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Search Results for 'raw'
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Topic: Buffalo and Beef
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…
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?
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!
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.
I am adopting a mini aussie pup and will be bringing him home next week (he will be 9 weeks). I’ve had standard aussies, border collies, shelties and lab mixes in the past and I also have a 4 yr old chi but always bought food that was suggested by the person/breeder I adopted the pup from. Now it’s been a while since I had a pup and I want the best for him! I don’t swallow what vets recommend anymore. But I am so confused about nutrition; namely breed-specific percentages of protein, fat, carb, sodium content and calcium. I’m considering mixing Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (Dry) with *Abady granular (*not rated on this site and I understand why), some occasional raw meats, yogurt and organic antioxidants. Could someone please explain in simple terms what the appropriate ratio is for a mini aussie (appx 30 lbs adult size) and a 7 lb adult chi as far as dietary percentages? Thank you for any feedback!
I think for now I am going to mix something like primal patties and her Wellness CORE kibble and start to add in things like people suggested, chicken necks etc until I feel more comfortable making meals for her.
Does that sound like it would be an adequate diet / nutrients in the interim over just dry kibble?
Does anyone know of a site or book that has good recipes that are easy to follow? I see videos online and some sites like http://rawfed.com/links.html but nothing really concrete.. just I feed them chicken backs etc. Something with a little more detail I suppose.
And if I was going to do something like Primal patties and adding 10% meaty bone… how often would I be doing that a few times a week? daily? and Its ok to go to Sams club or whole foods and get chicken thighs and chicken backs and my pup eat the whole thing? Its going to be very weird to watch her eat bones.
Also If i were to continue feeding kibble (Wellness CORE or TOTW) along with patties at first would that be a problem? if so how would I ration that, treat the pattie like wet food?
Overall I want my dog to be as happy and healthy as possible, and again this morning she ate maybe 1/3rd of her food… she just wont eat dry kibble unless something is mixed in. So I really want to make this change as fast as possible
I understand that for areas that have affected deer, you have to be careful what parts you feed raw, so do research before using anything. I have heard that it is brain, spinal cord, and some organs that you have to be leary of, but I really don’t know for sure. The Honest Kitchen Preference, See Spot Live Longer, and Urban Wolf are all premixes that are good, and I believe that you can add cooked meat to them as well, if there is a worry about your venison. Darwin’s and Aunt Jenny’s have great commercial raw diets. Check out Grandma Lucy’s products too. If you want to order grinds that are not balanced and add your own stuff, Hare Today and My Pet Carnivore are great.
Topic: Commercial raw? Pre-mix?
Hello all,
I am considering switching my dogs to a raw diet. We have two 1.5-year-old Australian Cattle Dog Mixes. They are both rescue dogs. We adopted LoJack last October, and Quincy came home with us in July. Both of them came to us eating Science Diet, which we pretty much immediately threw out. I worked in a high-end pet store for years, and I am kind of a food snob when it comes to my pets. My cat, Ralph, has been on Nature’s Variety frozen chicken for over a year now, and does amazingly on it (for him, it has helped with his urinary tract infections). The dogs have eaten a variety of Nutrisource Grain-Free Salmon, Pure-Vita or Merrick dry kibble. My boyfriend and I are big on “Eat Local” and both of these companies seemed pretty good for commercial dog food. Now that we have graduated from grad school, we can start entertaining the idea of paying a little more to feed raw. When we just had LoJack he would also get raw meaty bones once in a while for his teeth, we haven’t tried giving Quincy those due to some digestive issues we’ve been struggling with.
Anyways, I am thinking of originally starting with a pre-made raw, and possibly slowly adding in some other stuff. My boyfriend hunts, so hopefully we will have some venison this year for them, and we also live in the country so there is the possibility of contacting local butchers for organ meats and stuff. We already own a hand grinder for the meat (though we may invest in an electric one if we end up going with raw!).
Anyways, what are your recommendations for pre-made diets? At this point, we would like to stick with a grind because of Quincy’s issues with chunkier food (I want to make sure that raw works before trying chunks, then slowly add chunks in to make sure we don’t cause issues). I am considering doing Nature’s Variety since it is balanced for cats and dogs, which would be nice, but it is also a little expensive, so I figured I would see if anyone else has any suggestions. I would also consider a pre-mix with ground meat.
One last question – can they have venison bones? We saved a bunch from the deer we got last year and froze them, but I got worried about chronic wasting disease, so we have never tried them. They are thinner than the beef/bison bones we normally feed, so I worried about him swallowing chunks as well.
Thanks!
Molly, LoJack and Quincy (and Ralph the cat)1. Is it better to get a premade mix of raw food online or buy meats from the supermarket or meat market? Or is it better to have a mix?
As a newbie to raw, I think it would be better for you to feed a food that is complete and balanced whether that is commercial frozen raw like Nature’s Variety, Primal, Bravo, Stella & Chewy’s, Darwins, and others, or dehydrated/freeze dried raw (but more expensive) food like Orijen freeze dried, Primal, Stella & Chewy’s. Meat by itself is not a good diet. For beginners, I would buy a commercial raw or use a Premix such as Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer, Grandma Lucy’s, The Honest Kitchen. You add meat and some oil and that’s usually it. No additional vitamins needed. You can make these in advanced in big batches and freeze in serving sizes or a couple days worth in one bag/container. You can feed up to 20% of an unbalanced food without having to worry about additional vits/minerals. For example, topping kibble with some meat or scrambled egg (but not more than 20% of the meal). As you become more comfortable with raw you can give homemade a try but be sure to use a recipe book.
2. Is ground or whole better? Your dog might like the texture of some chunks, versus ground. But in any case, raw meat has enzymes that also helps keep teeth clean. The ripping of the flesh and tendons from the bone cleans the teeth too. I have small dogs so I use a coarse ground. My dogs don’t have a preference for meat sizes. They eat it all.
3. I keep seeing people talking about feeding bones, including chicken bones… I was always told that chicken bones are dangerous? This is going to be the one that the hardest to get my wife on board with.
Raw bones are edible. The cooked bones are dry and splinter. Also there are recreational bones versus consumable bones. Most small animals can be consumed whole (chicken, rabbit, quail, turkey). But dense, weight bearing bones from larger animals are for gnawing only (marrow bones/leg bones). For heavy chewers, they can break teeth. For instance, my small dogs eat chicken legs, turkey and duck necks and feet and pork baby back ribs. They gnaw on beef/bison rib bones and marrow bones/femur for the enjoyment and it keeps their teeth clean. I feed these outside and don’t worry about cleanup when the weather is nice. You can train your dog to eat bones in the house on a towel, blanket or tarp. This winter, I’ll be feeding my small dogs in a crate or I could feed them on the bathroom tile and mop.
4. Do you need to add supplements to these meals? If so are they included in the premade mixes or am I adding them?
If you use a complete and balanced commercial premix, no additional supplements are necessary. Although there are a lot of people who give whole food supplements like supergreen foods (chlorella, kelp, barley grass, etc), bee pollen, and herbs, a complete vitamin E.
5. What is the best site for ordering?
I’ve heard Chewy.com is good. I’ve always used Petflow and amazon.6. Does someone have a schedule or process I can literally follow to the letter?
Sorry, I am sure this has been answered over and over again but I would really appreciate the help. I am not too concerned about the cost as Wellness and Core are not cheap, however if I can pre-make these and feed her in the morning because we are often in a rush and it’s so hard to get her to eat kibble before we leave.At my house, they eat raw if I have it thawed out. If not, they get other foods (kibble, canned, freeze dried). Darwins comes in convenient packaging and serving sizes and most commercial products come in patties or small bite sizes or chubs (which are the least convenient for me). You just have to remember to thaw! You can put 3 days worth out to thaw in the frig. I also use dehydrated foods (The Honest Kitchen, Addiction) where I just add water and let sit. I make some ahead of time and put it in the frig. But these are not raw.
Topic: ELI5 Raw Feeding Guide
I know I am breaking forum etiquette here as there is a post from April that seems to be asking basically the same thing, however at this point I am just overwhelmed with information that I just can’t skim through anymore articles or blogs. So please explain it to me like I’m five!
I have a 6 month old Brittany that I have been feeding Wellness Core and TOTW kibble since we got her at the end of April. She is a super picky eater and it has become progressively harder to get her to eat her kibble without starting to “spruce” it up with other foods. We had originally thought she would just become distracted so we started taking it away after 20 minutes or so but I think she really just doesn’t like kibble.
So I started researching other foods and I came across all of this information about Raw Feeding, however there is a ton of information and I really do not know where to start. I am hoping someone can give me some good links or straight to the point help, I addition to knowing I am also going to have to sell this to the wife.1. Is it better to get a premade mix of raw food online or buy meats from the supermarket or meat market? Or is it better to have a mix?
2. Is ground or whole better?
3. I keep seeing people talking about feeding bones, including chicken bones… I was always told that chicken bones are dangerous? This is going to be the one that the hardest to get my wife on board with.
4. Do you need to add supplements to these meals? If so are they included in the premade mixes or am I adding them?
5. What is the best site for ordering?
6. Does someone have a schedule or process I can literally follow to the letter?
Sorry, I am sure this has been answered over and over again but I would really appreciate the help. I am not too concerned about the cost as Wellness and Core are not cheap, however if I can pre-make these and feed her in the morning because we are often in a rush and it’s so hard to get her to eat kibble before we leave.
Hi Pattyvaughn!
Thanks! In Portugal I have a real problem about dog food, there aren’t too much brands on the market and the really good ones are too (TOO) expensive, compared to prices outside Portugal… (Acana here costs almost 90€ for 12kg…) I tried Taste of The Wild, but he made a food allergie to the protein…
I was thinking to change for Diamond Nutra Professional, but the reviews aren’t that good…
What do you recomend? Maintain Bento Kronen and add some meat (-raw or cooked- chicken, turkey or beef??) or change to Diamond Nutra Professional?Thank you for your patiente and for all your advices!!
Okay so I have decided to come out of the dark and just ask this question. What is the best food?! I recently just got my australian sheperd (5 months)in august and around the same time my boyfriend adopted a pit/husky mix puppy too. I would really like to feed raw but don’t have time to do it so I was planning to feed a good kibble in the morning then raw in the evening. I also just bought some canidae all life stages and read that it was a bad food too feed. So I bought a small bag of natures instinct chicken formula. My bf wants to feed them pedigree and keeps asking why buy expensive dog food/good dog food and I tell him that its better for them. He just doesn’t understand how some of the dog food is really bad so im just going to find the best dog food and ignore him. Help me please! (:
Recent Topics
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Easy Cat Pregnancy Calculator for Cat Owners
by 3 months ago
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How do I keep a dog entertained passively?
by 3 months, 1 week ago
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Best enrichment toys for a smart dog? Others are getting boring.
by 3 months, 2 weeks ago
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Need healthier alternatives to Purina Moist & Meaty
by 5 months, 1 week ago
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dog vitamins
by
2 months, 1 week ago