[SunnyD]

DogFoodie, do you think i should feed the Nature Variety’s raw or the Hill’s prescription HD with the lower sodium content?

[SunnyD]

Thanks so much for your help. So, the sodium in the Nature’s Valley RAW duck bites is much higher than the Hill’s prescription HD canned food? Now, I feel awful for switching her back to the NV. @DogFoodie

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

[Bashli C]

Another User: I’m just saying sue?
“July 12, 2014 at 1:09 pm #46787 Reply | Report

macsmommy
Member

I have been feeding my dogs Blue Ridge for about 5 years, but have recently switched to Primal Raw because I had noticed my dog’s feces looking really black and soft and was somewhat concerned. At that same time, I read some comments on Dogfoodadvisor.com that Blue Ridge Beef’s Owner, Steven Lea, owns a collection facility that picks up dead, diseased, and dying animals. The mailing address is the same for both companies. I was mortified when I read that. So I did some research and found more information regarding same. So then I contacted Dee at Blue Ridge Beef’s office and she could not adequately put my fears to rest. She told me that “anyone that has common sense would realize there would be no future in us selling diseased food to our valued pets.” Now, mind you, I have been a customer of theirs for 5 years!! She did not directly address my question regarding rendered meat being in their products other than referring to what my common sense should tell me which was quite offensive and infuriating. To me owning a pet food company and a collection facility for dead, diseased, and dying animals is a HUGE conflict of interest. In addition, apparently the owner, Steven Lea, applied for a permit to build a Rendering Plant, but the city commission was not keen on the idea, so Steven Lea withdrew his application. Needless to say, I am not feeding my dogs Blue Ridge Beef anymore. I have switched to Primal Formula. They have a freeze dried formula that my dogs love. It is 100% human grade raw meat and I feel safer with this product. It’s a little more expensive, but well worth it.”

[pugmomsandy]

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_5170952x1024_zpsec466d4d.jpg

This site has a demo video:

http://northcoastpets.com/barf_hardware.htm

Other raw feeders have told me they have the 3/4 hp Cabela brand grinder and it’s worked just fine on chicken and turkey parts and it was less than $200. And adding in the lean ground meat and decreasing the beef organ mix would balance it out better (the meat and bone portion), but also check out the supplement section at dogaware. And you can also find hearts, tongues, cheek, even uterus at ethnic grocery stores as well.

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

[Tanya C]

Thank you everyone for your comments. theBCnut I did not get my dogs from a breeder they are all rescues and up till now have been fed commercial prepared dry/wet dog food. I never even heard of Raw Dog Food until Chance came to us. Then I started researching and like I said above it is all so confusing one site contradicting the other etc.. so I appreciate any and all comments. I bought my meat straight from a butcher, it came pre-grounded. I was told that the 10lbs was a mixture of heart,brain which I understood to not be considered organ meats and then kidney, liver and spleen with I know are organ meats. I also know that tongues are included but wasn’t sure what they are considered. If I added lean ground beef to my recipe say 10-15 lbs would that balance it out better. I am making very large batches as I try to make at least a weeks worth at a time. My Danes range in size from 90-160 lbs so I have been feeding them approx 2% of there ideal body weight per day which is about 3.5 lbs if I worked it out properly, I feed them half in the morning and half in the evening. I will not add the extra egg shells next time and do what I normally do, add them to my garden instead. pugmomsandy the chicken I purchased was from my local grocery store and I ground it myself in a hand grinder at home. I believe I should have called them quarter chicken legs they were thighs with legs attached and bones still in. The next batch will be purchased from the butcher chicken backs with bone in pre-ground. I will look into those books as well, I have a tablet and an e-reader so I should be able to get them. Thank you all so much, I really do appreciate the comments !!! I’m so new at this and I find it confusing even though I did research. I’m still trying to figure out what meats are what hence the mistake with too much organ meats. I just want to make up for my past bad food mistakes and do what is best for my fur babies. Thank you !!

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

[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”.

[sue102dal]

Bashi,
He is not licensed USDA approved pet food manufacturer. He does not notify customer if out of item they order just replaces with whatever he wants without saying anything to the customer. he is a game butcher that thinks he knows it all about raw feeding. I have a degree in animal nutrition and mentored him to create his product line. Now all he does is bad mouth me to anyone that will listen. He sells his food cheap because he does not follow all USDA regulations!! He caused several dogs in my co-op to get sick because of his lack of concern for keeping the food as stated on his website he changes ingredients and dogs with food allergies got sick costing owners thousands in vet bill. So continue with him at your owm risk just make sure your pet has good health insurance!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by sue102dal.

[Susan]

Also there’s Wellness Simple limited ingredient “Lamb & Oatmeal” that’s what Im feeding Patch in the end, no more itchy sore ears & no scratching, the Simple has other kibbles but they all have potatos, I dont understand why they add potatos in limited ingredient kibbles being a high in carbs…
The only other thing is you cook & make his meals or even if he just has 1 cooked meal for dinner & the kibble for breakfast once you cook every thing & freeze its pretty easy or the next thing you could do is raw.
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete
this is the whole Wellness range Good-Luck, its hard finding that right food or is there any way someone can buy & post his old food that agreed with him from Canda…..

[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?

[cindy q]

I bought a bag of Stewarts raw naturals freeze dried to try, hoping my dogs like it. Can someone look at the website and tell me what you think of this food? Thanks

[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, 6 months ago by Tanya C.

[Kristin C]

Thanks USA. My girls just had their first SSLL this morning. I give them a can of sardines each per week to round out the raw meat, organs, puréed veg mix they mostly eat.

Has anyone tried The Honest Kitchen base mix? It’s dehydrated so I’m afraid it will be chunky like Sojo’s which does not digest well.

[InkedMarie]

You can use canned, dehydrated or ground raw (pre made or ground from hare today, reel raw or my pet carnivore)

[Susan]

Hi Kelsey, when a dog stops eating they are normally sick, something is normally wrong..have you tried changing her food & see how she goes….Is she a picky eater or has this just happened the not wanting to eat, my cat is a fussy spoiled cat but if I just keep giving him the food he doesnt want he normally eats it in the end cause he’s hungry..
My friend works in a fish Co-Op & gives me prawns, shark, whiting etc so he waits for the freshly cooked fish the spoiled bugger….

[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

[Dori]

Thanks. I’m going to keep my eye out for sales. $22.00 in my mind would be better spent going to one of the commercial raws I feed. I’ll see if I can find them cheaper. I’m pretty sure they’ll last a while for the girls cause they really have teeny tiny teeth. I would think that my dogs teeth probably look like what Bruno’s baby teeth would have looked like. I’m talking tiny. But I keep thinking about the $22.00 and then there’s shipping tax and shipping. I wonder if they sell them anywhere around us here in Cobb County or even Fulton.

[USA]

Hi Dori,

Thank you for getting that info from BDN! I am glad that BDN is working out well for you and your crew.

You wrote:
“I just spoke to someone at Big Dog Natural. They air dry their food at 80 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours.”

24 hours is a very long time to keep a raw food at 80 to 100 degrees F. Imagine taking a couple of pounds of any raw food that contained meat and vegetables and placing it outside on a 100 degree F Georgia day. Then take a powerful fan and have it blow on the food. Leave the raw meat outside in the 100 degree temps with the fan blowing on it for 24 hours. That is not a food I would feed my dog.

And pugmomsandy wrote:
“They’re bags of food do not have an ingredient or GA label. Just the name of the product”.

This lets me know that BDN is not following the regulations for labeling dog foods. That is not a good sign for me.

You also wrote:
“As I have said often in the past…..these issues that are being questioned back and forth may very well not sit well with some if this is the ONLY food you are going to feed your dogs”

The way this food is air-dried and the potential it carries for bacterial growth along with the lack of proper labeling are issues that would prevent me from using this food regardless of how many other foods were in my rotation.

Again, I am very happy that BDN is working out for you and your guys!

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

[Dori]

I have never seen any bone or bone pieces in the food. I agree with cindy q on the issue of bones.

USA and anyone else interested. I just spoke to someone at Big Dog Natural. They air dry their food at 80 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours.

I decided that instead of guessing, I would just pick up the phone and call. My call was returned within 20 minutes. I have never once been given the run around with any question I have asked. They have been nothing but forthcoming with me. I choose to have the food in rotation with my three dogs everyone else can make up their own minds. As I have said often in the past…..these issues that are being questioned back and forth may very well not sit well with some if this is the ONLY food you are going to feed your dogs. Most of us on DFA rotate foods, supplements, within the brands and different brands. Anyway, my dogs love the food and they have absolutely no issues with the food. No diarrhea, gas, no constipation, no itchiness, no bad breath, no tear stains, no gurgling stomachs, their poops are exactly the way they should be for dogs that eat raw-small well formed not too hard don’t stick to the ground no smell whatsoever.

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

[aimee]

Hi Haleybop,

In regards to adding an unbalanced topper ( lean meat) to a balanced kibble, veterinary nutritionists recommend to limit unbalanced foods to 10% of the total caloric intake.

For example, if your dog needs 400 calories to maintain weight, you would feed 360 calories as kibble, and 40 calories from an unbalanced addition.

I think feeding twice a day is for our convenience. More often is fine. Some people leave the food available all the time and the dog grazes throughout the day. I’ve never seen it reported that this causes any type of adverse effects on health.

Don’t feel guilty for not feeding raw. After thoroughly looking at that issue from multiple angles I concluded that it wasn’t in the best interest of my dogs and family.

[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!

[Zach M]

Unbalanced toppers, like lean meat, should never be more than 20% of a dogs meal. And it is personal preference for rotating food, but I highly recommend doing bag after bag. Also, always go raw if you can. That’s is all I can do for you. Maybe someone with more knowledge can help you later. – Zach

[USA]

Hi Everyone,

I read the ingredient lists for BDN foods and I took this off their website:

“The final product is air dried between 80 and 100 degrees in order not to destroy the integrity of the raw ingredients. All processes of humidity, wind velocity and temperature are monitored and automatically altered when necessary. In this way, we produce a very high end product, that is not only very bio-available but also very much liked by the ones we are doing it for, our dogs.”

My concerns are:
1) They don’t say if 80-100 degrees is F or C, if it’s C then the temps would be 176-212 F and there would be no issue with bacterial growth but it would not be a very gentle temperature. If 80-100 degrees is F, that is a good temperature for bacterial growth. So if the air-dried process takes 8 hours then that food is growing bacteria until the moisture level gets to its finished state of 12% or below. In order to turn fresh meat and veggies into the granola consistency that BDN is, the time of drying at 80-100 degrees F would be 8-12 hours? Without knowing their process I can only guesstimate but even with very high fan speed (air movement) it could take 12 hours or more.

2) Bone, they use ground bone in the chicken, turkey and fish recipes. How finely is that bone ground and how brittle is it after the air drying. How much does the air drying increase the danger of the bone to the dogs that eat it? I don’t know but it is something that would be of concern to me if I were going to feed my dogs BDN.

[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!!!

[Kristin C]

Hey Cindy-if your dogs love BDN then stick with it but consider adding a supplement and some variety, maybe some real raw here and there, and some novel proteins. Check out the See Spot Live Longer website.

[Dori]

C4C You get 10% off and free shipping on their introductory offer. It’s a good way to try the food and see if your dogs like it. My three dogs are not picky and as I’ve often said would it the package, bag, box the food came in so they are really not a judge as to what they will eat. They love THK as the love all things edible and not. The only food that Hannah, one of the three, has turned her nose up to was Oracle tripe. The other two loved the food. She would not. One of the differences, as I’ve posted in the past, THK has a very strong smell of grasses, herbs, etc. BDN smells of meat (looks like ground meat) that you would be preparing for a meat sauce before you add all your typical sauces and tomatoes etc. for your self and your family. It really does smell and look good. I would suggest you give it a try. Order the smallest amount and get their introductory 10% off and free shipping if you and the dogs don’t like it, it’s not that big a deal. They also have sample packages which include different proteins. I originally ordered their Package number 2 because the girls cannot eat chicken, turkey or anything fowl. So I think it was beef, tripe and maybe fish???. Anyway, though I feed raw, this was a good alternative for my husband who is too squeamish to feed raw incase I’m not home. Men…….grrrrrrrrrh!

[pugmomsandy]

I started raw by offering a couple bites as treats during the day. Then I would feed them a whole meal of commercial raw. Then, we followed that with chicken wings, then drumsticks, thighs and turkey necks. Now I make my own grinds or buy some products from GreenTripe.com and texastripe.com.

[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.

[theBCnut]

Nature’s Logic, Amicus, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Brother’s Complete all have very small kibble and are excellent foods.

Best would be foods with moisture in them though, like canned or raw foods.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Jude-
Welcome to DFA. I saw your pups on the review side. They are adorable! I also took in two male littermates at the same time, and it was quite an adventure. Mine are lab and golden retriever mix. Both weighing about 80 lbs. I also have been on an adventure learning how to feed them more appropriately! I feed them mostly kibble, but I do add toppers to every meal. What I add is changing over time. I started out with canned, but while I’ve been on this site, I’ve incorporated other toppers as well. I wanted to give you this link to the See Spot Live Longer website as others have mentioned they have a premix. Here it is: http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/ I started with downloading the SSLL the ABC way for @2.95. It is a guide for people who feed kibble and want to supplement with various raw meats, fruits and vegggies. It is a pretty informative little download. I use his guide for supplementing kibble. Now, in addition, I feed one kibble free meal a week with the See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix. So far, I’ve just added lightly cooked ground turkey to it. He also has a book available on the site that has home made recipes. I don’t see me doing that in the near future. But have at it if you are so inclined! Another good site is http://www.dogaware.com. It has recommendations for books, premixes and even recipes on that site. Good luck and have fun with those pups! They grow up REALLY fast!

[Jude s]

To Kristin, Thank you for the tips and advice, every little bit of advice from all you awesome people helps! Lol ….I think I’ll try introducing raw foods little by little, just too see if they can handle it *crosses fingers*

[Kristin C]

Hi Jude-when I first started my puppy on raw earlier this year I would give her treats of raw chicken during the day. When I was sure she could tolerate it I gave her a full raw breakfast for a few days, then added dinner. I did the same thing transitioning her to raw beef. I have tried Darwin’s but the meat turns brown and it’s expensive. Nature’s Variety worked for us and it is very accessible as it’s sold at Petco, but it’s expensive too. Orijen Freeze dried works for us when when we travel, again expensive though. I have resorted to buying my own chicken and beef when on sale, add organs, puréed vegs, sweet potato and pumpkin and, as of this week, am adding in See Spot Live Longer to my homemade. I buy grinds of novelty meats from Reel Raw to get more variety and rotate those in. In addition, my girls each get a can of sardines per week and I make tripe and yogurt treats for them a couple times per week. You can request samples of THK on their website. I have a couple samples I have not tried yet. The best advice I can offer is to try one thing at a time, keep doing what works, discard what doesn’t work. Every household is different. I have revised my dog’s eating schedule many times this year!

[Cyndi]

Jude, I really don’t think you offended BCnut! Not sure that’s even possible, lol! You are not annoying anyone. We are all here to learn and welcome questions! It’s pretty much trial and error. While one dog may do awesome on any given food, it may not work for another dog. You’re right, you buy what you think is best and see how your dogs do. Unless there is some kind of intolerance to a certain protein or ingredient, I’m sure they’ll do fine.

Good luck!! & don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you happen to see the thread I started about starting my dog on raw from a year and a half ago, you’ll see I asked a TON of questions. & everyone here was more than happy to answer them. 🙂

[theBCnut]

I didn’t say best, I said easy. At least I meant to. When you decide which one you want to use, if you decide to go that route, skip a meal, then the next meal feed about 1/4 what you would normally feed, then feed 1/2 for a couple meals, then go to the full amount. Or you can do what a lot of us here do and just start adding the raw as a topper, and then continue to increase the amount of raw. By the way, you can make big batches and freeze it in portion sizes, or enough for 2 or 3 days, if that works better for you.

[Edith H]

our year-round stocking treats are Stella and Chewy’s beef formula, Raw Rewards freeze dried salmon bites and Crum’s natural’s sweet potatos. Simple ingredients, low calories and reliable food sources!

[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….>,<

[pugmomsandy]

I’m not sure if there is a best way to start pups on raw. But some recommended premixes are See Spot Live Longer, Urban Wolf, The Honest Kitchen, Granda Lucy’s, maybe Dr Harvey’s. There are also some premade frozen raw that come in small nuggets like Primal Pronto and Natures Variety Instinct which are quick to thaw and easy to introduce.

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

[Jude s]

So like the title said, I need help! I’m trying to start my puppies, that are about to be 4 months on the 11, on raw food. I was told that starting them on premix meals, then transitioning them to homemade or raw prepackaged food is best. The problem is I don’t know which premix meal brands are best…I have pitbull/chihuahua mix puppies. If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 …..oh and I’ve done my research but it’s a ll overwhelming :/

• This topic was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Jude s.

[theBCnut]

There is a place about 1 1/2 hours from me that sells Answers and when I’m in that area I get some. It is one of my favorites. I love to give my dogs their raw goats milk!!

As for your titer results, a low number may only mean that he has not come into contact with the virus, so his immune system is not producing antibodies to fight it off. Low numbers can mean that there has been no challenge. Must be nice, parvo is in the soil here. There is pretty much no time when dogs immune systems are not being challenged down here.

[theBCnut]

I feed half kibble due to the need to have something that the squeamish people in my house can feed. For raw, I used Darwin’s until just recently(allergy to flax stopped that), now I’m using grinds from Hare Today and My Pet Carnivore and other home raised meats. I add whatever my dogs need to those. For the last 3 days, they have been working on eating a whole turkey. Ocassionally, I use commercial raws, but 2 of my dogs have multiple food allergies, so there isn’t a whole lot I can use. I rotate everything I feed.

[Nancy C]

BCNUT: I hear you!

I think I will call back the Homeopath and ask his assistant about this. I will ask her if SHE will talk to the doc and see if she learns anything more about the food. This vet is very careful…. I am working w him now bec my GSD’s titer for Parvo came back last week negative, but the distemper was strong. My regular vet wants to REVACCINATE using a COMBO Parvo/ Distemper. (Her Vet Group does not offer singles!) I am NOT going to Revaccinate for distemper when he is immune to it! The Homeopath was adamant about that also and went into details about protecting my dog. So on the other hand I cannot believe he would recommend BDN and DARWINS as his two choice raw foods if he did not know they are nutritionally sound.

Maybe we can get to the bottom of this, bec my dog surely loves the food and it would be a sad day for her if I stopped it.

[Nancy C]

Cindy: YES, my golden has eaten it now for a month. breakfast and supper. She LOVES EVERY FLAVOR! and licks the bowl for more. I will add 2oz of Darwins chicken tomorrow, as I said, just to get her on several foods.

Whoever mentioned THK food: It did not go over as well at this house as BDN. However, I added it to kibble and the golden ate the kibble more readily. But I have never seen her so happy over food as she is the BDN.

Maybe we all need to call the company and talk to Chris…. ??

My plan now is to do BDN, Darwins, Answers and OCRaw. I have talked to the owners at Answers and OC Raw and also Vital Essentials. Hopefully can rotate all those. Also want to be able to run to Whole Foods and get some organic chicken some days.

[Martha S]

Hi Cindy!
Right now we are doing about 50% Darwins, and the rest a rotation/combination of Reel Raw, Tuckers, Primal Turkey/Sardine., and Genesis. Sometimes I’ll add a Salmon grain free roll from Freshpet ( the one thing that isn’t raw) or a couple cans of sardines in water. As a treat, he will get Answers unpasteurized goat milk every once in a while.

We tried BDN tripe and it was a big hit with the pup, so I was really hoping to try and inform myself as much as possible as to the protein/fat/carb percentages. It really is a mystery to me why a company wouldn’t share their nutritional percentages. I kind of makes my mind wander…..is there something bad going on? I really want to like this food…sigh…why all the secrecy BDN?

[cindy q]

I agree Martha, they seem like a great company and it is the only food my dogs seem to love. What frozen raw do you feed?

[Martha S]

Thank you BC! Normally, we feed frozen raw but that is too difficult when traveling, so I was really hoping BDN would officially be our go to food on long car trips. We have tried THK….the pup will eat it, but without much enthusiasm and sometimes leaves leftovers. With it being $60 per small box, it can’t justify the leftovers.

I really wish BDN would just resolve whatever issue is blocking them from being completely forthcoming. I feel they are missing out on potentially having a large customer following if they would just be more transparent.

[Martha S]

I received my first order of Reel Raw about two weeks ago, and having starting incorporating it into our raw rotation. Here is my personal review.

The food arrived on time and frozen solid. Apparently, you do not return the coolers to the company, like we do with Darwins each month. (This really makes no difference to me, as the cooler drop off for Darwins is close to where we live.) I had ordered the Ultimate Combo #1, which is 50 pounds of ground, rmbs, and chunked meats. I figured we would try a little of everything.

After two weeks of randomly picking through several of the items, I have found them all to look like they where fresh when frozen. I thawed each one pound pouch on the counter top and it literally looks like meat that I bought from the grocery store. DH almost cooked some accidently mistaking it for our “people” groceries. Our dog really has enjoyed everything we have given him thus far from the Combo #1.

Conclusion…..two big thumbs up! Not sure how long 50 pounds will last us, especially since it will be in rotation with other raw brands we use (Darwins, Tucker’s, Primal, Answers) but I will certainly be ordering from them again.

And there’s my 2 cents worth.

[DogFoodie]

Hi SunnyD,

Looks like the NVI raw duck bites are a good choice with sodium at .27%.

The product also includes heart, which is excellent glandular therapy.

Here’s a couple of threads you might also be interested in:
/forums/topic/food-and-supplements-for-my-cavi-with-heart-murmur/; /forums/topic/dry-dog-food-with-low-salt-and-low-fat/

[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.

[Lily H]

My husband bought theses at our local Piggly Wiggly here in TN. They are made in Canada so I feel safe giving them to our dog and are perfect for our Dachshund. They must not be a big seller in our small town as they will no longer carry them so I bought what they had left. These are better than the rawhide he almost choked to death on but are too small to give to my Shepherd.

[Karen C]

Hi, everyone. I know you’ve seen heartworm questions a million times, but I’m still paranoid, so I’m asking too. My apologies for the length.

We adopted Iggy, our mini Schnauzer, in July of last year. He tested negative for heartworms, and we’ve had him on monthly Heartguard ever since. And a few weeks ago he was diagnosed with a mild case of heartworms anyway. The microfilariae (spelling?) test was negative, but he’s got adult worms.

He had a month of antibiotic, and on Wednesday and Thursday he got his two Immiticide injections. He’s now on Prednisone and Tramadol, and he’s home and crated — we’re on day 2 of 30 days’ strict confinement. The TV’s off, I’ve got a playlist of “Music Through A Dog’s Ear” volumes 1-3 on constant repeat, calming treats a couple of times a day (not sure if the music and treats help him, but they’re not hurting and make me feel like I’m doing something, so they’re helping me), he’s got rawhide and chew balls in his crate with him, and I’m able to work from home to monitor him. The door’s shut and the blinds are closed so he can’t see/hear any people or animals outside. He seems resigned to life in his crate, and so far he’s not fighting it. And my husband is fine with me staying in the downstairs spare room where Iggy is, and doing all of the shopping, etc. himself, so I don’t have to leave Iggy at all. (We have a split-foyer – the “spare room” is actually half the ground floor, so it’s not too hard for me to hang out here most of the time.) 🙂

Trouble is, Iggy’s always been WAY too friendly. If he sees kids or other dogs, he goes “I MUST PLAY WITH YOU NOW!!!!” and he pulls at the leash, shrieks, and tries to run to them. Our block has 6 houses spaced far apart, a few kids, and two neighbors have chihuahuas that they let run loose up and down the street (ugh). No fences (them or me).

I’ve kept Iggy’s outdoor potty breaks short, and we move slowly when he’s out, but a couple of times he’s seen a kid or a dog and suddenly started pulling at the leash and whining. I’m keeping the leash very short so he can’t break into a run, but he tries anyway. I’ve managed to get in front of him, get his attention and calm him, but it takes a few seconds, during which time he’s agitated and I’m sure his heart rate is rising.

So. I know his activity has to be restricted, and it’s usually pretty well in hand, but some of his potty breaks are scary. I’m trying to time them so there’s nobody out when he is, but that’s not always possible.

So far he’s okay, but from what I understand, the post-treatment danger hasn’t peaked yet. What are the odds that the “OMG I MUST PLAY WITH YOU” moments will do lasting damage?

Thanks for reading all of this.