Madison I have dogs’ which have digestive problems with higher fat in their diet. I came to that conclusion because whenever I fed certain home cooked food as a kibble topper they would have loose stools. That being dark meat chicken vs boiled white meat, ground beef that wasn’t 90% fat free, fatty pieces of steak vs very lean(when they got lucky lol). They have no trouble with plain, boiled salmon.
So, that being said I hope I can make some suggestions of a starting point in switching to raw and then you can see how she does with each of these brands.
I got used to my dogs’ with one brand/protein VERY, VERY, VERY slowly. Then when i knew that they were digestively good with the brand/protein I would switch the protein also very slowly. Just giving them bits mixed in with the other protein. Eventually, I also would change brands and did the same. I just feel better not sticking always to one brand, but that’s me.
I used a starting point by looking at the raw food reviews on DFA. This led me to Primal, Stella Chewy’s, I have Chihuahuas’. This allowed me to use freeze dried. However, for a larger dog as yours, I believe the frozen raw would be most cost efficient. Freeze Dried should be the same as raw nutritionally once hydrated.
I always only feed his 5* reviews in the protein/flavor of that brand. I believe he rates by protein to fat ratio. So the 5* ones are lower in fat. So I stick to Primal’s turkey/sardine, venison, pork, duck. All of these proteins/flavors are non HPP (HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESSING (HPP)
High-Pressure Processing, or HPP, is an FDA- and USDA-approved cold water pressure process that allows us to target salmonella and other food-borne pathogens—without cooking.) Some raw feeders do not like the HPP process claiming it effects nutritional values. However other studies show he use of High Pressure Processing (known as HPP) is becoming increasingly common with commercial raw dog foods. However, HPP can be a controversial process. Some view it as an effective way to eliminate disease-causing bacteria while having only minimal effect on the integrity of the finished product.)
I believe Stella’s uses HPP in all their products. With their food I use chicken, venison bland and their rabbit.
Their are many other companies which are rated highly on this site. I believe VITAL ESSENTIALS is the brand which Is as a whole below in fat . If you go to the reviews on DFA they are all listed as a 5*. Many different flavors also. They are also low in calories . Their company goes by the prey model which is no veggies/fruits which are sometimes added to other brands. vital essentials example (ngredients: Beef, beef tripe, beef lung, ground beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, beef kidney, beef blood, beef fat, herring oil, d-alpha tocopherol)
I also want to suggest possibly kibble with salmon. Pancreatic digestive enzyme supplements have been reported to help some dogs with pancreatitis while fish body oils (such as salmon oil or EPA oil but not cod liver oil), can help to lower blood lipid levels which may reduce the workload on the pancreas.
I believe your dog does not suffer from pancreatitis but just occasional IBS? So I hope she does well with any of these . Just go slowly. So much confusion with all those brands. Hope I gave you a good starting point and she does well with these suggestions.
