[Andy B]

My guess is it is nominal…We don’t eat our meat raw so as not to lose nutritional value..I give my 3 dogs chicken breast in addition to their regular food and I always cook it..Just sayin’..

[Pakalolo]

My Bouvier has eosinophilia, IBD, slow stomach mobility, and… you name it. We’ve finally seem to have hit the gold pot with raw duck. We’ve been giving him the Pet4Life brand. However, he rejects it when it’s cold, so if I fry it like a burger (no oil), he will eat it fine. I know, I’ve spoiled him, but he’s had so many health issues that now I will try anything to see him eat. My concern is about the amount of nutrients that we lose in the heating process. My vet’s assistant tells me it is not that much (and yes, the most important is that he’s eating), but still… I just don’t want to be giving him “empty calories”. What’s your experience? Any words of advice? Thank you!

[Bobby dog]

You’re welcome. 😉

I mainly feed budget friendly kibble and canned. Along with those foods I also feed home cooked and commercial raw if you would like some other type of food options.

[pitlove]

Hi Blake-

Firstly, congrats on the Ridgeback puppy. They are beautiful loyal dogs!

I do think your concerns about exposing the younger members of your family to Salmonella, E.coli, listeria and other pathogens is valid and justified. This is of great concern to the new arrival as his/her immune system will not be strong enough to withstand any exposure.

The second leering concern comes with the health and development of the puppy. Here is a great article written by holistic veterinary nutritionist Dr. Susan Wynn on large breed puppy growth, development and nutrition. She feeds and advocates for raw and home cooked diets, however not for growing puppies, let alone ones that will reach 50lbs+ at maturity.

Feeding large breed puppies

Consider what she has to say before deciding on this type of diet for your Ridgeback puppy. I would also consult your pediatrician about the risk of raw food to your young ones and see what he/she has to say.

[pitlove]

Hi Olivia-

I too, agree with what anon101 wrote. Now that some of the teeth have begun to decay it’s past the point of no return. Those teeth will likely need to be extracted to prevent more damage and infection. Also, periodontal disease can also lead to disease in other organs especially as they get older.

Raw bones, like many other methods of oral care do not reach the gum line of the pet and therefore can not reverse or prevent periodontal disease. Regular brushing and dentals (when suggested by your vet) are the best way to provide a proper oral health regime for your dogs.

And yes, I would absolutely be concerned about any hard bone cracking their teeth with the state they are in as you describe it.

[anonymous]

See above post “Switching to Raw Food (Teeth Question)”
Also: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=raw+diet
Hope this helps.

“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”. (excerpt from:) https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/

[anonymous]

I would schedule the dental cleanings asap, infection is painful and can lead to all kinds of medical issues. Then when they have recovered, I would gently brush their teeth daily. YouTube has some excellent how to videos.
Be aware that bones can result in GI blockage (even finely ground bone) and broken teeth, anything raw is potentially loaded with bacteria.
Per the search engine here:
/forums/topic/dog-not-digesting-bones-properly/
What more is there to test? Obviously the bones, even finely ground up bone material is causing potentially fatal stomach, colon and bowel obstructions.
/forums/topic/rectal-issues/
/forums/search/bone+obstruction/

Dogs are Still not Wolves: Human Feeding Practices Have Shaped the Dog Genome

PS: If the dog needs emergency surgery (not unusual) caused by these feeding habits, it will cost $$$ whether the surgery is successful or not.

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm208365.htm?s_cid=w_c_PetHealth_cont_001
https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/
/forums/search/bones+obstruction/
Hopes this helps

[olivia s]

I have two 9-year-old chihuahua-poodle mix dogs (Joy and Faith) who I want to switch to a raw diet. I’ve heard that raw bones can be great for a dog’s teeth, but both of them have pretty bad teeth already. Joy, however, has worse teeth than Faith. One of her back teeth is severely decaying and much of her teeth has visible plaque. Her breath (before taking recent measures) was foul and much more noticeable than Faith’s.

Currently, they are eating Freshpet refrigerated dog food and no kibble. About a week ago, I started adding a product called ProDen Plaque Off to their food and I rub ozonated olive oil on Joy’s teeth, which seems to be helping with her plaque and bad breath. Time will tell if the Plaque Off product works. I’m also thinking about brushing their teeth. When my mom took the dogs to the vet, the vet said that they need dental work. If that can’t be avoided, I would at least like to minimize the problem.

I am weary about feeding bones to my dogs, particularly Joy. Is it safe to give a dog with tooth decay raw bones? Meaning, is there a risk of cracking the tooth? I’m not even sure if they would chew them because of the condition of their teeth.

If I get dental work done on them, would it be better to give them raw bones after they get that done? Or does anyone have experience healing dog teeth with a raw diet or with any other remedy?

Thanks

[Blake P]

Hey everyone! We are hoping to bringing home a new member to our family soon. A Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. I have been doing a ton of research as far as feeding raw foods once we get her home. I have a 4, almost 5 year old and a few months after the puppy is brought home will have a newborn in the house.

My concern is having raw food all over the place or the fact that the puppy may be licking us/household items and obviously her toys. Of course keeping everything clean in the kitchen and feeding the puppy outside are obvious ways to help but the saliva, etc. on things gives worries me.

Is this a misguided worry? What do you guys do to keep your minds at easy with the little ones in the house.

I have considered simply cooking the food but of course that eliminates the option of serving some raw bone and of course loss of nutrients once cooked.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Gloria K]

As I already stated I make my own broth of every kind even for myself. I use a couple of bone in skin on chicken breasts, some of them for about 40 minutes then remove the chicken and when it’s cool shred it, put it in small Ziploc snack bags and freeze. I top Mickey’s food with this chicken then pour about 1 tablespoon of broth and heat the whole thing. He’s only about 18 pounds so he doesn’t eat very much at each meal.
As a sidenote I mentally cannot give him raw food I don’t know why I just can’t. So I give him giblets, hearts, chopped up pork cutlets, lamb shoulder chops chopped up and simmer these items. I save the broth from all of the stuff in little jars that I save and use this for his food. They’re so much nutrition in this broth. It only takes 20 minutes to simmer and I do this once a month.

[Andrea O]

I have read in several places where it states that raw diets allow the dog to grow at the rate they’re naturally suppose to. Commercial dry dog foods have too many proteins, carbs and make the dogs grow too quickly which in turn causes serious structure issues in the dog like hip dysplasia for example. It’s a good thing he has slowed down. It’s just like the chickens they feed in feed lots, they over do the carbs, proteins, steroids etc to get them unnaturally big fast. Dry dog food works in same way with puppies. Check out Dr Karen Becker on facebook. She’s amazing and goes into great detail in her short videos about this. She also has a video out called Pet fooled, highly recommend.

[Andrea O]

I have a vet on my facebook that states dogs eat their own poop or other animals normally because they are lacking the digestive enzymes needed to break down foods they are fed. I’d highly suggest in trying a different diet for your dog or trying to implement one raw meal a day or even a week. Her name BTW is Karen Becker. She goes into detail in one of her recent post about dogs eating their own poo or others and reasons why. You may be able to also find these videos on YouTube. I am unsure if I can post the links to it here.

[Andrea O]

We brought home puppy on a Wednesday evening, I got puppy formula for first few days and did raw chicken breast ground up with some formula in it. She’s ate that for three days now. Tonight this is the formula I gave her and of course she devoured it.
She is a German Shepard and weights exactly 7lbs. I did not have my chicken livers, hearts, or gizzards completely thawed so she didn’t get those yet but will incorporate those tomrw.
Would just like everyone’s opinions and advice on this formulation and what I should adjust. This is BARF model diet, I do not want to do PMR at this time so please do not push this. Thanks for your time
0.15 oz of spinach
1.00 oz of green apple
1.60 oz of carrot
1.85 oz chicken wing meat
2.80 oz of blended chicken wing meat and bone
1 teaspoon grounded pumpkin seed(for parasite prevention)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 teaspoon plain non fat Greek yogurt
1 medium egg shell and all uncooked

I fed her half of this finished concoction which was around 4.8 oz and then the rest I put in fridge for tomrw morning feeding.

Thank u for reading and feedback 🙂

[Stephanie W]

I tried two small bags of the American made acana/orijen and that was the end of that.
Terrible stuff and Acana was my go-to brand for years.
I read on another forum that one member decided to call Me yucky game and fish. She asked how much fish from Kentucky people should eat and was told no more than six a YEAR. Clearly champion foods didn’t do their due diligence to make sure their ingredient quality stayed the same.

The only good that came from this is it is what lead me down the path towards home cooked food. My dogs are doing SO much better than they ever did on the best of kibbles.
I highly recommend home cooked or raw for those who have the time.
Dogaware.com is a great resource for dog diet and has a book review section so you can find dog food cookbooks that are actually made to meet NRC and/or AAFCO guidelines.

[Susie]

I am interested in this as well. I have a 10 yr old Chi also. I’ve been feeding him The Honest Kitchen Kindly base mix and adding boiled turkey. I have Zeal (fish) on order because I want to try variety. Mine has IBD (not sure which one as we haven’t done major testing) so I wanted something with good ingredients and nothing funky. It is really high in fiber which is why I’m wanting to try Thr fish. High fiber isn’t the best for IBD. Anyway, you may look into THK. I’ve fed several brands of frozen raw which they did well on but the canned foods we have tried didn’t go over so well. We hated Weruva and Zignature. Looking forward to what others recommended. As far as yours lacking energy, you may want to check her b12 level. Mine had a very low level and since supplementing he’s so much perkier and playful.

[Amanda D]

Awesome thank you so much! I don’t have my puppy yet, will be getting one this year, going to see some Mini Australian Shepherds tomorrow! I just want as much information as I can get a hold of 🙂 I forgot to ask about raw veggies. I regularly dog sit for a 8 yr old Border Collier who absolutely loves her raw veggies, and bananas. Baby carrots and green pepperscreen are Misty’s favorites, are fruits and veggies a safe treat? Taking the chew style into account of course. Also I seen a horrid video on FB recently about how rawhide are made, are their other busy chews that are safe?

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Amanda D.

[Acroyali]

Many people I know do one raw meal and one kibble meal per day, and have had no problems. Like Cannoli mentioned, know your dogs chewing style and choose appropriately. A good rule of thumb is to feed larger than (the dogs) head size to avoid them swallowing things whole. For a small/medium puppy, poultry necks and feet I would personally stay away from until they learn how to slow down and chew (things like oxtails scare me to high heaven).

[Cannoli]

Hi Amanda,

It is hard to advise whether thighs with bones or chicken feet or turkey necks are safe to feed your pup. In my opinion you need to analyze and train your pup first on how to eat these bones.

With my pup I stay away from small bones as he tends to be a gulper and when I was hand feeding him these type of bones he still had a tendency of gulping his food so I stayed away from any whole bones. No need to create a choking hazard.

Otherwise since the base of your diet is a puppy food there is nothing wrong with introducing your pup to these foods. Once your pup has stopped growing than it is safe from a nutritional perspective to experiment with more raw or home cooked foods.

But I must stress that you really need to pay attention to what type of an eater your pup is. If he is a gulper like mine than whole bones, regardless of whether they are soft or not, can create a choking hazard

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Cannoli.

[Amanda D]

As much as I would love to feed raw I don’t have the freezer space, nor the floor space for a chest freezer. However is it okay to give the occasional meal as raw or treats, like instead of a store bought dog bone, maybe a chickenbacks ,couple chicken thighs or a handful of feet or hearts, turkey necks, eggs.

I’m planning on feeding either Castor & Pollux Organix Puppy Recipe, or Fromm Gold Puppy both in kibble form.

If such items are okay, what is best to start a small to medium breed puppy on?

• This topic was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Amanda D. Reason: Forgot to say what I'm planning on feeding

[Acroyali]

Too much of a good thing (omega 3’s) can be bad. I would stick with fish oil, or small oily fish as you’re doing without worrying about getting too much into her system.

If you’re using capsules of oil, keep in mind oil can go rancid pretty quickly!

Is there a reason you’re feeding all, or mostly fish? If she can handle other types of meats, some grass fed beef would be great as the Omega 3 content blows the feedlot beef out of the water. Eggs, IME, are much loved and are a great skin and coat supporting addition. (A few of mine get them raw, others prefer them warmed in a skillet. They’re spoiled..!)

[Robin S]

Hello fellow distraught pet lovers and owners,

We bought two sibling basset hounds nearly a year ago and have been having this problem with BOTH of them on and off. Heart-wrenching for all of us.

I am a wannabee herbal and nutritional practitioner with our own family. Although we’ve taken the dogs to the vet, I’ve also done research and tried different herbal remedies.

Hoping our continued experience can help others as we continue to seek answers and comfort for our beloved pets.

Here it goes..

One, both our dogs take turns getting this. The male fairs worse than the female. We originally thought it was bloat and took the male to an animal emergency hospital, costing $600.00. They took x-rays that showed it WAS NOT bloat. We then took him to the vet and they did lab work and said their was a small amount of some kind of bacteria…forgot the name. He prescribed an anti-biotic for him. The female then got it and he prescribed one for her. They were both fine for awhile andthen it starts all over again. The antibiotic did not work as well for her. We’ve also tried de-wormers throughout.

So I started treating the symptoms. The interesting thing is even tho’ both of them get this, I have to use different herbs and protocols to effectively (if not temporarily) ease their pain and discomfort. All very interesting..

These are what I use:
For Paulette: 1/2 human ginger root capsule with her food helps her nausea. When we don’t do this her symptoms start up again. If she gets it full on I’ve been giving her Parasite Dr. from PetAlive. This calms her and also makes her sleepy. I’m hoping it also helps to cure her. She is currently non-symptomatic.
Baggins, the male is in a full symptomatic bout these past 4 days. Thought we’d try a store bought parasite medication. It has not worked as it had in the past. So, we’ve been treating the symptoms. This is what works for him:
Avena Sativa, oat straw helps to calm him down. Bromelain reduces the gas and bloat build up his gut. We have also skipped a feeding this time. He’s sleeping peacefully at the moment.
With his next feeding I will start the Parasite Cleanse that I also give to Paulette, continue the oat straw and bromelain and add marshmellow root. Marshmellow root coats and soothes the easophagus and stomach lining.

As we continue to try different things for our pets as well as pray for them, our family, especially me, has to learn to live with the symptoms. I have to know that this isn’t life threatening and so far they have always come out of it. We have started to confine them to just the kitchen when symptomatic as it is a small area, has linoleum instead of carpet and is easier to clean up vomit and anything else. Sometimes he’ll stop the licking/gulping and look at us and whine for a bit. When the symptoms die down a bit, we bring him and lay on the floor holding and petting him til he goes to sleep.

That is most of our story so far.
Looking for commonalities and patterns and lack thereof as well…
Both our dogs take turns getting this.
It seems cyclonic…every month to six weeks..
Changing food does not affect it…or does so temporarily..
We are not alone, as seen here and elsewhere on the web, this is a newer and undiagnosed canine disease or disorder. We’ve had dogs all our lives and have never experienced anything like this. I have friends whose dogs do this as well.

Hoping to learn from all of you and be another shoulder to lean on for support,
for our pets,
Robin

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Robin S.

[Whitney L]

Hi,
You’re so good at all this, you have the luckiest dogs in the world! I just wish the dog food bags would read for dummies so I could have an easier time and not have to involve anything mathematical. I’m awful at it… my husband is the engineer, so I’ll have to turn that over to him. I’m going to have him review the sodium contents and variables because he’s usually the one stopping for food.

It sounds like the Fromm we’re feeding may be okay for my Crested, and I’ll have to get a canned version for the foster girl. Or maybe soak hers in water and see if she’ll eat it that way. She has quite the underbite and the wretched teeth, so the soft food gets stuck all in her teeth and mouth. When we were giving her canned food we would wipe it off her as best we could, but she would still proceed to rub her face all over the living room rug. We also can’t get in her mouth to wipe it out from in there. We’re due to have a baby in three days, so we are trying our darndest to keep stuff like that off the rug. The joys of doggies, haha! At least it builds immunity in kids, my 10yo son never gets sick.

Anyway, the vet that the foster girl initially saw was one that the rescue uses. As far as I know, he didn’t give food suggestions, and I know he did not prescribe Vetmedin since none came with her. I got her several weeks after she came into the rescue. I ended up taking her to another vet, also part of the rescue but a different vet’s office and location, and specifically asked for the Vetmedin. I also asked for the incurin and recurring clindomyacin to help her mouth from possible inflammation. That vet ended up giving her a shot of the lasix and enalapril to boost it up in her system, and upped the lasix. She’s peeing a lot more, and coughing a lot less, so I think things are helping! They did do xrays of the little foster when we were at the vet this past weekend, but they didn’t show us and I wouldn’t know what I was looking at anyway. Her prognosis was still not good, but she wants to see her back in two weeks to do bloodwork and make sure the difference in meds aren’t inadvertently interfering with anything.

I’ll have to look up the Vetri Cardio Canine you mentioned, as it sounds like good stuff.

So on top of just trying to be a good doggy mom for my little medical babes, and the fact that we have a baby due in three days, my Crested is now not feeling well. I took him to his vet on Tuesday, and the poor little guy had to suffer through getting his temp taken, a fecal, a blood draw, an x-ray (thankfully one scan gets all of him), a dosage of fluid injected under the skin, and then a shot for anti nausea/diarrhea. The good news from all that is that his heart and lungs are looking wonderful compared to a year ago, and the vet was happy that the meds are doing their job on him and his lasix doesn’t need increasing. Bad news was that they couldn’t really find anything going on. His bloodwork was mostly good except a few things creeping the wrong way due to him being a little dehydrated, and the vet wasn’t concerned so long as he stays hydrated.

He seemed to feel better Tuesday night, and now we’re back to him moping around, refusing even canned food, watermelon, etc., and today he threw up the little bit of watermelon he did eat about 10 hours ago. He did take a small poop yesterday, and I was hoping that would make him feel better. It looks like he’ll be going back if he’s not better by the morning, and he’ll likely be getting a Barium test to see if there’s a blockage somewhere. More not fun stuff because he HATES x-rays. I have to go in the back with them when he gets them because he will freak out and half kill himself from setting himself into a breathing episode, then he gets placed on oxygen. I nearly cried on Tuesday because I can’t stand next to the x-ray machine being pregnant, and he was so scared and crying so loud. I stood off to the side where I hoped he could see me and talked to him. I hate it. Fingers crossed he starts feeling better today. 🙁

I really appreciate all your knowledge and for taking the time to fill me in on everything since you’re way more experienced at this than I am. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Jo C]

Crazy4cats and Rusty,

Thank you both so much. I’m like super excited for her checkup tomorrow to see how much she weighs now since she was previously weighing in at 70#. I also, got a list of things to ask the vet to see if she can spread some light of the exact amount and calories based on her current weight and depending on her weight if she needs to lose some or gain or remain the same. referring to not having to add toppers as some call it I guess in order to feed more homemade I have to find out tomorrow how much I should be feeding her exactly then I can add more homemade then dry. Right now I am feeding her 1c am/pm dry kibble and I believe 1/2c am/pm homemade. So hopefully I find out more and keep you guys updated. I like the whole “Fish Friday”. She doesn’t like raw and she has been very gassy lately haha I did make coconut oil w/ blueberries and sweet potato treats. It’s coming from something lol. She does shed a lot a lot so I’m also trying to make her coat shiny 🙂

[Rusty T]

Sorry Jo C. The side of the can of salmon will tell you how many calories per serving, and how many servings per can. The calorie content varies based on kind of salmon. But say 200 calories per 3.5 oz can.

Then go here for your total calories per day per your dog. I generally try to balance out an average per week over a seven day period in the calories per day. My Siberian/gsd mix tends to put on weight, so we really count his calories while our GSD must have the most amazing metabolism.

/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/

(We’ve a service here where I live which is overseen by a vet with a nutritional background that will custom make your dog and cat food, either raw or gently cooked. All organic, all free range or grass fed. They sell lamb and beef tripe, turkey necks, marrow bones, etc. My two are on a mix of raw diet, kibble, canned food, and cooked foods. Hence my calorie thing. I mix up their diet all the time.)

[crazy4cats]

Jo C-
No, you do not have to add anything to a complete and balanced kibble for your dog to get all its required nutrition. However, I feel better adding fresh, less processed food to it. I feel like it’s just a little healthier. There is a download on dogwise.com called See Spot Live Longer by Steve Brown that was helpful to me for ideas and amounts to add to kibble. Also there is info on dogaware.com on the subject.

I rotate adding canned, eggs, tripe, commercial raw and sardines to their kibble meals. Just remember if you choose to do this, decrease the amount of kibble being fed to avoid over feeding. Good luck!

[crazy4cats]

Pacific salmon may contain flukes that cause salmon poisoning if it has not been frozen for at least 7 days or cooked before being fed. I mix canned salmon, tuna or sardines in my dogs’ kibble at least once a week.

My dogs are about 80 lbs. and I usually add about 100 calories of topper to their meals.

Again, Pacific NW fish is totally safe as long as not fed raw unless has been deep froze for 7 days. This kills the fluke that may have attached itself to the fish. Hope this helps!

[elaine c]

I hope you have done the research and know that you can NOT feed Pacific salmon… Also if you are trying to really make the food better.. why not get rid of kibble. Kibble is cooked so much there is nothing left in it… except the profit for the dog food companies.. Check out answerspetfood.com… it is really a great raw food. with fermented items.

[elaine c]

the best dog food I know, in a category by itself, and what I feed my two pits is Answers Pet food. It is raw and fermented. Dry dog food is only going to be so good because it is processed. So all the goodness is cooked out of it… then they put in synthetic vitamins and research has shown that long term this is not good for the dogs.. Check it out on dogfood advisor.com. Good luck.

[elaine c]

Callie K did you know that canned food is raw food cooked in the can and all that metal is NOT good for your dog.

[elaine c]

Hi Dave, as a trainer with years of experience and having talked to many dog nutrionalist, personally I wouldn’t recommend anything else but Answers Pet food. You can find it in review at dogfoodadvisor.com… so you can understand this exceptional raw food. Personally, I wouldn’t feed any kibble to any dog… too processed all the goodness is cooked out of it.. and the synthetic vitamins and minarels they have to add back in have proven, long term, to be more harm than good. I PROMISE you, once you start this food you will be telling people about it like I do… I have two Pits and it changed their lives… as any good raw food would… But this one is fermented… there is the difference!!!

[Blkdoodle]

Caster Pollux, Natural Ultramix Grain Free Red Meat Recipe with Raw Bites has Glucosamine and Chondroitin, which helps with arthritis. That might be an option. PetSmart carries a limited supply but I also know Natural Foods carries it. It is a 5 star and since I have switched to it, our Golden Doodle loves it and has no trouble eating it dry without a topping of canned food.
It is pricy but I think well worth it.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Blkdoodle.

[zcRiley]

Start the below routine right away for Dewey. And of course, run all blood and fecal tests. I spent thousands of dollars and 4 years of trial and error research to figure out a non-raw diet that actually works. Still learning new things every month.

ZiwiPeak air dried formulas in beef, lamb or venison. Their canned wet food is equally top rated. Reverses ailments, proven. Dasaquin with MSM for large dogs daily. Prescription Previcox before bedtime. You’ll see a difference within days.

[Susan]

Hi, my boy has a IBD, has food sensitivities, in the beginning vet said he had Colitis, Patch starts farting, sloppy poos & itchy skin, depends on what ingredient he’s sensitive too, carrots make his ears itch & he starts shaking head & scratches his ears, with chicken he gets red paws, sloppy poos, itchy skin & vomited his raw chicken, there’s a list of foods that I finally know he cant eat…
Your best to feed a Elimination Diet, start with just 1 novel protein & 1 carb feed for 6 weeks, if she is OK you have found 2 ingredients that she isn’t sensitive too, then you add another new ingredient & feed for 6 weeks….
Food sensitivities can take from 1 day to 6 weeks to show any symptoms or look at a very limited ingredient kibble or wet tin food “California Natural” has their Lamb & Brown rice has just 3 ingredients or they have a Puppy formula with 4 ingredients but its chicken choose a different protein to the one she’s eating at the moment..
or try a Vet Diet like “Royal Canin” Potato & Venison or Potato & Salmon or the Potato & Rabbit wet tin is better to feed then a kibble, then when you find she is doing best on the say the potato & Venison after 6 weeks cause the vet diet is balanced you can start adding 1 new ingredient say boiled rice 2 table spoons is she OK with the boiled rice my boy cant have boiled rice it irritates his bowel but he can have the ground rice in a kibble…
In the end the best kibble for Patch was “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roast Lamb it’s grain free, the Protein-25% fat-15% & fiber-4% it has purified water as well.
Try & find a kibble with the same percentages don’t go too high with fat & protein….

There’s also “Canidae” Pure Formulas but the protein & fat is higher in some formulas so read them…
California Natural- http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products
Canidae- http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Taste Of The Wild (TOTW)- http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/

[Cherisse G]

Diet could be definitely the cause i would try that, before following the vet. Because most puppy food, is made with chicken. Which is the most common sensitivity. And you don’t have to feed puppy food because its for puppy’s, the only thing you should avoid is the ones that say adult food. So a good food to go for, is grain free, high quality meat, no mysterious meat, no colouring, no starch. Most of the time vet tests come up negative or inconclusive. Also, sometimes it is the way the food is processed in dry food that your dog can react to. In which case, try raw, it is more expensive, but it is fantastic. Vets go against it because they get a day training of nutrition provided from the big company brands at the vet. And they have to meet a quota each month as well.. Id say try raw and if you are worried that it is not nutrionally balance (because all vets will tell you different), get nupro gold, it has all the vitamins a dog needs.

[Courtney A]

Hi I feed premade raw and I also try to feed without synthetic vitamins as well and I know Primal and small batch do not use any synthetic vitamins and use organic veggies and fruits. Also Vital essentials they are prey model no veggies or fruit. I also just started trying a company called the bones and co. Hope these suggestions help!

[Shelby J]

Hi All!

I’m very new to the raw diet. I have 2 10 week old Golden Retrievers and now that we know they can tolerate the food (we’ve been mainly feeding them chicken and an egg (1) daily) I’m ready to move on to new protein sources and menus to make sure they get a balanced meal. I’ve seen some of the menu’s posted on here and it all seems really confusing and complicated. We aren’t overloaded with extra time but I want to make sure they get what they need. Anyone have simple, sample menus for puppies? Kilo is about 20 pounds and Murph is about 17.

Thanks!!

[Heidi B]

In your “Editors Choice Puppy Foods for January 2017” you list Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Puppy as appropriate for large breed puppies.
However, in your review of the product, you clearly state “Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Puppy appears to be suitable for small and medium breed puppies only. This recipe may not be appropriate for larger breeds.”

[Cannoli]

Hi,

There is Hare Today Gone Tomorrow, Miamia Raw, My pet Carnivore which offer pre-made raw with no vitamins added.

You can then buy all natural none synthetic vitamins online at Amazon that you can add to the pre-mad raw from the above suppliers such as Animal Essentials Herbal Multi-Vitamin

[Stephanie W]

I’m wanting to switch my dogs to a pre-made raw diet. I have been home cooking for them for about a month now and they are doing fantastically on it! However, it is very time consuming and seems to be about as expensive as a raw pre-made.
I really do not want to put synthetic vitamins or carbs back into their system though.
Is there a balanced pre-made that does not use synthetic vitamins/minerals and has little to no carbs? <10g

Thanks!

[Jean R]

I have the same story as Kelly: 6 lb Parti Pom with collapsing trachea (taking Lomotil), hypothyroid (.1mg bid), seizures (Keppra 0.6 TID), knee issues, hair issues and she is diabetic getting 0.5U of N TID. She is on raw diet of meat, I mix in blender: 2 eggs with crushed shell, 1 can of green beans, 1 can pumpkin, 1 can of spinach, 1 banana, 10 blueberries, 1 tsp concentrated OJ, 1/2 Quinoa (Just added for fiber/protein). Garlic And anything else I have like broccoli/low cal high fiber, little or no sugar foods. Once a smoothe, she eats anything mixed in her meat. Her Frutosamines have been low and she went from 2U N to 0.5u but she still went into DKA with over 10000.00 ICU bill. We are not looking at frutosamine any more. I check her urine daily and if she has ketones, I add o.5u to her regimen. She is on it now after high ketone and high glucose reads last week. Her curve was done and she was in the 300s dropping to below 200 at noon and then back up to almost 400 at 5p. Her norm goal is to be under 250. We started her on the extra 0.5u and she is now maintaining 250-500 glucose and no ketones. I am told that she will always have 250 glucose but I get her to negative a lot. The good thing is that we avoided the ICU, the bad thing is that she has lost from 6lbs to 5.2lbs. I try and keep her just under 6lbs. Today she is 5.5lbs. She had been in the 8-9lb area when I started looking at her reasons and found all the above. (her seizures are from a fall down 22 steps, running out the door when a friend opened it to leave). I now feed her 1/4 raw (duck, rabbit, venison, quail-she is allergic to beef) at 6-7 am with insulin (her choice, definitely not mine), either goat milk (a tablespoon) or cottage cheese (a dab) with insulin at 1-2pm since she falls low then and again at 6-7 1/4 cup raw and at 9pm another snack and 0.5U of insulin…so today she is 250 glucose and no ketone urine dip. and has been relatively there for 3 days. I came here to see if there is anything else I can do for this little angel of 10.5 years. I think I will give her pumpkin for snacks, she is on a probiotic, 1/2 canine health and 1/4 tsp mangosteen as well as a small amount of milk thistle. She gets no rabies and her titer is high coverage (that is a total vet racket and kills off their internal organs and give seizures) and no other shots. I have pet protector which seems like voodoo but no one has had fleas the last 3 years so it works, I stopped fostering because she has become so protective of me, I can not work with the dogs in a healthy manner, she has a yorkie sibling that is on thyroid meds and stopped seizures after I fostered him and stopped all the shots/flea stuff. Any suggestions you have for weight gain (and anything else) I would be thankful,

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Jean R.

[Cannoli]

When I started sneaking veggies into my dogs food I invested in a good blender. I am a fan of sneaking veggies into my homemade dog food as it provides an additional plethora of vitamins that meat can not provide.

I normally feed him 1 large tablespoon per meal. My pup gets two meals a day.

Here is an example of one of the smoothies I make. I rotate veggies every 3 weeks. This makes enough for 3 weeks

large sweet squash roasted in the oven with extra virgin coconut oil- Squash has sweetness that sweetens up the veggie mix and most dogs like a little sweetness in their life.
Organic raw apple
Package of blueberries
Spirulina- This is blue-green algea loaded with minerals and has naturally occurring salt
Mother’s apple cider vinegar
Fresh tumeric root
Fresh ginger
Some fresh parsley
Alfalfa sprouts
Pumpkin seeds
Some organic supplement powder that covers any other vitamins I might be missing.

It taste good to me. It has a hint of sweetness, a little bit of saltiness from the spriulina, and a wonderful coconut apple cider tumeric aroma.

[InkedMarie]

Pamela,
If you go to the Hare Today website, click on “raw food education” (it’s a picture of a cat wearing glasses) then click feeding dogs. Tracey, the owner, says if you feed a variety, all you need is salmon or anchovy oil. I feed strictly Hare and use salmon oil, joint supplements and I feed egg 2-3x weekly.
Tracey is very helpful; email her and she will answer your questions. Remember to do a review, send in pictures, ‘like” Hare on fb to earn points that give you money off future orders!

[Pamela C]

Is it recommended to supplement with hare today? I’m planning on doing half kibble & half raw. I ordered a pretty good selection of protein but I’m just paranoid about giving her too much bone or not enough organ.

[zcRiley]

Answers Pet Food (stated above) has whey in it. Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. Just FYI, it’s from milk. Butter is also listed as an ingredient.

ZiwiPeak air dried formulas of beef, lamb or venison is your best bet if you don’t want to mess with raw. As long as your pet isn’t allergic to mussels. It’s been known to reverse or stabilize diseases. Expensive but worth it.

[elaine c]

Answers Pet food is wonderful even if you do not have those allergies… it has nothing in it that you mentioned. It is a very high quality raw dog food. It is a national dog food and you can check it out on the dogfoodadvisor.com page. It is all fermented and so good for the gut.. I think the best food on the market… kibble is not great.. it is processed. Even the best. Good luck. Elaine

[Stan C]

Soulty Raw is a high quality dog food provider in my area which has no review from dog food advisor. Does anyone have experience with their product line? http://www.soulyraw.com.

I have a 1 year old male Golden. I want him to have the very best to keep healthy and happy.

Thank you

[Jan D]

Kristen, I am sorry to hear that your pup had problems after giardia as well. It is so hard to watch them get sick over and over, and not have any answers. I think it must really destroy the gut, not to mention being on metronidazole, which I know kills all the good bacteria.

I have been wondering lately if he might have one of the bad bacteria, like Clostridium or Cryptosporidium. I know they can cause the same type of symptoms. I don’t think they routinely test for bacteria on a regular fecal exam, and the next time I talk to my vet I will ask him about it.

He is still pooping a LOT on the TOTW food. They range from firm, to soft serve throughout the day. He has been on it for a little over a week now. Do you think things should have regulated at this point if this food was going to work for him? He used to eat raw, so I’m sure it is taking his body a little time to get used to digesting kibble. His body is almost reacting as if I am overfeeding, but he is still not eating the full amount my vet wants me to get into him daily.

I did ask the vet about the excessive pooping, and he said he didn’t want to change anything at the moment because he has put on a little weight (he needs to gain a few pounds) and has more energy. I do agree that those are positive things, but pooping that much (8 times yesterday!) has to be a sign that something isn’t quite right. He said as long as they are somewhat formed, that it is ok.

I guess I will just keep things as they are for the moment and hope that he starts to regulate on this food. I do have an appointment to see a new Holistic Vet in a few weeks, so it will be interesting to see what he has to say about diet.

[Naturella]

Hi, Krista!

I feed my dog Bruno “soups” for every meal. He gets his dry kibble and a topper that varies at each meal, whether it is canned food, dehydrated/freeze-dried raw, or some other topper, such as coconut or fish oil, yoghurt/kefir/goat milk, raw egg, or canned sardines, and add warm water, stir it all together, and serve him the soup. He loves it! He has been eating soups for years now, precisely because of the added hydration.

[Krista B]

Try fruitables, it’s a digestive supplement. Also perfect form by honest kitchen is a good one. Sometimes adding some calcium will firm up loose stools. For example in canned whole sardines there are soft bones that provide calcium. Also RMB’s (raw meaty bones) will work.

[Jeanne M]

I have been feeding Vital Essentials Raw and Freeze Dried Raw. My Shelties are thriving on it and I think it is an exceptional dog food. There are no grains, fillers, veggies, etc. Just meat, bones and organ meat. Please check it out! It’s awesome!