My honest story from itchy paws and endless vet visits to finally feeding raw

When people ask why I feed my dogs raw, the short answer is:
Because nothing else worked.

But the longer story – the one I’m sharing here – is about the years of trial and error, the sleepless nights, the vet visits that went nowhere, and finally trusting my gut when no one else seemed to have real answers.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your dog’s health issues and confused by all the conflicting advice out there… this one’s for you.

It started with symptoms I couldn’t ignore

• Inflammation
• Hot spots
• Food intolerances
• Yeast
• Vomiting
• Itchy paws
• Scratching and licking
• Ear infections
• Smelly skin
• Vet visit after vet visit
• Steroid injections that just masked symptoms

I was constantly trying to fix something. But nothing ever really got better – at least not for long.

The “convenient” options weren’t working

All I knew was kibble. Like most dog owners, I believed it was complete, balanced, and convenient – why wouldn’t I? That’s what the bag said.

When things got worse, I switched to vet recommended chicken and rice or fish and rice.
I followed that advice. I cooked it in bulk. I was trying. But I didn’t know that rice is a huge sugar bomb and both chicken and rice are highly inflammatory – basically the worst combo for a dog already struggling with inflammation.

No one told me that.

I noticed how hard it is to maintain proper nutrition when home cooking every day. It’s time-consuming, and I was still just guessing.

The slow shift toward something better

After months of failed attempts, I started working with a dog nutritionist who told me to look into novel proteins. I tried venison. Then rabbit. It was a short one month and we stopped working together as there was a misunderstanding about fees, and aftercare once the one-month food trial was over.

That whole experience was frustrating and expensive. But it did point me in the right direction:
– Feed something your dog has never had before.
– Ditch the grains and try something else instead (sweet potato).

After 2 months of cooking for my dogs I had to stop as cooking for them took a lot of preparation and I needed storage in order to freeze and then defrost and warm up their food. As I’m living in my van, this wouldn’t have been doable, so I took a deep dive into more expensive venison and rabbit kibble brands. I wanted to choose freeze-dried, but that was just way too expensive to get.

I ended up feeding a Welsh brand that produced venison kibble and wet salmon as a topper. This is what I continued feeding for a year, with ear infections still flaring up and health going up and down.

With more research during this time into raw, I realized I needed to go raw eventually. The kibble needed to stop, as that brand didn’t make a change in his health either, and the symptoms didn’t stop.

The mindset shift: from scared to empowered

I was terrified at first.
I was under the impression that raw food was unsafe – salmonella, bacteria, contamination, all the horror stories.

Not only that, but I’m also a vegetarian. Handling raw meat wasn’t something I wanted to do, let alone cutting it and feeding it to my dogs every day. And, like many people, I thought raw meant isn’t balanced. I had no clue how to get the right nutrients or portions. It all seemed too complicated.

But the more I researched, the more I realized that feeding kibble was like giving your dog fast food every day. If I wouldn’t eat that, why was I feeding it to my dogs?

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What my dogs eat now (and what’s changed)

These days, they eat a rotating raw diet – usually rabbit and turkey with an 80-10-10 ratio (meat, bone, organ). I mix in:

• Chia seeds
• Milled flaxseeds
• Raw carrots
• Steamed broccoli
• Blueberries
• Milled pumpkin seeds
• Gut healing and yeast-fighting powders
• Raw food digestion powders
• Frozen sprats

Not all of that every day, but it’s a varied, natural, real-food approach.
And the changes?

• Better poops
• No more ear infections (since cutting sugars/carbs)
• Fewer hot spots
• Less poop overall (raw is way more efficient)
• Still healing the gut, but making progress

If you’re dealing with chronic issues: fix the root cause

For years, I trusted the wrong advice. I believed the people who told me the symptoms were the problem. That steroids were the solution.

They weren’t.

Steroids just covered things up. They didn’t heal. I followed vet advice for three years until I got told they couldn’t help me any more – and basically just shrugged their shoulders at me.

That’s when I said enough. I started digging deeper.

I learned that my dog’s gut health had been destroyed by unnecessary vaccines, antibiotics, and low-quality food. And while I wish I’d figured it out sooner, I also know this journey made me stronger. More informed. More confident in my ability to advocate for my dogs.

Raw feeding isn’t complicated – starting is the hard part

The biggest hurdle was mental. Getting over my fear. Trusting myself.

But once I got started (with help from raw dog food brands and holistic vets on YouTube), it got easier. Way easier. There are so many guides out there now that walk you through it step by step.

If you’re sitting there overwhelmed – don’t be.

You don’t have to get it perfect. You just have to start.

Final thoughts

If your dog is dealing with health issues, and you’re stuck in the vet–kibble–symptom loop…
You’re not alone.

But you do have options. Better ones.

Switching to raw wasn’t an overnight fix. But it’s the best decision I’ve made for my dogs. And I’ll never go back to kibble again.