Coco is a typical Frenchie according to her owner Jessica. She’s ‘sassy, stubborn and a real character’, explains Jessica. However, when Coco first arrived, it was apparent that something was preventing her from enjoying life as her true sassy self. Jessica explained how Coco suffered severely with allergies and digestive issues. Over time Jessica became increasingly sad, witnessing her four-legged friend struggling. In a bid to find the solution, Jessica decided to explore raw feeding by choosing ProDog Raw’s Complete formula minces. This story will highlight how the decision to switch to raw dog food has impacted Coco and Jessica’s life together.
The story of Coco
At the time of writing, Coco is 1 year and 9 months old. Her owner describes her as happy and content when they are exploring the big wide world together, but equally content when being lazy and enjoying cuddles.
“Coco is sassy, stubborn and a real character.”
Coco hasn’t always been this way. When Coco was still a puppy, it was clear to Jessica that she was experiencing some discomfort due to health issues. Poor Coco suffered terribly with allergies, as well as digestive discomfort and Jessica was desperate to help her in any way she could.
Coco was previously fed on a well-known brand of kibble by her breeder, and despite Jessica introducing wet food to her diet, it was clear there was no improvement. Jessica soon began to realise that the carbohydrates, and consequent sugars in Coco’s food may have been the root of her problems. Jessica began researching raw dog food diets. She found out that due to the zero grain content of raw food diets and low levels of refined, starchy carbohydrates, this type of dog diet could potentially provide a wealth of health benefits for Coco—this is when she found ProDog Raw.
The challenges Jessica and Coco faced before ProDog Complete Formula
Jessica explained how Coco constantly seemed bloated and uncomfortable, as a result, unable to live her best life, which was hard to watch. In addition, Coco was infamous for being able to clear a room with regular flatulence, as well as experiencing loose stools on a regular basis. When weighing up these symptoms, it was clear to Jessica that poor Coco had serious issues with her digestive health and knew she had to act.
As well as experiencing poor gut health, Coco also suffered terribly from allergies. Jessica described how Coco would excessively scratch and bite at her feet, often causing them to bleed, which was upsetting for all involved.
“Coco constantly seemed bloated and uncomfortable and, as a result, unable to live her best life.”
Jessica explained that after nothing seemed to be working, she began investigating what might be causing Coco’s issues and eventually pinpointed it to her food. Coco had been weaned onto kibble by her breeder, and Jessica soon realised that the high level of carbohydrates in kibble contributed significantly to Coco’s condition.
From that point on, Jessica decided she wanted to feed Coco a raw, biologically appropriate diet and began her research.
Why Jessica and Coco chose ProDog Raw Complete Formula
Switching dogs’ diets is not always easy, and Jessica explained how she carried out a lot of research to be able to make a fully informed decision for Coco’s sake.
Jessica described how switching to raw, in particular, seemed a challenge as there are so many myths out there. Determined to share Coco’s story to combat some of this misinformation, Jessica is passionate about raising awareness of how easy switching to a natural dog food diet can be due to its incredible impact on our fur friend’s health and happiness.
When researching raw brands, Jessica outlined how she knew she wanted a high standard of supplier to ensure Coco’s health was given the absolute best opportunity to improve.
Jessica decided to choose ProDog Raw due to the obvious high quality of the food and also because we are recommended by veterinary professionals. The wealth of guidance and information on our website helped Jessica navigate the world of raw feeding; this combined with our customer service and specialist feeding advice, meant Jessica found her experience of transitioning to raw feeding with ProDog to be very easy.
After reading our guidance and learning more about raw feeding, Jessica decided to try our Puppy Sample Pack in the first instance, soon progressing to our Complete formula bundle with offal. Both of these bundles contain our Complete Formula meals. Complete raw food recipes are designed to provide all the nutrients a dog requires to thrive, with zero additions from dog owners required— the simplest and easiest way to feed a fresh whole food diet.
Our sample packs are discounted and available as a first-time purchase to allow customers to try the food before committing to a larger purchase, something Jessica found extremely helpful.
How Jessica and Coco introduced ProDog Raw Complete Formula
When switching to a raw diet, there are two types of transition method, both of which work for individual dogs. The first option is a rapid switch where the old food is replaced with the new food immediately (recommended for young dogs or those with well-functioning gastrointestinal systems). Secondly, there is the slow switch, which is more beneficial for those dogs with digestive problems, or fussy eaters.
Due to Coco’s previous gut troubles, Jessica decided chose the slow switch method. They successfully transitioned within the first month with no side effects or hesitation from Coco. In addition, Jessica uses a Likimat Wobble to serve Coco’s food, adding enrichment to Coco’s mealtimes.
Jessica explains that Coco was extremely happy with her food from the off and would eat every protein option happily. The change in Coco was dramatic as you’ll see from the results below.
‘I haven’t looked back; she is so much healthier’.
The results
Coco was a different dog within a month of changing to ProDog Raw’s Complete Formula,
Jessica describes how her flatulence disappeared and her gut health dramatically improved. As a result, Coco is now much happier, and her energy levels are far better. In addition to the gastrointestinal improvements, Coco’s new diet has also had an overwhelmingly positive impact on her allergies and skin condition. Jessica described how Coco went from having consistently sore, itchy feet and skin to zero itching.
“Seeing Coco happy and comfortable in her own skin is such an immense relief”.
And it’s not just Jessica who has noticed the difference in Coco. Friends and family have noted how amazing Coco looks with her now athletic physique and shiny coat. Whilst Coco’s vet is also extremely happy with the results Coco’s new diet has had on her overall health, especially her weight. Jessica explained how her vet had previously recommended prescription weight management kibble, after Coco gained weight following her spay, but she had chosen to feed Prodog Raw instead. Jessica is happy she stuck by this decision as she has found it super easy to manage Coco’s weight on her raw diet.
A final word from Jessica
“I hope Coco’s story will influence more people to try a raw diet with their dogs, especially if they suffer from any health problems. I wish nutrition and various food options were discussed in more detail by vets, allowing customers to make an informed decision. For Coco, this may have prevented unnecessary suffering. I hope this is something that improves in the future.”
If you feel inspired by Coco’s story, here are some suggestions to get you started with ProDog Raw.
- Not sure where to start? Then contact us today for tailored advice from one of our expert feeding advisors.
- Learn more about raw dog food diets in our raw feeding guide and our benefits of raw dog food article.
- Ready to shop? Order from the ProDog Raw Complete formula range, pre-selected raw food bundles or sample pack today.
*Free delivery on all bundles to standard shipping areas (UK mainland). Up to 18% saving on bundles compared to purchasing the same meals individually.
I have a frenchie and he suffers with allergies and came to me on raw but kept being sick so I thought it was the raw turns out it wasn’t he needs a operation, after the operation I kept him on his kibble worst mistake ever, it ended up with him having to be on steroids my puppy had lost his personality and spark, everything you except from a frenchie had gone, his coat had lost its shine so I came back to pro dog raw and emailed them and asked a few questions within minutes they emailed me back. His been back on raw for nearly 3 months and I have my puppy back and the shine on his coat is better then ever. I did try other brands but none come close to this company.
Good afternoon,
I rescued a female 2yr old Saint Bernard 4 months ago, she had been in kennels for almost a year, there they were feeding her raw and kibble, she came to us and I continued to feed raw, at the time nutriment chicken, we noticed she was very reluctant to allow ear cleaning, after a visit to the vets 4 weeks on steroids and 4 weeks on allergy meds and an ear flush and swab result positive for allergy, she went onto Orijen 6 fish after vet thought food may be responsible,( not a definite as no allergy test done) and no idea how long she had suffered with her ears.
I personally don’t think Orijen is doing her much good either as her coat is a bit sparse and dull looking, no issues with stomach thankfully.
The vet recommended purina H/A to see if food actually is the issue or environmental.
Would putting her back to raw maybe venison be a better idea than purina pro H/A?, im trying to do what’s best for her.
Kind regards
Julie
Hi Linda
We believe our customer services team have advised you 🙂
I have a Dalmatian puppy and am looking for a dog food that is low in purine. Would any of your foods suit a low purine diet.
Hi Elaine, we have many Dalmatian puppy and dog owners that thrive on ProDog raw meals. We have a range of offal free meals, If you look at our offal free bundle, or select an adult sample pack and select offal as the allergy, we will send a range of low purine, offal free meals. https://www.prodograw.com/shop/raw-dog-food/raw-bundles/dog-food-without-offal-bundle/. Any problems, please email [email protected] and the team with help you.