[Aspen A]

Lovx3, I am with Steve’s Real Food, a raw pet food company. The Atwater figures are not particularly helpful, and you will always want to compare dog foods using a dry matter comparison. The reason for this is that as different products contain different moisture levels, it can skew the results. Usually pet food companies will use the at water comparison because they want their numbers to look better, so you need to ask them for the dry matter comparison. It sounds like Naturella is doing a great job, and I can give a second opinion in favor of much of what she/he said. I would also recommend that you consider going to a raw diet, as it is much more in line with how your dog is genetically designed to process food. Adding water and mixing with canned is a great start, and definitely better on your dog’s intestines and ability to digest kibble than just giving straight dry, but raw is best!

[Aspen A]

Hi, Carol, I am with Steve’s Real Food (a raw pet food company, so you have full disclosure). I just looked up the Miracle Dog food, but I am not seeing enough specifics about which grains and minerals are in it to speak to whether they are the best fit for your pet. If you are worried about the nutrition balance you may want to go to a frozen raw food, there are some great ones out there (Steve’s included) that do the math and nutrition for you, including the fat content, etc. Pork and beef are going to be higher in fat, if you are wanting low fat sticking to chicken and turkey is going to be best. What is wrong with your dog’s pancrease? Is it pancreatitis? Natural Dog Health Remedies.com (no affiliation) recommends Milk Thistle, Yarrow Root, Echinacea, dandelion, and probiotics, if that helps. I would not recommend switching them to dry food. It is so much harder on the stomach, and harder to digest, it makes them more thirsty, etc. If you are looking to improve their diet I would definitely recommend going to a more raw diet rather than a dry diet, that is just a step back, in my opinion.

[Aspen A]

Hi, Weezerweeks, I am with Steve’s Real Food (for full disclosure). It sounds like you have some great customer service going on with Dr. Harvey. If you are worried about how much water your pup is drinking you may want to look into a completely raw diet. The whole point of freeze dried foods is that they remove all the water from the diet so it can preserve well, which does mean your dog will drink more when using it. Diets that are straight, raw meat are the best for your pup and have enough water in them naturally that dogs actually tend to drink less, not more. You will want to ask about the mineral content, the percentage of sodium, and then compare it to the other foods in your rotation to see if there is a difference.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

HI Dori,
So glad to hear from you and overjoyed all is well with your husband. Couldn’t ask for better news.
Well here at schnauzerville we are dealing with something that worries me and I am reaching out to all.
My pepper the almost 12 y.o. is going into a semi-heat if that is possible -no bleeding but (excuse me all for being so descriptive) her vagina looks swollen I am so fearful of pyometra, what are the signs ,how do i know, should I take her to the vet?? Eating, drinking ,walking aok.
Millie has stopped her bleeding after 3 weeks ,she is still swollen . My first foray with females -Pepper was never spayed her horrible original guardians treated her badly, never took her to a vet, at her advanced age spaying is not an option with her other health issues.
Any advice Dori
i am so worried about my angel Pepper
as for THK yes we are keeping it in and even with the grain free protein inclusive line I still notice pieces of undigested veggies, emailed them they never replied.
We are about to finish the natures variety instinct raw duck a bit hit with pepper and Millie,
Next I think I will try either the primal turkey and sardine or the OCraw-we really are becoming the adventurous schnauzers here at schnauzerville.
Take care & Dori so happy again to hear the good news!! Celebrate

We are on diets here lunch is various cooked veggies Millies face is a riot but she is way too heavy at 16 lbs

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie.

[Dori]

Aimee.
Sorry, I must learn to thoroughly read original posts. I sometimes skim read and I just focused on the part of the dog having stones. I thought he was asking for help with a diet for a dog that has or had stones.

Tom. I agree with you completely on the ingredients in the foods that vets prescribe. I understand that there may be some animals out there that will benefit from them but I’ve had many dogs in my life and have never come across one of them needing one of those diets. Not to say that I haven’t been asked by vets to feed one or another of them through the years. I just politely let them know that I appreciate their advice and I’ll think about it. This vet that I’ve had for 13 years knows that I feed commercial raw diets so none of the vets in the practice or the techs ask me anymore what I feed my dogs. Dr. Susan Wynn is a nutritionist that has seen my 15 1/2 year old Maltese when she was diagnosed with very high liver levels, then a tumor in her bladder and then a mass on the lobe of one of her lungs. All those were discovered early last Spring. At that point Dr. Wynn suggested that I put Hannah on Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Diet because it is HPP and if Hannah’s immune system was working hard with all that was going on with her she didn’t want her to be exposed to any unnecessary bacteria. I feed a rotational diet with all three of my dogs and Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Food was already in their diets. I continued to keep with my rotational feeding of commercial raw foods as I have for the last three years. Some are HPP and some are not. Actually most are not. Typically poultry is what is put under HPP and I don’t feed any poultry because one of my girls is highly intolerant of all fowl. I also don’t feed white potatoes or any night shade plants because they are pro inflammatory. April will be a year that she was diagnosed. To the delight of all, she remains asymptomatic to bladder or lung cancer. Her liver levels are back down in the normal range. (The elevated liver levels were discovered in last Spring’s blood work during her annual physical which is what started the initial visit to Georgia Veterinary Specialists where Dr. Wynn practices and was one of her doctors). I did add a few supplements to Hannah’s diet manufactured by Standard Process. She is regularly monitored and her blood work comes back normal. Her titers are all really good also. Her vet and I decided last year that due to the cancer only titers will be done for her for the rest of her life which I pray is for many many more years. Hannah is the picture in my avatar that was taken last year.

[aimee]

Hi Tom,

My perspective is a bit different so I’ll share it with you. On one hand I think that veterinarians have a duty to inform. If you are feeding your dog a raw diet they have to inform you of risk of pathogens. If they don’t they can be open for a malpractice suit if someone gets ill and it is traced back to the dog’s raw diet.
Your dog has formed stones in the past. I see it as a duty to inform you that the diet you are feeding has not been shown to reduce uric acid stone formation whereas U/D has.
As Dals age the risk of stone formation decreases, you can find common ground by monitoring urine to hit the target parameters to prevent uric acid stone recurrence.

Why do vets recommend Hills? Is it lack of nutrition knowledge? I don’t see that as the reason because I have found that it is those with the most education that also recommend Hills. Stepping away from dogs and vets for a minute, I found that PhD nutritionists selecting commercial diets to feed to valuable zoo animals often choose Hills. At the major zoo near me I saw that Hills was being fed. I asked why and was told it was because of the consistency of formulation and high bioavailability of nutrients.

Veterinary nutritionists also recommend Hills and the general practiioner will look to the specialists in their respective fields when seeking guidance with their cases. Dr. Wynn, a holistic practiioner who is so passionate about proper nutrition that she went on to be board certified in nutrition, recommends Hills.

It really isn’t about lack of knowledge, it is about using a different value system by which foods are evaluated. As for myself, I use Hills products, my choice, based on the things that are important to me when deciding what to use to nourish my dog.

I agree that vets do not get a lot of nutritional training. Just as they don’t get a lot of trading in cardiology or dentistry or radiology etc etc etc.. Yet I’ve yet to hear someone say “I don’t have my vet listen to my dog’s heart because he only had a few lectures on cardiology in vet school”. Certainly how much education any one vet will have will vary with the school form which he/she graduated and also with their own interests. Six of the seven vets where I take my pets did not have any nutritional education from
Hills etc. They had a PhD for general nutrition and then DVM faculty for clinical nutrition. Thry did get a free copy of Small Animal Clinicl Nutriton but no direct contact. The seventh said that they were “lunch and learns” put on by Hills and after the presentation faculty together with the students critiqued the information given to them. These were not a formal part of her nutritional training. Of the seven vets, five different schools were represented and years of graduation varied from 1972 to 2011. Different schools will have different programs, but this idea that students are taught by and brainwashed by company reps I’ve found not to be true.

Do Vets get kickbacks? No but as when selling any product they charge you more then what they paid for it.

[Bobby dog]

BC:
Just curious, are these the fat %’s that you try to meet for the raw diet you feed your dogs?

[Akari_32]

So I emailed Purina asking about how many cups were in a 32 pound of food, and they sent me back this crap:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/23D1FB01-EF17-422D-9861-AD88E5B14EC9_zpsqh3ok8t9.png

“Specific formula” my butt! I’ll figure it out myself, thanks. I was just being lazy… Lol

Mountainhound, when you have a dog with a list of health problems as long as Ginger has, including extremely poor dental health, let me know how raw works out. I’m 100% for raw feeding, two of my pets are raw fed, in fact, but it’s not the only answer to every situation. The best of the best, when it comes down to diet, is simply what works best for each dog. Ginger can’t handle the fat content in raw, and the bacterial content would wreak havoc on her already infected mouth and poorly adapted digestive system. I’ve spent enough nights washing dog beds, thank you very much.

[lovemypuppy]

Thanks everyone for all the good information!

First let me say, I’m in my late 30’s and this is the first dog I’ve owned, lived with, or cared for. Not trying to use that as an excuse, it is what it is, but I’m definitely having a steep learning curve, and unfortunately it’s at the expense of my pup 🙁

I don’t know she has a food allergy or any type of allergy, but given her breed (Boston Terrier), finickiness, weight loss, red eyes, tear stains, brittle and dry fur, dry itchy skin, missing fur on her hind legs and behind her ears, and a few small scabs from scratching, I felt like it made sense to try to switch to raw with minimal ingredients in hopes of improving her overall health and identifying any potential allergens.

Unfortunately, I didn’t come to this conclusion until after giving her WAY TOO MANY different types of animal proteins (kibble, wet, freeze dried, toppers, etc.) while trying to find a food (and training treat) she’d settle on. I’m sure it didn’t help that she also went through quite a few different foods with the breeder when she was having a hard time weaning.

At this point, I’m not sure it would be possible for me to pinpoint a specific food that might be causing her skin and fur issues. The animal proteins she’s had the most of are chicken, beef, and turkey. Also, most of her symptoms were present before I started switching her food around and giving her novel animal proteins. So, if I had to take a guess, I would say she is having a hard time with turkey, chicken, and maybe lentils (they gave her horrid gas, anyway).

At this point, she’s been on the commercial raw for about a week and I’m seeing dramatic improvement. She still has tear stains, but I imagine that will take time (to grow out) and diligence on my end (wiping her face). She has gained weight and filled out, her coat is not nearly as dry (even shiny towards her back/spine) and her skin flaking and itchiness has lessened.

Given her overall improvement, I’m not inclined to switch her food yet again, especially if I can just stick with this for 10 weeks and see where she is at then (and if need be do more of a true elimination diet). I will stop the catfish skins (bummer) and try to find some type of low fat duck chew. I have sweet potato chews but she doesn’t really like them … they seem to crumble up and are more crunchy than chewy. Maybe if that’s her only choice though, she’ll learn to enjoy them 🙂

@DogFoodie, have you looked at Nordic Naturals Pet Collection? They use pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled fish oil, using sardine and anchovy oil or cod liver oil. Their pet line is pretty much the same as their human line with the exception of tocopherols as the preservative rather than rosemary extract. Just a thought.

If you read all of this, you rock! Sorry it’s so long and again thanks to all for offering your valuable insight!

[lovemypuppy]

Thanks, that make sense to avoid the animal protein sources across the board, from food to chews and everything in between. I guess I was secretly hoping that wasn’t the case.

Right now, I’m feeding a commercial raw diet that contains salmon oil and duck as the only animal protein sources.

For chews, I’m giving catfish skins (Beams) but not sure if that is OK since catfish is a different type of fish than salmon.

[lovemypuppy]

I switched my 11 week puppy about a week ago to a raw commercial diet. I wanted to avoid giving kibble and raw in the same meal since they digest at considerably different rates. Instead, I planned on making 1 out of 4 daily meals raw, and then slowly working up to 4 out of 4 meals being raw when the transition was complete. This didn’t end up working for us because as soon as she got her first taste of raw, she refused to eat even a single kibble. Despite a fast transition, or lack there of, she did very well with no GI upset. I did give canned pureed pumpkin for a few days to help prevent any potential GI upset.

[lovemypuppy]

I switched my puppy at 10 weeks to a commercial raw diet. She’s been on it for only a week but already appears healthier. I chose Primal Formulas because there are 8 different formula options, it’s convenient (pre-portioned into 1 ounce nuggets), it is rated for all life stages with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1, and the ingredient list is commendable, IMO, with all veggies being organic and the addition of fish oil, apple cider vinegar, and coconut oil. The only supplements that are added are zinc, copper, and selenium – the rest is all food derived.

[mountainhound]

Rice is not a part of a raw diet, a lot of people do the prey model style because its easier, no grinding or blending veggies (most dogs dont need veggies)
Look info facebook groups and also this website which is a good starting guide to feeding raw, or you can always get some premade from a petstore like bravo, primal or vital essentials. http://puppybutt.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/9/2/7692088/beginners_guide_to_prey_model_raw_rv.4.1.pdf

[mountainhound]

Interesting results. Have you beef feeding whole prey including bones? ground raw won’t clean teeth or improve breath since they are not crunching on bone. I’ve never heard of a dog becoming aggressive on a raw diet either. Sometimes they go through a detox period of about 2-3 months which can create mood variations, so thats always a possibility.

[mountainhound]

I would never feed any prescription food to a dog with joint issues, the bulk of those ingredients are highly inflammatory and will cause more harm than good. Feed a good quality raw diet (even premade raw will probably be cheaper than Hills), raw food contains natural sources of glucosamine/chondroitin from ground up cartilage. Lack of carbs will help with inflammation and pain reduction. You can also give her treats like tracheas and duck feet since those are good sources of glucosamine. I’ve had good results with a supplement called Liquid Health, its tasteless and easy to mix with ground raw food.

[lovemypuppy]

I’ve tried warm water, I’ve tried hot water, I’ve tried cold water, lol.

Thankfully, the raw food diet is continuing to go great! She is gaining weight and her coat already looks much better. Her stools are healthy, consistent, and they stink less. Her gas is less than it was on quality kibble and the stink isn’t there. My guess is it’s the apple cider vinegar and the natural enzymes in the food that are taking the smell away.

I need to figure out how to load a picture on here. I have pictures on my phone but don’t know how to get them onto my computer. I need to figure it out soon 🙂

[Kate F]

Thanks for all the great questions and it’s wonderful to hear about all the dogs doing well on our food! Here are some initial responses to some of the questions but I also encourage you to give us a call so we can get more in-depth answers for you: 866-437-9729

@Dog_Obsessed:
For a more active dog, we recommend increasing the ratio of meat to the dry mix. This provides more calories from the protein and fat, and less of the fruits and veggies, which offer less calories per gram. The guidelines are offered as a place to start and we strongly believe that each and every dog is an individual. So, we recommend that you start with these amounts and then adjust in time to suit your dog’s individual dog’s needs.

You may increase the ratio of meat to base mix by as much as 2:1, two parts meat to 1 part dry mix. You may also increase the total amount of both meat and base mix as needed, as long as you feed within our recommended ratios, which will keep the nutrients in balance. The minimum is 1:1, maximum 2:1 (meat:base mix). If fed within our recommended ratios, you may create a meal that meets AAFCO guidelines.

If Lily needs more than what is recommended, please feel free to increase her daily portion to suit her calorie needs.

@cheryl-pepper-millie-belle:
It may be helpful to know that the stool created from a diet of colorful whole foods will naturally be more colorful, too! It will not look the same as a the stool created by a homogenous dry kibble or a mostly meat raw diet. A whole food diet allows the GI system to efficiently absorb the nutrients the body needs and move the rest on out, including the insoluble fiber in fresh fruits and veggies. Your dog’s overall body condition and health will determine if he/she is getting the nutrients they need.

While most dogs with a healthy and balanced digestive tract are easily able to digest and assimilate the nutrients from our dehydrated whole foods, some may need a little help. If the GI tract has been compromised in any way due to a variety of chronic ailments, courses of antibiotics, medications, stress, etc., the addition of digestive enzymes and probiotics can help a dog regain balance and the overall strength of the GI system.

For Pepper, it may help to blend the mix using a food processor or blender prior to feeding to break the larger pieces down a bit. I’ve heard a few customer doing this for their very sensitive pups and it works great! We’re happy to hear that Pepper is doing well with the food!

Hope this helps! -Kate, THK

[Kimberly C]

Wow Dori! Thanks for sharing……I’m definitely starting to feel more comfortable about feeding raw. However, I live in a small town and sometimes order his food online. We have a Petsmart not too far off, but we don’t get out that way much. Which flavor of the raw instinct do you use, and do you buy the freeze dried or the frozen? And I saw you mentioned The Honest Kitchen “Zeal”…did your dogs take to this flavor pretty well? My Pepe is a very finicky eater, but I’ve got to get him on a better diet. Also, what do you think of Stella freeze dried?

[Kimberly C]

Hi Dori….looks like you have a dog similar to mine…is yours a Maltese? I have a Maltipoo. I’ve had other dogs in the past, both big and small, but have never had a dog with seizures until I got my maltipoo. He is almost 4 years old and most of his problems started about 2 years ago…..it has been one heck of a rollercoaster ride and many trips to the vet, however, I wouldn’t trade him for anything…..he is such a joy to have even with all the challenges. I was glad to hear you mention not giving him grains because that seems to be such a controversial subject. I’ve been wanting to try him on raw food, but like you, I don’t want to prepare it myself. The Raw Instinct sounds like a good start as well as using a rotational diet…..just makes sense.

[Dori]

Hi Kimberly C. It sounds as though your dog is having food intolerances/sensitivities. First off he should be on grain free foods. Avoid corn, soy, white potatoes, rice and all poultry. That’s for starters. You also mention that your dog has seizures. Very important is to avoid any foods that contain rosemary in any form.

I have three small dogs all of which are on commercial raw dog foods. One of my girls has a multitude of food intolerances which is what led me on the road to raw feeding about three years ago. I started by eliminating all the ingredients I mentioned above. I feed commercial raw foods. I’m not inclined to make my own because, well…. truth be told I just don’t feel like doing it. Here is the list of commercial raw food companies that I have researched to death over the years and that I trust. Primal Raw Pronto, Primal Raw Formulas (these are Primal’s complete and balanced foods…you don’t have to add anything to them in the way of supplements). Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Dog Foods, Vital Essential Raw Foods, OC Raw Dog Food, Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen. I also from time to time have on hand their freeze dried foods (they’re raw and you can feed as is without hydrating). As for dehydrated foods, the only one I use is The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal formula. The others contain some type of poultry or white potatoes that I choose not to feed. I feed what is called a rotational diet. I rotate different brands and different proteins within the brands with the exception of any and all poultry. I also do not feed any commercial treats. For the most part they all contain some sort of grain and there have been way too many recalls of dog treats for me to take a chance with my dogs. For treats I feed them little pieces of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I puree them. Sometimes they’re cooked from our dinner. For the most part since I use them as treats for them I’m not particularly concerned about how much nutritional value they get from the fruits and veggies. The enjoy them, as they would a commercial treat, and that is my intent in giving them to them. If they get some nutritional value from them, even a little, that’s great; if not, that’s not the purpose I give them the treats. Of course you know you can go on google and just google what fruits and vegetables you can feed your dogs or go in reverse and type in what fruits and veggies you should not be feeding your dogs. Always, of course avoid onions, grapes, raisins. As for fruits, never feed anything that still has it’s pit or seeds. They tend to be toxic. As for apples I always don’t feed the peel. Apples are sprayed continuously to detract worms. They are also highly waxed to appear pretty for the consumer. I think I read somewhere, but don’t now remember where, that the skin of an apple has more bacteria than any other fruit on the market. That would probably hold true for cucumbers on the market due to the same reasons. I feed both but I peel them. Hope any of this has helped you. If you have any other questions, please ask.

Please remember to check any and all foods you feed your seizure dog so that you avoid rosemary in any form. Studies have shown (in people so far as no study has been done in animals as of yet) that if one has a predisposition to seizures, rosemary can trigger a seizure.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Dori.

[Kimberly C]

I want to try raw for my seizure dog, but am highly concerned about the quality of the commercial ones. However, I don’t want to prepare it myself. I have researched and researched soooo much and spent a small fortune on dog food, homemade diets, etc. My dog loves the homemade cooked recipes I cook for him, but hates the supplements I have to add to balance it out. He doesn’t seem to thrive on anything…..he scratches, has ear problems, chews his feet, you name it. So, the only option I seem to have left is raw, although it does scare me……guess I’m looking for support and reassurance.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Kimberly C.

[Sam D]

Hi all,
We have a 15 week old Aussie and he’s been doing well on his rotating diet. I want to get him used to different foods but I also don’t want to upset his stomach. So far he’s been tolerating the following pretty well.

Mon-Fri – Kibble Taste of the Wild Puppy. Sometimes his kibble dinner is topped with TOTW canned food or Merrick canned food.

Sat & Sun – RAW – Either instinct raw frozen bites (turkey or beef) with Honest Kitchen Topper OR Aunt Jenni’s raw (turkey or beef)

1-2 days a week I’ll give him a lunch of canned Tripett

His 30lb bag of Taste of the Wild Kibble is almost up and I wanted to get Orijen large breed puppy. Does this seem like overkill on variety? We watch his stools. When he’s on raw his stools are dark, hard and once or twice a day. Kibble he poops up to 4 times a day. More gassy on the kibble too.
THANKS!!!!

[Lyndel M]

Hi Gloria,

Yes, there is certainly a lot of confusion amongst the raw and the cooked dog food camps. I have been reading heaps about it. Those in the raw food camp put forward for the raw food diet. I shall do my best to summarise a few of the key points that are important to me. First, they say that the dog’s metabolism has changed very little from the wolves, the original wild dogs. They suggest that when we provide our dogs with the right proportions of meats, organ meats, vegetables, fruit matter and bones, they’re digestive systems have the best chance of exacting the nutrients they need for shiny coats, healthier skin and teeth, stronger bones, and decreased chances of modern-day ailments and diseases that dogs in the wild rarely if ever have. Some of these ailments include itching, skin irritations, including dryness, fleas, hip dysplasia and arthritis.

In the other camp, there is some criticism of the raw diet saying that giving a dog only food i.e., meats risks feeding contaminated food, that people don’t take enough care in raw food preparation, that dogs today have evolved to adjust to modern (cooked, commercial) food and that dogs are at moderate – high risk of injuries from bone which become lodged in the throat or gut.

I am definitely against using any commercial dog foods. There are some great you-tube documentaries disclosing the shocking truth about the poor quality of nutrition of kibble and canned dog foods and the associated illnesses. In addition, that most Vets receive very little real knowledge of nutrition in their veterinarian studies and are just as influenced by the unregulated marketing and commercial dog food producers as GPs are by drug companies.

Regardless, Jean Hofve & Celeste Yarnall “Paleo Dog” is one book that has been recommended provide excellent information for providing your dog with all of the information needed to provide our dogs with all of the nutrients required and how to do so, if we want to go down the raw food pathway. Also there is the BARF raw foods that you can purchase and other online info about this pathway. And there are heaps of recipes for cooking our dogs food as well. Andi Brown “The Whole Pet Diet: 8 wks to great health for dogs and cats”, which is also excellent for going down the cooked food pathway. They both recommend certain supplements and they both provide enough evidence to suggest that just like for humans, if we give our pets fresh wholesome, organic foods (either raw or cooked) we will be doing our beloved pets a great service.

Given I have been a passionate advocate of healthy, unprocessed foods for more 40years, I certainly want to extend this to my pet. People on this post have just been concerned that I was being cruel to our new puppy for placing his food into chewtoys. However, I made the mistake of saying that we would be putting all of his daily foods into chewtoys, whereas that won’t be the case. But I will definitely using chewtoys together with crate training, self-soothing, stimulation and entertainment as I mentioned in my previous post. I am definitely not an expert, but a concerned pet owner who has done lots and lots of reading in order to do the best by our new puppy in terms of nutrition and training. All the best!! :0)

[Rebekah W]

I have a 5 year old Chihuahua and his health was not very good so I decided to look into getting him a better brand of food. I stumbled across a raw food diet for dogs in which you bass the weight of your animal to how much raw meat they eat. I’ve heard many miracle stories about this diet where animals who have cancerous tumors which are expanding. Once they started the diet, their tumors stopped expanding. So I decided to give the diet a try and I created a website to show my progress!
http://pudders-chow-time.weebly.com
Check out my website if you want to hear my story with the raw food diet and get a schedule for the food plan.

[Lyndel M]

Hi again,

Thank you for all of your comments. However, can I say that I was responding to another member’s query as to how to stuff chew toys when she is using a raw food diet and I provided with options from my own my own research and provided a link.
However, given some of the confusion that, i) it is cruel to make a puppy work so hard for its food by giving all of its food in a chewtoy, ii) that they can’t get all of their nutritional needs met from a chewtoy due to the difficulty of getting all of food out, especially the raw meat out; iv) the raw food may go off or the chew toy become contaminated with raw food left in there and cleaning difficulties etc. Yes! I agree to most of those responses.
A puppy has very specific needs indeed. He/she needs a balance of 70% protein, 20% carbs !0% veg/fibre. Their protein should also include 10% organ meat, with only 5% of that being organic liver.
I am going on my own research and as most of your know there are many benefits to using stuffable chew toys and food puzzles. Dr Ian Dunbar (a UK vet and one of the first positive dog trainers) recommends that for the first few days to a week only feeding you puppy either by hand or in chew toys to teach them i) bite inhibition;ii) to teach the a chewtoy habit so they only chew on appropriate chew toys. However, in his day in the 80’s kibble was viewed as the best food for all dogs and he did feel his puppy’s chewtoys with kibble.

We do not intend to feed all of my puppy’s meals in a kong and we will not be leaving our puppy unsupervised…ever! We have used chew toys with previous pets and of course know the importance of cleaning. While our puppy is getting positively conditioned to his portable crate, his chew toys will be in there for him to chew on for entertainment and teaching him to self-sooth for those times in the future when he will need to be on his own. Outside of his crate (which by the way, will only be used in this way for the first few weeks), his food will be hand fed and given as treats in his training sessions.

I have found and spoken to a holistic vet in my area and will of course be guided by her expertise. We will also be supplying certain omega -3 & 6 rich oils for a shiny coat and skin health and other vitamin supplements. We love and have always loved dogs, however, this will be the first time that we will be introducing raw food into the diet after our growing awareness of how poor the quality (even premium) commercial dog foods are. Given the controversy around raw vs cooked food, my partner and I have decided to offer a mixture of both home cooked and raw food.

As most of you know that daily physical exercise is essential for a healthy pet, I am a big advocate of not allowing our pet just sit all day with nothing to do except sleep and wait anxiously for us to come home for his walk. So chewtoys are great for reducing anxiety and boredom and providing mental stimulation.

As our pup grows, we will of course be providing some of his meals in bowls and some in puzzles, kongs etc and some still by hand.

It is great to see though that some of you who are concerned about the issue of animal cruelty are being outspoken about this, we are all definitely on the same page there. I am passionate about preventing cruelty to all animals and humans. Have a good day!

[Kate F]

Hi everyone! Kate from The Honest Kitchen here. I just wanted to help try and clear up any confusion. All of our diets (excluding base mixes) are complete meals that are balanced to AAFCO standards. This means you can feed them as stand alone diets and know that they have the appropriate amounts of nutrients – including protein – that dogs need. If you want to look at the specific nutrient breakdown, you can find the nutrient profiles here: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/help-center/nutrient-profiles/

The reason that you can’t actually see pieces of meat or fish is because we ground our protein down to almost a powder so that it is evenly distributed throughout the recipe. This ensures that every scoop of food will have protein in – whereas if it was chunks, they could all settle at the bottom of the box and you wouldn’t always have the right amt of protein in every meal.

Our base mixes are different in that those DO require a protein to be added. The base mixes have a balanced amount of nutrients and vitamins except protein – so that all you need to add is meat or fish (cooked or raw) and know that you are feeding your dog a complete diet. This takes the guess work out of trying to feed a raw diet and wondering if your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. These recipes are great for raw feeders, people who like to make homemade diets or dogs that have severe allergies & can only eat specific proteins like rabbit.

Please feel free to give us a call at any time and we can discuss this in more detail with you. Our customer service team is amazing and happy to answer any questions. 866-437-9729

Hope this helps!

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I would add 25% of the commercial raw to his diet for say 1-2 weeks, transitioning is a personal thing, some can do it rt away, some not.
But in my opinion with raw I would do it slowly, say after 1 week cut back on the blue buffalo by say another 25%,add more raw, see how his tummy takes to the new food. Also monitor his stool for any change, if you see a change cut back on raw & wait until his stomach settles down.
You might want to add a probiotic or digestive enzyme during the transition -the honest kitchen makes a so called transition enabler called “Perfect Form” which worked for me. TheHonestKitchen.com
I will check back later to see if you have more questions, 1 of my angels needs her walk ,so i must go.
Good luck

[Dori]

My concern aquariangt with the OP is that she is talking about a puppy that she will be getting in a couple of weeks. Feeding out of a Kong is perfectly acceptable to me as are slow feeding bowls for adult dogs, not puppies. Puppies have needs that must be met by feeding three or four times a day. She has also stated that she wants to feed a raw diet. In my opinion it is completely inappropriate to have raw food for a puppy stuffed into a Kong not knowing how long the food will be in the Kong while the puppy tries to figure out how to get it out and if, in fact, the puppy is even capable of getting it all out and then there is the problem of thoroughly cleaning the inside of the Kong. I have no issues whatsoever if she wants to hold out one of the puppies daily meal and put that into a kong (only if it’s a dehydrated or freeze dried food). I love Kong’s . I use them myself for my three. I make up a batch of dehydrated and freeze them. They are a great source of entertainment for dogs of all ages. I just want to make sure that the rest of the days meal the puppies nutritional and caloric needs are met.

[Katrene J]

Hi, I have an 8 yo, male English Springer with the same problem everyone here is describing. My sweet guy started with the gulps about 5 years ago. The frequency at first was once every 3-4 months. It gradually increased to every 2 weeks or so. Or it had up until last November [2014]. Since November he’s had two bouts and both were mild – no deeply scared, frantic grass-eating dog those two times. He was definitely uncomfortable and seemed kinda worried it might get worse but a little throat massage and he could go back to sleep.

Like a lot of folks on this and a couple of other wonderful, helpful forums, I’ve tried a ton of things and even thought at times we had the problem solved, only to find a few weeks or a month later that I was wrong and had to go back to the drawing board. It’s been 3 1/2 months now since Tommy’s had a bad night. Instead of the predicted 7 or so episodes you’d figure he’d have had at the every-other-week frequency, there were only the two mild ones. I changed only one thing.

Now it may be another wild goose chase in the end but with a hiatus of almost 4 months I figured it’s worth sharing the change we made at this point. I hope it can help another dog. The last thing I want thought, is to give anyone false hope. This may be something or it may be nothing and we all know that each dog is so very different what works well for one may do nothing for another.

With that part out of the way let me tell you what has worked so far for Tom. Back in early Nov Tommy and I were up with a night of the gulps. I scanned the web for any new info that might have been shared since his last bout of the gulps. One person had posted. She [I think] said the only thing that worked for her dog was Pepcid Complete – not regular Pepcid, Not Tums. Only the Complete formula helped. I didn’t have any Pepcid complete on hand so I went online to check the ingredients. It turned out that Pepcid Complete is basically Pepcid plus Tums plus magnesium. Those things I did have on the shelf. I gave Tom the equivalent. He shortly seemed somewhat better. Not good enough so we could go back to bed but somehow less worried, less desperate.

I started to research Magnesium. I had had it on hand for leg and foot cramps. It’s amazing for relieving muscle spasms. Could a throat spasm be part of the gulps problem? The dogs do seem to be gulping like they’re trying to swallow something stuck in their throats… One friend had had success with a very powerful anti spasmodic years ago with her gulps dog, an Aussie. A magnesium deficiency could be a cause of GERD too, I’d read. There sure seems to be some stomach problem with the gulps too… It seemed worth investigating.

I’m NOT a vet nor do I play one on television so please take what follows with that understanding. First I took some magnesium myself as a supplement. That went ok and I learned that, as mentioned in the research, too much creates loose stools. Good – that gave me a gauge to know when to cut back.

I began to give Tom magnesium as a supplement. This is plain magnesium we’re talking about here, nothing fancy. It’s regular grocery store magnesium, 250 mg tablets. Started Tom on it slowly, etc. He weighs about 55#. When he was getting one 250 mg tablet in the morning and two 250s at night I held it there. His stools were still fine and that dosage felt right – not a scientific reason but sometimes I think my subconscious notices things my conscious mind doesn’t and I’ve earned to pay attention.

Since being on that regimen of 250mg AM and 500mg PM Tom has had only the two bouts of the gulps that I mentioned earlier. One was over Christmas when I’d backed off on the Mg to about half the dose for a few days [we were guests and the loose stool potential was weighing heavily on my mind!]. The second was about a month ago. That was the time I never had to even wake up completely. He began soft gulping but was only mildly concerned. I gently messaged his throat for a minute or two. He sighed and curled up next to me. We both went back to sleep. One more momentary massage about 4 hrs later and the gulps were over.

My gut feeling is that some dogs have or develop a magnesium deficiency. If that’s the case Tom’s may have started when I had to take him off a raw diet. Or it may be it’s that the land that grows our food is so magnesium poor at this point the dogs are simply not getting enough no matter what they’re fed. Whatever the cause, for Tom at least so far, the magnesium supplement seems to be working. He and I both hope our experiences can help someone else’s good dog.

[Nancy A]

I would like to nominate Small Batch Dog Food. The company is based in San Francisco and sources its food ingredients from sustainably raised cows, chickens, turkeys, lamb and rabbits; and the produce is organically grown. It is a raw food diet that is frozen and comes in patties for larger dogs and sliders for smaller dogs.

[InkedMarie]

I feed ground raw, prey model diet. I don’t think dogs need fruits & veggies in their diet. I buy grinds from Hare Today & Reel Raw. RR has free shipping; the amount you must buy depends where you live. RR has four different complete & balanced meals: chicken, turkey, beef, pork and a mix of all. Hare has a better selection of proteins & a good amount of boneless. I have one 33 pounder who gets about 3.5 bony plus about an ounce of boneless per meal.

[BulldogMom]

Hi all! My puppy is 8 weeks and I’m wanting to get away from the dry dog food and feed him a raw diet. I’ve been researching for hours and I cannot find a good raw recipe to start him on. It seems like everyone just feeds in whole rather than mixing… I did find one recipe with ground beef and rice but I’m wanting something with chicken, veggies, fruit, etc. Can someone PLEASE help me? I have no idea where to start. I need some recipes, a menu, something! I’m feeling absolutely discouraged. I was looking for something I could freeze in bulk rather than spending a ton of money on whole chicken, turkey, etc. for different days.

He’s an 8 week old American bulldog.

Thanks in advance!

[BulldogMom]

Hi all! My puppy is 8 weeks and I’m wanting to get away from the dry dog food and feed him a raw diet. I’ve been researching for hours and I cannot find a good raw recipe to start him on. It seems like everyone just feeds in whole rather than mixing… I did find one recipe with ground beef and rice but I’m wanting something with chicken, veggies, fruit, etc. Can someone PLEASE help me? I have no idea where to start. I need some recipes, a menu, something! I’m feeling absolutely discouraged. I was looking for something I could freeze in bulk rather than spending a ton of money on whole chicken, turkey, etc. for different days.

He’s an 8 week old American bulldog.

Thanks in advance!

[kgoble78]

Hi! I’m a newbie who needs help. A little background… I have a weimaraner named Ruby who will be 5 yrs old May 8th. Originally she was on Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin formula due to her having a skin allergy that we think is because of a tall weed like fungus that likes heat (I live in the South) and has a black powdery top that when you touch it it makes a black powder on you. It’s VERY annoying. Anyways, she kept throwing up from time to time when I realized she likely had a food allergy. (This dog is allergic to everything it seems!) I’m not sure what she’s allergic to in foods. All I know is I switched her to Natural Balance L.I.D Sweet Potato and Fish formula and it cleared right up.

Fast forward to last week.
She had been peeing a lot for a couple of weeks. I knew she needed to see a vet when she peed in her crate a couple of times. I take her in and she has a UTI and struvite crystals. The vet puts her on Royal Canin SO for urinary problems. I inform her she has a food allergy so she sold me the smallest bag she had. I slowly presented it to her along with her normal food until she was eating only the royal canin. So of course she’s throwing up at least once a day now. I looked at the ingredients and the food looks like rubbish. Seems like every ingredient that a dog could be allergic to is in it. Being that I don’t know which ingredient she’s allergic to it makes it tricky. I lucked out and bought a LID food that worked right off the bat.

So what is your suggestion as to what I should feed her? I saw in another post someone didn’t switch foods but just started giving their dog cranimals original formula http://www.cranimals.com and it cleared the crystals right up. All the info I’ve read about crystals said a special food/diet would be needed so I was nervous about doing that. Does anyone think that would be a good route? It’d be so much easier on myself and Ruby if that’s a possibility.

Also, I read something that made it sound like feeding a fish based dog food can cause crystals to form. Can anyone confirm that? Is fish not something I should be feeding her? Any suggestions on food if not?

Sorry for my LONG, drawn out post. I wasn’t sure what info would be helpful so my apologies.

Thanks!
Kristi

[crazy4cats]

Hi Corey-

I’m sorry to hear of your dog’s troubles with stones. While I have no oxalate stones experience, I do with the struvites. But, I have read about the oxalate a bit when doing reserch on the struvite crystals due to my cat’s blockage.

I have learned with any type of crystals or stones, it is best to get the most moisture in their diet as possible. And they also need plenty of opportunities to pee. I would try to feed as much canned or raw food to your pup as possible. Some vet therapeutic diets actually add salt to encourage the dogs to drink more water to dilute their urine as much as possible. Another thing that has been mentioned with trying to keep the pH levels stable is that it is best to feed a few smaller meals throughout the day rather than one or two large meals. Also minimize the amount of calcium being fed to your dog.

At least the struvites can be dissolved with some types of vet foods, but the other types of stones and crystals cannot. So it is best to prevent them to begin with. Here is a site that has some decent information on it. Good luck! http://www.2ndchance.info/oxalatedog.htm

[Kimi_forever]

Dori: most of those commercial raw diets are probably out of my price range, but do you mind sharing 1-2 of the ones you’ve found to be trust worthy over time?

[Akari_32]

I feed my 13 lb cat higher quality foods like Wellness and Halo, for about $20 a month. He does get some junkies foods like Friskies Special Diet and such to help keep cost down, but it is possible to feed good foods on a budget. Keep a look out for coupons and sales, and stock up when you find a good deal.

Right now, I’m switching mone to raw and am finding it be much more economical than even mid grade canned food. For example, on canned he eats 9-10 oz a day. On raw, he eats just 6 oz, and you actually want cheaper meats because of their fat and taurine contents, so you can get away with chicken thighs and quarters and pork and hearts. Might be something to look into 😉

[Dori]

Gloria. Definitely proves my point. You never know when a recall is going to pop up but you know darn well it will. I do my best to avoid the obvious. It’s also the reason that I avoid any manufacturer that has had multiple recalls. You know that eventually they are going to have more recalls and I don’t intend for my dogs to get caught up in the disaster. I only feed high quality commercial raw diets from companies that I trust completely because I have spent literally years researching commercial raw manufacturers that are made in the USA sourcing their ingredients only from the USA. Nothing GMO. No soy, no corn, no white potatoes, no grains, no poultry. I’m sure there are other things on my list of ingredients that I do not feed.

[Akari_32]

Hi, Kimi! What are you feeding now? And is it dry or canned? Canned or raw are the best when it comes to feeding cats. Cats do not have a high thirst drive, which can lead to sever cronic dehydration while on dry foods. And not enough water can lead to all kinds of health problems, such as the ones you are seeing. Most health problems, especially in cats, can be fixed with a simple change of diet, under the direction of a vet. So, yes, go see your vet, but express that you would like to not do all the crazy meds if it’s not absolutely necessary (I have to remind my vet of this quite often lol).

[MIKE B]

Sorry for the long history, but the situation is complicated; I’ll stick to info that seems essential to this mystery.

Our 15.5 year old lab/setter mix has been on a raw food diet for about the last 14 years, since being diagnosed with mild hip disp. For all these years, he has eaten his nightly dinner with joy, mostly frozen raw chicken on the bone, lots of leg quarters, drumsticks, backs. Breakfast has also always been an eagerly awaited treat, a mix of ground turkey, tuna, fish oil, eggs yokes, and ground veggies (brocc, carrots, and other) and apples w/out seeds. I’m probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

His regular blood work has also delivered exemplary results from a doc sympathetic to but not knowledgeable about raw feeding.

As recently as this last summer we were needing to feed him a bit less to keep his weight down (approx. 60 lbs) because the warm weather really slows him down. He has always gotten two walks a day, totaling about 3-4 miles, off leash, though as he slowed down it was sometimes tough to get in 2 miles a day in 2 walks.

Then we tried some laser therapy on an arthritic wrist, which didn’t help, so we tried adding Tramadol to help w/ the arthritis. He has been getting daily Rimadyl, also, for probably the last year or more.

The Tramadol seemed to help, but he really hated the taste, and soon even hiding them in his morning breakfast wasn’t good enough, so we put them in fish oil capsules, until he detected the hated pills and stopped eating the fish oil caps that came with his breakfast.

Since the pills helped, we decided to hide the pills in very small Lean Treats, which did the trick, but soon after he started losing interest in breakfast and eventually his nightly chicken on the bone. He still ate, but seemed less enthused.

Now things get really complicated. To combat a growing problem with nightly incontinence, we started giving him testosterone shots. The results have been phenomenal. The shots not only got the incontinence under control, but they, along with cold weather, have him walking with great enthusiasm, speed, and vigor, so now we’re up to 4 or more miles a day between the two walks. Great news.

Except that even as he was getting much more exercise, his appetite has been greatly reduced. He still eats both breakfast and dinner as described above, but he will typically only eat a half portion, which has lead to significant weight loss.

When his ribs began to show we started trying different meats including beef and liver with some but not enough improvement. Finally, about a week ago, in desperation we did three things: 1) we started making silky balls for him as a supplement, and sure enough, he likes them; 2) we started adding canned dog food to his breakfast and 3) we started giving him some Iams dry dog food AFTER he ate as much of his chicken on the bone as he was willing to eat.

The latest is that he seems less and less interested in his raw food breakfast even when mixed with canned dog food, and while he can still be coaxed into downing a couple of raw drumsticks for dinner most (but not all) nights, he loves the silky balls and his kibble.

At this point I need another bag of dog food but I hate using the stuff and would rather see him back on a BARF diet, but if he won’t eat enough of it, well, he’s got to eat! At 15.5 years old, I’m tempted to say, okay, whatever you’ll eat, pal, that’s fine, but if anyone has experience with a situation like this I’d love to hear some suggestions.

In particular, I’d like to know a) are changes in taste common to older dogs, as they can be in people?,; b) does anybody recognize in the story above a causal explanation? (we have our own theories, but I’ll reserve them for now); c) does anybody have suggestions for how to get him back to enthusiastic BARFing?

Thank you.

[Riley T]

I have two French bulldogs and have had an issue finding a grain free chicken free or anything with feathers for that matter that is also potato free.
I am going to try out Earthborn Grain Free kibble and see what happens. I’ve tried them on Orijen (too rich) Acana ( they wouldn’t eat it), FROMM Gold (loose stinky stools & itchiness), Merrick Bison & Sweet Potato (good stools but still itchy), Taste of the Wild High Prairie ( made them gassy).
So this is one of my last options before going to a RAW diet, wish me luck lol.

[Sally C]

I am new to this site and a fairly new dog owner. Here’s the history of my pup: we adopted a 9 month old yorkie from a local rescue in November. He came to us eating Eagle Pack dog food which I kept him on. He was also coughing a lot, then he started itching and chewy his hind legs. He developed severe ear infections, then diarrhea and then he finally started vomiting roundworms. This was all over the course of 6 weeks. Before the worms were found (despite 3 stool samples), we were certain he had allergies. So, I tried him on Blue Buffalo Basics which was not helpful and caused diarrhea then switched to Nature’s Variety limited ingredient Salmon meal. He has completely quit scratching and the hair on his hind legs is starting to grow back. His skin is also less dry. The problem is that he really smells, he has gas, his breath is awful and his stools are very soft , large and smell awful!!! Now I don’t know if he really has allergies or if it could have been been getting worms.

I have read about raw diets but I just don’t know if I could do it. Maybe if it was already prepared. Dry kibble would be my first choice, but I don’t know if it will help him. This has been a very long process of trial and error and any advice would be wonderful! I have wasted so much dog food!

[Nikki J]

Hello everyone, I have just joined this very interesting website forum. My name is Nikki and I currently have one dog, a low content wolf cross. I have owned wolf crosses for the past 15 or 16 years, and for most of that time have fed a raw diet, preferring BARF to prey model.

I believe passionately that ALL dogs should be fed raw, but in particular the northern breeds and mixes. None of my boys have ever been able to tolerate kibble, especially my first dog, Hal, who was a higher content wolf cross.

I am looking forward to joining in on discussions and generally getting to know everyone. It looks to be a very friendly site.

[Michael C]

Morning! My question is about fish. Where I shop I have the option of Ground Herring/Mackerel mix, Wild Caught Whole Portugese Sardines, and Whole Spanish Mackerel. I want the best Omega3 fish I can get that will feed a mastiff puppy growing bones :p

[charles h]

Hi Glen,

How did the change of diet happen, for example was your dog on kibble then one morning changed to raw food?

Any change of diet even going from one type of kibble to another instantly without a weening period can result in an upset stomach.

Bacteria does not affect dogs as it normally affects the intestines not the stomach however dogs have a much shorter intestinal track than humans so bacteria can not grow to cause issues.

I would guess you changed diet too quickly, persistence will ease any stomach upsets your dog has however you can use some human anti-diarrhea tablets in the meantime to make sure your dog does not loose too much liquid.

Bones such as chicken bones can also be used a binding agent to solidify stools so you can feed less meat and more bone to harden up your dogs stool then introduce more meat carefully monitoring their stools.

Hope this helps

Charles

[Chloe j]

i am starting a raw food diet with my dog panda, i am looking for good supplements to feed, i will be feeding a variety of lean meat, RMB, and organs, veggies,fruit, i was looking at these supplements, to feed daily, how do they look to you guys? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AYL6M/ref=gno_cart_title_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A34A7V6YS432AV


if anyone has any suggestions i would be really gratefull, thank you
chloe

[Dori]

Happy belated birthday Haley. So sorry I missed your actual day.

My girls had THK Zeal for breakfast today. They also had a couple of blueberries and a little piece of banana each just now. My three love to eat which is so funny because you would think they would all be a bit obese and yet they all maintain their weight and are all actually on the lean side. I think it’s probably that they are on raw diets for the most part. They don’t bother to stop and sniff. Lola whines the entire time I’m preparing all meals or cutting up fruits and/or veggies. Katie twirls in circles (vet calls her our circus dog) and Hannah sits and stares at me and every move I make.

Thought I’d mention that Katie and Lola have never ever turned down any food. There has been only one food that Hannah has refused to eat and that was Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Goat. First time she ever sniffed a food and backed up and would have no part of it. That was the one and only time she’s ever done that. If it hadn’t been that Lola and Katie ate theirs just fine I would have thought their was something wrong with the food. I offered Hannah something else just to make sure she wasn’t sick and she ate her food just fine. With my girls being such eaters, if one of them misses a meal I figure there is either something wrong with the food or she’s sick. That was a couple of years back when I was constantly in search of foods that Katie could eat. Needless to say I never bought Grandma Lucy’s again. I hadn’t liked the food anyway so regardless of whether Hannah had eaten the food or not I wasn’t going to buy it again.

[Dori]

Hi Tracy. I’m a commercial raw feeder to my three girls. Maltese, Maltipoo and a Yorkipoo. If the food you are feeding is complete and balanced than no supplements are required. When you say that you were told that the food contains no cheated minerals, are they saying they contain synthetic minerals or just no minerals at all? That’s an important thing to know. With probiotics, once again, if it’s a truly complete and balanced food than, no, in my opinion there is no need for probiotics. Have you been to their web site and read up on the food itself and checked out ingredients and guaranteed analysis. If not, I would suugested you do that. Whatever food you are going to switch to please remember that since your dog has been eating kibble and canned, YOU MUST transition him slowly to see how his gut does with raw so that he doesn’t have diarrhea or loose stools. Once you know he doesn’t then your good to go. Once he’s been on raw for a bit I would suggest that you introduce different proteins and then different brands. That will benefit his gut and he’ll be able to make the switch from one food to the other with no issues whatsoever. I rotate brands and the different proteins within all the brands that I feed with the exception of poultry of any sort as one of my girls has food intolerances and for convenience sake for me I feed them all the same. I believe that a rotational diet is the best and healthiest way to feed. Also less chance of them becoming sensitive to the same protein fed day in and day out. Also it makes meal times more interesting for them. Anyway, all this is my opinion and my experiences with my three. So very glad you’re switching to raw. Yay!

[Tracey K]

Hi! I have a 5 year old shih tzu/bichon mix that I have been feeding Fromm Grain Free kibble and canned for the last 2 years and after much reading on the benefits of a raw diet, I went out and purchased raw dinners from a local company ( Big Country Raw) located here in Southern Ontario. I went with the dinners because they included vegetables and fruits along with the meat.
My question is do I have to add any supplements to this food? I’m so nervous he won’t be getting the required amount needed. I want to start him on it in the morning and is it ok if I don’t have the supplements if needed then?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Naturella,
My late husband ADORED TRIPE their is a dish called Menudo (no not the group), that he ate like it was candy!!!

On another note has anyone ordered the tripe from “mypetcarnivore.com.?
If so can a recommendation be made as to which kind to get. Is the food offered on this site of good quality. And excuse if this next question sounds off the wall, this is giving real raw correct? Or is it the same as say giving Primal. I am a newbie to commercial raw but slowly trying to get my 2 girls on it full time.
I also wanted to try the ABC diet and see this website has the hearts I cannot seem to find anywhere else.
Thanks in advance for the feedback