Several, actually! You could really help us out by letting us know her breed, age, weight, and maybe hair length.
Also, I know fish oil is another supplement widely used by forumers to help with skin and coat issues. So are canned (or raw) sardines. Coconut oil is a great supplement, I use it myself, but you may need to adjust the amount depending on her weight. Fish-based foods are also known to help skin/coat issues.
As for my Rat Terrier mix (13lbs), I give him a teaspoon of coconut oil every other day, a canned sardine once a week, a bath every 2 weeks, and I “condition” him while he is still somewhat damp with a mix of coconut, olive, and sunflower oils, in which there are vitamins A, D, and E dissolved. So I rub that on his coat, trying to reach the skin until he doesn’t feel greasy and it makes him super soft and shiny. Also, he is currently on a fish-based food, so that will probably be good, but he has no particular issues to begin with. I did think he was excessively dandruffy when I brushed him, but that was supposed to be normal as I elevated all his dead skin by brushing him. Otherwise I don’t see any flakes.
Excess dandruff may be due to an allergy or something too, or just be how your dog is – sometimes, even all measurements do not quite help resolve the dandruff issue.
Hope others chime in with more advice or corrections of anything I may have misspoken about! 🙂
My poor girl has dry skin. I need suggestions to help her out. She is 2 years old and has only recently started to get dry skin. She is on Orijen Regional Red, soon to be switched to Primal raw. I also give her a teaspoon of coconut oil in the mornings. I don’t bathe her too often. Maybe once a month or longer if she doesn’t get too muddy. When she does get a bath, I use an oatmeal shampoo. Any other suggestions?
Betsy Greer:
Thanks for the Nature’s Logic product name. I am slowly looking into adding some raw food to everyone’s diets and this will be helpful. In the meantime, I have added this to the list of products pertaining to raw diets that have been mentioned on DFA. 🙂
BCn:
Thanks for the info. Although I will not be feeding raw to my kitties for their meals (yet), thanks for the explanation on frozen meat. I started looking around for sites with info for feeding raw to cats. I would like to start introducing them to some raw just not a whole diet at this time. I plan on purchasing Steve Brown’s book in the near future, in the meantime I had downloaded the PDF from his site a few months ago. I wish I could find something written as simplistic for cats.
Akari:
Too funny, was it on or off?
I conquer with BCn and Jakes mom; he seems to be getting enough liquid at this time. I would continue with preparing his food as usual and not add anything else. It may have just been the new litter. Some cats just don’t like change! He’s had allot of change lately so you can’t really blame him. 😉
I bought a huge package of gizzards and hearts today for $1.33. Two of my cats just sniffed it and walked away. lol Bobby snatched a few chunks from me, ran out into the yard, spit them out then began playing with them. I am not discouraged. I am going to chop them up a little finer and see how that goes. If they still are not interested, I am going to cook them lightly and see how they like that. I have a bunch of them to play around with so if nothing else I will be making some kind of dog treat out of them.
The problem with refreezing raw is that is one of the ways you get freezer burn, but that isn’t a problem usually for dogs. They don’t seem to mind a little freezer burn. Thawing, cooking, and then refreezing is definitely OK.
From their Shipping Info page (http://reelrawdog.com/pages/free-shipping):
HOW MANY DAYS NOTICE DO I NEED TO GIVE FOR NEW ORDERS?
10 – 14 days for shipments. Depending on product availability it may take longer to fulfill orders.
You mean if I order today, it could be the end of the month before it ships? I have three dogs but only one is on raw full time.
Oh, I’m ordering, next week. I love Hare Today but money IS an issue and free shipping and being able to order less is big,for me. My husband isn’t into prey model raw but he’s ok as long as it’s ground. I won’t do the pre measured, just ground with some added tripe and. Bones for dental health.
Is your shipping next day or two day? Is everything frozen when it arrives?
Hi – I was initially just looking for green tripe, and fell in love with ReelRaw (http://reelrawdog.com/), which has several different options for ordering raw food. I’m on the North Shore in MA. They recently relocated from Texas, lucky us!
Just when I thought I was doing the right thing! I use a company in ME that will pre-measure a variety of meats using the prey model, and they offer the option of raw meaty bones with each meal or a bone-in option. She isn’t a super gulper, but I’m still worried about her choking on a bone and thought I would switch to the bone-in option. This is an interesting point which leaves me wondering what I should do. I also use salmon oil and some say that too should be avoided. I would consider rotating oils, but I wouldn’t want to cut out salmon oil entirely.
Hi apologises if there is already a post regarding which puppy/dog food is the best but I am rather new to all this.
We are collecting our 8 week old Labrador puppy called ‘Charlie’ next week. He is currently on IAMs puppy food. When I researched puppy food to find the best online deals it opened up a whole can of worms. Lots of different brands started to grab my attention. Which would you say is the best dry food. As much as the ‘raw diet’ sounds appealing it is just not achievable. I am a busy full time mummy of 5 children ranging from 6-years to 2-years so do not want to commit to that sort of high maintenance diet.
I would be very grateful of any help. Never had a dog before
My boy has Chronic Pancreatitis & IBD & Allergies, Ive been doing alot of reading about Pancreatitis. Ive read that kibble isnt good as the Pancreas has to work harder digesting kibble putting more strain on the Pancreas, have you thought of cooking.. I’ve been boiling chicken breast & pumkin & an egg, I freeze the chicken breast in meals sizes & I freeze the little bits of pumkin, I take out the night before & put in the fridge for breakfast, I boil a egg every second day cause I only give him half boiled egg at breakfast, I shread the chicken & mash the pumkin & mash the egg all together so its all mushed up, easier to digest, also make sure any vegetables or grains are well cooked to make them easier to digest. I then warm in micro wave.. At night I give his kibble only..this has helped the chicken pumkin & egg his pain has gone that he was having under his right rib cage, he’s not coming over to me no more for me to rub his side like when I just had him on kibble.. I’d say that she’s having pain then not wanting to eat. maybe try a low fat can food if u don’t want to cook but I havent found a can food that is low enough in fat, thats why I cook..Ive read that Diabetes & pancreatitis are closely linked, Dogs with Diabetes are often prone to Pancreatitis & vice versa..here’s some Low-Glycemic vegetables you can cook with chicken breast or lean low fat ground beef broccoli or cauliflower, cabbage, summer squashes zucchini, dark leafy greens mustard greens & spinach.. I mite try adding some zucchini, I dont know about spinach I always was told if ur constipated eat spinach…Im reading a book called “Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs” by Lew Olson PhD.. it has easy recipes for Pancreatits, diabetes, bladder, liver, heart, cancer etc, she explains what not to feed when ill..also what vitamins to add, excellent read.. the book cost about $11 online..
I’ve been looking at Natures Variety for him, actually. The canned, and sort of the raw lol About how much do the different raw diets cost? I’ve got three or so of those $3 off coupons they just mailed me, so that’s a possibility.
Here’s a picture of one of the things of pee I pulled out tonight. This one is how big they usually are, much larger than how they’ve been the last few days.
http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/740D3329-D7AA-45D0-90DB-F88C23A9B971_zpsvknjujts.jpg
Does this mean that maybe he doesn’t have a UTI, since he’s apparently able to produce this amount of urine?
Hello Dr. Mike:
Please consider Green Cuisine 4 Pets, made in Califiornia….raw frozen and..
Happy Pet Products made in Wisconsin (I beleive)…..raw frozen.
Thanks,
Ron
Can anyone suggest a low protein food that I don’t have to get from my vet? Right now my yorkie is on a Purina low protein prescription and his allergies are back. Previously he was eating Instinct with Raw bits. But since his diagnosis he can’t have a high protein diet. So now that seems to leave me with all these grain foods which upsets his allergies again. The food he is on now is 12% protein. Any suggestions?
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This topic was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by
Tracy O. Reason: wrong forum
My cat has been on a raw diet for the past two years. He was on canned with water mixed in previously, and has been on the Natures variety chicken medallions since then. I can feed him (9lb, 4 year old male) for less than $1 a day (I get 48 medallions for $17, would be even cheaper if I did the parties or chubs but the medallions are SO convenient!).
I mush his food with water the same as I did his canned food. He was easy to convert, but I’ve heard cats can be extremely difficult. He won’t touch the Honest Kitchen trials I bought him. He will still eat canned and dry (he only gets that when I have to travel overnight).
I started him on raw after he got a UTI. He has gotten one since then, when we moved last year (his are definitely stress induced), but the raw seems to help and his coat and teeth are great!
I think commercial raw might be a good way to start and try to transition, and I think you can usually get a $3 coupon on the natures variety website for new customers.
I also have a fountain…he doesn’t really use it much, I think because I add water to all of his meals (3 a day). But I keep the fountain since I have seen him drink from it occasionally.
New here…. Have recently added to Alaskan Huskies to our family. Have done some research and learning regarding commercial dog food, raw diet, a combo, etc. Still looking to locate a source for raw: chicken, beef, pork, beaver, goat, etc. I know that there are such sources in my area but I have yet to check in to them. I look forward to learning all that I can here!!! At first, when I thought about feeding my k9’s RAW food, I thought OH MY! Then I began to consider what they would eat, and have eaten, out in the wild 🙂
Would I need to add a taurine supplement if I was just feeding something raw once or twice a week at most?
Hi Bcn:
I have a few questions about raw for my kitties too, if you don’t mind sharing. Honestly, I have not researched feeding raw to cats so please excuse my ignorance on the subject. I want to feed some raw to enhance their commercial food diet and help clean their teeth. I was looking for something I can pick up at the grocery store to experiment with.
Is dicing up beef or lamb a good choice? Or are their better options?
What types of meat on the bone are good for cats?
Would ground meat be okay to feed?
What other cuts/organs are good to feed? For example, are gizzards or hearts good for them?
Does the raw need to be frozen before feeding or can it be fed straight from the store?
I dunno. He likes any kind of canned food I throw down at him. I guess he likes how ever its cooked in canned foods, rather than raw or broth.
I’ll be weird and take a picture of what I scoop out tonight :p Why is fist-sized too large? What would that mean? Anything bad?
I don’t think he liked the taste of the raw chicken. He doesn’t really like those Temptation treats, but I can still get him to eat them when he’s hungry, and he was hungry when I tried the chicken wing with him. He took the bit off my finger, and got this “what is this stuff??” kinda grossed out look on his face LOL I don’t think he likes the chicken broth either.
I don’t think its the bowl or even the pump that bothers him, I think its just the fact that its water that puts him off. He was very interested and checking it out when I plugged it back in tonight, and watched intently as the pump started working and poured water. As soon as the water started flowing, he stalked off. Not without turning around a few steps later to see if it was still spewing out water and if it was coming after him lol
I am still adding water to his food, yes. What makes me think that he doesn’t like the chicken water is that I made his food just like I normally do, only I added a cube of broth instead of some of the water. Mixed it all up like normal once the cube was melted, and he snubbed it. There is a tiny bit more liquid than usual, but its not *that* bad! Most of the food is submersed, and like last time, he won’t touch it if its under the broth. We’ll see how it go through out the night. He still has a little more than half a can to eat tonight, so I dunno what I’ll do about that if he doesn’t eat whats out.
I don’t know whats normal for him! When we got him, he was peeing in about the same amount, but less often, and there was blood in it. After his treatment, was peeing A LOT. Like 4 or 5 balls, larger than my fist, a day. Then I changed his litter the other day, and he’s back to small pee’s, but there are a good amount of them. Like I said before, I can’t tell you if theres blood in there or not because this crap is brown. The whole laundry room smells like cat pee since changing to this walnut stuff. Lots of people complain about that. So I can’t say if its the litter not doing its job in deodorizing that makes mom think his pee smells stronger, or if it does actually smell stronger. I am getting rid of this litter little by little, every night after I scoop, I add in some tidy cats to replace it. Never ever again! I’ll call the vet in the morning and see what they think I should do.
Hi Akari:
I totally understand that you don’t have the best area to feed raw, me neither, but it sounds like Kitty may like raw to me. If you tore off a piece and he ate it, I would say he probably likes it or is at least curious. My cats do not even entertain the idea of eating something they don’t like. lol I would keep giving it a try, tearing the meat off of the bone might be more appealing to him, maybe even try a different meat. Try feeding a little peice of raw maybe once a week to start with and see how it goes. You can always freeze some portions so it doesn’t go to waste. I will be trying some raw for my kitties soon!
I have never used a cat fountain, but I would take the suggestions of Jake’s mom and Bcn and keep introducing him to it by leaving it off most of the time and turning it on little by little. Peaking his interest and getting him used to the fountain could just be a matter of more time and patience. I wouldn’t give up on it, give him time to get used to it.
I don’t know of any type of water additive.
Earlier in this thread you wrote you made his food almost soupy in consistency by adding water. Do you still do that? You can also try mixing the meat water into his wet food. That extra flavor might appeal to him. Did you make bone broth or did you boil the meat? Just wondering what you ended up making.
If he is not drinking enough water I would suggest doing anything to get fluids into him consistently (nothing harmful of course), so if it has to be fish flavored water then let it be fish flavored water! Look over the suggestions from catinfo for getting kitties hydrated. There’s also clam juice and Catsip too.
If you feel his urination habits have changed or seem abnormal I would not hesitate to take him to the Vet. You can’t fool around with UTI’s. I will add that the size of the litter balls you described are on average what I remove from my litter box; sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. But what is normal for my cats might not be Kitty’s normal litter box habits.
I would have just let him keep playing with the wing in hopes that he would eventually eat a bit of it and then would accept some raw. And for the fountain, be careful that your behavior isn’t convincing him that it is a bad thing. Just turn it off part of the time so if it is the noise or moving water that’s bothering him, he can get used to the idea that it has good water in it without any other consideration. Try having it on for only half the day at first.
Background info: I have two dogs, Jessie (6yo, F, ACD) and Gus (9yo, M, ACD x Beagle). Both were adult rescues, Jess has shown many symptoms of canine PTSD, several of which have waned over the past year that I’ve had her.
I recently picked up extra shifts at work, which seems to be taking a toll on Jessie emotionally. Usually these shifts only consist of 4-5 hours, but I have been working more doubles which means I’m gone from 10am-7:30pm. During the day Gus and Jess are either in their outdoor dog run (very large) with a dog house and a few toys. If the weather is bad, they stay inside and upstairs because I am living at home (college) and my mother sells baked goods, so the dogs can’t be near the food we sell. My siblings are home in the afternoons, and my sister lets them out and plays a bit with them when she gets home from school.
Jess has gone off of her feed – she gets Nature’s Logic for breakfast and dinner and a raw chicken neck with her dinner. Lately she’s been refusing her kibble and eats only the necks. She has also gained a lot of weight, which leads me to believe she’s been much less active during the day than usual. When I get home, we used to play wrestle a bit, but she doesn’t want to do that anymore either. She won’t play with Gus either, so now he’s just a ball of wired up energy when I get home.
Any suggestions as to how I can help her feel better? I can’t drop hours at work or she’ll have to start hunting for her own food. I have a couple of puzzle toys for her, one of which I leave out during the day because it doesn’t have any loose pieces, but she quit playing with it. I’ve been thinking of getting some stuffable Kong-like toys. Any ideas? Herbal supplements? Games or exercises?
I have never dealt with that issue as my current and past dogs will eat anything at anytime! I hesitate to make any suggestions due to your pup’s health conditions. I’m not sure if you have checked this out, but on the review side of this site, there is a list of excellent low fat foods. Just click on best dog foods and it will bring up different categories of foods, including low fat. It is my understanding that with diabetes, that kibble is not the best form of food to feed. Canned, dehydrated, cooked or raw is best. I hope someone that can help will jump in. But, I’m not sure that anyone can predict which food your dog will like and for how long. LOL! I feed my dogs with digestive issues Victor grain free mixed with canned, eggs, or sardines or fresh pet select. I also give a digestive and probiotic supplements. I hope you find something that makes your pup better. Good luck!
Hi Annie J,
How did you find out those results? My dog has struggled with allergic reactions for about a year; we did some blood draw allergy testing, but it only tested for environmental allergens, not food. I would love to know more.
In the meanwhile, check out Infinia foods…
I’ve just kinda skimmed through the past few posts, but I read “Patch smells like yeasts my friend said it’s like mold.” I knew a dog once who had that distinct smell. They couldn’t figure out anything in his diet! and they bought an anti fungal shampoo (I believe it was Malaseb), have never had the problem since. The dog didn’t have any itching though, so I still think Patch probably has allergies… There’s that slight chance he might also have a skin fungus and shampoo would help clear it up.
If he has any outdoor allergies, have you any access to local raw honey? I know of some super allergy prone dogs that get a spoonful of raw honey every day and can now go outside in the worst allergy seasons without a problem.
Hi Dori
I feed half kibble since the squeamish people in my house could have to feed sometimes, so I don’t worry about upping the protein. Between the raw I feed and the freeze dried, I think mine get about 15-20% carbs, which is a very good level for mine. IDK how much carb is in the raw you feed or what kind of fiber yours need. That would play a part in whether or not it would actually be important for you to keep up with feeding fruits and veggies for treats. Mine get a fruit and veggie mix added to some of their raw and some of it already has some fruits and veggies added, but I really limit my dogs carbs because Micah starts having issues pretty quickly if he gets too much. Angel gets even less, she is basically on an anticancer raw, which means she gets next to no kibble and gets lots of antioxidants and supergreens.
Any raw is better than no raw. I know several people who don’t feed any raw except raw meaty bones 2 or 3 times a week for teeth, but they have notied improved coat too.
If your cats will eat raw, it is definitely better for them to get some raw. Mine would not eat chunks, but I got some whole prey grinds from Hare Today that they will eat. They won’t eat more than about 1 oz. at a time each though, never a full meal, which is funny because they both hunt bunnies and eat them whole.
Just because a dog is “senior” doesn’t mean it has these problems. All those problems can potentially happen at any age. I’ve fostered many dogs under 5 (even as young as 1 yr) with joint/eye/digestion/ear issues and have needed hip/knee surgeries and prescription eye and ear drops. A healthy senior can eat regular food (adult, maintenance and all life stages, puppy food). I have a 14 yr old with no active health issues. He is blind and deaf which he was already when I got him last year at 13. He is not on any medications and eats the same foods as all the other foster dogs I have. I use 3.5-4.5 star kibble and top it off with 5 star canned foods which is normally at least 43% protein. He even gets some raw food which I usually make without any plant matter. The dogs get joint supplements and vitamins, antioxidants, supergreen supplements and fish oil. My personal dogs don’t get chemical pesticides which has been linked to some cancers nor do they get unnecessary vaccines. You might want to research “over vaccination”. Try looking up Dogs4dogs dot com, b-naturals dot com, wholedogjournal dot com, dogsnaturallymagazine dot com. These are just a few of the sites pertaining to more “natural” care of dogs. If one of my dogs had late stage kidney disease, at that point I would change the diet, but I wouldn’t change the diet just because they’re a senior in general. Some things possibly connected to cancer is chemical laden commercial kibble, vaccines, the constant application of poisonous pesticides (heartworm and flea/tick meds, fertilizers), even air pollution.
http://dogs4dogs.com/
Hi “thenut”. I’m always concerned about giving freeze dried meats or fish as treats. Doesn’t “up” the protein levels. I’m already feeding the dogs pretty high proteins due to the commercial raw feeding. I originally started with the raw fruits and veggies (tiny amounts per day) because of Katie’s (yes I will say it again) allergies but then I started thinking that raw freeze dried treats would add more to their daily protein levels. What do you think on this subject? As always, you are one of the posters that I trust your judgement and experience. Thanks, Patty.
BCnut, I just had a couple of general questions. I don’t want to go to completely raw yet but wonder if it would be good to give Jake something raw now and then. Like a piece of chicken for supper instead of his kibble some days, or some stew beef or chix on top of his kibbles. He’s a beagle mix, healthy, 9 years old, 30ish pounds. Can I do the same for the cats? Can I just hand them a small chunk of meat or piece of a wing? And I read something about freezing for 2 weeks. Does everything need to be frozen before feeding?
Thanks!
Akari, not up to your level of course, but I got a bag of Wellness treats and 2 big cans of Core for .98!
Budget-friendly dog foods are special. They can indeed be Editor’s Choice companies. However, they may also have a few minor flaws that may prevent them from qualifying for the EC list. Yet still allow them to be considered above average quality and good value. That’s why we divided the list into two sections.
The fact a company has recalls does not ever preclude them from any list of quality products. We avoid companies that hide recall-like events from consumers or have a history of making recalls recalls a habit.
Example: Natura, the makers of Innova, California Natural, EVO and others is still a great pet food company. Until last year, they had a history of zero recalls. The fact they’re owned by a larger company can be a good thing. Larger companies typically maintain better quality control, on premises labs, access to pretested raw materials, etc. They are still under consideration for Editor’s Choice.
By the way, 3 star products are still recommended dog foods. Another example, when it comes to feeding large breed puppies, some of the most scientifically based and tested products are only rated 3-stars and come from very large producers.
Hope this makes sense.
Tabitha, good points – I don’t think it’s the nutrition because I try to supplement Bruno’s kibble diet with RMBs and raw eggs, sardines, coconut oil, yoghurt/kefir, pumpkin, flax seeds, and the occasional dog-friendly fruit/veggie bits, as well as canned food.
Now, the boredom might be it. Both the hubs and I go to school full time and work part-time, so poor guy sometimes only gets 30min-1hr walks instead of a good playtime in the dog park or good training session. We have 2 brain-stimulating doggie board games that we need to whip out more often… so that could definitely be part of it. Even with my busy schedule I try to take him to the dog park at least 2-3 times/week, weather and time permitting, but when I injured my back last Sunday I wasn’t able to take him out at all thi s week. BUT, I also try to play chase with him for 15-30min in the evenings, but I can definitely look into more options… thanks for some suggestions, Carlyn! 🙂
Have not seen any replies to my question on the raw forum, it’s been a week, I’m kind of surprised nobody’s posted anything yet. But if I see anything I’ll let you know.
Akari, how did Kitty like his chix wing?
TParticipant
A commercial raw diet may be the easiest way for you to try a very low carbohydrate diet for your dog. The major brands are relatively easy to feed (frozen patties) and contain all the vitamins and minerals to sustain life long-term. For example, Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw frozen patties have very low carb content.
Tabitha
Here’s an article on my blog about a few brands of commercial raw food:
http://naturalalternativesvet.com/cooked-and-raw-dog-food-comparison/
Amy R. I’ve been feeding my three toy dogs (Maltese, Maltipoo and Yorkipoo) Primal Pronto in their rotation of commercial raw foods. It is hands down their favorite and also mine. I’ve never had any issues with Primal Pronto whatsoever. You can’t go wrong. THK is very very messy with light colored dogs. My Maltese, Hannah, is obviously white and Katie my Maltipoo is a very very light apricot/blondish color.
I don’t feed any kibble so I can’t advise on Merrick or any other dry food. I have heard a lot of people recommending Victor Grain Free dry. I think it’s the Yukon protein that they like but they are probably rotating within the brand. As I said not sure.
When Desi was living (rip Boobala) he was one of those “vacuum” dogs, too. He had Pica, a disorder where they eat all kinds of random things that are not food. I definitely taught him “leave it” and I also taught him “drop it”. I did this when he was a pup because I saw that he was going to be a difficult dog. Most of the time it worked. I also conditioned him to being used to me sticking my whole hand in his mouth or down his throat lol, as well as accepting me literally crawling into his crate to get something he had that he shouldn’t. This didn’t stop him from passing away at an early age of 8 years old, though…he had health problems that I believe caused the Pica and the vet I had didn’t care to listen to me about it all. Long story, but I have since switched vets because of Desi, especially.
Hi Jakes mom:
If you get any recommendations for feeding raw to your kitties, would you mind posting it on this thread? I won’t be switching to a complete raw diet since I don’t have the freezer space, but I have enough freezer space to accomodate a dog and five cats for a few meals each per week if they like it. I honestly haven’t taken the time to look into feeding raw to my kitties, but I always like reading about everyone’s experiences as well as any suggestions someone might have.
I am going to see if Bobby likes turkey necks. He has beautiful teeth at four, but I would like to try and interest him in chewing bones. When I give him a bone the first thing he does is run off to bury it. He doesn’t even eat the fresh meat on it, he’s more interested in burying the bone than eating it. Maybe a turkey neck will be more appealing, who knows.
C4c let me know about a website earlier this week, catsadored.com. We were discussing litter boxes earlier in this thread, don’t know if you read any of it. Anyway, this guy has an interesting suggestion for litter that he feels is comparable to “The World’s Best Cat Litter,” which I have never used so IDK. I think I am going to give it a try this summer just to try it. Check it out if you have time.
Akari:
I have been referring to your cat by Gary and Roger, sorry. Which one is it again?
I’m also interested in feeding a little raw to my guys, dog and cats. I asked a few questions on the raw food forum a few days ago but nobody has responded yet. Please let us know how you make out with giving Roger/Gary a chix wing or chunk of stew beef. He’s a very lucky cat! And thanks for the comments about the BB litter, I’d been thinking of trying it. And you may reconsider a water fountain, my guys are not especially fond of the faucet either but they all love the ceramic fountain. I’m sure they drink more than they ever did from a plain water bowl. Were a little wary of it at first, I ended up unplugging it for a day til they got used to the look of it.
Hey all. I currently feed The Honest Kitchen and I love it for my Shih Tzu. However, he is a Gold/White Parti and is beard is always green even after washing his face after he eats. I’m considering changing his diet to a combination of Merrick dry and Primal Pronto raw. Anyone feeding either of these? If so, how is it working for you?
Thank you, Amy
I moved a few months ago and the new pet store I go to carries a brand of commercial raw called “Genesis Raw” made by Maverick Pet Foods- http://www.yum4dogs.com/genesis-rawreg.html
I was wondering what the experienced raw feeders think of this food. I got a small 2lb brick for Max to try and he really liked it, but I didn’t want to buy more of it until I did a bit more research and got some feedback. Here is the ingredient list for the turkey:
Ingredients: Fresh Turkey with Ground Bone, Fresh Turkey Hearts, Fresh Turkey Gizzards, Fresh Turkey Liver,Carrots, Spinach, Celery, Apples, Parsley, Garlic, Coriander, Thyme, Ground Ginger, Rosemary, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil. Apple Cider Vinegar, Flaxseed, Vitamin and Mineral Complex: http://www.yum4dogs.com/uploads/2/8/8/5/2885547/vitamin_and_mineral_assay-genesis_raw_06-19-11.pdf
My only reservation was the vitamin/mineral complex. They do state on their website that all of the vitamins and minerals they use are sourced domestically (US only), but it seems like overkill to me. Thoughts?
Well regardless of how his teeth looked when you got him, dry food would not have cleaned his teeth. How you are feeding him, which he needs particularily since he had a UTI, has done nothing but help him. If hard food cleaned teeth I would be in heaven eating pretzels every night before bed! lol He was probably was busy catching birds and mice before he moved in to your house. I hear they’re good for teeth! 😉
Let me know how the chicken wings and gizzards go if you give it a try. I am going to look into feeding my cats some raw food soon in particular for dental health.
I have to write that I am very cautious as to the treats I feed my guys. That was part of Bobby’s skin problem. Along with feeding canned Pedigree I was feeding bad treats. As soon as I stopped feeding them, his skin quickly improved. No more itchiness, redness, or foul odors! lol Poor little guy. I have been making bisquits here and there for Bobby, other than that I freeze the meat that comes off of the bones when I make the bone broth and use that for treats.
As far as cleaning a cats teeth, I have been lucky and never had any issues. I gently remove any tarter with my finger nails when I do see it.
I asked Shasta a question a few days ago about the raw food she wrote that she fed her cats. She mentioned it on one of the threads recently. We need to track her down and find out what she feeds and how it is working out for her. I wouldn’t mind trying raw meat with the bone, but I am also interested in a cut of meat for teeth cleaning without bone for my older kitty who’s teeth are a little questionable; he just lost one recently. Maybe she would have some recommendations for us.
Yes, Im reading a book called ‘Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs’ By Lew Olson, PhD..She recommends a Low-Glycemic diet, high in protein & fat & low Carbohydrates…there are stories through out her book, one is about a dog called Jake a Doberman/Labrador mix, who started to have seizures when he was 3 years old, Jake was whats called a “Cluster” meaning he always had multiple seizures close together, Despite trying everything from conventional medications to acupuncture, his owner Jo was unable to get the seizures under control.. After exhausting all the usual medical avenues, Jo started to look elsewhere for alternative treatments, joining an online Epilepsy group, one of the things recommened by the group was a raw diet. With nothing else left to lose Jo started Jake on a new raw diet, Within five months Jake had gone from having seven seizures every two weeks to one a month, Her vet was astonised at the drastic improvement a raw, fresh food diet had made when all the other treatments failed..There’s more on how she explains how the sugar in carbohydrates can affect epilepsy, hypothyroidism, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, & yeast infections & how a low-glycemic diet is a good defense against all of these conditions.. Dogs dont have a nutritional need for carbohydrates..there’s more to read but too much to write..she has simple recipes in her book for illnesses, its an excellent read, its online for around $10..
Some people here do freeze it and report no issues. A bag doesnt last more than 2 weeks tops here so I have never had to worry. When not feeding raw canned etc it lasts even shorter. I store unopened food in a spare room that has ac in summer.
Thank you Shawna for clarifying Dr Dodds stance on raw diets and hyperthyroidism!!!
Hi all, I posted this in the Editor’s Choice forum as well, but realized it applies to any 5-star kibble:
We have a new dog (1 1/2 year Lab) and need to settle on a quality commercial food. Commercial raw and 5-star canned food is out of our price range. Most kibble is not.
I have been reading in many places that aside from cost and convenience, all things being equal, a quality canned food is probably slightly better for a dog than a quality kibble.
In Canada, there are not many 5-star canned foods in our range. Kirkland Cuts in Gravy is one. We can feed our 60 lb. Lab for under $100.
My question is, aside from convenience (not an issue in our case), does it make sense to go exclusive Kirkland canned versus a 5-star kibble since it is in our price range? What are the points against feeding this particular canned vs. any 5-star kibble? (We are leading towards Acana Regionals).
Of course we can go kibble and canned combined, but aside from price, I am not sure why we would do it?
Anyone willing to offer opinions?
Thanks in advance
Hi all, this is my first post. Great place to hang out!
We have a new dog (1 1/2 year Lab) and need to settle on a quality commercial food. Commercial raw and 5-star canned food is out of our price range. Most kibble is not.
I have been reading in many places that aside from cost and convenience, all things being equal, a quality canned food is probably slightly better for a dog than a quality kibble.
In Canada, there are not many 5-star canned foods in our range. Kirkland Cuts in Gravy is one. We can feed our 60 lb. Lab for under $100.
My question is, aside from convenience (not an issue in our case), does it make sense to go exclusive Kirkland canned versus a 5-star kibble since it is in our price range? What are the points against feeding this particular canned vs. any 5-star kibble? (We are leading towards Acana Regionals).
Of course we can go kibble and canned combined, but aside from price, I am not sure why we would do it?
Anyone willing to offer opinions?
Thanks in advance
Want to know if Greenies are bad for your dog just read these horror stories from pet owners @ http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/greenies.html. To me it is unconscionable that vets sell these things in their office.
Please, please always research anything you’re going to give your pets. Even the ratings on their dog food, because quite often they have been recalled in the past and/or have a history of being recalled and/or have questionable ingredients. Play it safe by researching first.
Regarding feeding your pets bones, only feed them raw, never cooked. Cooked bones splinter and can cause intestinal tears. Even if you’ve fed them bones in the past and nothing bad happened, all it takes is one time that can put them at the vets or emergency room. Costing several thousand dollars for surgery, which the majority of us don’t have to spare and end up having to put them asleep.
Hopefully this helps someone before it is to late. Please make sure to pass this information on to any pet owners you know.
Shawna I didn’t read through the entire thread again so my apologies. I only recall you thinking if it was a real problem Dr. Dodds would be warning people about the issue. I didn’t mean to imply Dr Dodds was recommending against all raw feeding, but that she is warning people about the need to be aware of the sourcing of what is being fed.
