Have you looked at the other products available where you buy the Primal? You might also find a supplier at carnivorefeed-supply. It is a yahoo group you can join where suppliers post. I buy 2 lb bags of ground frozen for around $2/lb and I make my own grinds too. Alot cheaper that way!
Have you considered putting her on a natural diet? I hate going to the vets. I’d rather spend $2 on a nutritious diet than spend $1 on a vet.
I switched my dog to Primal Raw Frozen. It’s mostly meat with very few carbs. Grains are used in feed lots to make animals fat, and they have other side effects that make animals sick.
Dogs weren’t designed to eat grains and carbs. Sounds to me like you have a typical vet. So interested in selling you expensive drugs and crap, that he doesn’t have time to address the problem. Allegra for a dog??? Please.
Even if your dog didn’t used to have allergies to the food doesn’t mean that he tolerates it well. Sometimes it takes a while for dietary choices to catch up. Just like kids that get 90% of their calories from sugar and starch and carbs, they may not exhibit severe symptoms as teenagers. Watch them when they’re older, though, and you’ll notice much more in the way of illness, obesity and diabetes than humans who eat the natural diet of humans.
I’d bet that your dogs problems will go away if you feed your dog a natural diet.
I have my dog on Primal Raw Frozen been formula. I like the product, but am looking for a cheaper alternative. Not necessarily better, just cheaper. The Primal costs about $4 – $5 per day for my 33 pound dog! Yikes.
Is there another food that is mostly meat and very low carbs that is cheaper?
Ok, thanks so much! I had started giving her the sardines on Sunday morning. Just a couple bigger pieces out of the tin with a couple of her meals & she’s been fine until yesterday, well, last night.
I sure hope I can get her back on the raw gradually, because my order from Hare Today just arrived yesterday, lol! I suppose chicken feet are out of the question right now too, huh? I kept a few of those out of the package that came yesterday before I put the bag in the freezer. I’ll have to throw those away…
Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it. I’m going to run to GNC in a few to see what I can find.
Thanks for replying HDM. Bailey has been acting fine today. I gave her a few more scoops of yogurt late this morning, but that’s it. When I started her on the raw chicken on Sunday, I gave her 2 chicken thighs, with the skin removed and 2 chicken legs with the skin. She had the same thing on Monday for dinner and last night’s dinner was a leg quarter with most of the skin removed. She has been doing well on the Fresh Pet. I’ve had her on that for a little over a month.
So, when I start mixing the lean boneless raw meat with the fresh pet, should it be chicken or beef? I have, over the last few days, given her a couple sardines mixed with her Fresh Pet, do you think that could have anything to do with it?
Ok, last question, I am going to go after work and buy the canned pumpkin, but what kind of probiotic supplement should I buy? I have GNC (General Nutrition Centers) near me, would they have it?
Runny poop and vomiting, that’s not good. Occasionally when my dogs eat dense bones they’ll throw up some bone fragments, usually about 8 hours after they eat. I’ve never had this occur with poultry bones though – just heavier bones like marrow bones and knuckle bones (why I no longer feed recreational bones). Are you leaving the skin on your chicken legs? The diarrhea could be from high fat content – the first few times my dogs had raw lamb (very fatty) they had some loose stools. Was she fine with the Fresh Pet? It may be a good idea to put her back on Fresh Pet entirely with pumpkin and a good probiotic supplement to get her digestive system back in order. After everything has been firmed up and there’s been no vomiting for at least a few days I’d mix a small amount of lean boneless raw meat with the Fresh Pet. If she’s tolerating this add a bit more – do this over the course of a week or so. If she continues to tolerate small amounts of boneless lean raw meat try giving her a raw meaty bone again but be sure to remove the skin. All dogs are different and some need a more gradual transition than others. My dogs have iron stomachs and can eat anything, I’ve never done a transition, but some dogs are very sensitive to even the most minor changes in their diet.
I am going to post my problem in this thread, because I Need Help!!
Last night Bailey threw up, not a whole lot and certainly not everything she ate yesterday, but still, she threw up mostly chicken and bone. Maybe about the amount of a cup or a little more. AND she had very runny poop last night and watery diarrhea this morning. & or course the vomiting and runny poop last night was in my bedroom. Anyways, this morning I fed her half the amount of Fresh Pet that I normally due, with a bit of yogurt. I need to get to the store after work and get canned pumpkin, but what do I feed her for dinner? Should I keep with the chicken leg quarter, or get boneless chicken or what? I want to see this thru and keep her on raw, but the pancreatitis problems 2 of the members here have had recently have me very nervous and I don’t want to do the wrong thing. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Thanks HDM.
I do give raw goat milk periodically, the farm who sells the milk will give me the kefir grains and I may just try to make keifr and see how it turns out. I really enjoy making their food, they have no digestive issues at all, don’t have loose stools and always have good appetite. I appreciate you always take the time to answer my questions.
Hi shelties mom –
There are going to be some probiotics in raw milk. Unless your dog has serious digestive issues this would probably provide your dog with all the probiotics it needs. If you’re interested in making kefir I know they sell starter packs on Swanson’s – I’m sure it’d be great made with raw goat’s milk.
As far as fat content, some breeds and individual dogs are prone to pancreatitis but most dogs can tolerate a relatively high level of fat. I’ve heard of sled dogs eating up to 80% of calories from fat during races with no ill effects – obviously the average dog doesn’t need this much fat but I just want to demonstrate that dogs have a high fat tolerance. My dogs generally eat anywhere from 30% – 40% fat with no problems. The important thing is to gradually introduce higher fat items. Check your dog’s stools as well – if you’re introducing fatty foods too quickly the dog will often get loose stools. I don’t personally wouldn’t think feeding chicken feet a few times a week would cause any problems just watch your dog. My dogs get things like skin on chicken backs, chicken feet, pork necks, etc. on a daily basis (in addition to lean muscle meat and organ meat).
HDM,
Is raw grass-fed goat milk a good replacement for probiotic supplement? Your recipe states whole milk kefir or raw goat milk, I’ve never bought or made kefir but will learn how to make it. Another question I have is how often should I feed chicken feet to my small 15 lb dogs? I was a little scared after reading what Nectarmom experienced due to high fat. I was feeding 3 times a week and reduced to 2 times and alternate with chicken and duck necks. Should I be concerned with the high fat in chicken feet? They are pasture raised. I usually feed RMB with organs and meat, not just RMB.
Ok, thanks HDM. I have given her canned sardines a couple times already and she loves them. I’ll check her next 2 poops and go from there. I may also rotate morning meals with the Deli Fresh stuff and raw. I like the idea of keeping Deli Fresh in the rotation for a while because of the other stuff that’s in it and she loves it and that’s what I use to mix her DE with that I give her.
Thanks again for your help!! 🙂
Yes – sometimes dogs will pass small pieces of bone in their stool. It happens more often with denser bones – for example, my dogs will pass fragments when they eat a pork neck but not with poultry bones. Personally, I don’t think it would matter either way what you try next. When I started raw feeding I went right into a rotation of chicken, turkey, beef, bison, lamb and sardine and neither of my dogs had issues. If she seems to be tolerating the chicken you can probably move on to something else, if her stool stays runny maybe give her a bit of canned pumpkin and keep her on the chicken for a few days longer.
Thanks guys. I think, for now, I’ll just worry about getting her adjusted to different foods and stuff before I start fasting her. Today will be her 3rd raw day. So far, she’s been fine, maybe acting a bit happier after dinner, but pretty much the same. Her poop has been ok, til today. I didn’t see when she went so I don’t know if it started out as runny or ended as runny but the rest of was firm. I saw a few pieces of bone in with it, but that’s normal I would imagine, because they were pretty small. I may finish out the week on the chicken (thighs and legs) and this weekend go buy something else for her. Should I try organs from chicken or go right to beef or turkey and do that for a while?
I didn’t want to have to start a new topic, because I know I read the answer to my question somewhere, but couldn’t find it…
Anyways, for those of you that feed raw and fast once a week or however you go about fasting, I’d like to know what you do when your dog is bugging you to eat at that particular meal time that you are going to skip? I know fasting means nothing to eat, but is there anything you can give during that time to keep them “busy”? I know I had read someone’s response to this, but like I said I can’t remember where I read it.
& while I’m asking questions, I might as well ask another one. Bailey is on her 2nd day eating raw. I started with chicken. How long should I feed her chicken before adding something else, like turkey or beef or organs or something else? I’ve read a week, or week and a half or two weeks…
During flea season I bathe the dogs every 2 – 3 weeks with Dr. Harvey’s herbal protection shampoo, then I brush them with a flea comb and the next day I apply Sentry Natural Defense topical (comes in a tube like Advantix/Frontline, but it’s chemical free and contains only essential oils). They get Earth Animal’s herbal flea and tick tincture in their food 6 days a week. I wash their bedding every 2 – 3 weeks and add borax to the detergent. I spray the yard every 2 – 3 weeks with Vet’s Best Flea & Tick Yard and Kennel Spray (has peppermint oil and clove extract). This will be my second summer going natural. Last summer I used no chemicals and had no issues with fleas or ticks (and my dogs are outside a lot).
I’m with Marie on the heartworm preventative deal – that’s something I’m not risking. There’s a story online somewhere (maybe dog aware?). About a woman who raised deerhounds – raw fed, no vaccines, no preventatives, etc. She had, I believe it was, two of her dogs get diagnosed with heartworm one summer. Many will say dogs raised naturally and with a strong immune systems won’t get heartworm, but that’s not true. They may be less susceptible but they’re not immune. I work at a shelter and have seen too many dogs die of heartworm and many more that have had to endure the harsh treatment to get rid of the heartworm once they have it. Not something I’m chancing with my crew. They get heartworm preventative May – October every 45 days. I use the preventative that only does heartworm (not the preventative that also has a dewormer) and I administer milk thistle for one week after they receive the preventative. I also have them tested two weeks prior to receiving their first dose of the year and two weeks after receiving their last dose of the year.
Anyone used Dr Harvey’s Canine Health? I like that it is organic and seems to have alot of great reviews. I make all my own dog food and although often cooked I also use some raw (chicken necks/beef heart/organic organ meat) but sometimes would be nice to have something like this handy. brit
The best diet (if your feeding kibble) would be to feed your lab a variety of foods, not just one brand or flavor or form. Rotate foods to maintain a healthy gut and give probiotics and/or digetive enzymes. Commercial kibble will always have some shortcomings. I like and use for kibble Nutrisource grain free, Nature’s Select Grain Free or the Hi-Pro formulas only (made by Mid America Pet Foods), Brothers Complete and sometimes Wysong Epigen and Nutrisca. I foster so I have lots of mouths to feed. I also feed various canned foods from Wellness, Nutrisca, Addiction, Tripett and Weruva. And also give freeze dried foods and raw foods.
Hi DawnieStrohl –
My advice would be to stop looking for the “best food” – there is no best food. All foods have their pros and cons. Dogs, like every living creature, need variety. Feed several difference foods with different protein sources, this will help mitigate the negative aspects of each food. The less processed the food is the better – so raw foods are healthiest, followed by fresh cooked foods, dehydrated and freeze-dried foods, canned foods, then dry foods. Feeding dry food is fine (it’s convenient and budget friendly) but try topping it with some canned food or fresh food at least a few times a week. Some healthy additions to dry food are eggs, lean meat, tinned sardines, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, kefir and cooked low-glycemic vegetables.
I’ve always heard that dogs with acid reflux should eat 3 – 4 small meals per day, rather than one or two larger meals and that the food should be low in fiber. Wet foods (canned, dehydrated, raw, etc.) are preferable to dry for dogs with acid reflux – if you feed dry wet it prior to feeding. I’ve also heard that supplementation with probiotics, digestive enzymes and unfiltered apple cider vinegar can help.
Thanks Patty! 🙂 I’m so glad that first meal is over and done with. I just hope it continues to be smooth sailing….
That was me that made the bulky comment. I would try it with her raw and see if you can figure out what proportion of raw to THK keeps her regular but with a firm enough stool.
I’m not a huge kibble fan overall, one reason why the other two will be on all raw as soon as their kibble is gone. She is on the two chinese herbs for her joints, per the holistic vet. I tried olive oil to get her to go the other day but it didn’t work. She does get salmon oil and coconut oil (every other day)
I know she doesn’t have teeth but are you afraid of feeding her kibble for that reason? As dogs don’t chew food anyways (most, can’t say all). But I don’t think a dog of her size would have any issue with small kibble. Many old foster pugs are toothless or only have a few and not the ones to crush food with anyways. I don’t know what all she has in her pantry, but just some Honest Kitchen with another one of her foods so she just gets the fiber/veggie bulk from HK to help with the slow poop. Whether that is HK with raw or HK with canned or HK with kibble. And are you still using olive oil? Or the herbal?
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This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by
pugmomsandy.
Congratulations! It’s been 8 months for us and my dogs still act like they think they are the luckiest dogs in the universe when I hand them a chunk of meat.
Sandy: stupid question: do I add it to her ground raw as is or actually mix it up with water?
I just wanted to thank everyone, again, for all their help and patience with me and all my questions. Bailey just got done with her first raw dinner. I couldn’t get chicken leg quarters today, so I just bought 2 packs of thighs and 2 packs of legs. I gave her 2 thighs and 2 legs for dinner, which came to a pound even. It was such a learning experience for both of us and also very interesting to me. Bailey started just licking everything. She must have licked for like 10 minutes until I got tired of it, lol!. So I held a thigh for her while she figured out how to use her teeth to get the meat off. It didn’t take her long to get thru the first piece. I held the second piece, the leg, for a minute while she pulled some of the meat off but after a minute or so, she took it from me and did the rest on her own. It was so interesting to see her go from just licking and not really knowing what to make of it, to really using her teeth as they were meant to be used. After dinner, I let her outside and she laid down in the grass, wiped her mouth for a minute and rolled around like she was very content.
Again, thank you all again. I don’t think I would have gotten the courage up on my own to actually feed her raw, if I hadn’t read everything on this site that I did and if you awesome people hadn’t been so patient and answered my questions. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks Patty, Here is the strange part. We have been on Brothers for 2 weeks now and no acid reflux like before, maybe it was the menhaden fish meal that was causing it? Also my one short haired black chihuahua has stopped shedding fur everywhere like when we were on the Raw and stopped dragging her rear end even though her annals get done regularly so that was another sign that the Raw was irritating her intestines. Oh well now everything is looking normal. We might try to switch to beef Brothers allergy after a ways down the road just for variety.
When I fed THK I used Zeal, Love, Embark and Thrive. As for canned – the only human-grade canned food is Weruva. My favorite canned foods are ZiwiPeak, Addiction, Nature’s Logic, Merrick and Nature’s Variety Instinct. I think mixing THK and canned might be a good idea – that’s what I used to feed my dogs before I switched to raw. She’ll be getting the bulk/fiber from the THK so that might help her poop but the addition of canned will boost the protein levels. Supplement with some enzymes and it will be nearly as good as a raw diet.
Hi boxermim2013 –
I can relate to you here. One of my girls, Gertie (the dog in my avatar) is extremely difficult to keep weight on. She was so scrawny as a pup I had tests run too and they came back clear. The vet told me once she was spayed she’d put some weight on, but she was spayed 2 years ago and keeping weight on her is still a struggle. With her, as long as her hip bones aren’t protruding I feel I’m doing good!
I wasn’t able to get her over 60 lbs. until I switched her to a high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate raw diet. I make her food and I generally keep protein between 45% and 55%, fat between 30% and 40% and carbs less than 20%. I’ve now got her holding steady at 68 lbs. – given her height she should be much heavier, but at least she doesn’t look emaciated any more. I also give her lots of treats between meals, I mostly feed balanced foods as treats so I can feed her more without throwing off her diet – i.e. freeze-dried raw medallions, frozen kongs layered with grain-free kibble and canned pumpkin, ziwi peak food for training treats and (prior to the recent recall) I was using EVO’s Wild Craving biscuits which conform to AAFCO nutrient profiles for balanced foods.
Some other options – Abady makes a very calorie-dense granular food – it has around 800 calories per cup (nearly double the calories of Blue Buffalo). I’ve used Abady and before and was pleased. I also know people that have put weight on their dogs with satin balls – you can look up recipes online – they usually include fatty hamburger, eggs, oil, molasses, etc. You could add a balanced omega 3-6-9 and/or coconut oil to his food for a fat/calorie boost. You could try supplementing with digestive enzymes to ensure he’s digesting everything he does eat. If you want to stick with kibble, I’d also recommend at least picking a more calorie-dense formula (>500 kcal. per cup). Some calorie-dense options include – Canine Caviar Grain-Free Puppy (636 kcal. per cup), Dr. Tim’s Momentum (588 kcal. per cup), NutriSource Super Performance (529 kcal. per cup), Timberwolf Organics (I believe all the grain-free formulas are over 500 kcal. per cup).
Good luck!
I’m afraid ground raw isn’t going to work for Gemma. She went from pooping at least once daily while on THK /Bravo Balance to every other day on Hare grinds. The reason for going on Hare was her straining a bit to actually poop. She got stopped up a couple weeks after we got her, we don’t know why but she ate Grandma Lucy’s, which is chunkier.
Anyway, it’s Saturday and she has not pooped since Wednesday morning. A couple other times, I’ve had to add some olive oil to her grinds but it’s not working now. This morning, I gave her THK, thought that might move things along.
I know this pounds stupid but I can’t deal with this. It’s too stressful. We have a concert tonight, will be gone a number of hours so I’m doing nothing different today to get her o go.
She has no teeth so no kibble. She is a senior dog, no teeth at all. She weighs about 22 pounds so not a big dog. The THK expired a couple weeks ago so I have to get something new for her. What might you all suggest? THK, canned….something I’m not thinking of? If its canned, what can you recommend for high quality, grainfree, probably human grade? If THK, any particular product of theirs do you recommend? Another dehydrated? Not GL, too chunky.
Thanks….I just can’t deal with this. My other two can eat the Hare, not willing to continue with Gemma.
Thanks!
I just switched my dogs back to Brothers Allergy after having Pancreatitis with raw with two of my dogs and I feed the recommended amount to maintain weight and probiotics and enzymes and spirugreen all from mercola products and I mix just barely enough of wellness 95% turkey can food to coat to coat the kibble, I mean almost nothing. I also give wheatgrass powder which is suppose to help with gas and bloat but yet my dogs still have gas. What is giving them gas?
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This topic was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by
NectarMom.
I’m not sure the Purina would really help anything (It’s an awful food in my opinion)… I would put him back on the Fromms. The Fromms is at least a much better kibble and then add in a probiotic. I use the Mercola one’s but if price is an issue for you the Swanson one’s would definitely be cheaper per dose.
I heard you say he doesn’t like to eat sometimes, Hound Dog Mom suggested Trippet for my puppy when he was a picky eater. A couple spoonfuls and he was chowing down!
Vets really aren’t all that great when it comes to the nutritional requirements of a dog. If all else fails and you can’t get the yeast under control think about raw. I’ve heard many stories where feeding raw helped allergies, smelly dogs, yeasty dogs, ear infections, ect. Not that it fixes all problems but I believe what I read was that kibble is full of carbs that contribute to feeding the yeast.
Ok, thanks so much Patty! That’s what I was planning on doing, but I just wanted to be sure.
Have a great weekend! 🙂
Leave it whole. You want to make sure that she learns she has to gnaw on it. If you give her small pieces she might decide gulping it is a good idea. Some people have to hold on to it or attach vise grips or something to it to slow their dogs down to start with. They do learn to slow down and chew though.
Hi again everyone! 🙂 The pain in the butt has another question… 😀
And for what it’s worth, I did look thru some other threads to try to answer it myself, but didn’t find the answer. Anyways, I placed an order with Hare Today, for some chicken grinds and chicken feet and chicken pieces, but today I am going to buy chicken leg quarters to start Bailey off with until I get my order from Hare Today. I would like to know if I should cut up the leg quarters into pieces or just give it to her whole, provided it weighs the appropriate amount that she’ll need for that meal? I do apologize again for all the stupid questions, but like I’ve said before I just want to make sure I’m doing everything right…
Hi ashylynn –
HPP stands for high pressure processing. Some view it as a good thing, others view it as a bad thing – I view it as a bad thing. Foods that are HPP are subjected to very high levels of pressure, the pressure kills bacteria without applying heat so the food can still be sold as “raw.” The downside to HPP (why I don’t like HPP) is that when large amounts of pressure are applied to proteins (such as during HPP) the proteins can denature and the beneficial bacteria is killed along with the “bad” bacteria. For me raw is about feeding a diet as close to a dog’s ancestral diet as possible and minimizing processing. I don’t personally view HPP “raw” as a truly raw product, but it can definitely be beneficial for immune compromised dogs that can’t handle the bacteria load present in real raw food.
My oldest dog used to eat kibble and Nature’s Variety Instinct kibble was one of the foods I used frequently in his rotation. He did really well on it and I think their kibble is one of the best dry foods available. I use the Nature’s Variety Instinct freeze-dried raw medallions once in awhile for treats. I’ve never fed their frozen raw and I personally wouldn’t because it’s HPP, but due to the fact that it’s HPP it might be a good option for a dog that’s never eaten raw before to help them ease into a less processed diet.
Chicken backs are approx. 50% bone and leg quarters are approx. 30% bone.
Ok, Thanks Patty! Also, if I start feeding Bailey a chicken leg quarter or a chicken back every day for dinner to start off to get her accustomed to raw, isn’t that too much bone per day? I don’t know the percentage of bone to meat in a back or a leg quarter, but it just seems to me like it might be too much bone per day…
kcarter137,
The Asian and Mexican supermarkets will also have a selection of organs, feet, and also hearts and gizzards. I buy wild caught sardines from the Mexican supermarket on sale for 1.19/lb. For my small dogs, one 3 oz sardine is a meal but you could use it for a topper too.
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_4047600x450_zpsf34c6610.jpg
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_60801024x821_zpsad7d39eb.jpg
When I switched to raw I had a young puppy with issues and was not willing to fast him for long at all. I started adding a little raw as toppers to my dogs meals and when I was adding enough, I switched to feeding raw one meal a day.
Every one who suggests fasting usually says skipping one meal is enough. You just want the kibble to clear the system. So just arrange it so the meal before you start raw is the Deli Fresh.
My dogs don’t have any trouble with me mixing raw with kibble, feeding just kibble, and then turning around and feeding a whole meal of raw.
I started by googling homemade dog food and went with the yeast starvation diet since it only needed a very limited number of things added to it. That gave me time to do more research. I started out using raw as a topper to their kibble and then I moved to feeding one meal raw, the other kibble. like Sandy, I’m the only one in the house that is willing to give raw meet to the dogs so mine or also still on kibble too, just in case.
Thank you both for your feedback – I’ve had my eye on Nature’s Variety food they offer a “regular” variety, a grain free and a raw diet. I’m not sure if I would want to switch to strictly raw – but the thought of offering it to them sometimes is nice. Do either of you have any feedback on this food variety? Thanks to both! 🙂
Hi everyone!
I am going to start Bailey on raw this weekend. Already bought some chicken. Just waiting til I get paid so I can buy more, and buy a food scale, etc. I have a question about fasting her before I start. Do I need to fast her before she starts on raw, and for how long? Right now she eats a cup of Nature’s Variety Instinct for breakfast and Deli Fresh Chicken and Veggies for dinner, which I will be switching to her breakfast and feed her raw for dinner to start off. So, I just would like to know everyone’s thought on if I should fast her and for how long when I start her on raw. Oh and when I do fast her, how do I go about not feeling bad for not feeding her a meal? Lol! What do you guys do with your dogs or for them when you fast them?
Thanks, again, so much for all your help. The past week I have been reading just about ALL the forum topics and really trying to educate myself. It’s gotten so bad that when I want to go back and reread something I had read, I can’t find it because I can’t for the life of me remember which topic and which thread I read it on, lol!
Have a great day everyone!! 🙂
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This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by
Cyndi.
DieselJunki,
I started introducing raw with commercial frozen patties. I gave them a few bites a day and that was it and slowly increased it to a whole feeding. Then one day I decided to try chicken wings a couple times a week. As they did well I increased the types of raw I fed like legs and necks and ribs. They were also eating kibble. Then I bought the recipe book by Dr Becker. Actually I bought that book and read it and thought it was difficult so it sat around for a couple months until I decided to do it – make my own grinds. So after my first batch (and purchasing a grinder) I decided it was easy like 1 – 2 – 3. Just go at your own pace and what you have time for and maybe keep some backup food. I still feed kibble as I’m the only one in the house that feeds the dogs raw so when I’m not home, they eat kibble. Also good to have when going on trips or leaving the dogs at home for a pet sitter.
I was reading around and heard that watching your dogs poop is the easiest way to tell if your giving to much bone (or organs). If your are feeding to much bone the poop is hard and white, feed to much organ and it’s runny and soft.
I’ve also read in many places where people that are experienced with raw just say “do it.” Just start it and make adjustments as you go. It just makes me so nervous because I want to be sure I am not making a mistake that would harm him you know.
I also read that if you feed grinds that they don’t get the benefit of a teeth cleaning that tearing into a chicken leg or whole chicken would be. I wouldn’t think that would be a huge issue if you were feeding some turkey necks or something mostly whole once or twice a week right?
I believe to start off Patty I might order those grinds from their site. I have 2 weeks to really make up my mind and get my act together before he gets home from being boarded. At least it will give me piece of mind knowing he’s getting what he needs and until I get completely comfortable with it. Until then, more research! 😛
Hi ashylynn,
Since your dogs have been on commercial dog foods their whole lives I would not just switch them to raw. Dog’s digestive systems adjust to whatever type of food (raw, cooked, kibbled, canned, etc) that they are eating. In your case your dogs may have a hard time with the added bacteria present in raw due to the fact that the pH of their stomachs is not acid enough at the moment. Some dogs also do not like the taste of raw after all those years (or 13 months) of eating cooked foods. Lastly without knowing the state of your dog’s immune systems it can be pretty risky switching from kibble or canned to raw.
A home cooked diet of at least 75% meat and 20 to 25% non-starchy fruits and vegetables would be a great step up for your dogs without the added risks of raw. You could then gradually start cooking their food less and less and see how they do. If everything goes well they could eventually be eating a diet consisting of raw meats and pureed fruits and vegetables.
If you go the homemade route don’t forget to add calcium if they are not consuming raw meaty bones and a good multivitamin to balance out their diet.
Hi ashylynn –
I suggest putting them both on a high quality grain-free diet – raw is best if you’re willing. There’s no reason two different dogs can’t eat the same food, all dogs (aside from those with serious medical issues) have the same basic nutritional requirements and will generally thrive on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. The only thing that will differ between the two dogs is their energy requirement (portion size). Your mastiff pup will need more calories and thus require larger portions and your chi will require less calories and thus need smaller portions. I have a 110 lb. 8 year old, a 68 lb. 2 year old and a 75 lb. 10 month old – they all eat the exact same thing.
Hi alfiethebulldog –
I had never heard of it but I just checked it out. The website it pretty sketchy. The ingredients and general analysis don’t look horrible but it’s definitely not a top notch food and not worth $80 a bag. I’d say it’d probably be rated 4 stars and suggest that if you have that kind of money to spend on food you spend it on a 5 star kibble or consider a more species-appropriate diet of raw or canned foods.
