[Cyndi]

I’m not sure about My Pet Carnivore, but I use Hare Today, and their site says exactly where every bit of meat comes from. I would NEVER feed Blue Ridge beef products after all that’s been said about them. I stopped using commercial dog food because of all the crap in it, I’m not about to use raw food if there’s the slightest chance that they use 4-D animals and crap. I’d much rather spend a bit more on quality food for my dog instead of saving a few bucks and feeding crap.

[Lisa C]

I’m sure this has been talked about numerous times on here, but there’s no search box to try and find answers in the forum. Sorry!

We have had our Chewy since December of last year. We got him at eight weeks. He is a Pekingese/Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel/ mix (we did a DNA test!) So he’s not quite a year old yet, but later in the fall he will be. The first month or two we had Chewy, he had no problems. We fed him dry puppy Nutro (the pink bag) that was recommended by someone who claimed to have researched foods. after the first 1-2 months, he started vomiting EVERY day. At least once a day. It’s now mid-July, and yes, he still vomits EVERY single day! I think there’s maybe been six total days since Feb that he hasn’t puked at least once. We’ve had numerous tests done at the vet. Blood tests, X-rays, stool samples. Everything is negative. They have no answers for us! The next step would be putting a camera inside him — which I’m sure is an expensive procedure that I cannot afford. He acts normal – he still loves to go outside and play, gets excited when we come home, plays with toys. But he always acts so hungry. We’ve tried so many different kinds of foods, wet and dry. At the vet’s request, we tried two different brands of prescription food (dry only), (which is expensive) 🙁 first Hills and then the Purina RX. The vet also made me buy the $30 box of RX Purina probiotics. None of that fancy overpriced crap did anything but make him vomit even more, and even worse, all undigested.

This week I’ve started to keep a daily journal of everything he eats, and his daily puking habits. The vomiting occurs in the early mornings. Occasionally at night, but mostly mornings. He seems to do alright on the Nutro Puppy Chiot wet food, last week he went maybe 1-2 days without puking on that alone. But I know he can’t just live on wet food, at least from what I’ve read they also need dry food for their teeth. For a few weeks we tried feeding solely cooked chicken, which is LOVED, but still puked out that, too. The other problem is obviously is switching the foods so many times gives him baaaad diarrhea. Yesterday I decided to try yet another food, Solid Gold wet, and going from the Nutro can to that has made him diarrhea two days in a row. We have to keep him locked up in the kitchen the last two nights because he just won’t stop pooping. Of course most of the time his poops are normal, but every once in a while that one food will tip him off and it’s all downhill from there.

I’m so, SO tired of waking up early every morning to scrub vomit off of our apartment carpet. (It’s already ruined.) but most importantly, I just want Chewy to be a normal, healthy dog, and not have such horrible vomiting problems. and of course because of this, you can feel all his bones. We recently took him to get groomed and they said they noticed he was really skinny. He’s skinny because he vomits every day! My boyfriend says we should try him on a raw diet, but I don’t want to do something too drastic without help first. I guess our next step could be getting a second opinion at a different vet, but we’ve already spent a lot of money. I appreciate ALL comments and suggestions. Please help us and our Chewy 🙁

[Melissaandcrew]

I have a new love in my life and its called Restaurant Depot, lol! You have to have a business in order to get a free membership but it is so worth it. Its all human food, and I buy in bulk there. For example, my last visit I picked up chicken leg quarters for 55cents per lb. It sold in bulk 40lb boxes-sizes a restaurant would buy. Beef heart was just over a $1 per lb. I can buy a good portion of my ingredients from the one location, and then fill in the blanks with other distributors-heart, backs, liver, quarters and I think they have gizzards but did not look. I can order fresh fish in bulk as well, though they seem to have a problem getting sardines for me, so I bought a bunch of other types in the interm. I do feed veggies and buy them by the crate(40lb) as well as smaller quantities of frozen veggies.

I have gotten off the raw lately due to a back injury flare up, and just started up again. I can say that my dogs DID seem to drink more when on dry, and have more poop to clean up. Our almost 16yr old and 15 yr old went for 6mth bloods and everything is wonderful with them.

[Sylvia S]

I do agree with everything said above. I would divide the “treat” problem into two:
TRAINING TREATS, which should be small and delicious, relatively soft enabling the dog to swallow them down quickly in order to continue the training.
CHEWING TREATS: to substitute raw hides, greenies, antlers’ horns and other treats which are reputed to be noxious for our pets. They should be large and somewhat harder without endangering the teeth but hard enough to keep the pet busy and entertained for a long time. They should preferably be “acceptable” for inside the house (not like raw kneecaps which are very smelly!)

[macsmommy]

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

[macsmommy]

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

[macsmommy]

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

[macsmommy]

Dane H, I have been feeding my dogs Blue Ridge Beef since they were puppies and I have always mixed their food with Sojos Dehydrated Veggies. You can’t just feed meat to them, you should feed them a balanced diet. There are vitamins included in Sojos as well. You can buy a bag Sojos for a good price, free shipping, at doggiefood.com. They’ll email you discounts as well.

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

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by macsmommy.

[Cyndi]

Hi Stefan, Good for you getting your dogs on raw! I started my girl on raw a little over a year ago. You sound like you know what you’re doing, for the most part. You should check out the raw food forum here: /forums/forum/raw-dog-food-forum/
Specifically look thru the thread second from the top, “Suggested Raw Dog Food Menus” started by Hound Dog Mom. She posted a few of her recipes there as well as other people posted what they feed too. It is a long thread, but HDM’s recipes are in the first 3 pages.

Someone else can chime in and let you know what else you should be doing or not doing. I get advice from the raw feeders on here. I use, and it’s very well recommended, See Spot Live Longer dinner mix. I add it to my dogs boneless grind in the morning 3 or 4 days a week, just to ensure I’m not missing any add ins that my dog needs.

Good luck! 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Cyndi.

[Katie J]

Thank you, Betsy and crazy4cats!

I did purchase that booklet and found it very informative. It’s on my phone to reference at any time. I still want the other two books as well so I can be properly armed for when I do decide to go raw. My boyfriend wants to do kibble/wet and raw, but I would prefer to go completely raw. The convenience of kibble in the AM when we are generally scurrying off to work may just be the deciding factor assuming both dogs can handle the split diet. But honestly why would any dog go back to kibble after having tasty raw?! Lol!

I’m using Answer’s as well in his AM feeding. He only gets a small splash, but it’s been doing wonders with his digestion while we find good he loves.

He really seems to like the variety or at least the better quality over 4Health. Another thing I learned here was that while 4Health is rated well it’s made by Diamond, and I am not comfortable with making it a staple in his diet. I may have missed it, but does Diamond make the wet food too? Because I really like the price point!! Anyhow I would have stopped the variety had he shown a poor reaction to it. As long as things are going well for him, I want to continue. Though if we stick to kibble with a wet topper, I will likely pick 3-4 brands to rotate and rotate the proteins within brands.

And thank you for the new job congrats! I am looking forward to the change and growth potential. Plus the extra money is nice 😉

[crazy4cats]

Hey, great advice, Betsy!
Katie-
I also have the download that Betsy is referring to and have implemented that approach to my dogs’ meals as homemade and commercial raw are not an option for me either. Again, good luck!

[DogFoodie]

Katie, you’re doing a great job!

Commercial raw is expensive and can be out of reach for a lot of folks, myself included. Making homemade raw balanced, takes research and care and you’ve certainly demonstrated that you’re up for the challenge. In the meantime, you might want to check out Steve Brown’s great little download about supplementing a diet of kibble with fresh whole foods. The download costs $2.95 and is worth every penny! Here’s a link to the download: http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html. Steve Brown’s book, Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet, is probably one of the books you have on order.

Answer’s goat milk is great. My dogs love it too. You just reminded me to get a carton out of the freezer. My dogs are always getting something different, too.

Congratulations on the new job!!

[Katie J]

I can’t edit now. But I wanted to add that I am really thankful and grateful for all the advice given here and in other threads that I have read. I went from almost buying Purina’s puppy formula to having two solid (in my opinion) brands to rotate and a couple that I I want to look into as a potential third. I have nearly figured out how to balance a raw diet and have both of the “bibles” on order. I am pricing making the switch and putting together a plan to do so. With a new job for me in the future (I just received the offer this week), I plan to get that ball rolling.

It’s been awhile since I had a puppy. A long while. And I have tried to spend a lot of my free time researching and learning to make things better for him. I’m certainly not perfect and still learning. Without the kind folks here, who knows what crap I would have gotten him from Petsmart or whatever my local store has been told to push! I had to listen to about a 5 minute speech on Evanger’s canned. They left out the part about the huge recall though.

To me, little Gichin appears to be flourishing. I see a happy and playful puppy that is growing what seems like daily with appropriate and normal elimination. He’s officially settled in after nearly a month in his new home. His potty training has been fantastic. I can’t remember the last time he had an accident.

And I really have this forum to thank for all of it as they help me tweak everything to make things perfect.

[Katie J]

He’s eating Earthborn and trying Fromm currently. I didn’t know these were poor. I meant that I could not justify a commercial raw diet. We are pricing a homemade raw diet. This pup hasn’t even digested anything below a 4 star food since I brought him home. I picked up samples because I was concerned he didn’t like the first food I bought him. We have since found good he does like and plan to rotate with those. Thanks for your concern though.

[Stefan m]

Got my 2nd German Shepherd puppy coming next week and want to try raw diet.

The first 2 weeks will be fed chicken thighs and each following week a new food including green tripe, beef tongue, liver and version over the time frame

Being fed 2-3% of his adult bodyweight…

Snacks I have homemade dehydrated sweet potatoes,apples and blueberries blend.

An egg and chopped kale will be with the AM meal…veggie blend as noon snack and PM meal more meat with Salmon oil.

Any advice or kuddos??

[Travis A]

Yea we actually have a special needs dog too so it is a bit challenging at times but still worth it in the end. But I haven’t looked into the Victor line-up yet but will do so for sure. That’s exactly what i was wanting to do is sub a grain free with a non grain free if it doesn’t affect them in a negative way with the switching, but i did want to get something like a neck or other raw treat more or less to add into their diets and see if they like it and do well with it. But with a larger breed dog i know i need to focus on Calcium consumption so how do i measure that, not all brands give that info on their products. Thank you all so much for the assistance as well i really appreciate it, i will upload some photos soon of my boys as well.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Travis-
Sounds like you have your hands full! You could always rotate between the Zach’s kibble with a grain free kibble to keep your costs down. I’m rotating between Victor grain free and a grain inclusive brand right now. Another thing besides the raw meaty bones that Besty suggested, you could add an egg or a sardine to their kibble a few times a week to boost their diets a bit. Eggs are a pretty cheap addition! I add sardines once a week and eggs twice a week to my dogs’ meals. I also add a few Northwest Naturals frozen raw nuggests a couple times a week. That is a a little more expensive though. I wish you well on your quest!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Travis,

I couldn’t tell if you had already looked for a local retailer of Victor products or not. I live in the Chicago area, but my friend is in Texas and when I was looking for a local retailer for her I was shocked to see there were lots of them. Lots. Not to pester you, but do check and see if you might have a retailer near you. Click on the tab in the black bar at the top of this page that says, “find a dealer.” http://victordogfood.com/

Also, something you could consider would be supplementing your dog’s diet with raw, meaty bones as an introduction to raw food. Something as simple as a turkey neck in place of a meal of kibble. And, if you keep the extras to no more than 20% of your dog’s diet, you don’t have to worry about throwing off the nutritional balance of the kibble. I don’t feed raw full-time because of my schedule and it worries me far less when I know I’m feeding it less than 20% of the time. Here are the forum search results for “raw, meaty bones” or RMB’s as they’re called: /forums/search/raw+meaty+bones/

[Travis A]

Ok i will check those threads out in the Raw section, but I have 2 pit/(boxer/lab) mixes, I’m guesstimating the boxer/lab part as i took them off a friend’s relative who was in a bad spot so didn’t really have all the background info i wanted, she said pit/boxer but they are for sure pit/ either Lab/boxer mix or may just be lab their snouts are narrower and longer than our other pit. But they are in the middle of their 5th month and about 35-40 lbs. Also on the first bag i did feed our other pit some of the time too so that didn’t help in conserving but that was temp. Unfortunately my roomies don’t care what they feed their dogs so he gets stuck with the worst of the worst Purina Puppy Chow…. 🙁 They just don’t care to buy a better brand i give them plenty of info but still no changes. And i can’t afford the better food for 3 big dogs.

[aquariangt]

You can start any age on raw really (what breeds do you have?? 2 5 month olds go through 50 lb a month, oi-my 3 go through 15 ish pounds)

There are a few threads about starting raw, and Hound Dog Mom and Rescue Dane Mom both have a lot of tips

[Travis A]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions, and I understand affordable is relative to my means, so that 50 lb bag lasted right at a month for my 2 boys so all i spent was the $33 for that month on food which is pretty good for a decent food, i’m having a friend pick up another bag of the Zach’s in Lubbock,TX so that will save me on the shipping but it’s also not grain free and while my dogs seem to be ok with it, i’d prefer to use grainless food to prevent any issues. I will look into the victor brand though along with the other suggestions, thanks again for the assistance. I know it’s the wrong forum but i was also looking into some sort of Raw diet that won’t break the bank either, any starting place suggestions on that? And is it ok to start my 5 month old’s on it?

[fey W]

We are big fans of Dr. Harvey’s Oracle. We usually feed our dogs fresh raw, but freeze dried comes in handy when I forget to prepare the fresh the night before. And my dog really loves the power patties. I have a hard time believing the high price is justified, though, considering the source.

[Cyndi]

🙁 My dog won’t touch ANY of that stuff. She makes me so mad sometimes, lol! I eat alot of fruits and raw veggies & I haven’t found any of them that she’ll eat. I was hoping to use those as treats, but she won’t eat them.

[Marietta B]

You could try a premix and add your own protein. You can add cooked or raw. I have used Dr. Harvey’s veg to bowl, Honest Kitchen, Healthy Dogma and U-Stew.

[Katie J]

I checked Craigslist for a freezer. Might have to pick it up, but I guess I’m not exactly sure how to troubleshoot those sort of things. It might be a good way to buy a piece of junk.

I’m looking to possibly making a 50lb purchase at ReelRaw. I like the variety and the 10lb grinds look like a good price and convenient. The bf and I are pricing places and seeing how much each option with cost us (kibble+wet vs raw). Kibble is winning, but how much providing the best for your dog worth? I toyed with 1 kibble and 1 raw meal, but I am pretty certain that my picky terrier will gladly skip his kibble meal after finding raw! He already prefers wet.

I truly appreciate everyone’s help! It’s great to have a community of knowledgable and friendly people who all want the best for dogs everywhere!

[gmcbogger38]

I would just like to get some opinions about a dog food made locally (within 10 miles) around where I live. The food is a limited ingredient diet and they have different protein levels. Lowest is 21% protein and highest is 28%. I can’t copy and paste (dang phone), but I will list ingredients exactly as written on their website: Meat and bone meal (beef/pork/bone), whole corn, chicken fat, mineral and vitamin packet. It lists all of the minerals and vitamins, but I didn’t want to write those all. Now, I know “meat meal” listed as ingredient is not necessarily good because you don’t know what it is, but this does list beef and pork, so technically it’s not an unnamed meat meal. I don’t know much about bone meal, but why is that considered a bad ingredient? Raw fed dogs eat bones. I’m not too worried about the corn, as my dogs have done fine with corn in foods. The reason I would like to get opinions about this food is because I am on a tight budget until I am finally done with college (less than 10 mths). I have not contacted the company about the price, but from what I’ve heard (couple years old) the food is 50lbs for around $20, which they do no advertising, besides website, and have plain bags. I know it is not the best food and I am doing a rotational diet, but I just need to find some more affordable foods to rotate with, for now. Thanks for any input!

[Dori]

Grapes and raisins are no no’s but I gave my three girls all the fruits you give and then some. I also give them raw veggies. They love them all. I use them as treats because I don’t trust any store bought manufactured dog treats. Too many recalls for my liking. You’re Yorki is lucky to have you. I have a Maltese, a Yorkipoo and a Maltipoo.

[InkedMarie]

The only problem with Reel Raw is delivery times, sometimes. I ordered 30 beef rib bones today & the email for delivery said July 24th. I’m ok with it, I know if I NEED food, order well in advance or order from Hare!

Glad you’re ordering from them too, Ali!

[weezerweeks]

I give my yorki blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, cantelope,apples and I bought some fresh cherries and plums. Are they safe? I know grapes and any of the seeds are not.

[Alexandra]

I also use Reel Raw, I love their products. Their meats are the freshest I have found so far! And you can’t beat the free shipping!

[InkedMarie]

Yes it was me who uses a Reel Raw. In fact, I just ordered 30 beef rib bones, free shipping!

[pugmomsandy]

I don’t feed Dr Tim’s (too stocked up right now on dog food), but the 15 yr old eats a similar profile in kibble and even eats more protein and fat than that when I give him some raw food or canned food.

[RescueDaneMom]

Home Depot is still having a sale. I just picked up another chest freezer for $158. It’s a Magic Chef, 6.5 cubic feet I think. And I ordered 50 lbs of raw from reel raw last night including 5 whole quail. Max is going to be a happy boy.

[InkedMarie]

Terri,
I’ve never heard not to feed fowl. I feed duck, turkey & chicken. If you’re looking to feed pre made raw, Primal has a bunch of proteins. I feed ground raw: lamb, goat, beef, turkey, duck, beef and that’s just what’s in my freezer. There are many others: bison, emu, rabbit, etc.
I disagree with Judy about the probiotics. Human grade is much better, human supplements are regulated, pets are not. Judy, I want to point out & I may be wrong but I believe if you are a veterinary professional & posting here, you are supposed to post under your real name.

[Dfwgolden]

Hi everyone!

Ok so I have serious question for xx large breed dog owners.
I have a 12 week old male Great Dane puppy.
When we got him he was on Diamond Puppy formula and doing iffy.
We feed ourdogs a grain free rotational diet.
And they have done awesome. However Bane has seemed to decline since we got him.

He’s growing normally and everything however he has had soft stool since day one.
And these past two weeks it’s literally been water/patte.
Two days ago He had to go CONSTANTLY. And just explodes I kid you not it’s like an explosion.
A norm poop just falls even if it’s diarrhea however his blows like a gun. Splashing everywhere.
Including in our new car… Three times within two hours.
And it’s not just a little it’s A LOT.

He’s been on-
Diamond Puppy
Whole Earth Farms
And recently Diamond Naturals Large Breed chicken and rice.
This last food is when he hit his worst.

After two weeks of this I took him off the food sunday afternoon. And only gave him canned pumpkin salt, plain crackers, plain yogurt (live culture) and some probiotic human capsules.

Last night I finly have him some solid food:
Wellness Simple Salmon formula.
This morning he finally pooped and it was solid! But very orange defiantly could tell it was from the pumpkin! Haha!

He has since pooped three more times all of which have been mostly solid but could be better.
Shaped but mushy.

I’m wondering if it’s poultry and the Petco guy recommended it as a way to start into a LID and see if that helps. (The simple)
He had his ears cropped about 3-4 weeks ago and was on antibiotics which could possibly play a roll? And he is down on his probiotics?
He was only on them for a week though and this didn’t start up to water until recently.

He is on dewormer and flea/tick. Sintenal. And has received his last round of puppy shots. No rabies yet.
My dad brought up the possibility of Giardia and Coccidia. Had a fu work up done today he he’s clean as a whistle on his fecal Giardia and blood.
Our vet is a dane breeder herself

Bane is eating and drinking normally and has shown no signs of “illness” he’s just his goofy self as always!

My biggest
Concern however is the fact that if he does do good on wellness simple that we won’t be able to keep him on it.
It’s $68 for 27lbs.
And with him already eating 6 cups a day and is having 4 other dogs.
You get the gist.
I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas area and believe it or not my food choices although broad are limited to either $&!+ or high dollar.

We’ve done 4Health and Diamond and Proplan and purina one (which believe it or
Not the weight loss formula did fantastic for out over weight senior golden)

The vet said it’s possible he has a grain and poultry allergy.
Which limits my choices even more as even “duck and oatmeal” formulas contain chicken fat.

I leave for a month long Vacation with Bane to Poplar Bluff Missouri on the 15th white it being so Rural that lowers my availability even more.
Meaning I don’t have time to try a raw diet for him.

I need something that’s no more than $45-$50 a bag that can basically “hold him over” until I get back In 4 weeks.

I’m in need her Hound Dog mom! Lol.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Katie,

You may also want to check out reelrawdog.com. I recently discovered this company through InkedMarie (I think, correct me if I’m wrong). They have good deals on free shipping based on where you’re located and how much you buy. I would have to buy 50lbs for free shipping because I live in FL. They also have good prices on bulk ground products. They are already in the correct ratio of 80:10:10. Then you just add some veggies and supplements and you’re all set. That could get you started while you figure out the rest.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Linda,

I know of Nature’s Kitchen. It is made by Maverick Pet Foods in Hollywood, FL. Their website is yum4dogs.com. I don’t use the NK but I have used the Genesis Raw which is made by the same company. I really like their food. The company has really good principles. If you want to feed a good, commercial cooked diet then you have found one. I hope it works for your dog.

ps- I filled out a request for Dr. Mike to review the Genesis Raw. You might want to do the same for Nature’s Kitchen if you are interested in DFA reviewing it.

[Regina D]

Thanks for the suggestions. I buy from Chewy. They carry Wellness lamb and Oatmeal. I may try that once we get settled in. My husband gave Alf one piece of raw meat & bone chicken wing Saturday & he had an upset stomach all day yesterday – no vomiting or diarrhea, but lots of gurgling & wouldn’t eat a bite – just slept all day. Much better today. We will be sticking with NB & only NB for quite a while.

[Terri M]

Thanks so much for all the help regarding raw diets! My holistic pet food store highly recommended it as well.

Judy, thanks so much for your reply as well. Wouldn’t you know….my vet gave me Fortiflora!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do I need a prescription for Rx Biotics??? Do you advocate the use of rabbit in raw the most?? I’ve heard so many negative things about fowl – no chicken or duck (anything with feathers) so it certainly doesn’t leave many other options except for beef. Also – do you give any other foods (i.e. fruits/veggies) along with this diet? OmegaDerm was also given. Please advise!

Thanks!!!
Terri

[Judy M]

Raw and cooked foods digest at different rates and pass through the GI tract differently. It’s best to feed separately. I have a lot of clients who feed one meal of home cooked and the second meal raw. You’re doing a great job.

[Nancy C]

This is great help for me. Thank you to those who led me to this forum and to the teachers… I’m on my way to raw, I HOPE!! (The dogs get their say too.)

[Judy M]

Have you tried something like Stella N Chewy’s freeze dried raw or frozen raw? Most dogs can’t resist. The freeze dried needs to have water added when fed.

[Judy M]

I am a holistic veterinarian. I have had the best luck in allergic dogs using raw diets like Stella N Chewy’s frozen raw. They have rabbit, which is a novel protein. Lamb works sometimes, but not always. I have found almost all American, English, and French bulldogs do better on raw diets. They are very prone to skin allergies. Also, probiotics are a must.

[Barbara]

Hi Jenn,
I have 3 dogs and my border collie mix (13.5 yrs) has always been fussy (he is very healthy and energetic and has stayed the same weight since I adopted him at 4 yrs). My lab and husky sheppard mix will eat whatever I give them anytime! I have always added canned food or fresh meat as a topper and my border collie usually will come around within 15 to 20 minutes because he realizes I will pick it up and he will have to wait until later (as InkedMarie suggested). I never have to wait if I top it with meat scraps or fresh cooked veggies….(also cottage cheese and soft cooked eggs a few times a week). All my dogs get 1/3 canned and 2/3 kibble at both meals because I think that canned is a lot better than just kibble and of fairly high opinion after raw or cooked natural meat. I did get Kirkland’s cuts in gravy at Costco because it is a 5 star canned at such a reasonable price now replaced by ND Turkey and pea stew also 5 stars. If you don’t have a Costco membership I think members of this site have also recommended Pure Balance canned also 5 stars, I think you can get it at Walmart about $1 to $1.25 a can… Good luck with your stubborn dog!

[weezerweeks]

I just bought my yorkie a bag of these. They are freeze-dried raw green tripe and he loves them. Have any of u tried them and are they safe?

[InkedMarie]

Why is it necessary to wait to start raw? I know people, including natural rearing breeders, who wean their pups to raw.

[Dori]

Hi BRT. The NV Instinct Raw Boost Venison has turkey meal as one of it’s ingredients, pretty high up on the list. I think it’s the second ingredient. So keep an eye on your dog incase his allergies flare up. The Salmon formula doesn’t have the turkey meal in it.

Also for the raw you can buy the NV Instinct Raw Venison in the large patties. It will come out cheaper that way. The patties are pretty large so you’ll just figure out, or the people at the store can help you out, how much of the large patty he would have to eat a day and just divide that for one of his meals.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Dori.

[Katie J]

I’ll definitely pick up that book you’re suggesting this weekend. We’re planning a puppy outing at our local town center that has several pet friendly stores.

My little guys are pretty active. When they aren’t napping, it’s full on puppy mode for both of them! Plus we make trips about 5 times a week to where I board my horses, and spend several hours playing and exploring. I figure once the pup is full grown, we’ll be going through about a pound a day between the two of them. But I have no idea how big the pup will get. I could be underestimating. The co-op I plan to purchase from estimates about $1.50 a day to feed a 40 lb dog, and I think we will be under that weight between the two of them. I can get behind that! I am a little overwhelmed with their offerings as a lot of it is large portions. I’m not sure how to feed it all. I guess those books would answer that for me!

Next I want to look into supplements for their raw diet. I gather that they can have human multivitamins. The only draw back is that I have to make sure it’s safe for dogs and the mix may not be optimal, right? I know that Hound Dog Mom buys things separately. But I’ll admit her list of supplements confuses me quickly!

[BRT]

Plan B: I went out last night and bought the NV Instinct Raw Boost Venison kibble. So, kibble for breakfast and raw for dinner. They gobbled up the kibble and you’re right it has very little of the freeze dried raw in it. I was going to go with NV’s regular kibble, but they didn’t have the venison formula. They had salmon, which will be my fall back if all else fails.

Thanks!

[pugmomsandy]

My small adult, indoor, lapdog pugs eat 6 oz per day (if they were full time raw feeding). Raw feeding amounts generally go by the dog’s weight but you still have to adjust for age and activity. Feeding 2% is generally for maintenance, puppies can require 4-8%. How I balance my raw is trying to make recipes close to the 80/10/10 ratio. Preymodelraw dot com has an article giving bone content of cuts of meat so I do some math and see how much muscle/organs I need to add to X amount of necks (mostly bone). But that’s after trying out the recipes from “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” and feeling comfortable with making my own. The book has some great info even if you don’t use the recipes, I would still recommend it.