Dori:
They have an “Ambassador Program” posted on their website. I don’t know anything about it other then what’s posted.
“Ambassador Program
The ambassador program gives advocates of The Honest Kitchen the ability to get rewarded for their referrals. We provide each ambassador with printed referral coupons that have a unique code. When a customer visits The Honest Kitchen’s website and orders the complimentary bundle of samples and references the ambassador’s code, the ambassador will receive credit. Payment to the ambassadors will be paid out quarterly.
Please contact us if your clinic is interested in participating in our ambassador program.
Veterinary Feed Program
We offer veterinarians and vet students a free box of our dog or cat diets to try on their own pet. If there is a veterinarian that would like to purchase our product to feed their pets, we also offer a discount. Please contact [email protected] for more information.” http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/veterinarians/
Kristin C., Aquariangt and Cheryl H. I wholeheartedly agree with all three of you.
Aimee. I typically don’t get into any discussions with you. I know your stance on foods for your dogs which are at polar opposites of what I feed. That’s fine. Whatever works for ones dogs is what they should be fed. But…I would love some day to know what your real issue is with The Honest Kitchen. You bash them all the time even when no one is discussing The Honest Kitchen. The COMPLETE MEALS are Complete and Balanced. Their mixes are not. The consumer needs to add the protein to balance it. It would be against the law of their state for them to say otherwise. If you feel that way, I wonder if you’ve attempted to call the state that THK is made and report them? Do you have proof that The Honest Kitchen gives kick backs to veterinarians and that they are the ONLY company that does that. One would be very naive (sp?) to believe that vets carry certain foods in their practices and not be rewarded in return for selling those foods. They are not taking up space with shelves of food for nothing. It is my understanding that they get a certain percentage of the cost of the food. Personally, I’ve never seen The Honest Kitchen at a vets practice. If I did, I would seriously consider switching vets to that clinic. I mean no offense to you aimee, I guess I’ve finally read a post of yours that I actually wanted to know the answer.
I have spoken to customer service people at THK many many times through the years as their complete and balanced meals are in rotation for my three dogs. They have always been courteous, willing to talk with me and answer all the questions I have asked and have even helped me find a holistic/homeopathic nutritionist in my area. No, the nutritionist does not recommend any commercial foods, only raw and home cooked so there was nothing in it for The Honest Kitchen’s customer service people or the company. I have never once called them and gotten an answering machine. Always a polite helpful person transferring me to whatever department I needed to speak to.
I wouldn’t expect a general veterinarian to formulate home cooked diets. There is a reason that it takes an additional 3-4 years of study to become a nutritionist. No way to “cram” that into vet school. I would expect though that your vet should have the resources to refer to someone who could provide that service for you.
I’ve used the vet therapeutic diets for a past dog and for a current dog. Frankly I find it odd and so sad that people think that vets recommend diets because of kickbacks or to make money. The only company I know of that give vets kickbacks is The Honest Kitchen.
In regards to Honest Kitchen mixes, I wouldn’t use them. The company posts nutritional information and comparing that information to AAFCO it is evident that their mixes ( their complete diets too) fall short of AAFCO minimums. If you use them occasionally then no harm as long as your dog’s main diet is well balanced. But if you use their products often I think you need to be very careful to calculate out your dog’s nutritional needs and compensate for the company’s stated deficiencies to ensure your dog’s needs are met.
I’ll give you an example. To compare nutrient levels between foods it is best to compare the nutrient level in relation to the number of calories. This is called “energy basis”
AAFCO min requirement for Vit D is 142 IU/1000 kcals. ( 500 IU/ kg food and each kg has 3500 kcals, 500 IU/3500kcals X 1000 kcal = 142IU/1000 kcals) Honest Kitchen Kindly reports their base as having 93 IU/1000 kcals. So right away it is evident that the base mix falls far short of AAFCO minimums.
I used the USDA nutrient database and made a meal following their recommendations. Using chicken breast as a meat source the Vit D falls to 68 IU/ 1000 kcals. If you used a fattier meat like say 70/30 ground beef the level falls to 36.6 IU/1000kcals and if you use their active dog ratios of 2 parts meat to 1 part mix it plummets to 26 IU/1000 kcals.
In the best of circumstances, a low fat meat source at 1:1 ratio, the diet provides only 47% of AAFCO requirements and at a higher fat meat source and a higher ration of meat to mix it provides less than 20% of AAFCO.
Honest Kitchen products across the board have nutritional deficiencies according to the information they provide. Even their complete diets don’t meet AAFCO!! For example, Keen is reported as having 5 IU vit E /1000 kcals and AAFCO min is 14.28 IU/1000 kcals. It is crazy isn’t it???
I’ve inquired about these reported deficiencies. I was told that they quote “do not have the time to work through all this” but would “let you know when I receive an update.” UGH!! A company that doesn’t have time to ensure their foods meet nutritional needs. It has been over 6 months since they said they would update me after finding time to answer my questions. Still waiting…..
Just when I’m thinking about trying to put Jake on raw meat and dinner mixes I find out I can’t get SSLL. What are your opinions on the Honest Kitchen mixes? Price wise and quality wise? And which one? There are 3 to choose from. He’s a 30ish# beagle/bassett mix with no allergy issues or anything, I’m just thinking about better food for him. I’ve upgraded his kibble since I found this site altho I’m glad to know at least I was never giving him the 1 or 2 star stuff! Also added RMBs which he loves, but I’m not quite ready have a freezer full of bunny and quail. So I thought meat and the mix would be a good compromise if it’s not terribly pricey. Would that be comparable to a bag of 4star kibble? I’m betting he might drop a pound or 2 on the new diet, too, which would be good for him. He’s gained a couple of pounds since my other dog went to the bridge, Mom’s overcompensating I guess.
You’ve gotten some great advice here, I just wanted to add that it could be helpful to add a digestive enzyme, such as Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen or the ones from NaturVet.
Although pricey, I don’t think you can beat human-grade food like SoJo’s or The Honest Kitchen for senior dogs. I adopt seniors from all backgrounds, and on these foods they become strong, immune to disease, strong heart, lungs, kidneys, and generally thrive. Currently my two rescues are 12 and soon-to-be 13. The oldest is a recovered heart worm girl from the South that I adopted at 9.
Kristen-I was having a difficult time dissolving the patty-it was gooey -I had never used a freeze dried product,but I guess I was doing it correctly-just didn’t like the way it looked.
Its funny you mention S & C’s -I was just going to order some-since the fat in the Orijen is too high for my mini schnauzer.
i do apologize I was mixing up freeze dried & dehydrated-i got that straight.
I use Honest Kitchen was going to try the Sojos,but may not for my older gal.
Since I only have one small dog, food lasts a loooong time for her. A small bag lasts a month or more when mixed with toppers. When each bag runs out, I transition her to another flavor at least, another company if possible. For wet food/toppers, each can lasts between three days and one week depending on the number of calories in it. As each can runs out, I change to a different can. I don’t bother to transition with toppers, because her stomach isn’t that sensitive, but with kibble I try to give her about a week. I also have some samples of The Honest Kitchen, and I bought a box recently that I might use as a topper.
DogFoodie, Thank you for the info. Will do.
I was asking Monica, if there was a particular food I may try for my older schnauzer who has chronic gastritis. Do you have any suggestions??
She is transiting form kibble (no longer able to digest) to Honest Kitchen grain free.
Thank you
Bill,
Look into the Horizon Amicus & Legacy lines, their fat profiles are good for kibble, never tried Acana and now don’t think I will.
Pepper my 11 1/2 y.o is on the Honest Kitchen grain free samples, I got all of them to try as well as the base mixes.
I love your idea -you will crack up with mine- I keep the mustaches shorter more terrier like cause the long beards drive me insane( the true schnauzer people will kill me) my Pepper is used to getting her beard cleaned after meals, but, Millie fights me and runs around the house until I catch her.
I forget you are overseas and don’t know if Amazon carries Horizon, but it really is a great kibble in my opinion.
I’m on Honest Kitchen (Zeal…moved from Thrive and Embark due to those twos high fat content) and Acana (changed that too, based on feedback here in the group). You’ll appreciate this. To keep all the wet and dry flakes from messing up his beard i fill Glad bags with the allotted portion, trickle-in some water (filtered of course) shake and mix, then flatten it and stack one on top of the other. The bag-pancakes then go into the freezer. When I feed him, in the morning, I break it up–while its still in the bag–then pour out the little chards into his bowl (on top of his raw, frozen chicken breast) and get it to him before it liquifies. It works wonders. I’ll have to try Primal or Vital. Will see if they have it in the markets here.
Sweet little Pennie has had some challenges. I bet she’s been lonely. I’m sorry that the elderly gentleman had to release her, but am glad she has found a living home with you. I hope he’s doing OK without her.
When it comes to fish, I feel your pain. It’s everywhere. I’ve tried several different types of fishes and fish oils, but my dog reacted to all of them. It is very difficult to find a fish free food. I’ll be reading an ingredient panel and think it looks good and then down at the bottom of the list I’ll see menhaden meal or salmon oil. It’s frustrating, I know. My dog has some other intolerances that make more challenging.
If I’m not mistaken, the only Victor that’s an option is Lamb & Brown Rice. That’s quite a step down from Orijen Six Fish. I have used, with great success, Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets. I know there are more options than those I’ll list, but those that I’ve found have to exclude other ingredients beyond fish…, so a couple more recommendations are Addiction Viva La Venison, Acana Duck & Bartlett Pear (the original, not the Singles), The Honest Kitchen Thrive, and Canidae Pure Sky (I HATE that it’s a Diamond product, but it works for my dog so I use it sparingly) and Wysong Fundamentals.
Monica,
I am tempted to try it on my sick 11 1/2 y.o. schnauzer bad gastritis & irritable bowel.
I am just transitioning her to the Honest Kitchen, very slowly, she seems to love it.
I may just try the Dr. Harvey’s is there 1 in particular you could recommend I try for her, a particular type good for IBS/IBD issues?
As I mentioned I got the freeze dried grain free beef for my 6 month old schnauzer.
Pepper has always eaten Amicus Senior grain free kibble soaked, she has never had freeze dried, that’s why I ask what you would try on her first.
Thank you.
Have a Happy New Year
Barbara P. Thought I’d jump in and say that one of my dogs has many many food sensitivities. In my opinion, (and it’s the path I took three years ago) dogs with multiple allergies do best on either a home made food, home made raw, or commercial raw dog food formulas. I feed commercial raw dog food formulas (complete and balanced). Unfortunately, it’s the most expensive way to go. I also feed some freeze dried and The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food. I’m not inclined to spend time making dog food at home. I barely cook for my husband and myself. I also don’t want to worry about whether I got everything complete and balanced. My three dogs are small so the cost of feeding them in this manner is not outrageous. Before I started feeding raw, Katie would scratch 24/7, horrible breath, gas to clear out a house, not just a room, yeasty smelly ears, shedding all the time (she’s a Maltipoo…they are not suppose to shed), really coarse hair, goopy gunky eyes, runny loose stools and diarrhea, I could go on and on and on. I am happy to say that all those issues are a thing of the past. She doesn’t have a single one of those issues anymore. She’s a real happy camper now as am I and her two little sisters as they all eat the same foods. I believe in rotating proteins within brands and also rotating brands. Let me also add that the only time she needs to go to the vet now is her yearly physical. Before the change to commercial raw dog foods she was always at the vet, allergist and dermatologists trying to figure out what was going on with her and they always had her on different prescription anti-histamines and wanted to put her on steroids (I didn’t allow that). Those costs were way more than it costs me to feed all three of my dogs commercial raw dog food. I am also happy to report that Katie does not need any anti-histamines anymore. None!
This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Dori.
I believe it contains a lot of great information regarding different types of diarrhea and loose stools. My favorite subject. LOL!!!
I learned about the following supplements on that site and have had pretty good success rotating them: Gastriplex by Thorne, Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen, Vetri-Pro BD, by Vetri Science, Phytomucil by Animal Essentials and canned Fruitables Digestive Supplement.
Of course, make sure to have a thorough fecal test done to check for Giardia and Coccidia. They are both fairly common with puppies and sometimes hard to detect.
Thank you Susan,
I WOULD LOVE to have an endoscopy done, but the internist fears putting her under,
She has pulmonary hypertension along with a mild heart murmur.
I truly feel her GI problems stem from an inflammatory condition in her entire body, mainly caused by neglect of her teeth & gums, the bad bacteria hides in her GI tract, she is being treated with everything except the antibiotic, the Reglan seems to be helping with her motility issue.
I MUST FIND a diet for her. Like you, the premium kibble which I have been giving her (soaked) no longer works. If only I could balance the cooked turkey, chicken, bison, with something I could stay away from the hydrolyzed vet diet. I know Rabbit was too rich for her, she vomited that up. I, too, could never rotate foods. Have you every tried the Honest Kitchen grain-free Base Mix topped with a cooked protein? I tried it, she loved it, but threw it up, I was also giving her the kibble, which may have caused the problem. I am thinking of trying the HK again about a TBSP. no kibble of course. I just don’t know what would be the best way to go for her wellbeing. I have been fighting this since I got her 3 years ago.If the vet diet will keep her with me, then I must do it.
I had to stop all her supplements, which worries me greatly.
Thank you very very much for your reply.
I know that I can get some advice from the knowledgeable people on this site.
I haven’t posted in sometime but the regulars were very helpful when my Pepper came to me 3 years ago.
We have been through MANY ILLNESSES-I have fought for my angel every step of the way-but as she is aging the chronic inflammation she suffers from reared it’s ugly head again.
I have tried many foods and she adjusted to the amicus senior kibble that I would give her soaked of course wit a topper of boiled organic chicken or grassed beef or bison.
she was doing fine. A few weeks back the regurgitation and then vomiting started along with a touch of diarrhea.
Blood work x-rays and ultrasound showed nothing- next step endoscopy which her internist is not too anxious to do given her age & her numerous other health issues.
He feels it is her diet and you guessed it wants me to try the veterinary prescription foods-now understand I am not trying to get in a battle with these vets-my Pepper is my main concern & if this junk will keep her going I WILL DO IT. I looked at the Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein wet & dry & got sick when I read the ingredients!!!
Can anyone guide me in an alternative-she has been eating organic pumpkin or sweet potato with organic ground turkey (as DR. Karen Becker) suggests, but I can’t keep her on this forever- I thought the Honest Kitchen base mix might work but she threw that up also.
I asked the Dr to put her on Reglan because I feel Pepper has a motility issue-she doesn’t digest her food completely, she has been on the Reglan since Monday & hasn’t reguritated or vomited. I know there are advocates of raw feeding, but, to me & I may be very wrong -she is just too old to start her on raw feeding.
I think since she is taking the Reglan, I may try to re-introduce a tsp. of the Honest Kitchen grain-free base mix again and see what happens.
Thank you for any help anyone may give.
Cheryl,Pepper & Mille-Belle
Dani: Earthborn Primitive Natural with Lomi Lomi Tiki Dog
Liesl: Fromm Sm Breed Gold with Lomi Lomi Tiki Dog. Liesl can’t have peas so she eats grain inclusives and gets more topped than Dani does.
They both had a Sam’s Yam when I left for work. I have A bag of Simply Sojos Lamb and The Honest Kitchen Quickies that I’m using for training right now, so they got a couple on their walk, and will again on their next walk. Dani will also get 15ish minutes of some agi practice that will have some treats involved as well. I do a decent amount of training so I use low calorie treats with low fillers.
Dinner will be the same kibble but topped with The Honest Kitchen Embark.
Next bags for each: Fromm Pork and Pea for Dani, and Pork and Applesauce for Liesl
Darwin’s is a great food. You could feed raw at one meal and kibble at the other. Also, there is a human-grade dehydrated food called The Honest Kitchen. Their Embark (turkey) formula meets these requirements. Here is the link to the food on the THK website: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/embark
I have a similar question I have a 5month old female mini schnauzer-I have been feeding her 3x a day -Horizon Legacy Puppy, Orijen Puppy, Amicus Puppy, 1/3 cup am & pm ,noon time 1/4 c w/ lightly cooked carrots & 1tsp coconut flakes.
I have recently cut out the noon kibble & substituted the orijen freeze dried tundra patty-just 1.
My question next month she will turn 6 months-is that when I stop the noon feeding?
She is ALWAYS HUNGRY-SHE WOULD EAT 24/7 -It has been a very long time since I had a puppy and am very afraid of giving her a diet that has a high fat content due to the breeds problems with a high fat diet.
i also forgot to mention that with her kibble she either gets just under an ounce of grass fed beef or chicken lightly cooked. Her weight has almost doubled since I got her at 13 weeks.
No worms etc to account for her very voracious appetite. Or are all puppies constantly wanting to eat???
I have an 11 y.o. female mini schnauzer that has recently had to change from Amicus senior to the honest Kitchen “Kindly” due to her bad digestive issues.
I guess I am just very worried that little Millie will have the same issues as my angel pepper if I don’t get this diet correct from the start.
Thank you very much for any insight and help.
fonly,
Cheryl, Pepper & Millie-Belle
Hey all
I need your help with something. We’re bringing home an 8 week old Aussie next week. We have Taste of the Wild for his Kibble and a stock pile of Honest Kitchen Turkey and Aunt Jeni’s Turkey Raw frozen pre-made meals.
In a perfect world I would feed him Kibble in the AM and Raw in the PM so his tummy has time to digest each type of food separately. Though – when he’s a puppy he will be eating 3 or 4 times a day so that complete digestion time won’t be there.
So how do you handle? Rotate days between kibble and raw so every other day is a different type? Is that a bit much for a new puppy to get used to?
Um, I hate to say this, but you must be way overfeeding her for her to gain 4 lbs in 1 week, and that alone can cause diarrhea. With all dogs, but especially large and giant breed dogs, it is very important for them to have slow even growth. Fast growth means that their joints are forming too fast and not necessarily well, which means hip and elbow dysplasia. Feed her to keep her athletically lean, no extra weight. Keep her on probiotics until she has had normal stools for at least 2 weeks.
You may want to look into a supplement by the Honest Kitchen called Perfect Form. A lot of rescue dogs have had really bad cases of worms that have damaged the gut lining and it may take months for the damage to heal. Perfect Form has some really nice ingredients to soothe irritated intestines and firm up sloppy stools.
Have you looked at the Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition thread?
I have two lab mix dogs and have had the same issue. I have had the best luck with Victor grain free food so far. I also use various supplements that are very helpful. Such as Firm Up and The Perfect Form. Also, when I add either a couple frozen Nature’s variety Instinct raw nuggets or The Honest Kitchen dehydrated as a topper, it also helps. I think it is because of the added fiber that helps firm up the stools.
Please check out http://www.dogaware.com for some very helpful information on loose stools. It has been an extremely valuable resource for me!
Please feel free to write back with any questions or comments.
My Cavalier was eight months old when I got her from the rescue. She was the director’s dog. Mom and dad and all of the puppies were adopted and the owner kept her as her own pet. She was the only little dog in a house full of big dogs. They realized she needed more attention and very reluctantly, let her go. Having said all that, I might as well add that I found her on Petfinder very late one night (early one morning actually) and found out early that afternoon that we had been chosen to be her family. I also found out that the Petfinder listing had just been put up and we were one of many applications. That same night after church we set out on our 375 mile journey to bring Arabella home.
When Bella came home, I would crate her when we were out, but otherwise assumed she was house broken. At the rescue, she had a doggie door, but when she got to my house, she started having occasional accidents. Sometimes, she would go out and then come right back in and go on the living room rug. I don’t know if she had accidents at her former home, but I’ve always thought that the doggie door evidently didn’t jive with potty training. I’ve also always understood that potty training small breed dogs takes longer. My Golden Retriever had potty training squared away in 10 days. I used Nature’s Miracle, which I think is great, but that didn’t stop the accidents. I started working on potty training again, which eventually (it took some time), seemed to resolve the problem.
If she’s been given a clean bill of health after you get all of her test results, I betcha it’s a potty training issue. I’d start working on potty training again utilizing a crate when you’re not home. In the event there is an incontinence issue, you might try a bladder support product, Mercola makes one, but the only lot that they have and are currently shipping out expires in February. I was ticked when I ordered some that I just received only to find out that it was already almost two years old and set to expire in two months. The Honest Kitchen and Wysong also make quality bladder support products.
MIB is the first thing that came to mind. Yours are precious. I’m still laughing at Tommy Lee Jones images…soooooooo cool!
Pug, the link was great.
I just plugged in Honest Kitchen’s Thrive. It calculated to 44% fat. SERIOUSLY?
So, is that the number we should be looking at when it comes to staying between 10-12% Fat or should we use the “crude” original number? You’re right, this can be confusing.
I’m abroad (stationed in Singapore). I posted in the regular site but, thought I’d also do it here.
1. What’s the best dry food with 22-26% protein; 8-14% Fat; and 340-360 calories
2. Same question for dehydrated food
3. Same goes for canned food.
I currently feed Honest Kitchen and Acana Grassland but, am confused about the percentages on the packaging.
I order a lot online, but stopped ordering canned food. It would always be the case that I would end up with waste because cans would be dented. The grossest shipment I ever received contained a total blowout. It was summertime. It was a real stinker. Yuk.
I found The Honest Kitchen foods make great toppers and they ship so much better than cans.
I actually prefer the consistency of sojos to the honest kitchen. Not that the dogs care much, and my cat won’t eat anything dehydrated. My problem is its a bit low in protein for my liking, so I use thk and grandma Lucy’s for toppers more often, but use sojos from time to time.
However, their freeze dried training treats and good dog biscuits are awesome! Staples in my house
I have a rescue Great Dane that is almost 9 now. I got him when he was 2. I didn’t have to worry about the critical feeding time when their puppies, but I will give you my suggestions for brands that I have used or would use from HDM’s list.
Annamaet: I have used this brand and Max loved it and did well with it. They have 6 formulas that made HDM’s list. I would feed the grain free over grain inclusive but that is just a preference.
Earthborn Holistic: Again, I have used this brand and Max loved it and did well with it. They have 2 grain free varieties on the list.
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis: I haven’t fed this but if I were still feeding kibble I’d try Dr. Tim’s.
Nutrisource: I have fed it and Max did well. They have 2 varieties on the list.
Victor: I’ve never fed it but I would try it if I still fed kibble. They have 2 varieties on the list.
I would also feed The Honest Kitchen and NRG but they are dehydrated foods. I fed them both to Max and I think they are great but they are pricier than kibble. If you want to feed just kibble, my advice would be to choose several brands to rotate through.
I hope you find this helpful. Good luck with your Dane! 🙂 They’re the best.
I haven’t made sorbet in my ice cream maker but you can try making the recipes without sugar. But pureed fruit/veg and yogurt frozen into ice cube trays is more convenient. The Honest Kitchen sells “liquid treats” that you can freeze.
hi
my dog is fighting cancer(adenocarcinoma). While i am waiting for a appointment with holistic vet in a month who is going to create personalized diet for him, i am trying to feed him honest kitchen dehydrated food. I settled on Thrive but i would like to find out if i have to ad anything alse on top of that or is that enough for him?
I am giving him liver supplement and immune supplement wholly immune, plus coconut oil with turmeric.
I know usually there is organ meat in the diet i dont think this one has it.
I judge my dogs treats as much as I their food. Treats I like are anything from The Honest Kitchen and Sojo’s and grainfree ones from Buddy Biscuits. I don’t feed much for treats so others are probably more helpful than me. Definitely not Milk Bones!
Honest Kitchen has a great assortment of excellent organic and human-grade treats that are free of rosemary. They stopped adding rosemary to any of their products because so many of their customers were reporting issues in their pets after eating any of their foods or treats that contained it.
Hi Leslie-
I don’t think that in general kibble is just as nutritious as most dehydrated foods. Annament is a very good one though. That being said, I know that Honest Kitchen is very expensive. I feed my dogs a base kibble and add something to it every meal. They get a few tablespoons of canned with it in the morning. In the afternoon, I rotate between eggs, beef heart, dehydrated, frozen raw patties, and sardines in their kibble. I also feed the See Spot Live Longer dinner mix with lightly cooked burger once a week. So, I guess what I am saying is if you go ahead with the kibble, you can always bump up the nutrition with toppers! From what I’m learning, variety is very healthy for our dogs.
I’ve been feeding Honest Kitchen Embark to my 4 Jack Russells for awhile. I try to switch up the variety but the other 2 5 star varieties are just too expensive. I use Annamaet grain free kibble when we’re away from home. It’s also 5 stars. Do you think the kibble is as nutritious as the dehydrated food? It would be easier to feed & less expensive. Or am I splitting hairs? Thanks for any input.
Akari the reason I think she may have an infection is the sudden teeth chattering, acting anxious and distressed and also Ginger suddenly wanting to be very cuddly with you. And let’s not forget the poop incident. Some of those symptoms looking at them separately might be explained away but they’ve have all come on together. A sign that something is going on internally. Before refilling her antibiotic I would take her into the vet or at least call in and speak to vet and let him know what went on. Vet may tell you to just refill that antibiotic or recommend a course of a different one. Most vets will want to see the dog but since your vet knows about Ginger and has already seen her a few times you may get away with a phone call. Remember there are different antibiotics for different infections. Having worked at the vet you know that one antibiotic is not a cure all for all infections. Don’t you wish it was that easy? I sure do. Do you happen to have The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form at home. If you do I would start adding 1/8 of a teaspoon into each and every meal of hers. The recommended dose says to add more but I find that their recommendation is way to high. I’ve never given the girls anymore than 1/8 tsp. and sometimes just a little sprinkle. I find it works much better than pumpkin, or anything else out in the market. When Katie was at her worst with the food allergies and everything and the constant diarrhea (what a friggin mess…..I feel for you girl having to have cleaned up that mess) I used it all the time. I think through the years with Katie I had tried everything on the market until I came across The Perfect Form.
I’m glad you’ve taken her off canned food. The canned food may simply have too much fat in it for her. Also canned foods generally have guar gum and/or carraggean (sp?) which may be ingredients that she also can’t deal with. I’m glad her poops are better today. I’d keep her off canned foods forever and ever. Like I said, if she does well long term on the Wellness Small Breed Salmon and Potato then I would just keep Ginger on that and forget about rotating foods with her. It’s really not worth it in the case of a dog like Ginger. It’s, no doubt, much too difficult on her gut which I’m sure is in bad shape due to her previous owner or owners and what they fed her.
Even if her poops are better today I’d still get her checked out just to rule infection out but somethings up with all those sudden symptoms coming on at once. Again, please post her progress. Worried about Ginger.
If you don’t already have my email address this is it. [email protected] If you want to email me and send me your address, I have a few extra dog beds around that I haven’t been using. (I’m a bit of a dog bed addict). Dog food addict. All things dog addict. You get the picture. They’re in good condition and since I have small dogs that would be the perfect size for Ginger. : ) They can all go in the washer and dryer.
Changing food is just fine at any age, just go slow since your dog is not used to changing. You might want to order some Perfect From from The Honest Kitchen. It has several good ingredients to help calm the intestines and form up stools.
If you are interested in making his food, either raw or homecooked, then dogaware.com is a great place to get started. Also Dr Karen Becker has a book called “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” that has some great recipes in it. An easy way to do raw is to start with premixes and just add boneless meat. Some good premixes are See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix, Dr Harvey’s Veg to Bowl fine ground, and the Honest Kitchen Preference.
Don’t forget that food sensitivities and yeast infections go hand in hand, so don’t rule that out.
Mercole has a good multistrain probiotic, so does Garden of Life, and if you need an economy option Swanson’s has a couple good ones. It really doesn’t matter if the probiotics are human versus dog, but what does matter is that you use one with as many different strains as you can.
Any food you pick for her, she will probably need at least two weeks or more to transition since she’s only eaten one food for six years. Give probiotics and digestive enzymes with meals. Also adding some fiber (ground psyllium, ground chia seed, pure pumpkin purée, The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form) will help make formed stools.
Martin,
I agree with trying a dehydrated food. The Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucys are two good choices. I don’t think the above recipe is balanced; not sure the consistency of boiled chicken with pumpkin in a blender is something she can eat. There ARE low fat canned foods; look at Weruva.
Purina Moist n Meaty is not a good food, so I would definitely recommend changing her food. The Honest Kitchen makes a dehydrated food that is marketed to be highly digestible when mixed with water, I have not used it but have heard from other people that they have gotten good results. Make sure you slowly transition her to any new food, so that it does not upset her stomach.
I’d love to hear people’s opinions on whether or not to soak dog kibble prior to serving, and if so, for how long to soak ? I just started on the Farmina N&D low-grain (cod/spelt,oats) for the first time, for my 2 adult labs. I didn’t see anything on Farmina’s website or on the bag about soaking prior to serving. I sent an email to them the other day but haven’t heard back yet. I note that in the ingredient list of this kibble, many of the ingredients are ‘dehydrated’ (including the 2nd top ingredient, dehydrated cod) , and in my past experience with any type of dehydrated food (like Honest Kitchen, or freeze-dried green tripe) the instructions were always to soak in water for awhile to ‘re-hydrate’ prior to feeding …. therefore I’m thinking maybe I should be soaking my new Farmina food … ?
Thanks in advance for any advice and feedback on this !
Melissa, I can’t believe you didn’t get snow. I thought NY got bombarded this past week! not a whole lot of snow yet, but very, very cold. My lab loves it, but my cocker not so much. 🙂 I’m feeding them Live Free Salmon now. This morning they got Honest Kitchen. They get all crazy when they get HK LOL. Chuck, my lab, and i just became certified pet therapy team through Pet Partners. They forbid raw feeding, raw bone, etc. I think HK falls under that (or not?), but I’m not sure so he gets it about once or twice a week.
I’ll second/third/fifth what everyone said about keeping up with a rotation. Get one bag of what the breeder fed (hopefully they send you home with some) and once that’s close to gone, start mixing a new food in. With a puppy it’s pretty easy to get them on a rotational diet and be able to switch as often as you want. I switch after every bag, so approximately 3 weeks. Make sure you are switching up protein sources to keep a variety as well. I have a few brands that are always in rotation, and then I try to try something new every 5-6 bags as well
for toppers-since it’s a topper I give them a different one every day. I keep a variety of canned, dehydrated, and commercial raw to throw on top there. The fun thing about that is you can really get a big variety going-I keep a box of honest kitchen, a bag of sojos, and usually some frozen pucks of nature’s variety around. Then I just raid the store for whatever toppers seem fun at the time. I like Simply Nourish, Weruva, Tiki, Fromm, Earthborn-many others as well, but those are the brands most often in the house.
@cdubau, THK Perfect Form is a supplement, I can find it at my local pet boutique/specialty store, it is given in small amounts and here it sells for $1.59/pack. Lasts my 15-ish lb terrier mix about a week when given as directed twice a day. Really works miracles in the guts.
Sells for $1.25 on the website, but I would probably go for the box of 16, just to have handy. Together your dogs will probably go through about 5 teaspoons/day or so, so close to a pack/day. The box of 16 will be enough for 2 weeks, to see how they do.
I try to keep about 2-3 packs at all times for just in case.
This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Naturella.
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