[Dr. Vickie]

Skin is a reflection of what is going on inside of his gut, except his guts look and feel worse!
Feed him wild caught pacific bone in canned pink salmon from your supermarket, organic egg whites, no grains, no starch (carrots and peas are starches folks) or sugar for that matter (my guess is that he is not preparing to race the Iditarod, at least not soon 😉 ) If he is playful and active and not overweight you can add some organic canned plain pumpkin for energy. Cooked organic green beans, all other kinds of organic greens are great too and very important, plain greek yogurt. Sprinkle a high end holistic dry food or wet along with for added nutritional support that uses wild salmon only as a protein base and no grains. To give him some variety if he needs or wants it, you can try grass fed beef/bison/buffalo but I would keep it to salmon until you are sure he is stable before I would add these food items. Some starch in the formula is “ok” but less is more. One fish oil capsule one-two times per day for at least three months then cut back. There is such a thing as too much omega 3 over time. (Note, flax is far to weak of an omega 3 source for him right now. It is helpful once the omega 3:6 ratio has been fixed and that takes up to one year in my experience).
Treats? SOME banana, cut apples, berries of all kinds. Frozen or cooked green beans are safe too and nothing ever got fat off of green beans. EVENTUALLY, other grass fed animal protein choices will be back on his plate but for now, no!
His WORST food choices will be lamb even if it slept in the lap of Jesus it will cause issues; grass fed corn fed it does not matter. Corn fed critters, mainstream beef, CHICKEN and all parts. Even your buddies 6 point buck he shot yesterday is suspect for your dog ( been baited for months with corn feeders ).
It’s note easy, or cheap but it will work I promise.
Give him a pat for me!

[ellgee]

Good to know. Thank you.

Came home tonight and no poop, but he vomited mucus 3 or 4 times and was eating grass outside.

I’m yanking the chicken. I made him a mixture of ground beef, rice and a little pumpkin which he ate completely. It seems to have settled his tummy as he is finally laying down sleeping and not asking to go out.

[RescueDaneMom]

I tried to post this in the supplements forum but it wouldn’t acknowledge that I was logged in.

I was looking through Starwest Botanical’s products on amazon for ingredients to make HDM’s superfood supplement. I came across a “GreenPower Blend” that they make.

Ingredients:Organic Barley Grass Powder, Organic Wheat Grass Powder, Organic Spirulina, Organic Spinach Powder, Organic Alfalfa Leaf Powder, Organic Kelp Powder, Organic Dulse Leaf Powder, Organic Barley Grass Juice Powder, Organic Orange Peel Powder, Organic Beet Root Powder, Organic Dandelion Leaf Powder, Organic Lemon Peel Powder, Organic Ginkgo Leaf Powder & Organic Wheat Grass Juice Powder

Would this be an acceptable whole food/ green supplement to add to a homemade raw or cooked diet? I wasn’t sure about the ginko leaf powder. Thanks!

• This topic was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by RescueDaneMom.

[michaelfl80]

As to your exact question, I was told by a vet who specializes in dog allergies that some intestinal parasite infections can cause allergy type reactions in dogs. In fact, when I took my dog in, they gave me an anti-parasitic medication to give him for a few days without even testing for parasites (it’s easier/less expensive to give the treatment and see if the symptoms go away than it is to test). In my case, this didn’t work, but it might in yours.

On another note, my guess is that your dog likely isn’t allergic to all the things you mentioned (bones, antler, etc.) but is much more likely to be suffering from an environmental allergen (pollen, dust mites, grass, etc.). The only way to find this out is to take your dog to a vet that can test for a reaction to environmental allergens. It’s very much the same as how they test people for allergies – they have to shave off some of the hair, then they prick the skin in a bunch of small spots with various possible allergens. If your dog is allergic, there will be a skin reaction in the corresponding spot.

Basically, you’re going to go crazy if you keep trying to guess. I strongly recommend heading to the nearest vet that can do a skin test for allergic response – even if that means driving a long distance.

[Kim]

Mu pup has been eating this for a few months now. I just bought a new bag and suddenly my dog is eating SO much grass! And part of the time he has runny poop. I know the date on the food was 2014. Anybody else having problems with a recent bag of this? There are other things to rule out – just thought I would see if the community had any info on the food.
Thanks!

[KiraLynB]

I will try the pumpkin. Thank you!
This is the ingredient list in Stella and Chewy’s http://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-frozenduck.php
It doesn’t have tripe, but I feed her freeze dried green lamb tripe as well. Left that out.. sorry!
Is the freeze dried sufficient? The store that I buy her food from does sell frozen green tripe.
This is the ingredients in the ebarf… it has probiotics and enzymes:

Ingredients: Organic Dried Kelp, Organic Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Yeast, Organic Dried Ground Barley Grass, Organic Dried Ground Wheatgrass, Oat Bran, Dried Ground Barley Malt, Organic Dried Apple Pumice, Pectin, Organic Dried Ground Beet, Dried Ground Parsley, Dried Ground Barley Sprout, Dried Ground Aloe Vera Gel, Organic Dried Ground Carrot, Organic Dried Ground Broccoli, Organic Dried Ground Tomato, Organic Dried Ground Kale, Dried Ground Celery, Dried Ground Cauliflower, Dried Ground Asparagus, Dried Ground Brussels Sprouts, Dried Ground Garlic, Dried Ground Ginger, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Extract, Dried Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bifodobacterium longum Fermentation Extract, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Extract, and Bacillus subtilus Fermentation Extract (Source of Amylase, Cellulase, and Hemi-Cellulase)

Let me know if you have any other suggestions! I’m really tired of cleaning her all the time! Poor baby!

[theBCnut]

His “name” actually changes from week to week. Sometimes it’s Stew, Porterhouse, Chuck, Jerky, and more, but we always come back to Cheeseburger.

There’s no poor steer about it!! He has all the grass he can eat, about 2 1/2 acres of pasture that he doesn’t have to share. He gets his head or tail scratched daily. And he has this really big squeaky toy named Patty that he gets to toss around twice a day.

[princeismine]

Hello,

I have a three year old Frenchie who I need feeding advice for. I have been feeding her Taste of the Wild Kibble (TOW) for the past year and a half or so with no problems. I don’t think a healthy diet consists of kibble only, so a few months ago I added Small Batch Raw Patties (SB) to her diet (gradually over a week). She was getting TOW in the morning and SB in the evening for about a month or so then she started to get an upset stomach. She’d wake me in the middle of the night to go out and eat grass (feverishly) and sometimes her stomach would gurgle VERY loudly. I stopped giving her SB and went back to feeding her TOW only and no problems. Within the last month, I introduced Answers Raw Goat Milk (probiotic), which I’d give her just before giving her the kibble with no problems. About a week ago, I reintroduced SB (again, gradually) and last night and EARLY this morning she cried to go outside and began eating grass. Her stomach was also gurgling quite loudly. I’m really trying to avoid feeding her a diet of kibble only, but am at a loss as to what brand(s) of raw, dehydrated or moist foor to try next. Any suggestions from breeders or owners who have Frenchies that are doing well with their food would be GREATLY appreciated. Please note, I don’t have the time to cook her meals, so I’m looking for a pre-packaged suggestion.

Thank you!

Heidi

[somebodysme]

Feeding a dog vegan makes as much sense as feeding a horse with meat. Have you looked at your dog’s teeth? Those suckers weren’t meant to chew grass! My dog can rip through a bone in mere seconds!

[theBCnut]

Who’s disregarding the inhumane treatment of animals that are slaughtered for our pet’s food? I spent time every day scratching the ears and tailhead of the calf that me and my dogs are going to be eating next year. I’m very careful that he only gets the best natural foods, plenty of grass, and fresh clean natural water. My chickens are treated in similar manner.

Your dog can’t make the choice to be vegan and it is no longer hard to get grass fed, pasture raised beef or naturally raised chickens. So supposed treatment is not a reason to not feed a predator a prey based diet. They do cost more though.

I don’t know what animal kingdom you come from, but the one I’m aware of has a lot of killing going on in it and it is perfectly natural. There is nothing peaceable about the way canids and felid hunt.

[pacer1978]

OK..I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but going back to the “supergreen” question I had earlier. I am making my own mix based on a previous post by PattyV. Because of cost (and to see if my dogs would even eat it), I’m introducing my dogs to the supergreens slowly, using only three items. I took PattyV’s suggestion form above and started them on Kelp (for the algae), Wheat Grass (for the grass part), and Tart Cherries (for the “superfood” part) this morning. I mixed 1c Kelp with 1c Wheat grass into a bigger back. Now, I know dosage depends on the size of the dog. Two are the same weight, but I have a smaller (40-ish lb) dog, Lucy. My problem is the Tart Cherries. Since that is in pill form, it is my understanding that I should give 1/2 a human dose for my bigger dogs which are 50-60 lbs and 1/4 dosage for Lucy. However, I can’t really measure it so I just guess as best as I can to what is 1/2 dose or 1/4 dose by opening the capsule. My question is…

1) 1/4 a human dosage doesn’t even seem significant. Is there a real benefit in giving that to my smaller dog? Will that small dose actually do anything for Lucy?
2) Also, for convenience, would it just be OK to throw in a full capsule per dog or is it best to keep the dosage as suggested?

Thanks again!

[pugmomsandy]

1. Is it better to get a premade mix of raw food online or buy meats from the supermarket or meat market? Or is it better to have a mix?

As a newbie to raw, I think it would be better for you to feed a food that is complete and balanced whether that is commercial frozen raw like Nature’s Variety, Primal, Bravo, Stella & Chewy’s, Darwins, and others, or dehydrated/freeze dried raw (but more expensive) food like Orijen freeze dried, Primal, Stella & Chewy’s. Meat by itself is not a good diet. For beginners, I would buy a commercial raw or use a Premix such as Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer, Grandma Lucy’s, The Honest Kitchen. You add meat and some oil and that’s usually it. No additional vitamins needed. You can make these in advanced in big batches and freeze in serving sizes or a couple days worth in one bag/container. You can feed up to 20% of an unbalanced food without having to worry about additional vits/minerals. For example, topping kibble with some meat or scrambled egg (but not more than 20% of the meal). As you become more comfortable with raw you can give homemade a try but be sure to use a recipe book.

2. Is ground or whole better? Your dog might like the texture of some chunks, versus ground. But in any case, raw meat has enzymes that also helps keep teeth clean. The ripping of the flesh and tendons from the bone cleans the teeth too. I have small dogs so I use a coarse ground. My dogs don’t have a preference for meat sizes. They eat it all.

3. I keep seeing people talking about feeding bones, including chicken bones… I was always told that chicken bones are dangerous? This is going to be the one that the hardest to get my wife on board with.

Raw bones are edible. The cooked bones are dry and splinter. Also there are recreational bones versus consumable bones. Most small animals can be consumed whole (chicken, rabbit, quail, turkey). But dense, weight bearing bones from larger animals are for gnawing only (marrow bones/leg bones). For heavy chewers, they can break teeth. For instance, my small dogs eat chicken legs, turkey and duck necks and feet and pork baby back ribs. They gnaw on beef/bison rib bones and marrow bones/femur for the enjoyment and it keeps their teeth clean. I feed these outside and don’t worry about cleanup when the weather is nice. You can train your dog to eat bones in the house on a towel, blanket or tarp. This winter, I’ll be feeding my small dogs in a crate or I could feed them on the bathroom tile and mop.

4. Do you need to add supplements to these meals? If so are they included in the premade mixes or am I adding them?

If you use a complete and balanced commercial premix, no additional supplements are necessary. Although there are a lot of people who give whole food supplements like supergreen foods (chlorella, kelp, barley grass, etc), bee pollen, and herbs, a complete vitamin E.

5. What is the best site for ordering?
I’ve heard Chewy.com is good. I’ve always used Petflow and amazon.

6. Does someone have a schedule or process I can literally follow to the letter?
Sorry, I am sure this has been answered over and over again but I would really appreciate the help. I am not too concerned about the cost as Wellness and Core are not cheap, however if I can pre-make these and feed her in the morning because we are often in a rush and it’s so hard to get her to eat kibble before we leave.

At my house, they eat raw if I have it thawed out. If not, they get other foods (kibble, canned, freeze dried). Darwins comes in convenient packaging and serving sizes and most commercial products come in patties or small bite sizes or chubs (which are the least convenient for me). You just have to remember to thaw! You can put 3 days worth out to thaw in the frig. I also use dehydrated foods (The Honest Kitchen, Addiction) where I just add water and let sit. I make some ahead of time and put it in the frig. But these are not raw.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Molzy]

Hello! I’ll apologize in advance for the length of this post.

We adopted an Australian Cattle Dog (Quincy) at the end of July. He is a year-and-a-half old neutered male, and we were told he was given up due to not being housebroken. I am beginning to suspect that the real reason may have be what I can only describe as his gulping disorder.

For the first two weeks at home he was totally fine. We switched him from Science Diet to Merrick Lamb and Rice, which he gets twice a day. We did have to board him about two weeks after adopting him due to a family wedding, and it was after this that he started his first episode of gulping/swallowing. Usually at night, he will begin frantically swallowing and gulping. Quincy will frantically search the house for carpet fibers to pull up, and will eventually vomit and then re-eat his food if we don’t get to it in time. This went on for about a week the first time – we brought him to the vet, they said he looked fine, and that it was probably just all the changes in his life. I did give him a gas-x one night, because he was swallowing so much air I was concerned about bloat. He ate some carpet this first time, when I fell asleep with him out of his kennel (he normally sleeps in bed with us, but when he is having these bouts I have learned to kennel him so that he can’t get into anything). He threw the carpet up about 3 days after that.

At that point, we thought he just had a sensitive stomach. So, when we switched his food again (our other dog has an iron stomach, and had done well with us rotating food, so we already had a bag of grain-free salmon from Nutrisource), we weren’t all surprised when the symptoms started up again. This time I gave him a couple of doses of pepto-bismol to ease his tummy troubles, and about 6 days later he stopped vomiting. I should note – when he vomits, it seems associated with these bursts of gulping/swallowing/licking. I thought it was him having an upset stomach and panicking about it, but the vet thought it was odd that he is willing to eat his vomit right away, and that a nauseous dog wouldn’t do that? I am beginning to think that the actual issue is the gulping/swallowing, and the vomiting may be a side effect of that, rather than the other way around.

I switched him to rice and boiled chicken, and he seemed to get better. We put him back on Merrick (chicken and rice this time, because they were out of lamb and rice), and he did fine for about a week. Then last week, he threw up again (he had had a minor bout of swallowing, but nothing like he normally gets). We fasted him for 36 hours, and brought him to the vet. Again, his stool and activity is normal. The vet gave him an anti-nausea shot, and sent us home with some anti-nausea pills and canned science diet ID (for gastro-intestinal health). He was fine for about 3 days, and then last night had one of his worst bouts of swallowing/gulping yet. He didn’t throw up at all (that I know of, I did fall asleep for a little while), but did try to eat a rope toy. I kenneled him for the night, and this morning he ate grass like crazy.

His bouts tend to start at night when we’re going to bed, and he works himself up into a frenzy. Once it starts, it tends to last for multiple days, and kenneling him seems to work to calm him down a little. Our other dog (LoJack) has been totally fine through all of this. They are never outside without my supervision, and he doesn’t get human food (except for the two occasions he has stolen it off of the counter). I haven’t been feeding treats for a few weeks now, but tonight had to give him some zukes at training class. The only other thing would be that he did start HeartGuard and Frontline, but both of those started after his initial attacks. One last thing I should mention is that he plays a LOT with my other dog, and they usually wrestle and play tug of war every night before bed, but will often stop for >2 hours before going to bed. I haven’t felt like there was any correlation between them playing and one of these attacks. When we walk he is on a gentle leader or harness, but he is on his collar when on his tie-out in the yard. I remove the dog’s collars when they’re wrestling so that they don’t hurt each other.

Has anyone dealt with similar symptoms? What did you do? My Internet searches have found that others have this issue but I haven’t found anyone who has solved it. We will probably do blood work and an X-ray next to rule out anything normal, but I want opinions from others on possible nutritional changes that could help. I refuse to switch to science diet unless I absolutely must. I’m considering trying raw, but currently scared of anything that might upset him, since I’ve been cleaning vomit for the past month it seems! I do natures variety raw with my cat, and our other dog has been on grain free nutrisource or merrick for the past year.

Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it!

[GSDsForever]

yellowdaisy,

I think HK is an excellent company, with quality foods and high standards (including safety). The formulas are pretty gentle and I’ve never known dogs to have trouble with it, especially sensitive/touchy stomach dogs. I like the Zeal formula best (which many sensitive dogs do well on when they can’t on other foods), then the Embark. Zeal is HK’s highest protein and uses a very high quality source, though the fat is very, very low — which some dogs do best with and others need to add back.

The only negatives I encounter with HK are that some formulas are grain inclusive (when owners don’t want that), some dogs aren’t crazy about the soupy texture, and high cost . . . esp. grain free Zeal & Embark. I would like to see, at their higher price point, their base ingredients be organic (like Stella & Chewy’s) when it’s a known heavily pesticide contaminated ingredient or preference for less contaminated fruits/veggies/greens chosen when organic isn’t feasable/prohibitively expensive — kind of like how I shop at the grocery store. But they are still very clean, high quality foods and I would feed them + highly recommend the brand.

In Nutrisource/Pure Vita’s defense, I really don’t think that their food can be blamed for tumors. Something triggers cancer to start in the body and that can be many complex factors, usually involving toxins as insults to the body and the immune system + some genetics. From there, we do know from research that cancer feeds selectively off sugars/simple carbs and need an acidic environment to be active . . . but that’s after the cancer has taken hold. Certain breeds (and their mixes) currently have very high incidences of cancer, like Goldens or Bernese Mountain Dogs; or there is a breed specific cancer like hemangiosarcoma. Some stats show more than half of all dogs and cats now die of cancer.

Pure Vita does pretty clean sourcing, for example using more expensive wild caught fish exclusively (protecting against toxins like PCBs in farmed salmon) and imposes a good bit of safety testing and quality standards. Many dogs seem to do really well on the food, esp. those with allergies/sensitivities or needing a bland diet and limited ingredient diet.

At the same time, virtually all commercial pet foods have significant contamination with bacterial toxins (enterotoxins, endotoxins, cytotoxins, etc.), from the meat, processing and handling, sanitation issues, storage, heat or lack of heat processing, moisture spoilage (like aflatoxins, etc in grains), lack of freshness, rancidity of fats/oils, etc. (You can read more about this in texts like UC Davis Vet School’s/DVM Strombeck’s Home Prepared Dog & Cat Diets, chapter 3 on commercial pet foods/food safety & preparation.)

Nevertheless, I do think homemade diets (balanced) using a wide variety of fresh foods in rotation, cleanly sourced (wild fish, grass fed & free range, organic), are best. So I think you are on the right track. Good luck!

[theBCnut]

For probiotics, I like kefir, it has more strains than any yogurt, IDK about goats milk. I like to rotate omega 3s(and about everything else), I just finished Krill, next is anchovy, then salmon. I prefer coconut oil as it doesn’t stress the pancreas and has a few nice properties that I see you are aware of. That being said, I also give fresh minced garlic ever third day too, just don’t give too much, it is toxic in large or too frequent doses. About adding vit E and D, dogs don’t break down veggies so they need to be cooked and pureed, which would damage the E and D. I wish I knew some way to process them so dogs would get the benefits without distroying the benefits, you know what I mean. As far as super foods go, I also rotate those. I always use some kind of algae/seaweed like spirulina or kelp. To that I add some kind of grass, like alfalfa, barleygrass, or wheatgrass. I also add bee pollen. And I like to add a berry of some sort for more different antioxidants.

Hare Today’s whole carcass grinds are some of my favorites.

[baileydog]

We are bringing home an 8 week old black lab puppy this weekend and are trying to figure out which food to start him on. He is estimated to grow to about 90 lbs and has been eating Purina Pro Plan Sport. We also have an 11.5 year old chocolate lab (70 lbs) who has been eating Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison for a few years. I would love to be able to have both dogs eating the same (better!) food if possible and we would switch our older dog to the better brand. Our older dog has really slowed down, has had ACL surgeries, has arthritis and is prone to yeast growth in her ears. She has allergies, but I think they are more seasonal, to grasses and such (itchy skin, licks her paws) since they flare in the spring.

After reading through most of this thread, do you think it’d be okay to put both labs on Earthborn or Fromm?

[Melanie Livingstone]

I am looking for recommendations for an organic, grain free low copper canned dog food available in Canada. My dog just underwent a partial glossectomy for tongue cancer and I now have to make him meatballs so the food needs to be wet but of a firm consistency i.e. not in gravy. I used to make home made food but as he requires a lot of food this has become unsustainable with all of his other needs resulting from the surgery as well as a large enough supply of grass fed beef is difficult to come by where we live.

[DalLover]

We have a soon to be 5 year old Dalmatian who is currently eating ProPlan Salmon. We rescued her in March and her coat was fine. Since the summer she has been itchy and looks like a rash under her coat. She is also chewing at her paws. We thought we’d switch to another food to help/investigate if it was the food (Proplan worked for our other Dals) or see if maybe she had allergies to the grass (which another Dal had). I also wanted to give her a food that was more nutritional and not a lot of fillers, hence the Blue Buffalo. People rave about this, but I don’t like the newest posts that I’m seeing! Any other suggestions?

[theBCnut]

You’re welcome!

1) Human fish, salmon, krill oil is just fine and more likely to not be rancid. And likely to be cheaper than one labeled for dogs.
2) The recommendation for the best coconut oil is that it be organic virgin coconut oil. But your edible coconut oil would be fine to use until it is gone, even if it isn’t organic virgin.
3-4) You’re already ordering from Swanson’s. Type “green super food” into the search and order a couple different ones. One seaweed/algae and one grass. They have some combo products that sound good, but they have green tea in them which is a no no, unless you know it is decaf, which they usually don’t say. Swanson’s also has omega 3 oils and coconut oil and digestive enzymes, woohoo!
5) Giving Dr Langers every other day or every 3 days is great. During times of stress you can jack up the dose. You can’t OD probiotics.

[theBCnut]

To add to an already complete and balanced food:

1) Fish, salmon, or krill oil(an animal derived source of omega 3s)
2) Coconut oil(if you have any coat, bacterial, or fungal issues or need extra fat in the diet)
3) Some green super food(rotate spirulina, kelp, wheatgrass, barleygrass, alfalfa)
4) Digestive enzymes with every kibble meal
5) A source of probiotics a few times a week.

[theBCnut]

To me the most important supergreens are seaweeds and algaes, so I would go with spirulina or kelp. I would add a grass to that like alfalfa, wheat grass, or barley grass. Then I would go with a different superfood like bee pollen or berries And I feed according to the size of the dog. Mine are 40 lbs so they get a half adult dose. My daughter’s JRT is about 13 lbs and gets slightly less than a quarter of an adult dose. I give it every day and switch up which ones I’m giving at least every 3 months. With all of those mixed together, I give a teaspoon or 2 depending on what is already in what I am feeding to my 40 lb dogs.

[gidget406]

I recently switched my 6 year old bulldog to natural balance (limited ingredient diet) sweet potato and chicken. It’s been a few months and since then his facial fold has gotten infected, his ears are bothering him, he’s constantly licking his feet and I just noticed that his chin is getting irritated and red. He’s also been eating grass every night consistently for the past week and not throwing up. His poops are regular but it seems like he’s drinking much more water. He just seems like a giant itchy ball of infection and I feel so bad for him. I need advice on what dry food has worked for sensitive dogs with allergies. What brands work? What ingredients should I be looking for? Does he need supplements?

[Pugsonraw]

I decided to try out the Starwest Botanicals products that HDM suggested in the above thread. I ended up ordering kelp, alfalfa, spirulina and wheatgrass from the Swansons website. They came in the mail and these organic powders are so fresh! I concocted a mix and have been using them foe the past few days for the pugs.

Thanks HDM – this super greens recipe is a keeper!

PugsonRaw

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Shihtzumom –

The pouched baby foods are fine. I actually use them when I’m short on time. I like Plum Organics, Peter Rabbit Organics, Earth’s Best and Happy Baby. 1 tbs. should be plenty for a small dog – when I give it to my girls I split the pouch between the two of them (they’re 68 – 75 lbs.). Only give the calcium when you’re feeding boneless meat – at the rate of 800 – 1,000 mg. per pound of boneless muscle meat or 1,400 – 1,600 mg. per pound of organ meat. Swanson’s has several wheat grass products available – this is what I use in my green blend: https://www.swansonvitamins.com/starwest-botanicals-wheat-grass-powder-organic-1-lb-pkg . For flax I would suggest adding 1 tbs. per pound of meat, if you can get sprouted that’s better. I order this from Swanson’s: https://www.swansonvitamins.com/navitas-naturals-sprouted-flax-powder-8-oz-pkg . For the Tripett I would suggest mixing in 1 – 2 tbs. with his meal. I’m glad you like Swanson’s – I’m obsessed. I go nuts every time I order from them – I just got a huge box of supplements in for myself! 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Nupro isn’t a bad supplement however I wouldn’t discontinue the fish oil. The omega 3’s in Nupro come from flaxseed. Plant-based omega 3’s (with the exception of algae and yeast derived omega 3’s) are in the form of alpha linolenic acid (ALA) which is a short-chain omega 3. In order to be utilized by the body the short-chain omega 3’s need to be converted into long chain omega 3’s – docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The conversion process from short-chain to long-chain is very inefficient – I’ve read some sources that state the conversion rate is less then 5%. Animal sources of omega 3’s (cage free eggs and fatty fish or fish oil) and omega 3’s derived from algae or yeast are already in the form of DHA and EPA and don’t need to be converted. Nupro also, unfortunately, only contains 1 strain of probiotic – lactobacillus acidophilus. I do the like inclusion of whole foods in Nupro though. Personally, I think you could do better and likely for cheaper. I would suggest picking either a high quality fish oil or feeding tinned sardines, a multi-strain probiotic (Swanson’s sells some very high quality, reasonably priced probiotic supplements check out https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-probiotics-dr-stephen-langers-ultimate-15-strain-probiotic-fos-60-veg-caps or https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-soil-based-organisms-90-caps) and mixing up a “super food” supplement. I purchase ingredients in 1 lb. bags from Swanson’s and mix them myself, I store them in giant jars in the fridge. Doing it this way is so much cheaper per pound than pre-blended supplements and it allows you to customize the ingredients. The current blend I’m using is 1 part spirulina, 1 part kelp, 1 part alfalfa, 1 part wheatgrass and 1 part bee pollen. I do switch up ingredients occasionally for variety.

[Shihtzumom20]

Hi Hound Dog Mom, thats ok I have to wait on his supplements anyways! Thank you for suggesting Swanson’s I love them! Everything is so easy to find and pretty cheap! Plus the shipping to Canada is very reasonable.
Im glad you like my recipe! I will make sure to add in the liver and other organs, I was thinking I would give the raw glandular every other day, or do you think it should be every day? I found a baby food organic, its banana, sweet potato and blueberry puree, then concentrated lemon juice and absorbic acid. No artificial flavours or colours, BPA free package, they have many other fruits, vegetables single and combos. Would this be ok to use? Is the tablespoon enough? And the clacium citrate, I was wondering if I should only give it every 3 out of 4 days since the rmb (on the 5th day)will have bone in it? For the green supplement I really wanted to add in wheatgrass but I didnt find any on swansons, so I went with spirulina instead. For the flax meal how much/when should I give him? Oh and the tripett, how much of that would I give him? I can get the canned easily.
Sorry for all the questions, but I am very excited! I am finally doing it! When I really looked into the balancing it wasn’t too bad, but it did take me awhile! I do like feeding the ziwipeak in the am so I have some reassurance he is getting what he needs!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi pacer1978 –

The product you linked to contains green tea extract which would contain caffeine. In my experience most human green supplements (unfortunately) contain green tea extract. I make my own green supplement – I buy lb. packages of things like spirulina, wheat grass, alfalfa, kelp, chlorella, etc. and mix them. You can use as may or as few ingredients as you want, it’s cheaper than buying pre-mixed supplements as well.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Vegetables are a very important part of the dog’s diet and should be included in small quantities. Vegetables supply important trace nutrients are are chock full of antioxidants that are crucial in today’s polluted world and given the toxins that domestic dogs are exposed to on a daily basis (everything from cleaning supplies and exhaust fumes to vaccines and chemical preventatives). Having formulated my own menus from scratch I can say that it would be extremely difficult (actually, probably impossible) to supply a dog with all the vitamins and minerals needed without the inclusion of some non-meat ingredients. As long as vegetables are properly prepared (cooked/pureed) they are highly digestible. I would much rather supply my dog’s with their nutrients through a variety of whole foods than either a) compensate for deficiencies by supplementing with synthetic vitamins or minerals or b) risk sub-clinical deficiencies. About 10% of my dogs’ diet is vegetables, fruits, sprouted nuts/seeds, “superfoods” (wheat grass, spirulina, kelp, etc.).

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[pacer1978]

Hello,

I’ve been trying to find a good “Green Food” to incorporate in my dog’s food since they sometimes want to eat grass as well. I was thinking Spirulina or do you recommend more of a green food power? I had purchased Swansons Green Max, but realized it had caffeine in it, which I was told is harmful so that will be returned. Luckily, I haven’t received it yet to start giving it to them. I then found another option, below. If this is recommended over Spirulina, are the ingredients all OK for dogs? I don’t want to end up giving them something harmful that I’m unaware of. Thanks!

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-greenfoods-formulas-super-green-max-plus-9-oz-255-grams-pwdr-SWR067

[KatB]

Thank you. I do see that all of the Wilderness formulas have chicken in some way, shape or form. We have never tried a chicken free food before. I am just now cluing in that Chicken is a common allergen.

I was at my local pet food store the other day, and noticed that they carry Castor & Pollax. I think we may try their grain and poultry free formula next bag I need to get. Have the enzymes on order.

The dogs are happy and have no issues with eating the Wilderness, and no one has been sick. Just the soft stools and itchy boy still quite itchy. The black lab also tends to eat grass when she’s in the yard, so I feel like we’re missing something in their diet.

Thanks again for the suggestions…..anyone else out there with any other food suggestions??

Thank you!

[somebodysme]

No not probiotics, she gets the PB8 pill for that and she’s been on those for some time now. The DE I purchased is this one:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-premium-digestive-enzymes-180-tabs

I had asked in a different thread which DE you all liked and it was suggested to me. I was looking at the Mercola one and the ingredients are very similar to it. She is eating grass like crazy.

I also purchased some Spirulina. Do y’all give this? I was looking for something “green” instead of her eating grass. I’ve tried to give her cooked greens but it just doesn’t seem to agree with her, she threw up when I gave her some cooked kale. She eats the grass like crazy and she never throws up when she eats grass. I wish I knew what the grass was so I could plant some seeds…HAHA! It’s only this one type of grass and she can hunt it out apart from all over grass.

[Shihtzumom20]

Hello Everyone,
So I have decided to take the plunge and make homemade raw for Dawsons pm meal! He will still get ziwipeak in the morning, for a couple reasons one its convenient mornings tend to be pretty busy! And I like their quality of meats so I think it is important Dawson gets it. He is getting the lamb variety so I think I will mostly use chicken for his dinner, but I may switch it up for beef every now and again as a treat.
Here is what my menu looks like, HDM could you take time to check how balanced it is I would greatly appreciate it!
So every am Dawson gets ziwipeak air-dried lamb. 1 ounce
pm- (3 ounces totatl) 90%-95% lean ground chicken, 200mg calcium citrate, ¼ tsp Carlson Cod Liver Oil, ½ capsule vitamin E, ½ tsp of organic wheatgrass powder+ organic kelp powder+ organic turmeric powder (mixed together in equal parts), Raw multiple Glandular supplement
*NOTE* Every 4 days Dawson consumes 1 pound of meat. On the 5th day he will get an rmb, either chicken wing with no skin (want to keep the fat fairly minimal) or beef/pork rib equaling three ounces.
Every pm meal for supplements he will get his (minimal lol) whole food supplement, and the calcium citrate but NOT on rmb night. Only 2x per week he will get 1/2 capsule vit E, and twice every 4 days he will get 1/4 tsp Carlson cod Liver oil.
I wasnt sure if I should include some liver/organ in his meal since he gets the ziwipeak in the morning and it has organs, I was hoping the raw glandular supplement would take care of that? I was also unsure what I should get for the chicken, I dont want a lot of fat since Shih tzu’s are prone to obesity and we are heading into fall/winter lol! I decided to use the cod liver oil for his vitamin d for now till I get used to it, but then I may try to give more variety using keifer, raw eggs etc.
I also want to add canned trippett, and 1/4 tin of sardines in the four day period. I think by using both the cod liver oil and sardines he would meet his omega 3 requirements and not need krill oil. But if thats wrong I will get the krill oil too! I want to take it anyways so I will have it on hand. I cant access the canned tripett website today. My computer wont let me into it, could you tell me how much and when I should I add it in?
Well how did I do? Please let me know if anything is in excess, missing or unnecessary!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Synthetic supplements (vitamins/minerals) aren’t necessary when feeding a balanced commercial food however things like probiotics, enzymes, essential fatty acids and super foods are always beneficial. I would give coconut oil at the rate of up to 1/2 tsp. per 10 lbs. (you can give less as well). Nature’s Logic makes one of my favorite pre-made whole food supplements, it contains several supper foods (such as kelp and alfalfa) in addition to nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables and probiotics and enzymes. I actually make my own super food supplements, I find it’s cheaper this way. I buy the ingredients I want in large packages from Swanson Vitamins or Starwest Botanicals and combine them. I generally do something like equal parts kelp, spirulina, wheatgrass, alfalfa and bee pollen but I’ll sometimes substitute other ingredients for variety such as chlorella, barley grass, tart cherry, etc. If you use a pre-mixed whole food supplement designed for dogs there will be dosing instructions on the package. For my homemade supplement I usually do around 2 tsp. per dog (my dogs are 68 – 75 lbs.). There’s generally little concern with “overdosing” when feeding whole food supplements – especially if using a variety of ingredients in small doses.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Patty you’ve got me figured out – lol!

Pacer –

When feeding any cooked food, such as kibble, I recommend supplementing with enzymes. Raw foods naturally contain enzymes however these enzymes are destroyed during the cooking process. For a healthy dog it would be fine to give enzymes at half the recommended dose. Unless there is a certain health issue, I don’t believe dogs fed raw foods need supplemental enzymes.

I believe all dogs should receive probiotics. For a healthy dog, giving a probiotic supplement or feeding a serving or plain yogurt, kefir or raw tripe two or three times a week should be adequate to maintain a healthy and diverse population of microflora in the gut. My dogs get raw green tripe three days per week and a little bit of plain kefir several times per week. For dogs with certain health issues (particularly digestive issues or systemic candidiasis) it may be advisable to give supplemental probiotics daily.

As Patty pointed out, eating grass doesn’t always mean there’s a nutritional issue – it’s actually a fairly normal behavior. You could certainly try adding a green supplement to see if it helps and even if it doesn’t help green supplements are a healthy source of whole food trace nutrients.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[theBCnut]

I’m not HDM, but I believe she will tell you that every time you feed kibble you should use enzymes. They don’t replace probiotics though. Your dogs still need a source of probiotics a few times a week under normal circumstances and daily when under stress. Some dogs just seem to like eating grass and it doesn’t mean anything, but if the habit changes as the food changes, it may mean that they need something in their diet that is missing. Green superfoods are most likely to have whatever grass would be replacing and more of it in a less polluted form.

[pacer1978]

Hello All,

HDM..you answered some questions I had in another thread. You had mentioned probiotics to me in that thread, but after reading this one here, since I feed my dogs kibble, would you recommend probiotics or enzymes for them instead?

My dogs also want to eat grass. What does that mean? Should I start them on a “green” supplement as you mentioned? Is there one that you recommend?

Thank you!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi SandyandMila –

Sorry I didn’t even see that post!

I use regular wheat grass powder but wheat grass juice powder is fine too – it’s probably better actually, it’s more expensive which is why I use the regular wheat grass. You can use this supplement daily, it doesn’t have to just be when she eats raw. Adding a superfood boost on the days she eats kibble or dehdyrated is beneficial as well. Also, you can rotate around the ingredients as much as you want – the options really are endless. I’ve used chlorella, dulse, barley grass powder, tart cherry powder, beet juice powder, etc. etc. For dosing I’d say maybe 1/2 tsp. for small dogs, 1 – 1 1/2 tsp. for medium dogs, 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. for large dogs and 2 – 3 tsp. for giant dogs. I give my girls (70 lbs.) 2 tsp. each per day.

[SandyandMila]

HDM- I’m trying to replicate your whole food vitamin/mineral supplement. I found everything at the natural food store except they had chlorella but not in powder form. Is wheatgrass juice powder the same as the wheatgrass powder you use? If I make this supplement minus the bee pollen I already use (granular form) and the chlorella powder, how much would I be giving her? Will that be only when I feed grind mixes?

[theBCnut]

My grass eater has pretty much stopped eating grass since I started giving green superfoods. I use different super greens mixes from the health food store or I make my own, kind of like HDMs. I change it up every time I make it, but an example would be 1 part alfalfa powder, 1 part wheatgrass powder, 1 part barleygrass powder, 1 part kelp powder, 1 part spirulina powder, 1 part bee pollen. I might leave out the wheatgrass one time and the barleygrass another. I sometimes use chlorella instead or spirulina. I might use another macroalgae instead of kelp(I can’t think of the name of the one I have now other than it is obviously Japanese). I use 1 oz of each ingredient at a time when I’m mixing a batch and I rarely have 2 batches in a row the same.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sombodysme –

I wouldn’t feed the shell with the egg. Eggshell contains a lot of calcium and could throw of the calcium to phosphorus ratio of the meal. 1 tsp. of eggshell contains a whopping 1,000 mg. calcium where an egg (without the shell) only contains around 100 mg. phosphorus. To get the full benefit of the omega 3’s and the glutathione pre-cursors in the egg white the eggs should be fed raw. I wouldn’t feed eggs daily as there is a glycoprotein present in raw egg whites called avidin that binds to biotin and inhibits absorption – there’s controversy over whether or not feeding raw eggs frequently can result in a biotin deficiency. I feed my girls raw a raw egg every other day.

You can find directions on how to sprout flax on a lot of websites. You’ll need flax seed and a sprouter. Although I have a sprouter I still buy mine – Nativas Naturals from Swanson’s. I wouldn’t think sprouted flax would be a substitute for a green food. I add about 1 tbs. per dog on the days I feed it. Flax is good to add on days you feed poultry as it balances the fats in the poultry. I buy wheatgrass from Swanson’s – I use Starwest Botanicals. I would say maybe 1/2 tsp. for small dogs, 1 tsp for medium/large dogs and 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. for large/giant dogs. You can also grow fresh wheat grass for pets to graze on. Bell Rock has some kits.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[somebodysme]

I have a few questions to clarify a few things:

I feed kibble only right now and I see mentioned that it’s good to feed cage free eggs. My question that always comes to my mind when eggs are mentioned is this; do you feed the entire egg shell and all and if so do you food process it or just crack it and put it in the bowl to eat raw shell and all? Also, do you wash the eggs off if you give the shell? She weights 50 lbs, so ONE a day?

Another question: She LOVES to eat this one particular grass that in a runner type grass but I don’t know what it’s called, I live in Ohio so something native to our area. I’d rather give her my own grass that I know is safe so I saw HDM mention both wheat grass and sprouted flax…my question is; would one of these give her what she’s seeking out and which one? How do you sprout flax and how much would I give? If wheat grass would be the better option, where do you get that and how much to feed?

Not trying to highjack the thread…these are probably questions on others minds as well. A lot of dogs eat grass I think…

[Duke The Boxer]

I was trying to looking for something that wasnt too many colories as I’m still training him to walk on a leash and to potty on the grass and not the outside tile; which isn’t a huge deal but I want him to know where is the place to poop. Haha. Back to the training treats I was reading maybe something like baby carrots? I took him to the vet today and he is 22 pounds at close to 16 weeks old. I got a fecal test done and nothing came up. He looks healthy, the ribs are barely visible but honestly I rather keep him a littler slimmer before he gets neutered so he will gain not as much weight. He is still getting the proper food portions and today I just started rotating in wellness core.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi EHubbman –

It’s all pretty confusing when you start out isn’t it?

I would like to start out by saying I strongly disagree with those that say supplements aren’t necessary for a raw diet. The thing is, if a dog was eating whole wild prey daily this may be true but that’s not practical in real life. It would be next to impossible to feed an actual prey model diet so people approximate it by feeding ratios of muscle meat, organ meat and bone (80:10:10) that mimic the ratios found in a whole prey animal. While this is a good estimate of the dog’s natural diet, it’s not going to provide all the nutrients a dog needs for various reasons: 1) Your dog isn’t getting the whole animal. When a dog eats prey in the wild it eats everything – all the organs, the glands, the brain, eyeballs, fur, feathers, sinew, some intestines and intestinal content, it even picks up some dirt of the ground where it’s eating. 2) Commercially raised meat such as what is available to us in the supermarket is not as mineral dense as wild prey. 3) Domestic dogs are bombarded with toxins on a daily basis that their wild relatives aren’t – i.e.) flea treatments, heart worm treatments, vaccines, exhaust fumes, cleaning chemicals, etc. etc. – and for this reason benefit from additional antioxidants in their diet that are provides through fruits, vegetables and whole super foods.

You do not need to supplement with enzymes when feeding a raw diet. Raw food contains enzymes. These enzymes are destroyed when the food is cooked and this is why kibble and canned foods should be supplemented with enzymes. Probiotic supplements are also a waste of money unless you have a dog with serious digestive issues. Feeding green tripe and/or plain yogurt and/or kefir at least a few times a week will maintain a healthy population of gut flora in a healthy dog.

You will need to add supplemental omega 3’s. You can do this by adding a quality fish body oil, cage free eggs or feeding a fatty fish such as sardines. If you want to feed sardines the recommend servings are (based on 3.75 oz. tin): 5 lbs. 1/4 tin, 15 lbs. 1/2 tin, 25 lbs. 5/8 tin, 50 lbs. 1 tin, 100 lbs. 1 3/4 tin – per week. If giving fish oil you want to add enough to provide about 100 mg. combined EPA and DHA per 10 lbs. of body weight. While the majority of a dog’s omega 3’s should come from animal sources, some plant based omega 3’s can be beneficial as well. If you’re feeding predominantly poultry, flax should be given to balance the fats and if you’re feeding predominantly red meat hemp seed should be given to balance the fats. My dogs get a cage free egg 3 days per week, Carlson brand salmon oil complete (with astaxanthin) daily and I also give small amounts of sprouted flax, sprouted chia, etc. If not supplementing with vitamin d, you should give cod liver oil as well. Carlson makes the highest quality cod liver oil – my girls each get 1 capsule of Carlson Super Cod Liver Oil daily which provides 250 IU vitamin d. If giving fish oil it’s very important not to skimp on quality – fish oil is one supplement you don’t want to find a bargain on. The cheaper brands are often rancid at purchase and don’t contain enough antioxidants to prevent oxidation. Coconut oil, as Patty pointed out, is comprised of MCT’s. Coconut oil can be given in addition to (but not instead of) omega 3’s. Coconut oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties. You can give up to 1/2 tsp. per 10 lbs. of body weight daily. My girls get coconut oil daily, I find it’s a healthy way to increase the fat level of their meals.

As Sandy pointed out, vitamin e is also necessary to add – this is especially important when supplementing with omega 3’s as vitamin e prevents the delicate fats from oxidizing in the body. For dogs <25 add 50 – 100 IU per day, 25 – 50 lbs. 100 – 200 IU per day, 50 – 75 lbs. 200 – 300 IU per day, 75 – 100 lbs. 300 – 400 IU per day, >100 lbs. 400 IU per day. I use NOW Foods Gamma E Complex – it has all 8 tocopherols and tocotrienols.

Other supplements my dogs get:

-A homemade super food mix. I generally use 1 part kelp, 1 part alfalfa, 1 part spirulina, 1 part wheat grass and 1 part bee pollen although I’ll sometimes sub in a different ingredient for variety. I buy most of my ingredients from Swanson or Starwest Botanicals in 1 lb. bags. This provides vital trace nutrients to the diet. I’d recommend about 1 tsp per 25 – 30 lbs. (roughly) for a supplement such as this.

-I give my dogs colostrum 3 days per week. Colostrum is high in immunoglobulins which helps strengthen the immune system.

-They get a glandular 3 days per week (opposite the colostrum). I use Natural Sources Raw Multiple.

If you read through the raw menu section I have my dog’s full menus (with supplements) posted.

I prefer to balance my dog’s diets using whole foods versus adding synthetic supplements. The nutrients from whole foods are more efficiently assimilated by the body and contain all the necessary co-factors for optimal absorption and utilization. There’s also a much lower chance of overdosing on nutrients when using whole foods.

If you have any more questions don’t be afraid to ask. 🙂

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Sussieque]

Dear ORENC26,

RE: Diarrhea in Puppies

I also recently got a Cavalier King Charles puppy. She had the same problem with diarrhea (really bad). When I first got her @ 9 weeks old, the previous owner was feeding her Purina Special Blend (i think).

Anyways, we had rain here for over a week straight. Poor baby had to do her business in the rain and walk on the wet grass. I took her to the vet for her second vaccination and was told that she had a Yeast infection (in her ears which also gets in their digestive system) The vet gave me an anti-fungal med., an ear med. (Zymox is better) and a stool hardener. You can use Imodium Advance. ONLY 1/4 tablet daily and for just a 2 days!!! (go by weight of dog) Brandi was 5 lbs. then.

She (Brandi) got a little better but still had some diarrhea problems. I researched the internet and spoke with the vet & a local breeder.

They all suggested to feed her Boiled Chicken (white meat to start) with cooked white rice, mixed with some 100% Pumpkin. I fed this to her for 2 weeks. (note: adding a good vitamin may help but check the ingredients carefully!). After feeding Brandi the Chicken-rice combo for 2-3 weeks I wanted to get her back on a dry (kibble) puppy food. I chose “Orijen” Brand 80/20 Puppy dry food. Available at most Pet Stores and online.

I mixed it 50/50 with the Orijen and Purina One Beyond (White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley flavor) and 1 heaping Tablespoon of 100% Pumpkin. (NOT the pumpkin pie filling!!!) I introduced this mixture over 10 days (see the internet on how to do this). On the 10th. day she was eating just the dry kibble food with the pumpkin. At this point I added a Probiotic (you can pick up at pet stores – capsule form and read how much to add per day – goes by weight). Come to find out that the Orijen 80/20 puppy dry food has natural Pre & Pro Biotics (for GOOD bacteria for their digestive system) in their puppy food.

DIARRHEA IS COMPLETELY GONE!!!!! Thank God!

I still give her the Orijen and the Purina One Beyond with pumpkin (she is 3.5 months old now) Still NO diarrhea. : ) HAPPY MOMMY HERE.

I think I will switch to Acana Brand – Wild Prairie dry kibble soon because it is a bit less expensive and made by the same company. Plus it has less of a high protein content. Below are their websites:

Orijen: http://www.orijen.ca/
Acana: http://www.acana.com/products/regionals/wild-prairie/

These pet foods are made in Canada with only natural products (Grain Free). They have their own Processing Plant and process ONLY their dog and cat foods. BTW – My cats love their 6 Fish Dry Cat Food.

These foods are a bit more than your cheaper store-bought brands but worth getting rid of the diarrhea for good. Plus knowing she is healthy, happy and growing as she should be.

Hope this helps and good luck with your new baby cavalier. Precious, aren’t they? ; )
Sussieque

[SandyandMila]

Bummer I thought I had gotten a good product and started giving it to her today. 🙁 I didn’t find what I was originally looking for (spirulina powder, chlorella powder, wheat grass powder etc.). I feed mostly raw (commercial and homemade) but also kibble (NV or Orijen) and canned (wellness, weruva) when I don’t have raw. I also just got Preference to feed with grinds for the added fruits, veggies, vitamins, and minerals. So I would have to get a whole foods supplement + a multi? I also saw this at the store, it is human-grade but they had it in the pet section as well. Is it a better option? http://www.solgar.com/pub/supplement/1180.pdf. I’ll read your post on the other forum. Guess I’m still confused with all if this. Can I feed the one I got with grinds and my RMB meals and just add a whole food supplement, if I can find one?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Sharfie –

It does have some beneficial ingredients (probiotics, enzymes, EFA’s and glucosamine) but it also has a lot of synthetic vitamins and minerals. Adding additional vitamins and minerals to a balanced commercial food really isn’t necessary and probably won’t provide any benefit to the dog. You couldn’t certainly discuss the supplement with your vet though if you wish to continue with it. Personally if it were me I’d just add plain yogurt or kefir, tinned sardines and digestive enzymes a few days a week or add a digestive supplement with enzymes and probiotics and a quality human-grade fish oil. There are also a lot of whole food based supplements available such as Nature’s Logic All-Food Fortifier, Nupro, Wholistic Canine Complete, Wysong’s Wild Things, Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Daily Boost, Dogzymes Cornucopia, Dr. Harvey’s Whole Food Based Multi-Vitamin, Udo’s Choice Pet Essentials, Carnivora’s Earth Greens etc. etc. Or you could even mix your own whole food supplement which is a lot cheaper. When I make my whole food supplement I purchase bulk ingredients from Swanson’s or Starwest Botanicals and combine them in the desired proportions. My general recipe is part kelp, 1 part spirulina, 1 part alfalfa, 1 part wheatgrass and 1 part bee pollen – occasionally I’ll sub in something else (chlorella, barley grass, sprouted chia, etc. for one of the other ingredients for variety). I also give things like glandulars, colostrum, etc. It’s nearly impossible to “overdose” on whole foods, the nutrients provided by whole foods are better utilized by the body and whole “superfoods” fill the nutritional gaps by adding phytonutrients, cartenoids, etc. that aren’t found in kibble or and that aren’t provided by synthetic multivitamins.

[tmthompson17]

I have a chocolate lab retriever who will be 6 months on August 1. It seems like since we got him about every other month he has diarrhea. We started him out on eating Pedigree puppy chow. He was having diarrhea for a week and nothing was physically wrong with him. The vet prescribed a probiotic and some pepto which worked for a while until we were done with the pills then it started again. Then the vet thought it was because he was eating grass or because he was allergic to beef. We weened him off of Pedigree and started him on the Science Diet (which was lamb and rice). He has been on the Science Diet (and diarrhea free) for 3 months and yesterday started with the diarrhea again. And I read that the Science Diet is not a good food for dogs to eat. If any one has any pointers for me that would be great! I’m a little lost right now..

[NectarMom]

Is their meat grass fed? It makes a huge difference for dogs that are intolerant to grains. They had no prices on their packages. Are they reasonably priced? Slankers has grass fed meat.

[theBCnut]

Even if there was some freaky accident at the cannery and somehow there were worms in the tripe and they survived canning , they still would not infect your dog. Dogs don’t get tapeworms that way, and I’m really not sure that they could get any other kind of worm that way either. I do know that every type of worm has to be ingested at the right life stage and tapeworms are gotten in two ways. One type is from eating fleas and they can take months to show up in the stool. Another type comes from eating lizards, and you may never see segments with them. Other worms have to go through snails or they live in the soil for a while and are picked up on the grass and ingested when the dog licks itself.

[Shihtzumom20]

Hi Hound Dog Mom,
Thanks for replying! The ingredients for the Green’s Multi are:

Ingredients per serving (16.9g): Medicinal Ingredients – Vitamin A (palmitate), Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, ascorbates), Vitamin B1 (thiamine mononitrate), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), Vitamin D (cholecalciferol), Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopheryl acetate), Vitamin B5 (d-pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine), Folic acid, Biotin, Calcium (citrate), Magnesium (citrate), Zinc (proteinate), Chromium (proteinate), Selenium (proteinate), Manganese (proteinate), Iodine (proteinate), Vanadium (HVP chelate), Molybdenum (proteinate), Lipotropic factor – Inositol. Also contains naturally occurring – Beta Carotene, Iron, Choline. In a base of greens+ – Natural fresh fruit flavour blend with stevia, Phosphatide complex (26% phosphatidyl choline from 97% oil-free lecithin), Organic alfalfa, barley, wheat grass & red beet powders, Spirulina, Apple pectin, Japanese Chlorella (cracked cell), Organic soy sprouts, Organic whole brown rice powder, Seven non-dary bacterial cultures containing Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (2.5 billion per serving) in a special base of fructo-oligosaccharides, Malic acid, Royal jelly (5% 10-HDA), Bee pollen, Licorice root extract standardized to 10% glycyrrhizin, Acerola berry juice powder, Siberian ginseng extract standardized to 0.8% eleutherosides, Milk thistle extract standardized to 80% silymarin, Citric acid, Organic Nova Scotia dulse powder, Ginkgo biloba extract standardized to 24% ginkgo flavonglycosides and 6% terpene lactones, Japanese green tea extract standardized to 90% polyphenols, European bilberry extract standardized to 25% anthocyanidins, Full spectrum grape extract standardized to 95% procyanidolic value and 500ppm Resveratrol

Would this be ok? If so how much would he get? If not is there a multi-vitamin you would recommend? Or could I make up your whole food supplement and that would provide all he needs?
Could I use the glandular supplement as well? How often would he get that? I still will try with the veggies for sure, maybe “hidden” in raw meat he will gobble them down!
Thanks for your help!