Hi weimlove –
Any raw recipe can easily be converted to a cooked recipe. The raw feeding model, as you know, is 80% muscle meat, 10% organ meat, 10% bone – to convert to cooked you would omit the bone, increase the muscle meat portion to 90% and supplement with 800 – 1,000 mg. calcium per pound of meat fed. Any human calcium supplement would work. On the days I feed boneless meals I use Swanson’s calcium citrate powder. Ground eggshells work too – 1 tsp. ground eggshell has about 800 – 1,000 mg. calcium.
I hope the cooked food works out better for Shadow than the raw did š
BTW, the vet would probably put your dog on antibiotics but that is in essense delaying true healing, because antibiotics wipe out the good bacteria as well as the bad and right now your dogs body is only supporting the bad, so that is what will grow back, then you’ll need antibiotics again, and again, and again. The probiotics are good microflora that compete for resources with the bad ones so they help cut back the bad ones and at the same time rebalance the good ones. They also compete with yeast and help with healing there too. Just one thing to be aware of, as your dog gets better, it will probably have healing crisis along the way. These are episodes where the skin may start itching again for a couple days or there might be a short bout of diarrhea, the eyes might gunk up. These are times when the body is getting rid of some of the junk that has built up in the system. They don’t last long and they shouldn’t be as bad as original symptoms were in intensity but they can be strange. My dog had his skin go red and start inching intensely for a couple days then 2 weeks later his eyes started gooping up for a couple days. After that it was his ears, or his skin all of a sudden got seborretic, then he got a single sore on his leg that had pustules in it. That was the last one though, now as long as I keep him away from most grains and chicken, he looks like a normal dog.
Thanks guys for the info! So, if I feed Orijen grain free supplemented with Blue Ridge Beef raw, which has ground green tripe in the natural mix and add plain yogurt to that, do you think that will be a good diet? Or should I supplement with more?
Hi acs379 –
This is a wonderful point to bring up! I’ll try to explain it as best I can.
The two main nutritional risks to large breed puppies are excess calcium consumption (or an unbalanced calcium to phosphorus ratio) and excess energy consumption (too many calories leading to rapid weight gain).
The reason most formulas targeted towards large breed puppies and recommended for large breed puppies tend to be lower in fat has to do with the excess energy consumption risk factor. Protein and carbohydrates both have approximately 4 kcal. per gram while fat has over twice this much at about 9 kcal. per gram. So as you can see, fat is much more calorically dense than protein or carbohydrates and, as a result, foods that are higher in fat tend to be more calorically-dense as well. It is easier for a puppy (or any dog) to consume too much energy (calories) when eating a more calorically-dense food and this would ultimately result in undesired weight gain and, as we know, undesired weight gain in large and giant breed puppies can contribute to the development of orthopedic disease. This is why when feeding a more calorically-dense, or as some would say “rich”, food it is necessary to strictly control portions.
As you can see fat – per se – is not a risk factor for developmental orthopedic disease, excess calories are. It’s very possible to feed a puppy (or any dog) a food that is higher and fat and not have the dog gain unwanted pounds – this is done through portion control. So if, for example, a puppy is eating a food with 20% fat that has 500 kcal. per cup the puppy will obviously need less of this food (to compensate for the high caloric-density) than of a food with 12% fat and 350 kcal. per cup.
All of my puppies have eaten higher fat foods. Gertie ate a combination of The Honest Kitchen and grain-free canned foods until she was 8 months old with fat levels in excess of 20%. Mabel ate a homemade raw diet from the time she came home at 8 weeks with fat levels in the 30% – 40% range. I keep track of the calories my dogs are consuming, so my pups are fed the amount of calories that keeps them in optimal body condition. This means that when eating fattier more calorie-dense meals they get a smaller portion than when they’re eating leaner less calorie-dense meals.
In summary, it’s not the fat that contributes to developmental orthopedic disease it’s the excess calories that fat provides. As long as portion sizes are monitored and the pup isn’t allowed to gain weight too quickly fat levels won’t pose an issue.
I hope that helps clear things up!
That is why it is best to space out each feeding by quite a bit. Like I feed Raw in the morning at about 5:30AM and then at around 6pm I feed kibble and I do add enzymes and probiotics. It woks for us because we spread each meal out to where the first meal is digested before we feed the 2nd meal.
The only time I had an issue is when I mixed kibble with Raw trying to do a switch over to Raw and now I know and have learned we can switch to certain Raw food with no issues but just no mixing in kibble with it.
For yeast problems, it is important to feed the lowest carb food that you can. Sugar feeds the yeast. You have to stick with a restricted carb diet for about 8 months to allow the body time to get back in balance. It’s also very important to give digestive enzymes and probiotics at this time, because of the damage that yeast does to the gut wall.
That yellow discharge could be infection and that smells nasty too. It really to me sounds like food allergies. The allergies start at the feet. I saw it explained why but of course I can’t remember now…like that’s where dogs sweat so that’s where the toxins come out? I actually had two vets tell me it was most likely food allergies and to try something without grains and without chicken. My vet had to give her an antibiotic shot for the infection in her paws…it was that bad. To me it smelled like stinky cheese…kind of like cheetoes or parmesan cheese which I thought was yeast. I just think it’s best to go at least to the vet so they can tell you if it’s yeast or not and if there’s infection…it won’t heal up without antibiotic. At least if it’s not yeast, you won’t have that to worry with. My vet suggested a venison or duck limited ingredient food and also said that fish would be ok too. If it’s yeast…one of the few dry kibbles I’ve seen that is supposed to be ok for yeast is Nutrisca. I would definitely stay away from chicken until you figure it out. My dogs symptoms were swollen infected paws, itching bald spots in various places on her body, watering eyes, pink inside to ears with some brown discharge and itching in them, just a whole lot of scratching going on all over but mostly the paws. She was having to wear a cone because she was chewing her paws. I really wasted a lot of time trying to self diagnose because believe me I am so anti-doctor it’s ridiculous. HA! If the vet tells you it’s food allergies, you do not have to buy their dog food! When I made a face at the suggestion of IAMS RX…my vet suggested a venison or duck grain free food of my liking…HAHAHA! But she had to have a shot to clear the paw infection! Believe me, I am kicking myself for not taking her to the vet sooner! It would have saved us both a lot of pain and suffering!
I was also thinking of going with Blue Ridge Beef instead of Tucker’s because it is cheaper. The reviews I read online sounds like Blue Ridge Beef is really good for the price, but I was wondering if anybody here has fed that and liked it.
I did bathe them in some flea shampoo I got at Walmart and I haven’t found any fleas on them lately. I will look into that boric acid, thanks. I have looked up pictures and symptoms of all kinds of skin issues and can’t really find one that fits them 100%. But my Saints ears and in between her paws are definitely yeasty and my American Bulldog has some areas on his skin where the skin is peeling, but it isn’t dry and flaky. It is kind of moist and has some yellow scabby discharge. I may just end up having to take them to the vet, but if this is diet related I want to fix it myself and not be told to buy some prescription crap from the vet.
When I first brought home Mila, the pet store suggested I buy Canidae Single Grain (a 5 star brand on DFA) but once I transitioned her to grain-free she didn’t want the Canidae anymore and ate around it.
dogaware(dot)com has recipes and supplement guidelines. HDM posted a chicken and rice recipe in the raw dog food menus but you could cook it. Sorry it didn’t work out.
* Starbright:
You are most welcome! I wish you the best of luck!
And I’ve been trying to save money on treats and wanted something healthier for Quinn with her joints, so a few “healthy” suggestions are baby carrots, dehydrated fruit (we use our food dehydrator and make a bunch of apples and bananas when they’re getting a little soft for our taste or if we forget they were in the fridge drawer), and homemade treats (there’s some great peanut butter and pumpkin ones out there). Quinn loooooves apples (no seeds or core!) in any form and sometimes I sprinkle some cinnamon on them. They’re cheap and good for her. Try carrots for sure!
Also: we subscribe to a few monthly dog subscription boxes that gives us all of our treats — mainly because it feels like Christmas when I open up the boxes. š
Hi all,
I am completely overwhelmed with all this information, but so grateful to have discovered this website! I HAVE to make a change in my dogs’ food. My 7 year old Husky started having diarrhea last week and vomited one day. I took him to the vet Monday, who said she noticed bad bacteria in his stool and prescribed an antibiotic. Today (Wednesday) I see another recall for Innova (salmonella), which is what my husky eats, so I called the vet to ask is this could have been the cause of his symptoms. She said yes and prescribed another med.
Obviously, I’m done with Innova. I was thinking about switching to Fromm, but I really want to do what is best for my dogs. I recently moved to the middle of nowhere, where the only place to buy dog food is Walmart. No way.
What I’m thinking of doing is ordering Fromm dry food online, and topping it with some canned foods — I can get different flavors to keep them happy and that won’t upset their tummies, right? (I have two dogs – the husky and a shepherd mix approx 50 lbs.) I was also thinking of adding in carrots…should I clean them and feed raw or cook them first? The yogurt sounds like a good idea, too. Would it be better to purchase dehydrated or freeze-dried food and top that with some fresh goodies? I have never heard of being able to purchase dehydrated/freeze-dried food so that’s a totally new concept to me.
Thank you so much for any thoughts or input. I want my dogs to live the longest healthiest life possible.
HDM likes Answers; I can’t get it locally and I think I’ve seen one online place tht carried it, when I looked. She can probably help with that.
If you want to do raw, have you looked at Hare Today?
Oh and I can also get this locally but I have only ever used the goats milk of theirs, I just learned today that they have Raw food http://www.answerspetfood.com/straight.html
I would react just like I did when my 2 got Pancreatitis and bad bacteria when on Darwin’s I immediately get them to the Vet. The food Company would not help after your pet gets sick….Honestly they do not care and feel like you are just blamming them and or their food so they blow you off. I can almost instantly read it in their voice. Yes I agree Customer service is important but it is certainly not there anymore these days from my experience. I am still trying to find the perfect Raw for my dogs that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to ship. I can get Vital Essentials and Primal and Natures Instinct but my problem with the Primal and Natures Instinct is the veggies and fruits they put in them. My dogs are doing good on the Rabbit from Hare Today and My Pet Carnivore but the $45 shipping is killing me. What if I feed Raw low fat meats just from the grocery and add in Steve’s mix? I just don’t want to do all kibble since I have not seen a huge improvement on it. It seems like I am fighting a never ending battle with my dogs are their diet these days. I am beginning to think it has nothing to do with food but the way man has bred dogs for the last years, The DNA code has been terribly messed up. I know dogs to this day that are fed Pedigree and thrive and have no health issues…I won’t feed cheap/grain food to my dogs and try to feed the best I can but it seriously back fires on me. I am to the point of buying my own meat and cooking the snot out of it and adding in supplements and maybe then I won’t have problems. Sorry just venting. I honestly do not know which way to turn in the food direction.
I sort of disagree with NectarMom. Yes, customer service does suck in ALOT of instances but I personally could not feed a food if I emailed more than once and got no answer and especially if the person answering the phone couldn’t direct me to someone who knew the answer. One raw food here got very good ratings but there is a warning in red lettering from dr mike, saying how bad the customer service is.
What would happen if your dogs got really sick and you got no answers? Would it matter how good the food was? For me, customer service is very important.
Hi everyone! Most of you know that I was feeding shadow a raw diet. After having a bout of pancreatitis, I have switched back to a high quality kibble because I got so freaked out. I don’t plan on going back to raw, but I am very interested in making a home cooked diet for him. I plan on this diet being grain free as well. I need some information about what supplements he would need. Especially calcium since he will not be consuming cooked bones. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I had sent a previous suggestion to this website but I think it is worthy of discussion here in this forum. In order to help make informed decisions on which brand rates stars (note Natura and Innova have 5 star rating), it may be a more trust worthy site to include in the description of the product the number of recalls this product has had.
I did not have a problem with this brand of dog food, though I feed primarily raw and cooked food – what I buy for myself, I feed to my dogs, before the acquisition by P&G in 2010. I don’t think it makes any difference whether this product is sold in a “big box store” (unless this store makes their own brand), I think it has to do with profits and shareholders, not consumers. The best run businesses put the consumer first, and the shareholders last. Let P&G know how you feel about this loss of trust.
I have krill capsules and a bottle of Nature’s Logic sardine oil. I also have Udo’s oil. I’ll use both at the same time sometimes. Haven’t used the coconut in a while since it is just not as convenient!
HDM,
Shoot. He’s only 12 weeks old. I couldn’t find the calcium ratio on the Victor, but saw it was 5 star and had many of the things you have discussed. Well I only bought a small bag. Back to the drawing board. I would like a really good dog food around the 50.00 dollar range for the 26lb bag. I don;t mind ordering if I have to. Is there anything you would suggest for his age and size. I have looked at so many foods I’m going crazy. Some of the foods I have seen people discussing are up to 63-70 dollars for the big bag.
I use fish, salmon, or krill oil every day, and I use coconut about every other day, when I’m feeding a lower fat meat.
It is true that yeast has a particular odor and seborrhea has a different one. Seborrhea has kind of a musty, moldy, rancid fat smell to it. I have to actually get near a yeasty dog to smell it. I can smell seborrhea from across a crowded room.
Good Morning Sully’s Mom –
No, I’m not a vet – but I’m back in school working towards it so hopefully in a few years!
Dr. Mike has an article about the arsenic issue with rice: dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-news/arsenic-discovered-in-rice/ . Feel free to start your own thread if you would like to get others’ opinions. I really haven’t researched the issue too much as I don’t eat much rice myself and my dogs rarely get rice (or any grains) aside from germinated rice a few times a month.
I’m a big Nature’s Variety Instinct fan. When I used to feed kibble to my oldest dog it was frequently in rotation. I’ve used Nutrisca as well and feel it’s a good food. My dogs eat raw as their main diet (as mentioned) however I do frequently order samples and trial-sized bags of kibble. Even though I don’t feed kibble for meals I like to keep in the know about the best brands so I can make good recommendations. For my dogs, they usually get kibble in a kong for an after dinner treat (I layer kibble and canned pumpkin and pop it in the freezer). Naturalk9supplies.com and k9cuisine.com usually offer a wide variety of free samples and sell small trial-sized bags. Also, most companies will send you samples if you call or email them and ask.
It’s possible that Dr. Tim could be recommending Pursuit over the Grain-Free Kinesis due to calcium levels. The calcium levels in the Grain-Free Kinesis formula are a bit high for a large breed puppy. Honestly, if you’re rotating through a variety of foods that do and do not contain rice I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the arsenic. I just wouldn’t feed a food with rice long term. I also feel Dr. Tim’s is a very trustworthy company so if they’re saying that their rice tests negative for high levels of arsenic I would tend to believe them (although I would still rotate brands).
Hi again, thanks for all the help! Do you use both coconut oil and fish oil or alternate the 2? Do you use krill oil? I had read and watched a video of Dr Becker educating about krill oil.
If your dog does have any fleas…that is enough to make them scratch like crazy. You do need to get the fleas under control. Just a few weeks ago, my niece was worried about her dog scratching and chewing like mad and I asked her “well does she have fleas?” “OH NO!” she says. She took her to the vet and the vet showed her that not only did she have fleas, she was crawling with them! OK so I have no idea how someone cannot see fleas on a small little dog but…Oh well…You can research some flea treatments at home but always be careful to research any “holistic” treatment for possible toxicity problems with dogs! There are a lot of people on line telling us they use this and that but be careful because dogs are sensitive to some of these things! Something simple you can use is bathe them well with some flea shampoo designed for dogs and you can sprinkle your carpet with boric acid…sweep in into the carpet and leave it for a while then vacuum it back up after a few days I think. Be sure and research how long to leave it because it’s been ages since I’ve done this. This is boric acid, not borax! You can find it at the dollar store sold for roach treatment. You will probably need a few bottles. This is safe and absolutely works like a charm! Do not put it on the dog!!!!!
Hope you’re not tired of these questions, but I’m enjoying “talking” with you about dog food. The mention of samples intrigued me: PetFlow often offers “trials” at great prices. I never considered them before because I never considered rotating foods before, but they are currently offering trial sizes of both Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Grain Free and/or Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea. Are you familiar with either/both? I noticed DFA has them both at 5 stars.
Secondly, if you were getting small sample sizes as above (this is for you too Saireah since you’re the one who mentioned samples!), how would you fit them into your feeding?
Thanks for your input. I know a lot of people say yeast smells like corn chips. I looked into the flea dermatitis online and I’m thinking it could be that more so than yeast now. Especially since my American Bulldog is showing the same signs and he has never (knock on wood) had allergies to any food, even when I ignorantly fed them Purina. I didn’t put them on any flea medications because I couldn’t afford what I used to use (Trifexis) and I guess maybe the fleas were left to bother them too long and it caused a reaction. They never had fleas until primarily outside dogs came to live at my house for a few months and I think they got fleas from them. I’m just afraid if I go to the vet she will want to put at least my Saint on some kind of medication, plus having to pay a fee just to have them looked at. I know that sounds horrible, but any chance I can avoid a trip to the vet I will do it lol. I figured that by at least supplementing their kibble with raw will be enough to clear up the issues they have.
After having been through all the self diagnosis and then taking my dog to the vet to get correct diagnosis…please don’t just assume it’s yeast because I thought my dog was yeasty and the vet told me “OH no…yeast smells a certain way and I don’t smell any yeast on her”…but to me I thought it was yeast I was smelling. They also get stinky from skin irritation which could just be from a food allergy which is what my dog has, most likely the chicken but I’m in the process of figuring that out. Anyway…my point is to take your dog to the vet and see if it really is yeast. I can’t remember what it’s called but their skin produces a secretion that stinks when they have irritated skin from allergies.
Thanks everyone for the input! Very helpful!
Saireah – I actually haven’t fed kibble (as a meal) in nearly three years. However, when I did feed kibble I switched to a new brand with a new protein source at the end of every bag and I rotated canned and fresh food toppers daily. Once your dog gets used to switching foods you shouldn’t need to transition gradually, you can just do it cold turkey.
Sully’s Mom – Yes – high levels of protein (preferably animal-based protein) is a very good things as dogs have a strong carnivorous bias and are designed to eat a primarily meat-based diet. When I fed kibble I never fed foods with less than 30% protein. My dogs now eat a raw diet with protein levels ranging between 45% and 55% at each meal.
I’m definitely going to try rotating brands — it’s intriguing to me. š Do you personally transition between rotations? I know that you feed raw sometimes, but when you’re doing kibble — do you ever switch over cold turkey? My apologies if you’ve acknowledged this question in this thread before. Dr. Tim mentioned 50/50 for three days and then you’re free to swap over.
Somebody’s me: one of mine can’t have chicken as the protein, whether kibble or raw but he does fine on Brothers Complete allergy, which has chicken fat & something else. Sometimes, you don’t know but have to try
Chicken feet is a staple at ethnic grocery stores. They usually have pig feet too. Getting a human supplement might be cheaper per dose for joint supplements. You can also buy bulk green lipped mussel. I get Jarrow True CMO from swansonvitamins(dot)com and also use Actiflex 4000. I get the horse version because I don’t like the beef flavor in the dog version and give a very small amount. This is from folks in my local raw feeding group:
Under 25 pounds:
Ā½ tsp. daily loading dose for 5 days
Ā¼ tsp. daily maintenance dose
>
25-50 pounds
1 tsp. daily loading dose for 5 days
Ā½ tsp. daily maintenance dose
>
50-75 pounds:
1 Ā½ tsp. daily loading dose for 5 days
Ā¾ tsp. daily maintenance dose
>
100 pounds
2 tsp. daily loading dose for 5 days
1 tsp. daily maintenance dose
I feed Raw in the morning and kibble in the evening and my dogs do fine that way. If your dog is yeasty then he would need to stay away from what Marie stated above but also any veggies and fruits in a kibble that may contain sugar, Sugar feeds yeast and even in very very small amounts if it is in the kibble you are using then that is why your dog is yeasty and not because of fleas even though he could also be allergic to fleas and then he could have flea dermatitis.
I have looked on their website and everywhere else and I cannot seem to find a fat content for the Turkey and Rabbit. My Mom has been feeding her yorkiesthe beef and now wants to try other proteins but I have looked and I cannot find any info on any of their Raw except for the chicken, beef and Fish. Does anyone know where this info is? I called the Company and the girl on the phone told me she did not know and for me to email the Company, well in the past I have emailed them a few times and never got an answer.
-
This topic was modified 12 years, 9 months ago by
NectarMom.
I’m using Koshihikari Sprouted GABA rice (available on Amazon). Quinoa would be a great substitute as well. When I feed Quinoa I use TruRoots sprouted Quinoa (also available on Amazon I believe).
It’s fine to feed one meal of raw and one of kibble. I want to comment on kibble. If you go to the dog food ingredients forum here, you can see a stickie I made with a list of grain & white potato free foods. Yeasty dogs do best with no grain & white potato.
I feed a variety. For kibble I feed all of Brothers Complete’s flavors except the chicken(but so you know they have chicken liver in them, mine doesn’t have a problem with chicken liver), Any Nature’s Variety Instinct that doesn’t have chicken, Earthborn Great Plains Feast and Coastal Catch, and when they get the new Orijen here I’ll give the chickenless ones of them a try too. Mine does fine on duck and turkey, it’s just chicken meat that he can’t handle.
I use any of the 95% or 96% canned food from Merrick and I can’t think of the other one now, that aren’t chicken. I don’t use them much anymore because I’m using raw instead.
For raw, I use Darwin’s. I also order from Hare Today and My Pet Carnivore and I make my own raw food. We just had a goat butchered, so I’m feeding a good bit of that right now, until I have room to move stuff around in the freezer.
Where do get germinated brown rice? Or can you use quinoa instead?
Healthy Chicken & Rice
-20 oz Chicken Gizzards
-20 oz. Chicken Hearts
-8 oz. Organic Chicken Livers
-3 Cage-Free High Omega 3 Eggs
-1 C. Germinated Brown Rice (Yields approx. 2 1/2 C. Cooked)
-1 C. Whole Milk Plain Organic Yogurt
-10 oz. Package Frozen Organic Spinach, Pureed
-1 C. Organic Blueberries, Pureed
-1/2 C. See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix
-2 tbs. Bee Pollen Granules
-2 tbs. Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
Yields 3 Servings – Approx. 1,150 kcal. per Serving
(can be separated into smaller servings for smaller or less active dogs)
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/hagelult/IMG_2158_zpsfbc8beb5.jpg
Hi EHubbman –
Yes the calcium to phosphorus ratio is very important for all dogs and should be no less than 1:1 and no more than 2:1, with around 1.2:1 being considered ideal. However when it comes to large and giant breed puppies, the overall amount of calcium consumed is still very important. Even if a food had an appropriate ratio but the calcium levels were very high – say 2.2% calcium and 2% phosphorus (1.1:1) – I wouldn’t feel comfortable feeding the food to a large or giant breed puppy. All three of my dogs eat a raw diet and my most recent pup (now 11 months old) was weaned onto raw at 8 weeks old. To keep the calcium levels controlled while still keeping the calcium to phosphorus ratio balanced, fed her green tripe for around 25% of her diet. Green tripe has a naturally balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio (roughly 1:1) but has very low levels of each mineral (only about 0.3%).
Here is my story: I currently feed ACANA and I rotate between the different varieties and all 3 of my dogs have done wonderfully on it. But after a rare bout with fleas my Saint Bernard has terrible yeasty skin with a horrid smell and my American Bulldog is starting to show signs of what I believe to be yeast issues, too. I have no idea if the fleas caused this or if it is just a coincidence, but I want to fix it soon. From my research I know raw is the way to go for the issues my dogs are facing and just plain better for them period. I am a full time college student with one more year of school, so feeding a homemade raw diet is not possible right now, but that is my goal one day. Anyway, I was thinking of feeding 50/50 raw and kibble. I wanted to feed Tucker’s Frozen Raw in the a.m. and kibble in the p.m.. I will probably switch my dogs to Orijen kibble because I know that white potato and sweet potato will feed yeast and Orijen does not contain those ingredients while ACANA does. I also will be feeding raw meaty bones once in a while. If I feed the 50/50 split will it still be beneficial to add a supplement like Nupro Silver? The people who owned my Saint before I got her did not feed her correctly as a growing pup (39 pounds underweight when I got her at 2 years old and was fed Iams), so since she has hip issues supplementing with glucosamine is something I really want to do and I figured the other natural ingredients in Nupro Silver wouldn’t hurt. If there are other supplements out there that are better please let me know. Just from my research the Nupro will be cheaper for me to give than the NuVet supplements I am giving currently. I also know that feeding duck feet is a natural source of glucosamine and I will be giving her some of those every now and then. I am just wondering if this plan sounds like a good idea or if it is stupid. I really don’t know a whole lot about raw, but I want to learn more. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, the ethnic grocery stores have skinless necks also.
What are your thoughts RE Phosphorus x Calcium Levels (as phosphorous is used in Calcium absorption, right?)?
I was looking into foods for my Presa (spanish mastiff, essentially), and a good friend (some vet training, very into the raw diet) noted that while protein isn’t so much of a concern aside from the fact that too much might cause loose stools, said that the Cal/Phos Ratio is what was really important. From my lookings, it seems like 1:1.2-1.4 Cal/Phos is what people aim for in larger breeds.
Your thoughts?
Several folks “bump up” their dry foods with fresh toppers like meat or fish or eggs and a few veggies. I feed Sojo’s Complete dog right now but just bought the cat version that has 30% protein. I still add a high protein topper whether it’s canned meat or fresh meat or egg or high protein kibble like Epigen. I make my own homemade raw food so I add in a spoon or two of that as well.
I’ve bought skinless turkey necks from Primal and I buy bulk duck necks from a local retailer by me. The grocery store has skinless necks too. I’ve seen them at Walmart and the health food store.
2 months, 1 week ago
