[Karen J]

Trixie is a rescue, she just turned 1 year I’ve had her for 8 months, a terrier mix/chinese crested. Diagnosed with urinary crystals. No infection or stones. But she peed in house twice, there is a dog door and she walks and goes to daycare.

Since diagnosis 2 days ago I’ve switched her to filtered water and add Cranberry Comfort to her food, was told to get low ash food and also raw dried. I put Stella and Chewy on her kibble and she loves it. I give her Natural Balance dental chews. I also remove the dark kibbles from her Blue Buffalo kibble.

Right now she eats Blue Buffalo canned chicken and lamb and small dog kibble. She weights 12.8lbs. I’ve heard this brand and food are really not the best for her condition.

[Angie]

Hi Guys!

I looking for advice from some of you avid raw feeders. I have been feeding Big Country Raw dinners to my two pups for the last 4 months. I have a Samoyed that’s just under 2 years old and a Shih Poo who is almost 8. The samoyed is 65lbs and the Shih Poo is 16 lbs.

My Samoyed had Coccidia and Giardia as a puppy and he has been treated for it a few times and since then his digestive system haven’t been the same so we tried raw for him and it was almost a miracle. He has small solid poops to where I don’t have to bathe his butt every morning before work.

Anyways the main reason for this post is that.. is there anything I need to add to their diets? They are getting a rotation diet of Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Lamb, Breeder Blend, and Fish Dinner. Is there a supplement I need to add since they will most likely been on this diet for a while. I do give them chicken and Turkey Necks once a week and Bones to chew + Brush their teeth a few times a week.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Angie

http://www.bigcountryrawstore.com/Dinners-s/1818.htm

[Ry K]

I’ll definitely start keeping track of his day to day – that’s a great tip.

I virtually bathe in coconut oil myself, so I’ll definitely start applying it to him topically or even adding a bit to his food.

Another person just mentioned to me that it may be fleas. I made a 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water mix and sprayed him today – hoping that will help. He’s really not that bad lately to be honest – it’s always so hard to tell why it gets worse and then goes away.

I don’t add any carbs like sweet potatoes to his diet – the raw food comes with the proper vegetable ratio already added into it. I never considered yeast – definitely another possibility.

Thanks again – great info!

[InkedMarie]

Hi Courtney,
I had a dog with frequent UTI’s and he was diagnosed with struvite crystals. My vet had me give him one 500 mg vitamin C a day but you don’t do this without your vets okay. It is extremely important to get enough liquid into your dog. Dry food is the worst you can feed. Best is a raw diet, canned or dehydrated. If you must feed dry, add canned & water to his food.
Don’t worry about low oxalate foods unless it’s needed. I would not use a prescription food at all. If your vet tells you to, I’d find a holistic vet to go to and get their advice. Keep us posted on how she is.

[pugmomsandy]

If he’s having solid stool and no gas than continue on with what you’re feeding. But for a healthier gut and immune system, it could be beneficial to add some additional probiotics once a day or just a couple times a week, and also doing a rotation diet. I buy the Swanson Vitamins Dr Langer’s Ultimate Probioitcs. They’re often buy 1 get 1 free! I also buy Garden of Life Raw probiotics from the health food store. I buy the human products and just share with the dogs.

http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59

http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-for-pets.html

[Akari_32]

I just kind of eye-ball it for canned, to be honest. I use just enough canned to coat the kibbles evenly (a few spoonfuls of canned over 1/3-1/4 cup dry for my dachshund, and a whole 13 oz can to 3-4 cups split between my big guys) and if I notice undesirable weight change, I adjust accordingly.

For “fresh” toppers, as long as it’s not making up more than about 20% of the dogs diet, it’s fine. That 20% can mean daily toppers, or even a whole meal once a week or so of a raw meaty bone or something. No need to make it all scientific, really. Have fun with it!

As for size and breed specific marketing, it’s pretty useless. Keep life interesting and switch it up. I’m actually feeding all my dogs on Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health right now– even the 130 pounder! I shoot for 25% and up (the higher the better, but I use coupons for my dog food, so I can’t be too picky), and as high callorie as possible. This one happened to fit the bill with 30% protein and 502 calories per cup, and be free, plus money back, after coupons.

Nothing wrong with questions! If you don’t ask, you don’t learn. 🙂

[Haleybop]

Thanks. Along with all the info, it doesn’t help that you have a vet that you’ve been trusting and going to for 18 years who follows AAHA’s guidelines of no raw. Really hard to find a holistic vets in my area but I now have a lead on one. Just found out that the beef hearts I bought for the ABC diet, when I bought my grass-fed/antibiotic free beef, aren’t grass fed. Sigh. We try and try to do the best for our babies. Sometimes, I wish someone would tell me exactly what to do but it might not be the right thing for my pup (or me). I’m still going to keep on learning!

[jakes mom]

Don’t feel guilty about not doing raw. I feed kibble and do the ABC diet, although I add fresh throughout the week instead of all on one day. I think that’s better for my guy’s tummy, I’m afraid all fresh one day might be a bit much for him. I agree, there’s way too much info out there, hard to sort thru it all. I think a good quality kibble and the ABC diet is a good compromise.

[Kari L]

Hi, I am considering doing a raw food diet with my two dogs. They are old and have no real health problems but do have big lumps forming on their skin for the past 1-2 years. Fatty tumors I am guessing. I haven’t taken them to a vet in a very long time.
My daughter has autism and is obviously my priority. We eat 90% organic diet as a family and spend most of our money doing so among many of her supplements.
I am kind of sick of buying crappy dog food for them. I buy them a grain free dry dog food now which is mostly meat then followed by sweet potato which I know they don’t need.
I am not so worried about these two ( I love them but realize they are on there way out of this world and the damage of their teeth wont be repaired) but when they go would like to ditch the crappy dog food for sure.
So sorry for the long introduction but my question is how much does this all cost and how much preparation is involved? I have been buying what I thought was raw dog food at Whole Foods lately but realized it was lightly pasteurized. It was lamb and many lamb organs with many synthetic vitamins/minerals.
Do most people use synthetic vitamins/minerals on this diet? Again total newbie but do love nutrition.
BTW my dogs now are 11 and are 10 and 15 pounds. My next dog I plan will be bigger like a golden retriever.
Thank you much!

[tina b]

Hey, Bobby Dog… 🙂

I put Major, and my other 3 Labs, on Olewo carrots a little over 3 months ago. I called and spoke with Ina, the US distributor, for a half hour…and picked her brain on whether or not it could help Major. Just so you know what I was dealing with…Major has suffered bloat (daily, to some extent) and IBS since he was about 4 months old….he’s 5 1/2 years old now. He had diarrhea all. the. time. A few years ago, I switched him to a premium (grain free) kibble and it helped…it helped even more when I switched to 100% raw almost 2 years ago. Major’s diarrhea would range from cow patty to brown water…it was horrible for him. I tried different probitics and digestive enzymes…with no real improvement to speak of. When I added the carrots to his diet, the diarrhea all but disappeared!

I gave Major 1 Tablespoon of carrots mixed with 1/2 cup water on his breakfast. For the next 10 weeks…he had 5 days in which he had diarrhea. When I say “days”…I mean one bad stool each of those days…not and entire day of running outside to pooh (which was not unusual). I spoke with Ina and shared the outcome, she suggested increasing his carrots just a bit. I started adding 1/2 Tablespoon carrots to his 1 Tablespoon of beets for his evening meal 4 weeks ago, and he has not had a single episode of diarrhea since!

I rescued a diabetic Lab 2 years ago…he’s 10 years old now. From the time we brought him home, he would generally pooh only once a day…and his stool was so dry, it would crumble when it hit the ground. No joke. Since adding the carrots to his meal (1 Tablespoon each morning)…he pooh is firm and glossy now and he goes twice a day most days. I wasn’t expecting that to happen.

I added the beets to my dogs’ diet 2 months ago…mostly for the anti-inflammatory benefits for my older dog’s arthritis and for Major’s inflamed intestines. It’s to soon to tell if it’s helping the arthritis, but Major’s intestines aren’t nearly as swollen as they were…we could literally see them swirling in his stomach when he’d lay down. Poor guy.

I can’t recommend the carrots enough…and I’m a picky person when it comes to feeding my dogs.

[Kristin C]

Hi Jan – the Natural Balance kibble looks largely potato based. I would personally stay away from them. We use Orijen a couple times per week (convenience) but I believe it has pea fiber in it. Perhaps if you cook, or feed raw, for a period of time you could reset your pups digestion to incorporate a kibble again (later). See Spot Live Longer Dinner mix would work with a lightly cooked or raw program. What is she getting for fat or oils in her diet?

[Bobby dog]

Hi JAN:
Maybe the Natural Balance LID Duck, Kangaroo, or Rabbit recipes. I would also look into commercial raw for variety as a topper (or full meal a few times/wk) as pugmomsandy suggests.

Another option would be to make some or all homemade meals using a dinner mix. Here’s a link to some info on mixes:
http://dogaware.com/diet/dogfoodmixes.html

Here’s a link to a dinner mix that is fed and recommended by several regular posters. This is also the site for the book that BCn recommended, Steve Brown’s “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet”:
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/smartlist_13/dinner_mixes.html

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Bobby dog.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Bobby dog.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Bobby dog.

[Kristin C]

Dfw – when you say rotational what do you mean? Ever tried just plain white rice and boiled chicken to reset his digestion? I did this with my 5 month old pup after it was coming out both ends for weeks. Turns out a raw diet worked best for her so I switched both my girls to raw.

[Susan]

Hi, has the vet tried him on a vet prescription diet kibble yet like the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat or the Sensitivity Control….My boy was put on the Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet, it only has 1.75%-fiber 10%-Fat, he was put on the Intestinal Plus 4%-fiber first, he was still doing very sloppy poos after 2 weeks, then I had to order another bag, the lady made a mistake & gave me the Intestinal instead of the Intestinal Plus it was a blessing making the mistake as the Intestinal is only 1.75% crude fiber, as soon as he started the Intestinal 1.75%-fiber his poos were back to normal within 2 days, thats when we realised he needed less fiber, vet said she wanted him to stay on the Eukanuba Intestinal for 1 year but around 6 months when he was doing real well, I started trying other kibbles, I stay around the same fat% protein% & I tried to find a low crude fiber% as his Intestinal Vet diet but it was hard as the vet prescription diet only had the real low crude fiber, even when I give Patch Pumkin I cant give him more then a little teaspoon, if I give more his poos are very sloppy, he cant have too much fiber or fat..
Have you ever done an elimaintion diet, thats the best way, I found that Patch was getting real bad diarrhea from potatos & itchy skin & Sweet potatos made his ears itchy when I did the elimination diet, Vet tried him on the Euknuba FP for his skin last December 1 week after just introducing 1/4cup of the FP to his Intestinal for the whole week, (I slowly introduce new kibbles I use to take about 1 month) he had real bad diarrhea as soon as he ate something he had to run outside & do water poo, so I took him straight off the FP vet thought it was from the higher fat% as it was 15% where his Intestinal was only 10% then 6 months later when I started the elimination diet, I realised it was the potatos in the Eukanuba FP as it was Fish & Potato giving him the bad diarrhea…the less you give the better, there has to be a food that stops his diarrhea, on the yahoo groups there’s a group called “IBDogs” & most of the dogs with real bad diarrhea are put on Prednidsone (Steroid) has he been put on a steroid yet, its for inflammed bowel, I never put Patch on the steriod as I got his diarrhea under control, he was put on the Metroniazole for 2 weeks & when he has had a flares, he gets put on the Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 2 weeks,
Most of the kibbles that you have tried have they been grainfree, try & get a kibble with low fat, low protein, low fiber & not a grainfree kibble as some grain free kibbles are higher in fat & protein, try a limited ingredient kibble.. after trying about 6 different kibbles, I put Patch on the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal first then I realised it has Potato protein (he started to scratch) then I changed him to the Lamb & Oatmeal it has Oats & rice I found Patch does better on grounded rice & oats kibbles, the fiber is 4.75% I was a bit worried to try but it had been over 6months since Patch had a real bad flare, last December but I still do his Eukanuba Intestinal for dinner & the Wellness Simple for breakfast & lunch… I have to give Patch smaller meals thru the day he doesnt do well on 2 large meals a day.. Have you tried the Wellness Complete health Puppy Large breed Deboned Chicken & brown rice.. I was going to try the Large breed if the Wellness Simple didnt work, but there was too many proteins in it & it has brown rice, brown rice is higher in fiber thats what worried me.. try to get a kibble with just has 1 protein that’s why I tried the Lamb & Oatmeal & the Duck & Oatmeal cause there’s just the 1 protein but it has peas & Patch farts cause of the peas…. Less is best..
Another kibble some of the ladys are using on the IBDogs is “Natural Balance” limited ingredients…try one that has the less ingredents some have more ingredients then the other limited ingredient kibbles… here’s the link to have look at the ingredients in the LTD kibbles, the Kangaroo has just Kangaroo & Potato & the fiber is 3% fat-10% there’s Bison & Sweet Potato but it has has peas, I wouldnt try a kibble with peas just yet, there’s the Potato & Rabbit that doesnt have peas or too many ingredients, have alook at all the Limited ingredients kibbes & pick one with just 1 protein that he has never had before the Kangaroo looked the best & had the least ingredients..the other one was the potato & Rabbit also didnt have too many ingredients to irratate his bowel..
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product-category.aspx?…
Or start an Elimination diet & don’t start with chicken as u’ve tried the Chicken & it didnt work, another protein like Lamb, kangaroo, rabbit, fish, one lady feeds her dog horse meat, if you can find a place that sells horse meat, cook it, not raw yet & dont do the boiled rice, Patch can have grounded rice in kibbles but not boiled rice, it irritates the bowel for some dogs, maybe try potato or sweet potatos instead of the boiled rice if he goes good then add another food.. or ask vet put him on a vet prescription diet like the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat alot of dogs do real well on the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal or the Royal Canin Sensitivity Control its just Duck & Tapioca & no other foods, no treats etc then when he’s better after 6months try & find another kibble with similar ingredients to the vet diet he’s on..
He would be so skinny as he wouldnt be getting any nutrition cause he’s pooing it back out…something is really wrong with Banes digestion, vet may need to do bi-opies to find what the problems is.
I feel for you & Bane there’s a few Great Danes on the IBDogs group if you join they also may be able to help you out as they have & are going thru the same thing, also Coconut oil at this stage is a No No when he’s going real good then maybe introduce new things but sooooooo slowely cause 1 thing can make him have a real bad flare & then you’ll have so much touble getting them back to pooing normal again like last December, it took me nilly 3 months to get Patch back to doing nice firm poos again & on the Wellness Simple he does nice firm poos, I think he did better poos on the Duck & Oatmeal it had less peas cause they used the Potato protein & not as many peas in the Duck & Oatmeal…. Good-Luck have a look at the Natural Balance LImited ingredient kibbles…

[Akari_32]

I have a dog with the exact same problem. Not only was he extremely allergic to everything blooming here in southern Florida, as well as fleas, but he’s also got over active yeast on his skin. We had to cut as many carbs as possible out of his diet for him to clear up, and even then, you can’t avoid a dog (especially not a terrier) from going in the grass.

We first put him on By Nature 95% canned food, and now he’s on See Spot Live Longer raw. He still breaks out when it rains and the grass shoots up and grows like crazy and pollinates, but it’s Florida, and there’s no preventing that. He did have himself chewed bald from his ribs back, and we finally have him down to chewing just his feet after rainy days.

[Dfwgolden]

I have a 6 month old Great Dane puppy named Bane, I love him to bits and will do anything for him. So when I say I am desperate I mean it.

My baby has had Patte type Diarrhea since day one. His breeder had him on Diamond . And he was mushy but not sloppy. We switched him to 4 health that did not agree with him and since then it’s been a down hill battle.
We’ve tried
4 Health
Earth born
Pro Plan
Gravy Train
Rachel Ray
Raw (Prey Model)
Pure Balance
Whole Earth Farms
Wellness

It does not matter what we feed him he ALWAYS has diarrhea. We’ve done medication, pumpkin, yogurt, pro-biotics and other things. We’ve done chicken and rice.
No matter what IT WILL NOT GO AWAY.
Diamond makes it explosive and he threw up Gravy Train.

It seems like nothing we do works. And even our vet is stumped.
We cannot spend over $50 a bag, I live in the USA in Dallas Ft. Worth area of Texas. I am at my wits here I don’t know what else to do!

None of my other dogs are effected by it. We have fed a rotational diet for about 3 years now and have had Great Success. But with Bane I don’t know what to do. Other than the diarrhea he is 100% healthy and growing like a weed.

I just am tirred of picking up water.

Any ideas?

[Jenny M]

I’ve been reading this thread with interest as I have a small dog who has recently started throwing up pretty much daily. He’s been raw fed and minimally vaccinated since he was a puppy, so I was pretty shocked. Once he lost about 15% of his body weight from all this, I decided to have the endoscopy done on him and I should know the results next week. It showed a “normal looking” stomach with some inflammation in the small intestine so biopsies will be done.
It’s difficult to say if the issues are food related or stress related, as this started about 2 weeks after I brought a new puppy home. Perhaps both as the original vomiting episode was accompanied by a nasty, angry red rash and hives all over his stomach/chest/legs. His skin felt hot to the touch, but thankfully that’s settled. At this point he’s getting Cerenia to control the vomiting (until we’re 100% sure what’s going on, and can either treat the food allergies with a change in protein sources and tweaking what he actually gets, or treating the stress issues perhaps present with the new puppy). I don’t want my dog on Cerenia or Pepcid for the rest of his life, however (like the original poster), I want my dog to be able to keep food down! He’s doing pretty well on Wellness 95% Salmon (NOT a complete diet, and not for long term, but a good start for a food elimination trial and pretty much the best thing I’ve found that agrees with him at this time).
Unless something bad happens, I’m going to start stretching the time he gets the stomach medicine. Instead of every 24 hours, tonight I’m stretching it to 30. Later, perhaps 36, then 48, etc until hopefully his body is able to handle food without the help of the medicine. I do intend to keep it on hand in case of a flare up…
Also, I ordered some things from the b-naturals.com website, Berts Zymes (digestive enzymes) and some other things to help aid dogs having digestive difficulties. If Chewy needs an extra “boost”, it might be something you’d be interested in checking out.

[pugmomsandy]

A helpful site for homemade food is dogaware.com. And I agree with BCnut about too much organ meat (dense in certain vits and minerals) and calcium. A chicken leg quarter is roughly 27% bone according to PreyModelRaw.com, so I’m not sure what just a bone-in thigh would be. One recipe book I’ve used “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” uses 3 parts meat/organ mix to 1 part veggie mash – about 1.5 cups meat/organ with only 1/2 cup veg (with 1 cup of meat being 1/2 lb). It also has a vitamin recipe and a recommendation for puppies.

Using your chicken thigh for my calculations at *approximately* 27% bone, this is what I come up with roughly to end up with around 10% bone:

6 lbs bone-in thighs/96 oz
8.6 lbs muscle meat/138 oz
1.6 lbs/26 oz beef organ mix

for a total of 16.25 lbs/260 oz

Also for variation, you can substitute 18-19% of the meal (meat portion) with sardines or egg (no shell). For 1 lb of food – 9 oz meat mix, 3 oz sardines or egg, 4 oz veg (from the book I mentioned above).

I’d recommend the books “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats”, “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet”, and I believe there is an e-book called “See Spot Live Longer the ABC Way”.

[theBCnut]

I’m not the one to figure out if a raw diet is balanced or not, but I do see some glaring(to me) issues. I think this recipe is very heavy on organs. Organs should make up about 10% of the meat portion of the diet with liver being half of that. Heart does not count as an organ because it is all muscle and fat. Adding chicken with the bone in is OK, and so are the eggs including shell, but the extra shells may be too much calcium, and too much calcium is a big no-no for large and giant breed puppies. Basically, 2 large egg shells are enough calcium for 1 lb of boneless meat. Make sure you use different veggies every batch, because feeding broccoli all the time isn’t good either. I prefer to use one type of protein at a time and rotate proteins.

Have you called your breeder and got their recipe for the raw that the puppies were started on?

[Tanya C]

Hi my name is Tanya and I have many fur babies which include 3 Great Danes, 1 Chinese Crested and 3 Cats 2 orange tabbies and a black white kitten. They all range in ages from 8 weeks to 8 years. Up until recently I always fed my fur family members commercial kibbles and wet foods cause food is food right. Man was I WRONG !!!Anyway we recently lost our baby girl Thunder who was a 15 year old Husky. My husband watched me struggle with her death and how badly depressed I was becoming so he suggested a new furry baby to help focus my attention on and to maybe help fill the big hole in the heart. I eventually found Chance a 10 month old Great Dane puppy, he is a great source of happiness 🙂 He was raised on a raw dog food diet and his previous owner had switched him over to commercial foods and he is doing fine but it piqued my interest because I didn’t really know what Raw Dog Food was. I’ve been researching and researching for the last 2 weeks, I made a recipe and the dogs really seem to like it but I would like some constructive criticism. I mean I did do a lot of research but there is just so much information and a lot of it contradicts what the other is saying, so I just wanted some feedback. One thing that all the information agreed on was that it is very important for the diet to be balanced and that you can do more damage by feeding an unbalanced raw diet than by staying with commercial foods, so I just want to make sure I’m doing what is best for my fur babies.
Thank you, Sincerely, Tanya

10 lbs – ground organ meats Beef (heart, kidney, liver, spleen, brains, etc..)
5.5-6 lbs – ground Chicken thigh/leg attached bone in
350 g pureed Sardines
4 – whole x-large Eggs shells pureed with the veggies (also 12 egg shell left over from breakfast)
1 cup pureed Carrot
3-4 cups pureed Yams
3-4 cups pureed Broccoli
750 g – Biobest Plain Probiotic Yogurt

• This topic was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Tanya C.

[Ry K]

Hi all,

My husky/lab has been on the raw diet for over 6 months now. I’ve verified with the raw pet food store and with a few raw diet books that he’s getting the right amount, proper bone/meat/veg balance, extras like green powders, kelp, fish oil, etc.

All of his health problems have gone away except for one – skin irritation. He’ll be good to go for a month or two, and then all of a sudden he’ll start chewing all over himself to the point of stripping the hair off and making it even worse. Then I put the cone on him for a few weeks, and he’s either fine or back at the chewing.

I exercise him every day so I don’t think it is a stress problem. I avoid fields with long grass that might bother his skin. If it’s bad enough I’ll give him a bath with oatmeal, baking soda, aloe, etc.

Does anyone have any additional thoughts on this topic? I find it especially important because I convinced a friend to switch his dog to raw recently. He did so, and it fixed some MAJOR problems the dog was having, but now 6 months later his dog is having skin irritation problems as well. It doesn’t seem to be an allergy like pollen, especially because right now there shouldn’t be any pollen issues at all where I live.

Thanks in advance for your time!
Ryan

[Haleybop]

Thanks, all, for your suggestions. I wasn’t sure why everything I read said to stop feeding them three meals after six months of age. Now, I know. 🙂

And, thanks for the general support. Ultimately, I know it’s best to go raw. I just haven’t done it before and my husband isn’t sold that I’ll be able to keep up on it (because of my disabilities). That may make him sound bad – trust me, he takes care of EVERYTHING else, lol, and would do this also if it weren’t for the fact that I WANT to take care of my baby. Plus, I seem to make everything more complicated than it is and it seems so confusing to me, balancing the diet and what not.

So, another question…how long do you go between the two meals? I know feeding them more than every 12 hours was mentioned. For instance, my dog generally wakes up between 8:15 and 9am every day and is usually back in bed by 9:30pm. Like I said earlier, I need a little help figuring things out. What would you recommend for feeding times? Right now, I feed her at around 9am, 2pm and 7pm.

Thanks, again, for the help and general support!!!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Haleybop-
You should NOT feel guilty for not feeding raw. The majority of dog owners don’t. It sounds like you are doing a great job of feeding your dog. As Zach mentioned earlier, unbalanced toppers should not account for over 20% of their total diet, not just an individual meal. Keep up the good work!

[Haleybop]

Me, again. I’m never going to stop learning! I feed my 24 lb, 10 month old beagle Back to Basics (all four varieties for now). I feed her roughly one cup a day. Roughly, because for lunch, I add in some lightly cooked protein and take away a bit of the kibble. However, I’m wondering how much protein I should add. I use a lean protein, so I usually take about 1/3 out of her 1/3 serving and add in that much protein. Am I doing this right? Also, how often should I rotate her kibble protein? Every bag switch it to another one or switch it up during the week. Sorry, so many questions!!!

I feed her three times a day. I’m disabled (with a brain injury – that’s why this is hard for me to figure this out), so I’m home with her and can feed her three times a day. I kind of figure, why not? Are they like us that it’s better to spread out the food to keep blood sugar in balance? Is the two-feeding a day for our convenience or should I switch her to twice a day. Maybe kibble in the morning with a topper and raw for dinner (now where do I begin with raw). Sigh. I’m thinking a premix might work better for me. Suggestions?

I realize I have so many questions. For me, every time I see an article on feeding dogs, everyone says GO RAW. It makes me feel guilty that I’m not quite ready to go raw. I did get Steve Brown’s book Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet: Healthier Dog Food the ABC Way and plan on doing the one day a week all fresh food. Got the grass fed beef hearts all ready to go.

I know there are a ton of questions in here. If anyone could answer at least some of them, I’ll feel so less overwhelmed. I just want to do the best for my baby! Thanks so much!!!

[Dori]

Glad to hear you like them BC. I’ve recently added the Beef, Tripe and Fish to the girls rotation. Hubby is quite the squeamish one when it comes to feeding raw so this is as close as I can get if he has to feed a meal because I’ve dared to not be home at the girl’s meal time. I wish they didn’t have the freeze dried potato in their ingredients but as you know I feed rotational diet with every meal it really won’t be a big deal. I don’t like to feed Hannah with anything that has white potatoes because of her touch of arthritis.

cindy q. I believe that some of us have stated (not just me) that for an adult or senior dog this is a great food to feed in a rotational diet. Also most of the regulars on this site feed rotational diets so that what they may miss in one meal (if, indeed, that is the case with any food you may feed) they will pick it up in the next meal. Every single meal does not have to be “complete and balanced”. Complete and Balanced has to be met over a period of a week. If you feed a rotation diet then you really should not have any problems when feeding quality foods. If you’ve followed any of my posts on the DFA site I’m a firm believer in both raw and rotational feeding. My three dogs are my proof (for me) that this is the best diet for them.

I’ve never owned a large dog so have never had to research large puppy requirements in a dog food. I believe it has to do with the calcium in a food so as to not have their bones growing quicker than they should. Others would be knowledgeable in that area. I believe this food would also be fine for puppies of medium, small and toy dogs. I would have no issue feeding puppies this food but, again, I don’t feed any food solely.

[Edith H]

I really would like to share some experiences and get some help if possible!!!
I have an amstaffy 4 years old. He has a very sensitive tummy that was treated with diarrhea for a month after we got him ( Back in early Aug this year). Ever since, his stool had been stable with Acana Grassland. Few weeks ago, we took him for a general check up in vet and got recommended with Purina FortisFlora as well. It did made his stool seems drier and harder for the three days that I had been feeding him with Purina, but soon stopped since I was really concerned with not knowing what animal digestive is?! However, it got me all interested in adding probiotic into his diet. Then I was trying out raw goat milk from Primal. Giving little spoon to a 50 lbs dog for straight three days, he ended up with really bad diarrhea in the past two days. Therefore, adding goat milk to aid as probiotic doesn’t seem like an option to me.

Though his stool is normally fine with just Acana, I was hoping to improve his whole digestive systems overall and started research about probiotic and prebiotic…etc. I have problem getting a good result as many probiotic recommended online are sold in USA only.

Are probiotic a waste of money? is prebiotic a really better and safer option even it might feed both good and bad bacterias? any good suggestions in Canada available?

or am I just simply too greedy?! should just stay the same…leave it simple with just Acana kibbles….>,<

[SunnyD]

I have 2 yorkies that are 11 years old. Last fall my female yorkie was diagnosed with a heart murmur and Congestive Heart Failure. At the time both dogs were eating Nature’s Variety Raw duck bites. The vet had me switch her to a low sodium diet of prescription HD wet food. I hate the corn and other fillers in the prescription food. Currently, she is on enalapril, furosemide and vetmedin. I have to give her her pills twice per day (all in one Allergy formula Pill Pocket). She gobbles it right up. I try to give her as little of the pill pocket as possible because I have no idea how much sodium they have. I would love to switch her back to the Nature’s Variety Raw duck bites. Is that a safe low sodium diet for CHF? Any supplements she should be taking? Or other recommendations? Thanks.

[Bobby dog]

The supplements the Vet suggested should help with her anemia, poor thing.

I have a healthy, younger pup and supplement with MSM daily, kefir for probiotics, garlic 3x/wk, fish oil capsules 3x/wk when I don’t feed sardines, coconut oil 3x/wk, and vit E 1x/wk. For fresh foods I feed some vegies, fruit, lightly cooked fresh meats (he does not have a taste for raw), and a 1 minute poached egg 1-2x/week which helps keep his skin and coat beautiful. I know their are some wonderful commercial supplements out there that would help with healing her immune system, but I don’t have any suggestions for a dog with her health issues. I do recommend looking into digestive enzymes and probiotics for starters. Some probiotics recommended by regular posters are Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic, Swanson Ultra Soil Based Organisms (I believe this might also contain digestive enzymes, not sure), and Mercola complete. Here is a link to Dogaware for a starting point that might help you find info on supplements for her and some other topics as well.
http://dogaware.com/diet/supplements.html

Info on kefir and coco oil:
http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/05/foods-rich-in-probiotics-beneficial-for.html

http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/02/coconut-oil-is-good-for-your-dogs.html

I will throw this out to you which may or may not interest/help you to improve her kibble diet if that is what you are going to continue to feed her. I follow Steve Brown’s “ABC Diet.” It is an easy menu plan that helps you improve any quality of kibble following a simple menu and according to the dog’s weight with fresh foods (raw or lightly cooked meat) you can buy at the grocery store.
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

[Bobby dog]

Robyn:
I am not sure how to attach a photo, but others can help!

Has your Vet checked for giardia and coccidia? Those parasites can cause runny stools and I have read that owners sometimes have to run tests several times as they sometimes don’t detect them initially, IDK.

I don’t have too much experience with putting weight on dogs, and certainly not with an emaciated dog. I am throwing questions out to you in hopes others can offer help and to bump your post up.

Maybe you could try a lower protein/fat kibble such as Nutrisource to help with the transition to a new diet. My dog and cats do well on Nutrisource products. I always add canned, lightly cooked fresh meats, or commercial raw to my dogs kibble. I would keep offering her a canned food as well.

As Cyndi suggested, canned pumpkin might help with her stools. I feed some everyday to one of my cats so I always have a frozen bag full of ice-cube sized canned pumpkin on hand. In most cases it helps with diarrhea or constipation; good food with multiple uses! Some other products for help with firming up stools are:
• Firm up pumpkin supplement –dehydrated pumpkin
http://www.dydusa.com/firmup_p&#8230;
• Fruitables – canned fruit supplement
http://fruitablespetfood.com/f&#8230;
• Honest Kitchen Perfect Form supplement
http://www.thehonestkitchen.co&#8230;

[Susan]

Hi Chris, have you ever done an elimination diet to see what foods he can’t tolarate make him itchy..My vet said that Elimination diet is the only way that you will really know what foods he’s allergic to..If he can eat raw or cooked that would be the best, start with 1 protein only then slowely add a new food weekly & see what foods makes him itch or gives diarrhea..you know within 2 days if they have a reaction.. I found my boy cant have Potatos, they give him diarrhea & rash all over chest, sweet potatos, he gets itchy ears & keeps shaking his head, wheat, his paws go red & itchy he starts licking them & now chicken cause everytime he has chicken he gets his hive like lumps all over his body..it does take time an elimination diet but you will know 100% what foods he can & cant eat…I have Patch on the ‘Wellness Simple’ Limited Ingredient… He was on the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic kibble but the fat was too high 19% he got Pancreatitis…Eukanuba FP has limited ingredients, its another kibble for skin allergies but its Fish & Potato & Patch got real bad diarrhea, I didnt know back then that it was the Potatos giving him diarrhea until I did the elimination diet, now I know he cant have any kibbles with Potato or Sweet potato & alot of the grainfree kibbles have Potato…. I dont know why they put Potato as potatos are high in carbs & carbs aren’t good for yeasty itchy skin…

[aquariangt]

I will preface by saying that those tests are a bit uneven. You could go get it done again and get different results. It’s not a bad starting point but the best way to find out what ingredients your dog is intolerant of would be via elimination diet.

I certainly wouldn’t consider SD your best or even a good option, unfortunately.

First Five Ingredients:
Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil, Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose

That freaks me out a bit. ok, a lot. If it were me, I would try a couple 5 lb bags of food to get a few things figured out and go from there. A recommendation I would give to start would be Acana Pork and Butternut Squash-it’s got peas but they are a ways down. Nature’s Variety Instinct has some LID diets as well that you could try out. Wellness does as well. So does Natural Balance but I don’t particularly like that brand enough to recommend it

If all else fails and none of these LID diets work for you, I would go for homeade or commercial raw before going onto that science diet thing they’ve got you on

[Shawna]

OH MY GOSH!!! You guys are hysterical!! 🙂

Cyndi and Dori are correct. I did get blocked from posting to the Purina Veterinary Exchange Facebook page. 🙂 I posted much more than below but this will give you an idea.

They recently posted an article about reasons not to feed “people food” to dogs which drummed up a LOT of negative feedback for them. I was actually one of the nice (well, polite) ones on the page. 🙂

1. I asked them if they felt veterinary nutritionist Meg Smart (who taught veterinary nutrition) was incorrect when she stated “I see a benefit in feeding whole foods whether cooked or raw.” http://www.angryvet.com/angryvet-nutrition-interview-drs-joseph-wakshlag-and-meg-smart/#sthash.fVPLTfI9.dpuf They ignored my question but warned me about marketing for other sites.

2. Sugar is apparently added for “texture and fiber”. But do the nutritionists and vets who formulate Purina diets, specifically Beneful, really feel that sugar is an appropriate ingredient for dogs? They told me this page was for their prescription line and that my question was “off topic”. Keep in mind that the original post was about “human foods” like “milk”, “raw eggs” etc. 🙂 I actually don’t disagree with most of the points they were trying to make (adding foods could alter the balance of the already balanced diet). It was their delivery that was the problem.

3. They posted info about their new HA line for allergies. These foods have been chemically hydrolyzed to break the proteins down into amino acids which makes them less likely to cause an allergic reaction (as the body is allergic to proteins not amino acids). However proteins that have been hydrolyzed create the same issue as monosodium glutamate — which has been shown to cause illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, white matter brain lesions, multiple sclerosis etc. So I asked Purina if dogs were “immune” to the problems associated with MSG in humans. They told me to check with my vet on what my dog might be immune to. Uhm??? So I explained I meant all dogs, not just mine. They ignored the question. Then I linked this article by vet Dr. Shawn Messonnier suggesting dog are affected by “excitotoxins” like those in Purina HA. http://www.byregion.net/articles-healers/Dr_Shawn.html Still ignored the question.

4. They also posted an article stating “Many people have turned to gluten-free diets to help them lose weight & feel better, but the fact remains that very few dogs’ diets are improved by going gluten-free.” So I asked them if they had done testing to demonstrate that gluten couldn’t cause “gluten ataxia” in dogs (gluten ataxia is a neurological disease in humans caused by gluten). I linked articles discussing gluten’s role in other diseases in humans, like type 1 diabetes (the kind dogs get) and asked if any testing had been done.

I also linked a Journal of Nutrition page demonstrating dogs can lose weight on a HIGH protein diet (52% was the diet tested). This is about the time they blocked me and deleted all of my comments.

I don’t feel too bad cause they deleted most of the negative and questioning comments on their page from others too. 🙂

My guess is that you would be asked to leave, or appropriately quieted, if you started asking questions like this but if it’s boring and you want to stir the pot a bit….. 🙂

I LOVE Panera salads and more importantly, my 3 year grandson who is gluten intolerant loves their salads. Especially the apple one although he gives me all his pecans.. Woot woot 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Shawna.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Shawna.

[Akari_32]

That is exactly along the lines of what I’m wanting to ask them. I’ve been, out of boredom, looking around online, and found both these websites that make very good sense. I will admit, both the authors seem a little coo-coo in the head at times (like the puppy food protein percentage on the Catahoula page), but they both certainly make very good points.

http://www.catscradlecatahoulas.com/html/raw_meat_diet.html

http://rawfed.com/myths/carbs.html

The Myths About Raw Feeding website is actually very interesting. Heres the main page so you guys can see the rest of the myths.

http://rawfed.com/myths/

[theBCnut]

Sorry. What I left out is that I have Border Collies, so beef ribs are a bit big(thick, hard) for them and they will work on one of them for days, until I throw it away. I feed 1/2 raw, so I have to watch how much bone my dogs get in their diet. I know when I feed them a beef rib, they won’t be eating the entire bone, so I have to factor that in. But they eat the whole thing when it’s llama, goat, mutton, or pork without any issues or delay. Your GSD may have no trouble consuming the whole beef rib and you might want to feed 2 ribs of smaller animals because he may go through them so easily. Mine eat chicken and duck sized bones with no trouble, but turkey they have to work at. Your dog will easily eat either, I imagine.

[Naturella]

Victoria,

I feel for you! A few of us here have had our fair share of stubborn dog owners who just refuse to get the facts and do what is truly good for their companion…

That Ol’ Roy is crap, you obviously know… I guess, if you can, try to get a small bag of Walmart’s Pure Balance/Pure Balance Grain Free (two of the more decent foods sold at Walmart), and maybe entice the family to try and add some to Ol’ Roy, see how their dogs like it. When I added some of the food I feed my dog to the food of the dog of the family for whom I babysit, she did not want to touch her Kibbles ‘N’ Bits anymore at all! Lol, she knew the good stuff! Maybe this will help them – plus, Pure Balance is ALSO sold at Walmart, where Ol’ Roy is.

Another thing you could do, is just add some good canned food as a topper to their meals, or a raw/lightly cooked egg here and there, some canned sardines, coconut oil if you have/can afford it, and some plain yoghurt and canned pumpkin (plain, not the pie-filling stuff). That’s what I do even with better-quality kibble and I believe it helps. If you can throw some raw/lightly cooked meat in there, or raw meaty bones here and there, it should help improve their diet a TAD, but really do try to get them off of Ol’ Roy…

Good luck, and know that many of us have been there too!

[Elizabeth G]

Hello, I am looking to change my dogs food. They are currently on Purina one smart blend but noticed it was NOT recommended. I have looked at the 4 and 5 star foods but am overwhelmed. One of my dogs has a history of pancreatitis so it must not have too much fat. Please no raw food diet. Thank you

[Liz S]

Dori would it be ok if I only rotated with the NV Instinct Raw with one MAYBE 2 of those others you mentioned? I have 3 ferrets, 3 dogs and 2 cats. And a 2 yr old. I try to make sure everyone’s getting the best. And I love the idea of a rotation diet. You think 2 would be ok? I could experiment the others later but for now I think money wise I can only do 2. Would mixing the NV with the Natures Logic Sardine kibble be fine? Or should it only be NV mixed with Stella & Chewys Raw? I already know the brand from my ferrets and love it. And when could I give the Natures Logic? Mix it with the raw every once in a while?

It’s hard to get anyones attention about this I need a sponsor or something lol.

Let me know what you think about my rotation idea.

[Nita P]

I’m not familiar with that brand if food, but if you like it, I would stick with it. For my dog Bella, I actually switched her to just white rice & ground elk meat when her ear issues got really bad this summer. I had ordered the dynovite and it arrived a few days after we went to the vet. The vet gave us a round of meds that really made her feel bad – she lost complete control of her bladder & just laid around with no energy. Took her off meds after 2 days. Kept with the rice and elk (you can use rice and chicken too) with broth mixed with the Dynovite and the Lickychops omega oils. I had a different dog in 2 weeks. Her personality changed completely too! Her ears (yeast infection, allergies) cleared up, the bad breath got better (it’s not all gone), her coat is amazing and she sheds about 10% of what it was before dynovite. She also had the paw chewing & licking issues, which are supposedly allergies. From my personal human issues, antibiotics caused yeast issues (along w/ diet choices) and I see that in my dog too. I read a lot of the info on the dynovite website and I wasn’t up for the raw diet, but I did learn a lot from their suggestions. I went to the rice/meat only with the dynovite to clear any food allergies we might be dealing with (just like I’ve done w/ myself in the past).

I don’t store it in the fridge – just in an airtight container.

We recently lost our oldest dog & I stopped the dynovite for about 7-8 days (just for no reason other than grief forgetfulness) and Bella’s paw chewing came right back. Needless to say I’ve now had a 2nd round of proof this supplement works for my dog.

I moved Bella to a full serving pretty fast and she tolerated it very well. I’m very pleased with Dynovite!

Hope that helps!

[Liz S]

I’ve always fed a kibble or canned for a dinner treat. But no matter what I do my chi will only eat canned. Vet visits etc. She is fine.

She was on Science Diet. Once I found out how bad it was I tried switching. I gave her ample time. I tried HQ kibble.

I’ve heard good things about Instinct Raw. I got a sample bag of the boost treats and she LOVED them. I think the fact that they weren’t too hard really appealed to her.

I’m going to give this stuff a go I think.

Who else feeds Instinct Raw?

[Kristin C]

What are you feeding him? I have one dog who is pretty sensitive. When her stools are loose I give her some canned pumpkin and that clears it up. I have been adding green tripe to her diet which I think helps. I find she does better if I feed her raw food, versus kibble. In fact, I started feeding her raw because I was beside myself on all her barfing and diarrhea while on kibble. If you are integrating healthier, whole food into his kibble diet maybe take it a bit slower. It’s no different than a human used to eating processed food and getting an upset stomach when he eats a salad.

[Kristin C]

Hi Holly-I know you posted this a while ago and have probably figured some of this out. I feed my dogs mostly raw, but I think if you are using this only as a kibble topper and not more than 25% of their diet you can use whatever’s left over from dinner. I personally would avoid the fatty part of the meat. I use a ratio of 80% meat/organs, 5% fruit/veg purée, 15% sweet potato or pumpkin. You might want to omit the rice as that’s probably already in the kibble, if not another carb. Eggs are good, as is a little fish oil, vitamin e and yogurt. Any cooked meat is fine. I avoid pork and fish because I feed raw. There’s a book called See Spot Live Longer that has a few pages on how to supplement your kibble FYI.

[Julian R]

Hi Kristin,
I adopted my chow/akita mix almost two years ago and I started feeding him raw meats more or less after a month of his arrival. I started slow, mixing ground beef with canned wet food. I eliminated kibble right away or should I say he rejected it once he was presented with an alternative diet. After about a month of a raw/canned mix, I just fed him raw meats. Once I have made the full decision of a raw diet I searched for commercially available raw meats (http://www.darwinspet.com) but it was not a cheap option. I turned to my local meat markets and bought chicken (breasts, necks, hearts, thighs), turkey legs (cut in pieces), pork neck bones, beef kidney and heart, and ground beef. I followed the advise from (http://www.dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade2.html) to understand the proportions needed (lean meat:bone:fat:organs).
Now let me provide potential answers for some of your questions.
How much raw food per day should I feed him? Raw diet is more nutritious than kibble and canned food so there is not need to feed them as much. Based on your dogs desired weight I would estimate 3-3.5 oz daily.
Should I start out getting packaged raw food? It tends to be more expensive and if there are good meat markets in your area with a good selection, you can buy what you need at a lower price.
Should I just give him the bones or grind them up? Most dogs can handle bone (make sure they are uncooked) but one has to be careful since choking can still happen. Avoid chicken necks since they can cause choking in small dogs. Pork necks are a good option since they are meaty and dogs can easily break them (at least medium-large dogs). Now since you have a small dog you can give him small pork neck bones but not too small that he will try to swallow it whole. Supervision is key here.
What meats can he eat? chicken, beef, pork, venison, rabbit, turkey, duck, lamb, etc
What should his daily, weekly, etc… diet consist of? The article in dogaware.com provides a very straightforward guide to establish your weekly dog diet, in summary it states that it should be 30-50 % meaty bones, 45-65 % lean meat (including eggs and dairy products) and 5% or less of organ meat.
How slowly should I introduce him to raw food? Start slow mixing 3/4 of of his usual food with 1/4 of raw. Increase slowly over a 2-4 week period.
What meats are good to introduce/start out with? Chicken is usually a good start and lean ground beef is also good. Do not feed him chicken with the skin since it will be too rich for him.
What things should I get to start out with(what kind of meat grinder, what kind of storage containers, etc…)? I don’t use a meat grinder and most likely you can ask your local butcher to do the grinding you need. I ended up buying a freezer for his food and I thaw enough for 2-3 days inside the refrigerator. I keep thawed food in a closed large glass container inside the refrigerator.
How should I handle the meat? I have a cutting board, knife and other utensils to handle his food which I do not use for anything else. I wash everything with plenty of dish soap and hot water. I obviously I wash my hands thoroughly after handling raw meats. How much will this cost per month? For my 62 pound, I spend in average $70 a month. What veggies and fruits should I include in his diet daily, weekly, etc…??? About 6 months ago, I found out about a dog raw food vendor that distributes a great variety of raw food in NJ, CT, MA, NH, and VT. (http://www.topqualitydogfood.com/). They don’t mail so one has to picked up at specific services areas where they stop and it is once a month only. Anyway, they have meats mix with veggies and fruits which I give to my dog. You can see more information about giving vegetables and fruits to your dog. Keep in mind that vegetables should be preferably cooked and give as a puree mixed with meat for better absorption. How much low-fat cottage cheese, veggies, etc… should I feed him daily, weekly, etc…??? Cheese is as an occasional part of his diet but I dont feed him daily perhaps once a week but not too much.
What kind of fish can he eat? most fish except salmon or trout fromPacific Northwest. I feed my dog Chilean Salmon.
Should I add fish oil or probiotics or whatever else to his daily, weekly, etc… diet?? It is recommended to complement his diet with fish oil. I am not sure about probiotics, though.

I advise you to take a look at the books recommended if you can or at least check the websites. Also, try to connect with owners of small dogs that feed them raw. I strongly believe it is the best diet for dogs but it requires some learning from the owner.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Kristen D:
I am not a raw feeder so I don’t have much info to share with you, but I can help you get started with some websites and books. I would like to incorporate more raw foods into my dog’s diet so I try to bookmark websites that are recommended on DFA for future research.

My dog’s diet is mostly kibble, but I feel it’s important to incorporate fresh foods so I follow Steve Brown’s ABC diet for kibble feeders. The rest of his diet consists of fresh vegetables & fruits, eggs, sardines, goats milk, canned, lightly cooked fresh meats, or commercial raw for toppers. I try feeding him RMB’s, but each time he buries them in the yard. I have to be careful with any raw or pet food due to a family member with health issues so I am unable to feed him RMB’s indoors. The meats that I have tried so far don’t appeal to him and I end up lightly cooking them. lol

Here’s some books that several regular posters on DFA recommend: Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet – Steve Brown, Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats – Dr. Karen Becker, Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals – Dr. Lew Olson.

Here’s a couple websites:
http://www.dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade2.html
http://seespotlivelonger.com/

Here’s a link to the raw dog food forums on DFA for more info:
/forums/forum/raw-dog-food-forum/

[Naturella]

Ivan,

I second C4C – rotation is great for them, plus it is easy on the budget too! Websites such as http://www.petflow.com , http://www.chewy.com , http://www.wag.com offer awesome sales sometimes and you can stock up on various good 4- and 5-star foods for down to about $1/lb!!! Which is an awesome deal. For Victor, try http://www.sportdogfood.com too.

As for toppers – yes as well! I also use canned (sometimes), The Honest Kitchen (dehydrated raw I think), plain yoghurt, eggs, coconut oil, and canned sardines. Once a week my Bruno gets a Raw Meaty Bone (RMB) too. The effects of all those additives on skin and coat are tremendous, plus, it helps add variety to their diet and is overall better to their general health. 🙂

Good luck!

[Marla J]

To Marilyn E.
Thanks for the advice about Darwin’s. I have an introductory order coming soon. also, I used to hand out treats all the time to train my dogs, and then I found gentledogtraining.com. These trainers live in my city, but they have a training package with DVD you can order online which teaches you great stuff on how to train through leadership vs treat dispensing. I love it! They are the ones who recommended a raw diet, as they use it for their 8 dogs.

[mandy d]

Hi Sue66b, I actually must have missed that one somehow! I’ll check out both. She’s never eaten raw before but the vet we just saw is a pretty big proponent of the paleopet diet and didn’t seem concerned about feeding her raw even with her colitis so I figured it was worth looking into. She’s doing much better after the vet visit, but I do think I’m going to try her on some different food and see if I can find something that prevents the flare ups.

Crazy4cats- I’m looking for fat around or less than 10% and fiber around 9% for a kibble, but I suppose those amounts vary for wet or raw foods. Unfortunately I think the wellness core reduced fat that we had tried in the past is the only one that high in fiber. Right now I’m adding pumpkin to her normal food for extra fiber. The formulas that fall in the range I’m looking tend to be senior or weight reduction foods, so that’s been most of what I’ve looked at but unfortunately almost all (or all) are poultry based which she is allergic too. They tend to have either chicken or turkey as the main ingredient or have poultry fat somewhere in the ingredients. Even all of the prescription GI health/senior/weight management foods are poultry based.

[charles h]

Hey,

Thanks again for the replies…

She did have her monthly worming tablets about a week and a half ago.

The injections she had was one for antibiotics, one for Anti-inflammatory (as she was passing blood due to swollen intestines) and one for anti-diarrhea. I mean they work to a point as in she is not passing blood, she didn’t have diarrhea anymore, etc.

She does seem to be gaining weight well and when she is not ill I do tend to feed her a slightly higher % of her adult body weight to help her gain. We had her weighed about 2 months ago and she was 22Kg, six weeks later she was 27Kg so 5Kg in six weeks seemed like good weight gain to me. She has had two bad weeks so she might have lost some weight again now…

However she was fed with about 300 grams of plain raw chicken last night with some bone. She has not been sick or had any diarrhea, so no stool sample taken however I’m prepared with my little pots to collect it if she has another bad turn.

Moving forward I’m going to purchase these two items from amazon:

As well as keeping her on a chicken only diet with some fish oil to keep up nutrient levels. After four weeks of this I will judge if I believe she is better and ready for another meat to be added to her diet.. I’m also removing the Chicken skin to try and reduce fat levels as I know they can be hard to digest and cause loose stools…

What does everyone think of my plan 🙂

Charles

[charles h]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply..

Yeah when she was first ill (at about 8 weeks) we took her to an animal hospital and she was tested for everything (except stool actually only blood). This is when we went through lots of different foods and digestive enzymes and all sorts to try and settle her stomach.

Since then we moved to raw food and she was great at first (like first month) but has slowly deteriorated (possibly since introducing more meat types on a monthly basis). She has been to the vets two or three times in the last couple of months each time given a set of injections and told to starve for 24 hours then start feeding again…

I will definitely read that link. We did feed boiled chicken and rice but now we find that just plain chicken with bone and no skin is actually better, she has much harder stool this way…

I’m thinking we simply take her diet right back to chicken only and almost restart the introduction to raw food again… Keeping in mind that when she first started this diet she was like a different dog…

However if it continues I guess we need to convince our vet to take diagnosis further as simple injections are not helping just masking over the problem..

My concern is that she is 9 months now and with this continuous issue and keep feeding her plain food to try and settle her stomach is she missing vital nutrients that she needs to grow and develop…

Charles

[charles h]

Afternoon,

We are having some quite serious problems with our dog and runny stool on a raw food diet. To be honest we moved to a raw food diet because all other diets she was so bad we couldn’t leave her for more than an hour. We are working with the idea of 10% bone 10% organ 80% meat… However we are finding that we need to give bone with nearly every meal which is pushing the bone % up much higher than I’m happy with..

Do you think this is a problem? She sometimes strains to poo but I believe this is better than having diarrhoea which is so bad she sometimes goes in the house as she cannot wait… If I feed anything ‘mushy’ such as mince or a pre-made raw food diet she has sickness and diarrhoea within days of eating… So its basically chicken with another meat so she gets bone and something else, the problem is when she stops eating the chicken and only the other meat then we know she will have diarrhoea again…

Any advice would be appreciated,

Charles

[Michael G]

I feed my 8 month old Australian Labradoodle Origen Adult plus raw chuck. He’s 35 lbs. and gets a heaping cup of Origen + ¼ cup of raw chuck cut into cubes in the AM and just the Origen for dinner. I also add a heaping teaspoon of nonfat plain yogurt to each meal. He’s doing great on that diet and stools are easy to pick up. I expect his adult weight to be about 40-45 lbs. The chuck is not expensive since I buy about 4 lbs. at a time.