[aimee]

Hi Daria,

interestingly enough, Ca/Ph ratio isn’t even discussed in the discussion of diet for growing large/giant breeds in Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition 2012. Nor is a specific ratio mentioned in recommendations for large breed growth. Dr. Larsen ACVN in an article on feeding large breed puppies writes “The ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be approximately 1:1 to 1.5; however, absolute amounts of each nutrient appear to be more important than the ratio per se.8 Clinical experience supports this, as developmental problems with extreme ratios in the presence of adequate dietary concentrations of calcium and phosphorus have not been reported.”

Based on those sources I personally don’t draw a line in the sand in regards to ratios during large breed growth.

[Bobby dog]

Hey cat lovers. There is a Star Trek movie marathon on, I won’t be getting anything done today!!!

C4c: I hope your kitty continues to enjoy his new fountain and it helps with his health issues; keep us updated.

FYI, after we briefly discussed TJ’s and their canned cat foods I looked at my Vet’s cat food recommendations and found she only included the chicken and rice recipe on her list; just thought I would pass that info along. I am going to check out all of them when I finally make it to TJ’s; maybe the other recipes fish content is high or they are high in carbs, IDK.

Sharon and Akari: I have had some Authority recipes on my cat food list to check out for a while. I am going to buy a few cans of Go! when I am near a pet store that carries it, thanks for the reviews!

Has anyone used freeze dried tripe? I am looking for some with no additives, just tripe. I was thinking about sprinkling a little on the cats’ canned food. Maybe this will make it taste better and I can add more of a variety to the ones that are addicted to kitty crack.

New Foods Review
Canned, I apparently made good choices because even my picky eaters liked these new recipes. Of course they only wanted them for a few meals, but they ate them again the next week when offered. I will be adding them to my rotation:
• Primal Turkey (freeze dried raw) – takes longer to hydrate than what is written in the directions
• by Nature Organic Chic & Liver – pate’ with a smooth, soft consistency, stays soft after refrigeration
• Verus NZ Lamb, Tripe, Veg & Green Lipped Mussel – pate’ with smooth, soft consistency with whole peas, stays soft after refrigeration; they of course did not eat the peas.
• Nutrisource – Chic, Turkey, Lamb & Fish – pate’, stays fairly soft after refrigeration
• Purina Beyond Chic & Brown Rice – pate’ with a firm consistency
• Blue Healthy Gourmet Kitten Chicken Entrée (from Akari’s list) – pate’ with a firm consistency
• Felidae (a poster named Barbara recommended) I found 5.5 oz on sale for 87 cents, woohoo! Chicken Turkey, Lamb and Ocean Fish and Chic & Rice – pate’ with a smooth, soft consistency, stays soft after refrigeration

Kibble:
• Fromm Beef Livattini – no one liked
• Fromm Duck ala Veg – big hit, everyone liked
• Purina Beyond Superfood Herring – everyone liked

I checked out the Annamaet cat kibbles that HDM mentioned her cats did well on. Annamaet Chic & Rice has crab meal (which I am sure makes it quite tasty) and on their website they wrote they use hormone and antibiotic free chicken in their recipes. Both the grain inclusive and GF look promising for my kitties, but I forgot to see if my pet store carries them.

Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day!!!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Charles –

Non-raw treats definitely should not cause an issue with a raw fed dog. My dogs eat raw but receive all kinds of treats from cooked “human food” to biscuits and dehydrated meat-based treats. No issues ever.

Some things you may want to try which would be closer in resemblance to a fresh raw diet would be air-dried (like ZiwiPeak which BTW works great as training treats) or freeze-dried raw (my dogs like Wysong, Stella & Chewy’s, Primal, Orijen, Nature’s Variety Instinct and Vital Essentials).

[DogFoodie]

Hi Vianca,

Just to be sure I’m understanding, you’re trying to decide between the grain inclusive Small Breed Adult and the grain free Small Breed Core, right?

I think Wellness products are great and have used the Small Breed Core in my Cavalier’s rotation. She loves it and does very well on it. The kibble size is great for a smaller dog. It’s sort of a flat triangular shape that’s thinner than the other Core products. I’m always amazed at how good she looks when she eats it – even the whites of her eyes become clearer.

That said, I still don’t feed it to her exclusively, because I feel a rotational diet is better and healthier for her. She’s actually eating a Fromm grain inclusive formula currently and is doing well on it also and I have a Wellness grain inclusive formulas on deck to try soon. I feed her lots of different brands as well as raw and dehydrated foods. Variety cancels out my worry of any nutritional inadequacies any one food I feed may have.

So, if I were you, I’d choose both!

[charles h]

Hi all,

I’m struggling to think of any raw food treats to feed to my dog when training. I know off the shelf foods mixed with raw food can cause serious digestive issues so did not want to mix this. Just not a fan of carrying around raw food when out and about with her…

Any ideas would be great..

Thanks,

Charles

[charles h]

Hey all,

Been raw feeding my 8 month old Black Lab/German Shepard for around 3 1/2 months now and so far so good…

However just recently maybe the last two weeks/three weeks she is showing much less interest in food.

I try to feed around 6-7% of her body weight which works out around 650-750 grams a day. Some days she will only eat 200 grams of food and even that is with a lot of encouragement. She has no interest in Chicken whatsoever anymore…

I’m just worrying she is not eating enough although the self-regulation is a big part of the Raw Food diet I feel she isn’t doing this she is simply not eating.

Her stool seems fine and she is fine in her behavior so I do not suspect a health problem.

It did occur to me she might be starting to come on heat for the first time but this is going on a little long now.

Someone suggested to me starving her for a day then starting again the next day with two meals morning and evening to see if she eats as normal but I hate starving her 🙁

Any advise?

Thanks,

Charles

[DogFoodie]

Hi Paulee,

I just looked quickly at the ingredients in the Nature’s Domain kibbled diets and I don’t see artificial coloring listed. It’s actually a myth that kibble helps to clean teeth.

Things like raw, meaty bones will help and I’ve seen some food additives that are supposed to help, but the best way to keep teeth clean is to brush them just like you would your own teeth! : ) I use a special toothbrush with a longer handle and an enzyme toothpaste just for dogs.

[Nancy C]

Yes, Sandy, I agree with you. Each dog is different and the hope is to know each in particular so we can succeed. Our GSD will require a slower pace, so I will be mixing kibble and raw with him. (There’s room in the world for both approaches! )
Splitting one patty: tricky. We’re so blessed by these precious animals, aren’t we! Have a nice day and thank you.

[pugmomsandy]

Sorry for delay. Been busy with Blues Fest this weekend. Glad the transition to BDN is going well, Nancy. It’s really what you’re comfortable with when changing forms of food since there are different schools of thought on that matter – cold turkey or taking time to transition. And only you know how your dog handles change. I usually end up mixing forms of food since splitting up one 8 oz raw patty between three dogs doesn’t make a complete meal. And I think adding the BDN with kibble would actually help digest the kibble better.

[Nancy C]

Okay – For whoever is interested, I am presently transitioning my 10 yr old Golden Retriever to Raw. I acquired the help of a homeopathic vet to be my coach for the transition of my two dogs due to the horrific time I had with my GSD in the spring. Dr. Loops has a website on which he strongly recommends raw. He specifically recommends BDN and Darwin’s. His 6 dogs all eat rotations of those two foods. In consultation with him on Friday he suggested that I try the BDN first , due to the fermentation and the tripe which is in ALL of BDN food. After a few days I will introduce Darwin’s which arrived Friday. The woman at BDN all but promised me the golden would do fine, saying so many very sick dogs have transitioned to this food with ease. She claims that the tripe and fermentation are key to digestion.
Yesterday morning I gave my golden 1/2 cup of BDN with NO KIBBLE. (The BDN company recommended NOT mixing the two together due to the different digestion times. They were confident that she would do fine).
Hannah gobbled up the food and licked the bowl like there was no tomorrow.
Early afternoon I gave her some homemade bone broth.
For supper she ate 3/4 cup of only BDN. All was well.
TOday it was 3/4 cup again and tenacious bowl licking.
During our walk she pooped small poops as the woman at BDN said she would. It was normal in consistency and NO DIARRHEA (yet ?) and the stool was not even “soft.” It was moist, smaller than usual and just fine. Yesterday’s stool was the kibble from Friday and it was large and lots of it. Today’s, which reflected yesterday’s BDN, was VERY different.
The woman told me to watch the poops, that they would tell all.
That’s my story of the last 28 hours.
It appears that by tomorrow she will be on her protocol of 1 cup 2x day.
This transition has been a piece of cake.

[Melissaandcrew]

Standards are not a huge mega e breed so that is probably not a huge concern as your vet said. They are however a huge bloat breed and I would be concerned about the belching. They can also have sensitive stomachs. Have you tried soaking his food to see if that helps? Sometimes smaller meals throughout the day can help as well. If he were mine I would try soaking it for a good 15min before feeding to see if that helps him digest. If not I would move on to a different form of food (he may have problems just digesting dry) You could get a a small bag of raw or dehydrated to try for a week My current standards have iron stomachs but some in the past had the same issue of vomitting undigested dry food if fed completely dry. Good luck

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Melissaandcrew.

[Nancy C]

Hi Pugsmom: My intro box of BigDogNatural just arrived yesterday. Their customer service is wonderful. My Question to you since you have experience: I’m transitioning my 10 yr old Golden to Raw. Historically she can eat anything anytime. The Homeopathic vet I talked to yesterday highly recommends this food and Darwin’s for raw dogs. Says he uses both (rotates) with his 6 dogs with great results.
The Customer Service urged me yesterday to feed it Cold Turkey – not to mix with kibble due to the length of time kibble requires to get digested. (That seems so severe esp for an older dog) but their rep was very clear about not mixing bec could cause gas and stomach upset. She said with the tripe and fermented veggies the dog will do FINE on it alone. The plan is to move to Darwin’s next. My Darwins arrived yesterday too. The vet yesterday said he thinks BDN will be more readily welcomed by the gut than even the Darwins, due to the fermentation and the tripe. But he really likes Darwins as well.
In her video Karen Becker suggests NOT mixing kibble with raw but to feed kibble and offer the raw separately as treats during the day, increasing the treats and reducing the kibble gradually.
The BDN woman said if I still feed kibble should feed it separately as a meal without raw, and feed the raw as a separate meal.
Any insights/ suggestions FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE will be welcome.
Thank you.

[Naturella]

The lady I babysit for – I also kind of took over her dog too, and I have successfully switched the dog (Snowy, female, 4 y.o. Shitzu mix) off of Kibbles ‘N’ Crap (sorry, I keep misspelling that – “Bits”). Too bad she already has 3 bumps on her lower ribs, that may be fatty formations, or something else, but I hope for the lesser evil… :/

I weaned her off with the help of Nutro Max, Simply Nourish, Whole Earth Farms, and Earthborn Grain Free in samples over 2 weeks, and I ordered the family 3 LiveFrees and a Wysong and they came in Tuesday. Next week she can start on those (she still has some WEF and Earthborn to finish up over the weekend). I am pumped that I can now take advantage of deals and not break my husband’s ban on dog food for our Bruno, cause we’re stacked full, lol. Snowy is, however, set till the end of the year, so Black Friday sales is when I will shop for her next! 😉

And, I still have some LiveFree Salmon and Wysong for Bruno from the first time they did the deal – the last I sneaked in before I really really stopped! 🙂 I really really like the Wysong and so does Bru Bru (we begged for some samples and graciously got them). 🙂

In fact… Here are the companies that have graciously sent me samples upon request:
Annamaet – GF foods samples and a full-size bag of GF Manitok treats.
Wysong – samples of foods and samples of treats.
Canidae – a whole 4-lb bag of Canidae Pure Sea and a full-size bag of GF Bison treats.
Nature’s Variety Instinct – a one-time voucher for a free product of your choice (includes 4lb bag of dry dog food or 5lb bag of dry cat food, and some canned/raw options).
Nulo – coupons only.

I had also contacted TOTW, Farmina, Fromm, Merrick, Victor – those sent no samples, but rather stressed on their money-back guarantees (Merrick and Fromm), and TOTW said to get samples from local retailers, and Victor said to just buy samples on their website. Farmina never responded. The search continues though! 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Naturella.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Cajun Girl-
I add canned pure balance, nature’s domain and whole earth farms. I also add eggs, sardines and raw nuggets as well. Since I’ve been adding eggs and sardines a couple times a week, their coats have become noticeably shinier. The canned food and nuggets are balanced, but the eggs and sardines are not. So they cannot make up more than 10-20 percent of their diet. Good luck!

[pugmomsandy]

Tripett, Solid Gold and Merrick have canned tripe. Unless you want to do raw tripe, which is even better. Tripe has a ratio of 1:1.

[Melissaandcrew]

Btw Erin-Check out Dogaware.com for the articles on pancreatitis. Interestingly enough, it states that research has shown that LOW PROTEIN diets can PREDISPOSE dogs to pancreatitis. I love the dog aware site-lots of info on diets for many health conditions, feeding raw etc.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Sue-

I think you have misunderstood my post. As a mini schnauzer owner of well over 25 yrs, I am well aware of schnauzers, pancreatitis, and hyperlipidemia. I have never had a schnauzer who has needed restricted protein due to either of those conditions. I am not sure what you are referencing(study perhaps) that says dogs with chronic pancreatitis require lower protein, and I wholeheartedly disagree with that. Fat must be watched for schnauzers in general, and yes, its more important with those that have had a previous flare up, but levels of ANYTHING tolerated vary widely from dog to dog.

My dogs routinely live to be 16 plus years of age, so no, I have not “gotten lucky”. Its skill and knowledge, and access to state of the art vet care that they live so long. Its pretty ballsy to comment about someone else’s dog’s medical condition and what “might have occurred” without knowing the full facts of the dog. In Meg’s case, she had lupus as well as pancreatitis, which flared up when company would let her get ANYTHING even slightly fatty/greasy-ie meat trimmings, chips etc. One small item of forbidden food, and it was off and running. And yet, all blood work was COMPLETELY normal in between. Please do not think to lecture me on how I possibly could have prevented my deceased dogs medical condition. For the record, she died of LYMPHOMA with a 2 yr quality filled life after diagnosis which is typically unheard of.

Erin-I would not feed a food so low as 22 percent protein. Owning so many of our own schnauzers over the years, as well as dealing with pancreatitis dogs in the vet hospital I worked at, as well as running a rescue specializing in schnauzers, I can only tell you what works for us and the dogs in our care. IF protein were an issue, all my dogs would now be dead as they eat primarily a raw diet, as well as kibble that are all over 33% protein. My oldest are 14,14,15 and 16 yrs. All alive, healthy with perfectly normal blood work confirmed with recent testing. Take all the info every one offers, consult your vet and make a decision that you are comfortable with since you know your dog best. Good luck!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Liz:
I like Wellness products; both my dog and cats do very well on both their kibble and canned.

She might be a picky eater, but I wouldn’t be concerned with the kibble she likes. Many picky eaters will not eat anything consistently which in turn affects their health. Knowing she has a food she eats consistently and does well on will gives you an opportunity to look for other foods she might like to add to her menu.

You have listed several kibbles that you have tried and one you are looking at. If I had a picky eater I would reduce the amount of kibble and add a topper to each meal to hopefully entice them to eat other foods. I don’t have a picky eater, but I believe in using a topper for each meal to reduce the amount of kibble I feed and add a more healthy species appropriate food to his diet.

Check out Freshpet; my dog loves this food. It is a cooked food that is refrigerated and sold in plastic wrapped tubes (slice and serve) or pouches (small, soft kibble form). Many pet and grocery store chains carry it. It is rated very well on DFA:
/dog-food-reviews/freshpet-vital-complete-meals/
/dog-food-reviews/vital-dog-food/
/dog-food-reviews/freshpet-select-slice-serve/
/dog-food-reviews/freshpet-select-roasted-meals/

I feed a rotational diet of kibble topped with, commercial freeze dried/dehydrated/frozen raw, canned, or lightly cooked fresh meats for each meal. I change the animal protein, carb source, and brand of kibble every month; toppers every day or two. Rotational feeding also ensures my dog will have no issues switching foods when a dog food recipe inevitably changes; they always do. I can just move onto a food he has done well on in the past if any digestive issues occur. Good luck with your pup!

[pugmomsandy]

Cons: it’s the most expensive! Some brands might not hydrate as well as others.

Pros: shelf stable, easy to travel with, doggie daycare will serve it as opposed to frozen raw food, light weight, can be used as treats

[Kritterlady]

4FootedFoodie, thank you for the update. The person I talked to from corporate told me they have taken over the facilities due to the rapid growth of the product while building their own facilities. This would qualify as a copacker though they are making only food for Blue Buffalo according to their standards. That being said, I feed 80% raw and 20% rotation diet between several of the 5 star brands Blue Wilderness included. It’s easily accessible at Petsmart and petcos in my area and the price is within reach.

[Deborah M]

Sheryl,
You just have to do your own homework and really research the food you’re using. I had a lot of trial and error, even with the the best quality foods. But, just because your breeder recommended a food, doesn’t mean it’s the best. Even with champion dogs. My breeder is excellent. Produces top notch puppies (many champions) and takes superb care of them prior to them leaving her home. I would NEVER go to another breeder. However, I also would not feed my dogs what she does – I won’t mention the food, but it’s an inferior food. After all of my mistakes, and pulling my hair out, I ended up switching to a freeze dried raw that is: 1) excellent quality, 2) sits very well with my dogs, and 3) they LIKE!!! I won’t go back to kibble. I would recommend that you just start out with the 5 star foods on the Editors list, and go from there. Btw, in terms of transparency, I’ve been able to take a virtual tour of my manufacturer’ facilities (very very clean), and making the food, showing the ingredients, mixing it up into various batches, and packing it. I’ve been able to talk to people at the plant personally because I had a lot of questions about switching to raw and they are always extremely responsive and helpful. Of course not suggesting you go raw, but just to expect no less from the manufacturer for what ever you choose.
Good luck.
Deborah.

[Sandra R]

I’ll have to get those books so I can really be sure I am not doing anything wrong. I’m from Portugal and here is really difficult to find any brand are food, so I will have to do the meals at home. What kibbles brand do you use? Has anyone ever tried the Orijen raw food? That I can ship from Spain.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Sandra R-
Congrats on the new pup. I think frenchies are adorable. I believe you are on the right track. Variety is even important for dog’s health. I have never fed Acana, but I think it’s a great kibble. Rotating kibbles would be beneficial. I also like to supplement my dog’s meals with add ins to their kibble. I use canned, dehydrated, fresh and even a little raw foods to boost up the nutrition and protein. The fresh foods are typically eggs, sardines and healthy left overs. This is the link that I downloaded a small book with tips on making kibble healthier.
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html
The author, Steve Brown, also has some books with recipes. The download is $2.95. Following this advise has made me a little more interested in feeding home made. So I bought the pre-mix from the site just recently. You just add either raw or lightly cooked meat to it to make a meal. I am very slowly and gradually improving their meals. It sounds like you might just be ready to jump right in with the home made or raw route. Which ever way you go, I wish you success!

[pugmomsandy]

http://www.thewholedog.org/artcarnivores.html

http://www.thewholedog.org/artcookedfood.html

“Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs” by Lew Olsen

“The BARF Diet” by Dr Billinghurst

“Raw Meaty Bones” and “Work Wonders Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones” by Dr Tom Lonsdale

“Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr Karen Becker/Beth Taylor has easy recipes and includes puppies.

[InkedMarie]

You sure can! If you’re on Facebook, do a google search for raw feeding groups. You can google for non fb groups as well. I know a breeder who starts her puppies on raw from the start.

[Sandra R]

She is only two months old. Can I give raw food right away?

[InkedMarie]

Since frenchies are known for allergies, a raw diet would be perfect!

[Rawf D]

To all North West raw feeders.

I am currently in the process of setting up a raw food supplier in the North West and would like the opinions of raw feeders on this forum.

I would be very appreciative if you could take the time to fill out the short survey below and I thank you for your time.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P6BBGL3

Regards

[pugmomsandy]

Try chicken feet or pork ribs or calf ribs. GreenTripe dot com sells calf ribs. Lamb chops have soft bones too but are a bit costly. Some dogs who are on raw diets and eat RMB still get plaque buildup. Could just be genetics. I’ve also heard from other raw feeders that only feed ground raw that their dogs teeth stay clean. The raw enzymes in the food help to keep the teeth clean.

[tracy z]

I have a 9lbs toy poodle who just started on a raw diet. I give him raw chicken necks for his source of raw meaty bones. However, if I don’t cut them into smaller pieces (small enough to fit in his mouth but he would still have to chew on it) then he would refuse to eat them. He would just nibble on it and then drop it on the floor and stare at me. Would this still give him the dental benefit he needs from chewing on the bones? Or should I leave them un-cut and just let him work it?

Also, other than chicken necks, what are other good raw meaty bones I can give him that’s appropriate for his size?

Thanks!

[Sandra R]

I have a two months old french bulldog and I’m feeding her for now Acana for puppies. For now she is doing Ok, but I would like to know about your opinion about rotation diet and how to do it
And if i can give her a raw diet or should I wait until she is an adult? What is the best dry food for French bulldog puppies?
Thank you so much for your help.

[Akari_32]

I decided to use the Applaws as a full meal, rather than throwing a tub in here and there. So I went out and bought 24 cans of Friskies Special Diet and Senior Diet (my previously scoped out flavors however many pages back). I tried to get away with not having to buy more cat food, but there was too much Applaws for me to feel comfortable with not adding more food that was balanced. So my 26 days of food turned into 40 days of food after the Friskies and Applaws was added lol You guys should have seen all that cat food sprawled across the floor as I tried to fit everything evenly into my rotation.

He’s on a 10 day rotation (not including different flavors):

Ideal Balance or Sheba
Applaws
Wellness
Authority Flaked Turkey
Friskies
Wellness
Applaws
Friskies
Authority Flaked Turkey
Friskies

Because of stacking difficulties with the Applaws tubs and Sheba and Ideal Balance 3 oz cans, I couldn’t really spread the Friskies out as much as I would have liked, but as soon as Wellness goes on sale again (which shouldn’t be long, I would think), I’ll be buying more, so it’ll do for now. The cats fed, and that’s all that matters lol

[Akari_32]

Glad they liked it! I guess it doesn’t ship for about 5 days after ordering, so I’ll probably need to get Bentley some Pure Balance 95% to tide him over. Guess I’ll do that tomorrow. He’s already used to eating raw treats, so I think he’ll be ok switching to all raw in a relatively short time. Fingers crossed I get my mix soon! I can’t wait to see how he does on it :3

[crazy4cats]

Hey Akari-
I received the SSLL dinner mix finally. There is a pic on the off topics thread on review side. I can understand why Cyndi was confused on directions. I added 3 tbs to about 24 oz of ground turkey to split between my two 80 pounders. They really loved it! Going to try to feed them one kibble free meal per week. I did lightly brown the meat, by the way. I’m not ready to feed it totally raw yet.

[Akari_32]

Oh, so I had an idea! When I’m feeding Bentley a meal with a bone, but I also want to feed the mix (since a lot of the chicken I portioned out has bone in it), what if I made the mix in a little bit of fat free, plain yogurt? Extra protein, probiotics, gets enough mix to keep his diet balanced. And every other week or so I could do the same in a raw egg? What do you guys think?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Jeffrey D-
I’m not sure how you feel about supplements. My dogs have sensitive tummies with intermittent loose stools. I use “Firm Up” when I add canned food to their kibble. It is dehydrated pumpkin and pectin. In my opinion, it is more convenient than adding canned pumpkin and applesauce (pectin) to their food.
I also learned about helpful supplements on http://www.dogaware.com. I have and currently rotate, Gastriplex by Thorne, Vetri-Pro BD by Vetri Science, and Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen with great success. They all contain enzymes, probiotics and supplements such as slippery elm that help control loose stools.
My dogs have not been diagnosed with anything. But, I suspect leaky gut or IBS due to previous intestinal parasites and over use of antibiotics.
I feed Victor grain free kibble with various toppers. Such as canned, frozen raw nuggets, eggs, sardines and dehydrated.
Good luck to you!

[Oceans11]

We have tried that. Also mixing raw ground meat. I just ordered some freeze beef and chicken and have high hopes he will like it. It sure is expensive though.

[pugmomsandy]

He-he! That’s just one wall. The closet wall has bags of kibbles and my personal small kitchen equipment and vitamins/supplements. The the third wall has some more foods, boxes of Halo Herbal Dip, other topicals for the fosters, extra dog beds, shampoos, cases of Merrick GI Bones, Ranger Ribs and Flossies. And I keep chicken treats in there too (tubs of Mother Clucker, Chicken Crack and Cluck Yah) and I just put three 7.1 cu ft freezers in that room too to fill with the 8 cases I just ordered from greentripe.com. And here’s the dog freezer in the garage:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/fulldogfreezer765x1024_zpsb5463b60.jpg

My personal dogs aren’t eating much kibble right now! I have 3 personal pugs and the rest are fosters. Sometimes I have up to 12 pugs total and they usually eat 1 cup of kibble per day with some toppers. Sometimes I give them a whole raw egg fresh from the coop! So to me, it really doesn’t matter too much if BDN is not aafco compliant like Neezerfan.

Here’s a picture of bath day:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/pugs8pugs_zps0cd62c42.jpg

My awesome Weston 22 grinder:

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

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Melissaandcrew]

Weezer-its the quality of the canned however, and not all people are going to pay 3-4$ per can for the higher quality ones. A boxer could eat 3 or even 4 cans per day depending on activity level 🙂 At that rate it would probably be cheaper to go with aa commercial raw.

[Dori]

I too would like to know if anyone has any thoughts on Big Dog Natural Dog Food. It’s not on the review section but maybe someone has some experience feeding this food. I’m always on the look out for raw foods to add to the rotation. As always, thanks to all.

[InkedMarie]

Both Moist & Meaty and Bil Jac are very low quality foods. Feed a high quality canned, dehydrated or pre made raw. You can find reviews of them by clicking “reviews” in the red line above.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Erin- I just googled the dry food you feed, and on line it says it is only 12% fat..which is very low and should be fine. When giving beef or chicken, if not feeding raw. be sure to BOIL it, then drain well./.use 95% lean beef. My crew has less problems with beef when it is fed raw, but that is them. Eggs should be hard boiled, and my schnauzers get 1/2 of large egg each. no more than 2 twice a week. Anything more, and stomach issues. I do give them low fat shredded cheese on occasion, but more often I give them a dash of low fat kefir, or low fat/fat free yogurt. If it were my dog, I would feed a bland diet for a week, and then start the dry back..slowly over a week. . No “additives/toppers” for a few weeks. I am betting the cheese just built up her triglycerides and it was a matter of time.

[Erin R]

We haven’t introduced anything new to her, food wise, and i don’t give her pig ears or bones or rawhide or anything edible like that. The only thing she OCCASIONALLY gets with her kibble is chicken, beef, boiled egg, etc. I’ve never given her wet food. I have been sprinkling shredded cheese on her breakfast (i’ve been doing that for a while now) so she would eat before i go into work… but i guess cheese isn’t good for pancreatitis so she won’t be getting that any more!

But she was in to the vet about two weeks ago for a mild back sprain. Then when she recovered from that, her annual vaccinations. So i guess that was pretty stressful and could have upset her stomach? Thats the only thing we can think of, anyway, plus maybe the cheese and her being part Schnauzer.

Her current food is 15% fat, should i try to find a lower fat kibble? I am hesitant to talk to the vet about food/diet because i’ve only ever been suggested things like Science Diet, Royal Canin, and foods with grains/corn despite telling them of grain/corn allergy. She does have a follow up appointment on Friday so i guess i can ask, then, but i want other opinions and maybe some suggestions on foods to look into.

Thanks!

PS – i never knew that Schnauzers where prone to pancreatitis. Now i do.

[DogFoodie]

I have great luck enticing my picky eater to eat kibble by topping it with raw green tripe, coconut oil or goat’s milk.

[Oceans11]

I have posted under this topic before but haven’t found anything that works. My one year old Malagasy Coton De Tulear is a picky eater. I have tried Basic Instinct Raw, Fresh Pet, various 5 star canned foods including Tripett, Orijen dry puppy kibble., Fromm Gold kibble, Blue Wilderness. What he will eat on a consistent basis is rotisserie chicken which probably isn’t healthy. We have tried giving him raw ground round and raw steak. All he wants to do is bury it. I have supplements that I try to give him hidden in his food but one whiff and he walks away (supplements: Angel Eyes, Grizzly Salmon Oil, probiotic, and Vitamin supplement). I am concerned that he is not getting any of these supplements or more importantly a nutritious diet. Because he doesn’t eat much on a routine basis, we have all too often shared what we are eating. I don’t believe he is underweight. I would appreciate any suggestions and/or advice anyone could share. Thanks much!

[Cyndi]

I don’t have any answer to the pancreatitis part, I just wanted to address the table scraps part. Giving table scraps and human food is not a bad thing any more. Actually, it can be beneficial. Try adding things like tinned sardines in water, or raw eggs or lean cuts of meat or healthy dinner leftovers to their food a few times a week. It really is good for them. Just keep them under 20% of their amount of food you give them or give them a bit less kibble on days you add toppers.

[pugmomsandy]

Their website is vitalessentialsraw dot com.

[Michael B]

Vital Essentials has no website and I can’t find any information about how it is handled or the origin of its products. I am beginning to not trust the company and will switch raw diet brands to Stella & Chewy’s.

[Dawn R]

Hi Terri,
I’ve got two pugs (brindle and fawn) that are 5 and 6 years old and have suffered from both food allergies/sensitivities and seasonal items for years. I’m had them on raw diets for the past 3 to 4 years and fed kibble prior to that. I’ve tried just about every medicated shampoo, supplements, probiotics/enzymes and testing that is out there including taking them to a vet dermatologist. In the early years the boys had been on antibiotics and steroids until I decided to pursue a more holistic program with them. The most informative testing that I did that helped get me started down the right path was with a company called Glacier Peak Hollistics. They have a Healthy Dog Sensitivity Assessment that costs $80.00 which is a hair and saliva test. You submit hair back to them as well as swabs and it gives you a really extensive report back. You get results back fairly quick and then can make decisions on food proteins you should eliminate from their diet, or allergies to ingredients. I’ve done the more traditional IgE and IGg testing on them and paid close to $250.00 for testing and the results didn’t come close to the holistic testing.

[“Blue”]

InkedMarie, You got my curiosity up so I went back to their site. I haven’t seen their recommendation for Cups at all. But it looks like you’re seeing a pound of their food is equivalent to a cup. I’ll check that this evening.

On this page http://www.darwinspet.com/resources/how-to-feed-raw/ I found 2 references to amounts fed. First says large dogs may eat 2% of their body weight and small dogs up to 4% per day. Second is a bullet list, which includes 8 lbs. per week for 50 lb. dog, which is pretty much inline with the 9 lb. they gave me when ordering on the phone. (You get this same 9 lb. when going thru the web ordering steps too.)

If I calc 4% of body weight, 55 x .04 = 2.2 x 7 days = 15.4 lbs. per week.
15.4 x 16 oz. x 36 Cal. = 8870 Cal. per week
8870 / 7 = 1260 Cal. per day.
Wow, there’s the magic number to keep his weight up.

I’m sure they are a good company with quality products, but I’m starting to think they recommend low feeding quantity numbers on purpose.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by "Blue".