Thank you for the info, Melissa and Patty!
Now, I know there are specific websites where one can order raw dog food from, but is buying it from the local grocery store safe enough?
I have some things that came in 3 or 5 pound chunks and that’s what I do. I thaw just enough to be able to portion it out, then refreeze. Each day I pull out what I need for the next day.
I’m in the same boat as Melissa. I just got 1/4 of a steer and nobody else wanted the liver so I got the whole thing. Some of it goes mixed in with raw meals, but some of it is going to be cooked into training treats.
I am new to the home made raw route so there may be a better method.. I buy in bulk thaw, portion it out and then freeze until needed. Right now I have way too much beef liver so its thawing to become treats.
There’s really not enough freeze dried pieces in the raw boost! You can buy some other brand of freeze dried like Stella & Chewy’s and break up a freeze dried patty into the kibble. I supplement with freeze dried Vital Essentials. I use it as treats throughout the day too.
Dog Oatmeal Cookies
This is my very first endeavor at homemade dog treats, so the measurements may not be totally exact…
Ingredients:
1/2 ā 2/3 cup cooked (baked/boiled/microwaved) sweet potato (with or without skin)
1 medium carrot (or 3-4 baby carrots), raw – shredded
1/2 cup chunky ārawā peanut butter (ground up plain roasted peanuts. If you canāt find any, peanut butter with no or little added salt/sugar will do)
3/4 cup unbleached flour (or whole wheat one, or brown rice one)
1/2 cup plain oatmeal
1 medium/large egg
1 tsp brown sugar
dash of honey
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until a homogenous mixture forms (if mixture is too wet, add some more flour or oatmeal gradually until mixture is sticky but not at all runny)
3. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.
4. Using a small ice-cream scoop, scoop balls from the mixture and place about 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. You can press them down and shape up in whatever shape you like
5. Bake for about 20-30 min, or until golden brown-ish.
6. Let cool down and feed to beloved pooches.
These can also be refrigerated for about a week or frozen for 4-5 months.
Hello, guys! I have made homemade doggie treats a couple of times, so I decided to share my recipes in case anyone wants to try them on their pets!
Most recent, “Fall’s Abundance” frozen treats:
1 small fuji apple, without the seeds and stem
1/2 – 2/3 cup cooked (baked/boiled/microwaved) sweet potato (with or without skin)
1/2 – 2/3 cup cooked (baked/boiled/microwaved) butternut squash
1 medium carrot (or 3-4 baby carrots), cooked (boiled/roasted/grilled) or raw.
1/2 cup plain pumpkin (baked/boiled/microwaved/from a can)
1/2 cup plain/greek yoghurt
1/2 cup chunky “raw” peanut butter (ground up plain roasted peanuts. If you can’t find any, peanut butter with no or little added salt/sugar will do)
2 Tbs tahini (ground sesame seed paste/liquid)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Place all ingredients in a large food processor or blender (or do it batches), and process until smooth or partially chunky. Place in freezer bag and cut corner off. On a piece of foil placed on a flat surface in the freezer, pipe little morsel shapes close to each other. Let them freeze for about 30min or so. Peel off of the foil and put in a plastic container (or another freezer bag) and store in freezer. My Bruno and his “roommate” (our roommate’s dog Casey) loved them!
P.S. I think that if oat/brown rice/whole wheat/any flour is added (and/or oatmeal), these could be baked into cookie treats, in which case I would recommend refrigerating them for up to a week tops, and freeze the excess to be used when desired in up to 4-5 months.
I will post my other 2 recipes soon!
Patty, thank you so much for the response! I think Bruno is pretty healthy and would love some raw in his diet. He has had some raw liver and today I gave him a tiny bit of ground chuck – he loved it! So yeah, I think I will just have to let my boyfriend get used to it, and see how well Bruno does on raw additives. š
Question about storing, I should pre-portion it and freeze, and just thaw whatever I plan to use for the day, correct?
Hey all
Been lurking for quite some time with great results in my dog food rotation. Over the past 2 years I’ve fed my Sheltie and Cocker; Orijen 6 fish, Fromm Surf and Turf/ Salmon a la Veg, Brothers Fish, Go! Fit, Annamaet Lean, and Annamaet Aqualuk. As you can see I have an affinity for fish based foods due to my Shelties sensitive skin and I love the coat it produces. The Annamaet, for me, has by far been the best. However, I’m only using Aqualuk and Fromm right now and in an effort to keep a good rotation I want to branch out into new foods. More specifically, I’m interested in dry with some sort of raw mixed in. I was about to buy a bag of Great Life grain free wild salmon until I saw the catastrophe with the recall but it wasn’t a recall ;). I’ve come across Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Lamb and Salmon. Before I buy a bag I wanted to know if you guys knew of any other options that include freeze dried with dry kibble. I don’t want to get too complicated so please just keep it to all in ones.
Thanks in advance!
I would try raw chicken or turkey necks. They are mostly cartilage, so they have all those cartilage building nutrients in a natural form.
Hi the best I know of is instinct raw boost. Its freeze dried raw and dogs love it filled with good things,but expensive made by Natures variety……….Scotty
Dogs with compromised immune systems can get bacterial infections from raw diets. And if a dog is greedy, it can glup too big a piece of bone. I like chicken necks for small dogs because the bones are already small and mostly cartilage anyway, but since they are all connected together, it encourages chewing. My JRT is used to raw and gnawing bones, so she can handle a pretty good sized chunk of turkey neck and even some ribs.
Most dogs have no problems. Their short digestive tract is designed to handle bacteria and their teeth are made for crunching on bones.
Cherikeeusa, right now I’m feeding Nature’s Logic kibble to my F1 Goldendoodle but I’m getting ready to switch him to a raw diet. I’ve been doing a LOT of research and raw greatly reduces the risk of bloat. Pork and chicken are both fine for dogs. I’m looking at Tucker’s Bones as my raw diet and it is pork-based.
Hello, everyone!
I have a probably dumb question, but what is the worst thing that could happen to a dog if fed raw food? Any chance of salmonella or e.coli? Anything else? I want to give my 8-month Jack Russell-Rat Terrier mix some raw in addition to his kibble (RMBs, some recreational bones, and organ meat), but my boyfriend is worried he may get something from it…
Blue Ridge Beef are dishonest in their communication with customers and the price is too good to be true. Think twice about feeding their product and do your homework. In my opinion, if a company won’t answer with integrity questions about their products, then I don’t want to do business with them
I believe raw fed dogs are much more able to handle eating something that is contaminated. But FDA, in all their infinite wisdom and desire to appear to be doing something, is pushing for zero tolerance for bacterial contamination in all foods. We feel that they are moving towards requiring HPP of all raw foods. I’m not happy about this apparent move.
I just had an article from PetMD come across my facebook news feed: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2013/nov/fda-finds-high-rates-of-contamination-in-raw-pet-foods#.Uo_AU8Rjum4
After reading the article, I find it lacks many details that would be useful to the consumer. It doesn’t tell you what brands of raw food were tested and which were positive for the bacteria. To me it seems like the purpose of the article is to scare people away from feeding commercial raw because there is supposedly a 25% chance that you’ll be feeding your pet contaminated food.
I’ve been feeding my Dane, Max, commercial raw for a couple months now with no issues. Has anyone feeding commercial raw ever had an incident with their pet getting sick because of bacteria?
I would wait to switch. Some dogs get stool issues when switching and that would not be pleasant while traveling, especially by plane. Rather than starting with prey model, you might want to consider using a premix that you just add boneless meat to, to start out with. Regardless of how you decide to start, most recommend picking just one type of protein to start with, like chicken, then feed just that for a couple weeks, then switch to beef and so on. Don’t start with very fatty types of meat, like mutton or high fat ground beef, wait on those until you know how he is doing on raw. Any meat from the grocery store is still leaps and bounds better than what goes into kibble so yes, use grocery store meats. Just remember, feeding raw is a lot more than just handing the dog a chunk of meat.
Hello, I have a 3-yr-old golden retriever, and I am planning to switch him to a prey-model diet within the next couple months. The deciding factor of whether to start in January or December is my travel plans. Essentially, I am in college, so if I started him on raw next month, I would feed him grass fed animals from the butcher here for three weeks, then I would somehow have to work out food for the 1 week during Christmas break at my parents’ place, then the two weeks I will spend in Raleigh, NC afterward. I don’t want to start him on a raw diet here for a few weeks, just to switch to dehydrated or lesser raw meat so soon in the beginning. Should I just wait till all the traveling is over before starting him on raw? I don’t want to put undo stress on his immune system. He is a guide dog, so he will be going everywhere with me, including on the plane to and from Raleigh, and I’m not sure if switching to raw around this time is a good idea. Also, if I were to continue feeding him raw in my hometown and Raleigh, could I get him raw meat from a grocery store? Would this be a good idea? If so, what kinds of meats should I look for and stay away from?
Thank you.
You can find a similar food to Life’s Abundance for less $$ like Nutrisource grain inclusive line small/med breed puppy formula (yes, for your 8 yr old). If you’re willing to feed something better than kibble though, look into some dehydrated/freeze-dried foods like The Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy’s or Dr Harvey’s Oracle. These are less processed than kibble. If you can home cook for your dog, then those brands I just mentioned have a Pre-mix where you just add your own meat and some oil. I give my dogs probiotics, sardine/krill oil, super greens powder supplement, colostrum, Springtime’s Bug-Off/Longevity and some joint supplements. Mine also get fresh food like raw meat, scrambled eggs and raw sardines and leftovers of meat/some veggies.
I have two dogs of my own (4 in the house)
I feed my dogs the best I can afford and they are my FIRST priority my parents and friends will vouch for that LOL.
My dogs eat a kibble/raw diet.
A typical feeding consists of
Navajho-75lb Golden Retriever
2 Cups of Pure Balance mixed with 4 health Kibble
1 1/2 cups of raw ground beef
1 raw Chicken Thigh or Leg, or Neck
3 Table Spoons of Flax seed
1/4 cup of raw canned Pumpkin
1/2 activia yogurt cup
and a dash of puppy milk replacement 2 times a week
He has a high metabolism that is why he eats so much
Ricky- 30lb-5 month older border collie
1 cup of Pure Balance mixed with 4 health kibble
1/2 cup raw ground beef
1 Raw Small Chicken thigh or leg
1/4 cup of raw canned pumpkin
1/2 activia yogurt cup
2 Puppy Vitamins
1 tablespoon flax seed
and a dash of puppy milk replacement 2 times a week
The food here is split up into two meals a day.
Please noye I do rotate the raw meat types between
Rabbit
Chicken
Turkey
Beef
Goat
Lamb
I steer as far from pork as I can I am to scared of it LOL, they also get organs from the animals from time to time.
Is this a good diet?
My vet said they are the healthiest dogs he has ever seen, they have good smelling breath, stools are small and don’t stink.
They also have soft and shinny coats, anything I should add or take away? When I can I plan to switch the kibbles to Orijen and Taste of the Wild
Thanks for the replies. Water here in MN is on it’s way to frozen but will try water therapy next summer. For now we’ll all keep up with long walks and daycare socialization – we watch the web cam and she’s on the move nearly all day except for enforced ‘nap’ time. Heard from another source, too, that it may not be a joint issue. Our girl (we are the Nana and Papa) is very timid but her curiosity helps draw her out a bit. What do you think about starting obedience training now – she’s been with our daughter in her home for 4 weeks. Is it too soon to come down on her with obedience correction? When I’ve walked with her I do keep her in a heel position but when I stop for the ‘sit’ and press down on the hindquarters she seems frozen. She does sit on her own, however. I’m a bit nervous about forcing her to do anything she isn’t physically capable of but also don’t want her to become stubborn and spoiled in her newfound freedom!
NVIs raw rabbit is sourced from China, but the kibble is not. I can’t remember if it was sourced from Italy or France, but it was one of those two.
LOL!! One of mine is intolerant to the tomato in the NVI Rabbit, but he still had great stools. Have you tried any other rabbit foods? Just wondering if it was the rabbit or something else that caused the loose stools. Mine get rabbit raw and it is one of the raw meats that they do best on.
kms, I forgot to mention that as long as he is gaining weight, I wouldn’t try to rush it. That alone can cause diarrhea.
Bentley-
So glad your pup is doing better! In my opinion, it sounds like he is at the perfect weight. You want him to be on the lean side. Especially with his breed being prone to joint problems, it is better to keep him lean so he never has excess weight on his joints. As long as he is in good body condition, which it sounds like he is, then his nutritional needs are being met just fine. If he was so skinny that his ribs were showing and he looked malnourished, then I would worry.
I have a 7.5 year old Great Dane that was recently diagnosed with arthritis. I made a switch to Honest Kitchen (dehydrated food) and raw. He has lost a significant amount of weight (somewhere between 8-10 lbs) and I can just barely see the outline of his ribs. My vet told me that he was perfect and having the excess weight off would help his joints.
I think the worst thing you can do for large dogs is let them get overweight, even if it’s a little bit. Though, to me, it sounds like your boy is perfect. I would keep doing what you’re doing. I hope his problem stays cleared up. š
While vension is a good source of protein, feeding raw game can expose you and your dog to the rabies virus and Chronic Wasting Disease. The only way to kill the rabies virus is through cooking. Freezing the meat does not kill the virus. Also, in recent years, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has become more prevalent in the deer population. I would only feed farm raised deer from a reliable source, to insure that you are not exposing yourself and your dog to either disease.
As a hunter for many years, we always wore rubber gloves to process game because you don’t always know what you’re dealing with. We’ve fed our dogs venison for years, but only cooked venison. I feed a raw diet to my dogs but it doesn’t include raw game meat.
Finally got all the blood results back. The Vet said he has low B12 and high folate which is indicative of an inflammatory bacterial over growth in the intestines. The Vet prescribed flagyl as an antibiotic and suggested trying a different food. The Vet accounts the bacterial over growth with a food allergy and since I’ve tried various kibbles and canned foods over the year, I’ve now decided to go raw. On Sunday, I picked up a bag of Primal raw venison and I also ordered a trial sample of Darwin’s raw duck food. The lady at the store explained that the transition should be done slowly so I’m feeding him a cube in the morning and one at night mixed with some rice and sweet potato. So far he seems to enjoy it but this morning he threw up (is this part of the adjustment?) but was very content to eat it up. I read that some dogs go through a detox period, so I hope it’s just that. I’ll keep you posted on his progress and if the raw food doesn’t work out I may have try home cooked meals. Thanks for replying.
PS – I have a Vet appointment today and I plan to ask about the giardia and coccidia test.
Deer meat is a great food for your dog. Dogs are classified as carnivores. There is a mere .2% difference between dog and wolf DNA. If we realize that our dogs are so closely related to wolves, then it is a short step to understanding our dogs should eat like the wolf rather than eating junk out of a bag.
An ideal meal for our domestic wolves, also know as Lacy dogs, is raw on-the-hoof deer meat. Many hunters have deer meat left over from previous year, and that is fine to feed to your dogs, but today I am writing about feeding the deer that is freshly shot and ready for the dog to eat.
There are two main ways to feed fresh deer. The first is to feed it like the dogs would eat in the wild. You can just pitch it out and let the dogs chow down. This is known as prey model feeding. It is the optimal diet for your dogs. However, not many people have the desire to see a partially chewed deer laying in their yard. So the alternative is to spend time preparing the deer to be consumed by the dog. The above article made by – Betty Leek.
Sorry. I started off with ACANA (not potato free) from Nutro and that is when I started seeing issues. Thinking it was yeast, I then switched them to a grain free and potato free food. I have tried several high quality brands, and even raw, but nothing is helping. So, I wondered if the ACANA with potato could have triggered allergies and if that would even be possible? I then wondered if switching them back to a grain inclusive food would help, since they did fine before with grains. I mean my ultimate question is this: is it possible that some dogs do better on grain inclusive foods? It just seems like everyone says grains are bad.
I have a question, but a quick history, first. I had my two dogs, American Bulldog and Rat Terrier, on Nutro Ultra for about 2 years and never had any issues. When I got my Saint Bernard I switched them to Nutro Natural Choice and fed them that for awhile and, once again, never had any issues. I started research on foods and found that there are better foods than Nutro, so I switched my dogs to ACANA and ever since then I have fed them high quality, grain free kibbles and even fed raw for a little bit. They are now on grain free/potato free kibble, but ever since I switched to ACANA my Saint Bernard starting having, what I believe, is a yeast issue. Could it be the potato that ultimately caused the yeast because she never had it before. Anyway, that is when I switched to a grain and potato free kibble and fed raw. Her issues never stopped and now my American Bulldog is having some skin issues. The only things I have changed was their food. Now, I am thinking I need to go back to Nutro and see if it really is the food causing their new issues. Has anybody else experienced this? Is it out of the ordinary that they would do better on a grain inclusive kibble?
Hello- I have a 6 year old Doberman. A little over a week ago he started throwing up for unknown reasons. I put him on chicken and rice only. I have always feed him IAMS. For treats he gets human turkey dogs (not a lot). I kept him on rice and chicken for a week or so (we got comfortable!). I wanted to give him a healthy diet, I research raw food diet. I just canāt do that. So I got him Taste of the Wild. Saturday night I mixed just a little of the kibble in with his chicken and rice. He only eats once a day. He was fine. Sunday night I doubled the amount of kibble in his chicken and rice. The amount was double, but it still wasnāt a large amount. He woke me up at 5am with diaherra. He has had it several times today and he threw up once. Yellowish bile stuff. When he goes outside he acts fine but inside he is a little lazier than usual. He is a big baby when he is sick he wants me to stay right by his side. Any ideas? Did I increase food too fast? Should I take him to the vet?
A few things to mention- my Llasa eats the same thing the Doberman does and he is fine. My Dobie is big. He is tall and weighs 113 lbs. My son has two pit puppies. They visit every weekend. One or both of them had diaherra this weekend. But I think it is because they gave them a different kind of food. The puppies have been dewormed and had had the first of two series of the puppy shots (5 in one). The last series of 3 is this weekend. Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi all.
I have been round and round the dog food debates for over 20 years and have fed homemade, kibble, canned, freeze dried, raw, and premix. Right now my senior Papillon with CHF and my 8 year old collie with an unstable gastric system are both on Essex Cottage Farms Gastro formula. Every dog I have put on this food has done extremely well. Yet…it does not appear to meet AAFCO or NRC standards. I do not know if it is complete or not. The science eludes me….but I am wondering if there is any feedback on this issue I might use.
thanks.
I have benefitted from so much information in this thread. Thanks to all the contributors. I am trying to track down info for OCRaw dog food. I’ve emailed twice to get the calcium info but have had no response. And I don’t see a phone number on the website. It would cost significantly less to feed but unless I can verify calcium levels I won’t use it. Does anyone have info about OCRaw dog food or another way contact?
Thanks!
The gas is from not being able to properly digest the new foods. This can happen with all foods – old and new. You can help their digestive tract by adding probiotics to their meals and digestive enzymes until they have healthier guts. I don’t like to feed just one food as this sets them up to have unhealthy guts since they are only exposed to certain ingredients and therefore only know how to digest those certain ingredients. Rotate through several foods to offer variety (4 and 4.5 and 5 star foods). And you can feed them an “all life stage” food. I personally prefer Whole Earth Farms Puppy (for all life stages) to feed the seniors as they require more quality protein. It only has 28% which is not high by any means. There is also Merrick Classic which is good for all life stages (even the senior recipe). For Premium Edge (made by Diamond so be aware) I would not chose the Senior or Lamb recipes. It’s (the Premium Edge review is coming up for an update and the Lamb formula will not be 4 stars). For Healthwise, mark off the Weight Control formula. For Diamond Naturals, I personally would mark off the Adult Lamb Meal and Rice and Senior 60+, Large Breed Adult Lamb Meal, and Lite Lamb Meal formulas. Diamond Naturals grain free and Nature’s Domain (at Costco) is OK at 3.5 stars. They’re more like 3.75! Just like any company can have a recall (like Diamond has had several), don’t become dependent on one food or brand in case you have to change and dog food companies can change and do change their recipes from time to time. Even my 14 yr old foster (and my other nine pugs) eats a variety of different kibbles, canned foods, dehydrated foods, and raw foods without being gassy. I fed them probiotics and enzymes at one time fairly regularly but now they don’t need them every day as they have healthy insides now. Sometimes I just pour a little multi-strain kefir (Lifeway) on their food for the probiotics and they get a powdered probiotic supplement a couple times a week.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by
pugmomsandy.
For newbies at homemade, I would suggest the recipes at http://www.homemadedogfood.com (recipe with Dinovite and oil supplement and serving size suggestions) or get a recipe book. Your dog really needs more nutrition than meat and veggies. One recipe book I use is “Real Food For Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr Karen Becker/Beth Taylor. This gives cooked and raw recipes with a vitamin mix recipe. Another option is to use a Premix like Grandma Lucy’s or The Honest Kitchen, Urban Wolf, or See Spot Live Longer dinner mixes. You add meat and oil and the premix has all the vitamins/minerals added. I make raw food and use CarnivoreRaw in my rotation.
http://dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html
Look into Wellness Core Ocean, Horizon Legacy Fish, Horizon Pulsar Fish, The Honest Kitchen Zeal, Smack Pet Food Salmon, Nature’s Logic Sardine, Nutrisca Salmon, LiveFree salmon, Holistic Select Sardine, Nature’s Logic canned sardine, Nutrisca canned salmon, Hound & Gatoes canned Trout or Salmon, Great Life Grain Free Salmon. You can also use canned/pouched sardines packed in water/no salt added for human consumption, and even raw sardines or mackerel. The Honest Kitchen Zeal is low fat and has a moderate amount of fiber and you can make just a spoonful if you wanted and it tends to generate a formed stool. I’ve used it before. For other novel proteins besides fish foods, there is also Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance in goat and rabbit.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by pugmomsandy.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by pugmomsandy.
I am partial to Primal and Stella & Chewy’s.
hi, i have a 7 weeks old rottweiler, feeding her raw food but, i would like to know if i can feed her with chicken guts too?
thx in advanced
The best is the one that she does best on so find a few you want to try and try them.
Please help me…She is a 1 yr and couple months but want the best raw food a=that is freeze dried. Please help!! Thanks
I order Merrick beef trachea. Not sure if they still make it. But I would still order from “grass fed Brazillian cattle”. Greentripe.com has USA raw trachea (not roasted and dried). Bravo also has trachea. Their chews are sourced from USA and New Zealand. I just don’t think there are alot of grass fed, USA cattle period! There’s a bigger market in other countries.
Wow, Akari, you got all that for $10? I have one dog that can eat anything (I do draw the line at anything Purina, no offense) so I’d take those Wellness bags in a heartbeat!
I will suggest – you should try to do a “price per day” comparison rather than per pound. I have found that certain brands differ a lot on how much you have to feed to maintain weight. Also, most dogs I have owned I have had to feed less than the recommended amount (not so anymore with two 1.5 year old cattledog mixes, who I have trouble keeping weight ON). A 30lb bag isn’t necessarily comparable to another 30lb bag in how long they will last your dog(s). That being said, of course, it will probably still be more expensive to feed the expensive food. I really like the idea of mixing a mid-level food with a more expensive one (or rotating) to keep things affordable. I might actually have to try that with some of the Honest Kitchen mixes I am starting to try.
Another suggestion – right now, Wag.com has 25% off your first order for new customers, with up to $20 off!! I plan on purchasing something tonight, and probably making my boyfriend and mom both order some for me as well (it says 1 per household). Also, I have been looking at the Petango store, which has an awesome 15% off recurring orders. You can choose how often they ship something to you, so I am considering eventually having things spaced a few months apart, to get a rotation going (shipped to my door too!). I live in a smallish town, where the only dog food available is grocery store/walmart brands (the local farm and fleet does carry Taste of the Wild if I am ever in a pinch), so online shopping is very convenient for me.
Other suggestions – for Minnesota/Colorado, Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet has quarterly sales (usually something like $15 off a $75 purchase) as well as quarterly newsletters with a TON of coupons. I highly recommend their stores! For those in Iowa, Theisens (a farm store, but with high quality food including frozen raw) has a twice-yearly 18% off anything you can fit in a bag sale. We have successfully fit 35# bags of Nutrisource/PureVita/Merrick in their brown bag for the discount before. Also, a LOT of brands have “Buy X number of bags, get the Xth bag free” programs at participating stores. Honest Kitchen just started one actually (buy 12 get one free), I just picked up an envelope last week.
Good luck!
Hi kms
First, you can only edit posts for about 5 minutes after you first post them. The word edit will be up by the post number.
Next, I was talking about cutting back the probiotics only. Since all of the enzymes that would have been in kibble are destroyed by the cooking process, I always add enzymes to kibble and cooked foods, raw doesn’t need it. Adding enzymes after the meal does certain things that are beneficial for the dog, but that just doesn’t work for many people, myself included. I give them with the meal.
In regards to the pumpkin, yes, 3 teaspoons per meal, which happens to be 1 tablespoon, and when his stools firm up start cutting back and see if you can cut out the pumpkin, until the next transition. Did I tell you to freeze your pumpkin in to ice cubes so you have the extras whenever you need them?
20% would be 3/5 of a cup, which is really close to 1/2 cup. You need to decrease the kibble based on calories not voulme though. And in fact you can figure your 20% based on calories too, if you like.
Finally, until his stool issue is sorted out, I would probably cook the meat you add, but once you get his issues sorted, then start giving him some raw. Even if it is only a raw meaty bone a few time a week, he will get some of the benefits of raw.
Duke the Boxer, RescueDaneMom and PattyVaughn ā
Thanks for responding so quick. I started to try to learn about the various probiotics and enzymes on the supplements thread and just got totally overwhelmed at all the choices (think my brain is full). So I ordered Mercola Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes, since that is what Iāve seen recommended the most here. But Iām going to try the Biostareq Terra Biota K9 and Dr. Langerās also ā sounds like supplements can be just as trial and error as the kibble.
PattyVaughn ā
When I cut āback to a couple times a weekā ā do you mean cut back the probiotics AND the digestives enzymes or cut back probiotics only?
I saw on Mercolaās website where they recommend that you feed the Digestive Enzymes a couple hours after each meal, not at each meal. Is that what I should do or just give it with the meal?
As far as the pumpkin, I will up the dose. Heās 32 lbs now, so thatās 3 tsp pumpkin ā is that 3 tsp per meal or per day?
As far as the 20%…. He eats 3 c kibble per day, so adding a 20% topper would mean a little under Ā¾ cup, right? And that means I should decrease his kibble by 20% to account for the topper, right? (I feel like I’m asking stupid questions, but I need to make sure).
Should the meat be raw or cooked? I use chopped cooked chicken for training treats, but he has never eaten anything raw ā Iām worried it will upset his stomach.
Thanks so much to everyone ā I finally feel like Iām getting somewhere!!!
Hi kms
Your plan sounds pretty good. Start by giving probiotics and digestive enzymes every meal, in fact, if you use a dog probiotic(Mercola’s is my favorite, but it is expensive) you can double the dose for the first few days. After you get the stools in order, you can cut back to a couple times a week. Up the pumpkin amount to 1 teaspoon for every 10 lbs. You only need to use it as needed. Some dogs need it with every transition, some never need it again except if they get into something that causes diarrhea.
Using commercial raw as a topper is fine, but if you are talking about keeping it to 20%, you can just add some human grade meat and here and there throw in a raw meaty bone like a rib or a turkey neck. You only need to worry about balance when you start to replace more of the meal than 20%.
Hi ā Iām new here. I was using DFA to problem-solve and evaluate diets for my 5 mo male Weim (Augie) and ended up on this thread. WOW ā what a great source of info! Iāve learned a lot and want to thank HDM and all the others who contributed. Here’s my story and my problem. Any advice would really be appreciatedā¦ especially would like input from HDM..ā¦
We brought Augie home at 9 wks and he had soft/runny stool. Vet found roundworms and treated them. After the āall clearā, I thought his stool would get better – but it didnāt. Vet checked his stool again and found very high levels of āClostridiumā and a few other bacteria commonly found in dirt (Augie is a compulsive dirt/mud/rock eater ā weāre working on it). Vet put him on Metronidozol and Pro-Pectalin for 20 days (2 rounds) ā it did not resolve. Then he put him on SMZ (another antibiotic) and a bland diet for 16 days. During that time, his stool got bright yellow and was still runny all the time. He also stopped gaining weight and lost several lbs (was supposed to be 38-42 lbs, but dropped to 27 lbs). I asked about using a Probiotic and canned pumpkin, but vet didnāt want to introduce anything new to his GI tract. We tested his stool again – and finally all the bacteria levels were normal and no worms. BUT his stool was still soft/runny. He also had developed colitis from the constant diarrhea/soft stool. I started giving him 1 heaping tsp canned pumpkin with each meal and slowly (over 12 days) I transitioned him from Eukanuba Puppy Growth (the breeders kibble) to Orijen Large Breed Puppy. He has now been on 100% Orijen for 11 days and Iām still giving him the pumpkin. His stool has gotten a little better ā itās formed about 75% of the time and soft about 25%. But the last couple days it has had a slick greasy coating on the outside. What does that mean?
Based on what I learned here, I have a new plan (I think). Much of this is new to me (have never used probiotics or enzymes and have never rotated foods). Also, Iām very interested in going raw (commercially made), but I donāt feel confident enough to pull the trigger yet – especially since his bowels have been so messed up for the last 3 months. What do you think of this plan:
1) Get him off Orijen ā calcium is too high ā did not know that till I saw HDMās list.
2) Choose 3-4 high protein kibbles from HDM list and plan to rotate at the end of each bag.
3) Make the next food in the rotation a non-chicken, since the Euk and Orijen were both chicken based.
4) Choose a variety of toppers to be used as 20% of each meal. Use a different topper at each meal.
5) Start giving a probiotic and digestive enzymes with every meal
6) Continue 1 heaping tsp canned pumpkin with each meal
7) Learn more about going raw ā would like to start with commercially made and go from there. Maybe start by using a commercial raw (THK, Primal, Darwinās) as the topper? or is that too hard for a dog to digest (mixing raw with non-raw)?
Do I give a Probiotic and Dig Enzymes at each meal indefinitely – or just during transitions from 1 food to the next?
Do I continue the pumpkin indefinitely?
Should I add fish oil and how much?
He’s up to 32.5 lbs, but still can see hips and ribs a little. What can I do to safely get some weight on him?
I really appreciate what I have learned here and look forward to advice. Thanks!
Don’t get me wrong. I do use and recommend some kibbles. I just have a dog that has issues that severely limit what kibbles he can have, and there are literally thousands of kibbles. My brain space is limited and it is already overfull, so I try to let the people who have ideas about what will work for you have their say, instead of trying to cram more into my brain. I can’t even remember the name of my favorite website with recipes right now, but if you google making homemade dog food, it is one of the top ones that comes up. My favorite books are Dr Karen Becker’s “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” and Steve Brown’s “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet.” Oh yeah, the website is Dogaware dot com.
Oh and I feed whole raw eggs twice a week and lightly cooked eggs twice a week. There are good things in both, but too much raw egg white can be a problem.
You are right, if you are going to add anything to the kibble or make homemade foods, you need a little more structure at feeding time. The first thing I would do is to take a guess at how much each dog should be eating, then decide if you want to feed one or two meals a day. I would at least start at twice a day since they are used to eating multiple times a day. Get a few cans of dog food and put 1/2 of the dog’s daily ration in a bowl with a couple spoonfuls of canned mixed in and give each dog their food bowl for 15 minutes. If they finish sooner great, tell them how good they are. If they don’t finish, pick up the food and put it in the fridge for the next meal. You may want to add warm water the next meal. Once they are in the habit of eating when you give them food, you are ready to move on.
Sorry I’m not more help. I’m having to deal with my Aunt who has Alzheimer’s and some other issues and it is driving me to distraction. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. I don’t know what I’ve read where. Frankly, I think my brain is turning to mush too.
Patty- it’s been a while since I’ve used canned tripe but I think they probably smell the same. I think I’m immune to the stench now.
Marie- he did really well on the NL (both the beef & the sardine). He’s now on Earthborn Holistic GPF & doing even better on that. So that’s 2 brands I’ve found for him WHOOHOO! I tried the Back 2 Basics Pork in between but he wasn’t too thrilled with it even mixed w/the others. So I’m still in search of a 3rd food for rotation. But I feel good about the two and the raw.
Oh yes, I totally put it into the title, but forgot to mention in my overwhelming post…a
“How to feed”
For at least the last two years I’ve done free feeding, as this is how my ex did it (although I don’t dump the whole bag in a tub and let them go to town, I at least give them a dish…lol), but I am thinking if I’m going to be making their food, it doesn’t need to sit out all day…same with them eating a more expensive kibble, I don’t want them eating more than they need.
Truth be told, I have the measurements for what my dogs (combined) *should* be eating, and currently they undereat, so it’s not so much that I think they will eat too much… It is just that in my effort to be an ever better dog momma, I think they should have a little more structure.
So rather than just, from one day to the next, start letting them know “eat now”…any suggestions on going from a free feed schedule to a “every morning, time to eat” or what have you schedule?
Thanks!
And @Patty – each time you talk you elude a bit more as to why you don’t recommend kibbles, and that is great, but by chance do you have a link where I can educate myself on how to *make* their food, as if I can make sure to give them the proper nutrition they need, then I am all about making i.e. the unflavored rice for them and then simply seasoning my portion that I’ll be eating. And lol, I didn’t even know that yougurt was good, although I’ve heard that egg whites (raw) do absolutely nothing for them?? So lol, being that you’ve got a lot of good logic, please feel free to point me in a TRUSTED direction to learn about what, other than straight up raw meat, to feed them. Thanks!
Thanks Marie. I plan on adding bravo raw at some point, but I’m *trying* to get his issues somewhat under control before I switch everything on him! I’m also interested in trying the other Honest Kitchen foods, but again, I’d like to find a base I can work off of first that I can revert to if he gets sick again. But I will keep the low protein in mind, thanks!
2 months, 1 week ago
