[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi mbigdogs –

I feel your pain! I have three bloodhounds – my male is 110 lbs., my adult female is 70 lbs. and my 6 1/2 month old female puppy is pushing 60 lbs and they eat like horses. I feed a homemade raw diet, I order all my food in bulk 300 lb. shipments from a wholesaler that supplies restaurants and grocery stores – I save a significant amount of money this way. Pre-made raw, dehydrated foods and canned foods would pretty much be out of the question – way too cost prohibitive with multiple large dogs. If you want to go the kibble route, some quality cost effective choices would be Merrick’s Whole Earth Farms (4 stars), Pure Balance (3 1/2 stars), Eagle Pack (4 stars), NutriSource (4 stars), Fromm’s Classics Line (3 1/2 stars), Hi-Tek Naturals (3 1/2 stars), Victor (4 stars) and Healthwise (4 stars). All of these foods are in the $35-$40 range for a large bag (usually 30-40 lbs.).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi DrYattz –

You really can’t give a healthy dog too much protein. Most of the Solid Gold formulas (aside from Barking at the Moon) are actually low in protein, so I doubt that was the issue. My dogs eat a raw diet with 45%-55% protein at each meal – about twice as much protein as is in most kibbles. As far as worrying about availability I’d recommend you get your dogs used to rotating foods. Switching between brands and protein sources is MUCH healthier than feeding the same food day in and day out. Once you get your dogs used to it you shouldn’t even have to transition between foods. Before I switched to raw when my oldest was on kibble I got a new brand of food with a new protein source every 2-3 weeks and a rotated canned food toppers daily – he had no digestive issues. All three of my dogs now eat raw and get something different at each meal – no issues here either. The Ol Roy Pure Balance looks like a decent budget friendly food, it’s low in protein and fat though so it’s a good thing you’re adding the chicken.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi busterbrown –

I experienced a similar issue with one my dogs. When she was a puppy she was extremely skinny – it seemed like no matter how much I fed her she was just a skeleton. I couldn’t get any weight on her until I switched her to a high fat diet. She eats a grain-free raw diet now of about 45-55% protein, 30%-40% fat and 15-20% carbohydrates. She’s still slim, but I’ve finally got it to where her ribs and hips aren’t protruding too awfully bad. She put on about 8 pounds in the first 4 months I had her on a high fat raw diet. If your dog needs to gain weight and the excess fat doesn’t cause any intestinal distress, I definitely think higher fat is the way to go. W/d is an extremely poor quality food – as are most prescription foods – and while I go to my vet for advice on lots of things, nutrition isn’t one of them. In some rare/extreme cases I think prescription foods can help stabilize a serious medical condition but I don’t personally believe they should ever be a long term solution. With a sensitive stomach, I think all you really need to do is try some foods and find one that doesn’t cause any issues. I’m willing to bet there’s a non-prescription food that will work. I’d recommend something grain-free and limited in ingredients. Nature’s Variety Instinct has some limited ingredient canned foods that are moderately high in fat, EVO has a 95% Meat line that is high fat and very limited in ingredients, ZiwiPeak would be another great choice. I’d also like to mention Abady – they have a granular food line that is excellent for putting on weight (it’s high fat and very calorie-dense with nearly 800 calories per cup) and dogs with sensitive stomachs seem to do well on it. Abady makes some great canned foods too so that may be something you could check out.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi hvnlysrph –

There’s no reason to “transition” a healthy dog from food to food regardless of if you’re feeding canned or dry. If your dog is accustomed to eating the same food and has eaten the same food for a long period of time you many initially find that you need to transition, however once your dog gets used to switching foods you shouldn’t need to. When my dog ate dry food I got a new brand with a new protein source at the end of every bag (every 2-3 weeks) and rotated canned food toppers daily. All of my dogs now eat a raw diet and get something different at each meal. None have any digestive issues with switching. Switching brands and varieties is the healthiest thing you can do.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Just noticed a mistake – not sure what I was thinking when I was typing it out – but the eggshell amounts should be half of what I wrote. 1 tsp. ground eggshell for the beef recipe and 1 1/2 tsp. for the venison recipe. Sorry. I noticed it and wanted to correct it in case anyone actually wanted to try these out for themselves. 🙂

[Melissaandcrew]

Has NV started using a different process or modified it? The bags of the raw I always bought were that slightly grayish color from the HPP…This last bag we bought(the bite size pieces-chicken) was/is very very pink in color. Difference of night and day..

[weimlove]

Ok guys, I’m going to the butcher tommorow to get the ingredients for shadow first two weeks of raw food. I’m going to make enough food for about two weeks. At first, I plan on the butcher grinding everything up so I can make one pound patties of food until I can get a bigger freezer. I don’t know the exact amounts of ingredients but this is what I plan on using for this two week recipe: ground chicken, chicken backs, chicken quarters, chicken liver, sweet potatoes, leafy greens like spinach, vitamin e supplement, kelp mixture supplement, fish oil, and eggs with shell. For a couple of the meals I will add in THK’s preference. How does that sound? Any suggestions?

[Jens]

I think we might have to shelve the raw food feedings, since we want to do dogs on wheels and they apparently frown on raw feedings. they worry the elderly will get Salmonella, when they lick their faces….. 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I will give you some advice as it pertains to one of my dogs. I did not do allergy testing but an online friend gave me a list of ingredients to avoid: chicken, corn, wheat, soy, rice and flax. I have since found that Boone does fine with flax but cannot have yeast. He has done the best with a grain and potato free foods. Beef can be a common allergen, I have read. On this forum, go to the dog food ingredients board and the stickie at the top has the list of those foods.
Boone does best with fish and turkey foods. He eats a pre made raw in the morning and some of that is beef and he has no issue with it. His pre made is also turkey and duck. He eats Brothers Allergy, which has chicken liver & chicken at but is doing great on this food.
Something to keep in mind. You have to be mindful of every morsel your dog eats. That means treats as well. If you feed him a grain free food, feed him grainfree treats. Scour that ingredients list. Also, you wouldn’t think about it but supplements as well. Mixed tocopherols can be soy so the salmon oil I give him is just that, salmon oil (it’s a liquid). I once gave him a salmon oil capsule that had soy as a secondary ingredient. We use Bug Off Garlic for the insects and we cannot use the chewables because there is yeast in it.
I advise trying a few different foods, by different makers. I like doing that because you never know if a food will become unavailable or you see a sale on another one he can have. Hope I’ve been of help!

[shelties mom]

Hi all,
I have access to get raw, grass-fed bone meal from a local farmer. Does anyone use something like this and how do I calculate how much to add per lb of raw meat? Do I need to add in eggshells? Trying to avoid using cooked bone meal from the health food stores.

[Hound Dog Mom]

No problem. Hoping it helps some people realize it’s not impossible to make a balanced homemade food. 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

Looks complicated and nutritious!!. Mine are getting some kibble and some freeze dried Vital Essentials tonight! But I will revisit this recipe when it’s time for me to make a new batch of homemade food! Thanks for sharing!!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Okay so my dogs have been on their previous menu more about 6 weeks now and I’m about to switch things up for another month or two. I’ll post the new menu I’ll be starting next week to give more ideas to those interested in homemade raw.

Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays

a.m. (divided between 3 dogs)
-1 lb. 90% Lean Ground Beef
-1 lb. Ground Green Beef Tripe
-1 lb. Ground Beef Organs (Heart, Liver, Kidneys, Lungs, Spleen, Trachea, Gullet)
-1 C. Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree*
-1/2 C. Cottage Cheese
-1/2 C. Sprouted Quinoa (run through food processor)
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral*
-1 tbs. Ground Raw Pumpkin Seeds
-1 tbs. Coconut Oil
-1 tbs. Krill Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-2 tsp. Ground Eggshell
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. (per dog)
-2 Turkey Necks (approx. 12 oz.)
-8 oz. Turkey Hearts

Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays

a.m. (divided between 3 dogs)
-3 lbs. Venison Meat and Organ Mix (from a whole deer)
-1 C. Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree
-1 C. Kefir
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral
-2 tbs. Sprouted Chia
-1 tbs. Reduced Vitamin A Cod Liver Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-3 tsp. Ground Eggshell
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. (per dog)
-Chicken Back (approx. 10 oz.)
-Chicken Foot (approx. 2 oz.)
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Egg (without shell)

Sundays

a.m. (per dog)
-2 Whole Prey Quail (Approx. 1 1/2 lbs.)

p.m. -Fast

*Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree:
(I make up a big batch running all the ingredients through a food processor and freeze in ice cube trays. After they freeze I store all the cubes in giant ziplock bags in the freezer – each cube is approx. 1 fl. oz.)
-1 lb. Fresh Celery (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Beets (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Carrots (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Kale (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Frozen Butternut Squash
-1 lb. Frozen Spinach
-1 lb. Frozen Broccoli
-2 Apples
-1 Banana
-1 lb. Frozen Mixed Berries (Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries)
-8 oz. Frozen Cranberries
-2 Bunches Parsley
-2 Bunches Cilantro
-1 Head Garlic

*Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement:
-4 oz. Kelp Powder
-4 oz. Alfalfa Powder
-4 oz. Wheatgrass Powder
-4 oz. Spirulina Powder
-4 oz. Chlorella Powder
-4 oz. Bee Pollen Powder
-4 oz. Turmeric Powder

[pugmomsandy]

jnite,

Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost is a convenient freeze-dried powder supplement you can add to food and it has 8% fiber.

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-raw-boost-healthy-supplements-pets

[pugmomsandy]

jnite,

Have you ever fed your dog raw food with ground bone? Raw food does wonders for stool. Some brands have nibblet sizes and/or 1 oz nuggets and they have frozen or freeze dried. Maybe you can incorporate some of it with her current food. Or one meal of kibble and one meal of raw.

[pugmomsandy]

I’ve been using ProDen PlaqueOff (seaweed) for 2 months on my foster who needs a dental. When I first brought him home I had to roll the windows down in the car his breath was so bad! Now he sleeps in my room and I can put my face right up to him and there is no smell and his tongue is always hanging out! I haven’t checked his teeth for tarter but he is going to see the dental folks tomorrow morning. He is also on a wet diet only. No kibble.

My other dogs eat raw meaty bones or gnaw on marrow bones, antlers, bully sticks for teeth cleaning.

[pugmomsandy]

InkedMarie,

I had to open a photobucket account and load the pictures there! It was quick and easy though! Then I did what I usually do to post pictures in other places. Open the picture, right click, properties, copy the URL and paste in here!

[InkedMarie]

Great pictures, wish I could get them to work but I haven’t figured it out yet.

[aimee]

Oh Ok… i thought you meant the “they” was the AVMA.

I’m not a big conspiracy theorist. I don’t think the AVMA anti raw had anything to do with commercial kibble providers. If it did why do they specifically recommend cooked foods or leave a loop hole for raw diets rendered pathogen free by processing?

I saw that the Connecticut VMA is bringing the homeopathy issue to the table, so it really isn’t the AVMA that initiated it. It seems to me a process, like bringing a bill before congress. The CVMA wants the issue evaluated.

I do see that AVMA passed a policy to encourage to allow exemption from Rabies vaccination. Not all states allow this and AVMA is saying they should. So to me that is advocating for the animals health. shrug

And yes vets give raw feeders “the lecture” to CYA against liability. but once given and documented in the record hopefully the focus should be on making sure the person is feeding a balanced diet. JMO

[soho]

Hi Safarisam

These recommendations are just my opinion and I am NOT a vet. This is just what I would do if I were in your situation. I would try to find a holistic or integrative vet to be part of your healthcare team in dealing with your dogs diet and his diabetes!

There are many many options for your pom. Since you mentioned you would love to make his food here is one option. Buy ground turkey, ground beef and chicken breasts from your local supermarkets. Buy some frozen vegetables, no onions or starchy veggies like potatoes and no grains. His diet should be at least 80% meat and no more then 20% vegetables.

You can steam the veggies and then mash them up or you can puree them in a blender or food processor without cooking them. The idea is to make the veggies easier to digest since dogs don’t process veggies that well. The meats can be lightly cooked using low heat. I would be cautious about giving raw food to your dog at this point because it is hard for anyone to judge the condition of his immune system and the damage that has been done from the diabetes. A good immune system is necessary to handle the bacteria from raw food.

Since there are no bones in this diet a calcium supplement is necessary. If it is made for dogs it will have the dosages on the label. A multivitamin is also necessary because it is difficult for the home prepared diet to be complete and balanced without adding vitamins and minerals. Again if it is made for dogs the dosage will be on the label. I would also add some digestive enzymes and some sardines for their omega 3 content. The sardines would be part of the 80% meat portion of the diet. additional toppers like green tripe and organ meats can be rotated in the 80% part of the diet. Toppers should be no more then 20% of the total diet.

This is a start and there are many more options than the one I have given. A good book for you to help with your dogs diet would be see spot live longer by Steve Brown.

I wish you and your pomeranian the very best!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hey Melissa –

If she has digestive issues and the canned tripe doesn’t cause any problems I’d definitely give it a try. It’s loaded with probiotics and enzymes so it might help her out. I doesn’t seem to me like raw would cause an issue if canned doesn’t…?

[weimlove]

Onlywest- I’m so sorry to hear that. I was actually letting my boy chew on a large lamb bone yesterday…yikes! I will definitely stick to the smaller rmb’s like hdm listed. Thanks for the warning only west and for the tips hdm

[Melissaandcrew]

HDM-

I just had an aha moment, lol. What do you think of raw green tripe for my dobergal? She can eat the canned green tripe w/out issue. Now I am thinking perhaps some fresh green might help..thoughts?

[Hound Dog Mom]

I would say that ribs are fine as they aren’t weight bearing – I occasionally give my dogs ribs. I would avoid weight bearing lamb bones (like femurs) but lamb necks make good RMBs for larger dogs (they aren’t weight-bearing so they’re not super dense). Chicken wings are fine but I would be careful giving them to a larger dog, you want to give bones that they actually have to chew not bones that are so small they may swallow them. I personally don’t give chicken wings or necks to my dogs because my dogs are so big I worry that they’ll just swallow them whole. Turkey wings are a good size for large dogs though.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Raw milk naturally contains probiotics – pasteurized milk doesn’t because the pasteurization process destroys the probiotics. I would say that as long as your dog isn’t experiencing any digestive issues that would require high doses of probiotics, feeding him raw milk on a regular basis would be plenty for keeping his gut flora in balance. I feel that for healthy dogs without digestive issues that consume foods naturally rich in probiotics on a regular basis (such as raw green tripe, kefir, raw milk, yogurt, etc.) it’s unnecessary (and kind of a waste of money) to supplement with probiotics.

[shelties mom]

HDM,
I give my dogs raw grass-fed goat milk, can I eliminate probiotic supplement?

[shelties mom]

My dog broke his premolar tooth when chewing on a lamb leg bone without meat. I let him chew on it for over an hour and then heard a pop, I thought chewing on a bone would help clean his teeth, but I missed the part that says “MEATY”, not raw bone, but RAW MEATY BONE. I learned it the hard way, now he only gets chicken and duck necks.

[Anonymous]

InkedMarie, I agree with not charging your card until it ships. These businesses that sell animal food need to realize that most of us don’t have a long backup supply, so if they tell us they are shipping, we are at the other end waiting! It would have been one thing if I had 4 small miniauture chihuahua’s to feed, but I have 4 over 70 lb. dogs that eat a lot every day. It was just worse because I was expecting it and then all the dang holidays interrupted shipping, so I thought that was the reason for the delay, not because they didn’t ship. I could have ordered from someone else and had more food here in two days if I’d only known, but they didn’t feel giving me a heads up any of it was important, I guess. I got an e-mail from the BBB last week that Ozbo had responded willing to give me my $4.95 shipping back and was shipping the food. I replied, I was out around $75 (probably more) in cost of having to feed raw food for those several days plus pay full price online from another site to get more food here quickly, so I wanted the bag at no charge AND the free shipping. They haven’t gotten back to me. Considering they were the ones that shorted my original order, lied about sending the missing bag and then hung up on me when I called mad because of the lack of caring attitude about it all. I’m not sure if I even want the food from them now, actually. I’m still just in shock about how awful they have been about all of this.

[weimlove]

Hdm- ok thanks, how do you feel about lamb bones, ribs, and chicken wings?

[InkedMarie]

I would not call them raw if they aren’t. I’ve never fed a freeze dried but I think, years back, that THK called their food dehydrated raw but they don’t anymore. To ME, raw is just that, raw food, not cooked. For that reason, I’d think it should be dry, canned, frozen, freeze dried and dehydrated

[Hound Dog Mom]

I personally don’t use any chemicals on my dogs. I use Sentry Natural Defense topical which has pepermint oil, lemongrass oil, cinnamon oil and thyme oil and I put Earth Animals No More Ticks herbal tincture in their food 6 days per week during flea/tick season. My dogs are outdoors a lot, I comb them with a flea comb daily during flea/tick season and have never found a flea or tick on them. All their snap tests have always come up negative for lyme as well. Dogs with weak immune systems are more likely to attract parasites (both internal and external) – so the best and safest way to prevent flea infestations – imo – is building up their immune system. When my dog ate low quality kibble I always had flea issues (I used Advantix on him and he had a flea/tick collar purchased from the vet during the summer). Since I’ve switched to a grain-free raw diet, eliminated chemical flea and tick preventatives, eliminated chemical wormers and limited my use of heart worm preventative and vaccines – I’ve never had any of my dogs get fleas, ticks or intestinal parasites.

[Hound Dog Mom]

That’s the same way I feel and why I personally choose to make everything from scratch. I’m picky about what my dogs eat and every food or supplement out there there’s either something in it that I don’t want there or something that I wish was there that isn’t. By making my own food and supplements I can completely customize everything.

[shelties mom]

HDM,
Thank you for sharing your recipe. This is what I’ve been looking for and will order the supplements from the site you posted. I’m excited to do it on my own as I believe I will have a better control of the quality of ingredients I put in the food.

[Hound Dog Mom]

weimlove –

Raw meaty bones are safe – RMBs are those that can be completely consumed (chicken backs, turkey necks, chicken feet, chicken leg quarters, etc.). What you want to avoid are the weight-bearing bones of large ruminants (cows, buffalo, sheep, etc.) – these are called “recreational bones” and would include marrow bones, knuckle bones, etc. I personally don’t feed my dogs any recreational bones because of concern over breaking teeth and even if they don’t break a tooth, chewing bones like these over time can wear down the teeth.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi onlywest –

I add the turmeric because it has anti-cancer properties and is a natural anti-inflammatory. I highly doubt your dog would be allergic to turmeric, however if it is you could certainly just omit the turmeric or pick out another “superfood” to add that’s not in the recipe.

[shelties mom]

HDM,

I really like your whole food supplement recipe, what do you recommend if a dog is allergic to turmeric? I don’t know if mine will but I read somewhere that a dog was allergic. I have Dr. Karen Becker’s recipe book and will use the recipes as a guide, but really want to avoid any synthetic vitamins in her book. That’s what holding me up in doing all home-made. I’ve been feeding Darwin’s but want to it on my own. I don’t like the pre-mixes from THK or Sojos or any dehydrated food. I prefer all raw and fresh veggies. I can get grass-fed beef, lamb and raw wet bone meal from a local farmer, I’m going to visit some local butchers to see if I can get quality poultrys. Once I can get everything together, I’m ready to start doing it on my own.

[weimlove]

Ok, I know that im probably worrying for no reason, but I’m worried about my Weimaraner breaking teeth when he eats raw bones. Should I be worried? If so, what bones should I not feed?

[InkedMarie]

I was doing some figuring yesterday, at the Hare Today site. I think it would be $12 more to get their mixes/grinds than Darwins so I guess I’ll stick with Darwins. No sense having to repackage to save $12. I was kind of disappointed.

[Alexandra]

Hi Aimee,

“They” is the AKC.

That’s what I mean, how often does the animal get tested? And as you said, they are reflective of the day of the test. It smells fishy to me, because of that.

Maybe it does, I feel that the AVMA is doing the anti raw at the request of the companies that many of them prescribe.

The homeopathic battle can be linked to traditional vets taking a hit as owners are waking up to issues stemming from over vaccinating. Alternative therapies to help our pets, saying no to flea and heartworm prevention, which causes more harm to the dog then a flea bite will.

I think they are doing this not for “health” as they claim, but to keep their group in money. Ultimately, who benefits from this? The vets. And what concerns me it it the close minded ones that benefit the most. My traditional vet doesn’t want to hear about the benefits of raw, never mind that my four year olds teeth look like a two year old, pearly white. No body odor, smaller stool volumes, etc. am I to lie and say kibble all the time to avoid the lecture?

[Alexandra]

Hi Aimee,

Like I said, I have never had to show my dogs medical records to show BUT I have to to enter training classes. The AKC rules are out of date in that respect.

My concern is that they maybe won’t accept exemptions, and I would be able to participate with Dante.

The “judicious” use of vaccines can be pretty vague. I have dealt with three vets in my area and not one even agrees with a vaccine protocol. How often would they want these tests performed? Kinda sounds like revenue raising to me…admittedly I am jaded by this organization.

I don’t like the AVMA using their influence to the levels that they are: raw feeding, homeopathic medications, currently being debated, and then telling a private organization what they “should” require.

[Alexandra]

Hi Weimlove,

I am two hours from Hare today’s farm, so shipping is cheap. I may even start going there and picking up.

As for tripe, your butcher should be able to save you some stomachs, cut, grind (if you wish) bag and freeze. 🙂

My friend and I make tripe every three months. We get ten stomachs, hearts lungs and spleens and grind the mixture together, we get about 100 pounds each, and the price is about 1.00 a pound, can’t be beat!

[Alexandra]

Hi Melissa,

I am concerned that they don’t mention titering or exemptions. I know when I register for shows vaccines or health records NEVER come up.

I did misread the heartworm/parasites stance.

But how can a private organization feel that they can tell a club what they should allow? Who drives the AVMA?

First they frown upon raw foods, now they are going after homeopathic practices, where do they stop? I doubt that their motives are 100% pure. Their vets would gain an influx of business by having vets do all of these tests, and most are probably not necessary.

I have been skeptical of this organization for sometime, and even more so recently.

[weimlove]

I plan on going to the butcher tomorrow to buy ingredients for a couple of weeks of food for shadows meals. I was wondering if y’all could give me examples of muscle meat, organs, and bones that I can buy for the 80 10 10 ratio, so I can have some sort of shopping list. Thanks so much!

[pugmomsandy]

Cabelas has a couple grinders to chose from but I’ve heard the 1/2 hp could barely grind turkey necks so if you’re just going to grind chicken wings or chicken necks and muscle meat, then that would be ok. But for whole poultry, ribs, rabbit I’d get a commercial grinder. I use a Weston 22 grinder. You can see a demo video of it at northcoastpets dot com under dog supplies, then BARF hardware. I don’t know how to copy/paste on my iPad! Sorry. While I do make ground food w bones I will also feed a RMB as well. Not everyday, just sometimes. I serve kibble, raw, canned and freeze dried.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I don’t see why the AVMA needs to keep sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong – it’s not their business how someone wants to raise their dogs. Whether someone wants to feed kibble and vaccinate every year or feed raw and never vaccinate – it’s the owner’s choice. I sure feel bad for all you guys that show your dogs..

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jens –

Check out the “Transitioning to Raw” thread and the “Suggested Raw Dog Food Menus?” thread – there are a lot of tips on getting started and some recipes there. Dogaware.com is a great resource for beginners and I would also recommend purchasing a copy of “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown – it’s a very comprehensible and quick read, a great book for raw newbies. As for a grinder, I personally don’t use a grinder for my RMBs – your dogs miss out on the dental benefits if you grind the bones. I know a few people here do use grinders though, maybe one of them will pop in with what kind they have.

[aimee]

I recently have been reading of the benefits of resistant starch. I noted that tapioca was not on any of the lists I came across reporting good sources for resistant starch (potato, beans. banana, grains). Looking further I found that tapioca is a base from which resistant starch is being made, specifically Actistar by Cargill. In other words tapioca is being modified in order to make it resistant. This then leads me to believe that unmodified tapioca is not high in resistant starch, otherwise why the need to modify it??? Hmmm….now my curiosity is piqued!

So I started reading about tapioca in general and I didn’t find any mention of tapioca having a high proportion of resistant starch or having beneficial effects as a prebiotic. Instead I found it described as a rapidly digested starch.

Next I hit pubmed and the few studies I found that evaluated the pre cecal digestion of tapioca reported pre cecal digestion of tapioca at 99%. In other word very little made it to the colon undigested. The only study I found in which a significant portion was presented to the colon unchanged was when raw tapioca was fed. But of course the tapioca in kibble has been cooked.

So now I’m frustrated as I can not find one shred of evidence to support the idea that tapioca is nearly 50% resistant starch. Does anyone have any???

[Jens]

Due to having a life besides my dogs, but having the desire to feed them a healthy raw diet, I was wondering what is a simply reciept to feed them daily the same food home made mix. I have two old Malamute/Retriever mixes and two young 3 months old puppies. All are currently on Orijen (large breed and adult) dry food, which they like and do well on. Also, how do you grind your meat, especially the bones and does anybody have a recommendation for a meat grinder.

[Mom2Cavs]

While I’m not familiar with Canyon Creek’s food (I believe it’s fairly new), I do know that their chicken jerky treats are “accused” of causing illness in pets. SORRY…I do realize that is not the question you have, though I just wanted to let you know. My opinion on food is this…..if a food works, then it’s technically a 5 star for the dog! I do want to clarify a little, though. I personally won’t feed below 3 star, won’t even try it for one of my dogs. I have, and would again if necessary, use a 3 star food if it worked the best. Believe me, I have fed the gamut of foods to my 4 dogs. They are all technically seniors now. Currently, I’m feeding Merrick Classic (“gasp” a grain inclusive food!) and will top it with canned food or freeze dried raw food that is rehydrated. I also use Fromm GF dry, and Simply Nourish (both dry and canned), which is Petsmart’s house brand. I will use Weruva canned and Merrick canned, as well. I have an old Cavalier that only eats the freeze dried raw now. In fact, she is the reason I started with it (just trying to get her to eat again as she has a neurological issue). So sorry for the long rant lol….just remember no food works for all dogs, and your dog is your responsibility and it is your decision on what works, what you can afford, what your dog will eat, etc. I’m thrilled you have educated yourself on dog food, though, and can make an informed choice. You have the best interest of your dog at heart! 🙂

[aimee]

Beth,

I just wanted to say I admire your strength and courage for being a responsible and loving owner to your dear dog. We as a society recognize that some people are too dangerous to live among us. There are dogs that simply are not safe to live with either. We want so desperately for these dogs to be normal which is why we grasp at any straw, like diet change, to fix them. But sadly it is not the case.