[George D]

Hi Stewart, I started her when she was 4 months on orijen dry mixed with their freeze dried line, she likes it and no problems. I’ve tried stella and chewys frozen patties and she also likes them. I’m leaning towards half dry ( orijen ) and half raw. Any other suggestions on good brands? Was also thinking of trying Darwin’s free trial.

[Stewart]

The one thing I dislike about Ziwi is there use of lecithin. It is soy based lecithin. For some dogs soy can trigger an allergy.

After having an issue with my dog constantly regurgitating or vomiting many different types of food(kibble, raw, dehydrated,canned) we had him tested. What puzzled me was some foods he would immediately vomit while others he would be fine with for weeks before he would start to reject. We had this same issue with Ziwi. We later found out he has a moderate soy allergy. So ingredients he was moderately allergic to took awhile to build up in his system before he could no longer take it.

Have you thought about other types of raw or dehydrated foods? Ziwi is good but there are so many other types of commercial raw that could be a better fit.

[Stacy D]

Hi I’m new to raw feeding and have a GSD with EPI. And he’s a gulper. I’m in the second week. I started out feeding ground chicken and things were going great. When I started adding small amounts of other proteins and organ meat his poops started turning yellow and mushy. I’m back to feeding just chicken but clearly need to be giving him more as he’s not getting all the nutrition he needs. Help!!!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Paul B –

Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately BARF brand frozen raw definitely wouldn’t qualify as a budget-friendly option.

[Paul B]

Origen or Primal quail frozen raw
Paul b

[Paul B]

BARF frozen raw

[Naturella]

I use extra-virgin, organic, cold-pressed coconut oil at breakfast every other day. My Bruno also gets canned sardines in their own juices once/week. Haven’t used any type of fish oil specifically, but when he was on fish-based kibble with regular coconut oil intake, his skin and coat became the best they’ve ever been and the effect is still lasting even though the fish food has been switched out 2 months ago. So far I am satisfied with the effect of sardines once/week, raw egg once/week, and coconut oil every other day. Plus, I rotate kibbles, so every few months he gets a fish-based kibble. 🙂

Oh, and I also use a coconut oil-based concoction as a “conditioner” after a bath, as well as for minor wounds/cuts/scrapes. The blend is: coconut oil-olive oil-tri-vitamin oil (A, D, E)-chamomile oil-tiny amount of a Garnier blend of olive, shea, and avocado oils. It works miracles for softness and shine of the coat, and for healing small play wounds. I use it on myself as well, for my hair, or for wounds. I usually treat with just coconut oil the first 2 days, then with the blend.

For the paws I use tree oil – propolis mix (from Bulgarian honey bees) and it also works really well in soothing chapped paws from heat or cold.

[Paul B]

Green tripe is excellent if it is sold in sections or even ground. It’s hard to find it but it has so much great fiber that is missing in most raw diets! Sounds like you know enough to do a great job.
Paul

[Paul B]

The problem with beef is not enough bone and then possible diarrhea. I only do this one time per week. You can find raw meat groups that will sell whole ground chicken but the fat is to high so I use turkey necks. The raw meat groups are popping up everywhere. Check out topqualitydogfood this is the type of place that come monthly and people get great deals on raw meat.
Take care
Paul

[USA]

I’m a big fan of probiotics for gut health and for overall immune system benefits. The one I use is expensive but if you calculate the cost per billion cfu’s it is the least expensive. I take one daily and I split one between my 2 dogs. Each capsule contains 100 billion cfu’s and 34 different strains of probiotics.

http://www.vitacost.com/garden-of-life-raw-probiotics-ultimate-care-30-vegetarian-capsules-2

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 1 Capsule
Servings per Container: 30

Replenish Blend – 100 billion CFU

ISS Bif™ Bifdobacterium lactis (SD-5219), Lactobacillus acidophilus (SD-5221), Lactobacillus paracasei (SD-5218), Bifidobacterium lactis (SD-5220), RAW Whole Food Probiotic Blend: Bulgarian Yogurt (milk) Concentrate, Eastern European Wild Kefir Culture containing Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, lacotbacillus brevis, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lactobacillus kefirgranum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus cremoris, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacilus kefir, Lactobacillus parakefir, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis biovar diacetylactis, Leuconostoc lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Leuconostoc cremoris, Leuconostoc dextranicum, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Brettanomyces anomalus, Debaryomyces hansenii, Saccharomyces unisporus, Saccharomyces turicensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharmomyces exiguus, Torulaspora delbrueckii

Protein Digesting Enzyme Blend – 50 mg
Protease, Acid Protease, Protease S

Eastern European RAW Fruit and Veggie Blend – 45 mg
Red Bell Pepper (Fruit), Green Pea (Seed), Carrot (Root), Plum (Fruit), Cherry (Fruit), Strawberry (Fruit), Raspberry (Fruit)

[InkedMarie]

I had a dog with struvites. I wasn’t recommended to switch foods; the vet knew better but my vet recommended one 500 mg of vitamin C (don’t do this without talking to your vet). It’s very important that your dog get ample fluid: feed raw, canned or dehydrated. If you must feed dry, add some canned & water to it. You also need to make sure he gets ample opportunity to urinate.

Good luck!

[pugmomsandy]

For struvites, I used to add Wysong Biotic pH- to my dogs’ meals. Also, I started feeding at least 50% wet food (canned, raw, dehydrated) or at least add water to the kibble. Rarely do they eat something dry. Now I just use methionine rotating with another bladder support product containing cranberry and d-mannose. Mine never developed stones or UTI’s. I also periodically test with urine pH test strips at home. One of the vets actually suggested 500 mg vitamin C daily. I have small dogs.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[USA]

Hi Dori and Cyndi, you are both very welcome!

Dori

Please clean the trays and interior of the dehydrator before first use. Then make a dry run to further insure that any thing offensive is gone. First try the highest temp and see how they are after 10 hours. Then adjust time and temp to your preferences. I slice the meats to about 1/8 of an inch and I would recommend you go no thicker than a 1/4 of an inch. Once you hit a 1/4 of an inch the outside of the treats will cook faster than the inside and it could take longer than 12 hours to make a treat that doesn’t go bad without any preservatives. Of course you feed raw so making a softer treat with more moisture in it is always an option for you.

Cyndi

Organ meats can be pretty odiferous and tripe could cause your neighbors to send you nasty letters. But some people don’t mind at all. Fish is pretty high up on the stinky list too!

[USA]

Hi sue

The oven doesn’t work as well but I think you are on to something! Dori (or anyone else) should probably make some treats in the oven first while they find out if making jerky is something they are going to stick with. Once you are making jerky regularly and want to go to the next level of quality and/or volume than the investment in a dehydrator seems more justified.

For an oven you would put it on the lowest heat and leave the door slightly ajar for better air circulation. For jerky that will last a long time without preservative you would cook until it it pretty hard and breaks easily into smaller pieces. For a raw fed dog like Dori’s you could cook it less because the dog is used to dealing with bacteria but you would only make a couple of days worth at a time (it will spoil) unless you freeze it.

You must remove any external fat from the neat before you slice it (no thicker than 1/4 inch) because fat goes rancid fast no matter how long you cook the jerky.

Hi Melissaandcrew

I am fearful of using anything other than 100% stainless steel for dehydrating foods. Plastics even if they are “food safe” and “BPA free” scare me.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Dori- I have a cheap, 5 drawer plastic tray model somewhere in my attic. I take it out perhaps5 times a year and dehydrate meat for the dogs as treats, which I then keep in my freezer. I lack patience and think it takes too long, but others that have seen it run think they are great..so go figure, lol. Would I buy another one? Yes, because I like to dehydrate pure chicken breast pieces and have them on hand for dogs with digestive upset.

[milly w]

Vegetarian Dog Food

To most Americans, leading a vegetarian lifestyle is the right way to healthy living. As a result, they feel obliged to extend this sort of lifestyle to their pets. Such beliefs have brought about a wide-scale marketing campaign for vegetarian dog foods.

Depending on your definition of vegetarian, certain ingredients and food types may be incorporated or removed from a vegetarian diet. As a minimum requirement, most meat sources – pork, beef, fish, etc. – are usually removed from the diet. Animal products such as milk and eggs are also usually not incorporated into the diet.

Why do people switch their pet diets to Vegetarian Dog Food?

Most vegetarians believe that vegetarian diets are healthy when compared to the traditional diets, which include animal-source foods. Vegetarians extend this assumption to their pets, which of course is not always true. For example, dogs do not suffer from disorders such as high cholesterol. Therefore, cutting your dog’s meat intake with the intention of reducing its cholesterol intake does not serve any real health benefit to the dog.

Other folks believe that meat contains contaminated bacteria that may harm their dog. This may be a real and legitimate cause to worry; however, meat products that have been properly canned or dried pose a far lower risk of disease transmission when compared to raw vegetables or fruits.

Some people cut their pet’s meat or animal-source intake with the premise that it causes food allergies. Pets rarely develop food allergies. When it comes to pets, the risk of developing allergies due to protein intake from meat or protein intake from plants is the same. Cutting meat intake rarely helps solve this problem.

The most likely Effects of switching your Dog’s Diet to Vegetarian

The nutritional demands for dogs are very different when compared to those of humans. A perfect vegetarian diet for a human may; therefore, not be suitable for a dog. A vegetarian pet food that meets all the requirements – of the dog species – is very difficult, but possible to develop. However, it becomes even more difficult when you decide to use ingredients that fit a purely vegetarian diet: a vegan diet.

A protein and calcium need of a dog, for example, is much higher when compared to that of a human. Such nutrients are usually derived from animal ingredients.

Of course, it is possible to derive such nutrients – Calcium and protein – from synthetic substitutes; however, the process is much more expensive and far less reliable. The process may prove very effective theoretically, but fail miserably in the “real world”.
Finally, even if the dog eats the vegetarian diet that you serve it, it may not consume it in the proportions that its body requires. Pets enjoy a cookie or a fruit on an occasional basis; however, they may not enjoy consuming vegetarian products for their survival. Therefore, even if you come up with a vegetarian diet that meets all the requirements, your dog may not take in as much as its body needs. Thus, it will suffer nutritional deficiency eventually.

In a concluding remark, vegetarian diets are healthy – to a certain extent. However, they may deprive your dog of certain essential requirements. If you must serve your companion with vegetarian dog food, ensure that it takes it in sufficient quantities, and that it has all the essential nutritional requirements.

[Dori]

Hi all. I’m thinking of getting a food dehydrator to dehydrate for the dogs their raw treats. Would love to know your thoughts. Also, do you have one, are you happy with it? Wish you’d bought a different brand, if so which one? What do you dehydrate in yours? Pros and cons please. As always, a great big thank you for going on this ride with me as I continue my research and education on better nutrition for my canines on what I call DFA University.

[Naturella]

Dori, I see. Yeah, I figured Petbrosia would be young of a company.

And oh no!!! I am so sorry this happened to your girls on Victor!!! I never had problems with it… But I’m sure raw is better for them and the switch to kibble must have upset their tummies… Hope you find something else that could work for them! What about Dr. Tim’s RPM? Or Earthborn Holisitic GF, NVI Rabbit maybe, or any of the Wellness COREs?

[Dori]

Hi Naturella. I just spoke to someone in customer service at Petbrosia. The company is a year old and they only have the two formulas. Chicken and grain free Salmon. I was thinking of ordering the 3 lb. box but decided against it once I realized how young the company is. She told me they are getting great feed back but, what else would she say, she’s in customer service.

As far as the Victor’s I tried it with all three girls and it just was awful. I don’t know why it happened but all three dogs got the worst diarrhea they have ever had. Poops were totally black, gooey (only word I can use to describe it) and stunk to high heaven, I couldn’t pick any of it up so I had to keep the hose out to wash it away. Oh, and they were huge huge poops! If it was only one of the dogs I would think that something didn’t agree with her, especially if it had been Katie, but it was all three dogs. I gave it a fair shot. Needless to say, they are back on their raw and their poops are back to being small and normal. I called Victor’s to speak to them about any issues and they told me I was their only call about this issue. I checked the bag. It didn’t smell bad, food looked fine, wasn’t expired and their were no ingredients that they couldn’t eat. Well Katie is the only one with intolerances. Hannah and Lola have never had an issue with any food in the past. Oh well, 🙁 back to the drawing board. Thanks for asking.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Naturella]

Vianca, I am not a pro, but from what I know, different breed puppies mature differently – a small or toy breed puppy can be considered an adult and fully-mature at 6 months of age; large and giant breed puppies can continue growing and be considered puppies for up to 2 years! So I don’t know where the 5-month mark came from. I do know that adult dogs just don’t need the extra calories from puppy food, that is why the amount should be reduced, but as with every dog, you need to watch activity levels and overall body condition and adjust accordingly – for example, reduce food if she’s getting chunky or is in general not very active, and increase food if she’s too thin and/or very active. As for the dog being spayed, I don’t know if you have to reduce her food, maybe one of the pros here will jump in on that part. For my Bruno, I only reduced his kibble 1/4 cup from his 1 cup/day allowance after being neutered, but that coincided with him being 6 months old and an “adult” now. Also, now I complement the loss of kibble with various toppers (wish I did that when he was a puppy, but oh well, he got his fair share of bully sticks, fish skins, etc.), so he hasn’t really lost the calories, but he burns them just fine.

My Bruno is 13.5lbs and he’s at moderately high activity level. He is supposed to get 1 cup at most of food, I think, for his weight group. I feed him 3/4 (heaping) cup of dry food plus The Honest Kitchen as a topper and coconut oil/yoghurt every other breakfast, and a raw egg, canned sardines, and a raw meaty bone once/week for each. He is lean, muscular, and in good body condition.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the actual amount – just observe your dog and adjust accordingly, and eventually you will find an amount that works for her.

[Cyndi]

I have learned that you feed 2-3% of the dogs body weight. Closer to 2% for less active dogs and closer to 3% for more active dogs. I’m not sure though about growing puppies. Hopefully someone else that knows can chime in and give you a better answer. I feed my dog closer to 2% now because she was getting a bit on the pudgy side, so I feed her a bit less.

Awesome that you found a website that sells green tripe. That’s the kind of place Hare Today is. They raise rabbits and chickens and goats & stuff just to sell to raw feeders.

Freezing and defrosting foods is something just about all us raw feeders do. Most of us buy in bulk and freeze until needed. For instance, I’ll get frozen goat pieces. I thaw them out just enough to break them up into individual servings, then refreeze until I feed them. Then I’ll thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and feed it the next day. I do the same with raw ground meat. I’ll thaw it, portion it out and refreeze. As long as you’re not freezing it for over a year, it should be fine. The sooner you use it the better I believe.

Here is just one article I was able to find quickly…
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/starting-puppy-on-raw-diet/

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Cyndi.

[charles h]

Thanks Cyndi,

From my understanding with Raw food can you not simply calculate the diet amount (percentage) on the dogs weight. I mean if she was a greedy dog who ate and ate then I would say I need to limit the food amount but shes quite self-regulated and has a very steady weight so surely the ‘rules’ of feeding are slightly not applicable?

I will think about what the best day is to go through some fasting.. Definitely something to think about moving forward…

I think I have found a website that does Green Tripe and other bits, it is actually a raw food diet site based off a farm in the UK.

What are your thoughts on freezing and defrosting foods for raw feeding is it a good idea?

Thanks,

Charles

[Cyndi]

Dori, I did think 6-7% sounded kind of high, but for a puppy, I wasn’t sure. I thought it would be different for a puppy than for an adult dog. Charles you may want to research this a bit more and make sure that isn’t too much.

I would also keep her on a twice a day feeding if I were you. It is better for them. I’ve been feeding my dog raw for about a year and a half and let me tell you, it sure was hard at first when I fasted her for the day. I still feel guilty, so I don’t eat in front of her on those days. She gets a good breakfast in the morning and then around dinner time that day that I fast her, I’ll take her for a walk or to a park or something. She’s used to it now and doesn’t bother me too much. She’ll go out and lay on the deck or something.

Also, with the tripe, make sure it’s raw green tripe. I didn’t realize you live in the UK, but it is very easy for me to get it. I order from a place called Hare Today-Gone Tomorrow. I get most of my raw food from there, including the tripe. Hopefully you can find it somewhere locally. They do also make canned tripe. Not sure what is available to you though. Good Luck!

[charles h]

Hi InkedMarie,

I do rotate proteins I normally go Chicken & Pork, then Chicken & Lamb, then Chicken & Beef… The problem I have is getting bone content as I have previously read that you cannot give Lamb or Beef bone as its too hard. I give Pork bone as in Ribs but it doesn’t seem to be enough to stop her stool being soft. Sometimes she gets Duck with the bones like a duck wing but its quite expensive when added together with the lamb and beef 🙂 so this is rare… I guess its too much chicken as its part of her whole cycle. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi Cyndi,

Yeah I guess she’s so spoilt I hate thinking about not feeding her haha! I haven’t tried to give raw green tripe as its quite difficult to get in the UK (not sure where you are all from)… I should be able to source some on the internet, I can only find dried tripe in the shops.

Hi Dori,

I hate seeing her little puppy eyes when she is hungry though 🙁 lol… I do feed her twice a day at the moment since about two months ago with a view to change this to once a day when she is a bit older (as I’ve read before not sure if you guys recommend this?)

Yeah I’ve read about the percentages she is just quite thin and it concerns me, also I’ve read puppies should have x% and adults x% but she is 8 months and I cannot find anything for junior feeding of how much the percentage should be so I’ve kind of gone in-between the puppy and adult percentage if that makes sense…

She may just be full and that has crossed my mind… Also another behaviour she has is to not eat when we are near her, even if we ignore her she will sit close to us rather than eat (I found this out last night); so I left her in the kitchen with her chicken legs which she ignored the whole time we had dinner (30mins or so) and she had finished it when I went back in after about 15 minutes. So maybe its just she prefers to be around us and she is too easily distracted to eat…

Thanks for all your help… Guess it’s all a bit of a learning curve, I just worry she is not getting the nutrients she needs to develop in to a healthy adult dog.

[Dori]

Marie. Not sure I want to know what beef puzzle is? Never heard of it before. Though, as you know, I’m kind of a plain raw feeder. I don’t go into too much of the different parts. Hmmmmm? Now I’m curious. I think I’ll look it up on google. I’ll get back on if I figure it out.

[Dori]

Oh my goodness. As stated above, missing a meal or two is not starving an animal. I too feed raw. A lot of people feeding raw and kibble or canned will sometimes let an entire day go by with no food. Only water. It’s called “fasting”, not starving. Also, you should be feeding your dog twice a day anyway. Much healthier for them.

Another thing, is it possible that your dog is losing interest in food because you’re feeding your dog way too much food. I’ve always heard and read that the rule of thumb is to feed your dog between 2.5 to 3 % of their body weight daily. Not per meal, but daily.

Does anyone else think that 6 – 7 % body weight of food daily is too much? That’s a heck of a lot of food. No??????

Also, if your dog is showing no interest in chicken (poultry) then maybe you might think of feeding a rotational diet. That might perk up her interest in food. I’m wondering if it’s not a lack of interest in chicken or food, it may be that she’s just full. 6 – 7 % of her body weight is a lot of food for any dog. She may just be full and your feeding her too much.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Cyndi]

It wouldn’t be “starving” her for a day. Most places that recommend raw diets, also recommend “fasting” for a meal, or even a day. I do that on Sundays. I will give my dog her a.m. meal and then not feed her again til Monday a.m. meal. Oh, my dog is also raw fed.

One suggestion, have you tried feeding raw green tripe? Most dogs LOVE it, I know mine does. Maybe offer a meal of that after you fast her for a meal, or a day and see if she will eat it. I bet she does.

I know you haven’t been feeding her raw for long, but have you been rotating proteins yet. Maybe try giving her something different for a while and then go back to chicken or something. There are somethings my dog has gotten tired of and refused to eat, so I pretty much just tried other things and left the stuff she doesn’t care for out of her rotation. I might try to go back to them after a while though…

Good luck!

[Bobby dog]

Hey Naturella:
I am in the same boat you are, textbook time. Plus I have alot of canned, raw, and kibble in stock for Bobby too. I was able to control my compulsive pet food shopping for once. I did bookmark the page because I do want to have a look at the company, thanks for posting!

I love the nickname “muscle pup.” I used to call my JRT my “long/short dog.” lol She was a short legged, very muscular dog and people often thought she was a male. lol 😉

[Naturella]

Akari, I see, yeah, doubt 3lbs would have lasted any of yours too long, except for maybe Bentley, but he is on raw now, so no Petbrosia for him. 🙂

[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, 3 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, 3 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.