Darwin's raw pet food (and an introduction)

Dog Food Advisor Forums Raw Dog Food Darwin's raw pet food (and an introduction)

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
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  • #12873 Report Abuse
    dogmom2
    Participant

    Hi there.

    I have been reading this forum and pet food reviews for quite some time, and feel like I know some of you quite well.

    I am a dog mom, 48, married to a retired carpenter. We have two labs, Hank, yellow and is 10 1/2…and Dewey, black, who is just over 7 now.
    Hank has always been itchy, required bathing etc fairly regularly. When he turned about 2 he started getting interdigital cysts on his front feet pretty regularly. ( two or three times a year). We did regular bouts of Cepha ( my vet would sell it to us in 500 pill bottles to use as needed. ) at the age of 9 he started having constant anal gland issues on top of the skin stuff. then about a year ago, out of frustration over an episode withnhis feet that just would not heal…I took him to the local
    Holistic vet. We went over everything…diet, vaccines etc. she told me that innova ( the food I had always used) had been bought out and since we did not support P&G…we switched to wellness senior, and Merrill canned. We did laser treatments on his foot, and it finally healed.
    Long story short, then the black dog Dewey started regurgitating his food, and bile. After a few months of this we decided to go back to innova, since Dewey tolerated it. Well!! After a few days Hank starts tearing himself up, licking his butt, and his ears flare up. We had not even noticed that he wasn’t doing that while on wellness. So we have two dogs and no food that they can share. So we decided to switch again…this time to Evo, red meat, despite being a P&G product…and they both did fine. Dewey not harfing it up, Hank not tearing himself apart. ( and no sign of foot blowouts).
    Around this time I started experiment with raw frozen patties…NV lamb, duck etc. they seems to like it, but I did not like the smell. I started reading more, and bought some nice grass fed heart, tongue, etc at we would give them, along with their kibbles and Merrick. And I read…mostly here, and slowly over the last year we have moved further from kibble and more to primal raw frozen (duck, lamb, venison and rabbit), raw ground tripe, local pastured beef , pre and probiotic and hk preference. I still do Evo red meat once a day most week days, because DH prefers to let me do all the raw feeding.
    No foot blow outs in over a year, which is a miracle….both dogs seem to be thriving and I am convinced this is the best for them and us.
    We had one blip in the road last winter, when I decided I was going to go prey model and finally gave the boys their first chicken leg raw. Hank ended up sick the next day with a horrible case of gastritis that had him pretty sick for a few weeks. (holy giant vet bill!). I suspect the fat from the skin may have been the culprit…but I am gun shy now. Dewey was fine.
    So…that is my introduction!!! Lol.
    my question is this….we switched from primal to Darwin’s recently due to cost. Darwin’s product looks lovely, and they seem to like it. I fed the beef first, and then yesterday they had chicken. Today hank has gooey looking stool, not quite diarrhea but mucousy. Dewey’s is fine. We have not had this experience with any of the other foods, and yesterday his stools were fine.
    Have any of you used Darwin’s had a similar experience??

    #12880 Report Abuse
    InkedMarie
    Member

    Welcome to the forum! One of mine got mucousy stools when mine first went on Darwins. It went away. If you have any questions, give them a call!

    #12887 Report Abuse
    dogmom2
    Participant

    I spoke with them today. They have exceellent support staff
    He seems to be feeling just fine, and so we will watch and wait. They had turkey today. I think I will feed them turkey again tomorrow and see how thinks look. Then go from there.

    I love the looks of their product, so I hope it works itself out…(so to speak). 🙂

    #14859 Report Abuse
    Judy
    Participant

    Hi dogmom2. How is Hank doing with Darwin so far? I’m looking to also purchase Darwin for Blitz. I’m currently on Primal and have tried homemade raw but Blitz got sick probably because of the fat content like your experience. Primal is a bit expensive and Darwin looks pretty appealing especially with the green tripe option for subscribers. I’d be interested to see how your dogs like Darwin and if you would recommend the product.

    #14860 Report Abuse
    theBCnut
    Member

    I’ve been using Darwin’s for months now and my dogs do great on it.

    #14958 Report Abuse
    InkedMarie
    Member

    DogMom2, how are your dogs doing on Darwin’s.

    #15131 Report Abuse
    patvl246
    Participant

    DogMom, My 210 lb English Mastiff has been eating Darwins since he was 12 weeks old. He’s 20 months now and still runs to his bowl for Darwins. I do mix in a cup of Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost Venison and Lamb (Kibble), some green tripe and chicken from Big Dog Natural in Brick, N.J. (Dehydrated) and even some Bravo Complete. Switching things around so he doesn’t get bored. He also loves raw beef liver and raw chicken necks and backs.

    #15141 Report Abuse
    NectarMom
    Member

    I am curious also because I am thinking of ordering some of the raw Turkey. How long did the mucousy stools last? How many Pattys should I start out with when I get it? I have small dogs. 3 Chihuahuas and a Shihtzu. The Shihtzu weighing the least, 4lbs.

    #15142 Report Abuse
    patvl246
    Participant

    He’s never had mucousy stools, sorry I can’t help you there. If you log onto Darwins, I’m pretty sure they have a feeding calculator there

    #16351 Report Abuse
    dogmom2
    Participant

    Hi there!!

    Sorry it has taken me so long to get back here. It has been crazy busy around here these days.

    Hank is doing great on the Darwin’s. We are now into our 3 full shipment, and I am very happy with the food. Both dogs really like it. We also bought duck necks from them, and we are incorporating them into their homemade raw diet. (we get grass fed beef hear, tongue, kidney and liver from a local rancher) It is fun to hear them crunching. My black lab loves sardines as it turns out.

    Unfortunately, Hank had his first foot blow up in a year and a half, but we are convinced that it is ingrown hair between the toes that cause it, and not environmental allergies. We are doing laser treatments at our vet, and we did one acupuncture treatment as well. Poor guy, he is on low activity until it heals. His itching and licking is pretty much resolved for now.

    All in all, I wish I would have learned about Darwins, raw feeding, etc years ago.

    ps. I just ordered my first 5# sample of Brothers complete allergy last night for the days when kibble is whats for dinner!

    #16354 Report Abuse
    patvl246
    Participant

    So Happy to hear your guys like Darwins, it’s has to be one of the best commercial raw foods out there. Get better Hank

    #16359 Report Abuse
    InkedMarie
    Member

    Glad it’s going well!

    #64095 Report Abuse
    Faerie d
    Member

    Gooey stools mean dog is detoxing the toxins in the previous food. It’s a good sign that real nutrition is going in and supporting the organs and immune system to detox. It’s not building up any more with the daily meals so the body has energy to process and eliminate the junk. Loose stools, gooey gunk and sometimes even the runs will happen when you switch to real food without all the bad ingredients. If they get into something bad somewhere you might see same thing the next day or two. Detox is good. If dog has the runs, add a tablespoon of real or canned organic (no toxins) pumpkin until symptoms subside. Works for humans too.

    #64096 Report Abuse
    Faerie d
    Member

    Also note – this confirms you did the right thing by switching to better quality nutrition. Treats for good dog people! More on nutrition at HealMyPet.com

    #73026 Report Abuse
    Kathy G
    Member

    Dose Darwins dog food have a web site

    #73034 Report Abuse
    patvl246
    Participant
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