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October 25, 2015 at 11:31 am #79686
Topic: Darwin's Raw Canine Natural Selections
in forum Editors Choice ForumAnita AMemberMike, does the Darwin’s company with its recent formula changes still meet your 5 star
rating criteria?
Darwin’s notified its customers in September, 2015, that “with new AAFCO pet food
nutritional guidelines on the horizon” it was time for them to make improvements in their raw food formulas. The result has been an increase in fat and decrease in protein. An example:
Canine Turkey old formula -protein 46 percent;fat 27 percent vs new formula – protein 43 percent; fat 39 percent. My concern is finding the correct balance for two senior dogs.
Thanks for any input,
AnitaOctober 9, 2015 at 5:32 pm #79298In reply to: Advice on starting kidney disease diet
ShawnaMemberAimee,
I’m sure you are more than aware that I was discussing AAFCO nutrient profiles (which are set at 18% as a minimum) versus NRC? You have such a way of spinning things…..
“Balance IT could be an option but I personally wouldnāt have fed my KD girl such a low protein diet.” I gave my opinion about BalanceIT. The OP can take it or leave it.
Could you point me in the direction of OTC foods that have kidney friendly herbs etc? I missed those when I was planning out Audrey’s diet. In case you missed, I have stated that the Darwin’s diet is not suitable for all stages of KD (however not this time as I think it very likely could be quite appropriate — could being the operative word).
October 9, 2015 at 12:06 am #79283In reply to: Advice on starting kidney disease diet
sheila23ParticipantThanks all for the replies! There is a lot of info to consider and some I hadn’t even thought of (filtered water!) we are actually considering going to a veterinary nutritionist to have them help create a diet for us, has anyone ever used one of those?
Shawna- so much info!! You rock! So, so helpful. And gives me a lot of hope for my boy! Initially it was a very scary diagnosis for us, but I feel there’s a lot I can help him with now. I hadn’t heard of Darwin’s yet, looking into that right after this post.
-Regarding the mineral water, is it ok for other (not kd) dogs to drink this? That could be a dumb question, I am not sure.October 8, 2015 at 11:56 pm #79282In reply to: Advice on starting kidney disease diet
aimeeParticipantHi Shawna,
In regards to balance it I hand calculated out the protein requirements for a 50 lb dog and then looked at several recipes and they all met or exceeded NRC recommendation. Not sure why you’d say the diet isn’t complete and balanced.The strength of Balance is it is a good place to start if you can’t afford an individual consult and it looks that you can customize the recipes for a small fee. But if you wanted to say up the protein you could run the calculations yourself since all the nutritional information is given.
I do agree that in early stages higher protein can be fed and of great importance to me is to calculate protein needs and make sure they are being met independent of the percent of protein in the diet.
Darwin’s “kidney” diet is quite the mystery to me as phos. is not restricted. As you know phos. restriction is the most important key to slowing down progression of renal disease. The Phos level is nearly twice the NRC recommended amount for a normal dog.
I’m glad to see they require vet approval as it looks like this diet would only be appropriate for a dog that doesn’t yet need any modifications from AAFCO maintenance requirements. In that case there are OTC diets that are a lot less expensive that could be used
October 8, 2015 at 7:38 pm #79275In reply to: Advice on starting kidney disease diet
ShawnaMemberHi Sheila23,
Although a homemade diet is absolutely doable I would do a LOT more research before you decide on any one brand. Example — Tripe is a great food for kd dogs but it is supposedly already balanced in calcium to phosphorus. Adding a premix like Preference, that is designed to balance higher phosphorus meat, could be problematic. Although phosphorus needs to be watched, you can go too low too early in the disease.
Balance IT could be an option but I personally wouldn’t have fed my KD girl such a low protein diet (ESPECIALLY in the early stages). Based on the nutrient profile of their beef and rice early stage kd diet the protein amount is only 15.3%. That’s ridiculously low for early stage kd without any complicating issues like proteinuria. Not even enough to meet the minimum protein amounts required for an a complete and balanced diet. They also use corn oil — EEEEKK. The chicken & rice recipe is even worse at 14.9% protein.
If you can afford it, I would highly recommend looking at Darwin’s prescription KD diet formulated by vet Dr. Barbara Royal. The ingredient list is
“Human-Grade Meat: Beef Meat, Beef Tripe, Beef Pancreas, Beef Lungs, Beef Kidneys, Beef Liver, Beef Heart, Beef Spleen.Vegetables: Cabbage, Celery, Squash, Sweet Potato, Beets, Romaine Lettuce.
Special Nutrient Mix: Filtered Water (for processing), Sardine oil (source of EPA, DPA and DHA), Egg Shell Powder, Parsley, Apple Cider Vinegar, Inulin, Cornsilk, Dandelion Root, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Linden Flowers, , Chitosan, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3, Aloe Vera.” http://www.darwinspet.com/our-raw-foods/our-raw-dog-food/intelligent-design-ks/
I LOVE that you are starting Alvin on Standard Process Renal Support. It is the one supplement that my Audrey NEVER did without since diagnosis. She had KD from birth (symptoms showed at just 6 weeks of age) but she wasn’t diagnosed till she was 13 months old. She was given one year to live after that. She lived to almost her ninth birthday and it was an infection that took her life not the normal progression of kidney disease.
Some other things to look at for Alvin — purified water (as much as he wants), extra water soluble vitamins if he urinates large volumes of water. A high quality probiotic and a prebiotic made with acacia fiber helps to clear BUN etc from the blood allowing for higher protein to be fed or simply helps clear BUN when necessary. This is called “nitrogen trapping”. Giving Evian (or another higher calcium, lower sodium mineral water) has been shown to be beneficial for kidney disease. I did give my Audrey fresh, raw garlic most of her life. I still believe that if I hadn’t gotten lazy and quit giving it to her near the end of her life she wouldn’t have developed the severe infection that ended up damaging her kidneys and taking her life. Enzymes to help with the digestion of his food. Certain supplements and herbs can be helpful — spirulina provides many nutrients, food grade activated charcoal given off an on in small amounts can help clear toxins, organic turmeric helps with inflammation and also helps prevent scar tissue (works best when combined with pepper or the enzyme bromelain from pineapple). Chlorella is a wonderful detoxer and it helps build red blood cells due to the high amounts of chlorphyll in it. Apple cider vinegar can help with indigestion (fed with food in small amounts or given via syringe but must be diluted first). Ginger extract and therapeutic grade peppermint oil can help with nausea (later in the illness). I also recently read that there is other therapeutic grade essential oils that can help the kidneys but I don’t remember the particulars of the article. Vet Dr. Melissa Shelton would be the person to seek out if wanting to incorporate essential oils.
I was lucky with Audrey, she was able to eat commercial raw products clear up to a few months before she passed. I’m not sure if that was because of the supplements, being fed raw from weaning or what but she did quite well. Possibly look at lower phosphorus commercial foods and then add small amounts of low phosphorus toppers (lightly cooked egg whites and coconut oil as an example) to keep the calories up while lowering the overall phosphorus even more. There are some great nutritionists out there as well that could be quite beneficial to you and Alvin.
Hoping Alvin does as well as, or better than, my Audrey!!!
Thank you Marie!
September 18, 2015 at 1:15 pm #78386Brie BMemberThanks guys! Lots to think about. Its good to know that the swab test isn’t that expensive. Its definitely cheaper than having my vet do it! (they would charge the $60 office visit fee plus the lab fee, which they said was $100. So its good to know theres other options than going through my vet).
I’m going to try the “new protein” thing first. Just to see whats up. My local store has some uncommon protein food with limited ingredients. That should help me start narrowing things down. Shes on salmon now, and although thats an uncommon allergy you just never know!
I found Darwins pre-prepared raw food to actually be fairly cheap considering. If it comes to that.
And thanks, Pitlove! (for the comment about taking her in with issues). Shes stranger aggressive, but a complete love if she knows you and is comfortable. Shes scared of everything, pretty much. Most of my work is trying to come up with a routine she can follow when meeting someone new that lets her get comfortable. Strangers reaching for her is still bad news tho (although why you would reach for a strange dog without asking is beyond me! One guy kept petting her when she was growling, I almost was going to body slam him to get him away “its ok, she’ll back down” uh….no she wont, you might get bit and then I’ll have to deal with my dog having a bite history! ugh). With her skin and ears flaring up it makes it difficult for her to feel comfortable. She was extremely reactive and aggressive for a month, and I took her to the vet and thats when we discovered her terrible ear infection and skin infection. Now that thats treated and shes back to her “cautious, but generally friendly” state I’m doing everything I can to help prevent flare ups. But her skin still looks like its covered in dime-sized flattened domes all over. And I discovered the metal on her collar was causing her neck rash. I definitely got such a wonderful grab bag of issues when I adopted her, shes lucky I love her so darned much š
September 8, 2015 at 9:29 am #77900In reply to: Darwin's Alternative
ChuckParticipantThanks for the information, I ended up doing another month of Darwin’s until I can figure it out. How do you like Reel Raw? are you using their pre-measured service? I live in Florida so I like the idea of free shipping as all of these companies seem to be located in the NE.
If you order from Reel Raw pre-measured is that a complete diet? (similar to darwins patties) and does Hare today have something similar, all I seem to see is individual meats?
Also what is actually a “meetup”, and how do you actually find one? I live near Tampa, FL.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Chuck.
August 17, 2015 at 6:22 pm #77219In reply to: Darwin's Alternative
InkedMarieMemberDori,
I’m glad I found the met-up I’m using now….depending on what the proteins are, I pay $5.10-$5.75 for two pound chubs!
Darwins aure has gone up in pric from back when I used itAugust 17, 2015 at 3:07 pm #77205In reply to: Darwin's Alternative
DoriMemberChuck. I’m wondering if you’ve checked out Darwin’s on Amazon. They only sell it in variety packs but the shipping is free regardless of the size of the variety packs. As long as your dog doesn’t have any food intolerances with any of the variety packs proteins I feel it’s a good way to do rotation diet. For a raw diet I’ve never thought it was particularly expensive, or should I say any more expensive, than any other commercial raw frozen. It was the shipping that made it unaffordable as far as I was concerned. All other frozen raws that I feed I can purchase locally so I didn’t care for the shipping fees.
August 16, 2015 at 6:58 pm #77177In reply to: Darwin's Alternative
PitloveMemberMy vet, who loves Science Diet, likes Primal a lot because they employ veterinary nutritionists to formulate the food. However, I’ve noticed Primal can be expensive. I would still compare the prices of Primal to Darwin’s and see if it’s an option.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by Pitlove.
August 16, 2015 at 3:44 pm #77173In reply to: Darwin's Alternative
AnonymousMember/forums/search/darwin/
If you click on forums, and go back to the home page you will see the search engine on the top of the page to the right. Anyway, that’s what works for me. I am not familiar with this product. Good luck.
August 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm #77172Topic: Darwin's Alternative
in forum Canine NutritionChuckParticipantI couldn’t find a search function on this site that worked to see if this topic had been answered.
Basically I have been feeding my Brittany Darwin’s for almost her whole life (she is 2.5), however the cost has gone up astronomically since I first started using them and I know they changed their formula not too long ago and the fat content went up.
She currently gets a Darwin pack in the morning and a pack a night with a little Orijen dry mixed into the night feeding. She has consistently maintained a weight of about 34.
Aside from making the food myself (my wife would rather not) what is the best company that I can switch to for food? I was never really impressed with Bravo or Primal, but it has been years. Also saw this Big Dog Natural company, if anyone has any ideas I would appreciate it.
July 29, 2015 at 4:36 am #76577In reply to: Cat food recommendations
jakes momMemberOK C4C, not much of an update but here goes, lol.
Your new litter box sounds good! I never add used litter to a new box, tho, never had to. It seemed like somebody always wanted to be the first to christen the new one. Years ago I used a hard plastic kiddy pool as a litter box (when I had 13). I still remember Dustin working his way around the whole circle, peeing every foot or so!
I tried a bag of Stella and Chewy’s frozen raw chic for the cats, On sale, figured I’d give it a shot in case it was just Darwin’s they didn’t like for some reason. They didn’t like Instinct, either, but hope springs eternal I guess, lol. I have put it out a couple of times and it’s disappeared but don’t know who ate it. I’m assuming it was Dustin but haven’t been able to see. So I have that and a couple of Primal dehydrated raw flavors that he’ll eat. I figure I’ll pick up a small bag of those once in a while, just a little extra for him, he can use all the calories he can get.
The biggest news at my house is not cat related, tho. Poor Jake got skunked again on Monday am! We’d just gotten up, 445. He went out and came right back in, started rubbing his face all over the carpet. No, not again!!! So I had to call off work and spent the last couple of days cleaning. Tuesday was my usual day off luckily so have had 2 days to deodorize. Lots of vinegar and baking soda, lots of baths for Jake and showers for me. But he’s very pretty, lol. The peroxide in the skunk wash mixture made his white fur nice and bright!July 28, 2015 at 12:02 pm #76543In reply to: I'm probably dreaming. . .
Gracie’s MomMemberI am very familiar with Darwin’s, and I think it is the best food. I fed Gracie Darwin’s for the first 15 or 16 months that we had her, and all was right with the world. Then, one day, she refused to eat it. . . and she kept on refusing. I switched to ZiwiPeak, and she ate that for a while, then stopped. . . and on. . .and on the story goes. We’ve been through so many foods and vet visits to try to figure out what to do. I still have some of the Darwin’s in the freezer, and every now and then I offer it to her. She just growls and barks at it and won’t eat a bite. The freeze-dried, air dried, and dehydrated “raw” foods have been more to her liking, but they are so expensive, which brings us back to why I was looking for alternatives or ways to dilute those with kibble.
So, if/when I prepare her food myself, it likely won’t be raw. Hopefully, though, I’ll be able to get away with very light cooking so that most of the nutrients survive the process. I like your suggestion of working with a veterinary nutritionist. I will definitely look in to that.
July 28, 2015 at 11:46 am #76540In reply to: I'm probably dreaming. . .
PitloveMemberWow, really sorry to hear that all that didn’t work out. During the time that I was fighting with my dog for him to eat I tried a lot of ways of preparing his food. First I tried kibble on the bottom of the bowl with some canned on top- that didn’t work. Then I tried using my hands and mixing the kibble and canned together- didn’t work either he hated it. Then I tried feeding the kibble first and his reward for eating the kibble was a little canned- that kinda worked but there were times where he still didn’t eat. So, I thought to myself that maybe he has an issue with the texture that these combinations created so I tried canned on the bottom of the bowl with dry on top- he ate it, no issue at all! I’ve continued to do that for a long time until we stumbled on Nature’s Logic and he was willing to eat it without canned at all! Now he loves food so much that I can use canned food as a topper again and have his dry on the bottom and it saves me money and he eats no issue.
Really glad your husband is willing to let you try homecooked meals though. Thats great. Another thing to look into would be a commercial raw company like Darwin’s, so you don’t have to worry about the food being complete and balanced because it already is. With Darwin’s they do autoshipping, but you can cancel or change the order at any time and they start you off with a starter pack for 14.95$ including the shipping. If you want to go the way of making your own meals, I would highly recommend working with a veterinary nutritionist to come up with meals that would be complete and balanced. It can risk your dogs health if you feed an unbalanced raw/homecooked diet even more so than feeding a low quality kibble.
July 17, 2015 at 10:48 am #75979In reply to: food supplement and beginning homemade
jakes momMemberC4C, I tried the cat food from know better a few months ago when I was trying to transition the brats to raw. Easy to do, good fast delivery. Of course the cats didn’t eat it but Jake enjoyed it very much, lol. Let me know if you try it, I might add it to Jake’s rotation. Right now he’s eating a bit of everything, NV kibble and frozen raw, a few other quality kibble brands, raw meaty bones. And as you know, he’ll be finishing up the Darwin’s cat food!
July 17, 2015 at 9:35 am #75975Topic: I'm probably dreaming. . .
in forum Editors Choice ForumGracie’s MomMember. . .but wouldn’t it be great to have a sort of calculator that allows you to input ingredients that you want to avoid, and it would then filter all the dog foods listed on the site, leaving only the foods that don’t include those ingredients? That would be so helpful to those of dealing with numerous food allergies and picky eaters.
I spend a great deal of time looking for foods to add into rotation that 1) my dog will eat (very picky!), 2) don’t cost a small fortune to feed a 65-pounder, 3) don’t contain one of her many allergens (white potato, rice, alfalfa, flax, peanut, soybean, rabbit. . .being just the more severe ones), and 4) provide a good nutritional balance (high in protein and not ridiculously high in fat with some fiber). I should also add that I’m a big believer in grain-free and minimal cooking/processing, but have a husband who is opposed to a home-cooked diet for our girl (that’s another story).
We started out with Darwin’s and that seemed to work great until she decided not to eat it anymore. I’ve since not had any luck with frozen raw. She just barks at it. Ziwipeak was good for a while, then she quit eating it. I’ve tried Arcana Duck and Bartlett Pear (the least successful in terms of willingness to eat it), and several freeze dried and dehydrated brands that don’t contain something on the allergy list. There don’t seem to be many options once the allergens are eliminated.
We’ve just started on Against the Grain canned, but there are only two proteins available, and she would need four cans a day, which would be expensive. I need something less expensive to add to it. Also, I have to offer variety, or she will refuse to eat anything in a few weeks. I’m going to try rotating in ZiwiPeak again. She has consistently liked K-9 Naturals freeze-dried, which I often mix with Honest Kitchen’s Preference Base Mix, but I’m concerned about the extremely high fat content in the K-9, and she has been a bit iffy on the Preference lately, sometimes refusing to eat it at all. The K-9 venison has somewhat lower fat, so I’m going to keep that in rotation. I’ve just ordered some small bags of Fresh Is Best freeze-dried to see how she likes that. She also likes Vital Essentials freeze dried, usually mixed with canned Tripett to provide some moisture. She does love tripe, but I know it doesn’t provide everything she needs nutritionally.
I worry not just about her allergies but also a diet too high in fat. She’s a three-year old lab mix and pretty active. She needs lots of protein and some fiber (judging from poop consistency).
I don’t currently have her on any supplements, having taken her off of them the last time she refused to eat her food (I’ve always put liquid or powdered supplements in her food, because she won’t eat treat-style supplements or pills). I need to identify any supplements that she may not be getting from her diet and try to find a way to get those in her.
It’s a difficult thing to manage. All advice is welcome. Mike–any chance for that ingredient eliminator program?
July 11, 2015 at 7:21 am #75701In reply to: Cat food recommendations
jakes momMemberThanks for the support, guys. I was really disappointed. The probiotics I tried were Perfect Form, the GNC Superfood complex for cats and NaturVet . They didn’t like the first 2, and I thought they smelled like a chic bouill. cube. The NaturVet is a soft treat style, smelled like a chic treat. I crumbled a couple over the food every meal, of course they wouldn’t just eat one!
Luckily they aren’t picky about their canned, will eat whatever brand or flavor. I just stick to the pate, mostly. Partly because of the gravy ingred. and partly because they usually just lick off the gravy and leave the bits!
Jake is a lucky boy! He gets some raw now, frozen or dehydrated, he’ll eat everything! And a couple of the cats did eat some Darwin’s when I cooked it, but not twice in a row, geez! Brats! So that’s the plan, use up what I have on Jake, and cook some once in a while for the cats. I’m just glad I can use it up and not waste all that $$. Expensive experiment!
Nice to hear all of your seniors are still doing well. We try so hard to make them happy, don’t we!July 10, 2015 at 4:24 pm #75677In reply to: Dog food (dry) for renal disease (non perscription)
ShawnaMemberStephanie W,
Digestibility of protein is important but bioavailability is even more important. The better the cells of the body use the amino acids in the digested protein, the less BUN is created from the protein. Raw and lightly cooked home prepared foods are going to have better bioavailability than canned and canned will be better than kibbled diets.
Most vets recommend “low” protein diets for dogs in any stage (and sometimes even before) of kidney disease. This is actually a myth and why most prescription foods are not really appropriate for the earlier stages of the disease. What may need to be controlled however is phosphorus so not all foods of good digestibility and bioavailability will be appropriate for all stages of chronic kidney disease. Here’s a VERY reliable source on the low protein myth.
“Mythology of Protein Restriction for Dogs with Reduced Renal Function
Kenneth C. BovĆ©e, DVM, MMedSc, Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaResults of the 10 experimental studies on dogs have failed to provide evidence of the benefit of reduced dietary protein to influence the course of renal failure.” http://www.dogaware.com/files/bovee.pdf
If you are willing to feed raw look at a prescription diet created by vet Dr. Barbara Royal sold by Darwins. Dr. Meg Smart has a homemade kidney diet on her blog. I also like the Wysong diet Red mentions. Just make sure the food you chose has the appropriate amount of phosphorus for the stage of disease your specific dog is in. Unlike protein, phosphorus CAN cause further damage to the kidneys.
Lots of prayers and good luck being sent your way!!!
July 5, 2015 at 7:32 am #75392In reply to: Most reputable Raw food supplier
sharon bMemberInked Marie, sorry, I am in Windham NH, and Vincent, and the other Gentleman, can’t see your name, I can’t get a list of prices either. Website still being built, If you could e-mail or forward, I would greatly be appreciated @ sbmc64@yahoo.com.
Has anyone ever had a dog get really sick, or die from salmonella or e-coli? I read a thread where a man lost his 9 $ 1/2 y/o dog. I have a weak immune system and although I will glove up, I am a little concerned. Also mentioned on a thread for advice on my raw diet, For those of you that do your own grinding, how? Do you have a special grinder? My pup is going to be 150+ pounds, so this is not going to be inexpensive, but I know it’s the best for him. just trying to find the most economical way. What about hormones in store meat, does that concern anyone, or do commercial companies avoid them, or do we not know. Darwin’s did list a grass fed price list. Sorry, so many questions from the newbie.- This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by sharon b.
June 30, 2015 at 3:47 pm #75141In reply to: switching large breed dogs to raw
PitloveMemberSharon- One thing that most can tell you is that with raw because of how nutrient dense it is you feed less. When I went to Darwin’s to calculate for my 9 mo kitten it gave me options for ages. Not sure if it does the same for dogs. If it does it might have actually calculated it correctly for your pup. Hopefully someone who uses Darwin’s for their dogs can weigh in on this.
Raw seems very overwhelming to me as well, however most things are like that for me when it comes to my animals. I worry and over think everything. Another suggestion I have is to call Darwin’s directly. I’ve heard they have excellent customer service and I’m sure they could give you an idea of how much a LBP would eat on raw.
June 30, 2015 at 2:08 pm #75140In reply to: Most reputable Raw food supplier
InkedMarieMemberSharon,
I’m no positive but I don’t think your mixer would grind any bones but I could be wrong. I see people recommend a Wesson/Weston for grinding but beef bones can’t be ground in those either, I don’t think.Hare Today, Darwins & Reel Raw have the “good” meat you mentioned. Pawfectly Raw NE is in New England, I don’t think she ships. It is restaurant quality, USDA meat. The beef is from farms in NY/VT. I’ll be honest. I want to feed raw but I am on a budget myself so I feed what I can afford.
June 30, 2015 at 1:03 pm #75136In reply to: Most reputable Raw food supplier
sharon bMemberThank you Cheryl and Vincent and Marie. I am on disability for neck and shoulder injury so cutting and chopping would not be good for me, but I do have and rarely have used a meat grinder on a kitchen aid mixer. Wonder if that would help?? I am a bit of an organic freak so doubt I would find chicken on specials that are hormone free? Was the chicken you found hormone free? Does anyone go to a local butcher and ask for chicken and turkey necks and various other bones they normally would be buying?? Just a thought, might also make it more affordable. I looked into Darwins, and getting into Perfectly Raw and checking also into shipping cost’s. Darwin’s I believe stated no hormones and sells grass fed meat.
June 30, 2015 at 12:46 pm #75135In reply to: switching large breed dogs to raw
sharon bMemberThis is all very helpful. I am still overwhelmed when I look at the way it is sold. I know I want the chicken necks for their teeth, and all different sources of meat. It seems one post seemed to suggest that possibly chicken might be the reason for her particular dogs allergies. My puppy has had this sinus infection for what seems like forever and the antibiotics are not making it better. They have been getting a taste of raw in their food, and love it, now won’t eat it without. I just am not sure how much to give them in comparison to kibble, especially the puppy, who eats sometimes up to 4 to 5 cups twice daily. Other days not as much. My vet said, just let him eat for about 15 minutes, but
he tends to eat till he is full, and we then pick it up, not letting him pick all day. I went to Darwin’s and it calculates based on dog’s weight, but I can’t use that for him, he eats more at this stage. Cost is also a factor, especially shipping, so was looking into perfectly raw. Does anyone have experience with them? How do most people order for their larger dogs? I don’t have a giant freezer.June 28, 2015 at 6:30 pm #75056In reply to: switching large breed dogs to raw
PitloveMemberHi Sharon- While I can’t give you a ton of advice on raw (others here can and Im sure will chim in) I do know that raw meaty bones help clean their teeth really well and are quite healthy for them.
I’ve also heard from a few people that they don’t feel that puppies in general should eat grain free however that is probably more towards dry food and not raw since raw is the ideal diet and contains no grains or carbs. Dr. Karen Becker interviewed a doctor who breeds Newfies and has all the pups on a raw diet. One of his Dam’s lived to 17 years old on raw.
Perhaps check out Darwins Pet Foods, they do raw and its already complete and balanced. Hare Today is grinds so you have to add your own vitamins etc. I’m sure others who do feed raw can give you some other sites or suppliers to look into. If your Newfie pup is still under 8 months you will need to make sure he’s getting proper calcium and phosphorus levels and make sure hes not being overfed. That will also aid in preventing skeletal disorders and overgrowth.
June 27, 2015 at 12:45 am #74910In reply to: Pancreatitis Diet
Amy SParticipantHi Melissa,
I know this is an old thread. I see you are an experience miniature schnauzer owner and signed up to hopefully learn a little from you about diet because I’m pulling my hair out. I’ve been feeding raw for 2 1/2 years, basically since I rescued Lilly. First I started with chicken thighs and i would also buy organic pieces of beef from whole foods that were for beef stew, then I started using a co-op. For about 4-5 months I’ve been using Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. Just recently I’ve noticed a difference in her. Some days she is herself. Following me around, happy, and, consistently begging when I’m eating. Then the next she is lethargic and won’t even move when I’m eating (very odd for her) but on all of these days, she still eats. She is 22 pounds and i would say about 5 years old. Not positive of her age because she was a rescue. Now I very concerned that maybe she is getting too much fat and it’s effecting her pancreas. I thought I would be able to message you privately. Could you possibly e-mail me? amys4304@gmail.com
Thanks,
AmyJune 22, 2015 at 5:26 pm #74758In reply to: Most reputable Raw food supplier
jakes momMemberThanks Bdog, I’m using Darwin’s for the cats, as you know! Just wondered if there was a reason nobody liked Darwin’s but that explains it! I should have read the comments more closely.
June 21, 2015 at 8:29 pm #74726In reply to: Most reputable Raw food supplier
jakes momMemberNobody has mentioned Darwin’s, any reason in particular?
LexiDogMemberIf she still throws up…you might have to go back to the beginning. Give her regular food and the just start off giving her Darwins as a treat after she has had time to digest her regular food. Then cut back in her regular food and increase her “treats”. But I wouldn’t try feeding them together because you know that doesn’t work. š Hopefully you will reply that everything stayed where it should have with the 100% Darwins.
cindy qParticipantok I’ll try just Darwins in the morning. Thanks!
cindy qParticipantShe didn’t throw up this morning but now with her evening meal she did, I thought I should add Darwins slowly to her other food to transition her. Is it ok to just give her Darwins?
LexiDogMemberSee if she throws it up when it is just Darwins.
cindy qParticipantthanks for your reply, my Standard is about 40-44 lbs. I only gave her a little of the Darwins with her big dog natural and she still threw it up.
LexiDogMemberI have a 40 lb 3 yr old lab mix. She eats about 1 lb per day if I am only feeding Darwins. She should be getting about 3/4 of a pound but on days where I run her a lot I don’t mind giving her the extra calories. I use the recommend feeding amount around 2% of her body weight.
Right now I am only feeding half Darwins to keep the cost down. So she gets 1/2 lb in the am and then 1/2 c THK in the evening. The 1/2 cup is less than the recommend amount for THK for her weight. I feel like the recommend serving amount for Darwins is right on.
She is spayed and moderately active. We go to the dog park for about 1.5 – 2 hrs a day if we can, where she will run and run the whole time. If not I take her for a quick 2 mile bike ride.
I know when I used to feed my girl her whole serving at one time sometimes she would throw it back up. I believe it was because she was eating too fast. She tends to inhale her food. So now I split it up into 2 servings and she has been fine ever since.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by LexiDog.
“Blue”MemberOur shipments arrive frozen solid, did you thaw it before serving? It takes three days in our ‘fridge to thaw fully. And then it has a slight color change. I’m curious if anyone warms it up before serving. I haven’t seen where Darwins says to warm it, but I’d feel better serving it warm or room temp.
cindy qParticipantI just got my order of Darwins yesterday, this morning I fed both my dogs a little with their regular big dog natural food my Standard Poodle threw hers back up, my Toy Poodle did fine with hers. Any one else have a dog that threw it up?
cindy qParticipantLexidog what kind of dog do you have and how much Darwins do you feed?
Denise DMemberI used to feed Darwin’s to my rottweiler and my daughter started feeding it to her frenchie. When fed the recommended amounts for their sizes, both dogs lost too much weight. My rottie was down from a healthy 85 lbs to 78 lbs before we realized that we would have to feed him 50% more of the recommended amount of Darwin’s to maintain his weight. Same thing with the frenchie. I liked the food, especially the convenience of having it delivered to my house, but the recommended amounts were not correct making this a more expensive food than they say it is.
June 10, 2015 at 1:25 pm #74165In reply to: rotation & raw
DoriMembercindy q. My three girls have been on commercial raw diets, nothing processed including treats for the past 4 years. I rotate their food with every meal. I don’t mix proteins either. I always have 3 or 4 bags started in the freezer at the same time. Different brands, different proteins.
The reason I had stopped feeding Darwin’s awhile back was they went through a change. They increased the fat, lowered the protein and raised the price. The whole idea did not sit right with me. I recently came across Darwin’s on Amazon with free shipping. Same Darwin’s and ships from Darwin’s facility also. You have to buy it in the variety packages though. You can’t specify just one protein. Since I rotate as frequently as I do and my dogs are accustomed to very high proteins, moderate to high quality fats, and low carbs there has not been an issue with Darwin’s. Actually it has less fat than a lot of the other frozen raws I have in rotation. I was just annoyed of the changes that I mentioned above. Now that I don’t have to pay for shipping it makes it easier to not be so annoyed with the company.
June 10, 2015 at 12:08 pm #74162In reply to: rotation & raw
cindy qParticipantoh and why did you take Darwins out of the rotation?
June 10, 2015 at 10:04 am #74157In reply to: rotation & raw
DoriMemberI rotate between brands and the proteins they make with the exception of any fowl as one of my dogs is intolerant of all fowl.
Primal Frozen Raw and I use their freeze dried as treats
Vital Essential Raw and I use their freeze dried tripe as treats
OC Raw Frozen
Answer’s Detailed Frozen Raw
Nature’s Logic Frozen Raw
Steve’s Frozen Raw
Darwin’s (recently put it back into rotation)I’m sure there are others I use in rotation but can’t think of them at the moment.
June 10, 2015 at 8:42 am #74153Topic: rotation & raw
in forum Editors Choice Forumcindy qParticipantthose that feed raw do you rotate between different brands? I am going to be feeding Darwins and Big Dog Natural. Big Dog Natural in the morning and Darwins at night. How many different brands do you use? And what brands are your favorite?
June 9, 2015 at 7:17 pm #74125In reply to: Cat food recommendations
Bobby dogMemberjakes mom:
Good to read, hopefully you’ll get back on track so you won’t have to keep carrying those cans and cleaning a stinky litter box. Poor Jake, he probably thought that the Darwin’s was going to be his to eat!June 9, 2015 at 6:15 pm #74115In reply to: Cat food recommendations
jakes momMemberThanks guys for all your help. No worries, Bobbydog, I knew what Pitlove meant. So here’s my new plan. Darwin’s site says the food can be fed raw or cooked, as some animals just don’t like or can’t tolerate raw. So that’s what I did tonite, lightly cooked a pack of the chicken. Didn’t cook very much, just sautĆ©ed a few minutes. Not enough to cook bones, was still partly raw. It went over very well, everybody seemed to eat a bit of it, even the 2 who turned up their noses at the raw. I’ll cook for a few days as well as get some kind of probiotics, and hopefully slowly work back to full raw. I did weigh my old guy, no weight loss so that makes me feel better. I really want this raw thing to work! Besides the better nutrition, one of my girls has a yeasty ear issue which I hope raw feeding will help.
June 9, 2015 at 12:47 pm #74087In reply to: Cat food recommendations
Bobby dogMemberc4c:
I agree as well, I don’t full around too much with the kitties when it comes to digestive issues. They need their moisture. I don’t run into problems too much with my crew in general, thank goodness. Bobby vomited twice on a new kibble I was trying out one time, that’s pretty much all I need to throw out a food and rotate to a new one. Same with the kitties, if there is a negative reaction in some way it’s gone. IMO there are enough foods on the market to choose from, no need to make them uncomfortable, or worse create a health issue.pitlove:
JM’s cats eating by-products should not be an issue. She does feed foods that have by-products (organs etc.), but they do not contain useless by-products (feet, hooves, etc.). If you want to feed a raw diet you need by-products (organs etc.) to make it complete; muscle meat alone will not do that. I would rather feed a by-product (organs etc.) than a vitamin or synthetic vitamin to make a diet balanced any day regardless if it’s canned or raw; there is allot of nutrients in them. Here’s the ingredients for Darwins Turkey cat formula:Free-Range Meat (98.25%): Turkey Necks, Turkey Gizzards, Turkey Livers, Turkey Hearts, Turkey Thighs.
Special Nutrient Mix (1.5%): Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Psyllium Husk Powder, Taurine, Potassium Chloride, Inulin, Choline Chloride, Sea Salt, Vitamin E, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, EDDI (Iodine), Vitamin D3, Folic Acid.
Fish Oils (.25%): Sardine Oil
http://www.darwinspet.com/our-raw-foods/our-raw-cat-food/natural-selections-for-cat-turkey/
June 9, 2015 at 6:49 am #74047In reply to: Cat food recommendations
jakes momMemberI doubt it’s a health issue, really blame the food but don’t know what to do about it. Another person suggested it may be the cat “detoxing”, which I thought about, but I didn’t think it would last that long. Here’s the dilemma, I’ve already postponed the next delivery but now I don’t know whether to cancel, or get the delivery and try longer with some probiotics maybe, or forget Darwin’s and try another brand. Frustrating.
cindy qParticipantYes I did get the sample offer, thanks Amy. I am going to be feeding Darwins once a day because I also use a dehydrated raw, Big Dog Natural my dogs love it. I am concerned with it staying frozen all day in the Summer because I work and won’t be home when it’s delivered.
LexiDogMemberI’m currently using Darwins. I like it because they stamp on the package when it was made so I can tell how long it has been frozen. It is a little more watery than Stella & Chewys or Primal. My girl eats it up! I have priced it out, shipping and all, and it is still cheaper than Stella & Chewys 6 lb bag. Even of the less expensive proteins like their chicken. I also like that on average it has less fat in their formulas than other frozen raw. Sometimes the packages do leak. I think I only have had 1 half pound packages leak out of the last 42 lbs. order, so that isn’t too bad. The food is always frozen when it arrives.
i constantly get compliments on my dogs coat and how shiny and soft it is. Her poops are firm and small. She poops about once a day, which is nice. Although I am going to be going to half raw half dehydrated. Just to save a little bit on her food costs.
Have you tried their sample offer? It’s 10 lbs for $14.95. Great deal.
June 7, 2015 at 3:45 pm #73903Topic: Darwins
in forum Editors Choice Forumcindy qParticipantwho feeds this and what do you think of it?
June 6, 2015 at 6:10 pm #73865In reply to: Cat food recommendations
jakes momMemberYep, we’ll get there eventually. I’ll be happy to get Julie on board with the Darwin’s at least. Maybe the other 2 will come around, too. They are eating canned with a bit of raw so they’re not completely put off by the smell or anything like that.
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