[theBCnut]

The Honest Kitchen and Weruva are the only 2 dog food manufacturers that I know of that are made in human food kitchens and are required to throw out anything that touches a surface that is not a food handling surface. Both MPC and Hare Today make grinds that include tripe and/or whole animals, neither of which would be considered to be clean by any human standard. Dogs eat things off the floor all the time and mine even lie down and lick the floor, so I certainly am satisfied that my dogs can handle it. I do not expect their meat to be germ free. As for whether or not they ever drop anything or throw anything that was dropped back in, I can’t say, but it is possible. It doesn’t worry me in the least.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hey Patty and Marie-

Regarding the cleanliness and bacteria levels in meat, you wouldn’t count MPC or Hare Today in with those other pet food manufacturers that toss stuff back in right?

[InkedMarie]

ECS guy, any pictures of your english cockers?

[InkedMarie]

You did good, Patty. Posting nice is my new years resolution, starting a bit early!

[ECSGuy]

We switched our two ECS boys over to raw back in May/June of 2013. Since most all of the Kibble the we had tried was recalled for one thing or another, and we noted changes in the frozen variety of BilJac we had fed for years.

We are now feeding raw and rotating Duck with bone, Venison with bone, Beef, Beef with bone. I also supplement with SoJo dehydrated Vegitables 1 or 2 tablespoons/meal, fish oil for Omega 3-6 and coconut oil for their skin and coat (mornings coconut oil and evenings fish oil).

If you are going to continue to feed a raw or homemade diet, I’d suggest a book by Lew Olsen PhD titled Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs; available on Amazon. Lot’s of good information on why to feed dogs raw, why they are able to eat raw and how to supplement (you can over do the supplements if your not careful).

In my opinion, in today’s market, the worst thing to feed your dog or cat is a commercial dog food, kibble, etc. While I’m sure they try, the bottom line is keeping production cost down. I’ve been told that many buy meat meals in bulk, and really don’t know where or how the meats were sourced and or processed. Dealers are buying the meat meals and redistributing them to manufactures.

Hope something here helps, Good luck!

[ECSGuy]

Not looking to fight with anyone nor convert them over to my way of feeding. Glad that dogGirl feeding her dogs the way she wants and it is a raw diet. Raw feeding has so much to offer the dogs, that I sometimes become obsessive and preachy about it (just ask my wife).

For those that want more information on feeding raw natural diets, the book by Lew Olsen PhD. Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs is a great resource and explains the dogs digestive make up and why they can eat raw food that would make a human sick. Oddly, it makes me question my own diet, as it would appear that humans are genetically pre-disposed as Herbivores and not Omnivores as we seem to think. Makes a great case for becoming a Vegetarian :>(

[Rebecca]

Hi frenchiegirl,

It sounds to me like your dog is going through a period of detox, which is nothing to worry about, and actually good.

In Dr. Karen Becker’s article “Common Raw Feeding Mistakes”, in a paragraph about what to expect when you switch to raw, she says,

“Oftentimes, after one to three months on a fresh food diet, pets go through a detoxification process. This is totally normal and is actually something to celebrate.

Detox for your pet will happen through the bowels and skin. During a detox, your pet will act completely normal. He’ll be happy, bright, and alert. But you might find that he’s shedding a tremendous amount of hair. Pets shed out their old, dead, dull hair, and begin growing a shiny, soft coat. You might also see a lot of earwax or debris being produced from the ear. That needs to be cleaned out. And some detoxing pets will pass blobs of mucus in their stools.

These symptoms of detoxification will pass on their own. They’re nothing you need to worry about, but are something you should anticipate or it might freak you out. Pets on a fresh food diet also consume far less water than pets eating an entirely processed diet. You need to anticipate that your pet’s water intake will diminish.”

-Rebecca

[theBCnut]

Gee, thanks Marie. What are you trying to say. I’m trying to post nice too.

Hi Heather, that is completely false on every level. Grocery store meat has the highest cleanliness standards, except for maybe, and only maybe, restaurants. Dog and cats can handle bacteria so in dog food manufacturing places, if something gets dropped on the floor, they just throw it back in with the good stuff, for people it must be thrown out. And that’s not even mentioning that they use all the parts that people find inedible. Many dogs do better with fruits and veggies but they don’t have to have them. And dogs are completely capable of crushing up their own bones to eat them.

Did I miss anything, Marie?

[InkedMarie]

villa heather: I’m sorry but I can only laugh at your post. I’m trying hard to post nice so I’ll let Patty Vaughn post why I’m probably thinking.

[Akari_32]

Tonight she got half wellness and half etc dog food (totaling about 4-4.5 cups), some canned pro plan, her vitamins, and a hot dog. The hot dog only adds 140 calories, but it’s something, and it’s easier for her to eat than more dry food is. She pretty much inhaled it! Lol I’ve got some canned pumpkin I might aught to add tomorrow or she’ll belly-aching and grumbling at me.

I spent about 20 minutes pulling that rotisserie chicken off the bone the other night. It’s not a fun job at all!

She loves turkey backs, but I haven’t seen any lately. Any raw treats they’ve gotten in the last two months has been liver or gizzards because there are no necks and backs floating around! What are some other cheap cuts of meat I give them?

[villa_heather]

You should not buy meat for your animals at grocery stores because the meat at the grocery store is meant for humans. It is meant to be cooked so it will have higher bacteria and parasite amounts in it . Make sure you get meat that is targeted for pets. Cats need just meat without any vegetables but dogs need meat and vegetables. For both dogs and cats the meat should also contain organs and bones. It is easier to feed it if you get it all ground up together.

[ECSGuy]

I’ve fed Blue Ridge Beef products to my two English Cockers since June of 2013. I switched to a raw diet because of all the recalls and junk they put in commercial foods. I’ve seen no problem with the products, and my boys are thriving on it. I am also using SoJo dehydrated Veggies, fish oil and coconut oil as supplements.
If I were to recommend one thing, it would be to buy Lew Olsen’s book on Raw and Natural diets for dogs. I’ve was using a vitamin and mineral supplement early on that had far to many minerals that the dogs really did not need.
As far as the charcoal in the food is concerned, my dealer has checked on this. It is a law that any raw meat products sold as pet food must contain some charcoal to differentiate it from human food. Otherwise, due to the lower cost, unscrupulous people would buy it to serve in restaurants.
I’ve seen major changes in my dogs health, including my older male who, even on high quality commercial food, would vomit at least once a week and had diarrhea off and on constantly. That is “all” resolved on a raw diet. My younger fellow runs agility and while he is a high energy dog, he lost his “rather odd” skunky smell that he had on commercial foods and his eyes no longer run constantly.
Also, emailing Steve in North Carolina at Blue Ridge has always gotten me prompt and courteous responses. So not sure what Dog girl is taking about.

[cbgmom]

Hi Molzy,

Notice any changes with switching to a harness? May still be a little early — I hope it is helpful for Quincy. I don’t even have Casey wear a collar for his tags — they are all on his harness. The food I fed to him never irritated him, just the treats. Quincy seems to have more damage to either the trachea or esophagus (or whatever causes these unfortunate spasms). I fed him grain free kibble (alternated between Orijen, Taste of the Wild, etc) mixed with Kirkland’s premium wet. However, Casey has recently developed a series of other health concerns so I am transitioning him now to commercial raw. I am hoping to learn enough to go the homemade route but for now, that’s what I’ve been feeding. Honest Kitchen certainly seems like a very good food choice for Quincy especially considering you can make it pretty soupy if nec.

I have not found a single person whose vet was able to diagnose this condition. Casey’s first attack was at 4 months and I ran over to the vet thinking he had something stuck in his throat. She insisted (even though my gut was telling me she was wrong and I told her as much) that frantic grass eating was nausea and he likely had something stuck in his stomach, even though it couldn’t be seen in an xray. $1,100 and an overnight stay for nothing. A few days later, I was walking him and my neighbor said, “I think that collar is bothering him” and I realized that may be the cause.

I don’t have any other real hints except during vet appts., remind your vet and techs that he has some kind of real sensitivity around his trachea. Casey is feisty and they would restrain him around the head (as well as other areas), which is pretty common. One visit he was gulping for a month afterwards. Now I tell them not to hold him there.

Anyway, keep me posted with how he is doing!

[PetClubEmployee]

Hello!
Can we have some more information?
I’m a huge raw advocate so Id love to help.
Have you changed anything else?
How old is your dog? What kind of treats do you give?
Was the hills canned or dry?

[theBCnut]

Coconut oil is fine. If you can get raw virgin coconut oil, then it’s great! The fat from your ground beef is good too, but not so much of it. It’s better to give a little of it every day than a lot at once. Start by adding a teaspoon extra and every few days increase by another teaspoon. I would give 3 teaspoons(1 tablespoon) a day for a while and see if that’s enough before increasing any more than that. You can probably go as high as 2 tablespoons without any problems, but I would hesitate to go any higher than that. I’ve got a number of different oils that I use, olive, walnut, hemp, coconut, flax, salmon, fish, anchovy, etc. Cold pressed oils are better for your dog, but most of them are great for just adding calories.

[A.Sandy]

Sorry, my fault for not explaining all the details, there is soooo many components to nutrition but I understand, I may be an expert but I am not perfect! LOL So lets learn from each other and keep helping others.

-Ana

[Akari_32]

I’m having trouble keeping weight on Haley, my 11 year old lab/retriever mix. Ever since I switched from Wellness Core to RR (Zero Grain and Just 6 mix), she’s been droppig weight like crazy. She’s currently on about 1/4 RR and 3/4 Purina One, and that’s helping tons now. I had the dogs on all RR, then got a really awesome deal on the Purina One, and I’m just about out of the RR now, I have maybe 15 pounds left.

Unfortunately, we’re at a financial point were if we buy it, we use it. Throwing out or giving it away won’t do us any good. Since I’ve got lots of the Purina and few other random small bags of food, I’ve just been giving a small amount of the RR. I always mix in canned food (Haley can’t do straight dry food in meal size quantities, as her stomach can’t handle it and it makes her miserable), and usually a raw egg. I’ve stopped walking her almost completely, and upped her food to 6-9 cups a day, depending on if we walk or not. This has helped a lot, but she’s not a big eater to begin with.

My plan is to get at least her back on Wellness ASAP (I have about 15 pounds of that that I bought recently with coupons, and will get more as soon as I have the funds and time), as well as buy some good, all beef hot dogs to add some extra calories and protein to her diet (I have 10 free packs lined up as soon as they get in stock). She’s currently on vitamins, glucosamine, and fish oil as well. The fish oil has helped her put some weight on, too.

I’m positive the switch from the Wellness Core foods to the lesser RR, and then even lesser Purina One has got her system all in a fit, but it’s been months since she’s been off Wellness. RR is only 313 calories per cup, which I only found out recently, and that’s when I started feeding more, realizing it was partly not enough calories. Other than that, I don’t think she digests food very well, which is why I always wet her food– makes it easier on her tummy. She did great on Wellness and I only fed her 2.5-3 cups. My Rott mix has not needed an increase in food since the switch, and neither really has moms terrier (only on days he’s particularly hyper).

I also plan to buy some Nutri Source Super Preformance off PetFlow, but I’d like to get her back on Wellness and get weight back up first, and see if any certain ingredients have anything to do her weight loss, and see how she does grain free vs grain inclusive. The dogs were all on corn based foods until I took over the dog food buying a few years ago, and I’ve more or less kept them on grain free, and anything that wasn’t, they weren’t on for any length of time. Then when I started with the RR Zero Grain as the bulk of their diet a few months ago, it’s been an uphill battle >.<

Any changes to my plan, at all? Anything to add, or take away? Any other ideas, period? Budget is extremely tight, so don’t get too crazy on my, but I need to get some weight on my girl that doesn’t involve shoving food down her throat.

[theBCnut]

Sorry, I have no quarrel with you either, but we all like accurate info. To educate people, you need to be accurate, especially if you are an expert.

[A.Sandy]

Ms. patty,
Of course hamburger meat has protein fat, omegas sodium etc but what I was trying to imply is that I have met a lot of customers that feed this kind of meat and ASSUME it’s enough to support a dog’s caloric and nutrient needs. And also, carbs are not a necessity in a dog’s food but it has a lot of benefits(energy, skin and coat, vitamins, omegas etc.) But quality of ingredients are key. This is my field of study and have worked with Reps of some of the highest quality pet foods, and everybody is free to give their opinion of things to learn from each other, so stop bashing me like that because I have no quarrel with you or anybody on this site, so please.

Thanks
Ana

[theBCnut]

I get everything I can in 1 lbs packages and as I take it out of the fridge to use, I get one out of the freezer to thaw. I’ve only managed to forget once that way, and you have no idea what a feat that is for me!!

[frenchiegirl]

Hi everyone. I recently switched my frenchie over from Hill’s prescription formula (he ate that for 5 years) to raw. He had him on the hill’s prescription formula for vomiting but then after he had a neuro injury some of the specialist we were taking him to said that it didn’t provide a feeling of satiety. They suggesting eating something with an exotic protein would probably still help with the vomiting, I talked to our primary vet and she said to try it. So we switched over to natures variety venison raw bites. He tolerated the switching well and had no emesis but I have noticed that he is shedding A LOT. Also his breath is bad, I have had to brush his teeth more than normal. I have read up on these things and notice people say the exact opposite happens when they put they’re dogs on this food. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this? do you think this brand may not be for him? any thoughts are appreciated. thanks

[pugmomsandy]

Patty,

I remembered to pull out another bag of raw to thaw!! Yay!! But I forgot to get liver for the dogs and shredded lettuce for the people tacos!! But they can eat what I’m grinding today so they should be eating raw for several days straight!

[theBCnut]

I would mix the no bone ones half and half with the high bone ones. They shouldn’t be counting heart as an organ at all, for organ purposes only secreting organs count. Heart is an excellent meat to include, but counting it as an organ means these are even lower in organs than they want it to appear. I think the Nature’s Logic will help with that.

I wouldn’t mind using this with other commercial raw foods, but I don’t think I would feed it alone for a long period of time.

[theBCnut]

It’s also c**p. Not that anyone here would feed just hamburger, or let anyone who posted here think that just feeding hamburger was OK. But there are 3 macronutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Dogs don’t need carbohydrates, so pointing out that hamburger doesn’t have them is not helpful. There are many micronutients)protein and fat are not counted among them) and hamburger has micronutrients in it(just not all the ones that are necessary) like fat soluable vitamins, sodium, minerals, omega 6s, etc. And they don’t add steroids and antibiotics to the hamburger, they feed it to the cows, so every bit of meat and bone that comes off of those cows has it, not just the hamburger. And no they don’t add fillers and GMOs to hamburger, but they do use pink slime, which is technically still hamburger.

[dogspotindia]

Thanks for this information, it’s truly worth for me.

[DogFoodie]

I know Cyndi already bumped up your post, but I am too.

Bless your heart, you’ve really got your hands full! Just curious, has your vet checked his thyroid? Also, do you see a vet who practices traditional veterinary medicine or do you use an integrative / holistic vet? I’d visit a holistic vet; here’s a link to help you find one (it’s not all inclusive, but a good start): http://www.ahvma.org/Widgets/FindVet.html

It sounds as though, in addition to the environmental and food allergies, your little guy might have a systemic yeast infection which has evolved into a leaky gut. Someone has probably been feeding your poor little guy garbage for his entire life. I would start right away supplementing his diet with coconut oil and probiotics (you need to begin repopulating the healthy bacteria in his gut). It looks like your food allergies are: salmon, poultry mix, eggs, milk, wheat, and white potato. I’d look for something minimally processed ~ raw if possible; but if you’re choosing to feed kibble, I’d go for a grain and white potato (probably sweet potato, too) free food to switch him to as soon as possible. The first food that comes to mind is Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets.

[crazy4cats]

In regards to your question about Northwest Naturals, it is a raw frozen food that comes in different forms. I use the beef nuggets as well as their fruit and veggie nuggets as toppers right now. They sell them at our local feed store along with Primal and Nature’s Variety frozen raw foods. Northwest is the cheapest of the three. I feel that these add fiber as well as antioxidants to their kibble. As I said before I’m not sure which part of my new equation is helping the most as I have switched several times. Again, I’m using Victor G/F kibble along with a little digestive enzymes, Gastriplex, and probiotic chews. I hope to gradually decrease the supplements, but right now I’m so ecstatic about their poops, (I know, weird, huh?) that I’m not going to change too much for a while.
Have you checked out dogaware dot com yet? They have so much information on that site about digestive disorders. I also think that they may have some homemade diet recipes for you as well.
Good luck!

[dwil801]

I have been lurking around this site for a while and I think I am ready to feed my 15 lb Yorkie raw full time. First of all THANKS for all of the valuable infomation that I have gained from this site. I am still a little confused but I am going to give this a shot.
I will be supplementing his diet with Iceland Pure Sardine/Anchovy Oil, Vitamin E, Nature’s Logic Whole Food Supplement, Cod Liver Oil. I will also add eggs, sardines and yogurt occasionally.
I just rec’d an order from http://www.topqualitydogfood.com (local = no shipping $). I ordered:
1. BEEF Healthy Variety Mix: No Bone
HVM: 7% Veggie/Fruit mix, 10% Beef Heart, Liver and Kidney, Organic whole eggs
2. DUCK HVM: Bone content 30%
HVM: 7% organ meat and 7% veggie/fruit mix
3. Chicken HVM Bone content 26%
HVM: 7% Veggie/Fruit Mix, 10% Chicken Livers and Heart
4. Lamb HVM: Bone content 35%
HVM: 7% organ meat and 7% veggie/fruit mix
5. Icelandic Lamb: No organs Bone content roughly 20%
6. 80/20 ground Beef with 20% green tripe and 10% Beef heart and Liver, No Bone
5. Green Tripe
Some of these grinds seem to have high bone content and low in organs. Any idea how to balance the C&P ratios? Should I add any additional supplements?

[pugmomsandy]

They eat raw probably 25-50% of the time. I would like to *remember* to thaw more regularly! They ate 2-3 days of raw last week and I have a bag thawing out right now for tomorrow or the next day. My frig is really cold. They got a duck neck 2 days ago. I’ve been feeding alot of warm freeze dried/canned food toppers lately. At 50% raw, they would get about 10 oz total per day but I don’t measure anymore so they get 3 or 4 blobs of raw with a supplement stuck in them!

[theBCnut]

So how much raw do you use each day for your guys?

[pugmomsandy]

If I remember, I’m going to get some liver and gizzard for the batch. But that’s what I like about the CarnivoreRaw. It has vitamins, etc for when I might not have a certain ingredient.

[bizquik]

We just got the diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease for my 3yr old Standard Poodle. We’ve tried raw (Darwin’s Zoologic Turkey), multiple high-end dog foods (Sojos, Acana, etc), and I’ve cooked him turkey/rice. So far nothing has worked. The vet wants to put him on high dose of Prednisone. I’m a bit worried about the long term consequences of steroids. Can anyone suggest a food — either homemade or “commercial” that has worked for them? I feel like I’m running out of options.

[theBCnut]

No liver?

[A.Sandy]

Are you feeding raw? Did you know that there is also a wrong way to feed raw? I’ve met people that feed raw hamburger meat and assume that it is a full balanced meal the answer is… wrong! The only 2 nutrients they are getting from raw hamburger are protein and fat. Your pets may seem well fed but dogs and cats require so much more than that. It may be cheap to feed that kind of meat but it will have it’s consequences such as essential nutrient deficiencies such as a zinc deficiency for example that causes retarded growth, coat discolorations and harshness or other things such as food intolerances or even hair loss. Our pets require a complete balanced meal that includes bones or bone meal, fruits and veggies, vitamins and minerals and of course protein and fat all in balanced proportion( this is where the science of nutrition comes into play) Another concern is hamburger meat is mostly meant to be cooked not fed raw because now a days they add hormones, steroids, and fillers, gmos, etc. so there are pet food companies that sell well balanced raw foods that are safe and ready to feed so you don’t have to worry that they are missing out on anything.

-Ana
Pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts

[pugmomsandy]

Upcoming batch will include:

16-17 lbs duck necks
9 lb beef/lamb/goat meat
2 lb beef tripe
2 lb beef kidney
1 lb beef spleen
2 lb beef heart
CarnivoreRaw without calcium

[pugmomsandy]

This recipe book has cooked/boneless food recipes and a recipe to make a complimentary vitamin mix to go with the food and serving suggestions: “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr Karen Becker/Beth Taylor. You might also look at the home-cooked area at dogaware.com for some tips.

http://dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html

[FreeholdHound]

Treats my boy does well with widely available: Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits (peanut butter is his favorite) & Old Mother Hubbard. He also loves the Halo dental chews in either pumpkin or banana. Most treats are just too small in size & I get the WTH look. Zukes didn’t agree with him at all. I fill his Kongs with the scraps at the bottom of the treat canister frozen with peanut butter or yogurt & sometimes left over banana.

He’s eating Natures Logic Beef right now & just finished a bag of Earthborn Holistic GPF. He has quite a few things I have to avoid, but these 2 foods have been a blessing along with some raw.

[lk]

Patty I found some kidneys! really gross LOL.
This is my New formula for my 11 year old 50 lb best friend
12 oz cooked meat
2oz mixed organ meat * liver, heart, gizzard, kidney
2 oz ground veggies
1 raw egg no shell
1/2 cup raw goats milk
fish pill
vit E
Multi vitamin.
all foods vary weekly. CALCIUM question! My dog is doing better and better and will be off his Calcitriol pill very soon. One of his other calcium pill was…..Tums! apparently Tums is Calcium carbonate. Do you think I could just continue to give him these for his calcium needs?

[sbickford30]

I have 4 dogs weighting from 7 lbs to 15 lbs I wanna fed them all human grade food not raw I don’t care what people say I don’t wanna fed them raw meat so I cook it how ever I don’t know how much meat they should eat as far as percentage verse vegetables and I fed them no grain what so ever .I give them chicken and I buy heart and gizzards and chicken livers and grind it all up together but I give more of the gizzards and liver then chicken cuz of the price .I give them a mix of veggies cooked as well. My problem my dogs r older I don’t wanna not give them what they need as far as vitamin I give them nu vet and I’m not sure if I should be giving them more vitamins .we have pellet stove and wood stove so there fur a little drier I need help please someone tell me how to fed them lol also I’m unsure of how much food to give them right now I’m giving them a 1/2 cup 2 times a day ty everyone

[Angeldogs]

THANK YOU for the heads up on Pinnacle Trout and sweet potato! Not a single allergen, and it’s readily available in the stores!

BLESS YOU!! I just got word a few minutes ago that my boy is ADOPTED!!!! One of my favorite deaf dogs in the kennel! Now I just have to find them an easier way to feed him, as not everyone has the bandwidth to feed raw. (I’ll try with them, though!)

[BernerdAd]

Hi sorting through all the good information — I’ve come up with a few questions
1) why did Grain Free Canine Caviar Open Sky make the list but Grain Free Canine Caviar Puppy did not?
2) None of the Blue Buffalo dry products made the list at all – why is that.

Ive created some spread sheets and in particular looked at calcium and there are not major differences? At what point do small percentage points — i.e. the difference between 1.2% and !.5% make a difference – I mean statistically what is the variance in these numbers when a food doesn’t make the list by only a few tenths of a %?

3) While numerical data is great isn’t there any sage wisdom out there for specific large breeds? I have Berners (bernese mountain dogs) – on the main website it says ”

“Bernese Mountain Dog owners feed a range of food from raw diet, homemade diets to commercially prepared kibble. No matter what type of feed, Berner owners seem to agree to feed a high quality food with relatively low protein level, approximately 18 -26% and a moderate fat content, under 16%. High protein/fat feeds (> 28%, >16%) can be ‘too much’ for many Bernese, especially those that are not very active working/performance dogs. Feeding a diet that is too ‘heavy’ in protein has been known to precipitate hotspot outbreaks in some Berners. A diet too high in fat adds unwanted pounds and in some cases causes diarrhea.”

So did one study on large breed puppies looking at critical variables protein levels, calcium etc debunk all the sage wisdom from breeders – some of which specifically notice concerns with high levels of protein over 30%

[theBCnut]

Brother’s Complete is my number 1 favorite food, all formulas. Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast is good. I’ve been dying to try Nature’s Logic, I just got a bag of the venison. I really like Nature’s Variety Instinct on paper, but when I tried it Micah had a reaction, tomato pomace I guess. My other two are doing great on it, and I ordered a bag of one of their limited ingredient foods, it doesn’t have tomato pomace. I also just got a bag of Canidae Pure Land and Pure Sky. The Pure Land is a bit low in protein for my tastes, but I always add raw to my dogs food anyways, so I didn’t figure it would matter. I’m still trying to find more foods that Micah can handle.

[OhBichonPlease]

GoldenGuide, If you do decide to switch and then travel, there are plenty of great local pet stores in the Raleigh area that carry raw foods and premix diets. There are also plenty of local butchers offering locally-sourced, healthy meats and animal parts.
I live about 30mins from Raleigh and this is a very dog-friendly area with lots of healthy-looking dogs and owners who spend a lot of time [and money, apparently] on dog food [invariably the busiest aisle in the smaller pet stores and there are always customers wanting opinions chatting with workers].

[theBCnut]

C. perf is common. And I agree, I wouldn’t go raw until he is healthy.

[lmnordrum]

In humans, Clostridium is also known as c.diff, and is quite serious. As someone who has spent a lot of time in the human healthcare environment, and infection control, and have had family members with this infection, you need to find out what sort of strain you’re dealing with and treat it accordingly.

Going raw is probably not a good option.

[A.Sandy]

Hi,
That is a hard question because sodium amount is not always specified on food levels but I think you’re best bet would be to feed raw like primal, stella and chewy’s, Nature’s variety are excellent foods and raw is all natural no salt, and has excellent health benefits in general! good luck!!

-Ana S.
pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts

[losul]

KMS- I hadn’t followed what had been going on with your pup, so had to go back and read your entire history.

Antibiotic usage/overusage can become a vicious circle. You might want to google antibiotic induced colitis. The clostridium overgrowth is one thing that can cause colitis from the toxins they produce, although it’s very possible there might be multiple causes.

When you said your pup has had full-blown diarrhea the last 5 days, that would very much concern me. Are you checking to make sure he isn’t becoming dangerously dehydrated? Lift the skin on the back of neck/shoulders. When released, the skin should spring back to to normal fairly quickly. Check the gums, they should be pink. Press on the gums briefly and pink color should return them within a second or 2. Mouth should not be overly dry nor saliva very sticky.

If the severe diarrhea isn’t causing an emergency situation, I would slow down on what you are introducing to him, with the exception of the pro-pectin you mentioned you already have. The main ingredient is kaolin, a form of bentonite clay, that should soothe and coat the intestines. It is also said to absorb toxins and bad bacteria. But you should also be aware that kaolin will interfere with absorption of some antibiotics, and specifically trimethoprin (the TMP in the antibiotic combo you mentioned). Pro-pectin also has one form of encapsulated beneficial bacterium in it. Then I would wait for the outside lab results, and then maybe go for the colonoscopy if advised.

If I were you, I wouldn’t yet even think about adding raw meat to his diet until you can get his intestinal flora back in balance, although a homemade lightly cooked one could be the way to go for awhile….

[A.Sandy]

Hello,
My name is Ana I am the owner of a small pet nutrition consulting business called Pupcat Nutrition Consulting I am a pet nutrition expert/advisor. Dogs with pancreatitis have very fragile immune systems, avoid high protein and high fat diets, feed small frequent meals through out the day, and less or no processed diets and avoid dry foods and rotation. The next thing PLEASE STOP feeding science diet it’s killing your dog! Here are some suggestions: lean meats,(bison,chicken,turkey) low fat treats, try senior formulas they have less fat and less protein. Here are some awesome brands that will transform your pup forever!! ok , your best bet would be dehydrated raw, I recommend Honest kitchen preference or all except thrive mix with canned for extra moisture and flavor try senior formula canned like merrick , and natural balance(try to stick with 4% fat or less) avoid grocery store pet foods. and it would be beneficial to add a probiotic/prebiotic to aid digestion, like PROZYMES is a really good one I like. and remember there is a transition period when switching foods (7-10 days) for more info on honest kitchen go to thehonestkitchen.com and for more real nutrition facts follow me on twitter @pupcatfacts and on facebook or at pupcatnutrition.com
good luck!!

-Ana

[Angeldogs]

I rescue deaf dogs of all breeds. Allergies are really common. I highly recommend finding a vet that sends allergy tests out to Spectrum Labs. The results include food proteins, carbs, grasses, trees, and other common household issues like dust, etc. It’s been very helpful for us. Just wish finding a kibble for the allergic dogs was as easy…..some of our dogs are raw fed so we can control the ingredients.

[Angeldogs]

Losul just gave you some GREAT advice. Just went thru this with one of our deaf rescue dogs. I fed him some raw organ mix from http://www.greentripe.com, and we had a normal poop for the first time in months. Off to the vet to confirm by labs, and we knew we had a case of EPI.

He’s now back to high quality kibble easily available at the store with a bit of canned mixed in for taste. With a half tablespoon of added pancreatic supplement, let it sit for 25 min, and he snarfs it up.

After just a few weeks, he’s almost back to normal weight, no poop-eating, no counter surfing for food.

I have done the research. EnzymeDiane is the cheapest place to find the supplement, by far. You can also add raw pancreas to his kibble, available at http://www.greentripe.com.