[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, 3 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, 3 months ago by "Blue".

[InkedMarie]

Barbara: that’s easy! Feed a raw diet, a canned diet or, if you must feed dry, add canned and warm water to the dry.

[InkedMarie]

I don’t believe they’re rated here because it’s not a pre made raw like Darwin’s, Bravo etc.
They have great shipping prices! I’m happy with whist I’ve gotten.

[Casandra E]

Glad to hear u use reel raw. I’m looking into them. Are you happy with them? They are to rated here..

[InkedMarie]

I buy ground raw from Hare Today and Reel Raw.

[“Blue”]

I have bought both Darwin’s and Natures Variety Instinct Raw frozen foods and am having difficulty reconciling their recommended feeding amounts. (Disclosure, sometime in the past 2 months I replied to a similar dry kibble post and suggested the OP use the feeding guides on the package as a starting point but to watch the dog’s body shape using the healthy dog image silhouettes available for that purpose. In other words, if your dog looks fat, feed less, if he looks thin, feed more.)

According to the Dog Food Calculator my 55 lb. dog needs 1230 Calories. For now, forget about differences in one dog’s metabolism, daily exercise, etc. “1230 Cal.” This request to help me understand is about the math, not the individual dog.

NV says my dog needs 1250 Cal. per day (close enough) and that I should feed him 19.5 oz. per day. Their nutrition info says their chicken patties have 49 Cal. per oz. which means 955 Cal. to be fed. Why tell me he needs 1250 and then tell me to only feed 955? That’s a Cal. shortage of about 25%.

Darwins says to feed my dog 9 lbs. per week. Their nutrition info says the chicken recipe is 36 Cal. per oz. That gives 5184 Cal. per week, /7 is 740 Cal. per day. That’s a Cal. shortage of about 60%.

Guess what I’ve been seeing in my dog for the past few weeks. Yep, he’s lost weight.

Can anybody explain why these (or any) companies are so conservative in their recommendations? Am I doing the math wrong? (even if I am, he’s lost considerable weight.) Is there some bit of knowledge I’m missing about feeding raw as relates to weight gain/loss?

Please don’t tell me to follow my own previous advice. Evidently I’ll surely go broke trying to feed him commercial raw.

Thanks,
Steve

[Casandra E]

Curious to know which company you buy from and why?

[Tiyapup]

I add some pre-mix + raw on top of my dogs’ kibble. I love the idea of giving them some less processed food, but I don’t yet trust the pre-mixes enough to feed them exclusively. I’ve rotated through Sojo’s, The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s Artisan, and Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance.

My main complaint is that the meat to mix ratios seem suspiciously unscientific. Sojo’s says 1 cup dry mix to 1/2 cup meat (seems like not nearly enough meat; I do 1:1). THK says 1 cup dry mix to 1 cup meat, and Grandma Lucy’s says 1 cup dry mix to 1 OR 2 cups meat. The whole reason I started adding the premix to the meat was that I was a little worried about messing up the calcium. These instructions don’t necessarily make me feel more confident, so I keep the kibble around.

Dogaware.com has a very informative write-up about premixes for anyone who needs more information (premixes aren’t reviewed on this site).

[Dori]

LOL Cyndi. I was going to jump in on the amount of food you first mentioned. When I first read your post I thought. That’s a heck of a lot of food. That can’t possibly be right. Then GizmoMom jumped in.

Akari. From all that I know about pork, you absolutely have to freeze it a minimum of 2 weeks (longer probably better) to rid it of any parasites. Very important. Even if you buy it frozen at the store you still need to freeze it at home because you have no idea how long they froze the pork. I’ve got a 5 lb. Yorkipoo, a 6 lb. Maltipoo and a 7 lb. Maltese. They each get 1/4 cup of raw diet twice a day. Two to three times a week I split a small can (grocery store tuna fish aisle) of sardines in water to their meals. I don’t give them eggs because my Maltipoo is intolerant to any and all things poultry. On days that I do not give them sardines added to their meal I give them once a day a little squirt of Sardine Oil which I keep in the refrigerator on top of their meal. I use Nature’s Logic. I like the company and trust them. I also give them two or three times a week once a day only maybe about 1/8 tsp. (maybe a little less) of coconut oil. I just put it on their food and they eat it. I don’t give them more than that with the coconut oil because their poops will immediately get kind of soft, dark and gooey (sp?). Sorry for that poop description but that’s the only way I know of explaining it. Just in case it happens to you. I don’t think any of my gals digest the coconut oil too well. I have to say that sometimes weeks go by that I don’t bother with the coconut oil. I don’t see that it helps them one way or the other. I have tried the coconut chips that are sold but they come out looking exactly the same way they went in. White coconut chips in and out.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I feed commercial raw diets. I don’t feed any poultry whatsoever. Remember no bones that contain marrow. Way to fatty is the marrow. Beef ribs with a bit of meat (not a lot) are fine. If he actually eats the bone then you don’t need to also feed the meal. If he just chews the bone for entertainment value then, yes, feed the meal. Mine just think they’re toys. Will chew for a bit and then leave them laying around. The only dehydrated food that I feed (haven’t for a while) is The Honest Kitchen Zeal. The Zeal formula is because Katie (Maltipoo is intolerant of all things poultry. I don’t feed anything with potatoes in it. I had to stop feeding THK because of the alfalfa (again, Katie’s issues with alfalfa). They have started producing the Zeal without the alfalfa but are still trying to clear out their old stock and also their old boxes. Until their web site ingredient list does not include the alfalfa and the boxes do not say alfalfa then I’ll wait them out. I will go back to the Zeal at that time. OK. Sorry for such a long post. Anything else I can help with just ask, if not me, then someone else. Hey also I’ve been thinking for the longest time that you should change your name to The Coupon Lady or just Coupon Lady. Anyway anytime I see your name I always think…Oh? It’s the coupon lady. LOL!

[Dori]

Hi BRT. I don’t have much time for a long response right now. I’ve had a very busy week hunting and capturing a lost Maltese puppy that roamed our neighborhood so I’ve really got to catch up on my girls, laundry, groceries, all that. I had let everything go.

I don’t have time to go back through all the posts so my quick question to you is have you considered feeding Commercial Raw? It’s the only thing that worked for Katie (Maltipoo). She was a real mess from the age of 9 weeks. I put all the girls on raw about 2 1/2 years ago and she’s never had an allergy issue again. It’s much easier to control and source out the ingredients in commercial raw than it is in kibble. That’s my opinion anyway.

[Dori]

Hi Maureen. There is only one Editors Choice List for Foods. There is not a specific list for raw foods. The two raw foods that I am remembering that appear on the August list are Primal and Stella and Chewy’s.

I may have missed or overlooked an earlier post of yours about The Honest Kitchen. The Honest Kitchen is not a raw dog food. Is that what you were wondering or did you just want to know if there was a separate raw dog food EC list?

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[BRT]

Thank you so much for posting that. I had no idea. His vet basically told me I could give him 4mg of Pepcid every morning for the rest of his life (he’s 8 year’s old).

I guess I’m bad to the drawing board. This is been an ongoing struggle to find the right food and it’s getting worse the older he’s getting. I’m optimistic in the beginning then after about a month it goes downhill (and this is with almost every food I’ve tried).

The only one he had been on for years without problem was Natural Balance LID Venison, but I stopped feeding him that after the recalls.

[Melissaandcrew]

Definitely check his weight. Her total weight gain was less then a lb but her body shape changed. She LOOKS like she gained several lbs but the scale doesnt lie. She was increased from 1/2 of a quarter grain twice a day to one full tablet twice a day just under a myth ago because her first reading said the blood level was low and she still seizures. She also takes zonisimide twice a day. With her, the pills can not be late or she will have a seizure. Good luck on level draws for you and Otis (Love that name..we lost our Otis a year ago) We repeat in 2 wks.

[Akari_32]

As some of you guys may know, my moms dog Bentley, a 7 pound jack russell/maltese mix, has a terrible time with yeast infections on his skin, mainly his back half, and all four paws. I finally decided it wasn’t a food allergy, but a seasonal allergy (and every season in FL is allergy season) after trying nearly every dry food on the shelf here, and put him on By Nature 95% canned, which we have to order online every three weeks. And even then, he needs a whole can (he is extremely active and has a high metabolism), but we manage to get by with 3/4 of a can one day, and then 1/4 of a can the next with 1/4 cup (dry measured) of a THK grain free complete mix, and that keeps his weight up well enough. If I didn’t happen to have a couple sample boxes of THK, I don’t know what I’d do! Anyway, his fur is growing back, he’s overall much better, but I still feel like he needs a bit more of a better diet to push his recovery into the right direction.

I’m wanting to do a pre-mix, and have it narrowed down to Urban Wolf and See Spot Live Longer. But I have issues with both. My only issue with UW is the price! I coupon for my dog food, and there is definitely some major sticker shock going on there. I need to know how much food the whole bag would make, and about how long it would last him before I can really pick this one or not. Then theres SSLL. The price is great, as just $17 a 1lb bag. Each bag claims to make 26lb of food, but there are no feeding guidelines or preparation instructions on the website! And the owner of the site doesn’t seem to have all his ducks in a row, either, from what I hear. But the priiiiiice! Its so affordable sounding! I’d love to hear your all’s thoughts on these mixes, and I’d also like to know of any other low carb, and no/minimal sweet potato and carrot mixes out there (Grandma Lucy’s and Sojo’s are out– not high enough calories).

I was also wondering, at his size, how often, and how much, should I offer eggs and sardines? And what brand of sardines do you guys use?

As for proteins, pork and chicken are very high up on the contenders list. Ground pork is just $2.49 a pound, and most pieces of chicken are $1.99 a pound and less. What are your guy’s thoughts on pork as a decent chunk of the dogs diet? I hear such mixed things about pork in general for dogs, but he sure does love a good country rib! And about the chicken, I hear many people like to use dark meat chicken because of the fat content. This sounds great to me because its *cheap*, thighs in particular being just $1.49 a pound. Is this correct? He can certainly use any extra fat he can get (him and cat are running around the house like lunatics right now, even!).

I also want you guys to ok my “staple” meat choices:
Chicken Thighs
Chicken Gizzards
Chicken Livers
Chicken Necks
Chicken Backs
Chicken Wings
Turkey Livers
Turkey Gizzards
Turkey Necks
Turkey Backs
Turkey Wings
Beef Heart
Beef Liver
Country Ribs
Ground Pork

There are more, but I can’t think of them. And then I will also throw in whatever’s on a good sale at the time. Beef is expensive, so it’ll be mostly turkey, chicken, pork (given what ever you guys say about the pork) and beef parts. He doesn’t like fish, so thats not going to be anything I’ll force on him, other than the occasional sardine for his skin and coat. And I know liver shouldn’t be a very large part of the diet. They aren’t sold in very big packages, anyways lol (and some pre-mixes call for them?)

My last question for now, when I want to offer a protein with bone in it (RMB), could I feed him the pre-mix prepared with no meat (separated out during prep before meat is added), and then give him the RMB? Or could I just give the RMB as the meal and forget the pre-mix (but how often can I do that?)? Or I could remove all the meat from the bone, and give him just the bone as a munchy treat. Given his mushy diet, I would really like to make sure he gets enough to chew on. My plan is to make his meals for one to two weeks ahead on a weekend, and then freeze them all in a planned out sort of manner, and mark out his meals by day. That way I can make sure he gets the right amount of sardines and egg, and gets a good rotation of meat.

That’ll do for now, i think. I’m just in the planning stages, so I’m open to any suggestions, change in plans, tips, whatever. Thanks! 🙂

[Holly C]

Now that it’s almost fall, my family has been eating more meat (beef, chicken, etc.) and I’d like to utilize scraps in any way I can. By the way- I am using fully cooked meat. I don’t want to do any organs or raw meat, because it’s not easily accessible for me, or affordable. I was thinking of using the leftover chicken, stock, vegetables, and rice from our dinners to make some food. I have a food processor to make this. Does anyone want to share some ideas for ingredients and tips? What meats are good for canned food? Which vegetable provide the best vitamins? Should I add any vitamins or oils? Which foods should I avoid? I’m not feeding this alone, but instead on top of his food. Also, I heard somewhere that you should never can with rice, is that true?

[Melissaandcrew]

Eric-yes, its not just a result of increased appetite. Gina eats the same amount of food as before, and yet has gained. We will not cut here food back any further as she seriously eats a very small amount. Oh, and she eats low carb foods and raw, and it still occurred. Interesting enough, after the small weight gain, she has not gained anything additional..

[Naturella]

Liz S, I also think adding canned will do much, much good! When I use canned, I prefer the pate-style ones, and I add a bit of water with the canned and kibble (I mix dry and canned usually), and make it mushy/porridge-like/soupy, and this way I try to counter the dryness of the kibble.

My dog is small too (Jack Russell-mini Rat Terrier mix (we think, as he was found in the bushes), 13.5 lbs), but I never really fed him a small-breed specific food except for his very first one when we adopted him. Foods I have tried that he did good on (and could eat the kibble with no problems) are: Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension, Dr. Tim’s (slightly bigger kibble, but oh well, he managed it just fine), Nutrisca, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free, Victor Grain Free (lots of samples), Nature’s Variety Instinct (samples), Now! Fresh (sample), NutriSource Grain Free (samples), Annamaet (samples), Wysong (samples), and I have a lot lined up – Back to Basics, Canidae Pure, Dogswell LiveFree, Wysong, NVI, more Victor Grain Free (which, in my case (heads up to LabsRawesome), told me I could PURCHASE the samples at $0.33/baggie, but wouldn’t send me free ones, AND I had to pay the shipping… But I stocked up at 5 samples/food, lol).

All the kibbles aside from Dr. Tim’s were small enough and just fine to manage. For canned I have fed Wellness Core, Nutro Natural Source and Nutro Ultra, and now I feed The Honest Kitchen (THK) dehydrated with water instead of canned. I also add a raw egg once a week, coconut oil with some lukewarm water every other day, and yoghurt/kefir every other day, as well as a canned sardine and its fish juice from the can once a week too. So you can use some of these for variety and to cut the costs of canned.

[pugmomsandy]

The reasons for adding a quality canned food: add moisture to the diet, quality canned foods have a good amount of protein since they don’t need carbohydrate binders like kibble, it’s easier to digest since it’s not hard and dry like kibble, they don’t have preservatives in them, and it’s easy to mix in powdered supplements. Canned foods are more species-appropriate than dry pellets.

Drawbacks: softer stool sometimes and the canned foods usually don’t include probiotics. They might have prebiotics like inulin/chicory root.

You don’t have to stick with the same brand of wet as you are using dry. Use various brands and feed a rotaional diet.

[aquariangt]

Those allergy tests can be sketchy. If you got another one run then you would most likely get different results. I second the suggestion of an elimination diet, and use small bags and try out some LIDs to figure out what’s working. Or homemade/raw

[DogFoodie]

I’m not quite sure how I feel about those test results.

For example, in the green column it lists “fish,” herring/anchovy and salmon, but in the red column it lists “fish meal,” ocean whitefish and tuna as well as salmon oil.

I’d be curious to know how you did the elimination diet and what you foods you fed. Did any of them work?

I know how frustrating ear issues are and getting the food intolerances figured out can be even more frustrating. I know it wouldn’t stop the cycle and obviously, you’re doing the right thing trying to figure out the cause, but have you tried Zymox to keep it at bay somewhat? Works like magic.

I think I’d also try raw if I were you. I’m fortunate that I could find a couple of kibbles that worked and I do have to top them to keep mine interested because raw was going to be too cost prohibitive for me as I use commercial raw foods. I didn’t see whole ground turkey at My Pet Carnivore, but you might find another protein you could use: https://mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?lang=en

[InkedMarie]

If you can afford it, feed raw. I would start with turkey, looks like you can also use lamb and goat. If you’re looking to feed dry, turkey may be your only option. Possibly duck; I think duck eggs are different than duck as a protein. The a Honest Kitchen dehydrated has a duck and turkey.

[Stewart]

One of my dogs does the Preference and loves it but he loves everything. He has IBD, allergies, and is sensitive to bone found in all the frozen raw commercial diets. This brand really works for us. He tried almost all the flavors(before we allergy tested) and he does best with the Preference w/ raw meat or Zeal.

I think THK is a great food for dogs that are sensitive or picky. But I dont feel like the complete diets are that much better compared to a good kibble….I mean if I had a dog that had no issues,was completely healthy, wasnt picky and I couldn’t afford a balanced homemade I dont think I would give him a commercial dehydrated food w/steamed meats over a good kibble. They are both cooked (yes you save a bit of nutrients).To me the cost doesn’t seem worth it. Saying that I do love the pre-mix with raw meat because it works for my sensitive guy.

Maybe make your own food like before but get a good balanced recipe!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Stewart.