[Kristen L]

I agree to first get medical check. If all is well, try the honest kitchen. It’s dehydrated base mix. You just wet it and you get all your minerals and vitamins that they need, then add your own protein. You don’t have to worry about missing anything. And they have provide the feeding guidelines.

[C C]

So sorry Ann C that you too are experiencing a sick dog from food that came from the Kentucky plant where both Acana and Origen are now manufactured. I really believe being rancid from their production process is the main issue, for whatever reason and whatever that’s worth. The best we can hope for is that if enough people speak up, changes will be made for the positive for our precious pets. Our new puppy can never replace the loss of our Katie, but we are happy to say that she is thriving on a combination of grain free Merrick Turkey and Honest Kitchen chicken, which is human grade food, and selected from a ton of research…and prayer. Blessings to all.

[David H]

Dogfoodadvisor lables Honest Kitchen a ‘superior dog food’ however, does not include the brand in its Editor’s Choice while including many products listed as only ‘above average.’ Is there a particular reason a food noted superior was left out of Editor’s Choice?

[Khaleesi96]

Hello all,
This is my first time posting on these forums after I found this awesome website. Kudos to the creators and awesome people I see helping everyone out 🙂 I was hoping I could get some advice/opinions on my own dogs situation.
Lindsay is a 14 year old Chihuahua, and we’ve had her since I was a little girl. In all this time she’s never had any real health issues, so about a month ago when my mom found her having a seizure in our hall way after eating, we we’re extremely scared and rushed her to the vet immediately. Our vet was awesome and took Lindsay right in to get some blood work going and to do all the normal work up stuff. She came back and told us Lindsay had perfectly normal blood work, blood sugar was in normal range, and even ran a Valley Fever test just to be safe (which came back negative as well). With all this done and Lindsay acting her normal self, we took her home and chalked it up to a freak event.
However, two weeks later, the same thing happened. But we saw some interesting things for about 20 minutes before she had the seizure itself. The best I can describe it is she was twitching or jumping as if something had scared her. At first I thought it was hiccups even. The only thing I can really connect these two events is that she ate right before. We’ve fed her the same food forever, the Honest Kitchens Force rehydrated food. Since these two seizures we’ve seen her do these twitches and jumps again after eating but if I take her and pet her she curls right up to me and naps (as always), no seizures following. Also, we’ve been trying since the last seizure to feed her a little more frequently than before but in slightly smaller amounts (so instead of feeding her at 3, I feed her at 1, then again at 5 instead of 8, and so forth). She hasn’t had one since but as I mentioned she does jump or twitch still. Any ideas?
Thank you all.

[Susan]

Hi I don’t know why your vet only put your poor dog on the Metronidazole antibiotic for 7 days?? they need to be on the Metronidazole for a good 21-28 days especially for S.I.B.O Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth.
My boy Patch is also a rescue he just turned 8yrs old, he has IBD, Helicobacter pylori, nausea, vomiting sometimes, acid reflux, seasonal environment skin allergies, red itchy paws, itchy ears, food sensitivities, eating grass, yellow sloppy poos that smell bad, pain in stomach/pancreas area….. the best thing I did was have an Endoscope + biopsies done (camera down throat to stomach) sometimes they can go into the small bowel as well & do a biopsies but only if their pyloric sphincter is open, Patches wasn’t open but the 2 Biopsies told us what was wrong finally Helicobacter Pylori & IBD, when the vet looked into Patches stomach everything looked excellent, so you need to do the biopsies…
Patch starts reacting after eating the same kibble for 2-3 months, sloppy yellow poos, gets his pain, it can take from 1 day to 6 weeks to show food sensitivities, after trying so many kibbles, the only kibble that he hasn’t reacted too after being on it for 8 months is “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb. I don’t know if is cause TOTW uses Purified Water, or all the ingredients he isn’t sensitive to any of them & TOTW don’t change their suppliers?? some kibble companies buy their potatoes from whoever, that’s been a problem in the past for Patch, he was eating Earthborn Holistic, Ocean Fusion he was doing really well while on the small 2.5kg bags, so I bought the 13kg bag it’s cheaper, it was a new batch number & different use by date then Patch was farting doing sloppy smelly poos again, so I emailed earthborn told them what has happened & the lady said we use, rustic, white, red, brown potatoes whatever we can get & I think when the potatoes are green & rotten batches Patch gets his sloppy poos & bad gas problems …
Taste of the Wild has been the only kibble a few dogs with IBD, EPI, S.B.I.O & IBS don’t react too after eating it for a while…
Your best to feed a cooked balanced diet, instead of any processed kibbles, you know what they’re eating, join groups on Face Book like “Rodney Habib” “Canine Nutrition & Natural Health” run by Cat Lane, “K-9 Kitchen” run by Monica Segal, you can also book an appointment with Monica or Cat Lane or another dog nutritionist, they may be cheaper there’s also Judy Morgan DV, she also has the supplements to balance the meals & Judy has cooking videos on You Tube that are so easy to follow & she adds the Honest Kitchen Base meals & you just cooked & add the meat & veggies but I think the Honest Kitchen is dehydrated & Patch can’t seem to handle dehydrated kibbles foods…
I live Australia & I contacted Jacqueline Rudan to put Patch on a raw diet about 2 yrs ago, Jacqueline said I need to heal his stomach & bowel & balance his gut flora his pH is probably tooo high…so I give him some of my Yakult, it’s a pink probiotic drink sold in supermarkets, there’s also Kefir but start real slow when introducing any probiotics, some probiotics made Patch very nausea, Jacqueline wanted me to keep giving Patch the probiotic capsules but they made Patch ill so I stopped & now I give the Yakult drink & he does good I don’t give him much maybe 3 spoons in a bowl..
Cause they are rescue dogs we don’t know what has happen when they were pups & growing up, did they drink dirty contaminated water? were they starved & not feed proper diets, what 1 vet thinks has happened with Patch & when he came to me & I started to feed him a healthy cooked diet he couldn’t handle eating good healthy foods, I’ve had him 4 yrs now & finally in small amounts, I can give him anything to eat as long as I’ve introduced that food to him & it’s not high in fat, where before he’d wake up 2am 3am or 4am with his bowel making loud rumbling noises, it was gas/wind going thru his bowel, 1 vet said Colitis, Food Sensitivities, so I started an elimination cooked diet & worked out what he cant eat, also feed foods that are high in Omega 3 fatty acids, the omega 3 helps their skin, coat, stomach, bowel, heart, joints & brain, Patch doesn’t do well eating a kibble with fish or salmon oils, he gets acid reflux, so I feed other foods high in Omega 3 like raw almonds, 3 raw almonds a day given as a treat & I have a few almonds myself, you should see his coat it’s so shinny, just feeding foods high in omega 3, tin sardines in spring water are excellent but you must start real slow, feed 1 spoon mashed sardines for 1-2 weeks watch poos if still firm then then increase to 2 spoons of sardines a day, I feed salmon or tuna instead it’s not as greasy…
My recipe I make for Patch, Rissoles + Sweet Potato, it’s so easy & you do not have to cook every day, I cook every 8 days but if I made more it would be every 16 days..
I buy Lean Pork mince or the Lean beef mince, it say 5% fat on the packet, I think in America you call it grounded meat, make sure the mince is lean, some minces have a lot of fat, Patch can’t eat turkey, he gets diarrhea also boiled rice irritates his bowel, something that took me 2 months to realise it’s the boiled rice…
I get 2 x 500gram packets lean pork that’s 1 kilo, I think just over 2 pounds, I whisk 1 egg in the bowl, I buy a small broccoli head, Patches Nutritionist said feed green veggies when it’s their skin, stomach & bowel, food sensitivities, I cut up say 1/3 cup chopped broccoli, then I grow parsley & kale & spinach, it grows forever in the veggies Patch, I finally cut up about 1 teaspoon parsley add too bowl, then I add some cut up spinach & cut up kale but only 1 small leaf, then I add the pork mince & mix all thru, I was adding 1 small grated carrot but Patch has food sensitivities & gets red paws, itchy skin & ears, then he starts to smell real yeasty, “Malaseb Medicated Shampoo” bathed weekly is the best when they have itchy paws & skin, so I’ve stopped adding the carrot to his rissoles…
I had too slowly add all these ingredients, at first it was just 1 kg pork mince with a little bit of cut up broccoli, then when I made a new batch of rissoles, I added 1 whisked egg saw how he went, if all was good I added 1 new green cut up veggie & the veggies seem to heal his stomach & bowel, you have to be careful, certain veggies ferment in the stomach so stay away from foods that ferment cause they sit in the stomach & cause gasses…. just Google “what veggies ferment in the stomach” & what veggies, grains don’t digest easy” lentils, chick peas don’t digest easy… you mix all the finally cut up greens with mince & make 1 cup size rissoles, I have scales & weight at 130-136 grams & I make the rissoles the length of my middle finger & flatten them a bit they look like a small sausage then I put on baking tray that has foil on the baking tray, I get around 8 rissoles from 1 kg mince, I bake in oven then about 15-20mins I take out baking tray drain any water/fat & turn over the rissoles & bake till cooked they don’t take long maybe 30mins don’t over cook or you’ll have a leathery rissole, I also boil sweet potatoes & I cool & freeze, same with the rissoles cool & wrap in cling wrap individually, I take out a cut piece of sweet potato & 1 rissole put on a small plate cover with cling wrap & thaw then put in fridge then for dinner I cut up the rissole & mash the sweet potato, for breakfast & lunch Patch has his “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb Kibble, I’m slowly introducing the “Holistic Select” Adult/Puppy Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines grain free kibble so I have another kibble just in case + I rotate his kibble now we just finished trying “Canidae” Life Stages Platinum kibble, too many ingredients & the carbs are too high at 50% in the Canidae Platinum & his poos started to go sloppy & smell again, so now introducing the “Holistic Select so far all is good poos are still firm they don’t smell but its mixed with his TOTW kibble but he’s not farting like he does when I’ve introduced a new kibble that doesn’t agree with him, so hopefully the Holistic Select will be fed in the Summer months, I like to fed a fish kibble in the Summer months for his skin allergies & in the Winter months I feed a lamb kibble “Taste Of The Wild” + his rissoles & raw almonds & I forgot I also feed peeled apple pieces as treat, K-9 Natural Green Lipped Mussels, tuna or salmon with boiled potato rissoles….
You need to make his gut strong again, if he has a set back give the Metronidazole, I have scripts the vet gives me & I just go & get from the chemist, Patch goes back on the Metronidazole for 10days 1 x tablet 200mg at night with a meal, but your dog may need a 21 day course Metro to start with to rest & heal his bowel & a diet that’s very easy to digest & the omega 3…
Good luck, I hope something in this small book, helps

[Krista B]

About 10 different supplements that dr. Karen Becker recommend in her homemade book. I believe the didn’t necessarily need it to be balanced but I felt better adding it in. I also used (and still use) fish oil, a joint supplement and currently a multivitamin. I just purcahsed a small box of honest kitchen today. I’m excited to try it tomorrow! Looks like a wonderful food. As far as fiber I talked to the people at the store and they said it shouldn’t be a problem which is good. It’s a little more pricey then kibble but well worth it!

[InkedMarie]

I’ve fed The Honest Kitchen off & on for over a dozen years. Some dogs had frequent stools, never saw undigested food but every dog I’ve had has loved the stuff.

[pitlove]

Hi Krista-

Myself and many others have had similar experiences when feeding the Honest Kitchen. Undigested food in the stool. That and the fact that my dogs did not want to eat it after a few meals has led me not to revisit the food.

[Krista B]

Ok sounds good, thanks. Do you think its better to feed two brands vs. just one? I wanted to try honest kitchen but the fiber content is so high on some of them. Have you tried this before? What do you think? Doesn’t high fiber cause loose stools?

[Kristen L]

Hello. I have been battling my Golden retrievers food allergies for 8 months now. He is 16 months. I am pretty certain it is food because his ears will smell very yeasty and he has reoccurring ear infections, they are almost always red and spotty, especially after he eats, and he is chewing his paws all the time. I have found sores in between his toes in addition to the redness. He also has had a hot spot three different times, and will present with the rash (pustules), but those are less frequent, so must be a specific food that causes those. He wakes me up often some nights whining and he is chewing his paws and rubbing his head on the floor.

He seems to be allergic to EVERYTHING. I have tried countless foods (always the best brands 4-5 stars), even tried raw veggie (black beans, green beans, and quinoa) to try to eliminate environmental. He was STARVING and knocked his sister’s bowl out of my hand eating her food and thus compromising the trial. I understand now that yeast is a big part of it, so should I do high protein/low carb? There is controversy on that subject. I know he is allergic to chicken and beef from early on, just judging by his reaction when I have given him those meats fresh. He became very lethargic, sleeping a lot, and he would get the pustules (you know, those big pimples). First on his stomach/groin, but they moved to below his ears. I do NOT keep him on a food for 8+ weeks if I see a reaction early, like a new outbreak or he is just acting more miserable than usual. I will take him off it rather than watch him suffer for 2-3 months. He has tried every protein except rabbit and perhaps a novelty fish or two. I have run out of foods to try and do not have the money for expensive testing that is unreliable. Unless, someone can give me advice on an exact test and a reasonable price they paid that worked well?? I am told it is just too unreliable, but tests may be my only option now. He seems to be getting worse every day. I do not want to put him on steroids or apoquel for the rest of his life. Goldens already have short life spans without adding possible liver failure to the list of cause of death. My local Pet Club has cut me off from returning food after I have returned 6 bags, so that has greatly added to my stress of not knowing what to do next. I struggle finding foods without certain ingredients (turkey meal, chicken meal, beef, egg/egg protein, potato, rice, etc.), low on carbs, 4/5 star, and a protein he MIGHT be okay to try (again) and under $65. I can’t seem to find LTI rabbit. I just bought Cal. Naturals Lentils and Venison only, and was hopeful, but I got home and checked and it is only 3 stars, AND like 70 bucks. No bueno. So, I will be returning that bag (I am going to Pet Food Depot now, until they too cut me off). Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I am considering the Honest Kitchen grain free base (no fruit or potatoes), but I have no idea what protein to add. Where does one buy the novelty proteins, like raw venison, and is not too pricey?

• This topic was modified 9 years ago by Kristen L.
• This topic was modified 9 years ago by Kristen L.

[Salz]

Hey all! I’ve got some questions regarding bone replacement. I have an 8 month old Doberman mix who’s been on raw since he was 3 months old. He gets a mixture of Honest Kitchen Kindly base mix and a variety of raw meat grinds which contain organ, meat and bone. Our living/work situation does not permit me to feed him RBM’s as his entire diet so he gets them about once a week. I understand that many raw feeders think that BARF is the only way, but please understand that I’m not in a position to go that route.

My problem is this: I currently buy most of my grinds from Ecopawz, a small SF based company (we live in Oakland!). I get a huge employee discount for working at a company that sells their products. My last day at this company is on Nov 22nd so I will no longer get the discount, which means a huge added cost every month! The prices are as follows for 5# of meat: $22.50 for beef, $17.50 for turkey, and $13.50 for chicken. I’m trying to brainstorm ways to lower the cost. Does anyone know of a company that sells grinds for dogs at a lower price? OR, is there a way I can supplement with grocery store bought meat with added bone nutrient (egg shells?) and organ meat? Anything helps here! My boy eats a TON of food so the cost is already high, which is ok with me. But I do need to slightly lower the cost, and I’m ready for any ideas you might have. Thanks!

Sally & Jax

[Andy M]

Thanks Lana. I’m trying this kangaroo right now (Zignature I think it’s called). We’ll see how that works, then may try Honest Kitchen.

[C C]

After the devastation of the loss of our beloved Sheltie and the toxic bag of Kentucky produced food, we now have another Sheltie puppy to love. Can I prove the “food” is what killed her, no, and I only wish I would have saved the product and packaging to be analyzed. But I can tell you the vet at the specialist hospital we ended up taking her to said to be sure to totally change from this “food” with our next pet to avoid all we went through. We are transitioning our new puppy from what she has been on slowly over to Honest Kitchen. This is literally human grade and I would recommend it to anyone who has seriously investigated the pathetic quality of today’s dog food. I contacted Champion to tell them Katie died and they were even more insensitive than when I expressed all the issues we were having. I got absolutely NO response from them about her death. This speaks volumes to me about this company. I thank everyone for their feedback and offers of sympathy. It truly means a lot to me and to my husband.

[Lana A]

Andy, I switched my dog from Acana ( Duck & Pear ) back in July to The Honest Kitchen and so far no issues. It’s more expensive but I like the quality of ingredients and my dog likes it. You can ask them for free sample and also they sell 2 lb box, which is big enough to see if dog will tolerate/like the new food before spending much more money on bigger box.

[InkedMarie]

I am a raw feeder as well. A number of years back, we adopted a dog who I put on raw. Long story short, after working with a raw feeding friend who was my go-to, we decided that this dog could not eat raw. She ate The Honest Kitchen after that.

[Allie P]

I believe my instinct is telling me that something isn’t quite right, I’m looking for some outside opinions to help sway me.

My dog has been on Sojos freeze dried raw for over 4 months. In that time, her poops have gone from twice a day, to four times per day. She also had a case of vasculitis, cause unknown. Other than those two things (with the vasculitis potentially not even food related), she looks healthy. Eyes, ears, skin, coat, energy, all good.

What’s been nagging at me though is that Sojos is primarily plant based, although meat is the first ingredient, there is clearly more plant matter than meat in the bag. Years ago, she was getting The Honest Kitchen, which also seems mostly plant based, and on both foods she dropped weight to the point where it worried me. She doesn’t seem to have lost muscle mass, but her tuck up and ribs have become a lot more pronounced. That could just be me doing a bad job with portioning her meals though – after all its not as simple as just scooping a cup of kibble with this stuff.

I’ve been thinking about transitioning to Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen, which seems to be mostly meat content. For some reason though something is holding me back and I’m in a weird in between state of worrying that her current food is not meeting her needs but also that switching foods might for some reason be the wrong thing to do. At this moment, I’m resolving to find a canine nutritionist to help me. My dog is going to be ten years old in a couple of months, and keeping her healthy and thriving is on my mind to the point of obsession.

If you people want to weigh in your opinions on plant content vs. meat content, or anything else you think might be helpful, I would so appreciate it.

[PuppyMom3]

Background

Our two sweet pups are a medley of health issues. You know the concept of mutts being healthier because of the diverse genetics? Well, our dogs are the one in a million that have (what seems like) every possible issue from the many different breeds that make up their genetics. Both their regular vet and the neurologist theorized this may have been due to trauma in the womb since their mama was malnourished and living on the streets for so long.

A brief rundown of their more major issues include:

1) (Girl -& Boy?-) Severe food allergies with skin reactions and vomiting
2) (Girl) Possible megaesophagus (we have an appointment next month for diagnostics)
3) (Boy) Cerebellar hypoplasia
4) (Boy) Possible degenerative neurological disease (we have to wait and re-test in 6 months for changes)
5) (Boy) Probable mild case of laryngeal paralysis (not officially diagnosed but regular vet is pretty certain and we want to give our boy a break from invasive/sedation testing since he just had an MRI and spinal tap so we aren’t pushing for an official diagnosis at this time)

What I am Trying to Accomplish

With all of these issues going on, I want to make sure their food is as wholesome and non-damaging as possible. Especially since a good diet and exercise therapy can help slow the progression of neurological issues if our boy has a degenerative disease.

Previous Foods/Diets We’ve Used

Blue Buffalo Wilderness
Blue Buffalo Freedom
Taste of the Wild
Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Grain Free. This seemed to work for a while but the skin issues and vomiting have returned.
Homemade diet. This was a pain in the butt. When they were younger and had their initial digestive issues, I homemade their meals for two weeks as an experiment to see if their issues cleared up. They did really well on this diet- no digestive upset, no skin issues, no vomiting, nothing. The down side was it was really time and labor intensive and the cost was astronomical. Since they were younger and in active growth stages, we spent significant time researching their required nutrition and establishing recipes that met those needs. Especially to mitigate the chances of developing hip dysplasia down the road since they are larger dogs. On top of that, we spent nearly $100 a week because hydrated, fresh food has less concentrated nutrients/calories so the dogs needed larger portions than they had with dry food. I am hesitant to go back to this method since I was making 14 cup batches of food every other day (they get just over 7 cups a day between the two of them) and spending more on their food than ours!

Things I am Considering

1) Outlandishly expensive pre-made food. Such as The Honest Kitchen. It seems to have really good ingredients but at $100 for a 10lb bag that will last between 16-20 days for one 60lb dog (so between 8-10 days for 2 dogs) that seems prohibitively expensive. (http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/marvel)
2) Outlandishly expensive homemade food. See all the notes above about the pros/cons of this.
3) Some other less expensive option I hear about on here? Labor intensive stuff is a pain in the neck since I work full time, but it is more preferable than spending significant sums of money because my husband is currently not really thrilled with the $100/10lb bag of food option.

Your Suggestions?

I would love to hear from anyone who has used pre-made meals with quality ingredients that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, or who have made their pet’s food at home without spending a fortune. All of the websites and forums that I have found almost exclusively feature people with small dogs (under 30lbs) so their efforts are a quarter of what mine would be under the same circumstances with two 60lb dogs.

[crazy4cats]

Hi SG-
Congratulations on your new addition. My pups had a rough start too. And still are a little sensitive and get diarrhea now and then. Pure Vita’s Turkey recipe by NutriSource is a kibble they have done really well on. It has 6% fiber. It’s too expensive to feed regularly, but I watch for specials and sales. Also Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen is a supplement that has been helpful as well. They just finished a bag of Whole Earth Farms Turkey and Duck which they did great on also.

Make sure you do a fecal test with vet if there hasn’t been one done yet. It could be due to worms, parasites, coccidia, etc. Good luck!

[Hattie H]

I’ve just begun my self education into better dog nutrition and weight loss and could use some advice. I have a 7 year old female lab that weighs 80lbs. We travel a lot and thus her activity level varies week to week from very little when it’s just her and I at home to highly active when we she’s with her 3 year old Australian Shepard cousin. I determined she’s a 7 on the body condition scale and that her ideal weight is likely around 65lbs -70lbs. Based on Internet searches, talking to people, and using the different formulas I’ve come up with a wide range of recommended daily calorie intake, from 850-1400, to get her to her ideal weight. I’ve been feeding her 1300 cal/day for a couple weeks and was going to drop it closer to 1000 as I haven’t seen any weight loss. When I started this weight loss campaign I also switched her from blue buffalo to a mix of Fromm Gold senior (3 cups/1077kcal) and honest kitchen Keen (.5 cup/235kcal) I was advised to put her on a senior food based on her age and activity level but the senior foods typically have less protein and from my research I’m seeing that a lot of people recommend higher protein. The protein/ fat amounts for these foods are 23/11 and 21/15, respectively.

Aside from needing to shed a few pounds she has no other health problems and recently got blood work done everything came back great. She just turned 7 a week ago and I want to get her in optimal health so she’s with me for a very long time. The plan is to keep researching and learn all I can about dog nutrition and start adding in raw and better foods as I figure out what those are…

So, does anyone have thoughts or advice on the calorie intake, food choices, protein amount?

[aimee]

I just thought I’d comment since The Honest Kitchen ( THK) foods have been discussed in regards to LBP’s with the concerns referenced back to me.

The concern I have with THK is that not all of the nutrient profiles they have published currently meet AAFCO.

Here are a few examples:

“Love” is marketed as an all life stages food: ~4825 kcals/kg
THK reports Love’s Ca content as 1.19% DM Using the AAFCO min 1%DM and that any diet over 4000kcals/kg must be corrected for energy density the min calcium should be 1.37% The correction factor is 4825/3500 X 1% = 1.37 %

So here we see a diet below AAFCO min for Calcium. Using the newer AAFCO min of 1.2% DM and energy density of 4000kcals/kg. It is clear that even before using the necessary correction factor the diet will be below AAFCO The correction factor in the new guidelines 4825/4000 x 1.2% = 1.44%

“Thrive” is another all life stages food ~4859kcals/kg

THK reports Ca as 1.34%. Min Ca to meet AAFCO profiles :4859/3500 x 1 = 1.38% or 4859/4000 x 1.2 = 1.45%. Either way a smidge below AAFCO.

Looking at another nutrient from Thrive: THK reports Vit E as 54.11 IU
AAFCO min 4859/3500 X 50 = 69.4IU or 4859/4000 X 50 = 60.7 IU.. either way the diet falls short.

THK used to report the Vit E content in Keen as 23.45IU; clearly below AFFCO min of 50 IU. I contacted them via chat and they confirmed that was the correct and most current value. Then I asked why it was below AAFCO…and then they gave me a new number- 56.24 which is now on their website. Presto Chango!

They report 4524.6kcals/kg 4524.6/4000 X 50 = 56.56IU or 4524.6/3500 X 50 = 64.67IU. Either way their new number falls a bit short too.

It also concerns me that they do “Presto Chango” the nutrient information on their site when I inquire about a concern. That wasn’t the first time THK has immediately changed a nutrient level in their tables after I contacted them.

I like the concept of the food and I think it would be OK to use for intermittent or supplemental feeding but personally I wouldn’t raise a pup on any of their diets.

[Susan]

Hi have a look at Artemis Osopure Turkey & Garbanzo beans or Duck & Garbanzo beans
but it has peas….Have you done a food elimination diet to be 100% that she is sensitive to all these ingredients?? Have you seen a Dermatologist instead of a vet?
I know you wrote you don’t have the time to cook but if you cooked once a fortnight or monthly & freeze the meals in sections…
I buy Lean Pork mince & add parsley, broccoli, carrot, kale & Almond & Flax meal & 1 whisked egg & mix all together & make 1 cup size rissoles & bake in oven then cool then freeze & also boil sweet potato pieces & freeze & take out the day before & put in fridge for the next day…. when I first started I only added pork mince & parsley then I slowly added the other ingredients to see how Patch went…..
Your not going to find a kibble that doesn’t have the all the ingredients she is sensitive too…maybe look at wet tin or the Honest Kitchen meals you just add water or you buy your own meat & add the Honest Kitchen base mixes…. have you tried Raw Diet the pre-made Raw??
Its very rare for a dog to be allergic to most proteins & when they are they will suffer with IBD…..

[Susan]

Hi Jennifer, have a look at “Honest Kitchen” Zeal, its formulated for senior dogs & it’s lower in fat 8.5% then Royal Canine UC , with the Honest Kitchen you just add water so the diet is a moist diet what is needed when a dog has kidney problems, kibbles are no good to feed dogs/cats when they have health problems, that’s how they probably got the health problems from eating kibble…….
There has to be better foods then what your vet is recommending…. Have you looked at cooked diet & going thru “Balance It” they do special meals as well thru their nutritionist for dogs with certain health problems, you just add the “Balance It” to your premade meals so the meal is balanced…..Just fill out the questionnaire about your dogs health problems then they will give you recipes for you to make & add their “Balance It” too…If your dog has a complicated health problem, it will say to contact their Nutritionist…. so maybe re fill out questionnaire with the health problem he has now & this way you can just order the “Balance It” & follow their recipes or The Honest Kitchen also has Base Mixes you just add to your cooked meals that balance the meals & you can make a few meals & freeze or put in the fridge….
https://secure.balanceit.com/
Shop All Dog

[InkedMarie]

I second the Honest Kitchen.

[mary s]

I have a 9 week old Irish Setter puppy. He weighs 19 pounds. The breeder had him on Iams Large Breed puppy food. I wanted to get him off of that food, and had started adding a very small amount of yogurt and pumpkin to that food….I also added trippet. never more that a teaspoon. I was giving the additions for about 3 days, and he developed loose, mucus, stool I added more pumpkin, and the next day his stool was bloody and loose. We had a puppy check scheduled for that day, on Monday. He had started having loose poop on Sunday, and Monday morning lots of blood. the vet told me it was because I was giving him trippett and yogurt, and pumpkin. She wanted to put him on all this medication, and worm him (negative fecal). she also did a parvo test (neg). It was a hellish visit. I did not give him the meds, stopped everything but the Iams LBD and gave him homeopathic remedies and did energy work. He is fine now, his stool was formed without any blood within about 7 hours. This has left me hesitant to start The Honest Kitchen though. I was going to transition him over to THK Thrive after he had been with me a week…..not sure what to do now. Vet told me Irish Setters (I have had them for 45 years) have sensitive stomachs, and they do well on the “crap” food (she was referring to Iams), and to leave him on that. Iams is not on Hound Dog Mom’s list (don’t know why), but can I get some advice, encouragement, thoughts….any help 🙂 I wanted to add, THK, Thrive is 4463 kcal, 1.24 calcium, and .98 phosphorus, as fed.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by mary s.

[Jane E]

Honest Kitchen has some nice grain free formulas. If I were you and you are looking for a grain I would use oatmeal instead of rice. It just seems to be better tolerated. Also turkey is tolerated well as a rule by Boxers. Have ups considered cooking ? I make a few crockpots up at a time and then portion it out into individual servings and freeze it…

[Leslie R]

I’d like to know more about Spot Farms dehydrated dog food. I usually feed my dogs Honest Kitchen. I tried the pork variety of Spot Farm & they LOVED it. But I’d really like your analysis. Thanks.

[Michael F]

Hi Everyone, Thanks so much for replying to my original post, it helps my boy and I not feel so alone out here. I’m happy to say that for now he is doing much better, knock on wood!!! I’m currently feeding three times a day, some lamb and rice kibble, mixed with cooked chicken and rice and Honest Kitchen Brave, I’m slowly weaning him off the cooked chicken and rice and increasing the Honest Kitchen, and trying to get him down to one protein as I was told that dogs with I.B.D. do best on a single protein. His vitamin B-12 level was low normal and I asked the vet if that could have come from eating only cooked chicken and rice but he didn’t think so, I also asked if there was a Vitamin B-12 Supplement that I could give him that would help build that up but he said no, only Vitamin B shots would work. I evaluated the cooked chicken and rice I had been feeding him and found it obviously to be very low on all vitamins he would need and also found that Boiled Chicken is a very low source of Vitamin B-12, in addition the amount of that I was feeding was way too low on Calories, before having to go on the bland diet he had been eating Tuscan Natural Lamb and Rice which he did well on for 60 pounds worth, and then starting having strange clay like poops, I realized that it was very low in fiber, so now I’m mixing it with the Honest Kitchen Brave, seems to be giving him the fiber he needs. I also did some research with some Holistic Vets and put him on Mercola Pet Probiotics and in addition I found a Vitamin B-12 Supplement for pets from Wonder Laboratories called Pet Factor B-12 with Folic Acid Intrinsic Factor, they both seem to have really helped and his B-12 level has come back up. I didn’t want to overdue the B-12 and I didn’t want to mix it in on his other medicine day so I only give him a single capsule every other day. I read about the Wonder Lab B-12 product on a website for dogs with SIBO which apparently can also be coupled with IBD in some dogs. I will say that the internist wasn’t overly helpful in what to do except to keep trying to find a food he could eat. I really believe that the Mercola Probiotics have been the most beneficial thing in settling down his digestive system and I think having him on a very small amount of kibble and mainly the soft dehydrated food have also helped calm things down, and for him the B-12 capsules have also helped to increase the B-12 level, I know the vets say the shots are the only way, but these tablets seem to work. Please let me know what things you guys are having luck with, Thanks! I forgot to mention, my Internist said that most of dogs he was seeing with IBD were eating dog foods that had a lot of fruit in them and he felt blue berries and other fruits just were not appropriate for dogs, he did think some apple’s would be OK but that was about it as far as fruit went. (Note my dog was never on a food with a bunch of fruit in it, so who knows)

[RACHEL J]

I am currently feeding my three Mini-Schnauzers The Honest Kitchen Grain Free Beef (Love Formula) & The Honest Kitchen Grain-free cage free turkey (Embark Formula). Is there some “insider knowledge” that has led this food to not be included on the Editor’s List? I have been happy with it, but is there something I need to know? Please tell me why The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free formulas are not on your list. Thanks!

[InkedMarie]

Buddy Biscuits Itty Bittys make grainfree ones. The Honest Kitchen Quickies too.
I just use teeny pieces of hot dogs & cheese.

[mary s]

Hello pitluv – I am new to the forum. I am getting an 8 week old Irish Setter in a few days. I have been reading this thread for a many hours (whew!) and first want to say a huge thank you to all….especially Hound Dog Mom. My puppy has been on Iams large breed puppy food. I will want to transition him to another food asap. He is 7 weeks old and weighs 14 pounds! That seems like a lot to me…but I haven’t had a setter puppy in 12 years. I have the lists, and HDM’s comments read, and am leaning towards The Honest Kitchen and Fromm’s large breed puppy. I will feed him raw eventually, but my vet is saying to wait until about 8 months because he is a Setter. I stopped reading at 850 comments, and would like to know if there is a newer list after that (around Sept, 2013) that HDM may have posted/compiled. The last list I am referring to is where she included raw and grain inclusive? Also, I read a comment you made a few days ago about Orijin reformulating the large breed puppy…is that correct? Is it now acceptable for the LBP list HDM started a few years ago? I remember she did not recommend it back then. Thank you.

[jakes mom]

I agree with Marie, give her anything she wants. Make sure whatever you give her has a good amount of protein. Some people say older dogs need less but unless she has kidney problems you don’t need to decrease the protein as they age. You may want to look into some raw foods. They come frozen but are nice and soft once thawed. Some brands are Stella and Chewy, Primal, Natural Instinct. Another thought would be Honest Kitchen foods, they’re dried into a powder and you mix with water. They would be nice and “mushy” for Coco Bean to eat. Same for Primal dried foods. Comes in a bag of chunks and you crumble up as many chunks as you want, add some water and serve. You can vary the chunkiness to her liking by the way you crumble it up. I used that for my 20yo cat who also had bad teeth and too frail to put under for a dental. Good luck!
PS, kibble doesn’t clean teeth, that’s a myth. You wouldn’t skip brushing your teeth because you ate some crackers, would you? Same idea.

[Maggie A]

I would like to nominate The Honest Kitchen Embark, Force & Keen. They are all very high quality cool dehydrated raw food. They are either grain free, or made with rolled oats, and or potatoes.
I also would like to nominate Open Farms they are a fairly new company and are offering top quality kibble to their clients.

[Patti S]

I recently found a wonderful dog food that’s classified as having “marked restriction” sodium levels.
The Honest Kitchen “Verve” dehydrated dog food has a sodium level of 0.18% on a dry matter basis.
PROTEIN 22.5%
FAT 8.5%
FIBER 5.8%

All ingredients in this dog food are processed in the USA in a human grade food processing facility. They are non genetically modified and free of any chemicals & preservatives. All meat is hormone and antibiotic free…. and my dog loves it and willingly eats it!

[D S]

My 3 10-lb dogs eat a variety of kibble including Taste of the Wild, Orijen, and Acana. Usually, I’ll mix in a small amount of mashed yam/sweet potato, and they inhale their food. They also love Honest Kitchen dehydrated food, which I’ll sometimes sprinkle on top of kibble (without yam) and add some water. Once in a while, I’ll feed just Honest Kitchen with no kibble. I like to give them a variety.

I’ve heard many times that kibble is heated/baked and loses much of its nutritional value, and that a raw or dehydrated diet is a much better choice. Is this true? The top kibble brands obviously put a lot of research into their products and I assume they’re pretty well engineered, but I can’t help but think that I’m doing my dogs a disservice by not keeping to a more raw or dehydrated diet.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Laurie J]

Honest Kitchen?

[Lana A]

Two months ago I went to buy Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear and store owner asked me if I want Canada made or the new one, US made. I had no idea they moved production to US and changed the formula. I got the last two 25 lbs bags made in Canada and started checking all dog’s blogs for people feed back on new version of their singles line, Duck and Pear line in particular. It wasn’t much of positive reviews, many unhappy dog parents, some reported dog having diarrhea. I called store owner and asked her how her customers who buy this formula are reacting. She said none of the them are happy, some already switched to different dog food.
From my past experience every time when company “improve” the formula nothing good comes out of it because usually their “improvement” results in cutting corners in quality. I decided not to take a chance with the new formula and switched 2 weeks ago to The Honest Kitchen “Grain Free Turkey Recipe”. It’s more expensive than Acana and lacking glucosamine and chondroitin which I have to supplement now, but other then that no complains about ingredients and my dog loves it.

[RobbW]

Thank you all for your helpful insight and advice! Much appreciated!

Here is what I’m doing now:

1). I’ve set up a sprinkler on an automatic timer to water the main part of the lawn where the dogs conduct their business. The timer is set for 7:15 am and goes for an hour every morning. I’m hoping this will help with diluting the urine and preventing the burn.

2). I have done a lime application on my entire lawn, front and back. The lawn showed multiple symptoms of an acidic pH. We have never limed our yard in the 13+ years we’ve lived here. So, it was long overdue. I had never known that was something you should do every now and then. Seriously, someone should give new homeowners some type of guidebook on general home and lawn care when they close on their house! This fall and in future years, I will over-seed my lawn with grass seed of a variety that is more tolerant to urine burn, such as tall fescue.

3). I have switched back to The Honest Kitchen Revel (chicken) food. For now, I am mixing their old BB Wilderness kibble half and half with the THK. I will keep mixing the two together until we have gone through what’s left of the BB kibble. I am mixing the combination with twice as much water as THK calls for. This is making their meals pretty sloppy wet, but my dogs eat it up heartily!

4). I am feeding the dogs according to their ideal weights, not their current weights.

5). I have NOT purchase any lawn burn supplements and will NOT. No need to mess with their chemistry!

6). My wife, kids, and I have started playing Pokemon Go and take our dogs out on the walks with us. The increased exercise should help!

I’m hoping all these changes will help with the lawn burn and also my dogs’ weight problems. However, I’m afraid that the switch to the THK food may hinder my beagle’s weight loss in the near future. They like this food much better. So much so that my beagle, after she finishes her bowl, pushes my golden out of the way and eats all the rest of his food. I did not realize this was happening until I caught her in the act the other morning. No wonder she has gotten so big! I have to figure out a way to prevent this from happening.

[elaine a]

Honest Kitchen is the best. I have a diabetic dog with Addison disease and Honest Kitchen has changed her life. She’s like a puppy and she’s 8 years old. My 9 year old Maltese devours it also. So glad some stranger recommended it to me.

[Michele L]

Grain and gluten free honest kitchen?

[RobbW]

Hey, all! First time posting here. We have two canine family members: an 8yo male Golden Retriever and an 8yo female Beagle. We are having a hard time with urine burn in our lawn, and I’m trying to decide if I changing our dogs’ food would help at all.

We currently feed both dogs Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe Grain-free Dry Dog Food, which gets a 4.5 star rating on DFA and is relatively affordable, comparatively speaking. We’ve had them on this food for almost a year now. Previously, we were feeding them Honest Kitchen Revel dehydrated, which they loved. However, our family likes to travel a lot, and it was always an inconvenience for our house/pet-sitter to mix and feed THK while we were on vacation. So, we’d usually have her feed a dry kibble while we were gone. But sudden changes like that always gave them horrible diarrhea. So, we decided to switch over to a high-quality kibble permanently.

Unfortunately, this spring/summer, our lawn has suffered quite a bit of damage from urine burn. Researching, I found this is due to the nitrogen in the urine. Several multi-step solutions have been recommended, one of which is switching to a higher-quality protein dog food (the other steps being frequently watering our lawn and encouraging our dogs to increase their water intake). I thought the Blue Buffalo was a high-quality protein kibble, but maybe it’s not high-quality enough? Also, there’s a couple questionable ingredients that are possibly implicated in lawn burn, one of which being DL-Methionine.

So, my thought is to switch to an even higher-quality protein kibble, such as Wellness Core. And possibly also to start topping it with some THK grain-free dehydrated food?

And thoughts, opinions, recommendations, advice on my plans for switching foods to combat this lawn burn problem? Any other solutions I should look into?

My biggest concerns about switching food is 1). Just the long process of slowly switching foods, 2). Wellness Core is quite a bit more expensive than the Blue Buffalo they’re on now (by almost $20 per bag on Chewy), 3). Is Wellness Core going to be *THAT* significantly higher-quality protein to make much difference?

Thanks for any help!

[theBCnut]

The Honest Kitchen Zeal is low fat, high protein, and good quality ingredients.

[Susan]

Yes, also look for another food that has no Tapioca, Patch cant eat any kibbles with Tapioca he starts to smell yeasty & itch, also once you get a good supplement, it will balance the diet, I use Digestavite Plus Powder an Australian brand that’s seems to last forever, I only need to add 1/4 teaspoon to 1 meal a day & I use Omega 3 6 9 Oil a couple of squirts on a meal, Dr Judy Morgan sometimes uses the Honest Kitchen Base Mixes to balance some meals in 1 of her videos… You can go thru a Nutritionist, I went thru a Naturopath Jacqueline Rudan with Patch & use all her supplements……

[Hannah D]

Appreciate the responses! I’m aware kibble isn’t great. That’s why I’ve had her on the Honest Kitchen and various freeze-dried raw. I’ve tried to use the balance IT site in the past, but it only gave me recipes for cats after I checked a couple health issues. I don’t free feed. I’m almost militant about my precise measurements. She gets her daily exercise and that hasn’t changed. I’m wondering if the tapioca and beans in THK are too starchy for her.

Thanks for the Dr. Judy link and malaseb recommendation. I’m definitely going to try bathing her with that. I’m a little intimidated by the home cooking idea because I’m so afraid of not giving her the correct amount of nutrients, but it sounds like it might be the best way for me to clear up some of her issues. I’ll check out the links and do more research on it.

Thank you again for your responses!

[Hannah D]

I’m at my wit’s end. I’ve tried countless brands and have yet to find the ideal food for my dog. My 9 year old chihuahua has hiatal hernia and does better with lower fat. The past year or so she’s had a musty smell within days of being bathed, so there’s probably a yeast issue. I’ve had her on various grain-free Honest Kitchen recipes. She’s currently on Marvel because I wanted to avoid potatoes of any kind, but she’s gained weight on it.

K9 Naturals was recommended. I had her on the venison food, but she wasn’t nuts about it. Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried didn’t seem to satiate her and neither did Ziwipeak.

Ideally, I’d like a grain-free, starch-free, yeast-free food. I don’t want to feed her beef and I usually avoid chicken when possible. But I’m open to all suggestions, wet, dry, raw, etc. I have absolutely no experience with raw food except for the dehydrated or freeze dried kind.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Carina M]

Thank you for the suggestions. Right now she eats Honest Kitchen Kindly base mix with chicken mixed in and occasionally sockeye salmon. I will start adding some fresh veggies and fish oil and look into homemade food at least some of the time. I’d also like to incorporate turmeric. And I’ll be more careful with her jumping; I’m not sure why I was thinking of her leg length as opposed to back length.

[goldenstar]

Pitlove…I am really glad that you have brought this higher calorie problem to light. I have not read anything about this before. Is there information that I can read about this to get a better handle on it.
I have been using The Honest Kitchen with extra meat and chicken necks. But since you have talked about the higher calorie problem…I am mixing it with Origin Puppy Large. I was really trying to stay away from kibble, but while she is a growing pup, I want to be sure she gets all of her nutrients. Thanks.

[Leslie L]

Woe, this guy is going to send me to the county home for nutty dog parents!! This morning he turned his nose up to the food the minute I put it down. I bought a can of Honest Kitchen Bone Broth and that kept him interested for a few days. We have had 9 Labs and never had a picky fussy one, they have all had the “piggy gene” but not this guy. I have contacted my vet and will wait and see what she suggests. He is otherwise fully of energy, playful, happy, poops are good and just about the best 11 month old you could ask for. It’s just frustrating.

[Salz]

Hello! I am a long time reader of DFA Forums but this is the first time I’ve actually posted anything. I have two dogs; a 4 year old minpin tripawd (Bean) and now a 4 month old Doberman/Rottweiler x puppy (Jax). Bean has done great on all and any premium food (wet, raw, kibble, he’s been on it all) but the more I read the more I want to just bite the bullet and switch fully to raw. Jax on the other hand, has had quite the hard time with kibble. I got Jax about two months ago and immediately put him on Orijen Large Breed Puppy. He’s had on and off diarrhea since I’ve had him. I figured the Orijen may have just been too much for his digestive system so I transitioned him (VERY) slowly to Natures Instinct Raw Boost Large Breed Puppy Kibble. His stools were firm for about three days until the diarrhea started again. I’ve had him tested for parasites and every malady under the sun with only negative results. Right now I just have him on cooked turkey and rice to settle his tummy until I decide on what to try next. I was hoping for some input from all of you lovely people!

I am concerned about putting a large breed puppy on raw so young, simply because I lack all of the knowledge about his nutritional needs. But so far, here are the options I’ve come up with.

Honest Kitchen Preference Base Mix mixed with a rotation of raw grinds/meats primarily from Primal and EcoPawz Raw (a local raw company in my area)

Stella and Chewy’s Frozen Raw (rotation of proteins)

Darwin’s Zoologics Line (a little out of my budget but they are sounding better and better)

No matter which I choose, I will definitely supplement with raw goat milk, yogurt, etc. I would also like some input on what kinds of meat I can buy at the grocery store. I’ve only ever bought dog raw from PFE. Sorry for the long post and I’m really looking forward to any and all input. You all rule!

Sally, Jax & Bean

[Jeremy G]

Mike, thanks for response. There’s something about confirmation bias that makes me feel better 😉 We also have a Chihuahua mix (with italian greyhound) and are also picking up our first english mastiff puppy! Funny how that works.

I went with a Fromm 4 Star, Honest Kitchen and some Trippet to start with and see what she likes.

[a c]

Hi just wondering why the honest kitchen and victor weren’t on list – thanks