[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi bigcoco-

If you check out the recommended raw menus thread you’ll see some of my menus. My most recent menu (located near the end of the thread) had a full nutrient analysis done and it exceeds the AAFCO nutrient standards for all life stages. You can check out what types of things I’m adding to supply trace nutrients. I make my own whole food supplement my mixing equal parts kelp, alfalfa, spirulina, wheatgrass and bee pollen – they come in powder form that I order from Swanson. I also add things like sprouted nuts and seeds, dairy, oysters, sardines, cod liver oil, etc.

I find that the cheapest way to add muscle meat is gizzards, hearts and green tripe. Although not very appealing to people, these are all quality sources of nutritious and cheap protein for dogs. I have three large dogs that, combined, consume over 6 lbs. of meat per day. About 90% of their meals are raw meaty bones, organs and things like gizzards/heart/tripe – I’d never be able to afford feeding them if they were getting things like boneless skinless chicken breast and lean ground beef as the main component of their meals on a daily basis.

Assuming you are talking about the Happy Hips jerky made by Dogswell, they do not contain 100 IU vitamin E per strip – they contain 100 IU vitamin E per kilogram. Meaning your dog would have to eat over 2 lbs. of treats to get 100 IU vitamin E. Also – just a warning – while I haven’t heard of any issues with the Dogswell brand specifically, a lot of dogs are getting very sick by eating jerky treats made in China and the Dogswell treats are made in China. Just be careful. I personally give my dogs a human vitamin e supplement. My dogs are all large (ranging in size from 68 lbs. to 110 lbs.) – I divide 2-400 IU capsules between their daily breakfast mix so each dog gets about 267 IU per day. I would say you could give your dog a 200 IU capsule daily or a 400 IU capsule every other day.

[bigcoco]

Thanks so much everyone! Really great stuff!

We feed an organ mix that is separate from the 70/30 meat feeding.

I will work harder on getting more meat into the meal.. Right now, I am giving about half to a quarter for the 8 oz pattie of the 70/30 minced meat, and placing chicken breast that I picked up at the store… atleast for the time being.. trying to figure out what would be the most cost effective way to supply the added meat I am supplementing with the Armelinos to help correct the calcium/phos ratio.

I will try and find a better way to get the true trace nutrients into his diet since the pat naturals isn’t doing the trick. I don’t want to go synthetic either, so will be looking for the ingredients you just mentioned above… Is there a mix you get? Or do you just go to the grocery store and pick up the kelp/alfalfa/ wheatgrass..etc?

I will check out that book too.

I also just bought some “happy hips” that has vitamin E (100u) inside.. should this do the trick then? I am looking into the quantity included in the salmon oil. What is the rule with vitamin E and salmon oil/omega 3? i.e. how often to give the vitamin e..

[Mountain Man]

Hi, all! Greetings from Virginia. We are proud parents to a wonderful little Vizsla male, “Mountie,” who is a fantastic and sharp guy even in his infancy of 10.5 weeks old! This post marks our first official question, and we thank you in advance for your advice and opinions. Q: Which of the kibbles listed below would you recommend highest for our Vizsla puppy?

I tend to be a bit over-analytical (dear wife would call it “OCD”), and have researched in-depth (via manufacturer websites and here @ dogfoodadvisor) puppy-appropriate kibble, in hopes of transitioning Mountie ASAP from his initial staple of Purina Puppy Chow (which we consider to be a lower-quality feed) to a much-better kibble. Narrowed it down to these, and really value your advice:

1. Taste of the Wild High Prairie (Roasted Venison & Bison) Puppy Formula (by TOTW, contract-manufactured by Diamond; USA) (~$52 / 30lb = $1.72/lb). Pros: Good “bang for buck,” well-rounded GF kibble, tasty. Cons: Surprisingly-low DHA for puppy blend, manufactured by Diamond (which has had an inexcusable number of recalls).

2. As ACANA Puppy & Junior (by Champion Petfoods; Canada) is not avail. in the USA, consider alternatives from the “all stages” lineup: ACANA Wild Prairie Grain Free (~$67 / 28.6lb = $2.34/lb); ACANA Grasslands Grain Free or ACANA Pacifica Grain Free (~$80 / 28.6lb = $2.80/lb). Pros: Appears to offer great alternative to uber-rich Orijen (albeit, adult formulas only). Cons: Puppy formula not available in USA, uncertainty re: appropriate calcium levels of these “all stage” formulas, lacking in Yucca extract (which does wonders to curtail feces odor).

3. Orijen Puppy (by Champion Petfoods; Canada) (~$75 / 28.6lb = $2.62/lb). Pros: A+ quality kibble. Cons: Many testimonials of young puppies getting diarrhea from rich formula, lacking in Yucca extract (which does wonders to curtail feces odor).

4. As Earthborn Holistic Puppy Vantage (by Midwestern Pet Foods; USA) (~$47 / 28lb = $1.68/lb) isn’t GF, consider alternatives from the “all stages” lineup: Earthborn Holistic Select Grain Free Coastal Catch* / Great Plains Feast / Primitive Natural. Pros: Very, very good “bang for buck,” well-rounded GF kibble, made by Midwestern Pets (nearly as reputable as Champion). Cons: Uncertainty re: appropriate calcium levels of these “all stage” formulas, limited first-hand reviews available.

5. Maybe: GO! FIT + FREE Grain Free (Chicken, Turkey & Trout) Puppy (by Petcurean; Canada) (~$67 / 25lb = $2.68/lb). Pros: Excellent Canadian kibble (appears on par with Orijin and Acana) by Petcurean (nearly as reputable as Champion). Cons: Very pricey, given very limited first-hand reviews available.

6. Maybe: Annamaet Manitok or Aqualuk (by Annamaet Petfoods; USA) (~$84 / 30lb = $2.80/lb). Pros: Well-rounded GF kibble (and Mountie likes the taste). Cons: Uber-pricey, given limited first-hand reviews available, no puppy formulation, uncertainty re: appropriate calcium and DHA levels (unlisted) of these “all stage” formulas.

We would be indebted for as many opinions as possible re: which of the above you all would recommend transitioning Mountie to.

Thanks so much!!!

Corey & Michelle
Powhatan, Virginia

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Bigcoco –

1) 30% bone is way too much. As Patty said, bone should comprise 10% of the diet. The calcium to phosphorus ratio needs to be between 1:1 and 2:1 (ideally around 1.2 – 1.3:1). When the diet is 10% bone, 10% organ meat and 80% muscle meat the calcium to phosphorus ratio is right within that optimal range. A diet of 30% bone will be throwing that ratio of balance.

2) I checked out the product website and I can’t see where organs are included in the mixes? All I see is where they state 70% meat and 30% bone. If organ meat is not included in adequate quantities in the 70% “meat” you’ll need to feed organ meat. Organ meat should comprise 10% of the diet – 5% being liver and 5% being other organs (kidneys, lungs, spleen, pancreas, brain, etc.). Organ meat provides crucial vitamins and minerals that aren’t provided by muscle meat.

3) I can’t find where the level of vitamin e in the Bravo salmon oil is stated on their website and often the amounts added to fish oils are too low. I checked out the Pet Naturals of Vermont Daily Best supplement and there is little vitamin e in that either. Small dogs should get 50 – 100 IU per day, medium dogs 100 – 200 IU per day and large dogs 200 – 400 IU per day. Vitamin e requirements increase when fish oil (omega 3’s) is being supplemented, if adequate quantities are not received with omega 3 fatty acid supplementation the dog will eventually develop a vitamin e deficiency.

4) It’s also possible your dog could be deficient in certain trace nutrients – it’s hard telling without a nutrient analysis but because the Pet Naturals supplement is designed to be fed with a complete and balanced commercial food the amounts of vitamins and minerals are very low (as they are with most pet supplements). To ensure your dog is getting all the trace nutrients he needs I’d recommend either supplementing with a human multivitamin – base the dosage off a 100 lb. person (i.e. 25 lb. dog gets 1/4 human dosage, 50 lb. dog gets 1/2 human dosage, 75 lb. dog gets 3/4 human dosage, 100 lbs.+ gets human dosage) – or adding whole food supplements. I prefer to avoid synthetic supplements for my dogs so I feed a variety of nutrient-dense whole food supplements like kelp, alfalfa, bee pollen, spirulina, wheatgrass, glandulars, sprouted nuts & seeds, etc.

“Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown is a fantastic resource for raw feeding. It’s a really great book for beginners – short and easy to understand and includes AAFCO compliant recipes. You may want to checkout this book. It was a constant resource for me when I first started feeding homemade raw.

[marcella1]

I’m hoping someone can give me a recommendation for a good dog food for my Rhedyn. Rhedyn has several health problems, EPI being one. First she was diagnosed with Perianal Fistulas (PF) (last fistula was over 2 years ago), next she was diagnosed with SIBO and then EPI Oct. 2011, and bloated Jan. 2012.

The problem has been with her rubbing/scratching her face after she eats, until she has sores all over her muzzle and the hair falls out on her face. So I did the blood allergy test. Here are the results for food allergies: Duck=2 (2=low level), Yeast=1 (1=very low level), oat=2, Rice=2, lamb=1, potato=4 (4=very high level), pea=3 (3=high level). She also has some allergies to weeds, trees and grasses – but I don’t believe these are causing the problem because she gets weepy eyes and rubs her face every time she eats. I did think it was the enzymes (for the EPI – pork based), but according to the test, pork had a “0” score – absent or undetectable levels.

Because she had PF, we switched her to a single protein source (fish), one that would maybe not cause any problems. We have not had any PF’s for a really long time (I think it has been more than 2 years). My biggest concern is the allergy stuff.

Today I bought some cod (raw), mixed it with some sardines (raw) I had, mixed in some veggies and gave it to her. She loved it, but it is expensive buying the cod ($4/lb.). And it was a lot of work – I made a HUGE pot of it. Rhedyn is 90 lbs. and so eats a lot!

Does anyone know of a good kibble that doesn’t have peas, potatoes, yeast, or eggs? Or is there new/more current information out there on the food these guys (with PF) can/can’t have?

Thank you for any help or ideas!
Marcella

[NectarMom]

But if you are feeding just raw or mostly Raw such as I am feeding 1/4 Brothers and 3/4 Darwin’s Raw turkey so where are my dogs vitamins and minerals coming from? I wonder if that is why they are trying to eat grass and now dirt? They’re stools are firm and they gobble down the Darwin’s without any issue now besides the trying to eat grass and dirt. They get enzymes on the food in the morning and probiotics on they’re food in the evening. IMO for them to do this there is something missing that they are not getting. Darwin’s claims they put ACV in the Raw. I don’t know but just trying to learn and understand more so my dogs get everything they need. I am lovin the Darwin’s with my dogs because they are eating it so well and the stools are like they should be. My last beloved dog died from cancer and I believe it was from some ingredient in kibble so I do not want this to happen again if I can prevent it.

[texasniteowl]

Hey all…I’m completely new here but have looked at a ton of the reports on the 4 & 5* rated foods. I have a 6yr old mixed breed (some lab) that we adopted at the end of December.
(Also, thru these descriptions, pls keep in mind that it’s been 20 years since I had a dog. We had some dogs when I was a child, but I haven’t had one as an adult.)

Anyway, Wilson came to us on Purina One Smartblend Lamb & Rice. I already knew that wasn’t a great quality food, so after a couple weeks I moved him to Fromm’s Duck & Sweet Potato.

That transition went pretty well but we’ve been fighting allergy issues since we got him. Now, it may turn out that he is just allergic to our grass (bermuda) and there is nothing to be done really, but I’m willing to experiment. (Also, he came to us with an ear infection, so we had lots going on there initially.)

About 3 weeks ago I bought a bag of Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast grain free (bison meal and also some lamb meal) from my local pet store (and they carry a great selection of grain free lines…Orijen, Acana, Wellness, Canidae, Cal. Natural, Taste of the Wild, Earthborn, Fromm’s and more…the only main one I wondered about was Merrick which they do not carry). We started off with a 1/4 new to 3/4 old. Wilson had some soft stool (but not diarrhea) for several days…it was almost a week before I moved the ratio up to half and half. We stayed on half and half for two weeks. Initially he also had soft stool again…but it also seemed like it alternated more…very firm (seemed like he was straining) one time and the next time, soft. Sometimes hard and soft at the same trip outside.

Also, he’s developed dandruff and is shedding a lot. Now, we are in Texas and we are having weather in the 70’s to even low 80’s one day already, so part of that is just the season. However, thru Jan. & Feb. he hardly shed at all. But the dandruff? And he also seems to me to be doing more butt dragging than previously. And he’s been doing a lot of paw licking and chewing the whole time we’ve had him.

Just yesterday, I finally upped his kibble to 3/4 new and 1/4 old. His morning poo was hard and seemed straining. His late afternoon poo was soft. (Not soft serve ice cream soft, but soft.)

I know it may be hard to separate the food reaction from the season or other issues (dryness in the house?/low humidity?) but all these things together have me leaning towards ditching the Earthborn and going back to his Fromm’s Duck & Sweet Potato for a bag and then trying a different grain free.

Any feedback or suggestions? I was thinking that I should maybe look for grain free that is duck or fish based since he did well on Fromm’s Duck & Sweet Potato? Also I noticed that the Earthborn is potato free (has peas and tapioca)…maybe I should try a grain free with potato or at least sweet potatoes?

I guess any feedback or suggestions you have as far as what to try or what to look for in behavior/reactions when changing food would be welcome.

Thanks.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi JillMcN –

Please be aware that using a pre-mix will not necessarily ensure that your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. There are a few pre-mixes available that meet AAFCO nutrient profiles when prepared per instructions (The Honest Kitchen’s Preference, U-Stew, Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix), but many have no claim of meeting the AAFCO’s nutrient standards and many of these – like Sojo’s, for example – don’t appear to be conplete and balanced when prepared according to the instructions. These unbalanced pre-mixes would be fine to use intermittently, but to feed long term you would need to know what supplements to add in order to balance the recipe. So if you’re planning on using a pre-mix long term, please make sure it meets the AAFCO’s nutrient standards.

The recipe you posted actually appears to be quite balanced, only a few things that I’d tweak. I’d cut the liver from 8 oz. to 4 oz. and give 4 oz. of another organ (kidney, lungs, spleen, etc.) I’d add another whole food supplement (such as alfalfa or wheatgrass) in addition to the kelp. I’d also highly recommend rotating in red meat for the poultry 50% of the time – this will help balance the fats as poultry is high in polyunsaturated fats (particularly linoleic acid) while red meat is high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats. Red meat is also much higher in iron and many micronutrients than poultry. There are several books available that contain complete and balanced recipes that are AAFCO compliant. “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown is my favorite – the recipes are for raw food but could easily be converted to cooked by substituting muscle meat for any RMB’s and adding 800-1,000 mg. calcium per pound of meat.

[NectarMom]

Thank you Patty I will try that this morning. HDM , I have seen the dog grass sprouts. I sprout beans all the time for my parrot. I will see if I can find the website again where I bought the bird sprouts. I believe it was called The Sprout People. I just cannot get over how well my Shihtzu is eating her food out of her bowl every time and seriously I have never seen her so excited about eating..ever!

Can you recommend which raw bones I should start out with that are safe and small enough for tiny dogs?

Patty I will try the partial defrost Thank you both so much , Jennifer

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi nectarmom –

I wouldn’t be too corncerned about your dogs eating grass. Canine herbalist Juliette de Baircli Levy says that dogs bring on deliberate internal cleaning by eating grass, the grass helps to expel bile, mucus and other impurities. It’s not a strange thing for a dog to be eating grass and it doesn’t ncessarily mean they’re trying to make themselves vomit. If this becomes an ongoing issue, often if you add cereal grasses to their diet the behavior will lessen or cease completely. You can grow your own with a sprouter or buy a grass kit (they sell some specifically for pets). You would take the fresh grass sprouts and mice them and mix with your dogs’ meal. You can also buy grass supplements – wheat grass, barley grass, kamut grass, etc. Cereal grasses rich sources of several nutrients including chlorophyll, enzymes, amino acids and various trace minerals. I include wheat grass in my dogs’ whole food supplement and I grow fresh grass for my cats to nibble on.

[theBCnut]

No, the eating grass is not a normal reaction to Darwin’s. And yes, it is normal for it to turn brown. Try giving them a spoonful of it without any kibble, maybe you have the rare dog that can’t handle raw mixed with kibble. Also, you can partially defrost it just enough to divide it in to smaller portions and refreeze what you don’t need immediately.

[NectarMom]

Is it normal for them to want to eat grass after starting on Darwin’s? It is only a half a teaspoon of Darwin’s mixed with the regular kibble so I don’t get why they would want to throw up. I am feeling bad for adding something new with them once again 🙁 The best part is that they wanted it so bad and now they act like they feel bad. The directions say it is good for up to 48hrs in the refrig after defrosting it and it has already turned brown, is this normal? Thanks I am a bit parinoid.

[Hound Dog Mom]

The dogs are moving through the venison supply quickly so I’ve formulated their next menu. I’ve always fed my dogs so much variety and their yearly blood work has always come back normal, so I’ve never been overly concerned about nutrient profiles. This time however, I decided to actually take the time to run a full nutrient analysis on their new menu. What a headache! It took me a few days of slaving over the calculator, however I’m happy to say their menu exceeds the AAFCO nutrient profile for all life stages. My main focus for this menu was cutting costs, while maximizing nutrition and variety. Because I know this menu is “complete and balanced” and there’s a lot of variety, along with the fact that this will slice about $100 of the monthly food bill – I’ll probably be sticking with this menu for awhile. Breakfasts are divided into three equal portions (one portion for each dog) and dinners are what I would feed to each dog individually.

Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays

Breakfast:

Makes 3 Servings:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 lb. Green Beef Tripe
1 lb. Beef Offal Mix (Heart, Liver, Kidney, Spleen, Lungs, Trachea, Gullet)
3 eggs
3.75 oz. Tin Sardines Packed in Water
1 C. Kefir
16 oz. Frozen Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrot Mix*
1 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Minced
2 tbs. Whole Food Supplement**
2 tbs. Ground Hemp Seed
2 tbs. Ground Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
1 tbs. Coconut Oil
1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
1/4 tsp. Himalayan Crystal Salt
3,000 mg. Cod Liver Oil
1,400 mg. Calcium Citrate
1,500 mg. Fruit Concentrate (Blueberry, Cherry, Orange, Strawberry, Raspberry, Cranberry)
1,050 mg. mg. Raw Multiple Glandular (Liver, Brain, Stomach, Kidney, Heart, Spleen, Pancreas, Duodenum, Thyroid, Thymus, Adrenal, Parotid, Pituitary)
600 IU Mixed Tocopherols and Tocotrienols

Dinner:
2 Turkey Necks (approx. 12 – 16 oz.)
6 oz. Turkey Hearts

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

Breakfast:

Makes 3 Servings:
12 oz. Skin-On Chicken Necks, ground
12 oz. Chicken Gizzards, ground
12 oz. Chicken Hearts, ground
12 oz. Chicken Livers, ground
10 oz. Frozen Spinach*
10 oz. Frozen Butternut Squash*
8 oz. Canned Oysters
1 C. Kefir
2 tbs. Whole Food Supplement**
2 tbs. Milled Flaxseed
2 tbs. Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbs. Coconut Oil
1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
1/4 tsp. Himalayan Crystal Salt
3,000 mg. Cod Liver Oil
1,500 mg. Fruit Concentrate (Blueberry, Cherry, Orange, Strawberry, Raspberry, Cranberry)
1,440 mg. Colostrum
600 IU Mixed Tocopherols and Tocotrienols

Dinner:
Pork Neck (approx. 20 oz.)

Sundays

FAST: 1 C. Broth (made with THK’s Ice Pups) with Animals’ Apawthecary Detox Tincture morning and night.

*All vegetables are cooked and pureed.
**Whole Food Supplement: 1 part kelp, 1 part spirulina, 1 part alfalfa, 1 part wheatgrass, 1 part bee pollen powder.

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/NutrientAnalysis_zps9f3e4b46.png

[Hound Dog Mom]

I don’t think meat is an essential part of the human or canine diet. However, I believe that dogs are definitely healthier when fed a diet high in quality animal-based protein and fat. I also tend to believe that, when consumed in moderation, clean meats can be a healthful component of the human diet. I’m not a big meat eater, I would take a plate of pasta over a steak any day, but I do eat meat 4 or 5 times a week. I try to eat only grass-fed meat and cage-free poultry raised without hormones antibiotics or steroids. I eat organic eggs and organic dairy almost every day. I’ve met several healthy vegetarian humans, but I was less than impressed with the few vegetarian dogs I’ve encountered (poor coat quality and dental health).

[pugmomsandy]

Mine eat outside when they get RMB and get plenty of grass and some dirt with them.

Maybe you can train yours to eat in one area like in an empty kiddie pool.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I love Swanson’s. I recently discovered them a few months ago when I was looking for some supplements for myself, I liked the stuff I got so much I just ordered over $200 of supplements for the dogs the day before yesterday. I don’t give the dogs supplemental probiotics or enzymes but when I ordered their stuff I got “Swanson Ultra Soil Based Organisms” supplement for myself – 5 digestive enzymes, 15 soil-based probiotics, barley/oat/wheat grass juice and a 15 vegetable concentrate. Sounds healthy, would be great for a dog too that needed enzymes and probiotics – only 11 cents per capsule!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Shihtzumom20 –

I just checked out Big Country Raw’s website – I’m jealous that you can get this food, the price is great! $2.50/lb. for pre-mixed food is very reasonable. I’m not too far from some of the retailers (I’m on the Canadian border) unfortunately I think a law was passed recently making it illegal to transport pet food across the border.

I can’t find a statement of nutritional adequacy on the website and it does appear there are a few things missing that you will need to supplement to make the food balanced. First of all, yes you will want to add omega 3’s as there aren’t any added to the food. Follow the dosage chart I posted previously. Second, after reading the ingredients for each of their foods I can tell you that there are inadequate levels of vitamin e and vitamin d. Vitamin e is difficult to supply in adequate quantities through food alone and therefore should be supplemented. It will be especially critical that you supplement with vitamin e once you start adding omega 3’s as consumption of omega 3’s increases the the fat soluble antioxidant requirement. As a general rule supplement about 50 I.U. vitamin e per 20 lbs. If you get capsules with a high dosage (most come in 200 IU or 400 IU) you can just give one whole capsule 2-3 times per week. For the vitamin d, there is some vitamin d in beef liver (about 50 IU per 4 oz.), but not all of the formulas contain beef liver and even for the formulas that do, I doubt that there is enough to fulfill vitamin d requirements. Vitamin d can be added in supplement form or (more preferably) in whole food form. Some foods that are rich in vitamin d: cod liver oil (~400 IU per tsp.), cage free eggs (~30-50 IU per egg), Kefir (~100 IU per cup), oily fish (amount of vitamin d present varies on the type of fish but sardines, mackerel and salmon are generally considered good sources), some varieties of plain yogurt and cottage cheese are supplemented with vitamin d (check the label). Your dog should be getting about 200 IU vitamin D per pound of food consumed. Also, rotate between all their protein sources – don’t rely on one – this will provide him with the greatest balance. You may also want to consider adding another whole food supplement, I see kelp is is added to a few of the varieties. Kelp is great and supplies a lot of trace nutrients but the more variety the better, especially when a dog is deriving all of their nutrition from whole foods and not relying on synthetically added vitamins and minerals. My dogs get kelp and they also get things like spirulina, alfalfa, wheat grass, bee pollen, chlorella, etc. I switch up their supplements frequently. It says they offer a vitamin/mineral supplement but it doesn’t list the ingredients, you could check that out.

Yes, RMB’s are a wonderful source of glucosamine and chondroitin. Because he’s young and he’s a small breed not prone to joint issues, RMB’s should provide all the joint support he needs for now. I wouldn’t worry about a joint supplement until he’s a senior.

[BeagleLover]

Hello,
We adopted our beagle when he was six-months old. At the time, he had ear issues-itching, excess wax, bad smell, etc. After the traditional vet treated him several times for the same symptoms, I figured it was related to his food. Back then I didn’t know about grain-free dog foods and simply searched online for allergy free dog foods.

I found the Holistic Select Brand-Duck & Oatmeal and he was on that diet for about three years. In November, my dog started developing stomach symptoms similar to colitis/IBD. Just last week I had him tested for food allergies using the saliva test-Nutriscan but won’t have the results back for a couple of weeks.

In December, I had switched his dog food again, just to get him off of the grains. The holistic vet I took him to said to feed him a limited dry dog food until his stomach issues are resolved. He recommended Acana Grasslands and my dog has been on that diet close to eight weeks. While his symptoms have not disappeared, they are much better than before. My only concern is that the Grasslands formula has duck in it too. Doesn’t this seem like an unlikely choice?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Shihtzumom –

Being nervous about balancing your own homemade raw is understandable – I wasn’t comfortable doing it when I first started feeding raw. Once you get the hang of it, however, it’s really very simple. A pre-mix would be your best option if you’re nervous about preparing it yourself. If you start using a pre-mix you can even experiment by preparing some from scratch recipes for a few meals a week until you become comfortable enough to do it all the time. Home preparing is really the only way to get the best quality, nothing pre-made is going to be the same quality as something you make yourself with fresh, high quality ingredients (you do need to prepare it correctly though!). When going with a pre-mix any meat you can buy at the grocery store will be MUCH better quality than anything in a pet food. The best meat would be grass fed/cage free and free of hormones/antibiotics/steroids (this is usually noted on the packaging but ask the butcher if you’re not sure). Even if you go with conventionally raised meats that aren’t grass fed/cage free or free of hormones/antiobiotics/steroids – it will still be higher quality than any kibble or canned food. Most grocery stores sell liver (all that’s required for Urban Wolf). I order harder to get organs (lungs, kidneys, pancreas, etc.) from hare today and my pet carnivore but these organs aren’t necessary for a pre-mix. I generally use 90% lean (sometimes 85%) – you don’t want to use the super lean stuff because dogs need some fat but you don’t want to use super fatty meat either or your dog might not get enough protein. When using poultry I’d avoid breast meat and go with dark meat (it’s more nutritious and has a better fat to protein ratio) – gizzards and heart are great too if you can get them both count as a muscle meat (not organ meat!) and they’re generally much cheaper than ground meat. I’d also recommend adding a little fish oil to a meal prepared with a premix even if it doesn’t specifically say to do so on the package.

[Shihtzumom20]

Hi again guys,
I know you are probably very sick of me by now, and I completely understand, but I am hoping you can help me out one last time. (my disqus was just shihtzumom, sorry for the confusion) I have been looking at all the commercial raw diets, mostly the ones I like are Carnivora and K9 Naturals(any thoughts?). I really do like these and am hoping my local pet store can order them in, as other stores that are further away carry them. I am definitely not impressed with NV and would like to stay away from their foods.
But I have been looking at pre-mixes. I am worried that Dawson is not getting quality ingredients with NV. Where do you get meat from? I mean I could just go to the grocery store and pick up some meat, but is that good meat? Like it won’t necessarily be antibiotic or hormone free and grass fed. Do you buy lean meats? Where do you find the organs needed for the urban wolf pre-mix?
And with home-made I was looking at the transitioning to raw thread and it had some great information! But I find it confusing when trying to translate the amounts for a 13 pound shih tzu! The menu Hound Dog Mom posted sounded fairly straight forward, but I still worry I would somehow mess up the balancing. I really do want the best for Dawson, but am just so confused. I don’t want any carcinogenics in his food or other questionable ingredients, basically I am wondering what you think about the two commercially made, and then where you find good quality meats. I am very worried over what I am feeding him and want him to live the longest, healthiest life possible. Thanks for all your information!

[Cavalierluvr]

Wow…thank you both. I have been thinking of trying either Earthborn Holistic or Taste of the Wild as they are a little more in my budget range. I do a slow transition (usually close to 10 days) whenever I’ve tried a new food….and the transition has always gone well. Jasper is almost 4 and had mostly been on a Chicken based diet. He was on Fromm Gold for a while and Canidae Chicken when it got to the point he was eating grass and throwing up almost daily. I have used pumpkin on him but he’s not a big fan of it, unless I offer only a really small amount. I have tried InClover OptaGest Digestive Aid but that didn’t seem to make much of a difference over time. He is currently on the Lamb formula and seems to be doing ok, but he still seems to scratch his ears or shake his head, not constantly, but enough that I wonder if it is the grain in his food. I do think you may be right HoundDogMom that not all grain-free foods will be the same for him. And once the weather breaks I’ll have to try the new food where I can really monitor him to make sure stools are fine. Maybe it was just a fluke the abscess happened. He only goes to a groomer 3-4 times a year and I did ask her to pay close attention to that. My sister has a Maltipoo and his glands always seem to be swollen…I would not say that is the case with Jasper. He’s a larger Cavalier and I would really not consider him a toy dog!

[dogmom2]

Hi there.

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

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

[mlp576]

I have been using a whole food supplement and my dogs have been doing amazing. There moods are calmer yet they seem to have more energy. The coat looks amazing and my oldest is getting up the stairs easier and she is no longer eating grass and throwing up. http://www.friendsfurlife.rockyandbella.com I totally recommend it. I use Pedigree maintenance however surviving and thriving are 2 different things all together. My Aunts dog is diabetic and told me that she has been able to cut down on the amount of meds for him so that is a testimony in itself.

[Anonymous]

thank you for the input! My pom did not get sick from her food. One incident I think was too many rawhides at a friends house and another was frosty paws treats. So I am VERY careful now what I feed her.

I think I’ve chosen to go with the Acana brand. They have a high rating and I like what they have to say about the source of their ingredients. But no one in my area carries the small breed or light and trim choice. I bought a bag of the grasslands variety and will slowly work it into her diet. She seemed to like the Acana last night. She picked out the few pieces that were in her bowl and ate those first!

I’m eager to see if there are improvements in her weight and energy!!

[gypsygirl]

I am new here and wondering if anyone has heard of a dog food called Canine Plus Lifetime, a Canadian company, it is corn free, wheat free, and by=product free. My little shiz shu has many allergies and have her on Natures Harvest Hypo allergenic now but still itching. What is the difference between grain free and hypo allergenic. I had her on origen fish but saw that it had dandelion stuff in it and since she is also allergeric to grass and pollen and the like I took her off that. Hope this is in the right place and if not could someone point me in the right direction for this topic. thank you

[shelties mom]

Hi all,
I have access to get raw, grass-fed bone meal from a local farmer. Does anyone use something like this and how do I calculate how much to add per lb of raw meat? Do I need to add in eggshells? Trying to avoid using cooked bone meal from the health food stores.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Okay so my dogs have been on their previous menu more about 6 weeks now and I’m about to switch things up for another month or two. I’ll post the new menu I’ll be starting next week to give more ideas to those interested in homemade raw.

Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays

a.m. (divided between 3 dogs)
-1 lb. 90% Lean Ground Beef
-1 lb. Ground Green Beef Tripe
-1 lb. Ground Beef Organs (Heart, Liver, Kidneys, Lungs, Spleen, Trachea, Gullet)
-1 C. Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree*
-1/2 C. Cottage Cheese
-1/2 C. Sprouted Quinoa (run through food processor)
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral*
-1 tbs. Ground Raw Pumpkin Seeds
-1 tbs. Coconut Oil
-1 tbs. Krill Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-2 tsp. Ground Eggshell
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. (per dog)
-2 Turkey Necks (approx. 12 oz.)
-8 oz. Turkey Hearts

Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays

a.m. (divided between 3 dogs)
-3 lbs. Venison Meat and Organ Mix (from a whole deer)
-1 C. Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree
-1 C. Kefir
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral
-2 tbs. Sprouted Chia
-1 tbs. Reduced Vitamin A Cod Liver Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-3 tsp. Ground Eggshell
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. (per dog)
-Chicken Back (approx. 10 oz.)
-Chicken Foot (approx. 2 oz.)
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Egg (without shell)

Sundays

a.m. (per dog)
-2 Whole Prey Quail (Approx. 1 1/2 lbs.)

p.m. -Fast

*Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree:
(I make up a big batch running all the ingredients through a food processor and freeze in ice cube trays. After they freeze I store all the cubes in giant ziplock bags in the freezer – each cube is approx. 1 fl. oz.)
-1 lb. Fresh Celery (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Beets (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Carrots (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Kale (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Frozen Butternut Squash
-1 lb. Frozen Spinach
-1 lb. Frozen Broccoli
-2 Apples
-1 Banana
-1 lb. Frozen Mixed Berries (Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries)
-8 oz. Frozen Cranberries
-2 Bunches Parsley
-2 Bunches Cilantro
-1 Head Garlic

*Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement:
-4 oz. Kelp Powder
-4 oz. Alfalfa Powder
-4 oz. Wheatgrass Powder
-4 oz. Spirulina Powder
-4 oz. Chlorella Powder
-4 oz. Bee Pollen Powder
-4 oz. Turmeric Powder

[shelties mom]

pugmomsandy:
Thank you for sharing your tips. I only have 2 small shelties each weighs 15 lbs, but still want to go with all home-made. If I only grind chicken, I suppose I can go with a cheaper grinder but I want to provide variety. So what is your opinion on Dr. Becker’s supplement recipe? Have you tried it yet? I’m thinking I should follow it and use HDM’s green supplement mix. My dogs have flaky skin, I think there is something missing from their current diet: 1/2 Darwin’s, half home-made. I use grass-fed red meat for home-made since Darwin’s red meat is grain-finished.

[Shawna]

Weimlove,

HDM mentions her thoughts about veggies in an earlier post on this thread. Here’s the first couple sentences but there’s more “Concerning vegetables, many don’t feel that they’re necessary. Vegetables aren’t part of a dog’s natural diet and I do agree that as long as everything else I described above is provided that they probably aren’t necessary, but I do strongly feel that when they’re provided in small quantities they can be a beneficial addition to the dog’s diet.”

I agree COMPLETELY with her. Our dogs are subjected to SO MANY MORE toxins than their ancestors and certainly more than wolves. Examples — formaldehyde is off gased from particle board furniture for the life of the piece, gas fumes from gas water heaters and vehicles, the chemical PFOA in tephlon pans and wrappers like those on microwave popcorn bags can actually kill a bird at the right concentration, fluoride in drinking water, vaccinations/heartworm/flea tick etc…

Not to mention, many don’t bother feeding organic. Bones from CAFO cattle can be high in contaminants like fluoride. The meat is higher in saturated fat than grass finished beef. The meat can be tainted due to the GMO corn and soy etc etc etc. Additionally, “prey” is going to include fiber from the small amounts of ingested fur, sodium from the blood of the animal, ALL the organs — brains are a source of omega 3 DHA, heart has taurine, pancreas has enzymes, tripe has more fiber (in the bits of ingested plant material that comes with) and probiotics and enzymes and on and on.. Many “prey model” enthusiasts don’t account for all these missing nutrients.

The extra vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in fruits and veggies just seem like a really good idea when we are subjecting our pets to so many toxins that would not be found in their natural environment (or their ancestor’s that is).

Veggies should be cooked or run through the blender or food processor. Running them thorugh the blender breaks down the cellulose layer without needing heat which can damage the natural enzymes within the food. If you would eat the veggie/fruit raw than you can give it to your dog raw too — cucumbers, peppers, berries, celery, zucchini (sp?), carrots, tomatoes etc. The finer they are blended they more nutrients are released. If you would cook it for yourself, cook it for pup — acorn squash, sweet potato etc. Best way to cook them is to steam them in a steamer (can be purchased for $40.00 or less). Add the water from the steamers drip tray back into the food as some minerals are leached during cooking and you can add them back by adding the water back.

Hope that helps :).

[Toxed2loss]

Hi Sophia,

Insects are far more resilient than mammals. So much so that by the over use of chemical insecticides we’ve inadvertently produced pests that are immune to them. The chemical companies keep producing and selling more harmful chemicals in response. These poison our pets. So I’m copying a post that I originally shared on the Mercola Healthy Pets forum. Just in case you want to go that route.

“IPM Fleas
I use a method that my daughter and I developed when she went off to college (with her dog) and discovered her apartment and yard were infested from the previous renter’s cat and the abundance of ferel cats that frequented her yard. My daughter is an IPM entomologist and started her professional career at age 15. Here’s what we worked out.:

The first thing to consider is breaking the flea life cycle, which is: hatch out of eggs laid in textiles or litter, feed as nymph, metamorphasize to adult, hop on dog, mate/feed, hop off, lay eggs, repeat…

Bathing your dog regularly is a great way to interrupt the flea reproductive cycle… if they don’t reproduce, no resident fleas.

I use a fragrance free, non toxic detergent. I am currently using naturoli’s soapnut shampoo. Its extremely mild and nourishes the skin and coat. All the pet shampoos (even the hypo-allergenic ones) at pet stores have stuff I wouldn’t use, therefore, I won’t put it on my dogs. Occassionally I use a few drops of a REPELLENT, non toxic pet shampoo along with the detergent. I use Earthypet, for the drops. I get it at http://www.allnaturalcosmetics.com Its very fragrant, and more than 1 drop per small dog, 2 for med-large hurts me. I can only imagine how much it offends the dog. (For your sick dogs, I’d avoid the aromatics until they recover!) One of the ways you can monitor if the VOCs are too high for your dog is, “do they rub their face on the carpet?” That indicates that it is hurting their noses.

Keep in mind that your dog could still have gotten flea born diseases when you used a pesticide, as it takes a while for the resident fleas to get killed. A repellent, like lavender and rosemary oils, keeps the blood feeders away, and therefore prevents insect vectored diseases.

When I bath my pom. I fill up the laundry sink and have her sit in it for 3-5 min. I protect the ears and nose. I also watch for fleeing fleas and squish ’em. Make sure they pop. You will also see them swimming in the tub. Squish those too. Washing them down the drain isn’t enough. They hop back out. Also for the first several weeks, check your dog, down to the skin in a well lit area for fleas. Use a desk lamp. The fleas will come to the warmth. You’ll still have to comb through all her hair and examine all of her skin. If she’s picked up a tick, or cheat grass, you will find it during this procedure. Don’t forget to squish the fleas. When you aren’t seeing them or their “dirt”, you can move your bath times to less frequently, but monitor to find the best schedule. I bath more frequently during heavy hatches. Contact your State University, Experiment Station Entomologist for the timing of the heaviest hatch(es) in your area.

Next: frequent laundering (weekly to every 2 weeks) of your dogs bedding, with borax as a laundry booster: 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load. Borax residues form crystals in the fabric, which scratch through the exoskeleton and cause the adults to suffocate. I love that part! (dry on Hot) Fleas lay their eggs near where your dog habitates, in fibers: Carpet, upholstry, bedding. Flea nymphs hatch out and start feeding on what’s in their environment. Residual borax is consumed and kills the nymphs.

For control in carpets and upholstery, I wash them (steam clean) with borax solution. Its also a great way to get out petroleum and oil stains… as well as odors. Unless something happens, I shampoo a couple of times a year, like during major hatch cycles. (spring) and at the end of the summer to minimize the indoor population. The borax crystalizes after this too, and kills both adults and nymphs.

So, this method kills by drowning or suffocating the adults, poisoning the nymphs, and drowning/frying the eggs. It is an intergrated, (non invasive) pest management practice or IPM.

There are a number of things you can do to deter mosquitos from feeding on your pet. The aromatics work by repelling, but you can use garlic, (one of Shawna’s favorites!) Or complex Bs make the blood unpalatable to insects. I have frequently fed brewer’s yeast to get the Bs, but I’m hearing some downsides. Get a good supplement. Healthy raw foods with lightly cooked broccoli and other cruciferous veggies (see Dr. Becker’s book for amounts) are high in sulfur, and that repels mosquitos. Tumeric and curry (garam masala) have healing properties as well as making you “not a biting insects preferred snack.” Hope that helps! 🙂

I also mix up a spray bottle with water and some of Dr. Bronner’s Castile, mint oil soap. It repels mosquitos. I use this as a spray-on during peak seasons or heavy hatches. I went to the coast a few years back in May. I used this and everyone else in the campground was slapping mosquitos, regardless of “off” and deet, and I didn’t have even one, near me. It lasted all night. As you probably know mosquitos vector heartworm. So this little preventive measure goes a long way in protecting pups from heartworm.”

Hope that helps!

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’ll get things started. I generally make a one week menu up and feed that menu for 1 – 2 months. I then make up a new menu with some new protein sources, switch up some ingredients in my supplement and make up a new menu for the next 1 – 2 months. I started this menu at the beginning of December and I’ll probably feed it through to the end of January (then the dogs are going to break into the venison stash from hunting season 😉 ).

The a.m. recipes are for 3 servings (I divide evenly among my three bloodhounds – lucky for me they all eat the same amount of food! 🙂 ). The p.m. recipes are what I would feed each dog.

SUNDAYS

a.m. -Whole Prey Rabbit

p.m. -24 hour fast

MONDAYS/WEDNESDAYS/FRIDAYS

a.m. -1 lb. 90% Lean Grass Fed Beef
-1 lb. Green Tripe
-1 lb. Beef Organ Blend (Heart, Liver, Kidneys, Lungs, Trachea, Gullet)
-2 C. Urban Wolf Pre-Mix
-1 C. Full Fat Cottage Cheese
-2 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-1 tbs. Sardine/Anchovy Oil Blend
-1 tbs. Coconut Oil
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule (mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols)

p.m. -2 Turkey Necks
-8 oz. Turkey Hearts

TUESDAYS/THURSDAYS/SATURDAYS

a.m. -3 lbs. Ground Lamb Supreme (from MPC – 50% Breast Meat with Ribs, 25% Heart, 15%
Green Tripe, 7% Liver, 3% Kidney)
-1 C. Whole Milk Kefir
-3-4 oz. Pouches Organic Fruit & Veggie Baby Food
-2 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement*
-1 tbs. Reduced Vitamin A Cod Liver Oil
-1 tbs. Omega 3-6-9 Oil with Flax, Borage and Evening Primrose
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. -Chicken Back
-Chicken Foot
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Whole Egg

*Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement:
-4 oz. Kelp Powder
-4 oz. Alfalfa Powder
-4 oz. Wheatgrass Powder
-4 oz. Spirulina Powder
-4 oz. Chlorella Powder
-4 oz. Bee Pollen Powder
-4 oz. Turmeric Powder
-2 oz. Garlic Powder

[helpinghandsforlittlepaws]

I feed my dogs and my foster dogs Victor Chicken, Lamb and Rice. But I’ve noticed that lately several of them have digestion issues. Eating grass, eating poop (those that have never done it before) and bad stool. I’ve had stool checked and it was negative for any parasites. Anyone have this issue before? I love Victor because it is a good food and very affordable, but it just isn’t settling well… Any ideas? Any suggestions for good foods within the price range?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Okay guys, here are my recipes!

Typical Morning Meal for my crew of three bloodhounds. Makes 3 portions for large active bloodhounds – will make more servings for smaller or less active dogs (I usually use red meat in the a.m. so I can feed poultry rmbs in the p.m.):

-3 lbs. Whole Ground Prey Animal (Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore)
-1 C. Whole Milk Kefir, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt or Raw Goat’s Milk
-1 C. Cooked & Pureed Veggies or 3 Pouches Organic Veggie/Fruit Only Baby Food (Like Peter Rabbit Organics)
-1 1/2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral (Recipe Follows)
-1/2 tbs. Sardine or Anchovy Oil
-1/2 tbs. Cod Liver Oil (Carlson)
-1/2 tbs. Coconut Oil
-1 Capsule NOW Foods Gamma E Complex

Typical Evening Meal (per dog):
-Chicken Back
-Chicken Foot
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Whole Egg

Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (1/4 tsp. per 10 lbs.):
-4 oz. Kelp Powder
-4 oz. Alfalfa Powder
-4 oz. Wheatgrass Powder
-4 oz. Spirulina Powder
-4 oz. Chlorella Powder
-4 oz. Bee Pollen Powder
-4 oz. Turmeric Powder
-2 oz. Garlic Powder

The next recipe is my dogs’ all time favorite because it has lots of green tripe and organs…the good stuff (because it’s a little heavy on organ meat I’d recommend excluding organs from your dog’s next meal):

-1 lb. 90% Lean Grass-Fed Beef
-1 lb. Green Beef Tripe (I generally order from My Pet Carnivore)
-1 lb. Beef Organ Mix (equal parts: heart, liver, kidney, lungs, trachea and gullet – I purchase from Hare Today)
-2 C. Urban Wolf Pre-Mix
-1 C. Kefir, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt or Raw Goat’s Milk
-1 tbs. Sardine or Anchovy Oil
-Capsule NOW Foods Gamma E Complex

When I feed this in the a.m. I generally feed an organ-free meal such as this in the p.m. (per dog):
-2 Turkey Necks (Approx. 12 oz.)
-6 oz. Turkey Hearts

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi chynamae!

Are you interesting in homemade raw or homemade cooked?

I feed my three bloodhounds a homemade raw diet. It’s really pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

You want 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat (5% liver, 5% other organs) and 10% bone – if you don’t want to include bone in the diet or are making a cooked diet you would use 90% muscle meat and 10% organ meat + 800-1,000 mg calcium per 1 lb. meat. You’ll want to keep the meat portion around 80% of the diet the other 20% will be vegetables (cooked and pureed) and supplements. Fruits and extras (i.e. cottage cheese, eggs, kefir, etc.) can be added if you want, but I’d keep it to under 10% of the meal.

For supplements you’ll need to add some trace nutrients. You can get a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, but I think whole foods are preferable. I mix my own supplement for my dogs with equal parts, I rotate ingredients but the mix I’m currently using is: kelp, alfalfa, spirulina, chlorella, wheat grass, barley grass, bee pollen and garlic powder. You’ll need to add vitamin e as vitamin e is hard to supply in adequate quantities through food alone – for a small dog I’d recommend 50-100 i.u. every day or every other day, medium dogs 100-200 i.u. every day or every other day and 300-400 i.u. every day or every other day for large dogs. I’d also recommend adding a high quality animal-based omega 3 supplement – fish body oil or an oily fish such as sardines.

To keep it even simpler there are pre-mixes available in which all you need to add is meat – THK’s preference, Sojo’s, Birkdale, Urban Wolf, Dr. Harvey’s, etc. Or you can purchase meat/organ/bone grinds (primal, bravo, hare today, my pet carnivore) in which all you need to add are supplements.

Be sure to feed an even mixture of red meat and poultry and feed as much variety as possible. My dogs get a ground red meat meal in the a.m. to which I add their supplements and poultry rmb’s in the evening.

A sample daily menu for my three would be:

a.m. -1 lb. Red Meat Grind (80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat, 10% Bone)
-1/2 c. Cooked & Pureed Veggies
-1/4 C. Kefir
-400 i.u. Vitamin E
-1/2 tbs. Sardine/Anchovy oil blend
-1/2 tbs. supplement

p.m. -Chicken Back (approx. 8 oz.)
-Chicken Foot (approx. 2 oz.)
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Whole Egg

*When feeding RMBs you want to add about 8-12 oz. boneless meat for each pound of RMB.

Hope that helps! 🙂