Well now the same dog threw up once again this evening the frothy liquid so we are stopping the Raw until I can speak to someone at Darwin’s so they can tell me what is going on. What is strange is that they eat at 6AM in the morning and then throw up at 4PM in the afternoon so they are throwing up after they digest the Raw. Now I have the Raw causing issues along with the kibble causing acid reflux, just lovely!
Mary lou, My dogs are not throwing up the food. it is hours later after the food has already digested that they throw up clear foamy liquid. I am afraid of any food that has been recalled and Natures Variety has been recalled before. My main concern right now is the acid reflux they have been having since switching to a high protein kibble. I am feeding Darwin’s Raw diet Turkey and I am wondering if it by its self is nutritionally sound for my crew. Darwin’s is closed today or I would be calling them asking. Thanks for your reply though 🙂
NectarMom ~ our Bichon does not do well on kibble. Even if it seems to go well initially, we end up with throwing up. He does not get much kibble, but I have found two he seems to do ok on in small amounts. Right now, he has some Nature’s Variety LID Duck. They have a turkey, as well. He also does well on Nutrisca Salmon. Unfortunately, the only turkey they have is canned. He seems to do fine on high protein ~ unless it’s in a kibble. I believe these are around 29 and 30. He eats more raw and canned, but has had no issues with either of these kibbles. I hope you can find a solution for your pups.
I don’t think it has anything to do with mixing kibble with Raw being that if that was the case they would throw up solid food after being fed. They are throwing up clear foam hours later. Even one of mine threw it up this morning when we woke up. She was heaving and I put her off of the bed so she wouldn’t throw up in my bed. This was not regurgitating it was throwing up.
Nectar mom-
First, if a food was causing an issue to the point that I had to give all 4 pepcid, I would not be using that food. Unfortunately, as you know, each dog is different, so it can be trial and error until you find one that works for all problems that a given dog may have-some do better on grain free, some do better on grain inclusive or raw etc. Several of my dogs do not do well if the kibble protein goes over 33 or so percent. Why, I have no idea as they do fine with raw/canned etc that exceed that amount.
I have no idea if this has anything to do with the puking but some dogs can’t handle raw mixed with kibble. Maybe feed them at different meals and see if that helps.
I am having the same problem with my 4 small dogs. I am feeding Brothers Allergy formula since Sept 2012 and I just started adding Darwin’s Raw to it with very little 95% can food (Turkey is the protein ) I am thinking it is the high protein from Brothers since they had this issue before I added the Raw. The problem is for me is that most of these freeze dried are loaded with potato. I give Pepcid AC to them but its not helping. I already had one with an ulcer due to this and an ulcer takes forever to clear up. I don’t want another one coming up with one also. It seems I cannot win for loosing. If I go 100% Raw would that solve it or would they not get enough nutrition? I am getting confused on this whole thing of high grain free protein is better yet it is causing health issues?
I am going to change my review just a bit because I do not know if it is the Raw causing this or not. I feed at 6AM every morning before I go to work and then usually around 5:30PM I feed again. I am mixing 1 TBSP of Raw with 1/8 cup of Brothers Allergy, less than half TSP of pumpkin and wellness 95% turkey and then mixed with that in the morning they get half a scoop of mercola enzymes and evening meal they get half scoop of probiotics. My problem is in-between because all the sudden hours later after a meal some are throwing up clear foam. Is this because they are needing something in between meals? I was thinking of getting some mercola bones for them to chew on. We have been on a good routine before the Raw added where 2 of my girls are loosing weight and they needed to. I don’t want to add anything else to the diet to make them gain weight. Stools are fine and no throwing up any solid food so just the throwing up hours later the clear foamy liquid. Any suggestions on what I can give them? Thanks 🙂
Hi JenRose –
You may want to consider a dehydrated food, it’s much easier to find dehydrated foods that are lower in protein and fat than canned foods. Dehydrated foods will have the same consistency as canned foods when re-hydrated (as I know MegaE dogs tend to do better on foods with a “gruel” consistency). Some options:
-Addiction: They have a line of dehydrated foods with protein levels ranging from 18% -22% and several options with under 15% fat.
-The Honest Kitchen’s Verve is 22.5% protein and 8.5% fat.
-Sojo’s has two formulas that both have 22% protein and 8% fat.
-I and Love and You has three dehydrated options with 22% protein and fat levels ranging from 8% – 10%.
-Only Natural Pet’s Easy Raw dehydrated foods have 22% – 23% protein and 8% – 10% fat.
Yep sometimes I mix canned 95% all meat mixed in with the Raw and kibble and pumpkin and I switch up and do in the morning feeding I put enzymes and in the evening feeding I put probiotics. My crew is really thriving on Darwin’s Raw. They are for sure eating better, even my picky eater 🙂 I am seriously lovin it!
Hi texasniteowl –
Completely understandable that you can’t do raw, it’s not possible for the majority but I thought I’d put it out there is case it was a potential option. I raw feed my crew of three large, extremely active bloodhounds and it gets very time consuming and expensive.
As for toppers – yes, all you would need to do is account for the calories. Generally speaking, the average 13.2 oz. can of dog food as roughly the same amount of calories as an 8 oz. measuring cup of dry kibble.
For fish oil you will want to go by combined EPA/DHA amounts. 100 – 150 mg. mg combined DHA and EPA per 10 lbs. is the general recommendation and what I’d suggest starting with, although I’ve seen sources recommend up to 300 mg. combined DHA/EPA per 10 lbs. for dogs with health issues. The product you’re looking at has a combined EPA/DHA of 610 per serving so that would be just about perfect for your 62 lb. dog.
Human probiotics are perfectly fine for dogs. In fact, I feel that they’re generally higher quality and (oddly) they typically cost less per dose. You certainly can go with a probiotic supplement marketed for dogs, but it’s not necessary. Just look for one with as many strains as possible. If you go with a human supplement, adjust the serving size accordingly. I’d give a 62 lb. dog 1/2 the recommended human dose (although there’s no need to stress about dosages too much as probiotics aren’t something that will harm your dog if you were to accidentally “overdose”).
Thank you both Patty and Hound Dog Mom for your input. I recognize that RAW may be best but it seems intimidating and/or time consuming and/or expensive…and prepackaged/prepared *is* expensive. (Wilson weighs a little over his target weight of 62lbs…we’re currently at 66lb and going down slowly.)
So we do need to stick to dry kibble…at least for now.
I guess I’m leaning towards sticking with the bag of Earthborn Great Plains…at least to finish it…don’t know that I will buy it again. I do have some pumpkin I can add to his meals so I hope that will help with the alternate straining/soft movements. (Also, for what it’s worth, the Great Plains has a guaranteed protein of 34%…lower than the primitive at 38% yes, but much higher than the Fromm’s he was on (27% iirc).)
I will start looking at the options again to try to figure out which to try next. Also, I *am* open to using a topper…either freeze dried or canned. I suppose I just need to account for the calories, right? The rough calorie spot for Wilson’s kibble is 950-975 calories/day. He’s not extremely active…we do around a 1 mile walk daily and he doesn’t get all that many treats. On the Fromm’s, this target had him losing very slowly so I could cut it slightly a bit more, but I’m OK with the extra 5-6 lbs coming off slow.
I have been planning to add fish oil…or Omega 3…supplements. Am confused on amount…do I worry about the amount of epa/dha individually or combined? Example, one product I am looking at has a serving of 2 capsules. That serving contains 360 epa and 250 dha (with the two combined being 610). Is that enough for a dog his size or should I be looking to double that?
I had also been starting to look into Probiotics…HDM I see you listed several human probiotics…no problems with these? I had been looking at Nusentia’s Probiotic Miracle or NWC Naturals Total-biotics but the Swanson for example would be much less expensive.
sigh…apparently I can write novel like responses as well as original posts ;>
Hi crazy4cats –
Feeding a variety of red meat, poultry and fish (or if not feeding fish, supplementing with quality fish oil) is very important. Different meats have different amino acid profiles, it’s important to feed a variety so your dog gets a full spectrum of amino acids. Even two different types of poultry – say, chicken versus turkey – will have completely different amino acid profiles. Rotating for this reason isn’t quite as critical when feeding balanced commercial kibble or canned foods as it would be with feeding a home cooked or raw diet as commercial diets should be formulated to include adequate levels of essential amino acids, but it’s still important. Different meats also contain different types of fat: poultry is high in polyunsaturated fats (especially linoleic acid) and low in saturated fats and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), ruminants are high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats and DHA and fish is, typically, rich in DHA. Feeding your dogs a variety of different protein sources will help balance the fats in their diet. It’s important that dogs (and cats) consume a balanced spectrum of fats, in order to do this they will need to consume a variety of red meats and poultry supplemented with fatty fish or fish oil or it will be necessary to balance the fats in their food – this would involve supplementing red meat recipes with alpha linolenic acid (ALA), Linoleic Acid (LA) and DHA (walnut oil or hemp oil or canola oil in addition to a fatty fish or fish oil) and supplementing poultry recipes with ALA and DHA (chia seeds or flax and fish or fish oil). I don’t know of any kibble or canned food manufacturer that balances the fats in their foods so it’s best to feed a variety. I personally prefer single protein group foods – red meat, poultry, fish but a food that contains both poultry and red meat would be better than only feeding poultry based foods or only feeding red meat based foods. When I fed kibble I’d cycle between a red meat based food, then a poultry based food then a fish based food. Red meat would be beef, lamb, venison, bison, pork, etc. Poultry would be chicken, turkey, duck, etc. In addition to the reasons stated, I like red meat (for my homemade raw diets) because I have a greater variety of organ meat to choose from. When feeding poultry the only option is liver (gizzards and hearts count as muscle meat), this isn’t enough variety. So I typically feed red meat organs because I can get liver, kidney, lungs, spleen, pancreas – I can also get healthy “by-products” such as trachea, gullet and green tripe.
Hi texasniteowl –
You may want to get your boy on some supplements that will help his allergies – quercitin, nettle, burdock root and perilla leaf, omega 3’s, bromelain, papain and coconut oil are all supplements shown to help ease allergy symptoms. Aunt Jeni’s sells a supplement called “Enhance Allergy Aid” with vitamin c, burdock root, quercitin and biotin. Vet’s Best sells a supplement called “Seasonal Allergy Support” with bioflavinoids, nettle leaf, vitamin c, perilla leaf and quercitin. You may want to consider purchasing one of these or a similar supplement and giving him some fish oil and coconut oil daily.
If your he is indeed allergic to your grass you should bathe him frequently in an herbal shampoo (avoid oatmeal-based shampoos) and have a foot soak ready to use after he’s been outdoors (you can make a solution using 1 gal. water, 1 c. hydrogen peroxide and 1-4 c. white vinegar or you can mix povidone iodine with water). Soak his feet every time he comes indoors so he’s not tracking the allergen through your house and vacuum frequently.
You should make sure his food is low in carbohydrates as high carbohydrate diets are “pro-inflammatory” and can worsen allergy symptoms. Your best bet, as Patty mentioned, would be a balanced raw diet. If that’s not possible a high protein canned or dehydrated food would be the next best option. If you must feed kibble keep it high protein. My top picks for kibble would be Orijen (38-40% protein), Nature’s Variety Instinct (35 – 42% protein), EVO (42-52% protein), Solid Gold’s Barking at the Moon (41% protein), Artemis Maximal (42% protein) Earthborn Primitive Natural (38% protein) or Wysong Epigen (60% protein). If you can at least top the kibble with balanced raw or a high quality canned or dehydrated food, this would be better than kibble alone.
Supplementing with probiotics is known to help allergies as well. I would recommend adding a high quality multi-strain probiotic to the food such as Mercola Probiotics, Garden of Life Primal Defense, Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic with FOS or Swanson’s Soil-Based Organisms. Probiotics may help firm up his stool as well. Some other ideas to help firm him up would be adding a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin to each meal and supplementing with digestive enzymes.
Remember it may take several weeks for things to clear up. Good luck!
Try finding a food that is grain free, potato free and pretty low in carbs. My favorite kibble is Brothers Complete Allergy Formula. It is pretty pricey, but it really worked for my dog with issues like yours. It has to be ordered from their website unless you live in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
After all of the Brothers Complete formulas, I think my next choice would be Orijen or even Wysong Epigen.
High quality canned or raw are even better, but somewhat cost prohibitive in a large dog.
I’ve been mixing kibble and raw since 2011. Now it’s kibble, canned, freeze dried, or raw in any combo.
Thank you for answering my question! I really appreciate it and I learned so much from all of you reading the threads – cheers!
I mix raw in kibble all the time and have had no problems with any of my dogs.
My 4 dogs have been on Darwin’s Raw turkey for a week now and we mix some kibble in with it plus probiotics and enzymes and some pumpkin at times and have not had an issue by mixing the two.
But if you are feeding just raw or mostly Raw such as I am feeding 1/4 Brothers and 3/4 Darwin’s Raw turkey so where are my dogs vitamins and minerals coming from? I wonder if that is why they are trying to eat grass and now dirt? They’re stools are firm and they gobble down the Darwin’s without any issue now besides the trying to eat grass and dirt. They get enzymes on the food in the morning and probiotics on they’re food in the evening. IMO for them to do this there is something missing that they are not getting. Darwin’s claims they put ACV in the Raw. I don’t know but just trying to learn and understand more so my dogs get everything they need. I am lovin the Darwin’s with my dogs because they are eating it so well and the stools are like they should be. My last beloved dog died from cancer and I believe it was from some ingredient in kibble so I do not want this to happen again if I can prevent it.
Hi lori –
Sounds like you’ve got a good feeding plan going! There’s no such thing as too much variety. 🙂
As long as your dog doesn’t seem to have any issues eating kibble and raw in the same meal it’s fine to combine the two. Many people combine kibble and raw with no issues. I’ve read some websites that advise not mixing kibble and raw due to potential stomach upset but I’ve never actually heard of a dog having issues with mixing the two.
I would like to know if there is a problem/your experience with feeding 1/2 kibble 1/2 raw in a single meal. I also add a Tbsp of yogurt, fish oil and probiotics, I am currently using Great Life Probiotic & Enzyme. Their other meal is kibble with veggies, yogurt, coconut oil and probiotics. I use commercial raw like Vital Essentials or Small Batch Pet or K9 Natural. They expect something on the top of their food that is why I don’t do veggie and raw as one meal. I do also feed freeze dry raw instead of raw a couple times per week so they get variety. Maybe too much variety? I have one dog with a gurgly stomach the younger one is fine.
If you’re referring to brands of raw, I make my own for my crew so I can be in complete control of quality. If I were to feed a commercial product Answer’s and Aunt Jeni’s would be my top picks.
Hi nectarmom –
Some brands perform what’s called “high pressure processing” on their “raw” food to eliminate bacteria. Darwin’s doesn’t do this and – IMO – that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t feed HPP “raw” and would only recommend it in the case of an extremely immune-compromised dog. HPP is just one more process – processing should be limited and food should be kept as close to its natural state as possible. HPP has been shown to cause denaturing of proteins. It’s also speculated that it may affect the fats and enzymes as well. A normal bacteria load present in raw meat is not a concern for a healthy dog. My dogs have been eating raw for almost 2 years, in which they’ve likely been exposed to salmonella numerous times, and have never gotten sick. If bacteria is a concern I’d recommend supplementing with quality probiotics (a healthy population of “good” bacteria will help your dog to keep “bad” bacteria in check) and adding foods that have natural anti-bacterial properties (such as unfiltered apple cider vinegar and coconut oil).
I don’t have dobermans, but I have “large active dogs” (3 bloodhounds). I’ve found they do best on a high protein, moderate/high fat, low carb raw diet without grains or starches. Their meals average around 50% protein and 35% fat. They seem to maintain their weight better with higher fat levels.
What about giving them Raw Goats Milk? Darwin’s told me to mix some Tripe in with the Raw but I didn’t want to make matters worse by introducing something else into the mixture.
I was at the store today picking up some can pumpkin and I was telling the Nutritionist there that my dogs were on partial raw and the reason I was asking him is because my vet claimed that I was so worried about salmonella poison from kibble and now here I am feeding RAW…He didn’t get it. Now the nutritionalist there at the store said that the raw they carry has been prepared against salmonella? Does Darwins also do this? I have found that my shihtzu has been puking in the futon where I couldn’t see it so I called Darwin’s and they are suppose to call me back tomorrow with some suggestions.
Mine are also half Brothers Allergy and half Darwin’s, except that I’m finally going to get to try Micah on Brothers Red Meat and see how he does!!! And I also do some homemade raw.
Hi JillMcN –
Please be aware that using a pre-mix will not necessarily ensure that your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. There are a few pre-mixes available that meet AAFCO nutrient profiles when prepared per instructions (The Honest Kitchen’s Preference, U-Stew, Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix), but many have no claim of meeting the AAFCO’s nutrient standards and many of these – like Sojo’s, for example – don’t appear to be conplete and balanced when prepared according to the instructions. These unbalanced pre-mixes would be fine to use intermittently, but to feed long term you would need to know what supplements to add in order to balance the recipe. So if you’re planning on using a pre-mix long term, please make sure it meets the AAFCO’s nutrient standards.
The recipe you posted actually appears to be quite balanced, only a few things that I’d tweak. I’d cut the liver from 8 oz. to 4 oz. and give 4 oz. of another organ (kidney, lungs, spleen, etc.) I’d add another whole food supplement (such as alfalfa or wheatgrass) in addition to the kelp. I’d also highly recommend rotating in red meat for the poultry 50% of the time – this will help balance the fats as poultry is high in polyunsaturated fats (particularly linoleic acid) while red meat is high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats. Red meat is also much higher in iron and many micronutrients than poultry. There are several books available that contain complete and balanced recipes that are AAFCO compliant. “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown is my favorite – the recipes are for raw food but could easily be converted to cooked by substituting muscle meat for any RMB’s and adding 800-1,000 mg. calcium per pound of meat.
Supposedly, cooking bones is what makes them sharp and splintery. That is why raw feeders feed raw bones only. Although when I tried raw bones (even small chicken wing size ones) they made my dog throw them up (in my bed). I do know that Merrick sells a canned food called “Wingaling” that contains pressure cooked chicken bones, soft enough for a dog to eat.
As for premixes, I’ve had great success with Sojo’s. The grain-free mix smells kind of strong (like smelly broccoli) but it is easy to add cooked or raw meat to and my 7 YO rescue dog loves it. I mix up a big batch and use an ice cream scoop to put portions on wax paper on a cookie sheet, freeze, then put the frozen portions in a container to thaw as needed.
If only the softest bones were removed and processed separately into mush… maybe. OK.
I’ll still remove all the bones this time and continue to add egg shell powder until I decide on which supplements should be added to the above.
Or could someone weigh in and tell me whether I should just get a pre-mix and add my own meat?
I won’t be feeding raw. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
I have a recipe by Andi Brown – I’ve made it once for my 7-yr-old-pug and I’d like to make it again while I continue researching the things I need to add.
It is home-cooked, not raw. I’ll post it after my question. After reading some posts here, I got as nearly-to-powder as possible some egg shells to add to each meal (1/4 tsp.) and some sardines for Omega 3s (although there is wild-caught salmon on the recipe).
When I cook the chicken, I obviously remove the large bones, but there are several small bones that I think would be very soft and thoroughly decimated by my extra-strong hand blender.
Is the answer always “no” – do not feed cooked bones, even finely mushed-up cooked bones to our dogs?
Thanks in advance.
The recipe I used (minus the oats and minus the garlic):
The Whole Pet Diet Chicken Stew
Special note: use organic ingredients whenever possible
• 5 pounds Whole Chicken or Turkey (bones, organs, skin and all)
• 6 – 8 cups spring water
• 1/2 pound of additional beef liver, or chicken liver or turkey liver (your choice)
• 1/2 pound of wild salmon
• 2 cloves chopped fresh garlic
• 1/2 pound green peas
• 1 pound coarsely chopped carrots
• 1/2 pound coarsely chopped sweet potato (yam)
• 1 pound coarsely chopped zucchini
• 1 pound coarsely chopped yellow squash
• 1/2 pound of coarsely chopped green beans
• 1 pound coarsely chopped celery
• 1/4 teaspoon kelp powder
• Dash of dried rosemary
See Chef’s Tip on Freshly Grated Toppings
For Dogs:
Add 12 oz. of Rolled Oats and adjust the water content to a total of 12 cups or enough to just “cover” the ingredients.
Combine all ingredients in a 10-quart stock pot (stainless steel, please). Bring to boil, reduce to low, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.
Once finished (your carrots are soft), let cool and de-bone the chicken by hand. With an electric hand mixer (I use one available from Sears for about $19) or a food processor, blend all the ingredients into a nice puree. Using plastic yogurt containers, or Tupperware, make up “meal-sized” portions or what you will need for three days, and freeze what you don’t need immediately.
Yes we are on turkey. I think in my situation it is best that I do not over load my dogs with raw meat on a bone due to they are so sensitive to change in anything in a diet. I am currently having issues with my shihtzu after day 2 on just mixing a half a teaspoon of Darwin’s turkey. Shes eating and no temp but shes very sluggish which is surprising due to my one with intestinal issues is fine and my shihtzu is following me around like there is no tomorrow and shes never like that. My shihtzu’s stool was a bit soft but not runny but I don’t like the way she is acting and nothing else has changed in her environment but the Darwin’s. I do things slow with them since they have had alot of issues with diet change. I am super parinoid of introducing any type of Raw with my dogs so I am taking baby steps to do this transition if it even works. Thank you both for your wealth of info and just to let you know it has been taken in and I really appreciate the advice.
Thank you Patty I will try that this morning. HDM , I have seen the dog grass sprouts. I sprout beans all the time for my parrot. I will see if I can find the website again where I bought the bird sprouts. I believe it was called The Sprout People. I just cannot get over how well my Shihtzu is eating her food out of her bowl every time and seriously I have never seen her so excited about eating..ever!
Can you recommend which raw bones I should start out with that are safe and small enough for tiny dogs?
Patty I will try the partial defrost Thank you both so much , Jennifer
No, the eating grass is not a normal reaction to Darwin’s. And yes, it is normal for it to turn brown. Try giving them a spoonful of it without any kibble, maybe you have the rare dog that can’t handle raw mixed with kibble. Also, you can partially defrost it just enough to divide it in to smaller portions and refreeze what you don’t need immediately.
Thank you for the advice!
9 year old 75 pound dog’s lab work showed dilute urine specific gravity (1.007) and slightly high creatinine (1.7 vs. range of 0.5 – 1.6 mg/dL). Other kidney numbers were good. This dog often drinks a lot, leading to lower specific gravity. The vet suggested going to a Senior Food to get a bit less protein, so his kidneys have less work.
My dog is on Ziwipeak dyhydrated raw food (it’s not raw once dyhydrated) with “quality” protein and no grains etc. It’s pretty much all meat. He get’s 6 scoops per day, with fish oil and some other supplements (Missing Link and Sea Meal). I was focused on the percent protein (36%), but not on the total quantity. Doing the math it seems he’s been getting 122 gm protein per day!!
I now understand the guideline for older dogs is about 2 gms/ per kg (or about 1 gm/ pound), which is slightly more than for adult dogs. Based on this he should be getting about 75 gms/day.
I’m thinking rather than going to a commercial senior dog food with grains and other things, why not just give him less Ziwipeak and augment with vegetables? More so, as he seems allergic to meats other than venison. I was thinking of going down to 4 scoops (about 80 gm protein) per day, which is the recommended amount, and giving him vegetables such as pumpkin, sweet potato, or cauliflower or a combination to make sure he gets the same amount of food he is used to (he’s on the skinny side of normal)
Does that make sense? Other suggestions?
Just made two weeks worth of meals with some green tripe included… The smell is awful!! But I know it’s very nutritious so I will try to ignore it!
I got my Darwin’s Turkey order Wed and it was packed so well and still very frozen so I put all of it (which was ALOT) into the freezer and kept one pack out for in a couple of days ( Today). Darwin’s called me the day the shipment came in and walked me through how to make a hopefully smooth transition start. I can honestly say I was very very nervious about starting a raw diet for my dogs since I hate meat with a passion ( I do not eat it)
Day one: Per advice from Darwin’s – Feed my usual mix and add in just half a teaspoon with each dogs meal of Darwin’s and mix in enzymes ( Mercola Brand) Now I have a VERY picky Shihtzu that will only eat out of my hand her kibble and can food but not this morning, she was trying to eat everyone elses and when I put her bowl down ( shes always last eating because shes so picky) Everyone else would eat her food before she got a chance but not this morning she actually ate all of her mixture right out of the bowl…OMG …I have not ever seen her do that in 2 1/2yrs she was born.
My short coat Chihuahua ( GiGi) smelled the Darwin’s in the bo as soon as I brought it in and put it on the floor. She was litterally climbing the walls wanting what was in that box ( Frozen Darwin’s LOL! I truely believe she would have eaten it frozen she wanted it that bad..hehe!
Now this is just the first day on it and the first feeding so I am hoping we do not have issues and I guess my only concern is the sweet potato since we are on a potato free diet. Time will tell if it agrees with GiGi since she is the one with intestinal allergies to what we do not know yet but for sure she is allergic to insect bites but that is not food related. Keep your fingers crossed for us. This is going to be a very slow process and we hope to make this work for our girls. I love the extra container they send to keep the raw in but I just for right now wish the porportions were a bit smaller since I am sure within 48 hrs I will be throwing some away.
I foster a pug who was surrendered because of her severe allergies. She’d been through all the allergy tests and basically was found to be allergic to everything. They’d had her on meds, steroids, baths, dips–you name it, they did it. They took her to the vet to be put down because she was so miserable and they couldn’t afford it any more. Thankfully, she was rescued. She’s now on a med called Atopica which is unfortunately pretty expensive, but has been a miracle worker for her. When I got her, her skin was raw and bleeding and now she has a beautiful coat. She eats Nutro Grain Free Lamb and Potato. We found 2 things she’s really allergic to are wheat and sweet potatoes and this food seems to be working for her. (knock on wood) And she’s learned to like baby carrots for treats! 🙂
Yes he is 🙂 and I really enjoy making his meals too.
The big plus with calcium citrate does not apply to this situation, and that is that you don’t have to take it with a meal. Other types of calcium are absorbed better if they are taken with a meal.
Sounds like Shadow is thriving on his new species-appropriate diet! Glad to hear it 🙂
Hi shelties mom –
You only want to use one calcium supplement. You can stick with one or rotate every so often. I’ve actually never used bone meal as a calcium source, but the thing to keep in mind if you want to use bone meal is that it contains both calcium AND phosphorus so you’ll have to add more bone meal than you would a pure calcium supplement (such as calcium citrate) to get the ratio in balance. Most bone meal has a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio but it can vary by brand. Dr. Pitcairn’s book “Natural Health for Dogs and Cats” contains a guide guide for balancing recipes with bone meal, I’m sure there are a lot of websites out there that explain it as well. If you’re using a pure calcium supplement, the general rule is about 800 mg. per 1 lb. muscle meat and 1,000 mg. per 1 lb. organ meat – as long as you follow that general rule the end result should be balanced. Sometimes slightly more or less can be used depending on the type of meat – i.e.) fattier meats will be lower in phosphorus and thus require less calcium than leaner meats. In my boneless beef recipe above, after the nutrient analysis I found that I only needed 1,400 mg. calcium to get the ratio where I wanted it. The tripe didn’t require any calcium as tripe naturally has a balanced C:P ratio, 85% lean is a little fattier and contains less phosphorus than extra lean meat and my offal blend contains trachea and gullet which only have slightly more phosphorus than calcium. There really wasn’t any reason behind my choosing calcium citrate other than it was available in powder form – I prefer to use powdered supplements when possible. You could certainly use another calcium supplement such as eggshell calcium, calcium lactate, etc. Just make sure the supplement contains ONLY calcium – some add other vitamins and minerals which, if not accounted for, could over-supplement your dog’s meal. I’ve heard that certain calcium supplements are better assimilated than others, but I really wouldn’t worry too much about what type you’re using as long as you’re getting the amount right.
Hi everyone, I haven’t been on here in a while but I just wanted to let y’all know that shadow is doing fabulous on raw. He used to have little red bumps on his tummy, runny poop, and was pretty slim. Since he has been on raw, the bumps are gone, his poop is great, and he has added muscle weight. Right now he is eating chicken leg quarters, necks and backs, thighs, turkey necks, wings, ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, and canned salmon and mackerel. I have also found a local who can order green tripe for me from blue ridge raw. I bought five pounds on it and can’t wait to try it! I have finally gotten comfortable feeding raw! I also add hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, various green veggies, fish oil, kelp, and vitamin e. I plan on giving him a whole chicken this weekend!
HDM,
I’m confused when to use calcium citrate or bone meal supplement for boneless recipes? Do you rotate the two?
That’s what I do, though I’m sure that our turkey necks have a higher meat:bone ratio because they don’t look like the bones are much bigger. They just have a huge meaty area where they were attached to the body, about 4 times more meat than bone. The head end isn’t so meaty though, only about the same amount of meat as bone.
Hi Patty –
When I first ventured into raw feeding I fed Primal RMBs and their turkey necks were HUGE – about 1 lb. each. The turkey necks I get from my new supplier are on the small side (only about 6-8 oz. each), so the weight is for both. Technically, a turkey neck has a balanced C:P ratio, but it’s on the high side (about 1.8:1). I would just make sure your dogs are getting about one half the amount of muscle meat as they are RMB. So feed 1/2 lb. boneless meat for every lb. RMB (roughly, doesn’t have to be exact – a little more or less will still be balanced).
HDM
I must ask. Where you list 2 turkey necks(12-16oz), is that both turkey necks together? I have to have turkey necks cut by the butcher, because ours are well over a pound, and I’m wondering how that affects the meat: bone ratio.
I sprout my own seeds. I buy them raw and have a my own sprouter. I’ve seen pre-sprouted seeds for sale though – health foods stores might sell them and I know nuts.com does. I grind mine in a coffee grinder. I order my raw glandular supplement from Swanson it’s called “Natural Sources Raw Glandular.” There are lots of other good quality glandulars out there too.
2 months, 1 week ago
