[losul]

Oh believe me, I know all bout the round tuit thing, lol. I have lotso those pending……………..

[theBCnut]

I was looking at those numbers a couple days ago and was thinking about starting a new thread to ask what anyone thought. You’ve seen how that went… One of these days I got to get a rountoit(or is that a round tuit) so I can get all those little things that I never do done.

[FreeholdHound]

Patty- I will be searching out pork necks. Haven’t seen them at any of my local markets so I’ll check at my Asian Mkt when I go next. Harry is happily crunching on a dried beef trachea from MPC- his eyes actually rolled back into his head – I guess he likes it! I’ve given them raw but not dried before.

[losul]

Hi Molzy,

About the chronic wasting disease- these tissues are known to harbor and concentrate the abnormal proteins-prions- brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes in an infected animal, although I’ve also read they can be in other tissues, even in blood.

Even high temperature cooking/irradiation does not destroy them.

Its not likely your dog or even you would get anything from them, specific prions have difficulty jumping the species barrier, although it HAS been thought/known to happen. Dogs thus far, and as far as I know, havent been reported to get any prion diseases, but it doesnt neccesarily mean they dont, cant or wont. So far there are about 4 or 5 of these transmissible and fatal prion diseases known to occur in humans, 1 in cats, 1 in cattle (BSE or mad cow) 1 in sheep/goats (scrapie) 1 in mink.

I posted about it the other day as a precautionary measure. You might want to avoid eating or feeding any of the above tissues if you live in a an area where CWD is known to be prevalent in the wild, or any tissues at all from a deer, elk or moose that is behaving sickly or oddly.

Here is more info on Transmissible spongiform encephalopathys, see also chronic wasting disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmissible_spongiform_encephalopathy

About MPC and their calorie fiasco. Thats something that recently appeared on their website. I agree there is absolutely no way those figures are correct. Also their protein and fat figures dont always jive. The bad thing is that the phone number that they provide is Paul’s cell phone number. I called Paul about two weeks ago when I saw these figures onsite. Paul also personally makes deliveries, which he was doing when I called. I told him that their was no way the calorie counts were right, take the chicken super mix for example-theres no way 1 pound could contain only 217 calories, and especially given the very high (supposedly) fat figures given. Even skinless, boneless chicken breast has way more calories than that. He told me that they had folks wanting to know the calorie counts so they obtained lab results showing those figures. I still insisted something was very wrong. He said that he could check back with the lab, but couldnt do much until he returned from his deliveries which would be a week or so. So I told him I would be calling back. Your post reminded me to call him, and I just got off the phone with him. He now agrees that something isnt right (probably has had lotso phone calls about), but that they still havent got it sorted out. When/if they get that sorted out I have more questions/concerns for him.

[jinxykb]

Nature’s instinct is a very good food! So is Nature’s Variety Prairie. I fed my pup prairie for years and she did well on it. We have also used Halo, which was great. Now we are on Honest Kitchen Preference–mixing in cooked meat, but you could do raw as well.

[LisaLynn]

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!

[theBCnut]

For the premix, yes just ground or whole boneless meat and whatever kind of oil they say to add.

And those are both great books, they have a lot of info to absorb though, so they are not the kind of book that you just read through once and you’re good. Have fun with it, I know many of us are.

[Molzy]

Thanks Patty. I guess I had been thinking I would completely eliminate kibble, but perhaps I will leave a little in, just to give us that option when traveling or boarding. But it wouldn’t be 50%, so I guess I’ll still need to balance the raw.

I ordered two of the book I see mentioned on here a lot, the canine ancestral diet and the dr. Becker’s one. They should arrive Friday, so I know what I’ll be doing this weekend!

For the premixed, would I just buy ground meat at the store then? Without any organs or bone?

Thanks again, sorry for all the questions!

[Chuck]

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?

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Chuck.

[neezerfan]

Hi Chuck, I’ve been where you are now and I agree it is overwhelming! You can take it step by step. I started by eliminating kibble altogether. The more I read about it, the more I felt it wasn’t a good food for my dog. I switched to 5 star canned foods, rotating brands and protein sources. I gave him a chicken neck or foot twice a week. Then I started rotating in commercially prepared raw starting with Primal and Nature’s Variety. Now his main food is Darwin’s but I still rotate in other brands and cans. I give him 2 homemade meals a week, he eats twice daily so that’s under the 20% rule.

I don’t feel confident at this point to self prepare all of his meals. My next move is to rotate in meals consisting of fresh meat with a premix added. He’s only 2 so we have time! Maybe I’ll get there eventually but for now I’m doing the best that I feel comfortable with.

Start your dog with a chicken neck and see how it goes. My dog will eat absolutely anything but it did take him a few minutes to get going on his first chicken neck. He just looked at it and circled it for a while before getting down to business. Now he eats all kinds of bones.

[InkedMarie]

Sandy answered your questions but I wanted to say welcome! My Brittany is three, her name is Ginger. You can see her under my name.

[PrincessPiper]

Click on the look inside and if you scroll down to page 109 you will see some examples of the recipes that are offered in this book. I’m new to raw feeding so I’m buying this book and I’ve heard that this book is a good one, too.

I think I’m going to start out with prepackaged and pre-mixes to get me started and after I read this book hopefully I will become a little more adventurous. 🙂

I have a 3lb one year old yorkie that absolutely hates dog food so I started homecooking for her while I research raw. She currently gets premade raw for her evening meal and I cook her breakfast. She gets chicken feet (we raise our own birds) for treats.

Good luck in your quest!!

[PiaOnomato]

I took Pico’s clean catch urine sample in on Saturday but somehow, it wasn’t sent to the lab until Monday! I was not happy… at all.
I got some really odd results on Tuesday (yesterday). Pico has a UTI but also has high glucose (100), protein, bilirubin, and fat in his urine!! I am really concerned that some or all of this may be a result of feeding Orijen 6 fish for 6 weeks but I can’t find any literature to support it. I had to do a pretty quick switch to Dr. Tim’s Active Dog kibble but so far, no ill effects.
The vet ordered additional tests on the urine sample (Protein and creatinine) and we will have blood work drawn on 10/1. Thankfully, Pico seems very much himself.
I will update this thread as this is potentially food related…
Dee

[Chuck]

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

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Chuck.

[theBCnut]

Yeah, I’ve noticed that about their calorie counts too. I can’t imagine how they could possibly be that low. I would have to feed my dogs 10 lbs of their stuff a day if that was the actual calorie count and that was all I fed. I just don’t see how a pound of meat could have a calorie count that low.

Most premixes are for boneless meat. To a grind I would add vit E, vit D, omega 3s, a whole food supplement, a fruit and veggie mix, some ground nuts/seeds, and canned oysters or some other zinc and selenium source once a week.

If you are going to continue doing half kibble, you don’t have to worry as much about balancing a grind. I still add omega 3s every day and I give a whole food or superfood supplement every day. The other daily stuff I add every third day or weekly depending on dosage available. Since I do feed half kibble, I add a digestive enzyme to the kibble every day and probiotics or tripe about every other day.

[Molzy]

Thanks Patty!

So, I have been looking at my pet carnivore because I live in the Midwest and it wouldn’t be TOO hard to do one of their pick-ups if I got enough to make it worth it. But on their website, it seems like their calories per pound are really low? According to the 3% rule, my dogs need 1.2 pounds each, but I also know that they need around 1000 calories…doesn’t seem like it adds up?

Would I mix the stuff from my pet carnivore (I’m looking at the grinds that have bones and organs) with a premix? Or a vitamin?

Thanks!

[theBCnut]

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.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by theBCnut.

[MaggieM]

Hello,

I have a question about using vitamins and green super food supplements. I just started feeding raw and I think I have the meals balanced between the raw meaty bones and the other half muscle meat, organs and some vegetables, eggs and dairy. I am hoping that this puts the calcium/phosphorus ratio is in a balanced range. I have been adding fish oil for the omega 3s and now I am a bit confused as to what else I should be adding. I know E is needed with the fish oil but I have been debating between just adding the E or just adding a simple multi-vitamin or one of these vitamin/mixes.

Berte’s Daily Blend
EarthOrigins
Dr. Harvey’s Multi-Vitamin
SpiruGreen Superfood

The Berte’s and the EarthOrigins seem to be more of a cross between a vitamin and green blend compared to the others. I have heard so many different opinions I am no longer sure what is really needed. Does any one have any thoughts?

Please help.
Thanks,
M

[Molzy]

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)

[pugmomsandy]

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.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Molzy]

Thanks for the advice everyone! So far he’s been ok on canned foot, I am currently working on switching him over to Chicken Soup cans, and if that works I will start considering raw.

Aimee, I have heard that it may be seizure related, or allergy induced seizures. I will ask my vet about it. I’ve found I can talk him out of an attack if I catch him at the beginning. The wet diet seems to be helping a lot.

Thanks again for your advice!

[Chuck]

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.

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[Pitonos]

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!!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Pitonos.

[losul]

PrincessPiper,

If you happen to live in one of the areas where chronic wasting disease (a prion disease similar to BSE in cows or scrapie in sheep) is prevalent in wild deer/elk/moose populations, as a precaution, you might want to avoid feeding (or eating yourself) these tissues- brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes, no matter raw or cooked.

Its now spread to parts of at least 21 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_wasting_disease

[rogerharris]

Hiii… I will suggest you that a balanced raw food is good for your health. Raw food is healthy food for the dog as it helps in better digestion. It has no fatty grains, no chemicals, preservatives, sweeteners, fillers and additives. It also increases energy levels and very low in carbohydrates.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Cut it open and squeeze it out. Use gloves – you may also want a gas mask. 🙂 Then just be sure to freeze it for a few weeks prior to feeding.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi PrincessPiper –

XCaliber isn’t a balanced food but could safely be fed for a few meals a week if being fed in conjunction with a balanced diet. As long as the fat level doesn’t cause loose stools and she isn’t prone to pancreatitis it should bother her. I’d recommend checking out Steve Brown’s book “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” if you’re interested in making homemade raw meals – it contains easy to make, AAFCO compliant recipes.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I just bought some of the NV Instinct Raw Bites (Lamb) to try because one of my local pet stores just started carrying it – I hope my dogs don’t have this problem! Patty gave you some good suggestions, I hope everything clears up.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sparkysgirl –

If you’re feeding one meal per day of a balanced commercial food I think it’s fine to feed a muscle meat/organ meat/bone blend (called a “grind”) for the other meal. If you want to feed an entirely raw diet you would need to either feed a balanced commercial product or learn how to properly balance a “grind” or completely homemade meal.

[sparkysgirl]

I went to the store today and bought sparky earthborn ocean fusion while the bf bought pro plan…go figure. Anyways i was looking at the raw food products online i was wondering if the ground meat(meat/bone/organ) is good to start off with?

[pugmomsandy]

Tripe has a high fat content. I would feed with caution if your dog has had a problem with high fat before. For an easy homemade raw (while your taking the time for alot of research) there are some premixed you could use like Urban Wolf, The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s. You generally just add meat and oil. I just used CarnivoreRaw (from Young Again Pet Food) on my last batch of raw. It has vitamins, minerals, etc.

[theBCnut]

I’m not HDM, but…
When the deer/elk is being gutted, you want to seperate the stomach from the intestines as cleanly as possible. That means it is better to lose part of the stomach to keep any contamination from the inestines out of it. After you have the intestines removed, seperate the esophagus, then you can cut open the stomach and lightly rinse the insides. You can feed the esophagus, the trachea, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, basically everything that comes out of there except the intestines.

[PrincessPiper]

HDM…I have a question about collecting the tripe. Our family has 4 elk permits and our granddaughter has an elk and deer permit. God willing we will all harvest and I would like to save all the good parts of the gut but I have no idea how to collect the tripe!! Do you just cut the stomach open? LOL…my hubby said, “good luck with that and don’t even ask me to do it!” I have a fairly weak gag reflex so I’m sure I will probably puke when I do it but I’m willing to try!!

[PrincessPiper]

Is the XKALIBER from GreenTripe.com considered balanced and can be fed alone as a meal? It states that it’s for young dogs…is 1 year old still considered young or is it going to be too much fat for her? She is a rescue dog that was being fed bird seed so when I got her she was very thin. The vet told me to give her some canned puppy food to try and put some weight on her but she didn’t do well with the high fat content. She absolutely hated doggy kibble and stopped eating the canned dog food so I started homecooking for her while researching raw. I have since started the transition to raw, which she is doing very well on, but the balancing portion of raw feeding has me horribly confused. :/ I’m one of those that needs to have the exact measurements.

[sparkysgirl]

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! (:

[GSDsForever]

I’m working with an unfamiliar recipe that calls for barley in it — a very small amount, percentage wise but barley nonetheless.

I don’t generally feed grains. It is from a specialist vet I’m working with & for now I think I need to stick pretty closely to the recipe, at least until I have a chance to talk to her about it. The nutrient levels, including very, very high protein & fat percentages + caloric density, are critical . . . as well as whatever values Chinese medicine attaches to the specific ingredients that I may not be aware of.

My Q is how I can make it digestible. I really don’t recall if/when I’ve ever fed barley (would have been years ago) . . . but I’m concerned it will all just come out unchanged at the other end, because that’s what happens if I were to feed whole brown rice.

Bulk recipe calls for several lbs grass fed organic beef, various veggies/greens/herbs/spices, and 1 C barley — so he’d be getting about 1/5 or 1/6 cup barley a day (and half of that at each meal) — cooked in a crockpot. Would the small amount make it easier to digest??? Or is it going to still be about the small size of the whole grain and its exterior covering?

Should I grind it raw, and THEN throw it into the crockpot with the other ingredients? Or cook it separately and then puree it? And what KIND of barley do I buy? Pearled, whole, flaked/rolled?

Or should I just not worry about him not digesting it well and just throw it in there?

I have a feeling I’m going to run into the same thing if she wants me to use quinoa or millet. . . .

[Cyndi]

Your best bet if you’re looking for teeth cleaning is an occasional raw meaty bone. Depending on your dog’s size, a chicken neck (for a smaller dog) or a turkey neck (for a larger dog) would be the best thing for teeth cleaning…
Since I’ve been feeding raw, my dog’s teeth sparkle. No sign of tarter or whatever it is dogs get on their teeth.

[somebodysme]

When I bought the bone, I thought it would be harmless…HA! I wouldn’t have thought it was chew down that fast. She has another large hard white bone that she’s been chewing on for many months. She doesn’t get enough off of it to do any harm as far as allergies. She has a basket full of assorted sizes of antlers but she only wants the split ones. I don’t see any reaction to antlers either, she doesn’t really get anything off of them either. Her favorite thing to chew is a rawhide but she can’t have those since we figured out she reacts to them. It just seems like, everything that she enjoys chewing is bad for her. Bully sticks are gone in a minute with her. What I’m after is teeth cleaning.

[konamisan]

Hi Dr. Mike,

I’ve been feeding both my JRT & Yorkie raw food for two years now and have only had a problem with feeding the JRT chicken & turkey because she has SEVERE ALLERGIES to it. I’ve tried several brands i.e.;, Bravo, Darwin’s, Steve’s, Stella & Chewy’s, Vital, & lastly Nature’s variety Instinct.

I’ve fed them rabbit, venison, pheasant & lamb.

I recently tried the Variety Instinct Beef!!! BAD CHOICE!.

I started the beef this past Sunday Sept 15th, 2013. I purchased the Patties & the Raw Kibble Bites. I would give them the patty in the evening & the raw bites in the morning.

3 days into the feeding, I noticed that after my Xena the JRT started throwing up about 15 minutes after she ate this food. If she drank any water, she would throw it up too.

Well here we are Saturday September 21st, and she has refused to eat either the patty or the raw beef bites as well. My Zeus, the Yorkie was refusing to touch it too. They both have diarrhea, Only my JRT is still vomiting she isn’t even keeping the water down.

She went to poo this morning and alarming to see, that she had BLOOD in her STOOLS!!! She is refusing to eat anything.

I called the Petco Store where I purchased this food & spoke to the Manager.

He suggested that I bring in the UPC Labels and to generate a written report to the Nature’s Variety Instinct Corp.

I contacted my Vet and He suggested I give her some boiled Chicken & Rice & some Pedialyte. My Vet also suggested that since I can’t afford to bring her to him to check her, he said ” Maybe you should consider giving one of your dogs up for adoption cause you certainly can’t afford the two to take care of them in a case like this”

I have never had an issue as this one to make my Xena soooooo sick. I know that she has not ingested anything other than this BEEF product.

I still want to feed them Raw. HELP WHAT DO I DO Dr. Mike & knowledgeable dog owners.

I also have them on Dr. Becker’s Liver & Kidney Support, Digestive Enzymes & the Spirugreen Super Food for Dogs.

Sincerely for My (Zeus 7 yr. old male & neutered & (Xena 6 yr. old Female & Neutered)

I’ve had Zeus since he was 3 months old & Xena since she was 6 weeks old.

Thank You ,

Konamisan

[FreeholdHound]

Oh yes.. and the days I’m dividing up the raw tripe into smaller portions — Harry has fits outside the kitchen gate. Of course I have to give him some to shut him up. I guess he never read that Greyhounds don’t bark LOL.

[FreeholdHound]

I know Tripett and Merrick both have canned Tripe and are sold in most pet stores. I used the Merrick as a topper when I used to use canned food. Harry liked it but the raw is definitely Houndie Crack around here.

[theBCnut]

PrincessPiper
Don’t worry about freezer burn unless your dog does. Just because it is freezer burned doesn’t mean it is bad, it just changes the taste and dogs don’t seem to mind that. Partial defrosting, repackaging, and refreezing is common practice among raw feeders.

Sully’sMom
Canned tripe is not raw since the canning process requires high heat, so it loses some of it’s positive traits. But the canned green tripe is still very smelly, so it makes an excellent topper. Some of them are not balanced, so they should not be more than 20% of the diet.

[PrincessPiper]

I’m just getting started feeding raw and I have a question? I have a 3lb Yorkie and was wondering how long it takes for food to freezer burn? Is it safe to thaw it, repackage it, and freeze it again? I’m just bought a 4lb bags of Nature’s Variety to see if she was going to handle raw okay because she HATES dog food and she is doing very well with it so it’s time to start buying in bulk but was wondering on the freezer burn thing where she doesn’t eat very much.

She is currently munching on a chicken foot (we raise our own chickens so they are free range and no yuck is used) and is loving it.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by PrincessPiper.

[rogerharris]

Hii… There are some book suggestion for home made dog’s food–
1. Real Food for Healthy Dogs & Cats by Dr. Becker
2. K9 Kitchen by Monica Segal
3. Raw dog food
4. The Natural Pet Food Cookbook by Wendy Nan Rees
5. Natural health for dogs & Cats by Dr. Pitcairn.

Hope This information is helpful to you.

[somebodysme]

As some of you know, my dog is having allergy issues and we are in the process of finding out what she can eat. OK so she’s doing pretty well on the food she’s eating and she needs something to gnaw on for her teeth. I bought a Red Barn Naturals brand sliced knuckle(cow) bone. She loved it and chewed about 1/3 off one day and 1/3 of it off the next…It caused her rash on her back, tail and feet to flare up BAD and it also gave her bowels a fit too! OH and it came out completely undigested like how bone meal for your garden looks.

OK so my question is, should I now avoid anything beef or do these bones have some chemicals in them? I know she can’t have rawhide but there is the question also, is it beef or the chemicals? I have no clue if Red Barn has any sort of chemicals in them at all…do you know? The label did not say. Any thoughts on the bone? I know I could try raw bones but I wanted something that she could eat in the house and not make a mess.

[beaglemom]

also wanted to add… it’s annoying because I only found out about the stupid site because that woman emailed our co-op (PA_NJrawfeedingnetwork)… so i can’t imagine how many other people are in the same boat. Not sure if you’re a member of the group or not but no one’s responded with any sort of feedback, so who knows.

[beaglemom]

Hi Freehold… that website is definitely a bust. HDM posted that she placed an order and never received it, had to find their phone number through Paypal (since the one listed on the website is out of service), and got a similar BS line from them about how it would ship soon or some such thing. We dug deeper and found that this same creep of a woman (Suzanne) burned HDM once before with a different website but somehow she’s still putting up these sites and screwing people. Her former 2-3 businesses all have an F rating on the website of the Better Business Bureau. You can read our discussion here…
/best-dog-foods/raw-dog-food/ (suggested raw dog foods)
I wouldn’t wait to file the claim with Paypal – do it asap. They took care of HDM’s refund the same day.

[FreeholdHound]

Looks like Raw Pet Food Nation may turn out to be a bust (at least for me). I placed my order last weekend & never received any sort of email from them for confirmation. I emailed on Wed & got a reply that they were looking into it & nothing since. Sigh. I ‘ll hold out thru the weekend & then go thru PayPal to dispute the transaction.

[JLezinsky]

Hi Everyone,

I gave up on trying to find a pre-made raw after the Sirius food had all sorts of negative issues. Since then I have been trying to figure out the best way to make my own. Here is what I am planning on doing to start with. I would love to get any feedback because I really respect the knowledge of everyone here.

a.m.
Ground Beef/Tripe/Organs and Bone
(alternating between the Tripe Super Mix from MPC and Ground Beef/Organs/Tripe/Bone mix Hare Today)
Eggs (every other day)
Sardines (opposite the eggs)
Krill Oil (Mercola Liquid Pump) (every other day)
Dr. Harvey’s Multi-Vitamin/Herbal Supplement and SpiruGreen Superfood (rotating between the two)
Multi Vitamin (½ tablet daily)
Coconut Oil
Turmeric

Veggie/Fruit Mix a few times a week

p.m.
RMB’s
Rotating between chicken necks, back, feet and turkey necks and backs.
Also occasionally adding some chicken gizzards, hearts and livers.

I am still nervous about calcium/phosphorus ratios and vitamins. Is a multi-vitamin ok with this? If so what multi-vitamin tablet (so I can split it) would you recommend? Please let me know if this looks balanced or if I should add or adjust things.
Thanks everyone, I appreciate any help.

[pugmomsandy]

Great! Just checking. I used it as muscle meat in my last batch of raw.