned, (5% liver and 5% other secreting organs). If sourcing organs is an issue, you may just want to try one of the three base mixes I mentioned, or try Stewart's freeze dried liver treats, I would have to figure out how much you need to feed, or it may say on the package. You are feeding slightly too much bone, so adding in the organs and skin will balance everything out. I know slow transitions are easier for dogs and the humans But it really needs to get balanced, you do not want to run into deficiencies.