I weighed him today. He has lost 1lb. Should I be worried? He’s been on the food for 15 days.
Since he’s so fluffy, it’s hard to see his body condition. I felt the side of his body and didn’t seem to be different than before.
I just noticed I typed in incorrect info on my first post. 1/2 cups of Preference is 166.5 calories.
The total is still 282.5 calories.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by
GizmoMom.
Just watch what his weight does for a few days, then you should have your answer.
Thanks Patty. He doesn’t seem to mind the amount of food he’s getting. It actually looks like it has more volume than his other food.
I have read that you can double the meat with Preference. Feed according to the number of calories you know your dog needs, just keep in mind that Preference may be more digestable so that your dog may end up needing less.
Just wanted to add that I will be rotating proteins in the future. I am monitoring him to see if this helps with his allergies.
I just switched my dog over to THK Preference mixed with cooked ground bison. He’s a 15 lbs. Shih Tzu mix. I am not sure if I am feeding him enough. He sure loves his new food though.
I am feeding him according to the guideline on the box, which is 1/2 cup dry Preference mixed with 3/4 cup water, and 1/2 cup meat (ground bison). I split the mixture and feed him twice a day. Based on nutrition data for cooked ground bison, 1/2 cup is about 116 calories. Mixed with 1/2 cup of Preference, which is 116.5 calories. The total is only 282.5 calories. Based on dog food calculators on this site, he should be getting 464 calories per day. When I used to feed him kibbles or premade raw, I used to give him close to 450 calories per day.
Should I add more ground bison to his food? I’m worried if I would make the food unbalanced. Or should I keep the same proportion of the ground bison and Preference and just feed him more food per day?
Thanks Patty, I just started yesterday giving them The Honest Kitchen Pro Bloom Instant Goat’s Milk (following directions on box), does this have enough digestive enzymes or do you recommend adding something else. You had mentioned that you started using something when your pup started to eat grass, is that something that I should also consider. I want to do the very best I can for these babies to keep them healthy. I’ve been thinking about adding a kibble to their diet because feeding them 3X a day is getting expensive and we are going thru a lot of canned food. Any suggestions on what to add? Does the type of food that I feed, in your opinion, have anything to do with the “pink” coloring on the hair under their eyes. I give them only filtered water.
Here is a link on THK website, which can help you estimate how long a box will last you depending on your dog’s size:
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/resources-and-programs/feeding-tips#dogfood
AT
I am wondering how “The Honest Kitchen” food compares to a normal kibble in terms of quantity? At $10 per lb for a 10 lb box, this sounds pretty expensive, compared to Natures Variety at $2.33 per lb for 27 lb bag.
Does one cup of THK go farther than one cup of NV?
Thoughts? While I would like my dog to have the best, we do have a budget to work with.
You can try kibble, yogurt, a dehydrated food like The Honest Kitchen or other and layer them in the kong and freeze. But these won’t last all day once they start thawing.
Thank you Patty, for your advice. Can I ask – what is it about the canned that has you worried? Is it just that it is a more perishable product? Would your concerns apply to a dehydrated product like The Honest Kitchen as well? I was really impressed with the glowing report DFA gave THK, and the Love formula is on HDM’s list.
Thinking about ordering smaller (4/5 lb.) “trial” bags of:
Wellness Core puppy
Annamaet Aqualuk
Earthborn Meadow Feast
The Honest Kitchen Love
Is it ok to begin rotation with these smaller bags (even though there might be only 2 weeks worth of product in each)? Or once the first small bag is accepted and used up, should I purchase another smaller bag of the same product to extend the first rotation a bit longer?
Thanks again,
AT
Hi ScottsMomma! Thanks for rescuing a dog, he will be thanking you to! Seeing as you mentioned raw I would say that would be a great way to go! Raw should really help with any allergies and you can really customize the meal plan, anything that doesnt seem to sit well with him, you can simply move on to another protein. My shih tzu loves raw, its amazing how he took to it, and I am sure your terrier will love it too. While you are researching how to balance, Hound Dog Mom is the best for explaining that!, you can start with a pre-made raw or do a pre-mix in which you add your own meat to it. There is a great section for pre-made raw dog food here to help you choose the best, but I think a lot of people use Primal and Stella & Chewys I would to if I could get it! I have used Nature`s Variety and think its ok, Dawson loves it and he does well on it, but I like making my own then you know exactly what you put into it. But when I get busy I still use it.
For pre-mixes I know of a few, Urban Wolf, Honest Kitchen The Preference, Grandma Lucys makes one, Sojos I believe makes one, and one I think its called Steves Real Food, or something like that. I havent used them as Dawson doesnt really do so well on high potatoes, and urban wolf is the only one I can find here.
Check out the raw dog food forum, lots and lots of great help and questions that have already been answered. Here is a link /forums/forum/raw-dog-food-forum/
Oh and for the skin and dandruff, You can use coconut oil and a fish oil, I like to use krill oil, Here is an article from the whole dog journal on dosage:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_9/features/Fish-Oil-Supplements-For-Dogs_20600-1.html
But now I five Dawson sardines instead of the krill oil, its cheaper and a whole food source he loves sardines!
And then coconut oil is half a teaspoon per ten pounds. I give Dawson his sardine requirements once weekly, so thursday, and then coconut oil every day, but you can do it however works best. I believe some people do every other day.
I hope this helps some! It is overwhelming when you first start, but its so much better for your dog than any kibble or canned food. I know more people with more knowledge than me will chime in!
Canned food and The Honest Kitchen dehydrated.
Bless your heart!
I just had to say the irony of posting in the Anal Glad Problems section of the forum, using the name scooter, made me smile this morning!
Truly, I mean no offense. : )
If your little guy were mine, I’d probably switch him to a grain free food with some protein other than chicken. It looks as though the Simply Nourish you’re feeding has a maximum fiber of 5% and the Science Diet may have had around 3%. I was looking at Hill’s® Science Diet® Adult Small Bites Dog Food for a general comparison.
Have you seen any improvement since switching to the Simply Nourish at all?
My Golden was recently having a bit of an anal gland issue and I added some of The Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form to his food and that seemed to help quite a bit. You can also try some ground organic chia seed or even a bit of Metamucil to see if it helps. It could definitely be a food intolerance issue, and for that reason, I’d definitely switch the food to see if that makes a difference before any further manual expression (which is undesirable) is needed. Oh, and I’d stop the yogurt to see if that might help also.
Hi all,
I’ve been looking for cheaper ways to feed raw for awhile now. I just found a co-op that I can buy from. I don’t have extra freezers for cases of product so I was looking at a grind/mix that they have called Performance Dog (link: http://tarrahlabs.com/tt/pd.html). I would like the thoughts/opinions of experienced raw feeders. Does this look like a good product? Is it complete and balanced? I like to feed half Honest Kitchen. Would this be ok to mix with it?
Ingredients: Beef, Tripe, Trachea, Finely Ground Bone, Salt, Egg & Trace Minerals
Meeting AAFCO Specifications for Maintenance & Reproduction
Guaranteed Analysis • No Preservatives
Protein 14%
Fat 10%
Fiber 0.85%
Calcium 0.13%
Phosphorus 0.14%
Ash 1.30%
They also add a vitamin/mineral mix.
Ingredients: calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, copper sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, ferrous sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, riboflavin, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, folic acid, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, d-biotin, vitamin D-3 supplement, cobalt sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, sodium selenite and mineral oil.
Thanks,
Caroline
We tried the Honest Kitchen catfish chews. My dogs love them but I had to throw out the box after trying to give my dogs these treats twice. My dogs like to swallow them whole (when they get them down to a smaller size). I tried to pull it from my dogs throat when she acted like she was choking. I could feel it at the top of her throat but couldn’t get it. Now I get to watch them and worry for the next day or so hoping it doesn’t cause any problems. Too bad because they did love them. Oh and no one ever mentions the smell. They really do smell horrible!!
I too have had dogs diagnosed with various cancers; one with hemagio sarcoma who died at 10 1/2; another with brain lesions who passed at 8 and 81/2; and another with mast cell and leukemia who passed at 14. They were all fed kibble all their lives; Eukanuba and California Natural. I now feed Bravo raw and Honest Kitchen. I believe it is not only the food but all the chemicals dogs come into contact daily, i.e., cleaning solutions we use in our homes, fertilizers in our gardens, flea treatments, etc.
Hi,
Sorry about your pup. I would say that TOTW and BB are way too high in protein for your dog’s issues, and chicken soup is a not so good food. I think you should get something a lot more simple like raw, or dehydrated raw like Honest kitchen keen, verve or force that is gluten free, it’s high quality and a lot lower in protein and adds moisture as well. and try adding canned pumpkin in there too and maybe an all natural pro/prebiotic like Honest kitchen perfect form or prozymes to help aid digestion. Or a limited ingredient diet like Natural balance that is around 21% protein. good luck!
-Ana Sandy
pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts
The Honest Kitchen and Weruva are the only 2 dog food manufacturers that I know of that are made in human food kitchens and are required to throw out anything that touches a surface that is not a food handling surface. Both MPC and Hare Today make grinds that include tripe and/or whole animals, neither of which would be considered to be clean by any human standard. Dogs eat things off the floor all the time and mine even lie down and lick the floor, so I certainly am satisfied that my dogs can handle it. I do not expect their meat to be germ free. As for whether or not they ever drop anything or throw anything that was dropped back in, I can’t say, but it is possible. It doesn’t worry me in the least.
Hi Molzy,
Notice any changes with switching to a harness? May still be a little early — I hope it is helpful for Quincy. I don’t even have Casey wear a collar for his tags — they are all on his harness. The food I fed to him never irritated him, just the treats. Quincy seems to have more damage to either the trachea or esophagus (or whatever causes these unfortunate spasms). I fed him grain free kibble (alternated between Orijen, Taste of the Wild, etc) mixed with Kirkland’s premium wet. However, Casey has recently developed a series of other health concerns so I am transitioning him now to commercial raw. I am hoping to learn enough to go the homemade route but for now, that’s what I’ve been feeding. Honest Kitchen certainly seems like a very good food choice for Quincy especially considering you can make it pretty soupy if nec.
I have not found a single person whose vet was able to diagnose this condition. Casey’s first attack was at 4 months and I ran over to the vet thinking he had something stuck in his throat. She insisted (even though my gut was telling me she was wrong and I told her as much) that frantic grass eating was nausea and he likely had something stuck in his stomach, even though it couldn’t be seen in an xray. $1,100 and an overnight stay for nothing. A few days later, I was walking him and my neighbor said, “I think that collar is bothering him” and I realized that may be the cause.
I don’t have any other real hints except during vet appts., remind your vet and techs that he has some kind of real sensitivity around his trachea. Casey is feisty and they would restrain him around the head (as well as other areas), which is pretty common. One visit he was gulping for a month afterwards. Now I tell them not to hold him there.
Anyway, keep me posted with how he is doing!
Thanks for the quick reply, Patty! Yes, he’s always gotten The Honest Kitchen. He has had duck canned food, the S&C Duck Duck Goose (frozen and freeze-dried), and the Primal Duck Formula nuggets but this is the first pure duck grind he has gotten. Do you think I should mix the duck with something less fatty like turkey? Most recently he has had the beef and turkey grinds from Primal and the chicken grind from Bravo. He had the S&C DDG freeze dried sporadically in the last month.
Has he always got the Honest Kitchen? Has he had duck before? Duck is a naturally oily meat and some dogs get soft stools just from that. If all of it is something he is used to then he shouldn’t need a transition to go from Primal to MPC at all. Different Primal formulas have different fat levels, so I wouldn’t expect that to be an issue, other than if he isn’t used to duck.
Hi all! I have been feeding Primal grinds mixed with Honest Kitchen for a couple months now. I recently placed and received my first order from My Pet Carnivore. Max has been eating MPC with Honest Kitchen for exactly one week now. He’s had the ground duck, ground lamb supreme mix, and the beef tripe supermix. He has loved it all but his stool is a little soft now. I was wondering if he is just adjusting? I didn’t do a slow transition. He was eating Bravo Chicken & Bone (I ran out of Primal and this is what I could get locally) and the next day I started him on the ground duck from MPC. I can clearly see the difference between the commercial grinds (Primal/Bravo) and MPC. The MPC is so FRESH and REAL in comparison! I don’t think I will be going back unless I’m in a pinch.
So I guess my question is: do you think the soft stool is just from switching from the commercial grinds to MPC? Should I just wait to see if his stool firms up again? He gets 1-2 tsp of kefir and nature’s logic all food fortifier daily.
Hi,
I continue to question Jasmine’s diet. I have ordered Evangers canned vegetarian to add to a dry food which I thought would be Canine Cavier. She did well on C.C. for 3 days but her stools are soft today and she is straining to go – my husband calls it dancing – althought it isn’t funny at all. I thought I should now mix it with the R.C. Gastro. I am now officially going crazy, this is going on a few months and I also am going in circles.
Maybe the Veg Evangers will firm up her soft stoold.
I was wonderiing if Dave spoke to his holistic friend, please let me know at [email protected] as I have had trouble getting in the discuss groups and logging in.
I thought I should take her to a holistic vet in Mass if this doesn’t improve. Remember she is on a low dose of metrodonizole. Is that just maybe needed and no diet may help this completely and a condition low dose metro.is needed.
Thanks all. Karen
Please helpif you have any suggestions. There are some great ones above – maybe honest kitchen or a low fat option would be best.
Thanks,
Karen
I don’t know if this helps but my Petsmart carries Zuke’s, Fruitables, Wet Noses, Newman’s Own, Wellness treats, Castor & Pollux, and their brand Simply Nourish. These are all treats I have used at various times with success. Some have grain frees available, as well as chews, soft and biscuits. Petco carries Wellness, Zuke’s, Fruitables, some Wet Noses, Instinct biscuits and freeze dried, Nutrisca freeze dried. These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, they may carry more good ones than I’ve listed. I’ve actually cut out most treats and just use kibble for treats primarily. When I do give a treat….if it’s a biscuit they get Wellness grain free lamb or Fruitables biscuits. I like Wet Noses, too. If it’s a soft treat I use Pure Meat or Wellness Pure Rewards or Fruitables. I use to use Zuke’s quite a lot, but for some reason went over to Fruitables more. For chews they mostly get The Honest Kitchen Beams (dried fish skins).
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
Mom2Cavs.
Hello,
My name is Ana I am the owner of a small pet nutrition consulting business called Pupcat Nutrition Consulting I am a pet nutrition expert/advisor. Dogs with pancreatitis have very fragile immune systems, avoid high protein and high fat diets, feed small frequent meals through out the day, and less or no processed diets and avoid dry foods and rotation. The next thing PLEASE STOP feeding science diet it’s killing your dog! Here are some suggestions: lean meats,(bison,chicken,turkey) low fat treats, try senior formulas they have less fat and less protein. Here are some awesome brands that will transform your pup forever!! ok , your best bet would be dehydrated raw, I recommend Honest kitchen preference or all except thrive mix with canned for extra moisture and flavor try senior formula canned like merrick , and natural balance(try to stick with 4% fat or less) avoid grocery store pet foods. and it would be beneficial to add a probiotic/prebiotic to aid digestion, like PROZYMES is a really good one I like. and remember there is a transition period when switching foods (7-10 days) for more info on honest kitchen go to thehonestkitchen.com and for more real nutrition facts follow me on twitter @pupcatfacts and on facebook or at pupcatnutrition.com
good luck!!
-Ana
I have bought and used The Honest Kitchen Pro Bloom Goat’s Milk for Dogs & Cats for a picky eater who recently went through some digestive issues. It seems like a great product that should be gentle and beneficial to your dog.
“Pro Bloom is a shelf-stable instant goat’s milk with digestive enzymes & probiotics. Pro Bloom is The Honest Kitchen’s very own formulation of natural goat’s milk plus probiotics and digestive enzymes, designed to nourish and nurture cats and dogs. It’s ideal for growing puppies and general immune support at the gut level. Simply mix one packet with one cup of warm water. Serve alone as a nourishing drink, pour on kibble for added moisture, or use to hydrate Honest Kitchen food. Pro Bloom is human-grade and made in the USA from pasture-raised, free-ranging goat’s milk in the Pacific Northwest. It’s naturally free of pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones and antibiotics. Ingredients: Dehydrated goat’s milk, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, dried candida rugosa fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation product, dried pineapple fermentation product; dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus brevis fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried streptococcus thermophiles fermentation product”
There are multiple servings in each packet depending on the weight of your animal [can be used for kittens, puppies, cats and dogs]. Only a dog 71lbs+ would get the whole cup of reconstituted milk that each packet can make in a serving.
It reconstitutes nicely, although I just used it to rehydrate some freeze-dried food.
As long as your dog can handle dairy, this is convenient product to have on hand to encourage good gut health and hydration.
You may also want to try kefir instead of yogurt. It has more probiotics. You can mix it with the canned pumpkin and try freezing it for for treats.
[I used to make my own yogurt at home, easy-peasy, with dried milk powder, yogurt and kefir. I would be interested in trying to similarly make a “dog yogurt” with the Pro Bloom product. I don’t know if it would work, but it would be a nice treat.]
I’m not a vet or professional, but it sounds like IBD or something like that to me. If it were my dog I would find a good limited ingredient diet with a protein other than chicken or even other than any poultry. I would give the dog a good probiotic/enzyme supplement along with the diet. This site has a list of hypoallergenic foods. I’d look for the one with the lowest to most moderate fat percentage. Also, canned foods are good or even freeze dried (like The Honest Kitchen) if you want to go that route….or to add to the kibble. There are also other people on this site with way more knowledge than me that I’m sure will respond soon to help you, so please keep checking back.
Right now I am feeding my dogs that have IBS Victor grain free which contains montmorillonite clay. I use a small amount of frozen raw beef nugget topper. To that I add the supplement Gastriplex by Thorne that includes slippery elm and L-Glutamine in its ingredients. So far, it’s the best they have done as far as their poops go. I have also used The Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form and Vetri Science’s Vetri-Probiotic BD supplements with success. I never thought my world would revolve around my pup’s poop, but sadly it does. lol!
I’m sure there are good treats locally but IMO, not still pet smart. I have better luck still pet co. What about feed stores or boutique pet stores? Look for treats made by the Honest Kitchen, SoJos, if you happen to be in New England, Casey Jones Bones.
I’m not sure if you are feeding grains or not. I’ve fed my big guy Annamaet and Earthborn Holistic with great success. My grain-free picks from the list would be: Annamaet Aqualuk (fish), Earthborn Meadow Feast (lamb) or Earthborn Coastal Catch (fish). Canine Caviar Wilderness (venison) or Open Sky (Duck) look good too- never personally fed this brand but I like the looks of it. My grain-inclusive picks would be: Annamaet Option (salmon and venison) and Victor Select Lamb Meal & Brown Rice. I’ve never heard of Pet Pantry dog food so I googled it. It looks like a pretty good food. I think the Buffalo and Duck would be worth a try. I’m currently feeding The Honest Kitchen and raw to my Dane and he is loving it. The Honest Kitchen Love is beef (though it’s pricey). Let us know what you end up with and how it goes. 🙂
Wag.com has a great offer for new customers right now, 25% off your first food purchase! Plus a lot of their foods are on sale right now, I just got a 10 lb box of Honest Kitchen Keen (normally $60) for $38! I ordered from them a few weeks ago and got the box within two days, free shipping! So I ordered again today, under my boyfriends name and address to stock up.
I also love Amazon, I’ve ordered Honest Kitchen, Merrick dry food, and Chicken Soup canned dog food from Amazon, and all were great prices and arrived undamaged and fast (I have amazon prime, so free two day shipping!).
Jessie,
My 2-year-old Havanese has surgery to repair an extrahepatic liver shunt last May. He is completely asymptomatic at this time and and his most recent BAT was slightly elevated after feeding, but both my regular vet and the surgeon said his BAT may never be completely normal, but as long as he is asymptomatic I shouldn’t worry. The surgeon said he can go back to as regular diet as there is no evidence a low protein diet is beneficial postsurgically. Our regular vet said he might do okay on a regular diet, but staying on the low protein diet certainly wil not hurt him.
What food did you end up going with? I’m considering Honest Kitchen’s Keen or preference (with my own added protein). I’m also considering alternating between the two.
Laurie
I made a vet appt for this coming wed – will have a fecal sent out. Also, I started Perfect Form last night. He ate it right up – no issue with taste. So far, he has had 3 stools – all 3 softer/runnier than normal. But he has only had 2 doses, so it’s prob too soon to tell. As far as pumpkin, I’ll stop that today.
I like everything I’ve read about Honest Kitchen products and would be willing to try. Also have been reading about Primal, Darwin and NV frozen and freeze-dried raw. My biggest fear is that things could get worse at a critical time in his development. I’d also have to face both my vet and breeder – who aren’t really in favor of my direction so far (in terms of going to a kibble rotation diet and also for heading toward raw down the road). But I’ll keep reading and taking baby steps. Another reason why I’m so thankful for this forum.
The NVI Rabbit uses chicken fat as a preservative and it’s 4th on the ingredient list. So NVI Rabbit is not 100% chicken-free, but it’s fat instead of meat. I don’t know if that changes anything. In other words, can I still rule out “chicken intolerance” – or could that small amount of chicken fat still cause a chicken intolerance? I really hope his system just needs more time to heal, as Pattyvaughn sugggested. It’s just that I’ve never had a dog who didn’t have worms or diarrrhea at some point – and it has always been remedied quickly. So I keep worrying that it’s something more serious.
I’ve read on threads where people go back to grain-inclusive and the stools get better. Why is that? I thought grains were not good for a dog. The reason I went grain-free is because I thought it would be healthier and the food would be less likely to trigger an allergy.
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
kms.
Interesting. I don’t think he’s sensitive to chicken then since he hasn’t improved on the rabbit food. That sounds like our rottie right now. He’s still recovering from a nasty reaction to his last chemo treatment. The drug did not agree with him at all. I think it killed off everything in his gut. We’ve been feeding him 3x a day with probiotics and enzymes in every meal. We had him on Nutrisource Weight Management for the high fiber (12%) which helps his diarrhea. Now he’s got mostly solid poop with the runny stuff at the end because we switched him to the Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (2.5% fiber) with no transition time. He just decided he didn’t want to eat the Nutrisource anymore. I was thinking that fiber might be the issue with your guy but that doesn’t make sense either. You tried 2 higher fiber foods: Orijen at 6% and NVI at 7%. I’m kinda stumped. Hopefully the Perfect Form will start helping. After you run out of NVI you could try NV Prairie LBP to see if he does any better with grains. I also wonder if he might do better on a dehydrated food like Honest Kitchen. It might be easier on his digestive system than kibble. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Those are just some thoughts I had. It sounds like all you can do is trial and error right now until you can definitively rule out parasites again.
I feed the Force, Embark, Love, and Zeal on a rotating basis. They get Honest Kitchen in the AM and Bravo raw in the PM. I also give them beef knuckle bones, duck feet, bullysticks and trachea for their chewing pleasure. All of which come from Bravo. I too have a 3 yr old Britt, but I have to watch his weight because he has a tendency to gain weight.
First off, thanks for adopting a senior dog! She is one lucky girl! Sorry to hear you’re having troubles.
I have been struggling with a similar issue with a dog we adopted in July, Quincy, a year-old cattle dog. While Quincy isn’t officially diagnosed, it is the best answer I’ve come up with for his symptoms (my vet is not concerned because he has never lost his appetite or shown other negative effects…he just swallows/gulps obsessively during an “attack”). His attacks will last multiple days once started, and seem to get worse due to a build up of gas from swallowing air (he will get bad gas and the belches after a day or so).
Patty, we tried Braggs and we were still having issues. Quincy gets 1 cup of Honest Kitchen mixed with almost two cups of water. I was adding a little over a tablespoon, was I adding too much? We did this almost every day for over a month.
We are now trying Pepcid (but I don’t want this to be a long term solution – I just needed a week or two to calm down and stop feeling defeated by this thing!). No major attacks, a little swallowing here and there. I don’t think it’s the miracle I was hoping for, so I will probably wean him off after he’s been on it for a week (he is 40lbs and gets half a tablet, 30 minutes before each meal).
He is definitely better since switching him to a wet food, on kibble he will have MAJOR attacks where he gulps until vomiting. The severity and frequency has decreased since August when we switched him to canned food. We also add a probiotic/enzyme to his food, but if anyone has a recommendation for a specific brand I would appreciate it!
I’ve read that smaller meals spaced out is best. I have hesitated to try this only because I don’t know if my job will always allow me to come home at work, but I will probably start trying that next week, since right now I work 5 minutes from home.
Good luck, it is very hard to watch them when they aren’t feeling good!
My doggie LOVES “salmon pops” that I make with a can of Wellness 95% salmon mixed with a can of organic pumpkin. It’s a pretty easy consistency for spooning into ice cube trays and they pop out smoothly for rebagging after a minute on the counter. I give her one or two a most days for the benefits to both skin & coat and digestion. She dances all the way from the kitchen to her special mat that she has to eat them on because a] they smell pretty bad on the fingers [so don’t want it on my carpet] and b] because they could be messy [if they lasted long enough to thaw]. I honestly don’t know how she doesn’t get a brain freeze from holding and chewing a whole cube down to nothing in less than a minute. They get an amazing response from my generally picky eater. It would probably be pretty easy to hide supplements or liquid meds in them as well. I think they may even help her teeth a bit since she chomps and gnaws with her back teeth more than she licks at them.
I have also thrown a few to the neighborhood cats who are starting to look a bit skinny this autumn. They definitely lick at it, but it is usually gone within a few minutes.
Hi guys,
So I tried soaking one of my dog’s kibble last night. He is currently on Halo Wholesome Lamb (which I got for $35 a bag on clearance, not expired or ripped!). I let the kibble soak for more than 5 minutes (while the other dog’s Honest Kitchen soaked), and it didn’t seem to *do* anything – I finally drained the water off and fed it to him.
Did I do something wrong? Does it need to sit for longer? Or should I not soak kibble? I would have him on Honest Kitchen as well, but right now we just can’t afford it, so he gets a high quality kibble rotation instead. If I could figure out a way to soak the kibble, I might also be able to add some of it to the Honest Kitchen to bring down the costs of that a little.
Thanks,
Molly
What do you mean by not tolerating the glucosamine? Is it not working? Does it make her ill? I have a Great Dane so I really have to support his joints. I have never used glucosamine by itself. I’ve always used it in a combination formula with MSM, chondroitin, and ASU. I’ve just recently started adding in herbs as he has arthritis now that he’s an old man.
Some herbal formulas for dogs that I know of are Dr. Harvey’s Ortho-Flex Joint Ease, Herbsmith’s Soothes Joints, and The Honest Kitchen’s Lithe Tea.
For more info on using herbs for joint care see this article: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/herbs-for-canine-joint-care/
Other things that help joints are cetyl myristoleate, hyaluronic acid, perna mussel (green-lipped mussel) powder, and eggshell membrane.
What I have learned in my search to find what works for my dog is that every dog is different. I have tried products because people tell me how great they are and how they worked for so and so; however, they didn’t work for my dog. It is all trial and error. You have to try everything. Try something and give it a couple weeks to see if there is any notable difference. If it doesn’t work, scratch it off the list and move on to the next thing. I wish you luck in finding what helps your pup. I hope I was at least a little helpful. 🙂
kms-
Here is an article on GI issues: http://www.holvet.net/slippery_soup.html
It has info on slippery elm bark and how you use it.
The Honest Kitchen makes a supplement to help with digestion and intestinal health that has slippery elm in it called Perfect Form.
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/supplements/perfect-form
I hope this helps. 🙂
-Caroline
You can find a similar food to Life’s Abundance for less $$ like Nutrisource grain inclusive line small/med breed puppy formula (yes, for your 8 yr old). If you’re willing to feed something better than kibble though, look into some dehydrated/freeze-dried foods like The Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy’s or Dr Harvey’s Oracle. These are less processed than kibble. If you can home cook for your dog, then those brands I just mentioned have a Pre-mix where you just add your own meat and some oil. I give my dogs probiotics, sardine/krill oil, super greens powder supplement, colostrum, Springtime’s Bug-Off/Longevity and some joint supplements. Mine also get fresh food like raw meat, scrambled eggs and raw sardines and leftovers of meat/some veggies.
Bentley-
So glad your pup is doing better! In my opinion, it sounds like he is at the perfect weight. You want him to be on the lean side. Especially with his breed being prone to joint problems, it is better to keep him lean so he never has excess weight on his joints. As long as he is in good body condition, which it sounds like he is, then his nutritional needs are being met just fine. If he was so skinny that his ribs were showing and he looked malnourished, then I would worry.
I have a 7.5 year old Great Dane that was recently diagnosed with arthritis. I made a switch to Honest Kitchen (dehydrated food) and raw. He has lost a significant amount of weight (somewhere between 8-10 lbs) and I can just barely see the outline of his ribs. My vet told me that he was perfect and having the excess weight off would help his joints.
I think the worst thing you can do for large dogs is let them get overweight, even if it’s a little bit. Though, to me, it sounds like your boy is perfect. I would keep doing what you’re doing. I hope his problem stays cleared up. 🙂
For newbies at homemade, I would suggest the recipes at http://www.homemadedogfood.com (recipe with Dinovite and oil supplement and serving size suggestions) or get a recipe book. Your dog really needs more nutrition than meat and veggies. One recipe book I use is “Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr Karen Becker/Beth Taylor. This gives cooked and raw recipes with a vitamin mix recipe. Another option is to use a Premix like Grandma Lucy’s or The Honest Kitchen, Urban Wolf, or See Spot Live Longer dinner mixes. You add meat and oil and the premix has all the vitamins/minerals added. I make raw food and use CarnivoreRaw in my rotation.
http://dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html
Look into Wellness Core Ocean, Horizon Legacy Fish, Horizon Pulsar Fish, The Honest Kitchen Zeal, Smack Pet Food Salmon, Nature’s Logic Sardine, Nutrisca Salmon, LiveFree salmon, Holistic Select Sardine, Nature’s Logic canned sardine, Nutrisca canned salmon, Hound & Gatoes canned Trout or Salmon, Great Life Grain Free Salmon. You can also use canned/pouched sardines packed in water/no salt added for human consumption, and even raw sardines or mackerel. The Honest Kitchen Zeal is low fat and has a moderate amount of fiber and you can make just a spoonful if you wanted and it tends to generate a formed stool. I’ve used it before. For other novel proteins besides fish foods, there is also Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance in goat and rabbit.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by
pugmomsandy.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by pugmomsandy.
I will suggest – you should try to do a “price per day” comparison rather than per pound. I have found that certain brands differ a lot on how much you have to feed to maintain weight. Also, most dogs I have owned I have had to feed less than the recommended amount (not so anymore with two 1.5 year old cattledog mixes, who I have trouble keeping weight ON). A 30lb bag isn’t necessarily comparable to another 30lb bag in how long they will last your dog(s). That being said, of course, it will probably still be more expensive to feed the expensive food. I really like the idea of mixing a mid-level food with a more expensive one (or rotating) to keep things affordable. I might actually have to try that with some of the Honest Kitchen mixes I am starting to try.
Another suggestion – right now, Wag.com has 25% off your first order for new customers, with up to $20 off!! I plan on purchasing something tonight, and probably making my boyfriend and mom both order some for me as well (it says 1 per household). Also, I have been looking at the Petango store, which has an awesome 15% off recurring orders. You can choose how often they ship something to you, so I am considering eventually having things spaced a few months apart, to get a rotation going (shipped to my door too!). I live in a smallish town, where the only dog food available is grocery store/walmart brands (the local farm and fleet does carry Taste of the Wild if I am ever in a pinch), so online shopping is very convenient for me.
Other suggestions – for Minnesota/Colorado, Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet has quarterly sales (usually something like $15 off a $75 purchase) as well as quarterly newsletters with a TON of coupons. I highly recommend their stores! For those in Iowa, Theisens (a farm store, but with high quality food including frozen raw) has a twice-yearly 18% off anything you can fit in a bag sale. We have successfully fit 35# bags of Nutrisource/PureVita/Merrick in their brown bag for the discount before. Also, a LOT of brands have “Buy X number of bags, get the Xth bag free” programs at participating stores. Honest Kitchen just started one actually (buy 12 get one free), I just picked up an envelope last week.
Good luck!
I can only tell you that I am as careful with my dogs treats as I am with their food.
For the most part, they only get The Honest Kitchen treats & chews.
Thanks Marie. I plan on adding bravo raw at some point, but I’m *trying* to get his issues somewhat under control before I switch everything on him! I’m also interested in trying the other Honest Kitchen foods, but again, I’d like to find a base I can work off of first that I can revert to if he gets sick again. But I will keep the low protein in mind, thanks!
