[Susan]

Hi Jennifer, a grain free would be better then Purina One but I found alot of grain free kibbles have potatos & you need a low carb diet, yeast loves carbs, I few people I know feed the “Holistic Select” Anchovy, Sardines & Salmon meal, for their dogs with bad skin problems & they say its excellent the vet diets never helped their dogs, the Holistic Select also has 2 grain free kibbles Deboned Turkey & Lentils has no potatos & their Salmon Anchovy & Sardine grain free…or you can do an elimination diet to see what foods make him itch, but an elimation diet takes time…Wellness has their Simple limited ingredients range, that way he’s having limited ingredients, less ingredients to make him itch, also sardines in spring water are excellent for itchy skin, I give a couple sardines as a treat…I’m using the Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal as my boy cant have potatos or sweet potatos, he’ll break out in a rash all over his stomach & chest, then his ear starts to itch, then his paws go all red & itchy, its awful.. I wouldnt believe it if I didnt see how a little bit of potato can do all this, I found this out buy doing an elimination diet…maybe try raw thats the best for skin problems, cooking or raw works out cheaper then kibbles, ..

[Kristin D]

I want to start feeding my 5 year old Miniature Dachshund,Oscar,raw or cooked food. Any advice at all would be SOOOOOO helpful!!!!!:) Oscar is a couple pounds overweight right now because I was on vacation for a week and he stayed at a family member’s house. She didn’t walk him because I didn’t think about asking her to(silly me!!! *Face palm* Lol!!!)and she has a dog who grazes, so Oscar would always eat some(probably most)of his food. Right now he weighs 13 pounds, but I would like to get him down to about 10 pounds(I walk him just about everyday, so he should be back in shape in no time!!!). Now for “some” QUESTIONS!!!!:D YAAAAAY!!!! Lol!!!;P How much raw food per day should I feed him??? Should I start out getting packaged raw food??? Should I just give him the bones or grind them up??? What meats can he eat??? What should his daily, weekly, etc… diet consist of??? How much of what should I feed him weekly, daily, etc…??? How slowly should I introduce him to raw food??? What meats are good to introduce/start out with??? What things should I get to start out with(what kind of meat grinder, what kind of storage containers, etc…)??? What are some good books I should read??? What are some good sources(websites)I should check out??? How should I handle the meat??? How do I clean up and things like that??? Where should I get the meat??? What should I look for in the meat??? How much will this cost per month??? What veggies and fruits should I include in his diet daily, weekly, etc…??? How much low-fat cottage cheese, veggies, etc… should I feed him daily, weekly, etc…??? What kind of fish can he eat??? Should I add fish oil or probiotics or whatever else to his daily, weekly, etc… diet??? That’s it for now!!! Don’t worry, I’ll be back with MORE!!!!:D Lol!!!;P Thanks guys!!!:D

• This topic was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Kristin D.

[Naturella]

C4C, we also use vice-grips… Doesn’t slow Bru down too much, just prevents the swallowing of a big piece, like you said.

I have also wondered about smoked bones and have given Bruno a rack of smoked lamb ribs from Best Bully Sticks, but they worry me the way they break… I only gave Bruno one then took it away when the pieces looked too splintery and sharp… I tend to stick with raw marrow bones and dehydrated necks, feet, chews, etc. vs. the smoked ones… For my own peace of mind. 🙂

[Naturella]

Cotons mom,

I have a 13.5-lb JR-Rat Terrier mix, so he’s right in between the sizes of your two dogs.

Once a week I give him either a chicken back, or a beef/pork neck piece (RMBs) as a meal (Sunday night). For recreation, I have given raw marrow bones, about 2-inches long, maybe a bit less, from my local Publix (they sell the longer ones and the short ones, they call them soup bones). Chicken backs and beef/pork neck pieces also come from there. I have noticed Publix is very responsive to customer demand and I believe they have had customers request those pieces so they decided to sell them. I would also give Bruno raw chicken necks, and turkey neck pieces. I have given him a rabbit neck before too.

He has never choked, and he works on them diligently. The marrow bone he gets once a month, so he doesn’t get excessive fat from the marrow especially because I also feed coconut oil a few times/week and canned fish once/week. Once the marrow is gone, sometimes I would take the bone and fill it with a variation of “doggie ice-cream”) – plain yoghurt, coconut oil, turmeric, peanut butter, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of ground flax seeds as a base, and either some berries and/or bananas, or some canned pumpkin/sweet potato. Blend together, fill the bone and freeze it, and give once/week until it is time for his next marrow serving – that’s what I do at least. Bruno loves it to bits.

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

[Cotons mom]

OK I have two cottons both a year old. I am really interested in giving them raw bones both for recreation and meals but am so afraid of them choking. The little guy is 10 pounds and his sister is 17 pounds. I feel them a raw diet (primal, S&C, and a few others) and give them frozen/defrosted tripe from vital essentials.

What animal size would be appropriate for them? and do I need to take the marrow out of the marrow bones to keep them from getting too much fat and then GI distress?

Thanks so much

[Lisa]

After about 4 months of various symptoms my 18 month old male GSD was down to 64 lbs(normal weight was 80-85 lbs) we finally got a the EPI diagnoses from our vet. He was originally on Eagle Pack, then Taste of the Wild eventually we tried to Go!Sensitive and Shine and Grandma Lucy’s Goat. With these 2 foods he improved a little and gained about 5 lbs in 2 weeks. The vet prescribed enzymes but after doing some research we decided to try raw food including raw beef pancreas. We ordered beef pancreas and green tripe from http://www.hare-today.com and from the very first feeding we saw results. Green tripe is totally gross but Reggie absolutely loves it!
It took about 3 weeks for him to completely stabilize, he went from 3 meals a day to 2, his poops are perfect and he goes about 3 times a day, no gas or stomach rumbling, he sleeps through the night again. Now he is about 100 lbs and is full of energy he probably runs/walks about 5-7 miles a day, barely sheds and his coat super soft and shining.
We are been able to reduce the amount of beef pancreas per feeding so a 16 oz tube will last a few days and his diet is probably about 70% raw he likes ground meat,organ,bone mixed with Taste of the Wild kibble or Grandma Lucy’s with a occasional egg. We switch the type of protein(fish,chicken,beef, turkey, goat, even llama) he eats every few days and their is no change in his bowel movements. He gets coconut oil as a supplement as well as 8 Gentleman Chinese herbs. We got the Chinese herb from a local holistic equine vet, we believe it was a key component in his recovery.
I love to watch him eat RMBs he throughly enjoys laying in the grass and slow tearing into the meat and savoring every bite, just like his ancestors did..this is the way canines are supposed to eat!
Raw feeding takes a little extra work but it is definitely worth it. We have a freezer in the basement and we have a small refrigerator where we keep the raw food separate from our food. I know every dog’s situation is different but this solution saved Reggie’s life.

[Susan]

Hi Kristin, Welcome….Yes, Ive read Lew Olsons book, it’s excellent, I love how she has a food section for health problems, (Pancreatitis, IBD, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease etc) I dont use raw but when I started to cook I got most of my ideas from her book, also she has a yahoo group its in her book…
scroll down to the bottom of this page & click on “Contact Us” then click on “How can I add a custom image to my personal profile?” then you’ll see the link to create your free Gravatar…

[Akari_32]

I’m fostering a 16 year old Mini Dachshund right now and am using the Wellness Toy Breed formulas. I love the looks of them, and she eats them as well. Wellness also has a Small Breed CORE (grain free) recipe out now that looks fantastic I just bought to use for treats for my 2 year old Jack Russell mix that eats raw and needs a low carb diet, but loves his treats. Not Chihuahuas, but they are similar in size 🙂

[Naturella]

Hey, Travis!

Well, you asked for personal experiences and here is mine. I got Bruno when he was 4-6 months old (probably around 5-6). He was changing teeth and needed some serious chew supply. He is an avid chewer ever since. He really likes “meaty” chews like bully sticks, tracheas, gullet strips, cow/pig/lamb ears/snouts, fish skins, etc. However, they do not last him too long.

I did give him an antler as a puppy and have never stopped since. It contains good minerals and lasts a WHILE! It never hurt his teeth – not even the puppy ones, them sharp bastards! lol But, if you want, you can try your pups with a split antler – it doesn’t last that long, but it is mostly the inside “marrow” part, which is must softer and gentler. But for me, I always have to have an antler on hand, plus one to have when the first one is chewed to a nickel-sized piece, when I take it away (Bruno is 13.5lbs). But I have a great pet specialty store with seriously the best AND most affordable antlers I have seen, if I move from this area I will drop at least $70 but stock up on them antlers! Lol.

Other “long-lasting” chews are the Himalayan Dog Chew (super hard, dry yak cheese), raw marrow bones,. and the bull horns as aquariangt said. Bruno likes it all, just give him something to gnaw on, lol, but antlers keep his interest the most and last him the longest, so they are our household favorite. 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

My foster dogs do well on Nutrisource grain free Lamb Meal formula. Not too high and not too low! It’s 28% They’ve also rotated with the Heartland Select formula at 25%. And the majority of the time I put a little 5 star canned food on top.

And the more protein a dog food has, the more stars it gets on this site (but also taking into account any red flagged ingredients). There are other sites that rate food according to different criteria. For instance, one site will rate Ol Roy as the best food. For my fosters, they handle 25-33% well. My personal dogs eat raw. You could just rotating brands and different percentages and let him have time to adjust over the next several months.

/frequently-asked-questions/rate-dog-food/

/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-reviews-problems/

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

[Travis A]

Ok thank you very much, we did have some of the marrow fille bones you mention and they do like those quite a bit. I may hold off on the antlers till they are closer to a year or older, are Raw bones from a butcher the best for them or do they still pose a risk of splintering and bacteria and what not?

[aquariangt]

at 8 months antlers could still be worrisome, but if you want to go for it, try to find moose instead of elk-they’re a bit softer. The horns don’t really chip off any different than a rib bone. Frozen marrow bones are great as well if you can find a place that carries them. Once they’ve gotten the marrow out you can refreeze them with peanut butter or canned food or rehydrated raw food, so it works for a nice long time.

[Kristin D]

Hello!!! My name is Kristin!!! I have a 5 year old miniature Dachshund named, Oscar. I came to this forum because I’m seeking advice about feeding raw food. I just bought a book called; “Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs, The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals.” by Lew Olson. So far I am really enjoying reading this book!!! I highly suggest it!!!:) I’m wondering, how do you edit your profile picture??? For the forum and for commenting on reviews??? Thanks!!!

• This topic was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Kristin D.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Louis –

It’s great that you’re being proactive about your dog’s dental health! 🙂

Unfortunately, the Milk Bone brand dental chews contain very unhealthy ingredients (kind of the canine equivalent of a candy bar for us humans!). The good news is there are a lot of healthy chews available that I’m sure your dog will love just as much.

My number one recommendation for a healthy and effective dental chew is raw meaty bones. My dogs are fed an entirely raw diet and their dinner every night consists of raw meaty bones, but raw meaty bones can be fed to dogs that don’t eat raw as well. The best options for small dogs are things like chicken necks, wings and feet. Larger dogs do well with items like chicken backs, chicken quarters, pork necks and turkey necks.

If you’re not comfortable with feeding raw (which is completely understandable, many aren’t) the next best option would be a natural chew – things like bully sticks, dried trachea, pig ears, etc. These treats are high in protein and low in carbohydrates making them species-appropriate and healthy – plus dogs go nuts for them! Just be sure to get these types of treats from a reputable supplier (avoid treats imported from China!). A great site to order chews from is BestBullySticks.com – they have a wide selection and their chews are sourced from free-range Brazilian cattle.

While I do feel that RMBs and natural chews are a much better option than commercial dental treats, if you do choose to go with a commercial dental treat there are some things to look out for. The vast majority of commercial dental treats are loaded with unhealthy ingredients (like the Milk Bone dental chews) but there are a few out there that aren’t so bad. You just have to be sure to always read the ingredient list – avoid items like propylene glycol, artificial colorings, corn, wheat, soy, by-products, digests, etc. The downside to commercial dental chews is that, for the most part, they’re all fairly carb-heavy (even the healthier options) and they’re typically very expensive (RMBs are cheap!). A few commercial dental chews that I would feel comfortable recommending: Zuke’s Z-Bones, Cloud Star Dynamo Dog Dental Bones, Halo Spot’s Chew, Get Naked Dental Chew Sticks, Newman’s Own Organics Dental Bones and Nature’s Recipe Pure Essentials Dental Chews.

Also, be sure that you’re brushing your dogs teeth regularly (at least three times per week) – while dental chews are certainly a valuable tool for dental health, the only way to ensure optimal dental health is through brushing.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Travis A]

I’m trying to find something for my 2 boys Pit/Shepherd mixes. I want something that’s durable where they won’t eat it all in one setting. I would say they are average chewers nothing overly aggressive. I hear the Antlers are good but could risk teeth damange, which is odd because it promotes good dental health so idk what to think. The bully sticks i hear about bad manufacturing of them which leads to dogs getting sick. Id really rather have a bone or antler something they can work on for a while. What would be the best options and best places to find them? Thank you very much.

[pugmomsandy]

I agree with crazy4cats. I would definitely contact the company. They should easily give you the phosphorus content. You and your vet might check into the Lamb Kidney Support formula from here:

http://www.myperfectpetfood.com/products.html

Or the kidney diet from Darwins:

http://www.darwinspet.com/our-raw-foods/our-raw-dog-food/intelligent-design-ks/

[Dori]

I stay away from foods that have long lists of ingredients. I want their food to be foods and with Katie and all her issues I need foods to be simple with short list of ingredients that I no she can eat. I’m sick to death at this point of doing any more elimination with her. I’ve got a pretty long list of foods now that she can easily deal with and as for my picky husband who is grossed out with dealing with raw foods The Honest Kitchen finally came out with the Zeal without alfalfa. It’s fish, so not for Sam. She tolerates Nature’s Logic Sardine (also not for Sam) very well for some reason. Didn’t think she would. Oh, I should mention that Katie’s good with Vital Essentials freeze dried (I’m not thrilled with the price of freeze dried but jeesh, I’ve got to be out of the house sometimes). Jim’s ok with feeding that as he thinks it’s a sort of kibble and I haven’t told him otherwise. So anyway, it’s at least three foods that he’s ok feeding the dogs and I no longer have to go crazy speed racing trying to be home for their dinner time if I’m running late. Husbands grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!! Gotta love em but sometimes………….

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

[DogFoodie]

I got a bunch of raw grinds recently from My Pet Carnivore. The only one Sam will eat is the Beef Tripe Supermix. I ordered them specifically for the same reason, no fruits or veggies. He’s picky. He’s a bit of a squeamish wimp actually.

[InkedMarie]

I picked up a bag of Vital Essentials raw for Ginger. One reason I got it is because there’s no fruit or veggies. I am to the point of not wanting to pay for them in my raw. If I want to add them, I can. I’d rather pay for an all meat product.

[DogFoodie]

Thanks, Dori!

I have looked at Vital Essential, but not recently, so I’ll look again. I’m actually using their tripe treats right now, because as you said, it’s just tripe and nothing else! I’ve all but given up on raw for Sam. He likes the tripe I order from MPC, but other than that, he often won’t touch it. He’s big too, so it’s expensive to feed him raw or freeze dried. Raw and freeze dried are hard on my budget!

I’m always open to suggestions!

Thanks again. : )

[Dori]

Oh my goodness Betsy. You have never come off as rude to me. Absolutely not. Your concerned about Sam and I know what you’re going through. As I mentioned, Katie has so many issues and thank goodness fish is not one of them. It has literally taken me years to find foods she’s ok with for the moment. Have you tried Vital Essentials. They have a raw and a freeze dried. The reason I mention it to you is, yes, they are a little costly depending on what part of the country you live, but they make a raw and a freeze dried and they are more the prey raw dog food model. From time to time I feed the freeze dried version and the raw because they have absolutely no other ingredients other than the limited ingredients listed on the bag which is basically the protein and variations on that particular protein. Nothing else. Go to their web site and check it out, there may be something that you can find for Sam. I periodically have my local dog food store order in for me. They don’t carry it but if one of their distributors carries it than they are able to order the food for me.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Dori,

I hope I didn’t come across as rude, that was definitely not my intent!

My point was that I frequently hear, from lots of folks, that allergy / intolerance, yeast or skin issues can be helped by fish based foods. I think that for many dogs that don’t have an intolerance for fish, that may well be true. Heck, if you search limited ingredient foods on any of the pet food shopping sites, you’ll find lots of them are fish based or have fish meals or fish oils added for the omega 3’s, and its often stated that it’s for skin and coat health. I wish Sam could eat fish, because he could surely benefit from the omegas. I think fish intolerance / allergy isn’t terribly uncommon, as far as those issues go.

I’m trying to find some kibbles Sam does well on before I start adding an algae oil to his food. He is not a fan of raw and I’m having trouble with canned foods as a result of his sensitive tummy. He does like raw, green tripe, so that’s one of the few toppers I use. In addition to fish, he can’t have garlic, flax, chickpeas or lentils. He also gets fresh eggs at least a couple times per week.

He does great on Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Duck – he likes it OK. He did fine on California Natural Lamb and Rice, but he didn’t really seem to care for it. And, while I hate to even admit that I tried it, he did well on, and liked, Canidae Pure Sky; although his anal glands started smelling a little strong near the end of the bag, his ears started clear. Right now, we’re in the process of trying Go! GF Turkey, and I’m really hoping this works. In the past, he hasn’t done well on foods with lots of fruits and veggies and this food has them. And, the Go! contains lentils, but they’re pretty far down the list of ingredients and the fiber is within a good range for him; so I’ll see pretty quickly if it gives him gas. I have big bags of NVI LID Turkey and Duck on deck to use next, or in case we have to make a quick departure from the Go!

I’m constantly searching for foods for him. I get a little frustrated at the lack of options for him. I wish that limited ingredient foods contained only one animal protein.

Thanks for asking, Dori! Sorry for the hijack, Lori!

[Bobby dog]

C4c:
I was trying to find websites I looked at for my hyper-t kitty when he needed help eating. One of the main reasons given for kitty’s not eating was a change in routine. I really hope that is all it is for your kitty and it is not health related. When I used to have to leave town for extended periods of time I would take my JRT with me and take my two kitties to my parents house. When I brought them back they were so funny. They would sit on my bed and wake me up in the middle of the night and morning by just staring at me. It was like they were telling me they never thought they would make it back home again and would start purring and rubbing up against me as soon as I woke up. They would do this for about a week until they settled back into to their routines.

The first thing that caught my eye was the sweetener in the ingredients. The second was the ingredient that I guess keeps the kibble from getting hard. I really don’t know anything about those ingredients, but if I fed this food it probably wouldn’t be long term. Honestly, if a kitty is not eating I would pretty much give anything a try and this food would be no exception. 🙂 Here’s the links I used for the ingredients that I checked out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructooligosaccharide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucono_delta-lactone
http://www.modernistcookingmadeeasy.com/info/modernist-ingredients/more/sodium-alginate

I reluctantly added two Friskies flavors to my senior female’s diet. She was not eating well and did not have a long term interest in any of the new foods I tried. She looked haggard and I had to find something that she was excited about eating. I re-visited the Friskies recipes. I added two from the Special Diet line, the Beef & Chic and Turkey & Giblets; AE is Country Style Dinner. They are all pates’, carbs are about 5% for SD and 11% for Country Style Dinner, and none of the recipes have fish. Drawbacks are by-products are listed first (named meat is like third), giblets are high on the ingredient list for the turkey, and all have added color. Haven’t had to try the Country Style Dinner, but my girl is happy, looking better and that’s what matters.

[David D]

I’m looking to start my dog on a raw food diet and have a couple questions.

#1) I read on http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html that it’s best to start out with chicken. It also says that the meal should be 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Reading further it says that a chicken is 33% bone. Should I buy some extra chicken breasts to make the ratio work at 10% bone?

#2) I contacted one of my local butchers and he sells “raw course ground beef scraps” for $0.50/lb. Is this a good thing to feed?

Thanks in advance!

[Zanes Mom]

Nancy C, Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. I actually followed your quest to go raw, think that might be called lurking lol, and am so impressed at the depth of your study and questioning. I will look into BDN but since they don’t recommend mixing with kibble I will have to get a little/lot more comfortable with raw. I do feel that today Zane has a MUCH stronger immune system but it was scary to see him lose 10lbs. in very short order.
I will be very interested in hearing how your GSD does on the raw because my son has a two year old GSD that has had a lot of itchy issues with kibble. They have him on Merrick Duck right now and things are better but not solved.
One question: I remember when you were researching raw that HHP was something you did not want, could you tell me why? Thanks!

[Zanes Mom]

It’s interesting that you would say that about the kibble because about the time his problems started the dog food he was on ( not Acana) was suddenly unavailable for a period of time and the reason given was manufacturing issues. Hard to know of course.
When I first visited this site I could never imagine feeding raw but as I learn more I really want it to play a part in Zane’s diet so I appreciate your good wishes. Thank you again for your insight and suggestions.

[Nancy C]

Dear Ladies, How I share your feelings and fears. But knowing how good raw seems to be I felt that I must give it a try. Here is my experience and it is one of many – but I have learned at DFA Hearing others’ Experience helps. Due to my 15 mos old GSD having terrible problems due to transitioning to a high end food from TOW due to the recalls- we ended up for 6 weeks at the vet (due to diarrhea) who put him on antibiotics and HILLS POISON WD Formula to heal him. He lost 6 pounds over several weeks. A nightmare.
I was scared of raw, but felt I MUST TRY. So I hired a Homeopathic Vet to help me through to raw. (My reg vet is not into nutrition) He recommends raw for dogs. He also recommends two brands of raw which he feeds to his own 6 dogs: Darwin’s and Big Dog Natural. BDN is a air dried -dehydrated raw to which is added TRIPE to every formula and the veggies are fermented. BOTH these aspects support digestion. First I started with our 10 1/2 yr old Golden Retriever. He suggested that I start with the BDN – would probl be easier to digest. I went Cold Turkey. Chris at BDN strongly advised AGAINST mixing raw and kibble. She all but guaranteed cold turnkey would work fine. One morning I held my breath, stopped kibble totally and fed the BDN as directed. It was a piece of cake! Dog did not skip a beat. The vet said it is bec this food is SO EASILY DIGESTED. And my dog licked the bowl for over a 1 1/2 minutes! Loved the food. There was NEVER any diarrhea nor ANY signs of ANY difficulty. It was magic. I am leaving her on this for 1 month and then will start introducing the Darwins WITH BDN 2 oz at a time. I told my neighbor about BDN and she ordered it and today told me she went COLD TURKEY with her THREE dogs and no problems at all. EASY! She’s now into her second large order of the food! So I will start my GSD soon. He just arrived from training and I want to acclimate him to being back home and I too shall go cold turkey with him. Chris at BDN says one of her customers is a GSD Breeder and he LOVES the food and gives it to ALL HIS DOGS! So, hope this helps a smidgen. Good luck to you!
Nancy Calloway
Oh PS — I do not have stock in BDN, I am in NC they are in NJ, I do not know the owners nor do I know ANYONE there. Chris in Cust Serv is very helpful and nice. I never heard of the food until the Homeopath vet told me about it.

[RescueDaneMom]

I completely understand! I was super nervous to try it too. From what I’ve read, it is more likely for dog’s to get salmonella from tainted kibble than raw. But I started with raw slowly myself. I fed Max kibble with toppers like canned and dehydrated/freeze-dried foods for the first 4 years I had him. Then as I learned more about canine nutrition, I started experimenting with adding raw. I started with Stella & Chewy’s as a topper as well. The Duck, Duck, Goose is a favorite of Max’s. From there I started trying other brands and gradually increased his amount of raw and decreased the amount of kibble. A year ago I decided to stop feeding kibble altogether. I was feeding Max a dehydrated food (Honest Kitchen) and raw. I kept that up for about 7-8 months until he got tired of the Honest Kitchen. He was refusing to eat his food even with the raw mixed in. I tried other dehydrated and freeze-dried foods with little success. His system was just not liking them. I made the switch back to half kibble 2.5 weeks ago. He is doing really well on the BC kibble. I would love to do full raw but I just don’t have good enough local sources and I don’t have enough time to do all the prep. I’m a firm believer that some raw is better than no raw so I’m happy with the compromise I made.

Best of luck to you and Zane. Baby steps is the way to go. You can easily figure out what he does well on if you introduce things one at a time.

[Zanes Mom]

Rescue Dane Mom,
Thanks for the suggestions! I understand what you are saying about the fat vs carbs and it makes sense. I think I will try the Brothers Complete in the near future and will look into the Earthborn too. I really admire everyone that feeds raw as all or part of their program but until recently never considered it. For the first year Zane had issues with diarrhea and we got to know the vet VERY well. Long story but after many tests it was finally determined that he had salmonella. The vet was shocked and of course the first question was did I feed raw. I didn’t but it made me nervous about change. He is thriving now and I recently bought a bag of Stella and Chewys Duck, Duck Goose and plan to try it as a topper – baby steps 🙂
BTW we live on the Gulf north of Tampa.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi All!

So I moved in January for a new job. Max had been eating half raw and half THK for about 3-4 months at that time. I continued that routine for the first month or two after the move but he was losing interest. I tried THK’s new base mix when it came out but he only ate it once or twice before he decided he didn’t want to eat THK anymore. He has been eating at least some THK since I got him, about 6 years, so I guess he just got tired of it? I tried several other similar products with little success- NRG Maxim, NRG Optima, Grandma Lucy’s Valor, and Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance. On these other foods, he was pooping in the house while I was at work and was never regular. When he was on THK, he was pooping so regular I could set my watch by it. So I tried each food for about a month. I figured that was enough time to see if his system would regulate. It never did and I got tired of cleaning up poop in my house. So frustrated, I tried Orijen and Zignature kibbles too to see if they would work. No improvement. I was at my wits end a couple weeks ago and decided to try Brother*s Complete kibble. It has worked like magic. I feed Max 1 cup of kibble and 1/2 lb of raw at each meal (3x/day). He is back to pooping like clockwork. He hasn’t pooped in the house since we started the BC kibble with his raw. I am so happy I found something that works for him!

Has anyone else had a similar experience with certain foods just going right through their dogs? I still have no clue why system was so wacky with those foods yet was fine with THK.

-Caroline

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Zanes Mom! I live in Central Florida and have a Great Dane. He is 8.5 years old and 145 lbs. He gets walks in the early morning and evening and lays around and sleeps the rest of the time. I am currently feeding half kibble (Brother*s Complete) and half raw. I have fed him some high fat raw for a month or two and his weight kept consistent. He seems to put on weight if eating a high carb food not high fat. He maintains weight well on low carb foods. I am personally not worried about fat content unless it is absurdly high. I would look at some low carb kibbles for more variety. Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural is one I can think of off the top of my head. Max also liked Annamaet Grain-Free and Petcurean’s Go! Fit and Free.

[Akari_32]

When I tried frontline, I saw fleas litterally crawling over the application site. It’s pretty much useless these day. I’m having great results using Little City Dogs brand lufeneron (sp?). You can buy it on Amazon, or through LittleCityDogs.com $25 treats a cats and medium dogs for a year, and $50 for large dogs. It’s the same ingredient in Sentinel and Program, and is extremely safe, even at high doses. My cat even takes it as a treat out of his food (it’s a chicken or beef flavored cap). After using every available on the market here in FL, it’s the only thing I can get to work, with the exception of Trifexis, which really bothers me with the all the problems it has, and I took my dogs off.

[InkedMarie]

Wow, that wasn’t easy. I didn’t find many foods that didn’t have the list of ingredients your dog is allergic to & they don’t have higher protein:

Natures Variety Instinct LID lamb 22%
Rabbit: 25%
Duck: 26%

Wellness Simple Frainfree salmon & potato. 25%

Zignature duck 27%
Lamb 28%

If I was you, I’d feed raw or home cooked.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
Glad to hear Bentley is doing better. You are so much more adventurous than me with the raw feeding. I got real crazy and bought some frozen raw beef heart treats last week. Woo Hoo! As for the yogurt you are feeding, I’d be real careful buying fat free. Artificial sweeteners are not good for dogs, especially xylitol. I noticed my dogs’ poos are much smaller after their no kibble meals on Saturdays also. Keep up the good work!

[Naturella]

Yay for Bentley and great job, Akari! I can’t wait till hubs and I have the freezer space to raw-feed Bruskidoodle (one of Bruno’s bazillion nicknames, lol). I would probably use some canned/dehydrated too, and some kibble here and there, when traveling/camping, etc.

The yoghurt will help some, especially if it has a bunch of live cultures in it. I personally use Dannon plain usually, but I also like Stoneyfield plain.

Other than the tummy gurgling, how is his overall condition/activity level. Is the stool well-formed and all? If so, I’d say he’s adjusting pretty well to raw-mixed. 🙂

[Naturella]

Sheltielove, a few of us here are college students, myself and my husband included. We also shop on a super tight budget for our dog, but so far we have managed to keep our food costs at $6.07/month for 4-5-star food. That is pretty low, although I am not counting Bruno’s (the dog’s) additives in the price. He gets an egg, a raw meaty bone (usually a chicken back or pork/beef neck bone piece), 1/2 can of sardines, and a tablespoon of coconut oil every other day and 1 tablespoon of yoghurt every other day. And The Honest Kitchen raw dehydrated food as a topper (1 tsp/meal, aside from when he gets coconut oil or yoghurt). The price of THK is calculated in his food cost though. Right now we are stocked on kibble and THK till the end of August, 2015.

Now, how did we do that?
Part 1 – lucked out! Our local Petland had a special during the months of November and December 2013 and was giving away FREE small bags of Holistic Health Extension. I stocked up on those with 4 bags.
Part 2 – Petland also sends me a coupon for $10 off of $25+ purchase – a great way to get bigger bags for less. I got 3 14-lb bags for about $20 each (with tax and all).
Part 3 – Luck again – there is an awesome little pet specialty store with amazing sales on top notch brands when they’re a month away from expiring, plus they give away free samples. Got me some of those too.
Part 4 – I facebooked a bunch of companies to ask for samples of their foods – some sent just coupons, some samples and treats, and some – whole small bags of food. Two bags of food came this way.
Part 5 – Planned couponing – for more info and to speak to this site’s real coupon guru Akari_32, see this thread – /forums/topic/coupons/
Part 6 – Scouting for deals and sales online. Websites, such as petflow.com and chewy.com will have flash sales at which you can get food for $1/lb – I got 19lbs of food this way, all in 4- or 5-lb bags of great, various flavors and brands.

Part 7 – MOST IMPORTANTLY – all of the above methods will be kind of on the hard side if you do not rotate protein sources (flavors) AND brands of food. More on diet rotation and why it’s important – /frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/ But this way you get to take advantage of all or most deals and sales versus being stuck to a specific brand/flavor.

Also, some of the more affordable overall brands are: Earthborn Holistic, Victor Select and Victor Grain Free, in some places NutriSource (not around Kennesaw, GA though – here it is soooo expensive!), Taste of the Wild (a Diamond product), Canidae (in my area it’s not too pricy), and possibly Dr. Tim’s.

As for Diamond – they manufacture several brands. They had a huge recall in 2012 and handled it poorly. Hence the issue of many with them.

As for Nutro, I cannot speak, although I have fed their small breed puppy food – one bag, first food we bought for our doggie before we discovered this site.

Hope this helps! Welcome, and keep the questions coming! 🙂

[neezerfan]

I got my dog from a rescue at age 2 1/2. At that time the vet said he was underweight. He was 12 lbs, she said she’d like to see him at 13 or 14 lbs. His ribs and hip bones were prominent. I started him on the rotational diet I’m feeding my other dog(different brands, proteins, raw, canned,dried). He developed large,loose stools(cow patty type). I tried to figure what was bothering him. Was it the lamb, carageenan? Couldn’t figure it out. When I clipped his hair down for the hot weather and saw how thin he still was, weighed him and saw he had actually lost a half a pound, to the vet we went. She tested him for EPI and that was negative, so suggested we start with the limited ingredient diet. It’s working wonderfully for him, his poops are normal, he’s holding steady at 14 lbs. But I’m a DFA dogfoodie! I want some alternatives for him. I asked the vet to try the potato and rabbit but she wants me to wait for that another 3 months. He does like the food, so that’s not a problem.

[Akari_32]

Right?? LOL

Bentley’s fur is growing back pretty well. Almost at full length again on his but and thighs. You can see his legs are still red, but he seems to not be losing any more fur, so whatever. I think its the Pure Balance I had to buy him. They didn’t have any of the 95%, so I got him the puppy stew kind, and its making him itchy. That and everyones allergies in general are just really horrible right now. I haven’t been able to breath for like a month, and a lot of people are catching colds, as well. So thats not helping him, either. But his new diet should help! Wish there was an affordable raw diet for the cat. I would love to try it. He really loves his beef heart lol

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Akari_32.

[Cyndi]

No problem guys. I’m on their email list and they email me all the time and sometimes include coupons. I signed up on their site before I had decided to go with homemade raw for Bailey.

Glad you guys can use them! 🙂

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

[Akari_32]

He told mom to email him the next time we place an order, so it doesn’t happen again. Very strange, either way lol.

Today is day two of raw! Yesterday mom did it all by herself. I left out the measured out mix in a medicine cup, and put his food for the day in the fridge to thaw the night before so it’d be ready for her. I left her 5oz of boneless chicken, so she didn’t have to deal with him dragging the bones around, and she could add the mix right to the meat instead of getting creative and trying to figure out what to do with it with no meat to easily add it to.

Today, I gave him a chicken wing (and a random liver I threw in the bag when prepping it lol), and used some Nutro Ultra Boost canned food to put the mix in. Didn’t work out very well, and ended up using some water to add to it (that canned food is very thick!), which still didn’t work very well. He ended up eating it anyways, though. I made him eat most of it before giving him the meat, and took the bedding out of his cage and locked him in so he couldn’t drag the wing around the house and eat it on the furniture lol This also forced him to lick the rest of the mix out of the bowl when he was done with the wing. I’ll buy some yogurt at work today for the next time I give him a meal with a bone. That’ll be easier to mix… Lol

Tomorrow is beef hearts! One of his favorites :p And after tomorrow, the pork will be ready to use, so that’ll be easier with the mix as well.

[Bobby dog]

I always use these coupons, thx Cyndi!

I haven’t tried the new formula, almost afraid to. Bobby I am sure will be fine, but only a few of my cats liked NV frozen raw to begin with. I still have a half a bag of the old formula left so I guess I’ll see next month if they like it or if Bobby will get to finish off some more cat food. lol

[Ivan L]

Thank you for all the suggestions.
@LabsRaweson: Are the food you mentioned similar in quality to Blue Buffalo? The difference in price surprise me.

[Susan]

Hi Tiffany, when I first rescue my boy he was doing sloppy poos with jelly on then & mucus, did the blood tests for parasites all blood test all came back good, vet said Colitis & he was put on Metronidzole for 2 weeks, I went back to feeding him chicken necks for breakfast & his Opitmum kibble & tin food at night again every 13 days he would be up early hours of the morning with his stomach/bowel making gurgling noises & he’d have to go out & do his jelly poos, I called them, then finally vet said looks like he has IBD, he can’t just eat anything, no more chicken necks there’s too much fat & just bone, he needs to be put on a stricted diet, so he was put on Vet prescription Royal Canin Hypoallergenic cause he also has skin problems being a Staffy but the fat was 19% in the R/C HP it was too high fat% then he got Pancreatitis, in the end he was put on Eukanuba Intestinal Low residue kibble, this stopped all the jelly poos stopped his gurlging bowel, I also cooked him boiled chicken breast mixed with a little pumkin, rice & a boiled egg, now Im giving him Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal its a limited ingredient kibble & his poos are excellent better then when he was on the Royal Canin & Eukanuba Intestinal Vet diet, maybe look at the Wellness Complete Health range they have a large breed puppy formula & also give a cooked meal but keep everything the same, very simple once he gets use to the cooked or new kibble dont just change it or rotate it until you’ve worked out what he can eat & what he cant…once I had him just on the Eukanuba Intestinal & he was doing real good for 6moths, I started an elimation diet for breakfast only & his kibble for dinner & I found he couldnt eat Potatos or sweet potatos, he got a rash all over his chest & had diarrhea, if he ate a biscuit with wheat in it his paw would get real red & swollen.. unless thats what you do start an elimantion diet, you start with 1 protein normally boiled chicken & add rice then after 1 week & their poo is good add something else new to their diet for the next week, I saw an reaction within 2 hours of adding the potato, so the next morning I added the potato again to make sure it wasn’t from grass his rash & it was the potato, you can google elmination diets for dogs….
Have you tried a kibble where the protein% & fat% was lower then the Taste of the Wild & seen how he goes..
if you do cook make sure that he has the same meal for at least 4 weeks to settle everything as soon as Id change something in Patches diet he’d be pooing sloppy again, so I started watching what he was eating & writing it all down…can tin fish is good but not in oils, I use tuna in spring water & drain the spring water, I add a little boiled pumkin & a boiled egg you can also get salt free Salmon
another good site is yahoo group called “K9Kitchen” run be Monica Segal..also Lew Olson Book called “Raw & Nutrition for dogs” it has cooked recipes for dogs with health problems, that’s where I started with her book, its only cost $12 on Amazon she explains about using the egg shell after boiling the egg & drying the shell out & crushing the egg shell for their calcuim…..

[weezerweeks]

My little yorkie is on all canned foods. I try to find the kinds that are above or near average protein,near or below average fats and carbs. My favorites are wellness stews, go fit, fromn gold,merrick. I want to try freeze-dried raw. I was thinking about Stella and cheweys but all of the freeze dried raw are above average in fat. Does anyone have any suggestions? If I try Stella and cheweys how much should I feed him. He gets 1/4 cup of canned in morning and at night so how much freeze-dried would this be?any suggestions would be appreciated.I tried THK and he did not like it. I was also thinking about dr. Harveys oracle but it is so high in protein. Thanks

[Melissaandcrew]

My Iggys need carbs in their diet or the would look like coat racks. They always get food with carbs, whether its dry or homemade raw.

[Patricia G]

My one year old Lab can clear a room with her gas. I’ve had her on the Iams Low Residue food as recommended by our vet, and it helped alot. I started introducing raw venison and Dog Lovers Gold (which is what our other dogs eat) and the gas is coming back. Any advice on best food for a gassy dog? Should I go grain free? All raw or natural? My vet said she could be on the Low Residue long term, but it’s pricey. She is a very high energy, active young dog and loves to eat, so I’m not worried about her being picky. I just want to find a solution for her and us!

[Patricia O]

Thank u so much for your responses ! Yes i know I am the problem ! 🙂
He is sooo spoiled !
However now he has been eating this raw chicken drumstick all by himself without problems :)- however i am concerned he is not getting a balanced diet . So my question to u is what supplements should i give him so he gets a balanced diet 🙂
I am adding so organ meat like giblets and liver …. Thank u guys !

[Barbara]

I did not realize that this information was in DFA before I originally posted. I know now to search for recalls by brand name. You can also just search the word recalls on the DFA homepage.
/dog-food-recall/dogswell-withdraws-dog-cat-jerky-treats
It appears that some of the packages state made in the USA but I understand from reading comments that you need to find out where the ingredients are sourced from by contacting the manufacturer. Sounds like a lot of jerky-type treats have ingredients sourced from China!

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

[pugmomsandy]

I order in bulk with a local raw feeding group and the GreenTripe.com products come by frozen truck. The products have been frozen every time I buy it.

[momtopoms]

If you live in Texas there is Texas Tripe. They have set delivery routes through a lot of Texas (not west Texas). They sell grinds and raw meaty bones. I also order from Hare Today.