[Shihtzumom20]

Hi ScottsMomma! Thanks for rescuing a dog, he will be thanking you to! Seeing as you mentioned raw I would say that would be a great way to go! Raw should really help with any allergies and you can really customize the meal plan, anything that doesnt seem to sit well with him, you can simply move on to another protein. My shih tzu loves raw, its amazing how he took to it, and I am sure your terrier will love it too. While you are researching how to balance, Hound Dog Mom is the best for explaining that!, you can start with a pre-made raw or do a pre-mix in which you add your own meat to it. There is a great section for pre-made raw dog food here to help you choose the best, but I think a lot of people use Primal and Stella & Chewys I would to if I could get it! I have used Nature`s Variety and think its ok, Dawson loves it and he does well on it, but I like making my own then you know exactly what you put into it. But when I get busy I still use it.
For pre-mixes I know of a few, Urban Wolf, Honest Kitchen The Preference, Grandma Lucys makes one, Sojos I believe makes one, and one I think its called Steves Real Food, or something like that. I havent used them as Dawson doesnt really do so well on high potatoes, and urban wolf is the only one I can find here.
Check out the raw dog food forum, lots and lots of great help and questions that have already been answered. Here is a link /forums/forum/raw-dog-food-forum/
Oh and for the skin and dandruff, You can use coconut oil and a fish oil, I like to use krill oil, Here is an article from the whole dog journal on dosage:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_9/features/Fish-Oil-Supplements-For-Dogs_20600-1.html
But now I five Dawson sardines instead of the krill oil, its cheaper and a whole food source he loves sardines!
And then coconut oil is half a teaspoon per ten pounds. I give Dawson his sardine requirements once weekly, so thursday, and then coconut oil every day, but you can do it however works best. I believe some people do every other day.
I hope this helps some! It is overwhelming when you first start, but its so much better for your dog than any kibble or canned food. I know more people with more knowledge than me will chime in!

[Harpers Mom]

We are planning to get stuff to do the yard and flea bomb the house on Monday, I will try the virbac! Pattyvaugh, how much vinegar and garlic do you add to the food? Harper is about 60lbs. I would love to feed raw, but the therapy dog organization that Harper is through does not allow feeding raw to the active volunteers. So we use Merrick and earth born holistics and rotate canned toppers.

[theBCnut]

Nice find!

[GizmoMom]

This page has a list of approximate bone content in each cut of meat.
http://preymodelraw.com/page/articles.html/_/raw-chat/common-cuts-a-photographic-guide-to-raw-meaty-r15

[theBCnut]

I’m not good at guessing bone content on something that is meat and bone. HDM once told me to give the meaty bone plus half again its weight in boneless meat. So, if your pork rib with meat on it is 2 oz, it would be enough calcium for another ounce of meat, but ribs have more bone than, say, a chicken thigh, so… It’s supposed to be 10-15% bone in the diet, I think you would have to be the one to eyeball that.

[theBCnut]

I live in FL too. And I remember a couple years ago when we had a damp fall, the fleas were really bad heading into winter. I did everything I could think of every 2 weeks for about six weeks before I finally caught a break. Find me some wood to knock on because I’m about to say something stupid. I haven’t had a flea problem at all this year. I don’t know if it is the raw food, the vinegar, the garlic, the whatever, but I have not had fleas much at all this whole year.

[Shihtzumom20]

Hi Everyone!
I have been working on a new menu for Dawson, trying to get more bones and more balance into his diet. So here it goes!
Am- 1 ounce Ziwipeak air dried lamb cuisine

Pm- Monday, Wednesday, Saturday Nights
– 2 oz pork ribs.
– .5 oz tripe patty. I have had no luck finding tripe here… so it may be canned 🙁 But I may be able to get some soon as the calves are getting butchered this month.

Pm- Thursday Night
-He would get 2 oz boneless meat patty (beef, pork, poultry whatever is on sale, could also be meat chunks,preferably organic.)
-Sardine, quarter of a tin.
-a cage free egg, no shell

Pm- Tuesday, Friday, Sunday Nights
– 2.5 oz boneless meat patty.
Note: 1.75 oz of liver and other organ blended into all patties for the week.

Supplements:
• 1/8 tsp pre/probiotics, daily
• 400 IU vitamin e capsule, weekly
• Sprouted Chia/Flax meal for manganese may use oysters occasionally, Thursday pm meal
• ¼ tsp cod liver oil once during the week, ½ cup organic keifir (mixed in with patties), and one cage free egg per pound of meat for vitamin D requirements, sardines will finish his vitamin D requirements
• ½ tsp coconut oil, daily
• Raw Glandular supplement, every other day
• ½ tsp homemade green super food supplement, daily

In the patties I would add pureed veggies and fruit but I didnt really count it on my calculations, it would be about a tsp per day… All kinds of veggies and fruit nothing particular, or toxic, lol!

My only question is, is the bone balancing the calcium in the boneless meat, or do I have to supplement additional calcium. And anything too little, too excessive, I gauged this at a weight of about 15 lbs.

I also have another with two meals of pork ribs and also two meals of chicken thighs. But it`s kinda is the same.

I was also thinking of getting this cookbook, especially if this recipe isnt balanced, lol!
http://www.completeandbalanced.com/
Its available in Canada at Dawsons vet, Here is a sample recipe:
http://www.completeandbalanced.com/samplerecipepage.html
Some recipes can be fed raw. Any thoughts, or concerns.

[anotheremily]

Well…I have been at the same thing as Molzy for the past almost 2 yrs…

I have a jack russell beagle mix. He is 5.5 yrs old. He was over weight , not anymore considering the circumstances….He went from 17 lbs when we got him to 27.5 lbs at highest and last yr this time was at 17, today he is at 21. Gulping has been going on so long I can’t remember when it started. He has had blood tests, xrays, barium xray, several meds for worming, He had an upper endoscopy…all leads us to nothing. So he was put on prilosec last Spetember (’13) and metoclopromide 3 xs a day. Ok…so he was being examined for all of these…worms, mega esophagus, pyloric stenosis, reverse sneezing, bloat, acid reflux, collapsed trachea…post nasal drip, and all the stuff everyone else has said here…He has none of that. He used to eat kibble, Canadae. Our other dogs eat that. We switched everyone last spring, summer to Taste of the Wild. Mind you all along I am continuing treating for all the other ailments…so his kibble would get crushed by me and wetted into a paste and a kong goes in his bowl to slow him down. He was on Purina EN for some time and that was when he lost weight. I made rice and fish and carrots and sweet potatoes and rice and veggies and dog food from our local butcher shop that is all hormone antibiotic free…then since he was doing so good we eased into taste of the wild…well that gets expensive with 4 dogs and feeding everyone seperate isn’t an option. So we went back to Canadae maybe a month or two ago…we are on our 3rd bag of it I think…And January 8th and January 10th my husband and I got NO sleep what so ever. Last night he gulped and filled with gas so bad I thought I was going to have to rush him to the pet er…No, he threw up, just like he did on the 8th right around 5 am. Last night it was barf at 4 then back to bed to sleep and he was all gurgly and snoring and I just wanted 1 hour of sleep…I moved him. Shouldn’t have done that, it sparked another episode. This is all so in such a small nutshell what I am writing, but today I took him to another local regualr vet office for just a 3rd pair of eyes to see what she thought. She thinks it’s digestive, perhaps a food allergy, something similar to celiac…Told me whe would show my video to the other vets in the practice and get back to me. Suggested I take him to Cornell, the Veterinary School. He could see more specialists there than at the local office with 1 specialist since she felt what was wrong with my dog is so rare. Rare until you research it and find all these people having the same problem…WHY is it only at night? He has little spats in the day sometimes but most of the action is at night. Why do none of have any REAL answers? What is in the kibble that we feed our dogs? I did some research a while back and I could go find the link and post them if you are interested but you have probably already seen them, about kibble and how people had this issue during the major dogfood recalls….a few years back…That spawned a TON of gulping and posts everywhere. I do not think this is partial seizures…The more i read and the more I talk to vets, I think it’s the food. I cannot feed him a raw diet, I can feed him partially cooked and plain food like I have in the past, I think the limited ingredient food is good for a short time. In the mean time I am going to have to come up with a fund raising campaign to take him to Cornell, because I have spent over $2000 as of the end of 2013 on this issue. I LOVE him dearly but I cannot spend anymore or charge anymore. I am getting nowhere, and I am so tired, literally. I don’t know what else to do…He is getting a new probiotic tonight and for food we are doing quinoa and salmon for a while. He will get NO chicken for a long time. Back to the butcher shop food after the salmon. So…I also got him some tramidole so he can sleep tonight and so can we…I will hang around here, it seems like a good place to bump ideas off of each other…I am interested in hearing more about the chinese medicine and will go back and read that posting more in depth tonight. It’s good to know we are not alone I guess. I am wondering is anyone has had ultrasounds or had their dog eat under fluoroscopy…those were suggested to me today along with a nutritionist and all these are available at the Vet College, for more than I can pay I am sure…lol

Looking forward to staying in touch!
PS my dog’s name is Doug…(love that boy)

[LindaW]

Hi, all. I’ve just recently learned through initially “Dogs Naturally” magazine and then numerous other sources about the dangers and shortcomings of synthetic vitamins and minerals in almost all commercially prepared dog food whether dry or canned. The stuff is derived from toxic materials and since it is so much less expensive than whole food sources, they use them.
There is only one commercial food, Nature’s Logic, that I know of. I had wanted to try Brothers Complete, but they have synthetic also (sodium selenite, etc.). Sometimes my very discerning golden ret. pup doesn’t want her raw or home cooked fare and she will eat a little kibble or canned. Very difficult puppy to feed. So, let’s help spread the word about the synthetics. It is just as important as not feeding Beneful or Ol Roy. Even human vitamins has it unless it is “whole food” supplements. The articles state that quite a few problems that dogs have can be linked back to these artifical supps.

[RescueDaneMom]

To give you an idea, I feed my 150lb almost 8 year old male Great Dane about 1700 calories/day and my mom’s 6 year old, 75lb male pit bull about 900 calories/day. Both dogs are very inactive. They lay around the house most of the day and go on a couple short walks. My sister has a 55lb very active, senior, female boxer mix that needs 1000-1100 calories/day. The more active the dog the more calories they’ll need.

[theBCnut]

Over on the review side there is a dog food calculator. Keep in mind that it is only a guestimate and not a hard fast number.

[sharfie]

Thanks. Any recommendations on how to figure out how many calories they need?

[RescueDaneMom]

Calories definitely do count. You are correct that there can be a big difference between different proteins and the different brands. I would check the calorie counts on everything you feed and feed the amount by a calorie basis. Ex: 1 large patty of S&C Duck Duck Goose has 285 cal while the Surf & Turf has 470 cal. Your dogs could be getting way more calories than they need which could explain the weight gain. I would try to determine how many calories you need to feed them per day to maintain the right weight and feed that. You’ll end up feeding more of one food and less of another.

[sharfie]

I have switched my 2 Golden Retrievers to a raw diet. I am rotating between protein sources and brands of frozen raw. I use Primal, Stella and Chewy’s, and Stewarts. I have used the calculators on the web sites as a guide for the amount of food to feed. However, I am not getting it right because both dogs have gained weight. Do calories count? I notice there can be a big difference in the calories per ounce between brand and proteins. Both dogs are within the normal range of activity. They are both currently getting a little less than a pound of food a day (about 14 ounces). So, I guess the question is, do I watch calories or amount?

[raylene5]

Thanks so much for the help ladies!

[wishiwere2]

Is there an application that we can use on our phones when shopping for dogfood? I have a new ‘rescue’ pup, actually and older gentle giant (8y/o) and the previous owners had him on a costco Kirkland for older boys. Problem is, there is NO costco nearby.

I bought a Purina (for lite or some such) and he has turned to playing and perhaps eating his doo-doos. I did not see this happeneing before the switch. He’s also started getting into the trash, which leaves to me to believe that he is not getting satisfaction from the food. The feces also appears to have straw (fiber) in abundance in it and he’s producing way more in the amount of feces than he was on kirkland.

So, again, my qustion is, is there an application that would assist me when I go to the store to purchase and other items for him?

Thanks if anyone can help~

[ScottsMomma]

We recently adopted a terrier mix from our local Humane Society. He is my first dog-knew nothing about food so we just picked up the standard Kibbles & Bits for him which he ate just fine. Noticed on his second day with us, how much he was scratching; neck area, face, biting along his legs & paws. Took him in for a visit, was told he had dry skin, to try fish oil, also started reading up on dog food and picked up Earth’s Pride Grain free Duck & Vegetable. He is eating that just fine, no issues with messy stool (does have some gas) not bringing anything up. Took him back today since he has also been shaking his head along with the scratching, doc looked in his ears, said they were clear-just looked irritated. Said it is most likely allergies-which is what I suspect-but allergies to what? We live in Maryland so pollen is not an issue right now-possibly dust? Or food-how do you tell? His fur is nice & soft, but skin is dry and he has some dandruff. No major sneezing or coughing. I’m at a loss as to what to do. Doc gave me a med. called Prednistabs and a drop for his ears. I don’t know weather to try a different food with less ingredients, try Raw (does a raw diet help with both food & inhalant allergies)

[GoldenGirl]

Alright, so before I suggest anything I want you to know that I’m currently going to school for veterinary technology and I work at a wonderful feed store where I get a lot of “hands on” experience 🙂 So first off, the tear stains are actually caused by a minor bacterial infection that permanently stains the affected hair, the only way to get rid of that stained hair is to trim it off. Now, you can prevent further staining by using a supplement like “Angel Eyes” (a powder that you add to their food), which is actually a mild antibiotic! As far as food goes, Stella & Chewy’s is a great brand (I use it personally) but if you’re using their freeze dried meals they’re only a complete mean when you add water! Adding water also brings down their protein content because it dilutes it. They also have a frozen raw (what I use) which is actually even healthier then their freeze dried (frozen raw is the healthiest type of food you can feed your doggies). Feel free to message me with any questions, and remember ALL DOGS ARE DIFFERENT! What works for one may not work for the next, that’s why there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog food, because different dogs are allergic and sensitive to different things 🙂

[theBCnut]

I give my dogs raw bones all the time, chicken, turkey, duck, goat, sheep, pig, beef, you name it, but I won’t give any cooked bones because the cooking changes how they break. Cooked bones can splinter and perforate the intestines.

[theBCnut]

Cooked bones are not OK, raw bones are OK.

[DogFoodie]

Hi spotcdb,

It sounds like your dog is still having what may very well be a food intolerance. And, it’s definitely not a good idea to have your dog on Ketoconazole three days per week indefinitely. If I were you, I’d take a look at a grain free food that is lower in carbs than what you’re feeding now and that doesn’t contain any white potato – which Annamaet does. I’d even consider feeding a raw diet.

It takes time, but the body can heal and recover from systemic yeast.

[theBCnut]

She has enough different issues that I don’t know if anyone here can help you. The diabetes needs a low starch diet. The panceatitis needs a low fat diet. IBD often needs a low fiber, no grains diet. I would recommend consulting with a veterinary nutritionist for a homemade, possibly homemade raw, diet, because it sound to me like she needs a diet based on low fat meat and the necessary vitamins/mineral and not much else.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hmmm…those sound like red flags to me. I think I’d better leave it alone. Thanks for the help Patty!

[theBCnut]

Your best bet is to reply to Hound Dog Mom over on the review side in “Off Topic” and ask her to look at this. She’s the best at looking at things like thios and figuring out what you ought to add, or whatever. Off the top of my head, I wonder what is wrong with it that it is AAFCO for maintenance and reproduction but not growth. And I wonder why they would put minera oil in it. Mineral oil binds with fat soluable vitamins and pulls them out of the food so they can’t be used. Then there’s the menadione, that shouldn’t be in there at all. I don’t even know what ethylenediamine dihydriodide is, but I’ve seen it listed before.

[Yorkieville]

Patty, I do believe this breeder is a good person. I’ve had 3 beautiful female Yorkies in my life, from reputable AKC Show breeders. And you’re right, being a Show breeder is not synonomous with being reputable.

I have a good friend in WA, bred Yorkies for many years, didn’t Show them, but I consider her one of the best breeders I’ve ever known.

[theBCnut]

You can put pieces of kibble in the yogurt, you can used canned food, you can use peanut butter, you can do different layers, you can put soaked freeze dried food or kibble in it, you can put pieces of cheese in with the soaked kibble, you can stuff it with raw meat. Your imagination is the limit.

[theBCnut]

I like believing that people are basically good too, so I completely understand, and I hope your faith is well placed and I just misunderstood your post. Being a show breeder is definitely not a qualification for people ofthe year though, I’ve know many, many show people and breeders. Some are great and some put on a great show.

[Yorkieville]

Patty-my husband went through all the e-mails we had exchanged with this breeder, and I had actually sent her the picture on October 12th.

And he had begun making plans with the breeder to take Max back beginning on 12/13.
He took Max back on the 21st.

But the Ad hasn’t been updated since the 17th, so, I am hoping that she really does have a lady that lives nearby, that truly wants him.

I may sound naive, but I really want to believe this breeder. She is a very prominent Show breeder.

[DogFoodie]

A couple things I was thinking…

Has your pup had a checkup with blood work recently? Bad breath could also be indicative of some medical issues.

Also, I once recall Sandy mentioning that she used this product with success: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047VWPNI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Mine eat a variety of foods including raw and raw meaty bones and fortunately, neither has bad breath.

[theBCnut]

You can feed up to 20% of your dogs meals unbalanced without worrying about nutrient deficiencies. What this means is feed 4 meals of balanced commercial raw then one meal of meaty bones. You can use chicken or turkey necks, ribs from smaller animals, a chicken leg or wing, basically anything that has smaller whole bones so the dog has to crunch up the bones. Make sure the first few times you do this that they eat in front of you so if somebody tries to swallow something too large whole, you can intervene.

[Mom2Cavs]

I currently don’t feed commercial raw, but I have and will again I’m sure. First off, dry kibble does not help keep dogs teeth clean. In fact, if they chew it at all (most tend to swallow it whole) it merely sticks to their teeth, much like when we eat crackers or cookies…way more than canned or raw. Actually, the commercial raw would do a better job at keeping teeth clean because it has a more natural component and more readily available enzymes. I would definitely add raw, meaty bones as a component of your dog’s diet. I’m sure others who feed this way will be more able to direct you in how to do this. You’re on the right track with your pup, congratulations with the new addition!

[Mom2Cavs]

Pattyvaughn has some good suggestions. I also have Cavaliers and small dogs are notorious for having bad teeth (not just Cavs) so it can be a constant problem, even shortly after dentals. I have had dentals given to mine off and on and their teeth stay good for only awhile. I do brush their teeth, but admit it’s not as often as I should. They are not good chewers, either, which makes it doubly hard to keep teeth clean :(. As for the breath issue. I have found that when mine eat something they are intolerant to or get into something they shouldn’t their breath smells bad. When anal glands are acting up their breath smells bad. Giving probiotics and enzymes helps tremendously. Also, feeding a high quality food and treats (I’ve actually cut them out 99% of their diet) has helped mine. Currently, I’m feeding Fromm 4Star Salmon a la Veg. Now I do also top their kibble with quality canned food (tblsp.) and mix in their prob/enz. When one of my Cavs had a poop eating problem (enzymes solved this, too, for her) her breath was atrocious! So in a nut shell it could be from:

1. the food they eat.
2. anal gland problems (they’re full).
3. eating things they shouldn’t (like poop or bugs, etc).
4. having a cracked tooth or something wrong with gums, teeth, etc.
5. needing a dental (no lie, some dogs need dentals more often, especially small dogs).

First, I would have your vet inspect your dogs mouth to see if anything is stuck in there, or a cracked tooth, etc. Your vet will probably recommend another dental, which isn’t always feasible at the time. I personally do them either every year or every other year. I don’t like to put my oldies under the anesthesia that often.
Giving raw bones can help keep teeth scrubbed clean. Brushing their teeth can help a lot. Even trying some of the dental sprays and gels, like Mercola’s, or Tropiclean can’t hurt either. Good luck to you, I know the pains of owning small dogs with bad teeth. I hope this helps some.

[raylene5]

We will be getting a Miniature Schnauzer puppy next month and I had a question about how to incorporate heartier texture into a commercial raw diet. I’m pretty certain I will be feeding Primal Pronto nuggets…what can I do to ensure good dental health with a diet full of such soft food?

Do I give him raw meaty bones instead of one of the daily meals or do I just give a recreational bone once a week? What size and what kind for a puppy?

Thanks so much for the help! (Just to be clear, I’ve done a lot of research into the various raw diets and I will definitely not be preparing my own raw or feeding prey model 🙂 )

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi all,

I’ve been looking for cheaper ways to feed raw for awhile now. I just found a co-op that I can buy from. I don’t have extra freezers for cases of product so I was looking at a grind/mix that they have called Performance Dog (link: http://tarrahlabs.com/tt/pd.html). I would like the thoughts/opinions of experienced raw feeders. Does this look like a good product? Is it complete and balanced? I like to feed half Honest Kitchen. Would this be ok to mix with it?

Ingredients: Beef, Tripe, Trachea, Finely Ground Bone, Salt, Egg & Trace Minerals
Meeting AAFCO Specifications for Maintenance & Reproduction

Guaranteed Analysis • No Preservatives
Protein 14%
Fat 10%
Fiber 0.85%
Calcium 0.13%
Phosphorus 0.14%
Ash 1.30%

They also add a vitamin/mineral mix.
Ingredients: calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, copper sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, ferrous sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, riboflavin, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, folic acid, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, d-biotin, vitamin D-3 supplement, cobalt sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, sodium selenite and mineral oil.

Thanks,
Caroline

[theBCnut]

Some dogs have issues with how their breath smells because they have different enzymes and/or acidity in their mouth. You can try letting her chew a raw bone for a while every day. If you get her a marrow bone you should scoop out some of the marrow and throw it away so she doesn’t get too much fat. I prefer knuckle bones, but I can’t always get them.

[Yorkieville]

I am afraid you’re right, Patty. I can’t begin to tell you how heartsick my husband and I feel.

[theBCnut]

It sounds like it’s all about the money, not about the poor pup. How sad! I’m sorry you ever got involved with that breeder and the whole mess.

[Yorkieville]

Oh, am I stupid!!!!

Judy Marksbury told me that Maxwell has a great new Mom waiting for him, that she is a 15 year customer, and lost her little girl last year, is on disability, so she is home most of the time, so she can adhere to Maxwell’s medication schedule.

Last night, I found Maxwell for saleon this site: http://www.classifiedads.com/dogs-ad70004894.htm

And I hadn’t even sent the picture of him until December 29th.

[IMillerman]

My little 13 year old Lhas Apso has always had allergies. I had him on raw and he improved to not having and reverse sneezing episodes and good coat. Due to a few things like dental surgery and travel I put him on Steve’s powder mix and lightly cooked chicken and turkey. Did not do as well over time on this. A pet sitter over fed him and gave him way too much goat milk and he had a major episode. Stress is also an issue for this dog and IBS. It’s been hard to get him back to normal since.
Vet put him on a cooked 1/3 chicken, 1/3 rice, 1/3 cottage cheese. He liked it but had bad stools and upset tummy – likely dairy maybe? Now he has him on RC Vet Rabbit and Potato. He seems to just go through this food with lots of poop and bad stools. It’s been over 2 weeks now. We just added 1 TSP pysillium for fiber, a probiotic as well as Standard Process Okra Pepsin 2 x’s daily. Vet wants to scope in a week if no improvement. My dog has never had Rabbit so Vet wanted a novel protein but I’m not so sure his condition is just diet related – maybe his system does not agree with this food.
Any thouights or suggestion greatly appreciated.

[theBCnut]

I get the picky thing!! Gideon was picky to the point of starving. Fortunately for me, rotating foods was his cure. I top with raw, as do several others here, with no problems. I haven’t had a pick incidence in well over a year and a half now, knock on wood. I like your solution for slowing down a fast eater, it seems sensible to me. BTW, canned digests at a different rate too, but no one ever worries about that.

[mellowmutt]

Well, the food’s already mixed… I’ve read this advice a lot, but the only links I’ve come across are to those marketing rotational feeding. Maybe one in ten dogs I’ve ever known had food allergies (mostly to “bad” grains); most of the rest lived long, happy lives on the same food day in and day out, mostly dry kibble of dubious quality by today’s standards. I have two very good, related reasons for mixing rather than rotating.

First, the different kibble sizes, and one kibble being “preferred” really slows down Amiga’s feeding rate. I don’t want her “inhaling” her food, which she does when all the kibbles are the same size/smell. Mixed, she’ll try picking out the Orijen kibbles! Of course she winds up eating most of the other kibbles along with, at which point I guess she figures she may as well finish the meal. But it does take her twice as long to eat, this way, and gives me control of what she’s eating with no fuss because…

Second, she’s one of those picky mals who drive their owners to despair with hunger strikes, this being a well-known feature-bug of many individuals of most arctic breeds — which evolved to be headstrong, independent, and require less food than other dogs of similar size. If I rotate the food, which I did try, she’ll just ignore the food dish until what she wants gets put in it — which turns into a battle of wills the human usually loses (I know I’m a sucker for those sad puppy-dog eyes with whimpering), best not let it start if I want her growth rate to be steady not spurty, though.

http://wildpaw.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=8333
http://wildpaw.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4462
(list goes on)

I also think Amiga’s spoiled enough without letting her choose her own menu, but it’s a real challenge to get her to eat what I want her to eat, regardless of when she eats it. For instance, when she was protesting NVI Rabbit she got away from me, into a neighbor’s house, and chowed down a whole bowl of Kibbles ‘n’ Bits. Came when called, after a short delay, licking her chops and grinning while the neighbor shooed her out of her house… pinned her ears back and rolled over on her back at my feet in a typical-malamute show of faux-submissiveness (neither hind leg straight), then ignored her own food for two more days. Which turned into four when she figured out how to raid the cat food for a few seconds before I caught her at it, then ate the rest of my sandwich off the countertop while I relocated the cat dish. 🙂

This can also be an issue when using toppers, but I’ve figured out how to train around this. I’m redirecting Amiga’s prey drive into SAR training (informally, can’t train with other dog/handler teams until she’s more mature about working when other dogs are present, there’s a reason so many SAR dogs are Goldens). Aside from disliking all forms of transport (no rhyme or reason for it I can figure, which I also hope she matures out of), all the aptitude for SAR work is there, her kibble OCD really shines through in “re-find” work. Her name is well-chosen, especially where kids are concerned; if the scent she’s on is animal she pricks her ears forward, but pins ’em back submissively for any and all humans… excellent potential despite being a malamute, even on tracking work.

She knows the difference between “food” and “umm-umms” and has figured out what I mean when I say “umm-umms on your dinner-food” — a big reward delayed until dinnertime instead of little treats over the course of a long, physically-demanding training session (which she sees as playing hide-and-seek in the forest for a few hours, at this stage). She’s very treat-motivated. Oh, she’ll still skip a meal here and there, but that just lets me know she isn’t getting enough exercise — that and the zoomie circles around the yard. Both of which I’m currently chalking up to being in season, total psycho malamute puppy on my hands atm.

Some Amiga videos here, the one running next to the bike was taken a month ago while the ones playing with the neighbor Husky are from last week, and aren’t mally pups just adorable before they become terrors?

http://www.veoh.com/list/u/bikefat

What worries me is topping kibble with raw/freeze-dried due to the different rates of digestion. If I just feed the toppers as a meal, I’m worried she’ll lose the correlation with it as a treat, and hold out for it as a regular meal by again spurning her kibble — perhaps even the Orijen. With the mix, when she’s hungry she’s really quite excited about being fed, with none of the malamute games we played when I tried rotating five foods and she’d only eat one of ’em.

YMalMV. 😉

[Brittany Mom]

I too have had dogs diagnosed with various cancers; one with hemagio sarcoma who died at 10 1/2; another with brain lesions who passed at 8 and 81/2; and another with mast cell and leukemia who passed at 14. They were all fed kibble all their lives; Eukanuba and California Natural. I now feed Bravo raw and Honest Kitchen. I believe it is not only the food but all the chemicals dogs come into contact daily, i.e., cleaning solutions we use in our homes, fertilizers in our gardens, flea treatments, etc.

[mellowmutt]

I got Amiga at 8 weeks old, back on June 1st. Her breeder recommended Nutro LBP Lamb & Rice, so that’s what I fed her at first. I wasn’t happy with her gas or her stools, so I did some research and decided to mix Orijen LBP and NV Prairie LBP with the Nutro. Did some more research and discovered that I was feeding her way too much calcium. So I added two other foods to the mix in mid-July, NV Instinct Rabbit and CC Open Sky, had to set up a spreadsheet to keep CA, CA:K, calories & protein in order. I did the calculations based on the max-CA values, not averages or the tested values of a specific batch, to be on the safe side.

Ran out of this mix a month ago, at 8 months apparently she can regulate her CA herself, so I quit worrying about it. Now I have her on a mix of Orijen Regional Red, NV Instinct Rabbit, and NV Prairie Venison & Barley. It seems reasonable to me to feed her a red-meat diet in winter, and switch to a fish-and-fowl diet come summer (ancestral-wolf feeding pattern). In a few months the mix will be Orijen Six Fish, NV Instinct Rabbit LID, and NV Prairie Duck & Oatmeal. Both supplemented with the occasional topper of Orijen Tundra freeze-dried. LID Rabbit doesn’t have turkey, which is in the Duck & Oatmeal formula, so Turkey’s on the menu all year, too. Protein content of these blends is 33%.

The Prairie kibble’s mixed in to lower my cost from $3/lb to $2.75/lb, which adds up with a large breed. Rabbit is in the mix year-round, because I read some research (I’ll post the links if I find them again) about how wild/feral canines/felines primarily eat bunnies. The missing “meat group” in the prepared foods is rodent, so I’ll also occasionally feed raw beaver meat as a topper. I’d like to add a third brand into the mix instead of the Prairie, unfortunately I haven’t found anything that doesn’t have either the “wrong” grains or is loaded with potato (a no-no for malamutes as white potato is known to trigger bloat in this breed), or is too expensive to serve the purpose.

I set up another spreadsheet for amino acids and did yet more research; I believe she’s getting the full spectrum in sufficient quantities from all the different protein sources (also gets Orijen Tundra freeze-dried treats, used these to teach her to swim ‘cuz they float without getting soggy) such that she doesn’t need the glucosamine/chondroitin/taurine supplements typically found in large-breed-specific formulas — her body ought to be able to produce as much of these as she needs provided the proper building blocks (amino acids & cartilage). Her stools, on the “winter blend” anyway, are firm and dry, and not too voluminous or frequent and she seems to be thriving; my Vet is pleased with her physical condition and says her growth rate is right on target.

Many thanks to this site and all who contribute for helping me navigate the dog-food waters, it’s enough to make one’s head explode, but it’s also nice to have so many quality options in dry kibble. It’s been several years since I’ve had a dog (Amiga’s my 4th), Iams and even Purina just aren’t what they once were so I didn’t even consider those despite two of my dogs living to 15 (Keeshond on Eukanuba and Golden Retriever on Hi-Pro). My last malamute got Iams Lamb & Rice, but was shot (with cause) by a sheep rancher at 3 1/2 back in ’94 so I have no long-term report, there.

What got me to not trust dogfood manufacturers and do this research, leading me here, was how horrific the first month was feeding Amiga just the Nutro. Glossy, semi-soft, mucousy stools (if not diarrhea) and lotsa smelly farts — just like my friends’ dogs being fed Nutro. Enzymes, pre- and pro- biotics didn’t help, de-worming only cleared up the worms. No surprise given the ridiculously-high Zinc content in Nutro formulas, apparently since Mars bought them out — these are symptoms of Zinc toxicity, not poor digestive-tract health; no band-aid for that. Wish I’d figured that out sooner, and the calcium-level thing.

If I had the puppy-food phase to do over again, I wouldn’t touch Nutro with a 10-foot pole. These problems lessened when blended with the other kibbles, and disappeared entirely (OK, occasional fart still, probably the grains) this month after discontinuing the Nutro. I would do the four-kibble mix again, going with just the Rabbit and Duck would be lower calcium, but would also lack the glucosamine/chondroitin/taurine supplements the two LBP kibbles contain, as well as the cartilage and broad spectrum of amino acids which make these supplements unnecessary.

I did rush her to the vet after-hours back in September for bloat, but I didn’t alter her diet because of it. Sometimes she eats stuff that isn’t “on the menu” so to speak, mostly I blame my kitties because they love hunting and killing — just not eating their kills, which they leave for the alley cats. And for Amiga, sometimes she finds these before I do and accounts for occasional fur/feathers in her stools (Amiga’s also killed a mourning dove, robin, grackle, and a magpie). At least they’ve learned not to bring them in the house! I’m following all the best-practice guidelines for avoiding bloat, so hopefully this was a one-time thing, scary for both of us…

[theBCnut]

Because of the raw I add, mine do get a different meal every time. I rotate raw daily and kibble weekly. Last Winter, I rotated kibble daily too, but so far we are having a hot humid Winter, so I won’t open anything else until what I have opened is used.

[Akari_32]

I dunno, Patty. He’s had such good impulse control that he’d be a terrible hunting dog. The Maltese is too strong in him LOL And every dog he meets is either jumping all over their face trying get all their love, or he’s chasing them down to hump them (what can I say, he’s naughty! It’s the only thing he *can’t* control -_-). He seems agitated when he dreams, gets all tense and what not. I wonder if he dreams about something he experienced before we got him. We got him from a lady going through a divorce, so him, his parents, his litter mates (he was the last to go) and their larger dog friend were living in a large two story house alone, with someone coming by in the morning and at night to let them out and feed them. Anything could have happened, you know?

Ha! I would love to see such a large dog sleep like that LOL My 130 pound rott mix isn’t allowed on the bed because he gets up there and just sprawls out. He’ll push you off if he has to! Brat… He also has a habit of sleeping in the middle of walk ways. It’s a good thing he doesn’t dream like Bentley does!

[pugmomsandy]

For the price of the latest low glycemic foods (kibble and canned like LiveFree and Orijen), you might try feeding raw food like Darwins or Instinct, Bravo, etc. You might even ask the vet about incorporating something like the Yeast Starvation Diet which only has meat, eggs, oil and a vitamin. It might be possible (cost-wise) to feed a min pin a freeze dried raw diet if frozen raw is something you don’t want to feed.

http://homemadedogfood.com/yeast-starvation-dog-food-recipe/

[rogerharris]

Meat is main ingredient of the dog food. Raw meat is better than cooked meat. I would like to suggest you buy the meat in the supermarket. Before staring the meat you must concern you vet.
Egg and vegetable are also good for dog food. It gives more energetic food for dog.

[DogFoodie]

My brother-in-law and nephew recently got a couple of deer and you should’ve seen the look on their faces when I asked if they saved the internal organs by chance. My BIL was so disappointed that when he field dressed the deer, he left all the good stuff that Sam and Bella would’ve loved to have eaten. He knew I fed them raw sometimes, but didn’t even think about it.

Also, Cyndi, have you talked to Tracy at Hare Today about ideas she might have for helping you reduce your costs. I know, and am sure you already do as well, that there’s a price break for shipping (ie: 25 pounds); but I also wondered if there might be such as thing as her giving a certain percentage of discount for an order over a certain size ~ like Darwin’s does. It might require less frequent (and more costly orders), but a savings over time.

[theBCnut]

Dogs can handle commercially raised pork raw. The way they raise pork now, it is unlikely to have anything in it that dogs can’t handle. I freeze pork for a couple weeks before feeding it raw just to be on the safe side. Cooked should not be a problem at all unless your dog can’t handle the fat level.

[theBCnut]

Mine get pork all the time. It is high in fat, so if you have a dog that is prone to pancreatitis then it probably isn’t a good idea, but for a normal dog, it’s just fine.

But have you done any research into what dogs need in their diet? Making them an occasional homemade meal that isn’t balanced is fine, but you at least need to know what dogs need, to balance over time before going solely to homemade.

Dr Karen Becker has a great book “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” to help get you started. Steve Brown has one for raw feeding that is fantastic, “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” which I recommend even if you don’t want to feed raw. It has info that everyone making homemade needs to know. And it is available as a ebook.