# Tessa's improvement on raw diet



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I know this isn't hedgie-related, but it is animal-related! I'm just still super-excited and wanted to share on another site. :lol: 

My 14-year old ****er spaniel Tessa has been on a raw diet since the beginning of July. Last week, someone on my raw feeding Facebook group asked if anyone had good before/after pictures. I had a "before" picture saved that I took in the beginning of July. A friend asked if I had an "after" one yet, so I ran out to get one. I could tell there's been definite improvements, but I was still blown away when I compared the two pictures.

Before switching to raw, Tessa was overweight by a few pounds, her fur was dull & greasy, and her seborrhea was always really bad. Her ears were typical ****er ears as well, always really dirty & we were usually fighting to keep them from getting swollen & sore. What worried me most was she was starting to skip meals. She's always loved her food & gotten excited about eating. But I would feed her at 5 pm, she'd look at her bowl, then walk away. She wouldn't touch her food until 5 pm the next day, and she never looked all that happy about it. 

And now? Well, you can see the difference in her coat! Her fur is longer & missing bald patches mostly because she's due for a grooming in a week from when this picture was taken. (The bald patches in the first pic are from her groomer cleaning up her seborrhea sores/spots.) But it still looks much healthier and it also feels softer & healthier. She still has a few seborrhea sores under her fur (it's a condition that can only be managed, not cured). But her skin is much less sensitive & she doesn't mind being pet at all now, even if you brush one of the sores a bit. Her ears are much better & she's just getting some cleaning solution squirted in 3-4 times a week. They still get a bit dirty, but nowhere near as bad - I can get away with wiping them out once a week or so now. She's much more interested in her evening walks now. We just went to the vet a couple days ago and got an updated weight - she's lost 4lbs from where she was at in June, and is now 28lbs. The vet said she's at her ideal weight, which is exciting! And best of all, she LOVES eating now. She jumps and dances around the kitchen the whole time I'm getting her food ready now.  We're still just getting started with the raw diet (we had a minor hiccup with discovering she can't handle pork, so we're finally getting a second protein introduced, beef), and I can't wait to keep going. It's been well worth the research, work, & money (and the cost will probably decrease as I get used to where I can get the best prices for different proteins).


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## DesireeM81 (Jun 14, 2014)

Aw! That is awesome Kelsey! I hope you guys have plenty of years left together!


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## lilsurfergrlsp (Dec 13, 2013)

That's great news!


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## CoffeeKat (Jan 15, 2014)

The difference is very dramatic! Thank you for sharing. I don't spend as much time in the raw feeding group as I did, so have been missing your updates. Please continue to keep us posted here.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks guys! I'm still so very happy about this. And I'm even more excited because I think I finally figured out her magic bone percentage (15%), which makes it a lot easier to put together meals without worrying about whether she needs bone with this meal or not. I can't wait to start putting together fancier meals with 2-3 proteins.  And I'll try to update on here periodically, Kat!  I do love talking about her food, I don't need too much encouragement. :lol:


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