[theBCnut]

Dogs with compromised immune systems can get bacterial infections from raw diets. And if a dog is greedy, it can glup too big a piece of bone. I like chicken necks for small dogs because the bones are already small and mostly cartilage anyway, but since they are all connected together, it encourages chewing. My JRT is used to raw and gnawing bones, so she can handle a pretty good sized chunk of turkey neck and even some ribs.

Most dogs have no problems. Their short digestive tract is designed to handle bacteria and their teeth are made for crunching on bones.

[MsDad]

Cherikeeusa, right now I’m feeding Nature’s Logic kibble to my F1 Goldendoodle but I’m getting ready to switch him to a raw diet. I’ve been doing a LOT of research and raw greatly reduces the risk of bloat. Pork and chicken are both fine for dogs. I’m looking at Tucker’s Bones as my raw diet and it is pork-based.

[GoldenGuide]

Hello, I have a 3-yr-old golden retriever, and I am planning to switch him to a prey-model diet within the next couple months. The deciding factor of whether to start in January or December is my travel plans. Essentially, I am in college, so if I started him on raw next month, I would feed him grass fed animals from the butcher here for three weeks, then I would somehow have to work out food for the 1 week during Christmas break at my parents’ place, then the two weeks I will spend in Raleigh, NC afterward. I don’t want to start him on a raw diet here for a few weeks, just to switch to dehydrated or lesser raw meat so soon in the beginning. Should I just wait till all the traveling is over before starting him on raw? I don’t want to put undo stress on his immune system. He is a guide dog, so he will be going everywhere with me, including on the plane to and from Raleigh, and I’m not sure if switching to raw around this time is a good idea. Also, if I were to continue feeding him raw in my hometown and Raleigh, could I get him raw meat from a grocery store? Would this be a good idea? If so, what kinds of meats should I look for and stay away from?
Thank you.

[Dfwgolden]

I have two dogs of my own (4 in the house)
I feed my dogs the best I can afford and they are my FIRST priority my parents and friends will vouch for that LOL.

My dogs eat a kibble/raw diet.
A typical feeding consists of

Navajho-75lb Golden Retriever
2 Cups of Pure Balance mixed with 4 health Kibble
1 1/2 cups of raw ground beef
1 raw Chicken Thigh or Leg, or Neck
3 Table Spoons of Flax seed
1/4 cup of raw canned Pumpkin
1/2 activia yogurt cup
and a dash of puppy milk replacement 2 times a week

He has a high metabolism that is why he eats so much

Ricky- 30lb-5 month older border collie
1 cup of Pure Balance mixed with 4 health kibble
1/2 cup raw ground beef
1 Raw Small Chicken thigh or leg
1/4 cup of raw canned pumpkin
1/2 activia yogurt cup
2 Puppy Vitamins
1 tablespoon flax seed
and a dash of puppy milk replacement 2 times a week

The food here is split up into two meals a day.

Please noye I do rotate the raw meat types between
Rabbit
Chicken
Turkey
Beef
Goat
Lamb

I steer as far from pork as I can I am to scared of it LOL, they also get organs from the animals from time to time.

Is this a good diet?

My vet said they are the healthiest dogs he has ever seen, they have good smelling breath, stools are small and don’t stink.
They also have soft and shinny coats, anything I should add or take away? When I can I plan to switch the kibbles to Orijen and Taste of the Wild

[Brittany Mom]

While vension is a good source of protein, feeding raw game can expose you and your dog to the rabies virus and Chronic Wasting Disease. The only way to kill the rabies virus is through cooking. Freezing the meat does not kill the virus. Also, in recent years, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has become more prevalent in the deer population. I would only feed farm raised deer from a reliable source, to insure that you are not exposing yourself and your dog to either disease.

As a hunter for many years, we always wore rubber gloves to process game because you don’t always know what you’re dealing with. We’ve fed our dogs venison for years, but only cooked venison. I feed a raw diet to my dogs but it doesn’t include raw game meat.

[Rahat]

Deer meat is a great food for your dog. Dogs are classified as carnivores. There is a mere .2% difference between dog and wolf DNA. If we realize that our dogs are so closely related to wolves, then it is a short step to understanding our dogs should eat like the wolf rather than eating junk out of a bag.
An ideal meal for our domestic wolves, also know as Lacy dogs, is raw on-the-hoof deer meat. Many hunters have deer meat left over from previous year, and that is fine to feed to your dogs, but today I am writing about feeding the deer that is freshly shot and ready for the dog to eat.
There are two main ways to feed fresh deer. The first is to feed it like the dogs would eat in the wild. You can just pitch it out and let the dogs chow down. This is known as prey model feeding. It is the optimal diet for your dogs. However, not many people have the desire to see a partially chewed deer laying in their yard. So the alternative is to spend time preparing the deer to be consumed by the dog. The above article made by – Betty Leek.

[Timmy1963]

Hello- I have a 6 year old Doberman. A little over a week ago he started throwing up for unknown reasons. I put him on chicken and rice only. I have always feed him IAMS. For treats he gets human turkey dogs (not a lot). I kept him on rice and chicken for a week or so (we got comfortable!). I wanted to give him a healthy diet, I research raw food diet. I just can’t do that. So I got him Taste of the Wild. Saturday night I mixed just a little of the kibble in with his chicken and rice. He only eats once a day. He was fine. Sunday night I doubled the amount of kibble in his chicken and rice. The amount was double, but it still wasn’t a large amount. He woke me up at 5am with diaherra. He has had it several times today and he threw up once. Yellowish bile stuff. When he goes outside he acts fine but inside he is a little lazier than usual. He is a big baby when he is sick he wants me to stay right by his side. Any ideas? Did I increase food too fast? Should I take him to the vet?
A few things to mention- my Llasa eats the same thing the Doberman does and he is fine. My Dobie is big. He is tall and weighs 113 lbs. My son has two pit puppies. They visit every weekend. One or both of them had diaherra this weekend. But I think it is because they gave them a different kind of food. The puppies have been dewormed and had had the first of two series of the puppy shots (5 in one). The last series of 3 is this weekend. Thank you in advance for your help.

[pugmomsandy]

For newbies at homemade, I would suggest the recipes at http://www.homemadedogfood.com (recipe with Dinovite and oil supplement and serving size suggestions) or get a recipe book. Your dog really needs more nutrition than meat and veggies. One recipe book I use is “Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr Karen Becker/Beth Taylor. This gives cooked and raw recipes with a vitamin mix recipe. Another option is to use a Premix like Grandma Lucy’s or The Honest Kitchen, Urban Wolf, or See Spot Live Longer dinner mixes. You add meat and oil and the premix has all the vitamins/minerals added. I make raw food and use CarnivoreRaw in my rotation.

http://dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html

[kms]

Hi – I’m new here. I was using DFA to problem-solve and evaluate diets for my 5 mo male Weim (Augie) and ended up on this thread. WOW – what a great source of info! I’ve learned a lot and want to thank HDM and all the others who contributed. Here’s my story and my problem. Any advice would really be appreciated… especially would like input from HDM..…

We brought Augie home at 9 wks and he had soft/runny stool. Vet found roundworms and treated them. After the “all clear”, I thought his stool would get better – but it didn’t. Vet checked his stool again and found very high levels of “Clostridium” and a few other bacteria commonly found in dirt (Augie is a compulsive dirt/mud/rock eater – we’re working on it). Vet put him on Metronidozol and Pro-Pectalin for 20 days (2 rounds) – it did not resolve. Then he put him on SMZ (another antibiotic) and a bland diet for 16 days. During that time, his stool got bright yellow and was still runny all the time. He also stopped gaining weight and lost several lbs (was supposed to be 38-42 lbs, but dropped to 27 lbs). I asked about using a Probiotic and canned pumpkin, but vet didn’t want to introduce anything new to his GI tract. We tested his stool again – and finally all the bacteria levels were normal and no worms. BUT his stool was still soft/runny. He also had developed colitis from the constant diarrhea/soft stool. I started giving him 1 heaping tsp canned pumpkin with each meal and slowly (over 12 days) I transitioned him from Eukanuba Puppy Growth (the breeders kibble) to Orijen Large Breed Puppy. He has now been on 100% Orijen for 11 days and I’m still giving him the pumpkin. His stool has gotten a little better – it’s formed about 75% of the time and soft about 25%. But the last couple days it has had a slick greasy coating on the outside. What does that mean?

Based on what I learned here, I have a new plan (I think). Much of this is new to me (have never used probiotics or enzymes and have never rotated foods). Also, I’m very interested in going raw (commercially made), but I don’t feel confident enough to pull the trigger yet – especially since his bowels have been so messed up for the last 3 months. What do you think of this plan:

1) Get him off Orijen – calcium is too high – did not know that till I saw HDM’s list.
2) Choose 3-4 high protein kibbles from HDM list and plan to rotate at the end of each bag.
3) Make the next food in the rotation a non-chicken, since the Euk and Orijen were both chicken based.
4) Choose a variety of toppers to be used as 20% of each meal. Use a different topper at each meal.
5) Start giving a probiotic and digestive enzymes with every meal
6) Continue 1 heaping tsp canned pumpkin with each meal
7) Learn more about going raw – would like to start with commercially made and go from there. Maybe start by using a commercial raw (THK, Primal, Darwin’s) as the topper? or is that too hard for a dog to digest (mixing raw with non-raw)?

Do I give a Probiotic and Dig Enzymes at each meal indefinitely – or just during transitions from 1 food to the next?
Do I continue the pumpkin indefinitely?
Should I add fish oil and how much?
He’s up to 32.5 lbs, but still can see hips and ribs a little. What can I do to safely get some weight on him?

I really appreciate what I have learned here and look forward to advice. Thanks!

[theBCnut]

Don’t get me wrong. I do use and recommend some kibbles. I just have a dog that has issues that severely limit what kibbles he can have, and there are literally thousands of kibbles. My brain space is limited and it is already overfull, so I try to let the people who have ideas about what will work for you have their say, instead of trying to cram more into my brain. I can’t even remember the name of my favorite website with recipes right now, but if you google making homemade dog food, it is one of the top ones that comes up. My favorite books are Dr Karen Becker’s “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” and Steve Brown’s “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet.” Oh yeah, the website is Dogaware dot com.

Oh and I feed whole raw eggs twice a week and lightly cooked eggs twice a week. There are good things in both, but too much raw egg white can be a problem.

You are right, if you are going to add anything to the kibble or make homemade foods, you need a little more structure at feeding time. The first thing I would do is to take a guess at how much each dog should be eating, then decide if you want to feed one or two meals a day. I would at least start at twice a day since they are used to eating multiple times a day. Get a few cans of dog food and put 1/2 of the dog’s daily ration in a bowl with a couple spoonfuls of canned mixed in and give each dog their food bowl for 15 minutes. If they finish sooner great, tell them how good they are. If they don’t finish, pick up the food and put it in the fridge for the next meal. You may want to add warm water the next meal. Once they are in the habit of eating when you give them food, you are ready to move on.

Sorry I’m not more help. I’m having to deal with my Aunt who has Alzheimer’s and some other issues and it is driving me to distraction. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. I don’t know what I’ve read where. Frankly, I think my brain is turning to mush too.

[chrisalcor]

I think that sometimes we look at these issues from an all or nothing perspective. I live in a multi- large dog household and would love a high quality raw diet all the time. But since I cannot manage the cost and want to keep as many rescue dogs as safe and in home as possible, I vary things. I do some home cooking, some raw, and supplement with a high quality grain free. But carefully shopping, both at organic dog boutiques and the human health grocery stores, I want to think I provide them with the best of all choices. But it takes lots of education and communication to find what works for each dog.

[Brittany Mom]

How is your poodle doing? I have a 14 month old Brittany that is always hungry. She is extremely active so I’ve continued to feed her 3 times a day. She is on Bravo Beef Blend and Honest Kitchen. I have also had to add some kibble to her diet just to get her weight up. I’m not crazy about adding the kibble (Halo) but it seems to be working. She gets between 7.5 to 8 oz. of raw a day along with 1.5 cups of honest kitchen (dry measurement) twice a day. This dog runs, just for the joy of it, all day long.

[RescueDaneMom]

The Cane Corso is considered a large breed dog because it will grow to 80lbs or larger. You should be feeding a food that is appropriate for a large breed puppy. They need to grow slow so they don’t develop bone problems. I would suggest you go to the Diet and Heath Issues forum and read through the Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition thread for more info. See here: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

A member, Hound Dog Mom, took a lot of time and effort to create a list of appropriate foods for large breed puppy growth. I would look through the list and see what is available to you. You may want to choose a food that is very different to what you are currently feeding (different protein, different carbs, etc).
Here is the list: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1
It starts with grain-inclusive foods, then grain-free foods, and raw foods last.

I have a Great Dane (aka German Mastiff). He has done well on Annamaet, Earthborn Holistic, The Honest Kitchen (a dehydrated food, not kibble), Primal (raw), and Stella & Chewy’s (raw). You can’t go wrong if you pick anything from the list I provided. I would get small bags to see if he likes it first. You can also buy food online at places like chewy.com or petflow.com if you can’t find what you want locally.

I hope this is helpful Good luck!

[dean ousterhout]

Hello all… I have a source of fresh deer meat and wondered… should I feed some of it to my new large puppy, 14 weeks old? I love reading all about teh fantastic diets folks are doing for their dogs and I have to say… I don’t think I eat so well 🙂

I am sure I will look back in a few years and perhaps all this won’t be so confusing… but for now …. well.. it is quite overwhelming as to how little I understand.

The plan is to start with the 5 star dry and wet… and augment with quality “other” stuff, like leftovers of what we eat, etc. I got to thinking while reading about supplementing and all teh different raw diets… if I could use some of the venison I have access to for the puppy? I saw about the 20%… but should it be raw(uncooked, straight from the freezer, straight from the butcher) or cooked, like burgers from the grill? 🙂

Shucks, the venison is cheaper than than the canned food and the 5 star dried.

Thoughts??

[theBCnut]

I don’t want to imply that I won’t suggest foods, but my dogs are doing best on foods that are in no way budget friendly, so I don’t have a lot of budget friendly foods that I am good with.

That being said, yes, feeding different kinds of food is better than feeding one kind. The more different variety, the better. Raw is best, but your dogs can get some of the benefits of raw by getting a little raw in their diets, a turkey, duck, or chicken neck each week or a can of sardines. Dehydrated foods are great but very expensive. I use them and freeze dried foods as treats. Homemade is great too, but you have to do it right or your dog will end up sick from not getting certain nutrients. Kibbles are actually the most processed dog food, but there are some great kibbles at a good price. I don’t think they are as inexpensive as Pure Balance, but they are better quality. I like NutriSource and Earthborn.

I hope someone else will post some more ideas for you. What I usually tell people is to print up the list of 4 and 5 star foods and take it with them to all the different place around that have dog food. Take notes about where you find what and for how much. When you are on a budget, but want better for your dog, you can try adding some of a better quality food to whatever your base kibble is, or adding fresh foods like eggs, yogurt, lean meats, etc.

[Nancy M]

I’ve been writing in about a now 7 week old mini-Aussie puppy being treated for Giardia AND Coccidia. He’s been on liquid forms of Albon and Panacur for 6 days now, with intermittent improvement, but for the most part, not improved much. Today we hope to have the vet change the Panacur to Metronitizole.

Since he’s been sick with all of this, he’s been on a homemade chicken/rice diet. At times when we’ve seen a hint of relief, we’ve tried adding in a tiny bit of the kibble his breeder had him on, which is Diamond small breed puppy (chicken & rice formula). He can’t stay on this homemade stuff for a whole lot longer. At some point, he’s got to get on regular food!

Whether it’s the Diamond food (I hate Diamond) or just the parasites still causing havoc, he continues or reverts back to very runny diarrhea again. Provided the vet will change to the Metronitizole today, we want to start back introducing regular food as soon as it’s even possible, but the big question is:

With the exception of raw or homemade, what do all of you feel is a good product to start with as far as a good kibble/wet diet, that may have the best results right now and provide a highly digestible, nutritional and the smoothest transition for this puppy?

PLEASE REPLY WITH SUGGESTIONS, ASAP!

[Jesika]

Hi all. I have two pit/lab mixes father and daughter, and a stray black lab mix I adopted, aged 4, 2 and just a month shy of 1 year. All three dogs have black in their tongues and I’ve been told this means they are all mixed with something other than pit or lab, but what either dad and daughter or stray is mixed with, I dunno. (daughter’s mom was a pit/wimeriner)

Anyway. So I have all three on a wellness plan and they’ve all seen the doctor for my over-worried mommy tendencies at least once a month for the last four months; I got the stray on a plan just yesterday and the docs are all impressed with her bloodwork/health/coat just like my other two.

I never had pets until my late twenties and so right off, I just followed what my then-bf did with his dog (he’d had animals for years), as far as feeding goes, which was to free feed dry kibble. While he would get the cheapest kind not caring to read the label, when I was gainfully employed I fed mine Natural Balance grain-free lamb, then had to change and for the last six months or so, they’ve all been eating the Pure Balance Chicken & Brown Rice from Walmart, as I thought $30ish for a 30 lb bag of what is supposed to be natural ingredients sounds like a good deal to me.

BUT!! I have been reading over on consumer affairs about all the dogs that’ve died eating Ol’ Roy products, sometimes the PB dry line included. My vet said try Purina One, but that has a lesser rating than Pure Balance according to this website last time I checked.

I’m trying to become more healthy in way of eating less chemicals and want to bring my dogs along, so I thought I was doing good with the PB over the Purina being that there were less questionable ingredients. But then I hear about “Well, what does the fish on the boat on its way to the processing plant get treated with?” and “Anything from China is bad for your dogs to be eating, nothing good comes outta there.” and “Dog food companies? It could be one processing plant stateside today and a different one in Taiwan tomorrow, as far as manufacturers are concerned. Both foods are still going into a bag that looks and is priced the same, and thus makes the manufacturers their profit.”

All that said… My FIRST goal, if it can be something I can afford money/time wise to do, is to simply transition my dogs from Pure Balance to homemade food. SECOND, if I cannot do that, is to find two or three trusted brands that will be healthy-as-possible without killing my pocket — I might be living off of just disability soon, but I need my dogs alive as part of my healing process should I ever hope to have “a real job” again soon.

So…let the comment flying begin please! Do you have any cheaper-than-raw-steak-all-the-time recommendations for a basic homemade diet I can start with immediately until I can build from there? Or do you have anything other than Pure Balance that you can recommend based on price-point and natural ingredients, not to mention a GOOD reputation from the brand/manufacturer??

I am very very lost, and have much to stress about already…what I’m feeding my dogs and it’s potential long-term-and-hidden side effects is not another thing I need. It seems that from what I can tell this community of dog people LOVE their pets and share advice, so please please, share!! And THANK YOU THANK YOU in advance.

Signed,
Jesika and her three…Toby, Rhi and Midnight.

P.S. What about dehydrated foods? I just saw these at my local Sprouts Market and wonder — could this, though a little more pricey than what I buy now, be a happy medium between having to worry about manufacturer defect killing my dog and my having to cook them a meal every day, all while getting the nutrition they need? Hmmm…

[Monica]

Ok, so I’ve been reading through the posts and am in need of some advise. I’m very concerned about what I am feeding my pup. He is a 6 month old Alaskan Malamute. We had some digestive issues which has subsided since feeding Acana Pacifica. He gets 2.5 cups a day. I also add 2 oz. raw goats milk for pro/prebiotics daily. After reading this, I’m concerned about protein and calcium ratios. Protein is 33%. Calcium/phosphorous ratio is 1.5 to 1.3. Is this a good diet? He recently developed a limp and vet stated possible pano, hence the diet concern. But I’m not convinced it is pano. Couple weeks before limp he really fell and tweaked leg. Any thoughts?

[DogManDan]

oh nice some recipes. guys im in need of advice here, as i have started feeding raw since i read on this. I have 2 roughly 15lb or 6.5kg westies and i need some menus for them as i have limited supplies here and on a budget. the ingredients i have here and are very common to us are chicken, pork and fish. which part of the chicken should i feed and on the fish that would give them a good diet and also how do i mix this up for the next 7 days.

[Melissaandcrew]

I rotate through most 4-5 star foods for the dry. Currently they are eating NV limitd ingredient Duck-simply due to the lower fat content that my schnauzers can eat. I also now give everyone 50 percent of their diet in homemade raw. We also rotate 5 star canned foods and dehydrated Grandma Lucy’s(almost 600 cals per cup!)

My boys WILL loose weight on all grain free, no matter how high the calories for some reason. I account for that with the Abady, and by adding higher carbs to their portion of the raw diet. This seems to work wonders. I add things like sweet potato their bowls every other day when they are not getting the Abady.

[Molzy]

My cat has done GREAT on Natures Variety raw medallions. He had his first UTI two years ago, and has only had one since then (when we moved -I think it was triggered by the stress). I add a little water to his raw and mush it up.

Otherwise, I’d suggest a grain free canned, but still add some water to it. You want to really increase the water intake, as Patty said. I also add a scoop of the NaturVet cranberry powder onc or twice a week, not sure if it helps or not. A lot of the dog food brands that are good also make good cat foods. I keep a variety of cans on hand for days when the raw isn’t thawed enough or if I run out (I live an hour from the nearest place I can buy the commercial raw). Right now I have Wellness and Lotus in the cabinet.

If I weren’t doing the raw, I’d also consider the Honest Kitchen dehydrated diets, with lots of water added. I just bought a sample of each of them to try, but my cat isn’t too picky. I’ve found that raw is cheaper than the good canned food. I can feed my guy for about $30 a month, and could do it cheaper but I pay for the convenience of the medallions over cutting up the chubs myself.

If your cat has never had wet food, it can be difficult to transition. I had no issues with my cat, he loves food too much.

Oh, I also bought a pet fountain to encourage him to drink more, and I think it has accomplished that goal.

Good luck, it is so hard to watch them go through those episodes!

[Nancy M]

My daughter got a 6 week old mini-Aussie puppy, just 3 days ago, from a “breeder” who had just weaned this puppy, that day. The pup was starting to eat kibble (Diamond, small breed puppy formula), to which some supplement has been added to guard against coccidiosis.The puppy had received 3 days of wormings and then the first puppy shot on the day she got him.

Not an ideal or even recommended situation to begin with, but as it has gone, I now have the puppy for the next 4 days, while my daughter works as a nurse, because he wakes up every 2 hours with what has progressed from loose, semi-formed stools, to bloody, runny stools.
Looks and sounds like the supplement didn’t work! He is currently being fed the kibble, 3-4 times a day, last feeding around 8 or 9 p.m. He’s so small, he’s maybe eating a scant tablespoon each time, at most. Trying not to over feed him. Offering water frequently.

I will be taking him back into the vet as early as possible today (even though getting a clean bill of health/fecal the day she got him), as I’m quite sure coccidiosis is the culprit here……or it could be something with the food as well. Hopefully the vet can start an effective treatment immediately.

In the meantime, what can all/any of you suggest as a feeding routine and diet for this little fella. I’m not an advocate for any Diamond foods, or raw (especially right now) but I especially feel there is something that would be much easier on his very delicate system right now (besides mama’s milk, I know).

Please give recommendations as soon as you can, please! It would be much, much appreciated!

Thanks very much!

[shilodakotamom]

I have been feeding Darwin’s for about 3 months now and my little ones seem healthy, well almost, I will explain more. I want to add something to the raw food to create variety, any ideas, or what do you use. Ok on the almost healthy part, this is not related to the food, but vaccinations I had them get in August. Their immune system broke down, we got fleas. Now we are on probiotics, and dietary enzymes along with the Darwin’s. Much better now flea wise. Just looking for something else to give a little more nutrition, and variety. Thanks

[Mom2Cavs]

I’ve been receiving the Whole Dog Journal for many years now. I had never gone to a holistic vet but some friends of mine who work with rescue used one along with the rescue’s regular vet. When I decided to never go back to my regular vet after some bad things happened while using him I started going to the holistic vet (which is 45-50 min. drive away). I love them! They are actually integrative. The do chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese medicine diets, etc. They carry premade raw and Nature’s Variety in their clinic and actually know about other foods! I do titers now for my dogs, except for rabies which is 3 years. They are small but they are good. I also have been to our local emergency vet, which thankfully is only 15-20 mins. away. Oh, and I have also used ginger snaps for upset tummies :).

[FrogDogz]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, feeding a 180 lb dog any of the freeze dried diets just isn’t cost effective.

She would feed raw, but they live off grid, and do not have a fridge or freezer, so that’s not a possible solution.

Cheers,

Carol

[DogManDan]

good read here about raw, homemade and veg diet… I hope you get all the info you need here Suresh 🙂 Im not sure about the porridge though? maybe for upset stomach for easy digestion? thats what i do when i go on a diet or having a upset stomach 🙂

[theBCnut]

You know how a good doctor will tell you to stay away from processed foods? Kibble is the height of processed food. There are better and worse kibbles, and I feed my dogs half kibble and half raw, but I always look for the kibbles that use ingredients that are recognizable foods, that are cooked at low temp, and that have the highest levels of protein.

[lukeduke]

Darwins, Instinct and probably Stella as far as raw and to cut down on cost i’ll probably mix it with a can or kibble. Not sure yet. Is kibble really that bad?

[theBCnut]

If you can afford to go all raw, more power to you!! It is still best to find things other than Darwins to rotate to, just so you are making sure he gets a wide variety of micronutrients. You might want to look into a couple of different premixes or making some of your own raw meals.

[pugmomsandy]

If you want to incorporate some raw into the diet, then adding 20% of it is ok without worrying about added vitamins and such. If you’re dog eats 2 meals and day then 2.8 meals (or 3) can be a RMB and maybe some organs (heart/gizzard/a little bit of liver). More than that, you’d need to balance the raw meals better. Make them closer to 80% meat/10% bone/10% organs (5 of that liver) and added supplements or give a premade raw. There are some sample recipes in the Raw Food topic. Another option is to make sure he eats a whole chicken (with heart/gizzard/liver), not just the back.

[lukeduke]

I have a Cane Corso pup and the breeder had her on Kirkland puppy food. I transitioned her to Raw (instinct raw bites and Darwin). She eats the instinct like its “Crack”. 3secs and its gone. Oh, I do mix it with kibble (Prairie large breed). I’m thinking of just strait RAW. Darwin’s raw is local and free home delivery. I will say this about raw; the stole is solid and way less smelly.

[Oceans11]

Thanks for sharing the website. Good to know there is a formula to make sense out of the different dog food “analyses” and help to compare oranges to oranges.

[pugmomsandy]

If you look at the raw food reviews, 4 and 5 stars I would feed with no problem, 3 and 2 stars I would feed intermittently or use as a topper on top of other foods. That might make it easier for you. There is a formula to use to turn the protein and fat into “dry matter” that way you can compare each recipe.

/choosing-dog-food/dry-matter-basis/

[Oceans11]

Sandy,
Thank you for clarifying. Is there a formula online that lists the percentages and ratios? I hate to admit it but I am overwhelmed right now and don’t want to think about it much until I get a handle on things. This will sound like an excuse but we are having our master bath redone and were to have had the bedroom painted. It’s week six and the contractor is about 50 percent done. There is no way we will paint the bedroom now. Will postpone that to next spring. I wanted everything finished so that when we bring the puppy home we can focus on him and establish rules and routines. It is totally frustrating because things aren’t where they will be once the remodel job is completed. Sorry to take up space here venting – just had another frustrating go round with the contractor.

[pugmomsandy]

Oceans11,

Yes you do. Commercial raw products just like kibble and canned foods come with varying degrees of quality, even within the brand. Instinct actually looks pretty good and rated high. But if you take a look at Aunt Jeni’s or K9 Natural, there are some recipes that have too much fat (as much as or even more than the protein). I would be careful feeding the ones with excessive amounts of fat regularly. For a puppy and working dog/sled dog, those might be ok but it depends on your dog.

[Oceans11]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are picking up a 10 week old Coton puppy on Friday. He is being fed Orijen Puppy dry kibble. I will probably continue to give that to him for a couple of days then switch him to Nature’s Instinct Raw Medallions. By feeding him a commercial product like this, I don’t have to be concerned with percentages of protein, fat, etc. do I?

[Cyndi]

You’re welcome. I was in your shoes about 6 months ago. It was all very over whelming! There’s quite a few of us here that feed raw, and we’re all here to help with any questions you may have. Good luck! 🙂

[DogManDan]

thanks on that quick reply… i would put that on my note and prepare them as soon as possible.

[Cyndi]

Also, some people here feed raw as toppers to their kibble or feed kibble for one meal and raw for another. Some dogs can handle that, some dogs can’t. Use pure canned pumpkin and plain yogurt along with the raw, that helps with digestion and any stomach upset as well.

[Cyndi]

I basically switched my dog immediately. I’m not an expert or anything, so maybe someone else can chime in with their thoughts. I started with one protein source and fed that for a week or too, then went to another and then another. Slowly add organ meats in as well. You just want to make sure your dog can handle everything before you move on to something else. I started with chicken for the first week or two. My dog had a bit of a setback, getting used to raw, but she’s been doing fine. Just remember with completely raw you want to feed 80% raw meat, 10% bone & 10% organ meat (5% of that being liver). Every meal doesn’t have to be balanced, just balance it over time.

[DogManDan]

I see, im planning to change their diet from regular dog food and cooked meals to raw… would there be a problems that i would encounter from changing their diets all of a sudden? or should i slowly make them adapt to it? like mixing raw food to their regular meals or should i just go with the raw immediately?

[Cyndi]

Raw bones are perfectly fine. Chicken wings are fine, especially for smaller dogs. They can chew them up and swallow them. Cooked bones are hard and can splinter, so they are a no no. If your dogs are gulpers, chicken wings may be too small. You want them to chew them up and get the teeth cleaning benefits from the bone and not just swallow them whole.

[DogManDan]

guys i have a question, im new to raw feeding… do you serve the bones as a whole especially with chicken wings, I’m kinda hesitant to give them the whole wing afraid they might choke or something due to those pointy bones.

[RescueDaneMom]

Oh! I never did the autoship so that’s why I didn’t know about it. I’ve never been a frequent buyer until recently. I used to use it as a topper for kibble. Now I’m using it as the main food and topping it with raw and other fresh foods. Good to know! I will ask her the next time I pick up food. I think I saw the new envelopes for the rewards the last time I was in but I didn’t ask about it. My thought is if you’re going to buy it anyway you might as well get a free box every now and then. Thanks again!

[Dolly]

Hi, I need help with my 13 year old dog with pancreaitis history. I saw some similar posts on here, but maybe not exactly what I was looking for. My dog has a very sensitive stomach, the only thing I could find that seemed to work was the Science Diet sensitive stomach, which I don’t want to feed. For now she’s eating about half wellness wet dog food, and half boiled chicken and rice, which seems to agree with her stomach well, but I’m sure is lacking in nutrients, and I’d like to get her away from rice due to the arsenic levels. I’d prefer to go grain free if possible, although that isn’t my primary objective. I would also love to be able to cook one food that is safe for both the dog and the cat, or something I could slightly modify for the cat, again though, that isn’t my main concern. Any suggestions/recipes would be helpful, as I don’t really know where to start. I don’t want to do raw. Also, she is on diuretics due to slight heart congestion, so anything heart healthy is great (we aready do fish oil pills). Lastly, I am terrible at cooking, so the simpler/less ingriedeints the better. Thanks!

[RescueDaneMom]

Shawna, thank you again for the info! I will give those Bravo meats a try when we run out of Thrive. There’s a really great independent pet store 30 min drive from me that carries THK, Bravo, Primal, and other great brands.

My parents are usually the ones feeding Dozer. I don’t think they’ll go for the raw egg. I don’t know if Dozer would eat raw egg. We’ve given him eggs cooked over easy and he wasn’t overly thrilled. Max, on the other hand, LOVES eggs.

I just bought six cans of Tripett the last time I was at the store. Max loves it. Dozer does too. We gave Dozer some of the green beef tripe with duck and salmon to entice him to eat his food and pills after a rough chemo treatment.

I just started to try different supplements for Max’s arthritis. In addition to his Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin, & ASU combo, he is getting an herbal supplement that has boswellia, cat’s claw, tart cherry, and white willow. I was going to try a bromelain/curcumin combo next.

Marie, I didn’t know there was a ‘concierge club.’ I’ve ordered it from Chewy and Petflow. Recently I’ve been getting it from a reseller who also carries the Primal frozen grinds. She emails me when she’s ready to order and I give her my order and I get it the next week. It’s been pretty convenient. Plus her prices are better than the independent pet store where I used to buy it from. No overhead I guess as she sells it out of her house.

Thanks again for all the feedback. Y’all are awesome!!! 🙂

[Shawna]

Hey Caroline,

Glad the info I posted is helpful :). Another thing you could do if so inclined is to use The Honest Kitchen Preference premix and meats you purchase. Example, Bravo has a bone/calcium free venison as well as a buffalo that could be fed either raw or cooked (since they are bone free) with the premix. Might be a red meat option to the beef he doesn’t seem to do well on.

If you decide to give the eggs a try, don’t whip or blend or otherwise disturb the egg as doing so breaks down the glutathione precursor (will still be beneficial just not quite as much). Just crack the egg open and put the whole thing on top of his HK (decreasing the amount of HK to compensate for the egg calories of course). You can add the egg shell back in if you wish (calcium source). Some will say not to feed raw egg whites because they bind with the vitamin B called biotin.. It is true that they do BUT if you include the yolk you will be okay as it is HIGH in biotin and will offset what is bound up in the white.

Green tripe (either canned or raw) is a food that most dogs can’t turn away from — they LOVE it.. It is high in protein and has lots of nutrients (especially the raw) and can make a wonderful topper for the HK Thrive etc. I like the Tripett canned product and raw can be found locally in many cases or online. Most tripe is sourced from beef but dogs with issues with beef muscle meat are usually very tolerant of beef tripe. If not, Tripett also makes a lamb and a venison canned tripe.

Thank you Cyndi and Marie!!! You guys ROCK!!!!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by Shawna.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by Shawna.

[Shawna]

Oops, meant to add this… I’d also consider adding a few high quality organic “raw” eggs to Dozer’s diet every week. Raw eggs have a precursor to what is referred to as glutathione. Glutathione is the “master antioxidant” of the body and helps the liver remove toxins from the blood. The below linked research article discusses how glutathione helps after the toxicity of chemotherapy. In the research they are discussing glutamine supplementation but raw egg is even better than glutamine (an amino acid found in protein) alone. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1234593/

• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by Shawna.

[DogFoodie]

Have you tried feeding either a chicken wing or leg whole? He may have been eating a bit more bone which is probably why he had the small formed chalky looking stool.

Your pup sounds like he might be a good candidate for grinds from either My Pet Carnivore or Hare Today. Have you checked out either of them by chance?

https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/

http://www.hare-today.com/

Here’s another great site with lots of info about feeding a raw diet and balancing it properly:

http://dogaware.com/

[theBCnut]

I love my vet and she is a great vet in many ways, but I don’t discuss raw feeding with her. I use half raw and half kibble and when they ask me what I feed, I always tell them what kibble I feed(They’ve never heard of it either, but weren’t interested enough to ask). It’s just not a discussion I’m willing to have with them, especially now that AVMA has taken an official stance against raw feeding.

Make sure they send the fecal specimen off to the lab for analysis.

Look for Dr Karen Becker’s book “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” and Steve Brown’s book “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet.” They will both help you make balanced meals and have a better understanding of what needs to be in each meal.