This is a specific conversation about Raw dog food — what to know before you start — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Two raw brands both causing ear flare-ups in your Cocker Spaniel is a real pattern, and you're right to suspect the protein rather than raw feeding itself — Cockers are genuinely prone to protein-triggered ear inflammation, and it's one of the most common reasons owners give up on raw when actually the format isn't the problem, the ingredient is. Before I point you toward something specific: which proteins were in the two brands that caused the reaction, and how old is your dog now? Also, how severe were the flare-ups — discharge, smell, head shaking, or all three?
She's 11. Both brands had chicken as the main protein — one was mostly chicken and one was a mixed poultry blend. She got the gunky brown discharge and was shaking her head a lot within about two weeks of starting each one. She's been on a hypoallergenic kibble since and her ears have been fine, so I'm pretty sure it's chicken.
inparticular.ai
That's a very clear picture — chicken twice, flare-up twice, stable on a hypoallergenic kibble without chicken. At 11, her immune system isn't going to suddenly tolerate chicken, so that protein is off the table entirely. The key with returning to raw now is a genuine single-protein novel food — nothing she's had regularly before, and ideally nothing in the poultry family at all given the mixed poultry reaction too. Has she ever eaten rabbit or venison? And is she currently on any ear medication or supplements that we'd need to work around?
She's not on any medication right now, ears are clear. She's never had rabbit that I know of. She has had turkey once or twice in treats but nothing regular.
inparticular.ai
Rabbit is the right move here. It's a genuine novel protein for her, it's one of the lowest-allergen meats you can feed, and critically it's not poultry — the occasional turkey treat is unlikely to have sensitised her but rabbit sits in a completely different category. For a complete ready-made raw I'd go with Natures Menu Country Hunter 100% Rabbit. It's a single-source protein raw complete food — rabbit meat, rabbit bone, rabbit liver and heart, nothing else added that could muddy the picture. It comes in frozen nuggets which makes portion control easy for a Cocker at 11, and there's no added poultry, no chicken fat, no hidden cross-contamination the way some blended brands have. Start with a strict four-week trial on rabbit only — no chicken-based treats during that window — and you'll know quite quickly whether her ears stay clear. If they do, you've found your protein.
That sounds really sensible. How much would she be eating — she's about 10kg but quite sedentary now at her age.
inparticular.ai
At 10kg and senior activity levels, you're looking at around 150–170g per day — roughly 1.5% of body weight rather than the standard 2–2.5% used for younger active dogs. The Natures Menu Country Hunter Rabbit comes in 1kg bags of frozen nuggets, so one bag lasts about six days at that rate, which makes it easy to manage. Defrost overnight in the fridge and serve at room temperature rather than straight from cold — it's easier on older digestive systems. Keep an eye on her stools for the first week as her gut adjusts, and hold off on adding anything new until after that four-week window so you get a clean read on the protein trial.
Perfect, that's really helpful. I feel a lot more confident trying raw again with a clear plan rather than just picking another mixed brand.
inparticular.ai
That's exactly the right way to approach it — the mistake most people make after a reaction is either abandoning raw entirely or just switching to a different multi-protein blend and hoping for the best. A single novel protein trial gives you real information. If her ears stay clear for four weeks on the rabbit, you'll know raw works for her and you have a safe base to build from. Good luck with her — Cockers at 11 can absolutely thrive on raw when the protein is right.
