[jakes mom]

Well, somebody ate the raw I put out for their dinner. Don’t know who or how many. I put a spoonful on each plate along with their usual canned. They all looked at it and sniffed, then looked at me very suspicious! lol! I didn’t see anybody even take a nibble. I left them alone and went to look again later on. The raw was gone!
I agree with their logic, too. But as I told them in my email, I don’t want to pay for something they won’t eat. Don’t mind giving something from the sample pack to Jake if the cats don’t like it but certainly won’t waste money buying it again. We can always supplement the raw with occasional cans for variety if necessary.
BTW in case you didn’t notice, the site has tips for transitioning to raw. Pretty much common sense, but worth a read so you’ll be ready to go when you get your samples.

[Pitlove]

I don’t know much about Cloud Star, however I do know Zuke’s just got bought out by Purina, so they might have started adding cheaper ingredients. The only treats I feed in my house hold (if they get treats) are freeze dried raw treats you can get at places like Petco called PureBites. Its just one ingredient (i do turkey breast for the kitten and beef liver for the dog), made in the USA etc. They can be broken into smaller pieces to use for training. i used them for clicker training my kitten.

PS just realized I mentioned these treats in my above post

[Pitlove]

Ya and I totally agree with their logic. I do agree that they should get different proteins and she already gets that with the canned. Im still going to think about it and definitely going to get the starter “pack” to see if she will even eat raw. So far Darwins is the company I’m most impressed with.

Sorry to hear that! Hopefully they will adjust to it. Do they get all canned as well or some dry and canned?

[Cathy B]

I’ve used bravecto on my 110 lb male and 50 lb female dog for 3 doses, about 10 months. No signs of any fleas or ticks. Before this I had used comfortis and before that trifectis with good flea results but because these meds are priced by the weight of the dog, bravecto works out to be much less expensive with the added benefit of no ticks which were still an issue. I understand some pet owners concerns about giving such a strong medication but I trust my vets judgement and for me, nothing else but pills has worked. Dips, topicals, nothing else even phases the amount of fleas we have in the warm weather months which is about 9 months out of the year. I’m in deep east Texas near the Louisiana border. We live on a lot of acreage that is heavily wooded. My dogs run through the woods which are crawling with fleas and ticks. The dogs also come in the house when I’m home, sleep in the house at night and I’m not willing to risk a flea infestation. Anyone who has ever dealt with that mess knows how horrible it is to get rid of them if they start laying eggs in your house. I have an indoor cat with skin allergies that can not be exposed to flea bites so for my situation and the quality of life I provide my dogs, pills are the best fit. I’ve had no problems with bravecto. The pills are like a small round cookie, mine eat them like they’re a treat. My vet said they will really last more than 12 weeks so I re-dose about every 14.

[jakes mom]

Many people on this site feed raw. Check out the raw forum here, you’ll find good info and a lot of support. Some say their pet’s problems cleared up completely once they were on a raw diet.

[jakes mom]

Yes, you only feed about 2-3% of kitty’s weight per day on raw. My guys aren’t as easy as yours, they only like the pate type canned food. Just lick the gravy/sauce from the other kind and leave the bits.
Stuff is starting to thaw a bit. Will be able to try it tonite, I feed 2x a day, too.

[Karen K]

This is so confusing….the more research I do, the less I know what to feed my itchy baby. Salmon has mercury, chicken causes allergies, menhaden fish meal can be very low quality in protein by the time it reaches the dog food factories, and on and on. Anyone tried the raw diets? They make me nervous because there have been some issues with bacteria related illness, but at least the food is whole. She is so used to having some cooked chicken with her kibble, I can’t imagine that she would eat any kibble by itself. Thanks to all for your help!

[Pitlove]

No I havent thought about doing that. She is already on an all canned diet and will eat any type of canned food be it pate, chunks in sauce, the human looking soup of Weruva, you name it she eats it. I felt like getting her on raw would be easy cuz of that. Also I’m thinking theres a chance it could be cheaper for me than feeding canned, even though she can only finish one 3oz can at each meal (dog and cat both eat twice daily about every 12 hours or so). I know you typically feed less with raw which is a bonus for me.

[Pitlove]

Jake’s Mom, thanks for the extra info. I had no idea you had to send the cooler back. I was under the impression that they let you keep it. I really don’t like that, which upsets me because I really really wanted to try Darwins. I check my emails nightly as well after work so it wouldnt be a problem for me to change the orders I just don’t want to get caught off guard.

I have a great little family owned pet store about 30 mins from me that I often by my dogs kibble at since they carrying Orijen and other really great natural brands. They also carry the Primal Raw food, so I can definitely look into that. They also carry Stella & Chewys.

Let me know how the Darwin’s goes! I really wish they made their ordering process more straight forward and streamline and allowed you to tailor your order every time.

[jakes mom]

Pitlove, I see what you mean, I went back on the Darwin’s site. The autoship doesn’t bother me that much. They will email a few days before they ship and I check emails every nite so it’s no problem for me to change or delay a shipment. I did shoot them an email asking about the availability of single proteins instead of the combos but have not heard back from them (just sent it last nite). I’ll let you know when I hear back.
I rec’d the food tonite. I have a couple of packages in the fridge, thawing. It’s packed very well, with a little dry ice. Everything was rock hard when it arrived. One thing you may not like is, they ask you to return the cooler box. Give you a return label so it doesn’t cost anything but may be inconvenient if you’re not near a UPS store.
I had another thought for you, too. Have you tried freeze dried raw? ( Sorry if you mentioned that in a previous post) I use Primal nuggets sometimes. Comes in a bag with chunks that you just crumble with your fingers and add a little hot water. Very convenient, and you could customize it for her with a bit more or less water depending on her preference. Look for it with the higher quality dry food, not in the fridge/freezer with the other raw products, also online, got mine at Chewy’s. Various flavors and bag sizes.
I’ll try feeding the kitties this weekend, when the stuff thaws. Wish me luck!

[Pitlove]

jakes mom – two things. im so sorry for your loss. i lost my 6yr old cat on christmas eve last year. no clue why he died. hence why we have the new kitten now. glad you and your crew are doing ok tho!

also yeah i don’t mind the trial shipment but what my problem was is lets say she doesnt like the duck but she loves the chicken and turkey, i dont have the option to only get those 2 proteins. and maybe im wrong but when i clicked on turkey to buy it and see how much shipping was i got brought to the page telling me about the starter thing and then how in 13 weeks my regular order would ship of all 3 proteins, with a set amount of lbs. I see that I can change it, but you have to change it before the order is shipped and it would kind of be a hassle for me. i COULD be misunderstanding the idea of the site. I just don’t like sites that force me to autoship OR make me cancel it every single time. in my mind its the same as whenever you sign up for a free trail of some service lets say Amazon Prime and they say after a month they are going to start charging you for it unless you cancel it. I hate having to remind myself to cancel the subscription before i get charged. also ive experienced canceling things like that and then still getting charged and i would not want that on a 100$+ order of raw food.

you have ordered food from them so please let me know if im confused or wrong about their ordering process! i really like the look of the food and would love to try it

[crazy4cats]

Jakes Mom-
Yes, my cats are fine. Thank you for your concern. I always worry about them getting out! It was actually kind of funny because it reminded us of the time when our previous dog went out a window on to the roof years ago. My husband came home and no one was home and our dog was on the roof in a panic. It was when my kids were young and we went up to the school to play without him and he was NOT happy about it. I guess he thought he was going to follow us anyway he could. He thankfully, he didn’t jump either! He would have gotten hurt. I think the cats could probably handle the jump without an issue. Just glad they didn’t!

Have you tried the Darwin’s yet? I’m real curious to see if they like it.

Pitlove-
I have used NW Naturals, Nature’s Variety, and Primal raw as toppers for my dogs. I have tried feeding a little to my cats here and there and they have not been interested so far. Most likely if it was in one of the dogs’ bowls, however, they would probably eat it right up! LOL! It might actually be cheaper for you. Canned cat food is way too expensive for what you get. Let us know if you try it out.

[jakes mom]

Maybe I misunderstood your question or I misunderstood Darwin’s when I ordered last week. I ordered the $14.95 sample pack. It has all 3 proteins but wouldn’t you want that in a sample pack? They do set you up for autoship for future orders but you can cancel if she doesn’t like it, or change the timing of shipments anytime. There are also meal mixes you can get from several companies, just add to your own ground meat. Also Hare today and My pet carnivore are other raw companies a lot of people here use.
C4C, so glad you got your escapees without any problems!

[Pitlove]

thank you! She is very sweet. such the lap cat, but i worry she has seperation anxiety. not sure though.

also on a side note. im thinking about going raw with her and i looked into darwin’s. i was really annoyed to find out that they basically make up an order for you and you are forced into buying chicken duck and turkey from them all in one order and you don’t get to decide how many lbs you want or what protein you want and you HAVE to do auto-ship. I wanted to just try it out with her to see if she would eat it and that makes it impossible to do.
C4C idk if you know of any good commercial raw diets similar to darwin’s that doesnt do that.

if anyone else has suggestions to i’d like to hear it. im also wondering if feeding her raw since she doesnt eat much would be more cost effective than canned food.

[MaggiesDad]

I’ve found through chatting to hundreds of dog owners over the years that many dogs have allergy issues with chicken first of all, closely followed by beef. The reason seems to be that over feeding one protein for a long period of time (some people make the mistake of always just feeding one food because their dog likes it) can cause the body to just suddenly decide it won’t deal with it any more, giving rise to numerous problems and allergic reactions. If this is likely to be the case, a break of a few months is advised before trying that protein again but be aware that it can only take one meal to cause the problems to reoccur, and months to rid the system of those problems! You should also note that just because a reaction has occurred feeding a dried chicken based kibble (for example) does NOT necessarily mean that the dog has an issue with raw chicken – just as an allergy to beef does not always mean that ALL beef is a problem – it may still be possible to feed beef offal for example without any issues. It can be very confusing and frustrating to get to the bottom of such issues, and it may be that the advise of a nutritionist is required as well as an elimination diet for a few months.

[MaggiesDad]

For those interested in raw feeding, if you mention my name (Michael) when calling Allprovide to place your first order, you can receive a discount of $20 off any order of $75 or more until the end of May. (After May the discount reverts to $10 with a minimum order of 16lbs). Their website is http://www.allprovide.com, ph 678-585-1606, and they ship for free to most of the USA.

[MaggiesDad]

Give the guys at Allprovide (www.allprovide.com) a call (678-585-1606) – they had a dog with horrendous skin/yeast issues and switching to a raw diet saved her life. They’re always happy to talk about canine health issues and advise about diet and possible causes of problems. Their food has supplements in it such as coconut oil, salmon oil, turmeric etc all of which are good for coat and skin issues.

[Pitlove]

Karen- I love Nature’s Variety products. I’ve fed the vension rawboost formula and the duck and turkey raw boost formula before and they will come back into my rotation for sure. thank you for sharing your experience with the new Ultimate protein line. really looking forward to trying the Duck.

[Karen B]

Thanks pitlove! I am still feeding mine NV Instinct with Raw bites (mixed with the Ultimate Protein) plus I always give her 1/4 can of NV venison, beef and salmon as a topping. Mine is very muscular, no fat and highly energetic! Hopefully Dr. Mike & team will review this soon!

[crazy4cats]

Chloe K-
For sure he will be the most handsome boy at puppy school! Another thing that you will want to consider is the extremely important appropriate calcium levels for a large breed puppy. There is an article about it on the review side of this site. Have you checked it out?

I don’t want to “squash” your hopes of feeding him raw, as I know it can be the healthiest way to go. But, I’d be nervous about getting the calcium part right to keep the handsome little guys joints as healthy as possible.

[crazy4cats]

Well, the Natural Balance wild pursuit was a TOTAL flop. Only one out of four cats would even try it. They are stinkers!

On a funny note, my husband and I are on “stay cation” this week. He’s outside doing yard work and hears a kitty. While ours are all indoor cats, he takes a peek to see who is talking to him. He finally looks up to find our sweet little chubby girl looking down at him from our roof! He quickly runs upstairs, finds a window open and crawls out on the roof to “save” her. Lol! And then around walks around to see another one of our cats on the very top layer of our tri-level house. Surprisingly enough, the more energetic male named Beans actually came to my husband so he could be saved also!

They had quite an adventure for a couple of indoor kitties who have never really been outside. Who knows if they would have eventually jumped off if we weren’t home. Needless to say, we are getting the screen repaired!

[Jennifer Y]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I have spoken to my vet about the results, and have considered contacting the holistic vet at my vet clinic. My dog’s insensitivity reactions has been mild enough that my vet and I decided to try an elimination diet.

Over the past 2 years, if I try to recall her vet appointments along with the kibble I feed her, she seems to be reactive to something in Orijen Regional Red. I believe it’s pork (since it’s the highest reactive ingredient that came back on the Nutriscan test as well). To play it safe, I began her on an elimination diet. So far, so good. No hot spots and no eye infections. When I get around to testing out pork, I will find out whether it’s been the culprit.

Susan, thanks for your input about the rice, duck and lamb. But the test indicated not to feed her anything that she showed a reaction to (mild or otherwise) in either IgA and IgM results. She unfortunately showed a medium reaction in lamb (IgA), strong reaction in duck (IgA) and a strong reaction in rice (IgA). Against the suggestion of the results, however, I have tried lamb in her elimination diet, and she seems to be doing alright. I do believe there is merit to Dr. Dodd’s test, and I trust her research. But in the case of my dog, I don’t think her intolerances are as severe as the test makes it seem. I’ve been giving her probiotics and coconut oil, which may have played a part in her doing better on her current food as well. I am also considering starting her on raw, but I’m still in the process on researching about raw before I fully dive into it.

Once again, thank you everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate it 🙂

[Chloe K]

Hi there! I have a 12 week old German Shepherd boy and we just started a week ago on raw – We are currently feeding him a premade diet which is costing me a fortune so I would like to look into creating my own meal for him.

So far I’ve learned:

“2.5% of Bears weight (40kg) 1kg

45% Raw Meaty Bones – 450g
45% Muscle Meat – 450g
5% Organ Meat – – 50g

Your goal is to have no more than 20-25% actual bone in the diet.
25% of 450g is 112g”

This is what I have written down, I would like to feed him 2 meals a day when he is older, so that is 25g of offal per meal? Is that right? That seems like such a low amount?

Can I feed raw chicken and raw beef in the same meal?

Can I feed him say 125g of Turkey and 125g of Chicken for one meal, with 25g of beef liver? Is this okay? Should I do this?
How often should I really feed him fish? Twice a week? I think I would like to feed him a whole fish? Gilapia or Whiting Fillets are these a good choice? If not, what are some good choices? I’m trying my hardest to find Green Tripe in Australia but it’s proving difficult, I would like to add some veggies in his diet, which are the BEST? How often should I add them? I know I have to juice/blend them or else he won’t get the full benefit.

I am from Australia so I weigh things in grams and kgs
Is Kangaroo a good source of meat also? What about Kangaroo heart and liver?

Bear is going to puppy school today! I can say he will be the most handsome there

Here is a picture of my little guy 🙂

[J S]

Update on our 2 dogs with struvite crystals. The girl with the recurring UTIs and previous-to-being-adopted-stone-surgery is getting more water with her food and getting out to pee more often. Trying to be calmer on our walks so that she can pee as often as she wants/needs to (every five feet if there are good smells around!). She hasn’t exhibited the crawl-peeing of an infection the last two days and has never exhibited pain when peeing. As soon as the crawl-peeing showed up I added 500 mg of vit c to each meal and she’s already getting a scoop of Cranberry Relief in the morning and a scoop of Wysong Biotic Ph with dinner, and eating the Royal Canin S/O with a little wet food. I’m also using Colloidal Silver (10 drops each meal for 2 days, then 6 drops, until 2 days after symptoms ended. Her pH this morning was 6.75. I’ve used Vit C and colloidal silver on myself when I was told I had a UTI. I really dislike using antibiotics unless extremely necessary. Here’s a website on C.S. by a holistic vet: http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2013/08/colloidal-silver-diy-treatment-for-dogs.html . Our boy dog shows no signs of a UTI and his ph on regular diet is 5.75. Next time we run out of food I’m going to switch from All Stages Canidae to their grain-free version to see if that will help with our girl. If anyone has found a difference using distilled water please let me know. I know our country water is a little on the hard side so that would be the next best thing to try. We’d also started giving her a glucosamine/MSM pill which I see includes other minerals which may have contributed to her last crystal-forming. She sure felt like a puppy on that even with signs of an infection, but obviously we’re still learning! I’m thinking her recurrent infections are because of her psyche as well as nearly touching the ground when she pees, and she’s also part husky and loves to dig in the dirt, which flies right back through her hind legs.

[InkedMarie]

I recommend you stop feeding a dry food…dogs with these issues need moisture. Canned, raw or dehydrated are your best bet.

[C4D]

I’m sure some of the “raw” regulars could answer your question better, but here is my experience. I started my older lab mix on raw when he was about 11. He didn’t really have any issues(a bit of loose stool at first) with it but since he had spent so many years eating “cooked” food he didn’t really like the raw unless I warmed it to a medium rare temperature. If your Lab is in good health, you could try it very slowly. If he has any immune compromised issues, I would probably not do raw. Another option is using a premix raw (The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s, Sojos, etc) and adding fresh cooked meat to it. This might be an easier transition for him. I do this on a regular basis for my dogs in addition to rotating it with raw, and a canned/kibble mix.

[Susan]

If you read the test your dog can have rice duck lamb & don’t forget the Nutri-Scan Salvia test, test for JUST 20 foods only so there’s probably other foods like Tapioca etc that your dog can eat …. your dog can eat the “California Natural” Lamb & Rice that has just 4 ingredients Lamb, white rice, brown rice & sunflower oil.. or the best thing I would do is feed raw diet that way you are in control of all the ingredients…….
Your dog has just proven LM WRONG she always goes on on that your dog cant have food intolerances chances are your dog has environment allergies, see a Dermatologist for environment testing & waste $2000 then what, how do stop all the pollens in the air, all grass on ground, you cant the Nutri-Scan test has proven LM her wrong.. Dogs do have Food Intolerances..
Jean Dodds has the only & best IgA & IgM salvia testing around….

[Lilli]

Hi, I have a 12 year old Labrador who has a very sensitive stomach. Right now I feed him on commercial wet food and biscuit with some fresh vegetables. I have been wondering if he could take a raw food diet to enhance his latter years or would this be too much of a change at his age. He has never eaten raw meat and bones although he has had fresh raw vegetables.

[Pitlove]

Hi Tonia- Marie did actually point you in a good direction if you are interested in feeding raw/homemade. Hound Dog Mom who is the one who made the thread focusing on large/giant breed puppies does in fact feed a raw homemade diet and talks about it in that thread. It is however a very long thread but a good and helpful thread. Unfortunetly large breed puppies have certain diet requirements until 8mo’s of age that help prevent many diabilitating skeletal diseases, that can end up costing thousands of dollars in vet bills.

Hound Dog Mom has a list of foods that have the proper calcium levels for large/giant breed puppies, some are grain-free and others are grain-inclusive. I would start there and figure out what your budget IS and then compare a few that she has on her list and see if any are budget friendly enough. They are all 4 to 5 star in quality so if you are looking for something 3 stars or lower to save money A) that list won’t be too helpful and B) the food may not have the correct calcium levels a large breed puppy needs.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Cathy-
I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how difficult it has been. I do not know anything about liver disease, but thought I’d reply to your post to help get it noticed by someone who does.
I do know that Pedigree is not a great choice of kibble to feed when you do not have time to feed the raw. Have you checked out the 3 to 5 star rated kibble on the review site? I can help you with some more budget friendly if you are interested, that may not even cost much more than the Pedigree.
Are the raw meals you are feeding properly balanced? Are you giving any type of vitamin supplements with them?
I’m hoping somebody can chime in and help you with the liver disease as well. Good luck to you and your furry friends!

[Linda G]

Here’s another article regarding OC Raw Turkey from Susan Thixton of Truth About Pet Food dot com:

OC Raw Dog Recalls Turkey & Produce Raw Frozen Canine Formulation

[Dori]

LabTX. The OC Raw recall is for salmonella concerning their turkey. As Marie suggested, please take a minute and read up on the recall. I can’t remember off hand which states it affected. Not too many. Oh, it was a voluntary recall if that makes any difference. Nice when companies don’t have to be hit over the head to do a recall.

Just came across this.
http://m.petmd.com/news/alerts-recalls/oc-raw-dog-recalls-more-2000-lbs-dog-food-due-possible-salmonella-risk-32754

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

[LabTX]

Thanks for all of the replies, sorry I’m late getting back to the forum. I am currently feeding OC Raw pre-made patties. We get them locally so we do save on the shipping, but I’ll look into the grinds as well.

Dori – It may just be a lab thing, but she just acts like she hasn’t eaten for days. From the replies above that may be normal, the running, jumping, spinning which wasn’t the case in the past. She was excited to eat, but not acting like that. Our main concern, which I’m working with her on now is awareness of our 14 month who is now walking around on the same level as she is. She’s knocked him over and stepped on him more than once getting excited because someone has stood up and it’s within an hour of their “normal feeding time.”

[MaggiesDad]

Hi, why not give the guys at http://www.allprovide.com a call – 678-585-1606 – they do a range of raw meals in convenient 1lb pouches, and even have a feeding guide/cost calculator on their website if you’re stuck working out how much to feed. With four dogs, they also offer a number of different discount options which you may find makes the food even more affordable (it includes natural supplements such as coconut oil etc so you don’t have to add anything to the foods, which makes serving very easy and convenient.) They deliver for free to most of the USA and do a Starter Box too if you just want to try a small amount to see how your dogs take to it.

[Bobby dog]

pitlove:
Questions are never off topic! My grocery store sells kefir, you can find it in most health food stores, and most Wal-Marts carry Lifeway kefir products. I do still feed Bobby kefir a few times a month, but only because he loves it so much. I have a bunch of kefir cubes in the freezer.

jamie f:
Carbohydrates are necessary in order for kibble to maintain their form and texture. So regardless of grain inclusive or grain free you are feeding carbs. There’s benefits and drawbacks to any kibble. There’s food safety, GMO ingredients, nutritional values, your dog’s palate, and many other things to consider when deciding which type of kibble to feed. Grain free foods are a marketing goldmine IMO; I find some to be carb heavy and high in fat. I don’t like to limit food selections. I think eliminating foods that you have never fed your dog narrows down your food choices needlessly. I do believe there is a time and place to eliminate foods such as if your dog is displaying food sensitivities. IMO, by feeding a potato, lentil, etc. based grain free kibble day in and day out you are now subjecting your dog to fewer ingredients on a more consistent basis which may lead to food sensitivities of those ingredients. Not my idea of rotating foods.

My dog had many skin and digestive issues when I came to this site. It took a year of tweaking his diet and allot of elbow grease to heal him up. I believed GF was the best initially. As I researched further I found there was no reason to limit my dog’s diet to just grain free. So one day I took the leap and expanded my rotation to include grain inclusive and haven’t looked back since. If there ever comes a time I need to eliminate certain ingredients from his diet I will just tweak my pet food criterion again.

I feed my dog moderate to high protein, low fat, and moderate to low carb kibbles. Since kibble is far from perfect I always add canned, fresh foods, or commercial raw as toppers. I like to add fresh healthy omegas, Now Gamma Advanced vitamin E complex, and organic coconut oil to his food. I have fed about 20 different brands of kibble and many different recipes. I buy small bags and switch brands, protein, and carb sources with each new bag. One of these days I will settle into a more permanent rotation, I am still tweaking his diet.

Here’s an article from the WDJ about carbs and grains in kibble:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_10/features/Carbohydrate-Intake-For-Dogs_20103-1.html

Here’s a DFA post about carbs:
/canine-nutrition/dog-food-carbohydrates/

Here’s a perspective about grains from a Holistic Vet:
http://vetnutrition.blogspot.com/2009/05/are-grains-all-bad.html
http://vetnutrition.blogspot.com/2010/03/grains-2-not-as-allergenic-as-you.html

Here’s an interesting perspective from the Great Dane Lady:
http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/the_corn_myth.htm

As L M mentioned your dogs licking their paws and gunky ears could also be caused by environmental irritants. A single protein and carb food might be a good place to start to determine if it’s food or environmental. It is important to keep in mind each dog is an individual and what food or regimen works for one dog may or may not work for another. You will not know if that is your magic food until your dog does well on it. Just as you have foods that you don’t like or don’t agree with you, but others will rave about how they love it and can’t eat enough of it. So after this long drawn out post my best advice is to be aware of any chemicals you use in your home or outdoors that your dogs could be exposed to, take note of the time of year your dogs have problems (their issues may be seasonal), and to feed your dog the healthiest food he will eat consistently and does well on!

[Pitlove]

Linda- Rotties! i love them. we also have a Rottweiler along with our Pitbull a chocolate lab and an English springer spaniel. Sam, our Rottweiler (technically he is my boyfriends parents dog, so I dont get to control what he eats unfortunetly but i still think of him as my dog since I give him the most attention as hes the outside dog) is 2 probably almost 3 years old now. The bf’s parents have had all the dogs on Purina ONE lamb and rice since forever. The family dog has always been Rottweilers and unfortunely all but maybe one passed away at around 8 years old. Cancer, e-coli poisoning, you name it its happened to our Rottweilers. If it were up to me and I got to choose his food I would feed him the way I feed my Pitbull who is also prone to the problems that large breed dogs have as he is 66lbs at a year old. I do what is called a rotational diet with my dog. I certainly have him on Orijen’s Adult Dog and after that bag is through i’ve got EVO lined up next for him to try. I also feed him wet food. Now that your Rottie is far past the point where you have to worry about the calcium levels not being too high or too low to prevent rapid growth thus causing many different skeletal related disorders, you can kinda give him a nice variety of foods. If you are on a budget as someone who is retired and need to stick with kibbles, definitely go for the 5 star rated ones. I know a lot of people on here have issues with Taste of the Wild. I BELIEVE its manufacture by Diamond which has a long recall history and a terrible reputation. You want to make sure that the kibble is as species appropriate as you can get if you, like myself, can’t feed a raw diet, which would be the healthiest way for any dog to eat. Species appropriate for ANY dog of any breed being high in animal protein, at least 30% or more, moderate in fats, and low in carbs. Foods that I like and have and will use in my rotation for my pitbull are Orijen (all of them), Wellness CORE, Nature’s Variety, Merrick (GF only), EVO, Grandma Mae’s GF. I’m still working on my list but that is what I have so far.

As for raw, if it is something you are interested in, PLEASE make sure you do A LOT of research before feeding raw because it is possible to make your dog very unhealthy by not feeding a COMPLETE and BALANCED raw diet.

Also to help with the transitions to the food, you can add probiotics to their diet, like canned pumpkin and kefir. I also use a supplement thats premade in a power form made by a very great company called The Honest Kitchen. They use human grade ingredients and make their food in a human grade factory. Its called Perfect Form. Probiotics help build healthy flora(bacteria) in your dogs gut to make transitioning to a new food pain free for you and your dog. Just like with humans dogs should be able to eat a different food or protein every meal if not every couple months without digestive upset. Dogs whos stomachs are already sick and lacking those bacteria that make their gut strong due to being fed the same food day in and day out are the ones who get loose stool and vomitting when you switch their food. Instantly the owner blames the food and switches them back and never switches the food again under the claim that their dog has whats commonly called a “sensitive stomach”.

The joint supplements are a great idea. Glucosamine is a great supplement for joint and hip problems. Cancer, I feel, and I think others do too can have a lot to do with a poor diet. A lot of poor grade dogs foods do contain ingredients that are carcinogenic even for humans and without variety in their diet they are being fed those toxins for years and eventually is catches up with them. The rotational diet helps prevent that and the build up of allergies as well. If your Rottie is already allergic to a protein source like chicken, you are going to want to be very careful with the food you choose as many have chicken meal or chicken fat hidden in the list of ingredients. Its all about reading ingredients but more importantly HOW to read the ingredients and the GA, which is why this website is so helpful. But like many here including Dr. Mike will tell you, its a jumping off point. Once you find a good food, you want to look further into the company that makes it, the co-packers, the recall history etc and make sure that you’re not being fooled into thinking its a good food based on the ingredients. Also knowing where the company sources from is important, what with all the problems we have been having with China lately. Avoid China. Thailand on the other hand is ok.

I really hope that I’ve helped a little and that others will contribute or correct me if I’m wrong about any of my points. I love Rotties so I’m glad to be able to give you some direction with his health!

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

[InkedMarie]

My yeasty dog finally had clear ears & no paw licking once he went on raw.

[InkedMarie]

I personally think a grainfree food would be a good choice. You have a large breed dog that will probably get some arthritis in coming years; grains can be inflammatory. There are a couple good foods that are low grain: Nature’s Logic only has millet and Farmina low grain is obviously low in grains.

Some foods I like are Farmina, Annamaet, Dr Tim’s, Natures Logic….

I’ve read that people think a raw diet is best for cancer dogs; I do feed raw but not because of that.

[Catherine M]

Hi everyone!
I have an 8 year old long-haired mini-doxie named Sweet-Pea. She was recently diagnosed with fatty liver disease when tested at a visit for glaucoma. I am feeding raw meats (various kinds) mixed with rice and sweet potato. She had been off of the raw diet for several months, eating dry pedigree food since I had lost my husband and just taking care of things was overwhelming to me. But I went back to the raw after he diagnosis, and also am giving supplement of milk thistle for her liver. She has voracious hunger and thirst, and pees an ocean, sometimes not making it outside. I know this water drinking and peeing are related to the liver disease.

So what do you recommend to feed her? Red meat is not the best for her, although I feed other meats when I can, and doing the raw diet seems to be too much work for my 4 dogs, including her. I’m looking for something easy to digest, easy on the liver (low ammonia-producing), and easy on the budget and to feed.

Thanks for any suggestions you have!
Cathy

[Ellen D]

I emailed Allprovide with some questions, and they sent me a free trial of the food for my puppy. He liked it, and it compared in appearance and texture to the other premade raw foods I’ve tried (or my dog has tried lol) – like Darwin’s, Bravo, etc. My very picky dog liked it. I was happy with the customer service, packaging, and responsiveness of the company. I would most definitely have ordered more to feed full time if I hadn’t decided to go homemade.

[Ellen D]

Any raw feeders in the Detroit area or general southeast Michigan? Are you willing to share tips on where you get your meat? I have an order of exotic meats in from My Pet Carnivore, and I know we also have local delivery of Carnivore Carry-Out, but I don’t have the freezer space to buy cases of things yet – working on it (anyone want to go halfsies on cases??).

Does anyone have a good local butcher or market with decent prices where you can get things like goat, rabbit, lamb, etc. and offal and bones? I do shop Kroger for manager’s special meats, and I have found a local butcher who can get me beef and chicken parts. I’ve found an Asian market where I get duck feet and liver and pork kidneys. And there’s a halal market around the corner that sells goat liver. But I’d like to find some more variety and better prices.

Has anyone surfed Eastern Market or Gratiot Central Market? Any particular vendors to look for?

Thanks!

[Linda G]

Dori – I was mostly cooking chicken and adding rice and/or vegetables. Had 2 dogs – One was sick for about 2 yrs (old age 17 yrs old), and was worried about her eating and started cooking for her. Now my other dog won’t eat anything else, but cooked foods. I was worried that she may not be getting all the nutrients needed, so started looking at raw foods. Started with Nature’s Variety…had kibble with freeze dried chicken in it. One dog wouldn’t touch it…..the other ate the freeze dried chicken and left the rest. Then tried Bravo….neither dog touched it. Moved to Primal Freeze-Dried Formula (Duck) and it’s a hit and miss. Just got some small packs of Acana – Lamb and Okanagan Apple and Orijen – Six Fish. Trying to find that right combo that they would enjoy eating.

[Denise A]

Has anyone tried this food? Thoughts?

My dog is not doing well on Honest Kitchen foods. She throws up with any of the varieties
of their food.

I’m so stressed! I want to feed her a top notch food, but have no idea what at this point.

If anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.
Thank you –
Denise

[Susan]

Enzymes also help with dry flaky skin I add enzyme 1/2 capsule with the raw diet
http://www.allthebestpetcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/digestive_enzymes.pdf

[Susan]

Hi Amanda, I have just started a raw diet with 1 protein Kangaroo & 3-4 veggie/fruit.. I blend 1 broccoli head 5 celery sticks 1 apple & 1 banana all blended in a blender then I freeze 2 spoons portions & take out the night before I add 1-2 spoons with 1 cup Kangaroo….I’m not feeding any organ meats yet… its a elimination diet
have you joined the F/B group “Dog Allergy International group” look in the files at “Raw elimination diet” candida-yeast itchy smelly dog” … I’ve just started a raw diet thru a Naturopath & posted in the files what I used & did , Patches red paws itchy skin & hive like lumps all went away within 2-3 days on the Raw diet, I couldn’t believe it, 1 year going from kibble to kibble then it took just 2 days & all his skin started to clear up, no more red paws, I always thought it was from the grass his red paws ….also there’s limited ingredient foods in the files with just 3-4 ingredients are in the files … someone was asking about the Dinovite yesterday… have you tried tin sardines in spring water drained, they are high in omegas & his coat will start to come good again also a good medicated shampoo.. I use Malaseb medicated shampoo…. https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogallergyinternationalgroup/

[Amanda G]

I have a 6 year old Great Dane. He is allergic to what seems like everything. He was finally allergy tested after chronic ear infections and has been on shots for the last year. The shots do not help as much as I’d hoped. He is allergic to white potato, sweet potato, flax, peas, corn, and soy. This has left us with few options. Even high quality kibble has at least one of those ingredients. We found a few that didn’t and had horrible results. We thought we were making progress with Big Dog Natural until his neck and ears went crazy. Come to find out they use potato as a binding agent. Next we tried Sojos original and added meat. We could not figure out why his ears swelled up like pork chops. They were even worse than with Big Dog. There seemed to be no listed ingredients he was allergic to. The only thing I could figure was it had pecans in it and he is allergic to pecan trees? Now I am making his food. I am lightly cooking meat, veges, oats, and egg with shell. His coat is dull, he is tired, and still itchy. His ears are not 100% but better. I can’t continue this. I know he’s not getting all the nutrition he needs out of my homemade food. I want to try raw. We’ve attempted it before but he has no interest in raw meats especially organs. I’m thinking of trying the Dinovite recipe. It seems to be a simple place to start but I’m afraid it’s also lacking. It’s only egg, shell, ground meat, rice and their supplements. Can anyone help with suggestions or experience with anything I’ve mentioned? I feel like I’m failing my dog and all I want to do is feed him. All opinions and advice will be respected and greatly appreciated. Sorry about the book. I just want to give as much info as possible so that one of you could possibly help us. I’m begging! Lol I feel like I’m going crazy.

• This topic was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[jakes mom]

I agree with Marie, grinds would be the way to go. I have cats and a dog. I just ordered raw grinds (chix, turkey,duck) for the cats from Darwin’s. They asked for the cat’s weights and estimated the amount I needed. You just need to get yourself a scale and a calculator and do some math. The usual suggested amount is 2-3% of your dog’s weight per day. There are also premixes that you can mix into your own ground meat so you don’t need to worry about balancing supplements. Good luck, you’ll get a lot of good advice from the regulars here. I’m just starting raw too, have learned a lot.

[idunnowhat2callmyself]

Thanks for the reply, Marie!

I suppose I would be looking for something like that–a ready-made ground product to simply weigh out in the appropriate amounts, so that I wouldn’t have to be wondering whether I’m doing it right. I like how straightforward it is to just dump a cup or half-cup of kibble into the bowls.
Or really, any high-quality diet that comes in sizes suitable for multiple varied dogs…raw just seemed to be posited as “the best possible option,” so I’ve been starting to look into it.

Hare Today is actually the same site my aunt uses.

Hmm. The Miami site’s product list offers this: “Build An Order”  -­‐New  to  RAW  FEEDING,  or  dont  want  the  hassle  of  choosing  items.  Let  us  do  the  work  for  you.  At  no  extra  charge,  you  give  us  your  
budget    and  Dogs  info  (  Weight,  Allergies,  Breed  )  and  we  build  your  order  for  you!  Please  Email  us  for  this  service  and  request  BUILD  AN  ORDER.”
…Which is pretty much exactly what I sought, because I have absolutely NO idea what I’d have to order or how much I’d need per month or so…but then, I don’t think they were the one that mentioned free shipping……and Reel Raw looks similarly interesting.

Thank you for the recommendations.

[InkedMarie]

Are you looking to feed whole meat raw or a ground product?
If ground, there are various companies with grinds that you just weigh out & feed. It’s what I do, plus I offer beef ribs for dental health.

Some companies that offer grinds are Hare Today, Reel Raw (they are in Maine, they have 10lb bags of complete mixes, depending on where you live, shipping is free for buying 30lb or 50lb)….I use these two companies. The other two I haven’t used but I recommend are My Pet Carnivore and Raw Feeding Miami.

[idunnowhat2callmyself]

Okay, I’m just going to throw this out here because I’ve found this to be a remarkably useful website, and if there’s anyplace I might productively ask my question, it’d be here. I apologize in advance for the length of it.

My family’s got four dogs currently: One small, one medium, one medium-large, and one large. It’s a nice range. I try to order higher-quality kibble brands to offset the lower-quality ones sometimes brought home by other people. A month or two ago, I had a two-hour phone conversation with my aunt, who’s got one small dog on a raw diet (with wet canned stuff in the mornings.) I’d hoped to simply be able to follow her precise regimen, adjusted for our pack…and got a half-page worth of notes during that convo in Microsoft Word. I should’ve figured it wouldn’t be simple, and I suppose I could start ordering some whole rabbits or tripe or turkey necks and supplements or any of the other various things I jotted down from the site she mentioned…but the whole thing still seems so overly, excessively complicated and worrisome. She said that she hadn’t even told her vet about the switch, but had been at it for about a year now.

A few benefits stood out: Cleaner teeth naturally, because no matter how much toothpaste or how many correct-ingredient-inclusive wipes I use, nothing removes the ‘icky’ stuff (which is worst on the oldest dog.) My aunt also noted that cleaning up after them is much easier thanks to the raw–and since that job typically falls to me, I’d really appreciate that. AND potential weight loss/healthy-weight management, as well…I almost always opt for the low-fat variety of everything to be on the safe side. Fortunately the hefty Brittany did recently move down to a smaller dosage of heartworm med, and can suddenly fit behind the sofa again–so I guess it finally paid off.

I’ve given the pooches everything from the raw-coated kibbles to Stella & Chewy patties to Fresh Pet to Honest Kitchen “green slop” (we’ve had that huge box for over a year now), to dozens of kibble brands that all seem essentially identical–and so on and so forth. When I try to look up which kibble or commercial raw food to try (assuming that cans would disappear far too quickly to be worthwhile), I am instantly overwhelmed and confused–I see loads and loads of brand names and packaging and shapes, but all of the food and flavors appear to be the same. I have no idea how to even tell which to buy. The sizes and portions and pricing baffle me–how am I to tell what will feed multiple dogs of various sizes and breeds for more than a couple days? We usually get a new big kibble bag about twice a month. I simply cannot tell what the raw equivalent would be…and even for dry food, I’m now kinda stumped. Every time I’m asked to order another bag, I freeze. How to choose?!?! My list’s grown so long, and we’ve tried so many…now I usually go with whichever has the best price per pound at the time, and a decent rating/reviews. I wish I could just find the perfect brand to consistently turn to, and continuously rotate through their flavors and treats. (Deciding which treat to pick up becomes a whole other can of worms, and I’m just like, “Gods, why, why, why must this be so bamboozling?! Why the hundreds of redundant choices? The dogs don’t even care, they just want our stuff!”)

Only one of the four dogs eats neatly (my Saluki, who has a snood. 😉 The other three are slobs, knocking the bowls around and splashing before they even touch the floor. The little Beagle frequently flat-out refuses to eat from a bowl, insisting that the food be spilled onto the floor for him. Also, my mom’s a clean freak–and I’m a bit of one myself at times. For these reasons, I knew that any attempt to transition would be tough and drawn-out, if not impossible. I knew I’d have to discover the cleanest, neatest, easiest, least odiferous method.

Now, before I got older and started performing more research into these areas, my parents…well all right, let me just put it this way. The two Beagles we had at the time I was born ate cheap supermarket kibble and human leftovers, lived in the backyard, never once to my knowledge had their teeth brushed (the one had green teeth and rancid breath) or nails trimmed or even saw the vet…yet both lived happily & health-problem-free for 16-18+ years (we can’t be exactly certain because they were adopted from a shelter.) Thus it can be very difficult for me to convince these guys, no matter how many times I reiterate what the healthy-food brochures say, to go out of their way for “special frou-frou dog food” or anything they’re unused to.

WHEW. Ever so sorry to unload all that frustration here. Any advice, recommendations, or assistance that anybody ever feels like dropping would, of course, be most appreciated.