[theBCnut]

Your savings would almost feed my dogs.

[Mom2Cavs]

It does sound like it’s the raw patties giving her the problem…or perhaps the mixture of the two, kibble then raw, Idk. Maybe you could feed kibble/can or both meals or just use the raw patties for both meals. I have a dog that a some months ago had a similar type of “reaction” but I was using kibble/canned for one meal and dehydrated raw (with water added) for another. She is older, and actually has bladder tumor, but has always been fine eating, and was fine on this regimen for about a month. Then she started intermittently throwing up. After determining what I though was the problem, I finally stopped with the dehydrated raw and all has been fine. I feed kibble and canned for both meals. I’m using TOTW Pac. Stream and TOTW cans. I only use their poultry free kibble and cans (I do this for another dog that has allergies, but all 3 eat the same thing). I also use Wellness cans (poultry free) and use a mix of their 95%, Stews, Simple line, Core. Weruva (poultry free) and Simply Nourish (poultry free) are some other cans I use. This is working for all 3 of my dogs. Oh, and I also add in a probiotic/enzyme supplement. Right now I’ve been using Wholistic Pet Digest All Plus. I have a digestive supplement coming from Nature’s Farmacy, as well. And I plan on ordering some things from http://www.askariel.com. I hope this helps.

[pugmomsandy]

The savings is going to be awesome with all the dogs you have. With my grinder, grinding over 100 lbs takes 10 or 15 minutes. It’s the packaging that is time consuming. Best to do that with a helper or 2. And get that freezer!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I don’t grind my RMBs, but think that a heavy duty hand grinder could probably handle a small RMB like a chicken neck.

[Melissaandcrew]

I have to say that I have was surprised when I did a cost analysis. Granted the farm I am going to be buying from is very reasonable-less than a $1 per lb for the items I am looking for. I based my figures on two weeks of Acana/Nutrisource Vs two weeks of homemade raw. I did not figure in supplements as I already buy Fish oil, kefir, yogurt mackerel and sardines and eggs.. I did figure in the canned, Grandma Lucy’s and premade commercial raw that I buy now. I will save for each 15 days between $221 and $277.

Hubby was a “naysayer” in attempting this(too much work, clean up, bacteria etc) but he heard that and he asked if I woud like him to order a new freezer now, or should he wait a month or two? LOL. I have to tell you, I can’t wait to start grinding something..anything..if this doesn’t work out for the dogs, I may have to take up sausage making, lol.

[Molzy]

Hound dog mom, do the hand grinders work for bone? We have one that we use to grind venison, I’m wondering if it could handle a chick neck?

Molly

[theBCnut]

I’ve been using my coffee grinder for years, I love it.

[Molzy]

Thanks mmt. I’ll talk to my vet, we will probably be doing more testing if we can’t get it under control. So far, our vet hasn’t wanted to jump into all the tests simply because he’s trying to save us a little money, so we are taking it one step at a time. I do think it his has something to do with food, as he does have less episodes on canned food so far. Next steps will be trying dehydrated or raw food to try and nail down a fix.

Thanks again!

[Melissaandcrew]

Well, I haven’t gotten my books yet, so not sure what is presented in the two books, but since they are supposed to be AAFCO compliant recipes, I am assuming that once I start those, I should be okay. ; ) I do plan on rotating proteins, and still feeding at least partial dry for now, etc etc, so I am just talking about the short term-btw, if I use your recipe that you posted for kelp alfalfa etc, would I also still need a vitamin? I am just looking to avoid buying vitamins etc in bulk until I am sure this is something that is working for the crew.

Love Patty’s coffee grinder idea. I just can’t see myself smashing up 15 doses of vitamins with a mortar/pestal, lol.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I should try a coffee grinder, I’ve heard that they work well. I’ve tried my food processor but that didn’t work and I bought this mini spice grinder (hand powered) which didn’t work either. I keep going back to the mortar and pestal. I guess I’m old fashioned. I should mention after all the time I’ve been feeding raw I still use a hand crank grinder for meat too lol. At least I get a good upper body workout when I’m making dog food.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[theBCnut]

I use a coffee grinder for pills, flax, chia, pumpkin seeds.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Do you have a mortar and pestal? Gertie is a pill picker so if I ever have to feed her a pill I just grind it up first, I also use to to grind up nuts and seeds. If you’re going to balance the recipe with the appropriate whole foods (i.e. including cod liver oil, oysters, nuts, seeds, eggs, vitamin e, etc.) the Nupro should be okay for a trace nutrient supplement but it wouldn’t substitute for a one a day type multivitamin if you were planning on relying on that to balance an unbalanced recipe.

I don’t sprout my own nuts and seeds. I have a sprouter but it’s on full time alfalfa sprouting duty for my sandwiches lol. I buy sprouted sunflower seeds and sprouted pumpkin seeds from nuts.com and I buy Nativas Naturals brand sprouted flax and chia from Swanson’s. If you bought a sprouter you certainly could sprout your own though.

[mmt]

Yes, he was diagnosed with Liver Qi Stagnation. I guess it’s common in people and pets and is commonly thought to be IBD. A natural medicine vet/acupuncturist might have some recommendations. I don’t think food is much of a player in getting this disease under control but who knows, maybe your dog has a different issue. I definitely would talk to a vet about trying Omeprazole (Prilosec) for general acid reduction. When they put a scope down my dog’s throat it was totally raw and burnt from acid reflux. I still use it sometimes when he seems to be swallowing more. Very best of luck to you!

[Melissaandcrew]

Hdm-

Thanks! I am going to try the recipe Sandy posted as a starter, so bones etc will be included. I know many say to add a daily multi vitamin/trace mineral, hence I am wondering if the Nupro(or something similar would work) My dogs are “pill pickers” so cutting a human “one a day” type pill will not work. Its got to be mixed in the bowl when I add the oils etc. Would the Nupro suffice as a replacement for the human multivitamin?

And, do you sprout all those seeds you listed or just the pumpkin aand sunflower? We grow pumpkins for fun/decorations and then feed them to the goats-they love them, I can steal some of those seeds, lol.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by Melissaandcrew.

[Molzy]

Thanks Hound dog mom. I am sure you’re right about the processing. I’ll give it a try while I’m researching raw, and see how his system deals with it.

[sippmanjr]

Great, thank you for the info! I had always heard kibble was better than canned but I will definitely start looking into some other choices. At least as a topper. When you say eggs, raw or cooked?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi jimmianne –

There’s no such thing as a single “best” food. The less processed the better – so raw would be the best option, followed by fresh cooked, then dehydrated or freeze-dried, then canned, with dry food being the worst option. With whatever you feed, variety is key – don’t stick with the same food. Rotating foods helps to strengthen your dog’s gut by fostering a diverse population of microflora, gives your dog a variety of nutrients and give you options in the event of a recall. If you’re going to feed a dry food as the bulk of your pup’s diet I would add a quality “topper” – such as raw, dehydrated, freeze-dried, canned or healthy fresh foods (i.e. eggs, lean meat, plain yogurt or kefir, cottage cheese, tinned sardines, etc.). Canidae looks good on paper but I personally wouldn’t risk feeding – the majority of Canidae’s products are manufactured by Diamond who has very poor quality control and numerous recalls. Unless you live in the same state as Canidae’s plant or in a neighboring state you’re probably getting product manufactured by Diamond.

As far as supplements, some good supplements to consider would be probiotics, digestive enzymes, quality fish oil and whole food supplements (with “super foods” like kelp, spirulina, bee pollen, etc.).

[Hound Dog Mom]

I think the increased stool volume has to do with how the ingredients are processed not the quality of the ingredients. The Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucy’s both use human-grade ingredients. I believe it’s the fact that the vegetables are in larger pieces and (at least with THK) raw that causes the poor digestibility. Dogs don’t produce cellulase so they are unable to breakdown the cellulose in plant-based ingredients unless they are cooked and processed. With my dogs’ raw diet I cook and puree all their vegetables.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Wow Melissa, I’m so happy to hear you’re going the homemade raw route! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the results. 🙂

I would suggest getting as many different varieties of organ meat as possible (remember, hearts and gizzards are considered muscle meat not organ meat). Liver should only comprise 5% of the diet and 5% should be “other” organs – the more organs you can get to make up the “other” portion the better. Ask for items like kidneys, lungs, spleen, pancreas, brain, etc. If you can get gullet and trachea these are a great source of naturally occurring chondroitin (good for the seniors’ joints) – not organ meat though. Obviously if you can get green tripe go for it (muscle meat).

The Nupro would be okay to use for a trace nutrient supply but it wouldn’t completely balance the meals. You’re going to want to be sure to add a source of vitamin e and vitamin d (I use cod liver oil for vitamin d). You’re going to want to add some ground nuts/seeds for manganese (I use a combination of sprouted pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds/flax/chia). I think it’s a good idea to feed tinned oysters once in awhile as they’re a great source of trace minerals like zinc, copper and selenium. I’m also an advocate of small amounts (10% – 20%) of fruits and veggies (I most often use organic greens, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower and berries – be sure to puree) for antioxidants and kefir or yogurt for probiotics. Cage-free eggs are a great source of omega 3’s, have a great amino acid profile and will contain some of the b vitamins, vitamin d and vitamin e – I recommend feeding eggs at least once a week. I mix in various fresh herbs like parsley, garlic and cilantro. I also add coconut oil and apple cider vinegar to every batch. The most important thing to keep in mind is that variety is key!

If you are looking for a supplement to “balance” the diets, I’d recommend Steve Brown’s See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix. It makes AAFCO compliant meals and it’s really cheap in comparison to other pre-mixes plus there’s a quantity discount when you order several bags at one. I don’t use pre-mixes too often but it’s my favorite to use when I do. He also advocates adding various fresh ingredients (up to 20%) so you have the freedom to customize a bit while being assured that the dogs are getting a balanced meal. If you want to make your own supplement – buying the ingredients separately definitely is the cheapest route. The pre-made supplements like Nupro are much more expensive. Check out Swanson’s, they sell all the ingredients you’d need and everything is super cheap and you can often get bulk packages (I use a lot of the Starwest Botanicals items in my whole food supplement).

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sippmanjr –

I personally prefer raw (my dogs eat a homemade raw diet) and in terms of the best – I believe raw is as good as it gets. I would also give preference to dehydrated, canned and freeze-dried foods over kibble. However assuming you’re looking for a kibble, if I had to choose my “top 5” they would probably be (in no particular order): Annamaet (Aqualuk, Salcha or Ultra), Dr. Tim’s Kinesis, Nature’s Variety Instinct (LID Turkey or Rabbit), Wellness CORE Puppy or Earthborn (Coastal Catch or Meadow Feast). I love Orijen foods and their new large breed puppy formula is an improvement over the previous formula (the old formula was way too high in calcium) but it’s still slightly high in calcium for me to recommend. Don’t feel that you need to pick one food and stick with it, rotating is healthier and it’s good to get puppies accustomed to a rotational diet as soon as possible. If you feed kibble, I’d also recommend topping the kibble with a quality raw, canned or dehydrated food or healthy fresh foods (like eggs, tinned sardines, lean meats, or plain yogurt or kefir) as often as possible.

[Melissaandcrew]

Well, after many phone calls, visit etc, I found a small meat processing farm that processes a lot of organic meats that is willing to sell me some of the “off casts”. The items I specifically asked for were Chicken necks, hearts/livers/gizzards, Beef heart, liver, etc. I am sure they will save any of the organs that I ask for though. Also, they process vension and can get me some of that as well, though I am assuming that will mostly be organs. We did not discuss pork etc as of yet-waiting until I pick up my first grouping to discuss further. I like to have everything here when I start a project so, if any one sees something I am missing, please let me know!

Are there any other type of meat/parts I should ask them to save? They did ask if I wanted chicken feet, but I said “not yet” as the thought just grosses me out, lol. The pricing is amazing imo, and it makes it well worth giving this a go, if if for just half their meals.

I have so far- 1) Basic meat source 2) Ordering the two books mentioned several times on this forum 3) Ordering a Tassan something or other grinder to get started. I know it says it will not do turkey bones, but I figure that is a trade off for not wanting to invest $500 plus into a grinder until I am sure I have the time and dedication to do it long term, as well as being sure it works for my crew before investing that much. 4)I do have an older chest freezer that still works, but will need to be upgraded if it pans out. 5) Plenty of fish oil on hand

6) Does any one know if “Nupro” will work for the daily vitamin/mineral source for the time being to balance everything out? While its a bit pricier, its probably cheaper than ending up with a bunch of separate ingredients if this does not work.

Please and thank you for ALL responses and suggestions!

Melissa

[princeismine]

Hello,

I have a three year old Frenchie who I need feeding advice for. I have been feeding her Taste of the Wild Kibble (TOW) for the past year and a half or so with no problems. I don’t think a healthy diet consists of kibble only, so a few months ago I added Small Batch Raw Patties (SB) to her diet (gradually over a week). She was getting TOW in the morning and SB in the evening for about a month or so then she started to get an upset stomach. She’d wake me in the middle of the night to go out and eat grass (feverishly) and sometimes her stomach would gurgle VERY loudly. I stopped giving her SB and went back to feeding her TOW only and no problems. Within the last month, I introduced Answers Raw Goat Milk (probiotic), which I’d give her just before giving her the kibble with no problems. About a week ago, I reintroduced SB (again, gradually) and last night and EARLY this morning she cried to go outside and began eating grass. Her stomach was also gurgling quite loudly. I’m really trying to avoid feeding her a diet of kibble only, but am at a loss as to what brand(s) of raw, dehydrated or moist foor to try next. Any suggestions from breeders or owners who have Frenchies that are doing well with their food would be GREATLY appreciated. Please note, I don’t have the time to cook her meals, so I’m looking for a pre-packaged suggestion.

Thank you!

Heidi

[Molzy]

Awesome, thanks. I wi definitely give it a try. I have a dog who I think needs a more liquid diet, I have him on canned food now but would prefer to support a company like honest kitchen. Eventual goal is raw, but might not be affordable at the moment. I’ll give the thrive a shot once he is doing ok for a month.

[pugmomsandy]

Oh, and there’s also Stewart Raw Science Science. I might have to try Uncanny with Addiction. Seems like a good mix. I like using brushtail as a protein.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’m like Sandy, I group dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried all into the same category.

I find that freeze-dried foods tend to not rehydrate well – the only exception being Grandma Lucy’s.

As the for best dehydrated type foods, my favorites are The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s and Ziwipeak. I also really like Addiction’s dehydrated in terms of ingredients and digestibility (for my crew it digested better than a lot of other brands I tried, poor digestibility is a common problem with dehydrated foods) but if you feed Addiction I’d highly recommend mixing it with a high protein canned or raw food because the protein levels are too low for my tastes. I also like Wysong’s Uncanny but it’s ridiculously expensive and as far as feeding as an exclusive diet, I don’t believe it’s complete and balanced (could be a good mix in for a lower protein food like Addiction though!).

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[PrincessPiper]

I’m assuming that you feed the first three on a daily basis and if so how much. My dog only weighs 3 pounds and she is a year old. On the digestive enzymes…do you need those if you feed straight raw?

On the kelp, we have an organic fertilizer company and we have OMRI kelp meal and OMRI liquid kelp. Could I use either one of these?

TIA!! 🙂

[koa’smom]

I’m sure this has been addressed, but are there any freeze dried raw foods that are ok for large breed puppies? My trainer has recommended Stella and Chewys Lamb dinner “cakes” for training purposes because they are healthy, nutritionally balanced, very tasty and easy to break apart for small treats and the pups love them. Does anyone know the calcium content?

[DieselJunki]

When I travel since I live in a camper trailer right before I know we are getting ready to go I’ll empty my small deep freeze (by feeding the dog not throwing it out) and not buy anything else. Most of the time we only travel 2 or 3 days max depending on where the next job is. I’ll then buy a pork picnic usually around 10lbs this lasts my dog about 2 days of chomping on. I have a designated dog cooler in the back of my truck since in the morning my dog eats out on the job site so I just throw it in there after with some ice and keep on trucking. There is always some sort of half eaten, covered in dirt, slimy, piece raw meat in the back of the truck. Works well for me.

If I ever need another piece of meat I just stop at a grocery store and grab a whole chicken or another large cut of meat and do the same thing.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by DieselJunki.

[DieselJunki]

I’ve bought from Hare Today several times. Actually I just placed a $500 order for ground whole pork since I’m boarding my dog for 3 months and they’ll feed raw but not chunks and no bone. The grind is very fine and something I’m not used to being a MPC customer too. But it doesn’t bother me or the dog lol. I bought from her because she’s a small business and she was always friendly to me threw email and when I was starting out on raw she gave me a wealth of info. She also had the baggies instead of the containers which help me and my boarding place fit more in their freezer. However be warned most of these bags will have holes in them so thaw in sink or bowl. But honestly what’s so hard about that? Prices are of course a few cents more expensive but I like helping small businesses.

[Pugsonraw]

I took my two pugs that have seasonal allergies off their daily Benadryl dosage. They are normally quite itchy year round despite eating a raw diet daily, immune supplements, super greens, anchovy and sardine oil, coconut oil, probiotics and digestive enzymes… etc. I really check out all products and ingredients before giving them anything new.

Decided to try to Skin-eze for them, not really expecting to get any major results and it seems to be working. They have been on it for about a week and definitely less itchy than when taking Benadryl.

I was looking to see if any of the ingredients are harmful. It appears they are all natural, but wanted to get some opinions.

Here is the link…. http://www.allergicpet.com/products/skin_eze.

[bruno]

I hope Vader is doing ok.
You may be interested in a couple of formulas I have. They are non-kibble, do not contain any processed ingredients, wheat, soy or sugar or chemicals. One is Rolled Oats, dehydrated veggies, garlic with a packet of vitamin/mineral supplement. These Rolled Oats only contain 4% fat and none of the other ingredients contain any discernible amount of fat. The other formula is Brown Rice with the remainder of the ingredients (veggies, etc). Brown Rice contains less than 1% fat. These formulas are a great compromise between the (horrible) commercial processed food and feeding raw (more preparation than my formulas). You can read about them here California Gold I also have free samples of each formula.

[bruno]

I think you may be interested in a formula that would be a compromise between the raw diet and commercial (kibble) pet food. I have one that is Brown rice, pearl barley, dehydrated raw carrots, red & green peppers, brocolli, garlic including a packet of high-end vitamins and minerals. This one takes the time to cook a pot of rice (20-30 min), you add your choice of fresh meat and it makes about 2 weeks worth of food. The other formula is Rolled Oats plus the veggies and so forth. This one takes one-minute to hydrate. Both would eliminate dealing with raw meat and eliminates all the cons of processed food–meat contamination, lack of nutrients from processing and questionable ingredients. If you or anyone is interested in seeing/reading about these formulas please visit California Gold
P.S. I disagree with the responder that stated that raw veggies are not good for dogs. I haven’t had any problems with any of my dog’s customers in over 13 years and raw is good!

[Melissaandcrew]

Okay, question for the raw feeders here. I was out pricing meats today at various supplier throughout the area, and they all seem to be big on selling chicken necks for dogs. I will not give whole bones as I have too many dogs to feel confident that someone will not gylp it down just to try to steal anothers. So, can these somehow be utilized as a ground product? For example, Sandy had posted a starter recipe and it said 5.25 lbs chicken with bone. What cut of chicken? Can the necks be used as this? And, would that suffice as the “bone/calcium” source in the diet, or would a calcium supplement still be needed?

[theBCnut]

If you let him chew turkey necks and such on his bed then leave one piece of heart big enough for him to take to his bed, but cut up the rest for immediate consumption. See if he doesn’t work it out. When I started feeding raw mine would do something like this, but they have figured out what it takes to eat each different thing and now they just crunch, crunch gulp.

[theBCnut]

Mine get half raw and I can dump anything in their food and they will eat it.

[Scyllarus]

So I finally created an account to ask this (and hopefully in the right place).

I adopted a Pomeranian (possibly a mix) from the shelter about six months ago. He came with some coupons from Petsmart, including a coupon for a free bag of Purina Pro Plan (which got ditched shortly after I made the horrible, horrible mistake to research dog food – I have at least a year’s supply of 5 star foods now and may or may not be compulsively purchasing more). He now eats a rotation of Nutrisca and Wellness Core with various canned and raw, no problems with switching foods suddenly at all.

I found out the hard way that he has a beef intolerance after feeding Kirkland’s Cuts in Gravy (beef, of course) – I thought the food was bad at first, but my boyfriend’s dog got a few of the cans and had no reaction whatsoever while my dog had diarrhea all night. I more-or-less confirmed that it was the beef when I decided to purchase some frozen beef liver some time later and he had a similar but milder reaction to it. He also has issues if he has too much rawhide or bully sticks.

He doesn’t seem to have a reaction to the buffalo ears or bullies I get him, though.

So, I guess all that boils down to this: My local Tractor Supply had a sale on Merrick Grain-Free and all they had left was the Buffalo flavor, so…I bought it. How likely should I expect my little furball to have a digestive upset over similar proteins? He hasn’t shown any reaction to the buffalo chews, but he doesn’t eat those on a daily basis. I’d like to work in a few different kibbles, since his current ones are poultry-heavy.

…also, on a completely different note: Something about Newman’s Own canned (not grain-free) is giving him gas. He eats one large can over the course of maybe a week, and all week it’s just been unusual amounts of methane in the atmosphere around him. I don’t know what it could be – he’s had all sorts of 3-5 star canned food, with and without grains, and he gets probiotics. Maybe it’s the ‘organic’ part, he’s had everything else listed in the ingredients…

[Cyndi]

I have a question for any raw feeder that would like to help. I have had Bailey on raw for just about 5 months now. I give her raw garlic and use different flea sprays, Mercola’s being one of them, so I’m 99% sure she doesn’t have fleas. I check her all the time too. It’s been maybe over a month now, not sure, but she’s been scratching and biting at herself and licking her front legs. The leg licking is like frantic leg licking for like 5-10 seconds and then she’s done and goes about her business. The itching and scratching isn’t constantly and just about every time she does it, I check her over and I find nothing. So, I’m thinking she maybe allergic to something she eats. In the mornings I give her the ground beef, ground tripe and ground organs for 2 or 3 days and do whole carcass ground rabbit for 2 or 3 days, with either sardines or eggs or veggie blend baby food alternated & right now I’m using the See Spot Live Longer mix on the beef days. For dinners I rotate between a chicken back/feet/heart/gizzards/liver or turkey neck/gizzards or a large rabbit piece & a rabbit head.

So, I know how a typical “elimination diet” goes, but I’m wondering if I just cut out something from her diet for a while, if that would work? & what should I start with? Is chicken the likely culprit here? I wish I could pinpoint when her itching and biting started, but I have no clue. Any help, as usual, is greatly appreciated!

[theBCnut]

Except for Angel, JRT, my dogs are big enough that I just bought a cleaver and hacked chunks off a turkey and handed it to them. I got 3 last year. This year I’ll go for more. I’ll look for smaller ones though.

I go through phases too. I made all homemade for about 4 months, then I signed up for 20 lbs of Darwins every 2 months. Then I started getting grinds from Hare Today. So some times I feed commercial raw, sometimes I feed balanced homemade, and sometimes I feed just grinds. I find it easier to stick with it with more different options. I can put off til the weekend making a big batch of something.

Of course all of mine get some kibble too, about half and half, except my JRT, she gave me a cancer scare a couple months ago, so she gets all raw with extra antioxidants and such.

[PrincessPiper]

NectarMom, I would like to buy them if you are willing to sell them to me. I’m just getting started with raw so I’m looking at options. Let me know. 🙂

[theBCnut]

It depends on the dog’s size, and it is OK to feed more free range eggs than it is caged eggs. My 40 lb dogs get an egg almost every day, but my eggs are from my chickens and I know that they are 90% organic free range chickens. I feed raw one day and lightly cooked the next.

[theBCnut]

That’s exactly what I was imagining. One lb of commercial raw would only be a small taste for each of yours. With Thanksgiving coming up, I’ll stock up on turkey and our local grocer just had a BOGO sale on pork butts. You would need to watch for oportunities like that to feed your crew!

[Melissaandcrew]

Nectaars Mom- I appreciate the offer, but I am going to order some other things from his website as well(books) I am sure some one here could use that offer though!

Pattyvaughn-Yes, that actually the answer I was looking for-its still 2-3% body weight. I wanted to be sure I ordered enough bags. I rarely order online and hate when I misjudge and have to reorder too soon! Thanks. I will probably use it as a topper for now until I read up on making raw, and then go from there. My ultimate goal is to offer raw a few days a week on its own, but the commercial prepared would kill me with the number of dogs.

[Melissaandcrew]

Have a quick question re See spot live longer. Now that winter time is coming to NY, I expect to have more time on my hands, lol, and think I will finally try some premixes and catch up on reading some home made raw diet books. Question is how much to order..Can any one tell me what the recc feeding guidelines are? I mean after mixed with the one lb of meat, how much am I feeding each dog? Please and thank you: )

[pugmomsandy]

Are you saying you want to switch them to a boneless meat & veggie diet? Because meat & veggies is not a good diet for long term use. If you do just want to feed meat and veggies, then I would suggest the recipe book “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Karen Becker/Beth Taylor. It has boneless recipes (meats and organs) and gives you the amount of calcium supplement or bone meal to use along with a vitamin mix recipe. Your dog needs a source of calcium if you’re not feeding bones. Another option is to use a premix where you just have to add boneless meat and some oil like Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer, The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s.

[Jens]

A quick question. I add a fair amount of fresh meat as topper to their kibble. The two pups are almost 1 year old and I was thinking to switch to raw. I guess they would probably need about 3.5% to% of their body weight in meat. Does it matter what meat you feed? With that I mean the weight including a bone or so. Although I am a very good cook, I would prefer to keep it simple by just cutting up the meat for them. All meat has roughly the same calorie content and I was going to add maybe 20% of veggies to the food, like peas, cucumber, carrots or apples. Any thoughts?

[weezerweeks]

If you had to choose between dehydrated or canned food which would you feed? I know that raw is supposedly the best, and kibble is the worse so how does canned and dehydrated rank?

[pugmomsandy]

It was on my list to try too, along with Smack and Stewart Raw Naturals. It looks good.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Chuck,
I started the switch by adding The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food and Stella and Chewy’s or Primal freeze-dried patties to my dog’s kibble to change it up and keep him interested. I think it should be adequate nutrition as long as you’re adding the complete formulas. Just make sure you look at the calories and replace the appropriate amount of kibble with Primal. The dehydrated and freeze-dried foods tend to be a little more calorie dense. I’ve been feeding about 2/3 kibble and 1/3 Honest Kitchen, Primal, or Stella’s going on 2 years now and my dog loves it and is in the best shape he’s ever been in.

Good Luck!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by RescueDaneMom.

[Chip]

I have two dogs, both German Shorthair mixes… one is an older male (11 years old), the other a younger (5 years) female. I love them both very much, both were shelter/rescue dogs. When we adopted the younger dog, we switched from feeding her Hill’s Science Diet (which is what we were sent home with from the shelter) to some sort of Purina Dry Kibble, since she wouldn’t eat the Hill’s. Since then and after finding this website (my knowledge about dog food and their ingredients greatly increased), her menu evolved from the low quality kibble to a mixture of Honest Kitchens dehydrated raw food (a company that I love) mixed with Blue Buffalo Freedom. I consider both of these foods to have above average to excellent ingredients and I feel good when I buy it for my two dogs. The problem is is that they both have very sensitive stomachs… when we started with the HK and BB it seemed to FINALLY fix the problem with terrible diarrhea that they both were experiencing with all the foods we tried (Castor and Pollux, Nature’s Recipe, and so on). Their bowl movements (I feel strange talking about this) were FINALLY healthy… fluffy yet firm, regular, didn’t stink. It was a miracle. Unfortunately, after about two years of eating various styles/flavors of HK mixed with BB, the younger dog “Jessie” decided that she absolutely didn’t want to eat it anymore. I got tired of preparing it only to have to dump it out (it’s very expensive) and then wash her dish (as I did after every meal since it’s a part raw diet). So, we tried some different brands thinking that it would add a bit of diversity to what they were eating. We went with Wellness Complete Health kibble and canned but soon found out that the diarrhea had returned (we introduced these foods slowly). We tried going back to the old food but she couldn’t shake the diarrhea (the older fella was having some problems as well, but not nearly extreme). We finally took her into the vet, which I dread doing because I know exactly what’s coming… a fecal exam (which is always negative), a bill for $100, and a lecture about how the food I feed them isn’t quality/adequate because it wasn’t “formulated” by veterinarians and pet nutritionists (in their words) as Hill’s Science Diet is. I don’t have a problem with giving the HSD Prescription i/d gastrointestinal a try… my problem is that the ingredient list is full of low quality foods and chemicals, yet they charge more per can/bag than the food with (what I consider to be) high quality ingredients that I was feeding my dogs. I’m sick of being treated as though I’m being insolent because I actually question what it is specifically about Hill’s that is supposed to calm my dog’s stomach. Is it the corn? The iodized salt? The food coloring? I know it sounds as though I’m being snippy right now, but this has been an ongoing problem as I’ve brought the dogs to the same vet in the past few years every now and then with small bouts of stomach problems and am told the same thing every time and mad to feel as though I’m an ignorant and irresponsible pet owner for not switching to Hill’s and I’m sick of it. I don’t have any other options to switch to a different vet, so that won’t solve anything. It has been three days and there hasn’t been any improvement so far on the HSD and, sorry it has taken me so loooonnnnngggg to get to the point, here is my question: Does anyone have an alternative to HSD i/d that actually has quality ingredients? Or, does anyone have any useful advice about what our next course of action should be? I thought I read something in one of the comment sections a long time ago about how German Shorthair Pointers are sensitive to a certain ingredient that is fairly common in most dog foods… does anyone know anything about that subject? And, is it just me, or do veterinarians actually know anything about dog nutrition, or do they just espouse what they are told by the salespeople from Hill’s? I don’t doubt that Hill’s probably does make some important prescription foods that certain dogs need, but the i/d just looks like crap to me. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

[Molzy]

Thanks guys! Glad I’m not crazy about the calories.

Losul, thanks for the info on chronic wasting. We didn’t save organs at the time, only some bones. The deer is from Wisconsin, but I don’t think it’s a county with CWD.

I found a store that sells the 5lb Bravo chubs, so I think I’ll start with that and work my way into raw. We have to board them in a week, so we will probably wait until mid October before starting, which gives me time to read my new books too!

Thanks again! Keep the advice coming!