[Pitlove]

Hi Ptcbass- Very sorry for your loss. I can’t say whether or not the rX food caused the loss of your pet. My cat was on Royal Canin SO for a UTI, but he died 2 years after I put him on it.

Zignature is an excellent dry kibble to look at. It’s certified low glycemic and grain and potato free. Primal Freeze Dried is an organic freeze dried raw food that might also meet your needs and for a small dog, wouldn’t be too expensive to feed.

http://www.zignature.com/product_range_dog_dry.html

Goat Milk <br> Select Variety

edit: as an aside, if she needs to drop a couple pounds, just feed for her ideal (target) weight and current activity level. She needs to burn more calories than she takes in to get back to a healthy weight.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by Pitlove.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Ptcbass:
Sorry for your loss.

My dog is prone to gaining a little weight during hot weather. During these periods I find feeding low fat foods along with exercising him in the morning and evenings help keep him trim; he doesn’t like hot weather. I feed about half kibble and to get more moisture in his diet I add either canned, commercial frozen/freeze dried raw, or fresh/homemade foods. I try to choose kibble, commercial raw, or canned that are equal in protein and fat calories or a little more calories from protein than fat.

I feed Fromm Gold Weight management in my rotation and you may want to take a look at Annamaet Lean or Wellness Core Weight Management. I feed both the kibble and canned of the Core Weight Management.

[InkedMarie]

My dog had yeasty paws & yeast ear infections and they cleared up when put on ground raw, no produce.

[Debra F]

I am beginning to think my two-year-old black lab pit mix has a potato allergy. She has one ear that gets very dirty and smelly. She has been on Back to Basics Lamb and Potato as her main dry food (I supplement with other flavors). As we all know by now B2B is going to stop producing dog food by the end of the year so I have been researching other quality, limited ingredient foods. It is nearly impossible to find a dry food that does not contain potatoes.

Additionally, I believe she has a problem with berries. When we first got her we put her on Blue Wilderness grain-free which contained berries. She had very back digestive problems so we then switched her to B2B.

Has anyone had issues with both potatoes and berries? I am not putting my dogs on a raw diet so please do not suggest this.

Thanks!

[Bobby dog]

What a terrible story, but a happy ending! That is a great budget for kibble IMO.

The protein & fat %’s in Puppy Chow are average, the fiber might be just a little more than other kibbles depending on what recipe you’re feeding. It averages 27% protein, 10-12% min. fat, and 4-5% fiber. Sometimes changes in any of these percentages can cause digestive upset. Something to keep in mind when deciding on a new food. Kibble in higher price ranges usually have a higher meat content so protein and fat percentages will go up along with calories per cup. One other thing to keep in mind is overfeeding can also cause digestive upset. If he is skin and bones I would work with my Vet to figure out the calories he needs to add healthy weight in a reasonable amount of time.

Check out Victor you should find several formulas to fit your needs within your budget; maybe the Chicken Meal w/Brown Rice. Looking at the Mitchell’s site I see they sell Purina Mills, Inc. They may sell their dog food lines, PMI Nutrition. I feed some recipes from their Infinia and Exclusive lines, these would be in your price range.

I also feed Nutrisource, Fromm, Precise, some Pro Plan recipes, Annamaet, Wellness Core, Nature’s Variety, and Rawz.

If you decide to buy on-line I regularly order from Chewy, Petflow, PetSmart, and Petco. They all have great customer service and prices.

I don’t feed Diamond products at this time due to their recall history; they make Taste of the Wild and manufacture some Solid Gold recipes along with some other brands. They have allot of affordable foods, if you decide to feed one of their products or anything they manufacture I suggest signing up for recall alerts:
/dog-food-recall-alerts/

I recommend adding moisture to kibble even if it’s just water. Adding fresh or canned foods could help with his weight. Some budget friendly canned foods are Wal-Mart’s Pure Balance Stews ($1/can), Tractor Supply Company 4Health Stews (.99/can), and if you have a Costco membership Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain (.80/can) you have to buy it by the case. Each are 4-5 star DFA rated. I don’t recommend Pure Balance 95% or 4Health Grain free canned foods due to the high fat content.

This is a download I use as a guide for adding fresh foods to a kibble diet:
https://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK

[Eugene G]

i adopted a 3 year old mastiff from an acquaintance. he was on raw diet and i continued it. The previous owner was feeding him 2.5 lbs. he was and i still am getting food from Armalinosk9. its human grade meet 70% meet 30% ground bones. i get chicken, beef and duck from them. i also add chicken feet, turkey necks, beef liver, chicken hearts and once in a while i add veggies and fruits ( 1/2 frozen apples grinded, sometimes i add a little of my veggie/fruit shakes(no grapes), a little cauliflower or a little carrots grinded, bananas etc). i also add a spoon of organic coconut butter every few days and also add “Natural Hip & Joint Supplement for Dogs with Organic Turmeric, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM – 90 Count Chewable ” that i purchase on amazon as it was what previous owner did.
my boy is healthy and i experienced no problems with him for last 5 month.
i am wondering if there is anything missing in his diet. don’t want to neglect an important ingredient or end up with vitamin deficient dog. i appreciate your input.

[Susan]

Hi, I live in Australia so we have different brands, my boy has IBD Colitis (food sensitivities)every time I give Patch a probiotic he feels sick, I’ve read there’s a die off period, just keep taking the probiotics but I stopped I couldn’t handle watching Patch feel sick licking & licking his mouth & eating grass, so a lady at the pet shop said give him Papaya (Paw Paw) so I mashed up 1/2 a Papaya & put the mashed papaya in ice cube & froze, I was giving Patch 1 thawed ice cube of the papaya about 10.30am after our walked he loved it, at first I thought Patch was OK but again he started his mouth licking & eating grass…
I found a good dog probiotic had to be stored in the fridge or kept under 25 degrees so the heat doesn’t kill the live bacteria…also Tripe, tripe is excellent, Patch tried the K-9Natural Lamb Green Tripe was really good… K-9 Natural has their Raw frozen or their freeze dried Green Lamb Tripe, the smell was OK not as bad as I thought it would be…..Patch loved it but it made him feel sick….

My vet said she went to a seminar & the lady said they tested 10 popular dog probiotics & only 3 had live cultures Purina Fortiflora was suppose to be good, she didn’t mention the probiotics that weren’t good my vet said, I said if Patch doesn’t feel sick then its no good…

I joined a group on Face Book called “Fast Track Diet” (Official Group) run by Dr Norm Robillard he’s specializes in IBS SIBO Leaky Gut Acid Reflux etc
& has written a book called “Fast Tract Digestion” its for humans but I’d say a dog would have similar bowel & stomach problems with certain foods, he said it’s best to take probiotics on an empty stomach when your Hydrochloric Acid is low, either first thing in the morning or night just before bed & not with food….

I found this link what each strain of bacteria is for & what it helps Lactobacillus GG (L.rhamnosus) protects against respiratory illness, treats candida, colitis and diarhea, reduces stress and anxiety.. http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/how-to-choose-good-probiotic-supplement.html

[Patti S]

My dog does better on Pork than he does with Chicken! I use tenderloin fillets and I trim the fat.
You won’t find a large difference between the calories in pork tenderloin, ham, bone-in pork chops, and skinless chicken breasts, legs and thighs. Pork tenderloin has the fewest, with 93 calories in a 3-ounce serving, while ham contains 116 calories, which is the highest of the six samples. All six provide about the same amount of protein: 16 to 19 grams in 3 ounces.
You should thoroughly cook all pork, so don’t use it if you feed your dog a raw diet. But once cooked, Pork in itself is as harmless to dogs as chicken, beef or any other meat.
That said, if you would like to feed Pork raw, it is recommended that it be frozen for 3 weeks to kill potential parasites.

[C4D]

Hi Colby C,

There are several sites that have balanced homemade recipes, including dogaware, as InkedMarie mentioned. Whole Dog Journal has recipes. I’m a subscriber but I think the articles can be accessed for free. Balanceit is another helpful website.

There are also several books with balanced diets including See Spot Live Longer and Dr. Becker too.

The most important thing is to make sure the diet is balanced. I tend to use premixes like Grandma Lucy’s, The Honest Kitchen, etc to add to the cooked meat at feeding time. I cook enough meat to last several days. Crock pots are great for this purpose. InkedMarie is right, commercial raw is very easy, but it is expensive when you have multiple large dogs. Good luck with it!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by C4D.

[InkedMarie]

DogAware dot com has info on homemade. I don’t have the time or inclination to homecook. I feed ground raw (has meat, bone, organs & most have tripe). Can’t get any easier: put bowl on scale; tare it. Scoop food in. Add salmon oil (plus joint supps for one), eggs 3x weekly aand feed.

[Kathryn M]

I believe Only Natural Pet Grain-Free MaxMeat Air Dried Dog Food, it seem to have a high percent of meat protein along with organ meat, ground bone and other good stuff.
I also have a question about a raw food All Provide out of GA, I do not see it on the web site at all. Have you had the chance to evaluate this product?
Thank You

[DogFoodie]

Most vets don’t have much training in nutrition. Unless yours is a veterinary nutritionist, I would take their food recommendations with a grain of salt. My vet typically only recommends raw diets.

My recommendation is that you find a food that you like and is high quality and to which your dog doesn’t react. You also need to look at the fiber content and is if the anal glad issue is fiber responsive.

[Jenn H]

I often feed my dogs combo and change their food every 3-4 months. It’s been great as far as avoiding recalls and it helps them create their own good bacteria. The body gets used to the same food.

Right now I have a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy. And I have been dealing with diarrhea off & on. I found out it could be due to teething. They produce more saliva. That ends up in the stomach and what comes out isn’t pleasant.
I gave him pumpkin, bland diet and probio. It helps.

Now I am giving him raw unpasteurized goat milk. So far so good.

The only thing is I am very careful about his calcium intake. He is not to exceed 1.5% per day. Even that is higher than I like. I try to keep it around 1-1.2% max.
I hate doing the math, but I know how important it is to control his growth. It’s important large breed puppies do not grow too fast.

Orijen is an excellent food. I am changing him to Acana. Orijen is a little out of my price range right now.

I would suggest that if you need to give him rice for diarrhea in the future that it be white rice not brown. The brown can be too much work to digest when their bellies aren’t feeling well. I used to give brown also until I was corrected.

Whatever direction you go in just be sure to keep track of the daily calcium amounts. Stay as close to 1% as possible. I believe the guidelines are .75-1.5%.
Often this mean contacting the dog food companies and asking what the MAX amt is in their food. They often list min amt if at all.

[Jenn H]

I really love that site. It convinced me to try the goat milk for my dogs. The only pet store that sells raw milk only carries Primal. They love it.
I was hoping it may be an alternative to giving glucosamine & chondroitin supplements. I have a horse that gets so many supps I hoped to avoid that with my large breed dogs as they get older.
One of my girls is having a flare up of her Lyme. The vet suggested she not have the milk until she finishes her treatment. This time we are giving her Minocycline instead of Doxycycline since the side effects were too much for her.

I’m not sure if I want to stop giving her the milk. It has anti-inflammatory properties and good bacteria. But I also don’t want to mess up the antibiotic.
The vets at this hospital are amazing, but I don’t think they all keep up with the latest & greatest natural stuff. I’ll be contacting my integrated vet today.

Thanks for the suggestions. Even if Chevelle has to wait for her Lyme to go into remission before she can begin the goat milk, I can still give it to the puppy and my other girl.

[C4D]

Hi Trevor V,

I’m just curious, do you only feed one formula of the Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost? There are several different proteins. As DF said, it could be an intolerance to a particular protein, or possibly something in the food that is causing a soft stool, if that’s the case. Stools that are too soft and/or loose or too small and dry can cause the anal gland issue, which is why I suggested adding pumpkin. You can add any type of fiber, as long as it works. It is highly possible that NV Instinct just doesn’t work for your dog. Just an FYI, the three foods recommended by your vets are all made by the 3 most common vet formulas. Hillspet, Purina and Royal Canin. I’m not saying use or don’t use, but that’s probably why those brands were recommended by your vet(s). It’s likely that’s what they’re most familiar with. It’s up to you to decide what works for your dog.

Red,

I’m not sure why you included the skeptvet links as neither of these links have any direct articles on anal gland issues. Your link on the “oops” comment leads to a search engine for DFA anal gland discussions rather than an actual discussion.

It seems that you simply like to discredit any alternative or natural methods other than what you believe in. I’m not sure if the “Dr. Google” reference was to me, but if it was…….I have spent many years owning and fostering a lot of dogs with many different conditions, including CCL, liver and kidney disease, every type of worm and parasite, broken teeth, and a host of other medical problems, too many to list. I’ve also dealt with a lot of personal and foster dogs with social issues as well, involving a lot of time with trainers. I’ve used MANY vets, both for my dogs and whatever vets are used by the various rescues. I think there is value to both the traditional and alternative methods of treatment. I’ve used both and have found that both have flaws and both have value. I’ve had vets completely misdiagnose a dog or be spot on and I’ve had natural and/or alternative methods cure in a much less toxic way or not work. There is room for both.

[C4D]

Hi Judith B,

I cook for my dogs frequently, but it’s always fresh, not canned, meat with a few organic veggies, generally carrots, celery and fresh parsley, sometimes broccoli or squash, depending on what I have in the garden or is on sale, NO SALT. I add this to a premix, like The Honest Kitchen, Sojos, or Grandma Lucy’s, which has the vitamins added. I also feed my dog’s a regular diet of commercial kibble, canned or raw that are complete and balanced.

I appreciate that you want to provide some healthy fresh cooked food for your dogs, but, IMHO, I don’t think you should be adding canned soup and broth. There’s a lot of sodium in those and dogs (or people) don’t need that much sodium. Regular Swanson a whole can has about 50% of the normal human daily intake. Tomato soup is also high in sodium, I just linked Campbell’s, but I’m an avid label reader and they all tend to have about 33% or better per serving, which is less than 1/2 the can.

http://swanson.campbellskitchen.com/broth/beef-broth/

http://www.campbellsoup.com/Products/Condensed/All/2341

This is the nutrition data of Cheese Whiz. I didn’t know which one you use, but they are all very similar in salt content. This is for 2 tbsp, not the whole jar, which would be a lot more.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/160/2

These are not healthy products to be adding to your dog’s diet. If you want to add some broth, cook fresh meat with a bit of water and use the cooking water as the broth. I do this all the time. I even use it as stock to make soups for my family.

I truly appreciate what you are trying to do for your dogs, but if you keep it to some fresh meat and vegetables in the crock pot, your dogs will be much healthier. I would still use this as a topper to a balanced dog food to keep your animals in the best of health. The balanceIt website, Whole Dog Journal, or dogaware has some recipes to give you an idea of what a balanced meal or supplement to their diet should look like. Good Luck!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by C4D.

[Trevor V]

Hey all,

I’m new to the forum and I need some help. We’ve been feeding our dog (Schnauzer/Powderpuff Cross) Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost (Dry) for about a year now. She has some anal gland problems and our vet has recommended we change her food and that a food that is too high in protein may not be good for her. She has recommended Hills Ideal BAlance, Purina Pro Plan, or Royal Canin. They don’t sell any of these brands, so I don’t believe she’s recommending them for financial reasons. These foods all rate MUCH lower on your site than what we’re currently feeding her.

Can anyone help me parse this out? 2 different vets have both said those 3 are all good foods and that our dog would do well on them but this site rates them all poorly. I don’t think that either this site or the vets are trying to mislead us so I’m confused as to what to do.

[Jenn H]

I have added oatmeal, meats, liver, canned foods to my dog’s kibble when the weather gets cold to add a little extra insulation. They basically have a summer weight & winter weight.
My new favorite thing is raw goat milk. I’m starting them on that today. It worked wonders for the hand raised pups. Especially the runt who we wouldn’t have saved if not for that goat milk. I swear by it after seeing how he thrived. At the time I couldn’t find raw goat milk so they had pasteurized. All went home very healthy.
I’ve also been told that Senior food isn’t really necessary unless you have a dog that tends to become overweight due to age. Sounds like your dog would be fine on regular adult.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by Jenn H.

[Jenn H]

Thank you for the reply.
I did find Primal raw milk at a specialty pet store!!!!
The dogs will be starting it today!

It’s good to know that the other is acceptable should I not be able to get a hold of the raw.
Seeing how well the babies did on the pasteurized I am looking forward to seeing if the real deal works better.
I kept 1 of the pups that I fed the pasteurized milk to. He loved that kind so I have no doubt he’ll love this.
Now I have to do the calcium math. Ugh. Large breed puppy.

[DogFoodie]

Meant to make this suggestion earlier, but got busy at work during lunch. Have you ever tried raw, green tripe to entice your pup to eat as well? They love it! It smells awful and is full of wonderful, healthy stuff like enzymes.

[InkedMarie]

I know nothing about cooking for dogs, I feed raw but I cannot imagine why any dog needs tomato soup & cheese spread. you’d be smart to work with a nutritionist or holistic vet for a balanced diet or contact Lew Olsen at B-Naturals dot com or Mary Straus at DogAware dot com.

[Pamela S]

I chuckled when I read you post. I rotate my dogs kibble every day with a different 5 star brand. So every 5 days my dogs get a different kibble. Like you I also have my magic elixir I like to add, like you I make it in big batches and freeze. Mine is close, different meets cooked in water, organic vegetables. I have 4 dogs two rescues Sammi 9 lbs, Quinn 20 lbs and two Bernese Mountain Dogs. I am most concerned with the BMD’s because of their size, I want to keep them healthy so I am always researching, feeling guilty about not having them on a raw food diet, reading various web sites of feeding and generally driving myself crazy in the process of feeling like I am not doing enough for them.

So I posted on a BMD website and asked for advice, because the breed is not know for longevity (9 years) So I question people who had 10 years and older BMD’s what they attributed longevity to. The answer surprised me. I was sure I would pick up feeding tips. But the most prevalent answer was: it is just the luck of the draw. Some had dogs that lived long lives, some were short. It didn’t matter that they were all fed the same. Some people reported they did the raw diet and the dog died young while others that they fed cheap food to live to ripe old ages. Again and again the answer boiled down to luck of the draw.

So that made me try to not be so neurotic over food. I think what you are doing is great. I think the most important things are to keep them slim, as few shots as possible, and plenty of love. I am no expert, but that is pretty much the advice I got from knowledgeable owners.

Pamela

[Ryan L]

Hello,
We have a 1 year and 3 month year old female Maltese Yorkshire Yorkshire Terrier Mix named Lennon. She is the light of our life, very smart and playful but has had a delicate tummy from day one. The breeder we got her from was feeding her Purina’s and we switched her quickly to Fromm Gold Holistic Puppy Dry Dog Food. She did well with that but eventually got disinterested and was not eating often enough so we tried most of the flavors such as the Surf & Turf, Lamb & Lentils etc. Between the switching she would often get diarrhea but no idea if it was from her food or not. We did practice switching her food gradually instead of just introducing a brand new food right away. Every so often she would get a bout of diarrhea and we would feed her chicken and rice with a little low sodium chicken broth to soothe her tummy. She has never had a problem when we make her chicken and rice but we are hoping we don’t have to feed her that every day.

About 2 weeks ago she got real sick and was throwing up, eating grass, waking up in the middle night with bad diarrhea and we took her to the vet. They suggested we switch her food again so this time around we went with Prarie Gold Adult Grain-Free: http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#prairie-gold-adult. She has been on this for about a week and her poops are very soft often diarrhea so we are back to square 1… Sigh.

We are recent members on this site and still a bit overwhelmed with the choices if we go with a different brand a ll together. We have a Chuck and Don’s by our house and they mentioned Zignature but did not see that one included in the editors best of. I should also note we did try Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet Dry but took it back after a day once we learned it was bought out by Purina. Our Lennon is very small (5 pounds)1 year and 3 month year old Morkie with a sensitive tummy and often picky. I am thinking about taking back her current Prairie Gold Adult Grain-Free (we got this because we thought the grain free limited ingredient might help) and starting over with a different brand. If anyone has any suggestions for a dry non raw food we would love to hear it!
Cheers,
Ryan & Anna Luse

[Shawna]

Red,

First – Jan I’m not suggesting in my comments below to Red that you feed anything you are not comfortable with, I’m simply responding to Red’s Skeptvet quoted material.

I do like much of the information you gave the OP but your persistent backlash towards alternative approaches DESPITE being provided with science and sources showing results etc is nothing less than propaganda for everything allopathic. Which is also evident in the fact that you have no other sources than Skeptvet — one man’s opinions.

Let’s not forget that Skeptvet is not a nutritionist either yet he writes “unconventional, approaches to pet nutrition, such as raw diets, grain free foods, homemade diets, a preference for organic ingredients, and so on, to dismiss objections to these approaches made by veterinarians.” Yet he’s doing the very same thing by trying to cast a bad light on these “unconventional approaches” when some of his peers (some of whom ARE nutritionists) recommend those very diets. Let’s take a look shall we

Dr. Meg Smart not only is a veterinary nutritionist but she TAUGHT veterinary nutrition. She recommends homemade (raw or cooked) and likens kibble to feeding your kids “kraft dinners and the likes”. She writes “I always ask clients” what do you or did you feed your children” if they reply “Kraft dinners and the likes” I do not advise a homemade diet.” – See more at: http://www.angryvet.com/angryvet-nutrition-interview-drs-joseph-wakshlag-and-meg-smart/#sthash.dc3Xl7e0.dpuf Dr. Smarts course, by the way, is an “elective” course. Vets at her school are not required to take her course. “Dr. Smart has taught a small animal nutrition elective course to fourth-year veterinary students since 1994.” https://www.usask.ca/wcvm/wcvm_people/profiles/Smart_Marion%20Meg.php

Or then there is veterinary nutritionist Dr. Susan Wynn who also recommends homemade diets. “Homemade diets are flexible, tasty and in some cases healthier than over the counter dog and cat foods. For some pets with multiple medical conditions, a homemade diet offers the only hope for meeting complex nutritional requirements.” http://www.susanwynn.com/Formulated_Diets.php

The Marvistavet link I posted above suggesting a homemade diet, although not a nutritionist, is a veterinary website.

Although not technically a nutritionist, as far as I know, Dr. Elizabeth Hodkins did work for Hills per her Linkedin page so I’m counting her. She too recommends homemade (and raw). Dr. Smart and Dr. Hodkins co-wrote the book “Not Fit for a Dog!: The Truth about Manufactured Cat and Dog Food” http://www.amazon.com/Not-Fit-Dog-Truth-Manufactured/dp/1610351495

Dr. Smart has some interesting data on science and pet food. She writes
“A recent article “Science under Siege” although about pharmaceutical research(Discover Magazine Oct2007)) reflects what is happening in the pet food industry . Private funding to academic institutions by big pharmaceutical companies is allowing science to become a powerful tool in their fight against regulation. Research in small animal nutrition has been traditionally underfunded or more accurately seldom funded by independent granting agencies. This has left the field wide open for the pet food industry to control and direct the research done in an academic institution, and within their own facilities. Research into pet foods is seldom at “arm’s length”.

The validity of trials conducted on dogs and cats kept in a kennel or research facility is questioned, as these animals do not have the same freedoms and human bonding experiences of the pets kept within a home environment. Most nutritional trials on companion animals are only valid for that particular group, maintained under the same conditions, fed identical diets. Even the results from the relatively simple non invasive digestibility, palatability and feeding trials done in kennels or catteries specifically established and approved to conduct these trials have come under scrutiny when environment, previous diet, gender, breed and age differences are considered.” http://petnutritionbysmart.blogspot.com/2013/11/evaluating-nutritional-research.html

I’m interested on your thoughts on these points I’ve presented.

[Anonymous]

What do Veterinarians Know About Nutrition?

“It is not unusual for people promoting unconventional, approaches to pet nutrition, such as raw diets, grain free foods, homemade diets, a preference for organic ingredients, and so on, to dismiss objections to these approaches made by veterinarians. These people will often claim that veterinarians know little about nutrition and that what they do know is mostly propaganda fed to them by commercial pet food manufacturers. Like most bad arguments, this one contains a few bits of truth mixed in with lots of unproven assumptions and fallacies”.

Click on link for full article, also, I find the comments for these articles informative too.

[C4D]

Shawna,

You do rock. When my old boy was diagnosed with CRF, my vet suggested the Balanceit website, along with some homemade recipes, when I said K/D was not an option. I did my own research and found dogaware and the CRF FB page. I never realized that Balanceit’s protein was so low! When I was referring to tripe, I meant frozen raw, not the vitamin enhanced version.

Also, for Sheila23, you can’t use the bleached human version found in grocery stores.

LOL on the typos and grammatical errors. If I’m ever accused of editing my comments, that would be the reason why! 😉

[TheNaturalDog]

Long story short, yes. IMO, some is always better than none when it comes to raw feeding/drinking. If you can’t get raw milk and the pups did well on pasteurized, well done.

[Shawna]

Hi Sheila23,

Although a homemade diet is absolutely doable I would do a LOT more research before you decide on any one brand. Example — Tripe is a great food for kd dogs but it is supposedly already balanced in calcium to phosphorus. Adding a premix like Preference, that is designed to balance higher phosphorus meat, could be problematic. Although phosphorus needs to be watched, you can go too low too early in the disease.

Balance IT could be an option but I personally wouldn’t have fed my KD girl such a low protein diet (ESPECIALLY in the early stages). Based on the nutrient profile of their beef and rice early stage kd diet the protein amount is only 15.3%. That’s ridiculously low for early stage kd without any complicating issues like proteinuria. Not even enough to meet the minimum protein amounts required for an a complete and balanced diet. They also use corn oil — EEEEKK. The chicken & rice recipe is even worse at 14.9% protein.

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend looking at Darwin’s prescription KD diet formulated by vet Dr. Barbara Royal. The ingredient list is
“Human-Grade Meat: Beef Meat, Beef Tripe, Beef Pancreas, Beef Lungs, Beef Kidneys, Beef Liver, Beef Heart, Beef Spleen.

Vegetables: Cabbage, Celery, Squash, Sweet Potato, Beets, Romaine Lettuce.

Special Nutrient Mix: Filtered Water (for processing), Sardine oil (source of EPA, DPA and DHA), Egg Shell Powder, Parsley, Apple Cider Vinegar, Inulin, Cornsilk, Dandelion Root, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Linden Flowers, , Chitosan, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3, Aloe Vera.” http://www.darwinspet.com/our-raw-foods/our-raw-dog-food/intelligent-design-ks/

I LOVE that you are starting Alvin on Standard Process Renal Support. It is the one supplement that my Audrey NEVER did without since diagnosis. She had KD from birth (symptoms showed at just 6 weeks of age) but she wasn’t diagnosed till she was 13 months old. She was given one year to live after that. She lived to almost her ninth birthday and it was an infection that took her life not the normal progression of kidney disease.

Some other things to look at for Alvin — purified water (as much as he wants), extra water soluble vitamins if he urinates large volumes of water. A high quality probiotic and a prebiotic made with acacia fiber helps to clear BUN etc from the blood allowing for higher protein to be fed or simply helps clear BUN when necessary. This is called “nitrogen trapping”. Giving Evian (or another higher calcium, lower sodium mineral water) has been shown to be beneficial for kidney disease. I did give my Audrey fresh, raw garlic most of her life. I still believe that if I hadn’t gotten lazy and quit giving it to her near the end of her life she wouldn’t have developed the severe infection that ended up damaging her kidneys and taking her life. Enzymes to help with the digestion of his food. Certain supplements and herbs can be helpful — spirulina provides many nutrients, food grade activated charcoal given off an on in small amounts can help clear toxins, organic turmeric helps with inflammation and also helps prevent scar tissue (works best when combined with pepper or the enzyme bromelain from pineapple). Chlorella is a wonderful detoxer and it helps build red blood cells due to the high amounts of chlorphyll in it. Apple cider vinegar can help with indigestion (fed with food in small amounts or given via syringe but must be diluted first). Ginger extract and therapeutic grade peppermint oil can help with nausea (later in the illness). I also recently read that there is other therapeutic grade essential oils that can help the kidneys but I don’t remember the particulars of the article. Vet Dr. Melissa Shelton would be the person to seek out if wanting to incorporate essential oils.

I was lucky with Audrey, she was able to eat commercial raw products clear up to a few months before she passed. I’m not sure if that was because of the supplements, being fed raw from weaning or what but she did quite well. Possibly look at lower phosphorus commercial foods and then add small amounts of low phosphorus toppers (lightly cooked egg whites and coconut oil as an example) to keep the calories up while lowering the overall phosphorus even more. There are some great nutritionists out there as well that could be quite beneficial to you and Alvin.

Hoping Alvin does as well as, or better than, my Audrey!!!

Thank you Marie!

[Jenn H]

I know there’s a ton of benefits to giving raw goat milk to dogs. However, in my state it’s very difficult to find and very expensive when you do manage to find it.
When I helped hand raise a litter this summer we fed the pups the only readily available goat milk. It was pasteurized. But they all thrived while on it.
I understand the pasteurization process takes away/lessens the good qualities of raw, but would it still be better to give them that than none at all?

[InkedMarie]

I once had two smooth fox terriers; wonderful girls! Snowflake, are you in the US? If yes, i can give you links to where I buy raw but they aronly in the US.

[SNOWFLAKE]

HEY …ANYONE HERE USING HARDY PET. ? heard its real good but not sure //… I have a boxer and a fox terrier. Give them a calcium supplement and salmon oil. Feed kibble as of now bt planning to divide the meals . 1/2 Raw and other kibble. Maybe will have days for both. Please share some recipes for a 2month old fox terrier .. he eats 4times a day so little confused how to divide the food, ..

[SNOWFLAKE]

Thank you Jonathan.!!!! Really appreciate all your help. Will try these recipes soon . and as for c4D wasnt sure of the time difference and really sorry to have bothered you.Its just that i am super careful and excited about my wynn and his new diet so couldnt be patient. Take care and thank you for your time and effort. Aimee, I didnt notice you dont feed raw ..its all cool. THANKS ANYWAYS.

[Jonathan S]

Feeding raw and kibble is something you’ll find a lot of opinions about. Some people say never feed them at the same time because they digest at different rates. Some people say that’s not the case. I say, it depends on the dog. My dogs find the raw too rich on its own, and they have some digestive distress when I feed them raw and kibble in separate meals. I started feeding them raw and kibble at the same time, and no problem! You’ll just have to try and see what works for your dog. I’ve been feeding raw since they were 6 months old and they’re both happy and healthy. I also use a digestive supplement, but I keep experimenting trying to find one that I like. I’ve had good results with Flora4, but right now I’m using a kelp extract that seems to be working really well.

I have two recipes I use to keep their meals interesting…

2 lbs. Bone in ground rabbit
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb green lamb tripe
2 lbs chicken hearts, gizzards, livers
1 lb blue berries
1 lb greens (Green Juju)
1 lb peas
3 eggs
3 carrots
2 apples
1 can of organic pumpkin
2 tbs turmeric

Recipe 2
2 lbs ground duck necks
2 lbs turkey organs
2 lbs ground chicken backs or turkey necks
3 eggs
1 lb butternut squash
1 lb broccoli
1 lb frozen mango chunks
1 cup hemp seed hearts
.5 cup fennel seeds
1 can pumpkin or 1 cup of Firm Up!

All the veggies or whole things go through the food processor to make them readily digestible. The seeds get ground up. The apples are grated. I make both of these recipes at the same time, put them in individual serving containers, then freeze them. Makes enough for two weeks for both my dogs.

The common advice I’ve found is to feed your dog 2 to 4% of their body weight in raw food. Since I’m only feeding half raw, I just took the top end and cut it in half.

Oh, and I feed them twice a day, but when they were younger I was feeding them 3 times per day. Went to twice a day at around 8 months… about the time we shifted from puppy food to adult kibble.
2 tbs ground turmeric
coconut oil

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Jonathan S.

[aimee]

Hi Reewa,

As I don’t feed a homemade raw diet I can’t advise you on how to do it to ensure proper nutrition during such a critical life stage. I feel the risks of feeding homemade raw outweigh any proposed benefits. Sorry I can not help you further. aimee

[C4D]

Hi Reewa R,

Some of us have to sleep and work, so answers are not always immediate. Your posts were in the middle of the night in my area and I work as well.

I can’t answer your questions on feeding a puppy raw since I haven’t had a puppy in many years. I have adult dogs. I do feed kibble and raw as I have several large dogs. I feed canned/kibble for 1 meal and raw/cooked for the other meal. Some people feed raw and kibble together in the same meal. I don’t supplement with vitamins since I’m using commerical foods that already are complete and balanced. The links I included in the earlier post may be able to answer that question.

[SNOWFLAKE]

LOTS OF USEFUL INFO IN THESE LINKS.. thanks a million. I understood the balance of the diet now. One more doubt to be cleared please. He weighs about 6kilos now. So how much can I feed him and if someone can share a raw menu for puppies it would be gr8. I feed him 4times a day and have decided to give him 50%kibble and the other half raw. So he gets both benefits. Also can I FEED RAW AND KIBBLE ON THE SAME DAY? if not please share a day’s menu with me. THanks once again for all your help. any fox terrier owners here:????

[C4D]

Hi Reewa R,

Although aimee and I don’t always agree, I do agree with her in feeding a commercial raw as it is very important to make sure the diet is balanced. This is particularly important since you have a very young dog who could suffer some serious deficiencies if he doesn’t get the correct vitamins and minerals in the right dose.

You could feed homemade raw or homemade cooked, but you need to follow a diet that is balanced. Whole Dog Journal has several articles on balancing a diet as does dogaware.com and as Jonathon said, Dr. Karen Becker has some balanced home made diets. Here’s the link to dogaware:

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_7/features/Home-Prepared-Dog-Food-Nutritional-Information_20568-1.html

http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade3.html

[SNOWFLAKE]

As we dont get natural raw products here.. I am planning to buy fresh or frozen from the market.

[aimee]

Hi Reewa,

When adding a food that isn’t “complete and balanced” to a food that is “complete and balanced” the recommendation is not to exceed 10% of calories from the unbalanced food.

When feeding kibble I use some of the same criteria as I posted for raw. I’d use a company that has veterinary nutritionists on staff, does feeding trials and has good quality control measures in place.

[SNOWFLAKE]

Can you please also send me photos of raw fed dogs and explain how the diet benefited your puppies

[SNOWFLAKE]

HI JONATHAN//. woww. thanks for your help and quick response. Its so confusing, I dont want to affect his digestion. But we all want the best for our dogs. I will check out the link on youtube and decide. Have been researching since a month now. There are so many pros and cons and its very hard to decide. Please guide me on this.. I dont know anyone who feeds raw here and our vet is against it altogether. People here are very single minded for some reason, (lol) planning to change my vet.

[Jonathan S]

I’m not a professional, but I do feed raw to my pups. Do lots of research first. there’s going to be a time and effort commitment as well as a financial commitment. Check out different recipes. Go to youtube and look up Dr. Karen Becker… she’s got lots of really great advice. The hardest thing is going to be convincing yourself that you’re doing the right thing. You’re going to find information out there and opinion that make it seem like handling raw food is like handling poison… it’s not. Take the same precautions you would with handling the food you serve your family.

The next hardest thing is perseverance. You’re going to affect their digestion and it might be messy at first. That doesn’t mean you should stop. You need to give them time to adjust. You will also need to take into account what proteins may or may not agree with your dog. Also, your raw food, especially if you’re making your own, will likely be higher in fat. That can cause some issues if you’re still feeding kibble as puppy food is usually higher in fat. I had to take my pups off puppy food much earlier than I expected.

I read some good advice about not feeding 100% raw. Most of your really good commercial foods are focused to provide complete nutrition, so they have vitamins and minerals in there that you might miss. I feed my dogs 50% raw and 50% kibble to make sure I don’t miss anything.

Another thing I do is review this site very carefully. If dog food advisor thinks that a particular ingredient is a positive thing in a highly rated food, you can bet it’s going to make an appearance in my food.

I hope this helps!

[SNOWFLAKE]

thank you so much for your advice.
Well in that case can I feed kibble and raw in separate meals> ? I am currently on Royal Canin . and I think I should switch to TOTW. The only problem is that I live in India. so there isnt much access to all good brands of kibble. But I am going to order it through amazon. So my boy is getting 4 meals / day. Is it a good idea to give him chicken mince for breakfast.. and then kibble throughout the day. ?/

[aimee]

Hi Reewa,

Congrats on your new puppy! If I were to g with raw diet in a pup I’d want to use a commercial product that has undergone feeding trails, has been through high pressure processing to decrease pathogens and comes from a company that has a vet nutritionist on staff.

Growth is a very demanding stage and if the diet isn’t well composed it can result significant long term health problems. Growth is a life stage in which I wouldn’t choose to home prepare the food.

[SNOWFLAKE]

Hey/// Just joined this forum. I own a smooth fox terrier.. He is 2months old. Currently i feed him kibble .. but I think raw food is more beneficial for dogs ..there are pros and cons to this but if it will benefit my puppy i am willing to take the risk. please can someone suggest ways of starting him on Barf.. I am thinking raw chicken mince would be ok to start with .. Not sure. PLease help . need some professional advice.

[InkedMarie]

A breeder of Cane Corso’s is in a group I am on. If you are on FB, look up PrideNJoyz Cane Corso. Website is pridenjoyzcanecorso dot com. She is a raw feeder if I remember correctly.

[Jenn H]

I get it that grains aren’t part of the dog’s “ancestoral diet” technically, but they kind of are. They’re carnivorous scavengers. What any canine preys on is usually an animal that eats grains & plants. And they eat the whole animal. Including that animal’s digestive system. What would be in their stomach??? Grains & plants.
Granted the contents would be broken down. The canine can digest it because of that. When grain is in kibble it’s been cooked. Thus making it digestible for the pet dog.
I would rather expose my dogs to variety and see what the tolerance is. I wouldn’t avoid giving a child peanut butter because so many kids are allergic and I wouldn’t want to take a chance that mine is. In fact I would likely expose them to nuts early & often to build a natural immunity.
Domestic dogs and wild canines are not exactly the same. I understand that completely. (Which is why I’m not 100% convinced all raw/BARF is the best choice either.) Our pets’ bodies have evolved & changed as they have become more integrated with humans.

The whole chicken allergy dogs seem to be acquiring I was told is because of different companies sourcing their meats from the very same vendors. I remember when California Natuals was bought by P&G. Every dog I’ve known to be fed that food suddenly had reactions. A trainer told me she found out that it’s because of where the ingredients are sources. Despite the fact that the recipe & ingredients remained unchanged. As soon as I told my friends what I had learned they all switched and the dogs stopped being itchy, picky, having upset stomachs.

I know at the end of the day it’s up to me to figure out what’s right for my animals. If that means being unconventional or not following the fads, then so be it. I’m the one who knows them better than anyone else. I’m the one who is obligated to do right by them.

You aren’t the first to warn of obsolete suggestions from Great Dane Lady. I think I’ll just stay clear of her advice all together.
I do appreciate your perspective & experience though.
Thanks.

[Jon K]

Vital Essentials Frozen Raw, Beef.
wondering why it’s not included on the Editor’s Choice List.
I know you can’t list every good food out there but I’m curious as to why this one is or isn’t on the list.
thanks

[Onya D]

Dogs Gone Wild Raw Food! My Maltese eats it but couldn’t find it on your website.

[C4D]

Hi Kristin C,

I’m in complete agreement with you on dogs being fed a more natural, balanced diet and that is the building block to fending off diseases. It often helps dogs that already are diagnosed with various conditions such as diabetes and seizures, etc. It sounds like your doing all the right things for your dog with the heart murmur too.

I also believe that way too many chemicals are being put on our dogs and personally use minimal, if any topicals. I actually just pull the ticks off my dogs, identify them (we have deer and brown dog ticks in abundance in my area as well as Lyme Disease) and try to keep them out of areas of known infestations. My guy that got the ticks got no less than 6 in less than a week’s time. I’ve also used some natural repellants on my dogs after getting ticks with great success.

I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m just saying it would be interesting to hear what happens if you decide to try omitting the Advantix. Here’s an interesting link on fleas from Dr. Peter Dobias:

http://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/34542021-can-feeding-a-raw-diet-prevent-fleas

Good luck with your pups!