[Wendy M]

To SLOANE K-good idea, but finding a REPUTABLE specialist who will even discuss raw feeding is a daunting task!!

[Wendy M]

I totally disagree with anon101. A dog’s digestive system can handle Salmonella & many other bugs humans can’t. After all think about dogs in the wild-They ate most anything-the older the better! If you buy your food from a reputable store & handle it like you would your family’s food there shouldn’t be an issue.
I see she posted a link from the SPCA. Sorry but they get a lot of funding from dog food companies & support them (BTW-I support the SPCA).
I too distrust the AAFCO.
I have been feeding 2 standard poodles raw for their whole lives. Never had better teeth or coats. Very small amt. of stool since ALL the food is digested.
Bottom line-please do what works but don’t give up on raw. It’s the most appropriate diet for your dog.

[Wendy M]

That may be too much too soon for a little guy. The liver should come later. It’s very rich. Start with chicken, thigh or breast meat. Don’t grind it, make her work for it by chewing. Maybe a wing (REMEMBER CHICKEN BONES ARE FINE IF NOT COOKED). We’ve been feeding leg quarters on a regular basis for years. I used the RAW FEEDING website, & RAWCHAT.

[Sloane K]

I think raw diets are perfectly fine. I mean – think back to when dogs didn’t have access to commercial food (i.e. kibble) as they do now… what did they eat? They hunted prey, killed & ate what they had killed.

But for anyone considering a raw diet for their pet, I would consult a professional first before trusting someone’s advice on a forums website.

Just my .2 cents.

[Lauren]

Thank you all for the replies and the guidance!

Here is an update 🙂

We are finally about to run out of our first bag of kibble – a 12 pound bag lasted about 3 months. We started with Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Puppy – here are the details of that one again:

Main ingred: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas,
Natural Flavor, Turkey Meal, Chicken Fat, Potato Protein, Deboned Salmon,
Chicken Liver, Apples, Blueberries
PROTEIN 30.0% / FAT 12.0% / FIBER 3.5% / O6 3.0% / O3 .3%

It went over well, I believe. He always happily ate it up. For the most part he regularly had firm stools. Over three months he two small bouts of diarrhea that passed, and he puked twice – but who knows what caused those. As a puppy he attempts to eat every piece of fuzz or litter on the city sidewalks. So I think those are normal for a puppy. That said I think I wouldn’t know for sure how to tell unless a food was definitively causing trouble. But, as far as I can tell this one went over fine!

So, for the next bag, I think I’ll go down to 4 pounds, which should last about a month. And I think I’ll switch the main ingredient (from chicken to beef), but stick with the same brand for this next bag. Then for the bag after that, I’ll switch brands, and stick with the same main ingredient.

Here’s what I’m thinking for the next combinations:

Merrick Real Beef & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Puppy Dry Dog Food
Main ingred: Deboned Beef, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Lamb Meal, Potatoes, Pork Fat,
Pea Protein, Potato Protein, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil, Deboned Salmon, Flaxseed Oil,
Apples, Blueberries
PROTEIN 28.0% / FAT 12.0% / FIBER 4.5% max O6 2.0% / O3 .3%

then one of the following:

Victor Active Dog & Puppy Formula Grain-Free
Main ingred: Beef Meal, Sweet Potato, Chicken Meal, Peas
PROTEIN 33.0% / FAT 16.0% / FIBER 3.8% / O6 2.8% / O3 0.4%

Instinct by Nature’s Variety Raw Boost Puppy Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken
Main ingred: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Chickpeas
PROTEIN 34.0% / FAT 18.0% / FIBER 3.5% / O3 0.4% / 3.8% min

Instinct by Nature’s Variety Raw Boost Small Breed Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken
Main ingred: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Chickpeas, Turkey Meal
PROTEIN 37.0% / FAT 16.0% / FIBER 3.5% / O3 0.3% / O6 2.5%

I’d like to test out a higher protein percentage since he’s a very active pup, but again I’m not really sure how to “tell” after he eats the food whether it was more or less beneficial than the others, and if so, why.

How do you all decide whether a new food is a step up, a step down, or just neutral?

[Sloane K]

I haven’t personally used them, but I noticed they don’t seem to have many reviews yet so until they build some reviews I would be conservative and wait it out. There are plenty of other raw food brands out there as it seems like this industry is growing rather quickly.

Wish your pet the best.

[Sloane K]

Maikolo-

Making the switch to a raw dog diet does include a few changes. For the sake of simplicity, a rule of thumb is to feed your dog 2x per day: noon & dinner time. But your dog should be fed every day.

Prepare your raw food once per day, but split it into two meals: one for noon & one for dinner.

Your dog will likely act hungry during this switch, but you sohuldn’t give in to this. Use their weight as a guide to more or less food.

But ultimately I would seek out a professional such as your local veternarian for the best advice.

Wish you the best.

[Wendy M]

Dr. Marty sounds like a good product, though expensive. I have been feeding my standards poodles raw for some years now with great results–great coats, good teeth, very little poop. It is WAY cheaper & very easy.

[aimee]

I found this interesting… Earth Animal has posted a new piece called No-Hiding the Truth on No Hide….. it appears that they are trying to address and refute the information I’ve posted in this thread! Actually I think they just dug themselves into a deeper hole.

Apparently they sent a No Hide to a veterinary pathologist and posted pics of it and rawhide to show how different they are. I agree the material they sent in is very different in appearance from rawhide. It is also very different from the Hide that I sent in. The rawhide stained eosinophilic ( red) and what they sent in stained Basophilic (blue) The off the shelf product I sent in was described as streams of eosinophilic material and theirs is described as lacey basophilic material. The pictures that came with my report look exactly like their rawhide pictures.

What this shows in my opinion is that Earth Animal/Pony Express can make a product that looks like an off the shelf No Hide chew…but that it doesn’t appear that what is being sold at the stores by me is that same product.

Earth Animal also addressed the finding of “collagen-like material” I found this section rather comical for multiple reasons. 1)Earth Animal claims that you should see “collagen-like material” when examining their product under the microscope but then in their microscopic analysis was any found? If it was they sure didn’t post it. Their product was described as “Lacey basophilic matrix with numerous large, multi-lobulated structures that resemble adipose tissue or a polyfilament type of material. Hmm if their product is supposed to look like collagen then how come it didn’t look that way? 2) The reason they gave for looking collagen like is that gelatin is derived from collagen. Animal based gelatin is derived from collagen but is very different structurally which is why it will not look like collagen. It is a mute point though because I sent in a Salmon chew which is purportedly made with vegetable gelatin. Vegetable gelatin is not derived from collagen, it comes from seaweed.. nothing collagen like about it. 3) They go on to say gelatin is high in protein (95%).. true for animal based gelatin but vegetable based is only about 6-7% protein content. 4) Next they report different gelatins have different melting points. I think they included this to try and explain why my No Hide didn’t melt after prolonged boiling. It is true melting points can vary but I haven’t found any above boiling water. Wikipedia says generally they are below 95 degrees F. Agar, which is the gelatin type in the chew I tested, also melts at a temp below boiling water.

I also found this part especially fascinating. They report the FDA investigated their facilities in January. It is now May and the FDA investigation is still an open investigation. If everything was in order I would think it would have been closed by now. On the other hand finding an abnormality could lead to the FDA needing to do further investigation. I have no idea how the FDA works but it is just my thought on the subject.

Will have to see how the FDA investigation plays out. In the meantime I’ve been doing some leathercrafting with my tanned “No Hide” I branched out to adding beads, rivets and mystery braids.

[Anonymous]

Lee, falling back on 8th grade science class, and remembering that for centuries drying meat was how it was preserved, I’m guessing the “freeze-dry” process accomplishes the ridding of any bacteria. However, my vet had me stop feeding another brand of freeze-dried raw kibble (Wellness Core Tender Bites) to my diabetic dog, saying that immuno-compromised pets shouldn’t take the chance with raw products.
If you read the prior entries in this forum, you will learn that returning the Dr. Marty product and dealing with their customer service is really tough. Buyer beware…. My pups wouldn’t eat Dr. Marty’s, which is difficult to prepare properly and doesn’t hydrate easily. The Wellness Core Tender Bites are less expensive, don’t need hydration, and available in about 2 days (free shipping) from Chewy.com. My dogs loved it, but I had to give it up because of the diabetes issue.

[Lee L]

Mention to my vet what Dr Marty’s raw food was about and her question was how do they guard against salmonella poisoning if they are using raw meat? I ordered several bags but there is a backlog and I haven’t received yet. I’m concerned whether if it’s a possible threat to get salmonella poisoning.

[Anonymous]

Hi, Everyone. I have been participating in this forum about Dr. Marty’s pet food for a couple months. Today, I took my pup in for his annual physical and was surprised to learn that my dog’s liver numbers (ALP and ALT) were very high. These same numbers were normal when he had his blood chemistry done in December for a suspected urinary tract infection, which was successfully treated. I need to mention that my pup is diabetic.

I had tried the Dr. Marty’s and had returned it, as neither of my dogs would eat it. I did find a dehydrated raw product that my dogs LOVED, called Wellness Core Tender Bites and had recommended it in this forum. I fed this to my diabetic pup for a little more than two months. Come to find out, diabetic dogs apparently don’t do well on a raw diet. They are already “immuno-compromised,” being diabetic. A raw diet can encourage infections in compromised dogs, which is what we think we’re dealing with, now. This is not anything against the Wellness Core Tender Bites or raw diets, but I just wanted to make sure that folks check with their vet before they get adventurous with diet changes. I have learned my lesson…..

[Patti R]

I have a 17 week old Havanese with serious eye stain lately. I’ve eliminated all bully sticks, and am looking at puppy and all stage foods without TOMATO POMACE as I suspect that may be the culprit for her eye stain. She’s been on Wellness Raw Rev, which she loves but has the Pomace as an ingredient. I’m switching to Orijen Grain-Free Puppy even though it has green peas and pea fiber way down the list of ingredients. I’ll let you know how she likes it.

[Lewis F]

As promised in my post above, I brought Sophie in for her 6 month check-up and Bordello vaccination. The Doctor drew blood and the results will be back tomorrow. We did not draw blood for the determination of metals, but the broad scan to see if any of the levels would indicate there was a problem “brewing”. I will share the result shortly after I receive them.

I did ask the Doctor if he had heard of the Class Action suit against Champion and of course he said yes. In fact, he said a quite a few patients that were either using Acana or Orijen and was familiar with the charges. His view has been the same to all of his patients, and that is if your pet is showing no signs of a problem with either Acana or Orijen over time (Sophie being 16 months), then monitor the suit, get blood work done at your pet’s physical and stay the course. If there is any indication of a problem with the blood work we will do further testing and then evaluate a course of action. He did agree with Mike Sagman, that there too many unknowns in what is driving the the accusations.

[Frena H]

I’m so sorry, Sue — I didn’t realize anyone was responding to my post — just got a notification today for the first time. Our guy was touch and go for another year after his surgery, he had to have another surgery for obstruction in December of 2016 — the vet told us at that time that the obstruction was caused by a TINY piece of stuffing from a toy that he had played with — they said the obstruction was so miniscule that any other dog would have passed it with no problems at all — but his intestines are a “tightly packed ball” with lots of “V” shaped turns. Like everyone else’s vets here, they said there is really nothing that they can do for the adhesions. That said — after his last surgery he has done very well. I think they might have taken out the worst of the V-curves during that surgery because before the surgery his bms were always pencil thin, afterwards they were a lot more normal sized and normal looking. I retired in January of 2017 so now I’m able to keep a very close eye on his activities, no toys and no chewing on anything allowed. I keep his diet as low in fiber as I can — he’s a very picky eater and will eat only a very few things (i.e. I offered him some steak last night and he said “NO”) — so i just give him what he likes — he’s especially fond of Polly-O cheese sticks and boiled chicken. He also likes Wellness Core Raw Rev kibbles and Real Meat Dog Food Company kibbles that are more like jerky. Since I’ve retired I’ve found that he does MUCH better if he eats several small meals a day and he will only eat small amounts at a time — he frequently stops and checks in with his stomach to see how it is reacting, and if it is bothering him, he will stop eating. If it feels okay, he’ll continue eating. So I pretty much feed him several times daily and on demand whenever he asks for food and give him however much he feels he can tolerate. The vet also gives me a prescription for Sucralfate, which I keep on hand at all times since it seems to soothe his stomach and intestines. Charlie has learned to ask me for it whenever his stomach is bothering him, and he almost always feels better once he has had it. We just take it “day by day” and that’s about all we can do! We can go for weeks and even months eating great and feeling great — then have a few days or weeks where he doesn’t want to eat and needs to have Sucralfate until he feels better. Plus our vets are always on call if we need an emergency visit, but we haven’t had one in about a year now. All the local vets use a “travelling” sonographer with the ultrasound machine, so if he has an emergency, I go to the vet where the sonogram is or will be soon. Our emergency vet says that Charlie has a “complicated relationship with food.”

I also did some research on “human” intestinal adhesions, and apparently there is really nothing that can be done, except diet and medications that can help soothe the intestines, which is basically what we are doing. The Facebook idea is great — I doubt there is a dog intestinal adhesion group, but there may be a human group, which would help me understand what they are going through and what helps.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Frena H.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Frena H.

[Patricia A]

I need my 6 year old chihuahua to lose a little weight. I always gave Fromm kibble mixed with health extensions canned as a topper. I wanted something better for topper so went with Stella Chewy’s freeze dried. Within the last year she has gained weight. I’ve cut down the kibble and give her less then is advised on the freeze dried. I REALLY would like to not go back to canned. I only gave the chicken, Venison and Primal Turkey Sardines. But I can’t figure out now how some of these freeze dried are rated so high but be SO high in fat at the same time. Would it help if I slowly switched from Fromm which has above average fat to Stella Chewy’s raw coated kibble which is 5 star and lower end of fat? I would then cut down the patties to just one. Or is it impossible for small dogs to maintain a healthy weight on raw. I just would like to give myself a break and stop all my research and feel good about my girls diet.

[Susan]

Hi Patrica,
Wet foods have different fat%, here’s a fat calculator save it.
http://www.k-9kraving.com/resources/calculator.php
When you see say 5 % fat on raw or wet can food it has not been converted to dry matter yet this is when you use the calculator Ive posted or email the dog food company & ask for converted max fat %
If the wet can food says 5%min fat, when you convert 5%min fat to dry matter it will be around 20%min to 26% max fat…..
Best to look for wet foods 4% & under also if the moisture is over 78% then the fat will be higher aswell….
Have you looked at Freeze Dried Dehydrated raw dog foods? that’s what I’m introducing to my 9yr old boy who has IBD have a look at
“The Honest Kitchen” range https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food
“Ziwi Peak” Air Dried raw & wet can foods are really good for very fussy dogs & cats, my cat inhales it…. https://www.ziwipets.com/

[Susan]

Hi emmygirl,
sorry my post is so long but as I’m writing I’m remember heaps of information & what I did with Patch….
You have written everything I have been thru with my IBD boy Patch who is nilly 10yrs old, I nilly put him to sleep in January, instead we did another Endoscope-Biopsies on esophagus & stomach, I thought he had stomach cancer…
Find a vet that does Endoscope + Biopsies & a vet that knows about IBD, you must get the biopsies done if you ever do Endoscope, some vets dont think to do the biopsies when looking at the stomach & small bowel, these vets are lacking experience in IBD, Patches stomach looks perfect when he had his 2 Endoscopes but his the biopsies told a different story. Biopsies tell the vet so much information what is wrong with your boy intestinal tract….Ultra scan was a waste of money, you cant really see the stomach & the vet can see the bowel but only if the bowel is thickening, vets thought Patch had thickening of the Bowel but he didnt, this happens after the dog has diarrhea for years, I wouldnt like to be a vet, 1 dogs cant talk & tell the vet were is sore what hurts etc, so vets have to do alot guessing sometimes when test come back OK.

*Food
Over the years my good vet told me to keep a yearly diary, cause you cant rememeber every single thing you’ve done & they have done.. now I look back thru Patches diaries when I need to remember what was Patch eating when he was doing so much better, write what your feeding, times, meds, what were poos like when he’s eating ?? etc
Is he doing OK when he’s eating the cooked Turkey, Squash & Oatmeal, how are his poos? one of Patches first vets told me in the beginning, to look & see when dog is pooing, does the poo come out of bum properly formed poo?, then when it hits the ground it turns to slop cow patty poo? the vet said this is OK as long as poo’s are formed when its coming out of the bum & as long as the dog is just doing his normal 1-3 poos a day & is not pooing at all thru day & night at all hours, vet said to me this might be as good as your going to get Patches poos, he was eating the Royal Canine Hypoallergeniic dry kibble… but I ended up getting Patches poos firmer when he started teh TOTW kibble & I ended up trying the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic wet can food last year it was better then the dry R/C HP kibble, then after trying all the Intestinal vet diets Hills, Royal Canine & Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue worked the best but Patch skin was yeasty itchy & smelt bad then after joining the Canine EPI f/b group dogs were doing really well on TOTW or the Kirkland Signature, Natures Domain, Turkey & Sweet potato & Salmon & Sweet potato formula’s so I started Patch on TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & the Pacific Stream Salmon but teh Pacific Stream Salmon made him vomit he does firm poos but kept vomiting up the TOTW Smoked Salmon later I seen TOTW Pacific Stream Salmon is very high in toxins & another 2 fish formula’s brands Patch kept vomiting are very high in Toxins after being tested, then 3 yrs later Patch refused to eat his TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble, something had changed with TOTW kibble it smelt different, looked different & kibble size became very small….so now it makes me wonder if these kibbles are high in contaminates & toxins making my boy IBD have a flare??? thats why its best to cook their meals or find a really good dog dehydrated dog food that uses human grade ingredients.. as Patch has gotten older his acid reflux has gotten worse so he cant eat kibbles that are over 15% in fat now..
loow for lower fat around 10-13%-fat & low carb diet higher protein

Have you tried adding scramble egg with his meal? also the egg shell dry it out & crush & add 1 egg shell 1 teaspoon egg shell to one of his meals a day for his calcium, slowly start adding the egg shell if you fed home cooked diet……..Patch cant eat any kibbles that have fish or salmon oil in them he gets bad acid reflux from the fish oil also the fiber is very low in those Farmina vet kibbles 1.10% -fiber…Patch would be doing sloppy cow patties eating the Farmine vet diets that are very low in fiber..

When I read your post about your dog can’t eat most ingredients I knew its more then just the ingredients he is reacting too, sometimes it’s not the ingredients they cant eat, it reminded me of Patch when I first rescued him, he does have food sensitivities that I worked out BUT later I worked out there’s In-soluble Fiber, Soluble Fiber, Crude Fiber & Dietary Fiber, dogs with IBD need to work out what fibers agree with them & there isnt that perfect dry kibble diet for our dogs even vet diets dont help Patch or if a vet diet did help Patches IBD he gets his itchy smelly yeasty skin paws & ears.

Have you tried Royal “Canine Gastro Intestinal Low Fat” wet can food??? I bought a 12 can pack last week I had credit from a pet store I had forgotten about & at Lunch time if I think Patch doesnt seem well I open a can of R/C Gastro low fat & I take out the meat loaf from the can as it has heap of oil in the can so I pat dry the loaf with paper towel then I cut into 1/3 & he gets 1/3 of a can & I put the rest in bowl cling wrap bowl & put in fridge Patch does firm poos on the R/C Gastro Low Fat wet can & 5 yrs ago when he ate the R/C Gastro Low Fat he had diarrhea, so sometimes you have to re try foods or wet can or kibbles again cause sometimes its not the ingredients they are reacting too… its something else wrong either their small bowel or large bowel in the beginning it was Patches small bowel S.I.B.O now its his large bowel….
I would start the B-12 weekly injection ASAP you can buy & do yourself, if you join “EPI” Canine face book group they can help & tell you which B-12 tablets to get from chemist & where to buy the B-12 liquid for injections, you can never over dose your dog with B-12′, if they’re feeling crap or have had diarrhea the B-12 can really help them feel heaps better, alot of the EPI dogs take B-12 injections or tablets, I was going to get the tablets for Patch as B-12 is good for them & us humans when we are run down & unwell…..

Try & work out does your boy do better when you cook & add pumkin a soluble fiber soluble fiber is very easy to digest & dissolves in water or does he do better eating Lentils & Chickpeas they’re Insoluble fiber & Soluble fiber food? My boy doesn’t do well on Lentils or Chickpeas he gets instead dirrahea that night if he has ate a kibble with lentils..
google foods that are soluble fiber & foods that are insoluble fibers?

Try & stay feeding the home cooked diet or try a limited ingredient Freeze Dried raw if you I’m slowly introducing a new freeze dried dehydrated raw free range diet we have in Australia called “Frontier Pets” they’re small balls & you add warm water, so many dogs that can’t eat & have IBD symptoms are doing really well on this free range, dehydrated Frontier Pets dog food, it has no lentils, no chickpeas like most of these new grain free foods have now & my Patch is doing firmer poos then what he does when he’s just eating his Wellness Kibble…
I have to feed my boy dry kibble for some of his meals cause his sphincter flap isnt closing now & his food comes back up his esophagus into his mouth causing bad acid reflux, then sometimes the acid goes into his wind pipe & he becomes so unwell, cries, whinges, its awful to watch him when he becames so unwell, I wanted to put him down in January out of his pain, these last 5-6 yrs Ive tried everything & something always seem to work, I had him on Taste Of The Wild, Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb the Australian formula, has no chickpeas or lentils like the American TOTW formula’s have…. I could always fall back onto his TOTW if he started to do cow patty poos again when I was rotating his kibbles his vet said cow paddy poos is the large bowel where yellow sloppy poos is a small bowel problem but when he stopped eating it in December I had no kibbles that I knew worked & didnt iratate his IBD, his vet said please wait 1-2 months before we put Patch to sleep, his environment allergies are real bad at the moment & have put his immune system into over drive, we had just moved as well, so I didnt put him to sleep plus I couldnt do it, I just wanted more help, I wanted a miracle but vets cant always help the dog sometimes no matter how good my vet is, she always tells me Patch is her favorite & she always thinks & wonders how is he going when she doesnt see us but she said she knows he must be doing better cause I havent come…
Have you tried Metronidazole (Flagyl) tablets when he become unwell with vomiting & diarrhea/sloppy poo’s, I have Metronidazole in the cupboard with repeat scripts so I can just go chemist & get them out if I need them saving at $60 vet visit & as soon as I see he’s becoming unwell doing sloppy poos, vomiting or when Im introducing a new food, I put him on the Metronidazole for 14-21 days it helps him, Metronidazole has an anti inflammatory & antibiotic in it, so it helps a few health problems…
With a dry kibble, I’m feeding Wellness Core Large Breed at the moment even though Patch isnt a large breed dog, he’s a senior & when I email Wellness they said yes their Large Breed formula’s are OK to feed a senior dogs, they are high Glucosamine & Chondroitin for their joints & high in DHA, Patch is small to medium English Staffy weights about 40lb -18kgs, the Wellness Core Large Breed formula is high protein-34%, Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, then potatoes, peas, Patch can’t eat chicken he gets red paws but I had no other kibbles left to feed him & the man at Pet Barn said, if anything happens just bring it back all dogs food are money back Guaranteed, I got the 5,4kg bag 1/2 price $40 so I tried it, Patches paws went red but his stomach became better, he had no acid reflux, poos firmed up not 100% firm in the beginning but better then when he was eating a kibble that had grains, I can pick his poos up now on our walk & not leave a poo stamp on the grass, Wellness Core Large Breed is low-med fat-13%max, low Kcals-345 per cup, carbohydrates are 31% you must read the Kcals per cup when looking for a kibble, stay under 360Kcals per cup the higher the Kcals the more dense the food & harder to digest…
also have you tried giving your boy a acid reducer? Patch was taking Losec-(Omeprazole) for 2 yrs then this year I change it to Somac (Pantoprazole) what i take & he stopped eating grass everyday so he mustnt feel sick as much now, sometimes you have to do things yourself when you know in your heart what the vet is doing & advising you isnt helping your dog, & I saw my vet & she now wrote me repeat scripts so I can get the Pantopraozole from chemist cause the vets dont have Pantoprazole in Australia, Pantoprazole is used by American vets… but know if my vet & Patches other vet that does his Endoscopes & Biopsies see a dog like PAtch & cant work out what to do with the dogs bad acid reflux they can rememeber what we did with Patch & touch wood he seems to be getting better he has some bad days but I have his acid reflux under control no & I really want him on this Dehyrated free range, grain free food..
Try the new food just for 1 of his meals, thats what I do now, I feed new food for his lunch 12pm this way Patch has his kibble from breakfast 7am in stomach & small bowel then he eats something different for lunch a small meal then he gets his dinner 5pm kibble again & it seems to work for Patch when Im introducing a new food he gets it at luch time cause you can’t mix kibble & dehydrated raw wet food with a dry kibble, it would probably upset Patches stomach & the Holistic Vet Kathy that help formulate this new Frontier Pets dehydrated raw dog food droped off Patches new food + some samples to try & she said take baby steps, it took 1 of her patient dogs Bernie 6 months to get him onto the Frontier Pets, he was doing well then when down hill but yiou just restart again she said search for “Frontier Pets” on facebook & scroll down, look for Bernies Story” Italian Greyhound story, it will give you some hope…

[haleycookie]

Most raw feeders I follow don’t feed any chicken. Or if they do it’s chicken wings which are smaller and less thick. I probably wouldn’t feed chicken thigh bones tbh.

[Hannah W]

So I just started feeding my dog raw about three to four days ago and have some concerns. I’ve been feeding him bone-in chicken thighs with some yogurt and pumpkin to help out with the transition and have noticed that there are huge chunks of bone in his poop. He seems to be doing completely fine health-wise, however. He’s energetic, happy, and not showing any signs of discomfort or impaction. I’m just worried that the bone fragments aren’t being digested and could hurt him because some of them are quite sharp! Should I be feeding him a different kind of bone? Any advice or ideas is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Note: my dog is a two-year-old, 135 lb Great Dane if that helps!

[Yousaf S]

To tell you the truth, I used to feed my dog Acana.
It’s a high quality kibble, but I often found myself asking for that price is there anything better to feed my fur babies.
After all, Acana ain’t cheap!

That’s when I made the switch to a raw diet. It actually works out to be cheaper than Acana. But if for any reason I run out of raw meats, I have an emergency bag of ACTR1UM just sitting in my kitchen cupboard.

I’m not a huge fan of feeding my fur babies kibble, but if I absolutely must, I have this brand in my arsenal of dog food. 🙂

[Mike Sagman]

You asked, “Need a list of raw.” Great question.

Be sure to click the Editor’s Choice link that reads “Create Your Own Custom Editor’s Choice List”. Be sure to (Step 1) enter your dog’s feeding type and (Step 2) choose “raw”.

This list is very short — and for good reason. Nearly 80% of all the recalls this year have been for raw dog foods that are contaminated with dangerous pathogens (bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria and Clostridium).

Hope this helps.

[Susan]

Hi Robert,

A dogs digestive tract is short, made to digest meat, raw meat, not a high carb high fiber over processed dry kibble….
Why the dogs digestive tract is short so if the dog eats rotten meat etc the meat is quickly digested & passes thru into the small bowe,l then large bowel, then he poo’s, so no bacteria can start to breed in th e stomach….

A homemade cooked or raw diet would be heaps healthier then feeding wet dog can food but wet can dog food is better then feeding dry processed kibble, so you’re getting there, when you cook your dogs food you know whats in their food & what they’re eating, also when you cook you’re not cooking their food are very high temperatures like wet & dry dog foods are cooked, killing all the good nutrience in their food, maybe baby steps, next time you’re cooking, cook some extra boiled sweet potato or potato, a bit of meat & some green veggies for your dogs meal, mix 1/2 wet can with the cooked food & slowly start feeding cooked meals..
Join Monica Segals Face Book group called “K-9 Kitchen” & Lew Olson group called “K-9 Nutrition” & follow “Judy Morgan DVM” she has really good videos you can watch & very easy to make dog recipes you just put in a Crock Pot slow cocker, Judy has a 16-17yr old dog.

People think if the kibble is grain free kibble then its healthier but some of these grain free kibbles are higher in carbs, higher in fiber, full of lentils chickpeas & peas to up the protein %, so the meat protein % isnt as high as you think it is cause your getting plant protein as well, it would be good if these dog food companies had to write the Meat Protein % the Plant Protein %….. honest dog food companies are starting to write the plant protein %, google “Earthborn Holistic” Venture formula’s they write the Pumkin protein% , the Pea protein% the meat protein %…

Back in the 50’s, 60’s, 70′ & 80’s our dogs were so much healthier then the dogs now who eat dry kibble 24/7, in the 90’s the dog food companies started telling us “DO NOT FEED YOUR DOGS HUMAN FOOD” its no good, kibble is better & we believed them, you have even even written
(Our dogs do not est human food.) why??
what makes you think dog food is better then a “balanced” cook meal, why some vets are against cooked or raw diets is people don’t balance their dogs diet properly causing health problems, this is why the vet will recommend to feed pet food for cause they know it will be balanced but after tests on cat wet can foods in Australia scientist found supermarket, pet shop cat foods Hills & Royal Canine all those little expensive cans of cat food were not balanced properly & now it says on these really small cans of cat food “not to be feed as a main meal”… this happened last year & the scientist who exposed this was sponsered by Hills & wouldnt give up the names of the expensive cat foods they had found not to be balanced properly, the reporter doing the story put 2 & 2 together & worked out which expensive cat foods werent balanced…
Rodney Habib & Steve Brown recommend you add either fish or salmon oil capsule once a day to 1 of their meals, use Krill oil capsule if dog has sensitive stomach or start adding 2 spoons of salmon or sardines in olive oil or spring water to 1 of their meals a day, just read the salt % look for lowest salt % in the can salmon or sardines… for lunch sometimes I open a small can of salmon in spring water drain teh water & add some boiled sweet potato mix & give to Patch for lunch.. I boil sweet potato & freeze small pieces sweet potato freezes really well & its healthy for them..

Google “KetoPets” for Liza & start making the Ketopets diets or cook the Ketopets diets & I bet you Liza will be here longer then 2 years….
Dr Judy Morgan talks about this subject in one of her video’s on her facebook page look at all her “Video’s”..
It works out cheaper cooking meals or feeding a raw diet then it does buying the wet can dog foods… also start looking at Freeze Dried food for your dogs instead of giving Benji the kibble with his wet can food..

[emmygirl01]

I am hoping someone may have some advice or even just a word of kindness.
My dog is going to be 10 years old in May. He had parvo as a pup. It messed up his intestines and now he is sensitive to foods. We have literally tried almost every kind of food on every shelf, in every pet store. I have done home cooking, I have ordered Balance-it, I have tried alternative/medicine, I have tried probiotics, enzymes, chinese herbs, I have tried hypo-allergenic Royal Canin and Science Diet.
He has been on beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, venison–grain free, you name it.
He has been on steroids, antibiotics, Tylan powder. I have B-12 shots that I am supposed to start this week.
The only thing I have not tried is RAW or BARF diet.
Most recently, he has had diarrhea for 4 months. He has vomited a hand full of times.
I have been to 4 vets, he has had his poop tested, blood work, ultra-sound (april 2017)-YOU NAME IT, we have done it. Test results: clear, no real problems.
Currently: Until this morning, I was feeding 3x a day 1/3 cup of home cooked turkey, 2 TBS of acorn squash and 1 Tbs. Oatmeal. 2 TBS FARMINA Digestion
I was trying to transition from home cooked to Farmina.
I thought we were doing well until last week when his stool started to become soft, then turned to liquid and this morning he barfed.
SO–no more of that.
He was starving a few hours after he barfed, so I gave him a few tablespoons of The Honest Kitchen Embark and 1 TBS of canned goat.
He tolerated that all day and I gave him more at 7 pm. Diarrhea at 9:00pm.
He is not taking any medications or probiotics or enzymes at this time.
I really have no idea what to feed him to get him back to normal. Home cooking does NO better than canned or dry.
These are my questions:
1. I would like some feedback on Sport Elite ( no peas) dog food
2. I would like to know how I approach my vet–3 out of the 4 won’t call me back after I leave a message at the front desk–they say, “i will have her call you back today'” I never hear from them—
Does anyone have any words of encouragement or any help?
I know my experience is not your experience, and I am following my vet’s advise to the best of my ability. But when she puts my dog on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food and he barfs and has massive diarrhea, tummy gurgling and looking like death–this is NOT the answer. Just because a food is “healthy” or “hypoallergenic” does not mean it is tolerated.
He has a great appetite, always appreciative of food and eats anything, but I continue to look for the combination that will keep him healthy, happy and no diarrhea.
I literally don’t know what to do!

Thank you in advance for listening.

[zcRiley]

/dog-food-reviews/smallbatch-raw-frozen-dog-food/

I personally recommend Primal.

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

I would into the Facebook group k9 nutrition if you’re on there. Lew Olson runs it and she’s very helpful in answering questions. It’s not a strictly raw group so you’ll get a well rounded answer. Are you feeding premade or homemade? If homemade, is it a reliable recipe? If you’re not sure check out balance it.com. A lot of people have seen amazing changes in dogs with a raw or homemade diet but it has to be done properly. A bad recipe will cause a person to have a negative experience and then always discourage that type of feeding

[Florence M]

Where can I find info on smallbatch? So far, my little girl can only tolerate raw and small batch appears to be working. She is allergic to chicken, lamb, and all poultry. She loves venison but it isn’t always available (unless I make it myself) and expensive.
Need a list of raw.

[a c]

@ John W. I agree with you that it’s better to be safe especially there are many other good choices with 5* by the dogfoodadvisor.com.

I also noticed that many commercial raw freeze and raw freeze dried products are been recalled on a weekly basis. It’s very scary.

[anonymous]

Please reconsider the raw diet, it is not worth the risk. I hope these articles help. All written by veterinarians (The Angell article is written by a veterinarian that specializes in nutrition)
Discuss with your vet. Raw food is well known to cause gastrointestinal distress and obstructions. Ask any veterinarian that works in an emergency clinic.

https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/ (excerpt below)
Raw diets are another popular option on the market today. Studies have shown that 20-35% of raw poultry and 80% of raw food dog diets tested contained Salmonella. This poses a health risk for your pet, but also for humans. This is especially true for children or immunocompromised adults, whether exposed to the raw food directly, or the feces of the pet eating the raw food. Additionally, there is increased risk of other bacterial infections and parasitic diseases when feeding raw diets. And the bottom line is there is no reason to believe raw food is healthier than cooked food.
The numerous dietary choices for your pet can be daunting but if you pick an AAFCO approved food made by a manufacturer with a long track record, odds are good that you will find a suitable food for your pet. Most of the large pet food companies employ full time veterinary nutritionists and have very high quality control standards. That is not to say that a small company cannot produce nutritious and high quality food, but you should check out their website if it’s a company that is not familiar to you. Take the time to research, and ask your veterinarian if you have specific questions or concerns.
Please understand that this article is meant to provide basic dietary guidelines for healthy pets. If your pet has specific health issues, then your veterinarian may make specific food recommendations, which may include special prescription diets.

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/ (excerpt below)

“There is evidence of risk in feeding raw, including infectious disease, parasites, and injury from raw bones. There is no scientific evidence, only anecdote and dubious theories, to demonstrate any benefits from feeding raw”.

[Tiffany A]

My husky is 8yrs old and we just figured out she has hypothyroidism. On top of that she has slightly elevated liver enzymes(we still dont know why) and high calcium (which we strongly believe is her parathyroid). She has not eaten a consistent meal for over 2wks now and I am stressing the heck out. She is on antibiotics and thyroid meds(theze only a week now) a pain killer for her back legs which we believe she has arthritis. I am completly tapped financially from the past three weeks of tests and buying her any food I can think of she might eat. I am at my wits end. My vet is stumped. She is normally very very food motivated. I have tried the following foods.
Northwest naturals (her original diet which raw isnt the best right now with her body going through so much)
Hills i/d (she ate ok for 3 or 4 days)
Vitality (ate for 2 days)
Pet pantry(cooked stew)
Koha(canned cooked stews)
Acana meadowlands(she was on before raw)
Boiled chicken and beef with rice(chicken one meal beef the other ate for a couple days)

She will beg for my food even thougb she knows I wont feed it to her I know she is hungry. She wont touch tripe I have tried gravy tricks,toppers,etc. Maybe I am switching to much but with all these meds she needs to eat something. She is already dropping weight from the thyroid meds and her energy is now through the roof. Its early but my vet agreed to lessen her does a bit because she has been panting and tanking water.

I know no one here is a vet her anything but I just dont know what to do anymore 🙁 am I supposed to just medicate her and wait until she is hungry enough to eat here or what? She hasnt fought me on food like this since she was a puppy.

[Susan]

Hi Stacey.
Raw is easier to digest then cooked, raw food has enzymes, when we cook food we kill the enzymes……
What are the ingredients, he’s eating in his raw diet?
When my boy does bad smelly farts, gets bad wind & wind pain means he’s sensitive to an ingredient he’s eating, I’d re start his diet, start feeding him an elimination raw diet, just feed 1 lean muscle meat, say turkey, kangaroo or pork, I started with Kangaroo mince for breakfast & Chicken breast for dinner + blended green veggies + 1-2 blended fruits & 20mins after eating the chicken & blended veggies, Patch got 1 red hot swollen back paw & was licking his back paw like crazy, then he started farting, doing smelly farts, so I stopped the raw chicken & just feed him the Kangaroo mince & I was blending peeled green veggies, broccoli, celery, zucchini, apple & some parsley then freeze in a ice cube tray, 1 cube in tray is about 1 spoon, then you cover ice cube tray with cling wrap freeze & take out as you need the blendedveggies & fruit……

Feeding raw is so easy, easier then cooking their meals, I slowly added 1 spoon of the veggies/fruit mix then after 1 week whenPatches poos were firm I added 2 spoons of the blended veggies & fruit mix, you add 2 spoons of the blended fruit & veggies to 1 cup of raw meat for 40lb dog.
Slowly add 1 new ingredient to his diet over 1 week, then if he starts having bad wind then you know its the new ingredient you’ve started to add…..dont add too many things to his diet at once, you will not know what is causing what if he starts having health problems, farts, sloppy poos etc..

Organ meat is very rich & can cause diarrhea. gas etc, are you adding Liver, Kidney Hearts, Tongue etc, reduce the amount of organ meat if your addding any organ meat & see does he improve, or stop adding any organ meat for a couple of days & see if he’s better, then just start adding some organ meat only 3- 4 times a week to 1 of his meals..

You have to remember this dog stomach & bowel is probably use to processed dry kibble he may have never eaten a raw diet before & it can take a up to 3 months for his stomach/bowel to get healthy & strengthen up..

I bet you he loves his raw meals, my boy does, I’m introducing dehydrated free range raw to my 9yr old boy, he has IBD & food sensitivities, so I have to take baby steps with him…the Holistic Vet who helped make this new free range dehydrated freeze dried raw said it can take up to 6 months for their stomach bowel to get use to raw & to do it slowly with Patch but that’s cause Patch has IBD…

Just make sure you balance his diet over the week, doesnt have to be daily & add either tin salmon or sardines in spring water or olive oil, it adds EPA & DHA all those good fats we get from fish, add about 2 spoons to one of his meals a day, 40lb dog, add 1/4 can of sardines 1 serving per day…

Steve Brown also recommends adding, 1 heaped tablespoon of salmon, 1-2 mussels & a pinch of kelp, this will balance his raw diet, mussels are very healthy & have manganese, Iodine, Fats, Vitamin D, other vitamins & minerals he needs, Steve said just buy the frozen mussels in the freezer section at supermarket…
also Beets contain natural anti-inflammatory agent that support heart health, vitamins & minerals, B1,B2,B12 & C, copper magnesium, potatssium, iron, phosphorus & iodine protect us against liver disease & fatty liver disease, Steve recommended
“Olew Dehydrated Red Beets” dog Food Supplement trial size 1.01lb thru Amazon

[stacey k]

Hi,

I started my dog on raw diet about 2 weeks ago, I did the slow transition because he’s old and we just adopted him from the SPCA not long ago. So he did fine when we were transitioning, but now we are on almost 100% raw (with exception of treats), he has been passing VERY stinky gas and his poop is extremely stinky.
He did have diarrhea when he was first fully switched, so I added more bone, calcium, and pumpkin to his food. The diarrhea is much better. I’m just wondering why the stinky gas and stool? Does this mean he’s not able to digest the raw meat? Do I have to add probiotics? Any suggestion is appreciated, if you have experienced the same, please help.
Thank you.

[Susan]

Hi Sandra,

Have you look at different diets, cooked, raw, wet can, freeze dried, air dried, what are their symptoms?
Have you done a food elimination diet?
until you work out what both your dogs can & can’t eat, you’ll be going around in circles & getting no where, or work out if they need more fiber or less fiber?? that’s easy, start adding boiled pumkin 1-2 spoons to one of their meals & not to the other meal & see if poo is firmer from the added pumkin meal. Poo will be a bit more orange..

I did the same with my boy, he didnt seem to do well on no kibbles when I first rescued him, turned out to have IBD, food sensitivities & environment allergies finally after 5yrs I’ve worked out his kibble needs to be higher in protein, low in fat & low in fiber %, less carbs & more meat & the Wellness Core Large Breed seem to agree with him maybe your dogs are the same…need more meat proteins & less carbs, I also feed dehydrated raw for 1 of his meals, I’m trying to get him off kibble he has too many stomach problems on dry kibble.

Have you tried “Wellness Core” Large breed kibble, its money back guaranteed if it doesnt agree with your dogs, that’s why I tried it + I had run out of dry kibbles to try on Patch, it does have potato but its very high in meat protein, it has 3 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd & 3rd ingredients then a carb as 4th ingredient.
low in fat & fiber & only 30% carbs & only 346Kcals per cup so easier to digest, the higher the Kcals the more dense the kibble, so kibble is harder to digest.

It may not be the ingredients they are reacting too? maybe the fiber, fat & protein percentages may not be agreeing with them in the kibbles you’ve tried?…

*Wellness Core Large Breed formula,
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Tomato Pomace, Dried Ground Potatoes, Ground Flaxseed, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Pea Fiber, Potassium Chloride, Spinach, Broccoli, Vitamin E Supplement, Carrots, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Kale, Sweet Potatoes, Taurine, L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Zinc Proteinate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract, Spearmint Extract.
This is a naturally preserved product.
low in fat & fiber & only 30% carbs 346Kcals per cup,
it may not be the ingredients they are reacting too?? the fiber %, fat % & protein percentages may not be agreeing with them…

PROXIMATES:
MOISTURE
PROTEIN 34.17
FAT 12.88
CARBOHYDRATES 30.66
FIBER 4.89
ASH 7.56
AMINO ACIDS:
ARGININE 2.64
HISTIDINE 0.77
ISOLEUCINE 1.34
LEUCINE 2.20
LYSINE 1.98
MET + CYS 0.94
METHIONINE 0.57
PHE + TYR 2.40
PHENYLALANINE 1.37
THREONINE 1.31
TRYPTOPHAN 0.40
VALINE 1.53
FATTY ACIDS:
LINOLEIC ACID 2.19
ARACHIDONIC ACID 0.08
MINERALS:
CALCIUM 1.61
PHOSPHORUS 1.12
POTASSIUM 0.96
SODIUM 0.22
CHLORIDE 0.40
MAGNESIUM 0.17
IRON 254.27
COPPER 2.35
MANGANESE 2.82
ZINC 20.17
IODINE 0.29
SELENIUM 0.05
VITAMINS & OTHERS:
VITAMIN A 1,144.24 VITAMIN D3 84.63 VITAMIN E 62.67
VITAMIN K N/A THIAMINE (VITAMIN B1) 0.33 RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2) 0.76 PANTOTHENIC ACID 2.40
NIACIN 7.50
PYRIDOXINE 0.49
FOLIC ACID 23.44
BIOTIN 0.58 VITAMIN B12 7.96 CHOLINE 152.33
TAURINE 0.01
1 cup (g) 98
kcal/kg ME 3,540
kcal/cup 346
kcalories Total %
kcal- Protein 1,220 35.6%
kcal- Fat 1,117 32.5%
kcal- Carbohydrates 1,095 31.9%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids 1.00%
Omega 6 Fatty Acids 3.25%
Other Total per cup
Glucosamine Hydrochloride 750 mg/kg 73.3 mg
Chondroitin Sulfate 250 mg/kg 24.4 mg

[Patricia A]

When I gave my Chis’ the Primal from my mom’s I never thought to look at the recalls batch numbers from their recall a few months back.. I saw the list and it included Primal Turkey Freeze Dried but NOT Turkey and Sardine. Being new to Primal and Raw I didn’t realize it was one and the same until I looked at the Batch # on my bag.Only noticed this AFTER I called to complain. Guess the rep didn’t pick it up that I was giving him a batch # that WAS recalled. However, like I wrote the pieces were SO sharp an jagged that even the bones were 1/16″ I wouldn’t feel safe giving it to my little Chihuahuas’.
So now Claire you’re saying it’s back to the big bone shards. I really don’t feel like digging through the dog food every time I feed them. Why aren’t these bones in all these foods just be grinder down to powder?? I’m sure it doesn’t change the nutritional value. I really hope more people call in for this new batch for a recall so they change grinder machines and get it right with ALL of these raw brands.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Patricia A.

[Andy B]

ok elisha…here’s what i do for my 3 adult dogs each weighing around 12 lbs..one cup each in a mixing bowl: only natural pet raw freeze dried beef/sweet potato, zignature essentials grain free chicken/?, royal canin prescription renal support (kidney issues, so this is optional), bil-jac grain free kibble, and 1 can of wellness core grain free..add water to the freezed dried first before adding the rest..then add water to make it reasonably moist but not wet so they still have some crunch..the royal canin and zignature don’t absorb water very well, so it has some body to it..also, the bil-jac will turn to mush so if you want to add that at feeding time, that’s what i do…just give them about a tablespoon or so on the mixed food and then stir it in…i came up with this recipe experimenting with tasty but healthy foods just to get them to eat the royal canin.. this is the first time they chow it completely..well, one of them leaves the cranberries on the floor..it lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator..this is their dinner only..their breakfast is about 1/4 cup of my cooked chicken and one milkbone tasty snack biscuit (junk, but they are eating a lot healthier than i do)..

[Elisha Z]

I have two fairly young adult dogs, one a Poodle mix, the other a Papillon. They are fairly picky eaters and so far dry foods have not been their choice. Currently I feed them Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Market Meal Blends Dog Food – Grain Free, Freeze Dried, Chicken and they “sometimes” eat it. I also alternate by feeding them Natural Balance chicken or Duck (and I add fresh carrots, etc.). My problem is there are days they will not eat no matter what I do. I am aware that dogs are led by their nose to some extent so if it smells good they usually will eat it however I want to ensure it is healthy. Noticing they will not eat dry food, has anyone had any experience feeding dry food that their dogs actually enjoy? Usually there is no smell to them and so I already know my dogs won’t eat it. Since I prefer a dry food, any recommendations?

[sue h]

Interested in HPP. If this is done to the raw food are all of the natural enzymes removed? Is this a good thing or a bad thing. I should think bad.

[Jayni]

Hello everyone,

I have bought supplements for my senior dogs, both 10 years old, to help with their joints so I am getting the glucosonine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM, calcium and have started also buying frozen mackerel and sardines recently for omega 3 and arthritis, especially my big lab (not fat).

Question is: how many mid size sardine fish should I give my 77 lbs lab and 37 lbs beagle? Both could stand to shed 2 pounds and are still very active, but lab has slowed down considerably. And at what frequency or intervals?

Question 2 – do I still need to give them their daily supplements along with the sardine fish, or is the latter good enough, or would it be too much together or unnecessary?

I have 2 Supplements – Pro-Sense Joint Solutions, Advanced strength (4 tablets for lab; 2 for Beagle x) and another (not open yet) +PetNaturals of Vermont Hip + Joint tablets (would be in the same portion amounts as the latter).

Or, again,if there are better supplements (since these do not show omaga 3), I’m open to recommendations for senior dogs with Arthritis who already eat fresh sardines, but cooked cuz my lab won’t eat a raw fish. He’ll take it and walk off but won’t rip into it like the other.

Thank you! I know this was long to read! Am looking forward to hear your advice.

[pitlove]

I have not personally used the consultation services myself no. I do know certain things change when the meats are cooked, so you could not say, take a recipe they have up on that site and just use the same values but feed it raw. You may be able to contact Dr. Susan Wynn for a consult. She does deal with raw and is also a veterinary nutritionist.

Glad you liked Mojo’s videos. I do find her owners to be good sources of information personally.

[Airseabattle]

Pitlove,
Thank you very much for the links. I liked the mojo videos and watched two of them …so far. I’m now following them as I feel they can be a great source of information. They seem pretty progressive. I also found balanceit to be useful. Initially I had some problems finding the consulting section on balanceit. However, I eventually found it.

I am very excited about the idea of working with a pet nutritionist. So again, thank you for that. Have you used any of the consultants listed? Do you recommend any of them in particular? Also, do any of them work with raw diets? The ones I’ve viewed seemed to be geared towards those who want to feed a home cooked diet. Did any of you raw feeders work with a nutritionist?

Thanks again

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Airseabattle.

[John W]

Well honestly I started giving him more home cooked meals and I started experimenting with some raw feeding as well. I looked into feeding a commercial raw food (I really like K9 kraving ) and I looked into feeding a raw freeze dried product but they are way too expensive to feed on a monthly basis. So I have been buying some food and cooking and raw feeding but I also wanted a kibble on hand so I went with a food called I and Love and You, the lamb and Bison version. I know next to nothing about it but it was evaluated very high on the C L Project. Again I know they may be very flawed but I wanted to be safe. Also I am looking to eventually buy a heavy duty meat grinder and try to make much of my dogs own food that way I can feed it raw or cook it if need be.

[Lewis F]

I’ve had our Cavapoo Sophie on Orijen Puppy and now Original for 19 months and she eats well without showing any adverse affects. In fact, Sophie goes in for her 6 month checkup at the end of April and I am going to ask the Vet to draw blood and check for high levels of minerals, etc. I’ll post the results if anyone is interested

Thank you Mike

Lew

[Lorena]

Suzanne, I stopped using Costco food after my Frenchie had anemia and died. She also had a uti and other issues. Both my Boston Terrier and Frenchie were throwing up at least twice a week on Costco food (kibbles and canned) and unfortunately I didn’t switch foods soon enough. Marylou, dogs know when the food is bad as they can smell a lot better than we can. My daughter’s cat does the same thing, sometimes the canned food she opens, the cat will sniff and walk away even though it’s the same food he goes crazy for. She then knows it’s a bad batch and opens a new can. If all the cans have the same lot # then most likely they’re all bad. You should return the food to Costco and get your money back! They require at least 50% but if you tell them it got your dogs sick they should take it back regardless.

My 10 yr old Boston Terrier is doing well on her new food (Acana duck and pear and I top her food with 1/2 patty of Duck Duck Goose raw freeze-dried dinner patty from Stella & Chewy’s). I’m spending more on food now but it’s worth it if it saves me on vet visits and illness. I’m also feeding my Vizsla puppy the same food because it’s for all stages (it has DHA and Glucosamine). I don’t buy canned food anymore as mix in, the freeze-dried patties are enough as my dogs love these. They tried the lamb patties, but they prefer the duck. I highly recommend Acana, Orijen, or Fromm.

[pitlove]

Hi again Airseabattle-

I think you will really enjoy BalanceIt.com. It’s a great website. If you decide to use their consultation service they can contact your vet and get any records needed to formulate a proper diet for your dog.

Also if you do end up staying on raw here is a link to a blog that I like. I feel this couple has successfully done a Prey Model Raw diet with their Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They have a YouTube and Insta gram page as well. http://mojoandfriends.blog/dog/

They have information about Mojo’s diet and other dog related things as well. They are also super nice people and if you comment on their Insta gram page are really nice.

As far as the debate on genetics vs environment goes… I will say that I disagree that pure bred dogs are unhealthy. Especially when purchased from an ethical, responsible breeder. These breeders are health testing these dogs, and spaying/neutering dogs that are not fit to be in their breeding program, so as not to put bad genetics into the population. Mixed breed dogs of unknown origin in my opinion are just as likely to be a walking health problem and vet bill, as a pure bred dog from a BYB. I’d personally rather a pure bred dog whos lineage and parents, grandparents, great grand parents, etc health I know. Kudos to you for supporting a responsible breeder and doing your homework on the breed/breeders.

[Susan]

Hi Lisa,
start looking for freeze dried or air dried raw diets, try & reduce all dry process kibbles.
There are NO better quality kibbles out there.. Kibbles are made from rotten meats & fly blown veggies, then kibbles are cooked at such high temperatures all the nutrience is killed, best to feed fresh whole foods, healthy foods you eat, your dog is very small, it wouldnt cost much to feed your girl a homemade cooked or raw diet, she’ll live longer & be healthier through out her life…
or look for human grade freeze or air dried food & rotate between different brands….

Look at Instinct freeze dried raw, Ziwi Peak air dried, Buckley Liberty freeze dried & Canisource Grand CRU dehydrated raw food instead of a dry process kibble.

[Nancy P]

Hi AC,

Thank you or your information. I will check on the food that you mention. I think the can albacore tuna and canned sardines is a good idea. In answer to your question, I have not added in any digestive enzymes or probiotics at this time but I am likely to do so in the near future. I’ve been reading about them and I have an idea of the ones that I want to use but I’m not quite ready to make that move just yet.

My dogs seem to be doing well so far with Dr. Marty’s food in that they have lots of energy, shiny hair, and look forward to their meal time. But, then they always have had lots of energy, well, because they are schnauzers. They have also always liked their food, even when I was feeding them kibble. Never a crumb left in site. The one thing that is different is that Kimmie Schnauzer does not have any skin issues going on at this time which is the first time in years for this. Time will tell if this continues or not. That’s what makes me nervous about all of this. We have no real way of knowing if there is a problem brewing until it shows up, but that’s the way it always is.

I keep reading and learning what I can. Some things seem to make a lot of sense but then I see some other things that I would not try, just because it involves adding in things like processed people food (cheese). If I do anything other than freeze dried raw diet, it will probably be either totally raw or raw cooked. Freeze dried is most convenient and would be easier for the few occasions when I have to kennel my dogs.

I do think Dr. Marty’s website could be better. I made a couple of suggestions but have not gone there recently to see if there have been any changes made.
Thanks again.

[Airseabattle]

I already mentioned that dog has been seen by a vet and specialists Have been brought on to monitor her. So Where are you getting that medical guidance will come exclusively from google and forums?

When I click your name, I don’t see a threads that show you being open to and actually feeding a raw diet then chronicaling your dog’s health decline as a result of raw diets. I just see plugs for a website. But Thanks for the link. I’ll take a look. I love to study new material. If things go wrong with raw and I need to go back to kibble, I’ll def look into following suggestions from it. Good luck to you.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Airseabattle.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Airseabattle.

[anonymous]

I have shared my experiences at this website. They have a user friendly search engine button if you are interested.

My idea of research is consulting a board certified specialist or getting another opinion from a veterinarian that has actually examined my dog, not dr google.

Made that mistake (raw food) in the past with dire results. The only online site I trust now is http://skeptvet.com/Blog/
The rest are just opinions.

I wish you and your pets the very best.

[Airseabattle]

These aren’t dogs from some backyard breeder or pet store. They’re from a kennel that I have closely watched from a breeder who I have known for a decade. I met her through a referral from the chihuahua club of America (cca). If the last one lived to be 16 on Kibble (where kidney diseases caused by diet took her) , I’m not sure how 17 could be seen as unrealistic for a dog on a better diet.

Of course, I have the emergency pet hospitals number on file. I’ve had it since my last dog took her tragic turn. It would be irresponsible for any pet ownernot to have an emergency hospitals contact on file. An emergency can happen at any time. Whether or not you feed raw. My dog is just a baby and she’s already has appointments with specialists to ensure what happened with my last baby doesn’t happen to her. I’m very committed to prevention and catching everything early.

I’m not sure what caused you to be anti raw but it would help if your documentation into raw and the set backs caused by it were listed on here. Also, and I don’t mean this to be mean, but you should not assume everyone you talk to on here fails to do research. I’m surprised you thought I didn’t know much about akc, the breed parent clubs, or how to properly screen for breeders.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Airseabattle.

[Airseabattle]

Genetics leaves an indivual more susceptible to a condition but doesn’t gaurantee it will occur. I am very confident that my last dog’s teeth were caused by her diet which led to her health issues and ultimate demise. Therefore, I cannot in good faith, feed kibble. Thus far, my new pup is thriving on her raw diet.

She is young and healthy. This isn’t some older dog with compromised health. Fortunately, I have the resources to carefully monitor her and treat her for any issues that may arise as a result of feeding her raw. If things go wrong I’ll immediately get her treated and warn others. However, I’m confident nothing will go wrong as long as I carefully make sure she follows a well balanced raw diet. I am mixing her daily portion of ground meat with nupro for small breeds to help get it right.

I’m sorry about your dog. You never mentioned the breed. Mine was a purebred chihuahua from top show lines . I mention this because I read mixed breeds tend to live longer. I don’t think it’s fair to compare a mixed breed to a purebred. Still I’m doing all I can to ensure my new family member lives to be at least 17 and to make sure her quality of life is better than my departed angel.