[ashylynn]

HI, I’m really looking for some help. I have an older (8 years) chihuahua, neutered, less active dog that is very picky when it comes to taste. And we had gotten a beautiful Bull mastiff mix puppy last year (she’s currently 13 months old) however she’s only about 80 pounds or so and the vet said she’s likely not to get any bigger. And we need to keep her at this ideal weight. My chihuahua has been on a diet to get his weight down which is fine and dandy right now – but we are no longer able to give him all those tasty tidbits of mommas homemade chicken and gravy which he loves, and of course my puppy is a strict dog-food no table scraps kinda girl. I have been racking my brain trying to find a perfect dog food for each of them – especially since once Hutch (chihuahua) is done his diet he’ll need to be on a food he enjoys and is good for him.
I’ve been looking at the grain free or raw diets because of the tastes and the possibility of being able to put both dogs on one food. Most grain-free foods state they are suitable for all life stages. However, I’ve been getting mixed information on whether or not its a good idea for my dogs. One being a small dog, older, lazy, with past liver elevations and the other being a large dog that is still “growing”, also rather lazy. I’m wondering if there is ANYONE out there who has been or is in the same situation as myself and has any information you can give me on this. Thank you all for your help. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

You can add fruits and veggies if you want – but you don’t have to. If you do, make sure the veggies are cooked and pureed and the fruit is mashed or pureed. Cooking and pureeing helps to break down the cellulose making it easier for the dog to digest as dogs don’t produce cellulase (the enzymes necessary to breakdown cellulose).

Don’t add only organ meat – I suggested hearts and gizzards because they are considered muscle meat and are cheap. Organ meat would be liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs, etc. The only organ meat you’ll probably be able to find at a grocery store would be liver. Liver is fine to feed but feed it in moderation – it’s very nutrient dense and should account for no more than 5% of the diet. You could certainly buy ground meats, whole roasts and such and dice them (although these cuts are a bit more expensive). You could also supplement with a meal of raw meaty bones a few times a week if you aren’t opposed to feeding bones (pork necks, chicken leg quarters, turkey necks, etc.) – RMB’s will provide dental benefits as well.

[kcarter137]

I’m just unsure of what raw food to supplement with if I go that route. I know my grocery stores do have a good selection of organ meats. Do I just randomly select a few to use. What about fruits and veggies, should I add some too.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry your poor pack had to go through this. Don’t let the vet throw a guilt trip on you. You only tried to do what’s best for your dogs. Some dogs thrive on a raw diet and some don’t .]], I hope you can find a good alternative food.

[puppylove]

I’ve been using Nusentia’s probiotics and enzymes for a while now and they are top notch… excellent, really helped with all the tummy problems and more. Considering their raw grain free dehydrated food, which looks great but not many reviews for some reason. Right now we feed OC Raw Dog.

[Anonymous]

Quality products and a knowledgable staff are why I shop where I do. I drive past several Pet—- whatever stores to get there. You should carry what’s not availlable at the larger stores such as a good selection of raw products. You won’t be able to beat them in pricing so products and service is what you’ll need to emphasize. Of course you’ll need a customer base that can afford what you offer, as in real estste, location will be very important. I hope it works out for you.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Ooh I would love to own my only pet food store. 🙂

What would be important to me is a wide variety of high quality foods and an educated staff. I’d want selection of all types of food – raw, freeze-dried, dehydrated, kibble, canned. I’d also want an extensive natural supplement section.

[Hound Dog Mom]

If you’re on a budget and are just using raw to supplement a balanced kibble it’d be much cheaper to just add fresh meat at a rate of 20% or less of the total meal. Freeze-dried foods are very expensive. My grocery store almost always has beef heart, beef liver, chicken hearts, chicken gizzards and chicken livers – all of these items are very reasonably priced and could boost the protein of the kibble and provide your dogs with some of the benefits of a raw diet without the hefty price tag. If freeze-dried is the route you want to go and are open to switching foods – all of Nature’s Variety’s foods are coated in freeze-dried raw and they have a new food called “Raw Boost” with chunks of freeze-dried raw, Great Life is coated in freeze-dried raw and Wysong has two kibbles (Optimal Performance and Nurture) that contain chunks of freeze-dried raw. It may be cheaper to buy a kibble with the freeze-dried raw already incorporated rather than supplementing separately.

[pugmomsandy]

You can supplement their diet with the freeze dried raw food but usually it is alot more expensive per pound unless you can also get that wholesale.

[kcarter137]

I am new to this site and find it so thankful that I found it. Hopefully I won’t sound crazy but here it goes. I have had a really hard time finding food that work for my dogs. Everytime I think I have found a food it or they seem to have problems. They were all on California Natual or Innova and doing great until I changed them in October due to news that P&G bought them.

I have four dogs. Here is the breakdown:
13 year old golden female. Years ago the vet reccomended their Iams fish and potato diet which worked fine but due to budget reasons we switched her to California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato. She did wonderful for many years on that. We tried Taste of the Wild’s fish formula and immeditetly she started itching. Now she is on Tuscan Natural Lamb Formula. She is doing fine with her allergies on it (aka no itching) but after reading reviews I feel like I am feeding her an imcomplete food.
5 year old golden (no problem). Also eating Tuscan Natual Lamb Formula.
2 year old great dane mix (crazy sensitive GI tract). Eating Tuscan Natural Turkey and Chicken.
1 year old 13 lb mix (has major skin issues). She’s eating Orijen Adult – so far the only food that hasn’t triggered her demodex.

Here is the real question. Supplementing their diets with a freeze-dried raw food make since or should I switch their kibble? I am on a budget – but I can get Tuscan Natual at wholesale price which is about $35 a bag. I feed about 11 cups of food daily between all the dogs.

• This topic was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by kcarter137.

[Anonymous]

We have two shelter dogs: Bennie, some kind of border/bernese mix, 3 years old, adopted 1.5 years ago; and Fidget, a female doberman(?), 1 year old, adopted 6 months ago.

I have a husband who, if the dog doesn’t finish his bowl of kibble, dresses up the kibble with whatever he can find in the refrigerator — teaching the dog, of course that, if he holds out, he’ll get goodies on his food. When the husband is away on business, I put down a bowl of kibble with nothing else, and the dog finishes his plate.

Bennie kind of liked Purina One Beyond, but I know it’s not a great food and, if I remember right, we were at the point where it always had to be ‘dressed up.’

When we adopted Fidget, she had soft stool issues, and I read that Dobies have sensitive stomachs and should switch foods slowly. In addition, she has spay incontinence, so I am now trying to get her on a grain-free diet.

We’d like both dogs to eat the same food. We need the food to be at least 4 stars, if possible, and AFFORDABLE (10-12 cents an ounce, preferably). We prefer to feed just kibble, if possible. No raw. We’re lazy people, but want healthy dogs (and are trying to make that NOT a contradiction).

We’ve tried Victor and Dave’s grain free kibbles, so far, but Bennie won’t eat ’em. (Fidget, fortunately, will eat ANYTHING … and EVERYTHING.)

Any suggestions for a PARTICULARLY TASTY, grain-free, healthy, affordable kibble, that I could try with Bennie? We want something he’ll LOVE the taste of.

I have tried (when the husband was away, and Bennie seems to eat with fewer incentives) samples of Nutrisource and Hi-Tek but, if anyone has any suggestions for anything CHEAPER than that but still healthy, please let me know.

Thanks

[NectarMom]

All the Raw is spoken for locally. My crew is being switched back to Brothers Allergy since they have went back to the original ingredients. Hopefully we will not have any more issues. My shihtzu seems to be doing much better and my one chihuahua is also doing better and both finally had firm stools. Sometimes things do not workout and I am just grateful that my girls are recovering. Thanks for all of those concerned 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I dream of winning the lottery so I can open a dog food store. I’ve thought about what foods I’d bring in. I’d choose companies that haven’t had a recall. I’d have Fromm, Earthborn, Dr Tim’s for starters. They’re good foods, good price point. I’d have Annamaet as well. I’d probably have Acana and Orijen because some think higher price automatically means better foods. I’d have some dehydrated as well. I’m an Honest Kitchen fan so I’d have that as well as Grandma Lucy’s. I’d have Primal pre made raw, probably Stella and Cheweys. Canned too.
Educated staff is of utmost importance.

[InkedMarie]

Raw, canned and dehydrated is better for dogs. Dry food can leave dogs chronically dehydrated.

[patvl246]

I’ve been using a Raw Green Tripe and Chicken product from a company that recently went completely dehydrated. I think dehydrated products lose some of their nutrients in the process and are really no longer raw. My question is, does anyone have experience with the “Beef and Tripe” product from “Hare Today Gone Tomorrow” I can’t find reviews anywhere. Thanks

[DieselJunki]

Sometimes you can educate your vet. Bring in paperwork give list of sources ect. and hope they are open to learning something new that they probably didn’t teach them in school.
They could have been brain washed so to speak like many other people out there. Sometimes they just need a push in the right direction. I talked to my vet about feeding raw, at first she was not really all that happy with my decision but I explained myself and some of the little knowledge I knew of it. It helped let her know that I knew what I was doing (sort of haha) and had done my homework on it extensively before deciding to do it. I can’t say she is still a big fan of a raw diet but we have come to an understanding. I would still use her for ailments and shots and such.

Now there was one orthopedic vet that I actually got into a little bit of an argument with due to my kibble choice at that time. She to recommended all those cruddy brands. When I started talking to her about calcium levels due to him being a large breed dog it was like she was disgusted that I would even do such a thing. I began to explain myself and the research I had done and I could tell I wasn’t getting threw to her and she wasn’t understanding me. She kept pushing and telling me I wasn’t doing good for my dog and it would hurt him in later years. I would never use that place ever again due to her reaction.

All in all, don’t believe everything your vet tells you, do your own research before saying yes to things like unneeded shots and such.

[NectarMom]

Thank you Dieseljunki, I did indeed look for a Holistic Vet in my area and we unfortunately have none. I am kind of on my own on this because my Vets are looking at me telling me I told you so. They handed me a printed out copy of all of the issues in the worlds history dealt with Raw feeding issues. Some breeds do not do well on it and some have no issues what so ever. It is truly trial and error. 2 of mine have not had any problems so far and 2 of mine are quite miserable 🙁

[theBCnut]

If you want to do RMBs every day you need some thing like 30 lbs of raw meaty bones and 15 lbs of boneless meat.

[theBCnut]

From MPC, you can get whole ground animals. They will have the right amount of meat, organs, and bone. The tripe supermixes are good too. About every third day, I give raw meaty bones. Feed about 2/3 raw meaty bones and 1/3 meat to get the bone to meat ratio right. An example would be feed 1 lbs of turkey neck plus 1/2 lbs of turkey meat. I have heard you should try to keep the calcium/phosphorus balance correct daily, it’s the other stuff that you can balance over time.

[DieselJunki]

Oh wow. I really hope they get better quickly. So sorry you and your babies have to go threw this. Is it possible to find a holistic veterinarian around your area? I find them much more knowledgeable and less likely to throw you some pills that you really don’t need. Maybe they can answer what went wrong with the trying of the raw diet. It really is trial and error sometimes especially with dogs that might have other conditions. I know it was difficult to find a food that didn’t give my dog diarrhea or super soft poops until I switched to Honest Kitchen. It has been smooth sailing since then and I do plan to switch to raw sometime next month for sure. Good luck!

[DieselJunki]

So I am going to be switching to completely raw here shortly as I just bought a chest freezer (best investment ever). I was wondering if you all could help me out in figuring out what kind of muscle meat/organ meat/bone I would need to get for a whole month if I were to order it from a site such as MPC.

My dog Moose is around 7 months old and I usually feed him about 1.5 cups of honest kitchen 2 times a day. Right at the moment he is being boarded for a couple weeks and when I get him back I’ll double check his weight but I’d say he weighs 50lbs or so right now.

Now if I were to feed 3% of his body weight I would be feeding him 1.5lbs of food a day. If I were to say I needed a months worth of food (30 days) I would need 45lbs of food . That doesn’t really split it up between what I would need for organ meats, muscle meats, and bone. I am not so good with math and was hoping you guys could walk me through the process of figuring this all out! I would very much appreciate it so later on I can do the calculations myself.

From reading around it seems if your not feeding a whole prey model diet you should go with food consisting of 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ meat, 5% of which must be liver over the course of 1 week. But from my understanding you don’t have to feed it balanced everyday. You could feed straight muscle meat one day and then maybe a few turkey necks or something (I understand they are mostly bone) another and then give them some liver or other organ meats. So long as by the end of the week you met the 80/10/10 percentages.

[Honeybeesmom1]

Hi NectarMom, I’m new to raw feeding and get nervous at times. I too want to wish your sweet girls a speedy recovery.

[pugmomsandy]

If they’re already eating raw foods then they *should* be ok. Nectarmom had a bad experience with it just recently. Her girls have pancreatitis.

[Honeybeesmom1]

Thanks, Sandy! They eat NV raw which is 12% fat and Bravo! Chicken – but I can’t remember the fat % in it. Along with Fromms, Earthborn, Wellness and such.
I did try a chic. wing one time and got scared that I never tried it again. I was just so nervous they would choke. I am getting the bigger raw bones at pet store next month when I go out of town.
I will feel safer w/ those. But the feet – I will let them try this wk. end and see how that goes.

[pugmomsandy]

Yes you can freeze them. I put mine in small bags 3 to a bag. Be sure to cut claws off before feeding. I’d start with 1/2 a foot and see how they react over a couple of days. Do your dogs normally eat mod-high fat foods? Have you tried just a small chicken wing? You can give a couple times a week for teeth cleaning after you’ve decided that they can handle it. And it’s good for making chicken stock. Recipes at eatmedaily(dot)com search for chicken feet.

[Honeybeesmom1]

I saw chicken feet at my grocery store this morning! I was grossed out and excited at the same time. LOL I know I’ve read here they are rich in glucosamine & chondroition, high in fat and perfect for smaller dogs.
Mine are 5-13 lbs. Do I give a whole one or half? How often should I give and can I freeze them?
The package had about 15 in it. Thanks.

[NectarMom]

Thank you Sandy. If anyone is close to me and or could use some free Darwins and My Pet Carnivore Raw let me know before I toss it out? I still have a box that I can ship it to you if you want to pay the shipping but I might need to find a meat place that could dry ice pack it for me if that is possible. This is a lot of Raw that would go to waste so please contact me at [email protected] if you want it. I just got 10lbs of duck and 10lbs of Bison from Darwin ‘s and I had maybe 10lbs left of turkey from Darwin’s. I have 2/ 5lb containers of ground young beef and 2/ 2lb containers of green tripe super mix, all from My Pet Carnivore. I also have a rib bone and 4/ marrow bones and these are all unopened like the Raw meat.

[pugmomsandy]

That is horrible! So sorry for your situation. I hope they have a speedy recovery.

[NectarMom]

Just picked up my shihtzu from the vet and she not only has Pancreatitis but also Salmonella poisoning. And now one of my other Chihuahuas has runny poop with blood in it so I will bet shes got Salmonella poisoning too. We have a whole freezer full of Raw and it looks like its all going to go to waste because I am not feeding it anymore. This is horrible that my sweet girls have to go through this. 🙁

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by NectarMom.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by NectarMom.

[pugmomsandy]

You can try a small amount like a teaspoon of local raw honey daily, and/or stinging nettles with quercetin, and a supplement for the immune system, an allergy herbal, coconut oil, and even omega 3 oil (fish oil, krill, sardine, other fish) to help with environmental allergies.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I would go upright. I’ve got 2 upright and a chest and the chest freezer is just a pain, it’s harder to find things and get to things that are way on the bottom. I think organizing food is easier with the shelves in an upright. Right now I’ve got a few different things in all the freezers but I think when I get my next shipment I’m going to use one upright for commercial raw/Hare Today chubs, the other upright for poultry RMB’s/misc. meats and just use the chest freezer for pork necks because they take up so much space and if I know there’s only one thing in the chest freezer I won’t have to dig through it.

[theBCnut]

The upright that I’m looking at has 3 wire shelves that are removable and adjustable. The bottom one over the basket/drawer is the only one that looks strong enough for a really huge load. It also has 5 or 6 shelves in the door that are deep enough and tall enough for My Pet Carnivore’s 2 lbs containers, 4 to a shelf I think. It boobles my ming to think how much Hare Today would fit in there, or that I could have a whole shelf just for Darwin’s.

The reason I suddenly started seriously looking is that a friend mentioned that they need to clear their freezer of last years deer meat. They are going to send it my way and my freezer is full of the goat we just had done.

[pugmomsandy]

I’d stick with the Fromm’s. The vet is only taught those brands in school. Try finding a holistic vet. Mine actually sells raw foods in her clinic. http://www.ahvma.org/

This is from Dr Wysong:

“TRUTH 82: YOU CAN’T RELY ON EXPERTS

I took 8½ years of college credits learning to be a veterinary physician and surgeon. Only one course in nutrition was required. And that concentrated on food animals, not pets.

With that I was supposed to be a nutrition expert. After graduation clients came to me seeking my “expert” nutritional advice. This is the most profound thing we veterinarians graduate with: Feed a name brand, not a generic, and don’t imbalance the foods by feeding table scraps. Obviously, as you are learning, I don’t agree with me any longer. But at the time I was quite proud of myself for being able to dispense such wisdom.

It’s what my professors taught me to say. Their wisdom came from what they learned from brochures provided to veterinary schools by the pet food companies. The pet nutrition taught in veterinary schools is not a product of critical evaluation, but rather results from some manufacturers (with the deepest pockets) providing free products for the teaching hospi­tals along with polished marketing materials. Pet food companies are no dummies. Brainwashing infants (in this case, veterinary neophytes) is highly effective and will more than pay for itself when graduates move to prac­tice and recommend all they have come to know.

Medical schools make nutrition seem like a soft science, a branch of homemaking so to speak. Students and professors are much more enthralled by dissections, microscopes, surgery, syringes, and x-ray machines.

Besides, all those “name brand” pet food companies had all the details figured out. All that pets needed to do was eat their “100% complete and balanced” foods and nutrition could be put out of consideration as a factor in health.

Most other pet professionals – pet store clerks, breeders, groomers, boarders, etc.- know even less since no formal scientific training at all is required of them. But pet owners need to rely on the advice of someone, so they go to those who say they are experts. These “experts” don’t purposely try to mislead the public. What they have to say is just all they know, or it’s where the money is because they represent a particular brand.

A veterinarian has an excellent background in the sciences to use as a base to gain some true nutritional understanding. A few do this, but not many. If you find one, pay attention. Pet professionals, unless educated well in the sciences, have a more difficult task and are more easily bamboozled by pet food technomarketing or popular lore. Their lack of scientific depth also makes them vulnerable to reducing pet health and feeding to simplistic myths such as the benefits of a certain ingredi­ent or the horrors of another. Usually they happen to be selling the brand that has the special ingredient and is without the horrible one.

So there is no easy way for you. You cannot simply trust someone who puts themselves forth as an expert. For you to even know what is or is not good advice, you must engage your mind, learn a little, and put truth first. Ultimately, in matters of health for yourself or your pets, you are the most reliable expert.”

[weimlove]

HDM- that’s what I was thinking about doing. Maybe adding some fresh low fat neat every once in a while and maybe an rmb every once in a whole too. Thanks for being understanding, the people on my other forum would most likely chew me out because they hate kibble so much.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi weimlove –

Don’t feel like a failure, what works for one dog won’t always work for another. As far as kibble goes, Nature’s Variety Instinct is great – I used to feed it frequently before I switched to raw. If you keep him on kibble you could always top the kibble with small amounts of lowfat raw meats.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[cms60]

I’m so impressed! I had searched and couldn’t figure out what to do! There are stores carrying that brand close to me and I will try it! My poor baby has multiple allergies besides the foods, but the vet said the foods are usually the easiest to start eliminating. I might have to get an extract made for pine and grass allergy, but I want to try this first. This year suddenly became a consistent problem to the point she licked a raw spon on one of her paws. (She is 8 years old and has only had seasonal problems before). I tried medications and multiple imaginative ideas to protect the spot, but finally had to resort to the silly collar that doesn’t allow her to chew her feet at least until the one paw gets well.

Thanks so much for this great site, and the advice!

[weimlove]

Nectarmom-
I’m so sorry to hear that your baby is still sick 🙁 shadow has fully recovered and his appetite is back. For now, I purchased natures variety instinct with raw boost. It’s a grain free kibble with added bits of freeze dried raw. He is still having some runny poop but it’s a lot better than the liquid poop he was having. I was also thinking about Darwin’s, but I’m going to continue researching. I wish I could feed raw but sometimes it just dosent work for our babies. I feel like a failure but his health is my top priority

HDM- I will definitely keep that in mind, but the pre-mix and that kind of meat Woukd be way out of my budget. In trying to spend no more than $100 a month on food.

Thank you all for all the help and advice you have given me.

[theBCnut]

My JRT is more prone to build up than any of my other dogs has ever been(all medium/large dogs). Raw meaty bones are keeping any issues in check enough that I scrape off a little every 6 months or so, but other than the professional teeth cleaning she got when I got her, she has not had another real teeth cleaning and hasn’t needed one. She used to have it done every year before I got her. I feed chicken necks, turkey necks, or some kind of ribs every third day. I think it is an issue of their teeth not changing in size as much as they did when they were bred down so much. Their teeth don’t line up quite the way they should. This is especially noticable in brachycephalic breeds. And it’s also a problem in miniature horses(I’m NOT brushing Smokey’s teeth, nor am I feeding him RMBs).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi weimlove –

Sorry to hear Shadow’s having a bout of pancreatitis. 🙁

As Nectarmom stated, pancreatitis is brought on by fat – it wouldn’t have to do with whether or not the food is raw, although raw diets do tend to be higher in fat than kibble. Some dogs can handle very high levels of fat with no issues (i.e. my dogs) and others are very sensitive to fat. Some breeds are also predisposed to pancreatitis and don’t tolerate high levels of fat in their diet. Rancid fats can also cause pancreatitis – this wouldn’t be an issue with the fat on fresh meat but kibbles can go rancid as can fish oil (if you’re supplementing with fish oil it should be refrigerated and used within a couple months of opening). As Patty stated, raw diets are only required to state a minimum level of fat – often the actual level is much higher. So be careful if you go with pre-made. The best way to determine the true fat level is to look at the calorie content (foods with over 50 calories per oz. are likely higher in fat) and/or ask the company for a batch analysis in which they provide you with an actual nutrient analysis run on a batch of food (this can give you a good idea of what the fat levels are actually in the food but can also be inaccurate given that it’s possible to have great variance between batches). Personally, I think your best bet (if you want to continue with raw) would be to use a pre-mix and add lean meat from the grocery store. Human foods are required to list the actual fat levels (not a minimum) so you know what you’re getting. I’d stick with at least 95% lean and supplement with minimal levels of omega 3’s (he’ll still need EFA’s, but don’t over supplement).

[NectarMom]

Patty is right Weimlove and we were using Darwin’s and my baby is now in intensive care and staying at the Vet for who knows how long. My bill is already $1300 but if they can make her well and then money is no object. I plan to probably put her back on Brothers Allergy since they changed the ingredients back to where they were the first go round. She did fine on it until they added that fish oil so we will give it a shot. Sometimes things do not work out and you have to do what is best for your furry babies health. As far as my research Darwin’s was lower in fat than most pre-made Raw and Darwin’s came highly recommended. Yes I am aware that licking in the air is Nausea but this was not that type of lick, she was trying to get in the others bowls to eat and licking. She will also lick in the air with acid reflux.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Weimlove Best of luck to you with your baby.

[Hound Dog Mom]

That sounds like a great menu for a large breed puppy! My dogs love Tripett and Grandma Lucy’s. Raw green tripe is naturally rich in probiotics and enzymes however they are destroyed in the canning process, so if you want your pup to have the benefits of probiotics and enzymes it will be necessary to supplement separately.

[shelties mom]

HDM,
Thanks for your reply. I’m curious of how most raw fed BIG dogs I’ve met have pearly white teeth and their owners never have to brush their teeth? Do you use any dental products for their teeth?

[kimc]

I need some help! I have 2 mini schnauzers, and they are such picky eaters! I know, I know…I created this mess. However, it does not help the issue. Currently they are eating “Stella and Chewys raw for dinner. They like to graze on kibble during the day, but I cannot find one they will eat. (unless it is not good for them….they started eating Bill Jax, which I wasn’t happy about, but they were eating it…then the itching started so I am back to square one) I have tried them all. I need a 5 star, no chicken, grain free “small kibble”. My dogs are 6 and 8 lbs…very small. Anyone have any suggestions? I really thought Natural Instincts would work…but the kibble is big and very hard…they can’t break it! HELP!!

[theBCnut]

Do your research on which premade raws are high fat. They only have to list a minimum and some of them have a lot more fat than that. A dog that is susceptible to pancreatitis needs controlled fat levels.

[Hound Dog Mom]

NectarMom –

I think Sandy had a good suggestion. You may want to forget the Darwin’s and possibly even the MPC and just use a pre-mix and mix in very lean meat (if you want to continue with raw). I would go with meat from the grocery store so you know exactly the level of fat you’re feeding – 95% lean ground beef, 97% lean ground turkey, chicken breast, etc. As for adding EFA’s – I’d just add a sardine or a fish oil capsule and maybe a very small amount of coconut oil a few days a week. I’m so sorry to hear that your dogs are having these issues. Some dogs just can’t tolerate high levels of fat and some breeds are pre-disposed pancreatitis. All of my dogs tolerate very high levels of fat (I sometimes feed up to 40%) – thank god, they eat so much the higher fat levels help me keep their food more calorie-dense.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi loveall –

You’re on the right track by feeding a 5 star grain-free food. My only suggestion would be to rotate foods – don’t stick with just one. There is no “best food” – this is why it is important to rotatate, it compensates for the shortcomings of each food. Pick at least two or three different brands (or more) with different protein sources and switch every so often. Rotating foods with strengthen your dog’s digestive system, provide variety and provide you with alternative choices in the event of a recall or formula change. I’d also recommend topping the dry food with a high quality canned food, raw food or healthy leftovers (lean meat, eggs, etc.). Good luck!

[weimlove]

Oh my goodness I am so sorry to hear that! It is so frustrating when you spend so much time researching a raw diet and preparing their meals, for it not to work out. Shadow stayed at the holistic vet lastnight. I picked him up this morning and when we got home he had liquid diareahha and still wouldn’t eat. All they did at the holistic vet was give him fluids. Since he was still worse I took him to a normal vet that’s close to my house. She says he may have a touch of pancreatitis but that she thinks we caught it in time. She gave him some antibiotics and an injection to calm his tummy. I went to the store and bought some wellness chicken and rice canned food. Thankfully he ate almost a whole can! The vet I went to was very kind and understanding. I think for now I’m going to use canned food until his appetite comes back all the way. When it does, I’m thinking about just going to a pre made raw such as primal. I want to feed shadow the best, but I don’t want to risk his health.

[theBCnut]

Licking air is a sign of nausea, so she really does need to wait longer to eat. I know how hard that is, but you are going to have to be strong for her if she is silly enough to want to eat inspite of her tummy warnings.

[NectarMom]

Thank you Weimlove. Pancreatitis is brought on by high fatty diet. We maybe switching just our shihtzu back to kibble due to she was only given 1 teaspoon of raw when we got back home and I ended up rushing her back up there, she blew out basically nothing but watery diahrrea and was trying to throw up the teaspoon that I fed her so it is not looking good for Raw for her in which I really hate it. Shes going back in tomorrow for more test and I guess they enjoy trying to see how many times they can stick her to get blood 🙁 Poor baby, Vet said once again no food for 24hrs….shes going to starve to death and I feel so bad while everyone else is eating and shes sitting there licking in the air……….. 🙁

Weimlove, how is your baby today?

[Honeybeesmom1]

Hi HDM, I realized after reading your response to me…I figured I probally jumped the gun.
I tend to do that when it comes to the doggies. lol. But then I read texsmom & smitty’s comments – and now I just don’t know what to do.
I always read reviews on everything before I buy for my pets – but on see spot live longer…I couldn’t find any. I saw on Dogaware was just what it was about…not any reviews.
I’m making another purchase of THK Preference – and wanted to also buy another food besides kibble
as they still have that. What is another food that you would recommend? I did see one called U-Stew.
Can you tall me anything about that one? And I believe I’ve read you like Dr. Harveys? I still have plenty of raw.