[Cotons mom]

Beverly, I have two cottons, 1 1/2yr old, and I have had the same problem with the eye staining their whole life. I feed only raw, and pretty much the identical ones that Dori listed and they only get filtered water and if they get treats they get either fruit/veges or small pieces of freeze dried food. They do get bully sticks and raw bones from time to time. I’ve tried the sardines in water but neither one will eat them. My husband is very frustrated with the staining and has even said that he wants to try the stuff called Angel Eyes but I don’t have a good feeling with any of that stuff.
They are due their “shots” and I’m wondering about getting titers for some, and wonder if their is anything out there for heart worms besides stuff like heart guard.

[Zach M]

C4C, I just use kefir for the wide variety of friendly bacteria it contains. There are also some studies that show kefir fights against salmonella, and I supplement with raw so I feel if this is true it will help. Even more benefits include helping protect against allergies, helping the digestive tract, and defending against bloating and heart burn. I feel like there are noticeable differences in her health. And i am glad you like this topic guys!
Nice choices too, Dori and Bobby Dog!

[3pooches]

Not sure which forum this topic belongs, but I’m looking for a larger 4 or 5-star kibble to use in my Manners Minder. I’m currently using Fromm Surf & Turf, and though my dogs will eat anything, the kibble is so small, the machine is dispensing too many at a time. (it’s on the 1x setting) The dogs had previously eaten Earthborn Great Plains, so their stomachs should handle that, but they currently eat Honest Kitchen most days with the Fromm used on days when I run out of HK. 😉 They were previously on frozen raw, which I may go back to, but I’m really liking that they take longer to eat the HK because they take time to lick the bowl clean. Suggestions? Thanks!

[Akari_32]

I found Dori on a raw group on facebook lol

[Naturella]

Just 3?!?! OMG! This is hard! LoL.

I may have to say, almost the same as C4C’s – raw eggs (MAYBE with lightly cooked whites if I have a bigger dog in the future, but for Bruno it wouldn’t make too much of a difference so I feed the whole egg raw), canned sardines including their water/juices (mmmmmmm, Omega Fatty Acids… ), and RMBs (gotta keep the teethsies clean 😀 ).

But if I could include more, there would be raw virgin unrefined COCONUT OIL (sardines are probably better, hence they made the cut, as they not only have the Omega FAs, but are a meat protein, with some bone for calcium, if I’m lucky a little fish organ left in there too), yoghurt/kefir, goat milk, canned food, dehydrated/air-dried/freeze-dried foods (I’m squishing them in one category), raw organ meats (livers, gizzards, kidneys, HEARTS, tongue, green tripe, whatever I can get my hands on. Yes, I know the heart, the tongue, and the gizzard are muscles. I count them toward the organs.), various fruits and veggies as treats (not in the kibble), and as needed canned plain pumpkin, Perfect Form, and maybe plain brown rice and boiled chicken for extreme tummy upsets.

[Laura C]

hey Laurel…I’ve learned alot in my research of seizures. Besides rosemary…dogs with seizures need not only grain free, but also low carb, which includes ALL potatoes. A raw diet is best for these dogs…Dr. karen Becker (google her) has a lot of info regarding raw. As far as commercial food, a good one is Orijen Regional Red…it is high protein, moderate fat and low carb.

Shoot me an email if you have more questions…I have a hard time coming to this site with my work hours.

[email protected]

[aquariangt]

Welcome to DFA! First and very foremost, I want to see puppy pictures ASAP

Wellness and Nature’s Variety are personally the only foods that you listed that I would feed. As far as price goes, the Nature’s Variety Instinct will be cheaper than the raw boost as well, but still all are less than Orijen. Acana is more reasonable.

Where are you shopping? From the list you posted, I’d guess PetSmart or PetCo? Wellness CORE and NVI are the two best brands there probably, though at Petsmart they also have Nulo which is nice, and Simply Nourish Source-which I’ve used but I’ve heard a few things about some of their storage issues lately, its been a while since i’ve used that at all. There is also Freshet and Nature’s Variety Raw there if you were interested in going that direction however, Champion foods would probably be cheaper.

Now, on to other stores:

Fromm Gold Puppy i like a lot, and they just came out with Fromm Gold Grain Free. Fromm 4Star Grain Free is also suitable for all life stages-my most recommended and favorite brand.

Earthborn’s Grain Free line is all life stages and I like that a lot as well.

Go! Has a nice puppy food as well. Victor as well. There are many others that are great, just a few i like.

I would start with getting a bag of pro plan, whichever the breeder is on. Feed at least a week if not two of just that, don’t mix anything. Let the puppy get acclimated to your house and you. After a few weeks, start mixing in something new. After that, transition to yet another brand/protein. With puppies, if you start them on a rotational diet, they will be able to transition cold turkey in not too long, which is great, as a rotational diet is the best way to go.

[Natalie O]

Hi everyone!

I’m new to this site & need some advice. I am bringing home a Boston Terrier puppy in 2 weeks and am trying to figure out the best food to begin feeding him. The breeder currently has him on Purina Pro Plan but I plan on transitioning him slowly to a new food. I’ve heard wonderful things about Orijen and Acana – but I was hoping to find a food with the same quality as those, but a little less pricey.
I’ve heard Boston Terriers are prone to being gassy, so something to help with that would be great. I’d like to stick to a grain free food because of that as well. Right now I am between Wellness CORE, Nature’s Valley Instinct Raw Boost, Blue Wilderness, and Merrick Grain Free.

Can anyone offer any suggestions of which of those foods you would recommend?
Also, please feel free to suggest any other foods!!
I want the best for my pup 🙂 Thanks in advance!

[Marietta B]

I have a white Shih Tzu and the same thing happened once. The vet told me it was an allergic reaction. She prescribed steroids and antibiotics and it cleared right up. I probably wouldn’t go that route again, though. I try feed dehydrated or air dried “raw” food now and use natural products and it has never happened again.

[DogFoodie]

Good job, Melissa! LOL!! 🙂

Maybe they’d like a dehydrated food that you reconstitute with water, like The Honest Kitchen, Sojos or Dr. Harvey’s Oracle. They have complete mixes with protein included or pre-mixes to which you add your own fresh raw, or lightly cooked meats.

[weezerweeks]

I have my yorkie on wellness core weight management canned when he gains a little weight but I also use the wellness stews, fromn gold, go fit, simply nourish, grandma lucys, and Dr. Harveys grain free oracle. I am lucky that I only have one small dog so the cost of food is not a problem. I am considering starting on raw. Since I switched him off kibble, I have had no problem with crystals. I truly believe the most important thing with crystals is WATER!

[Dori]

I’m looking forward to seeing Sugar in your avatar. Even if you’re on a windows machine you can still go to gravatar.com and sign up and then they’ll walk you through the steps to post picture. I just can’t walk you through it because I’m on a Mac.

As to the foods that I feed, they are all commercial raw foods from companies that I like and trust and all three girls have done very well on all of them. I feed all three girls the same meals. I also rotate proteins within the brands and I also rotate with different brands. All proteins with the exception of any and all poultry (fowl) regardless of how or where it is listed in the ingredients. Nothing with feathers because Katie is highly intolerant. These are the companies I feed.

Primal Formulas Raw Frozen and Primal Pronto Raw Frozen and sometimes Primal Freeze Dried
Vital Essentials Raw Frozen Foods and sometimes Vital Essentials Freeze Dried
Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Food Only
Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen
OC Raw Frozen
Nature’s Logic Frozen Raw

Once or twice a week I split a can of sardines in water with no salt (from grocery store) between the three girls.

For treats I give them small pieces of organic (if available) fruits and veggies. Apples and cucumbers must be peeled because they carry a lot of bacteria and are waxed to make them pretty for us. Make sure to not feed any seeds or pits from any fruits as they are toxic to dogs. Of course as I’m pretty sure you already know, no raisins, grapes or onions.

If you want any more info, please ask.

[DogFoodie]

I think he just prefers your cooking to kibble. 😉

I’ve used raw for my pups, but one of them refuses it. I bet he’d love cooked foods though. If I had the time, I’d love to cook for my dogs.

If you’re able, maybe try it for a month and see how things go.

[Naturella]

I’m glad you still add toppers to their food! And that mix sounds so yummy, Bruno also likes those Nutro things. I bet they liked it too! Do you ever add some water too so it’s easier for all kibble to get coated and for the mush to be plopped into bowls, or just the tubs and kibble?
–EDIT– I am only asking because I was watching some videos of what Iditarod dogs are fed and it’s all in a bucket, a mix of high-calorie kibble, water, and raw meats of various kinds (but the good ones – chicken, pork, beef, venison, maybe lamb – basically whatever’s available), and some organs here and there. So they use a ladle and scoop the mix into their bowls and the water makes it very easy and every dog’s food is nicely mixed up.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Naturella.

[Beverly D]

And, yes, please tell me about the raw foods. Thanks!

[Dori]

Hi Beverly D. I have three toy dogs. A Maltese, my avatar is my 15 1/2 year old Maltese Hannah. That photo was from last year when she was 14 years old. I also have a 5 1/2 year old Maltipoo, Katie and a 5 1/2 year old Yorkipoo, Lola. They are all fed commercial raw foods that I have been feeding for the last 3 years or so. Katie, my Maltipoo, was a basket full of food intolerances and other issues as she was the runt of someone’s litter that I rescued so not to have her euthanized. Due to all her food intolerances and my research I found DFA and schooled myself on canine nutrition. All three of my dogs are doing remarkably well and Katie has been off of all antihistamines, over the counter and prescribed, for the past three years. If you want info on the commercial raw dog food companies that I feed and trust please let me know. I have done extensive research into all of them and trust their foods and the companies. But I will say that these foods are what work for my dogs. All dogs, as humans, are individuals and different.

As far as I can remember, please go to avatar.com and follow directions. I have a Mac Book Pro so it was fairly simple. If you’re working on a windows computer than, I’m sorry, but it’s been too many years since I’ve used a windows computer to be of any help.

I’m going to go onto avatar right now and see if I can refresh my memory and walk you through the steps.

[Beverly D]

Hi Dori, Thanks much for info. Yes, we always bring her food that she has eaten for years, and her same treats. Not sure why things would change so drastically after 7 years. She has boarded here since a pup, her groomer is there, as is her vet. Do you or anyone out there have any thoughts on the various raw dog foods? I have been doing some research and this was mentioned as a possible way to go. We have been giving her probiotics, and I am s-l-o-w-ly thinking (or maybe I am just THINKING I am seeing) that I see a change for the better. Very frustrated. Appreciate your help!

[Akari_32]

I’m just glad that Dweezle eats less than half of what dogs his size are supposed to eat! Haley eats about “right,” but only because she has such a high metabolism, which I’m guessing is because she was never spayed. It’s finally slowing down, I think, though, considering she was just putting on weight while on a diet food LOL (Wellness Healthy Weight). She’s never been a big eater anyways, so the less food I can feed her, the better her tummy feels.

Wow, your guys eat less than Bentley and the cat do… LOL Bentley gets 3.5-4 oz a day, and the cat gets 6 oz on the days he gets raw.

Yeah, I mix it all rather evenly for them. If they were younger and hadn’t grown up on Dog Chow for 9 years before I finally was able to take full control of their diet, I’d just go through the small bags a brand at a time, since I only pick up a few bags of each at a time anyways. But I don’t want to switch them around more than every couple weeks, so I just mix up a big batch of various foods, and give them a couple days transition, with their old food on top of the new food.

[Dori]

I guess I’d forgotten how big your dogs are. Now it makes more sense to me. Still. Wow.
My three girls together weigh 18 lbs. I guess that’s why I was astonished by the amount of food. My girls eat so very little. Hannah gets approx. 3 oz. of food per day, Katie gets 2.5 oz. per day, and Lola gets 2 oz. per day. What a big difference. They could eat off of all your food for quite a number of months. I guess that’s how I’m able to feed them all commercial raw foods. Couldn’t possibly if they were the sizes of your dogs.

Bill Jac does look like rabbit food.

So you empty all the bags and mix it all together in the same container so each scoop they get some of all of the different brands and proteins?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Dori.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nate-
The good news is that Struvite crystals are dissolvable. The other types are not. The bad news is that Hill’s Science diet has been proven to dissolve them. The Hill’s s/d is to be fed only short term to dissolve them and the c/d can be fed long term to prevent them. My cat had Struvite crystals as well and I wish that I had fed the Hill’s when I suspected a problem. It may have saved him from a blockage.

While that is much less likely to happen to a dog, they still may be painful for him because they are sharp little suckers. You want to feed as much moisture as possible to flush them out, so getting the fountain was a great start. I would also try to feed as much canned or raw food as possible. Dry kibble is not the best option.
Another helpful bit advice that I’ve learned is that feeding smaller meals more often per day helps to keep the pH more steady. I now feed him 3 times per day. Also try to keep the dog’s stress level as low as possible. I think that was one of my cat’s biggest issues. We had a lot of changes in our household. Our son moved home, we stopped kenneling the dogs in the house, his litter boxes got moved and to top it off, I switched brands of litter! Does your dog have anxiety or had some changes lately? Did you have a urinalysis because you suspected something or was it routine?
After my episode, I would definitely follow the vet’s advice and use the Hill’s to dissolve the crystals and then go from there. After using it for a month, Casper’s crystals are gone, there is no blood or infection. It has been four months now and I am slowly weaning him off the prescription food. But I still feed mostly canned. His ordeal almost killed him so I’m being very careful!
So in conclusion, 1. Dissolve the crystals with the Rx food 2. Moisture, moisture, and more moisture, 3. Small frequent meals and 4. Reduce stress as much as possible. Then maybe you can start to use those supplements rather than the yucky food. And I do agree it seems yucky, but it did work for my cat who is lucky to be alive! Anyway, you will get other ideas as well. But that is my two cents. Good luck!

[Melissa M]

I personally don’t care for wet-yucky breath and teeth. Raw, I won’t do. My female is about 30-32 pounds and my male is 40 ish -could be 37-38. We just went out and got Taste of the Wild–going to try that and tough love, feed twice a day with no treats in between. (good luck to me!) Their brown eyes get to me! Was going to try American Natural Grain Free since it’s made here in Wisconsin but no bags under 15 lbs here locally. They got excited seeing the bag but they usually do until it’s opened.

[Dori]

Hi Melissa.

I don’t know the sizes of your dogs so I don’t know if it would be cost prohibitive for you but I have three toy dogs and I feed them all commercial raw food diets. Twice a day. I also rotate commercial raw foods and they have not missed a meal in the three years that I have been feeding them commercial raw foods. Just a thought.

[Dori]

Hi John. Firstly I just wanted to post about Marie’s suggestions. She want be upset with me as she’s a friend of mine and is fabulous at helping others with their canines.

California Naturals does have a Kangaroo grain free but the protein is incredibly low. 21 % to AAFCO standards.

Natures Logic Rabbit contains turkey meal, chicken fat, chicken liver, dried egg product and egg shells (for calcium).

Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance (their grain free line) is freeze dried food. Their foods that do not have any poultry or beef are: Rabbit, Goat and Lamb. (Be forewarned…fairly large poops on Grandma Lucy’s but it does have a good reputation with a lot of feeders).

On to the questions you just asked of me. Since you are already feeding your dogs a raw diet, transitioning to a commercial raw diet will be very easy for you and your dogs if, in fact, that is the route you want to take. Transitioning to raw is much simpler and quicker especially with dogs that are already eating raw. Also because you already feed grain free that will make it a bit easier as their guts are in better and healthier conditions than dogs fed their entire lives on foods that contain massive amounts of carbs and lower quality foods. Now, I’m assuming at this point that the only known allergens are poultry and beef. I would stay away from any and all poultry (all fowl….anything with feathers). Since you say that Bella reacted violently to Bison after only a few hours you’ll be able to tell fairly quickly if a new food is going to bother her. Typically when I first started out with rotation feeding I could tell within 3 days how Katie was doing on it. If she was going to have loose stools or vomitting, scratching, gas, bad breath and everything else that goes along with food sensitivities it would happen fairly quickly so I stopped feeding that food and went on to the next. In your case I would probably tell you to start with one food and if they do well on it then feed only that food for two or three months just to give their guts a bit more healing time and “detoxing” as it’s called. At that time you will already have bought the next food you want to try within that brand if there is another protein without any allergens that your dogs may have. If that brand doesn’t, then move on to the next brand. If all goes well I would then feed that food and start looking for the next protein within that brand you want to try. Every time you are done with one bag you move on to the next. Every time with a different protein within the same brand. Keep a detailed list of the foods you have tried and what, if any, reactions they had. Once you’ve exhausted the different proteins in your first brand then you move on to the next brand and start rotating through their proteins that your dogs can eat. Then you move on to the next brand. Before you know it you may be able to have 4 or 5 foods that your dogs can eat and do well on. You can then continue to rotate within these brands and proteins every time you have to buy a bag of food. You can then start rotating with the different foods you have in the freezer every day, every couple of days, every meal as I do, whatever. I rotate as often as I do because Katie can’t tolerate anything for more than a meal or two. She probably can at this point but since I’ve been doing it this way for so long and they’re all just fine with it and because I wouldn’t eat the same thing for breakfast and dinner I figure why should they. I also can’t afford for her to become allergic to anything more than she already is. In rotating foods if some ingredient bothers her a little or there is a pro-inflammatory ingredient in the food (which I try my best to avoid but not always possible) then she’s only getting it for one meal. Rotating foods for all dogs is, in my opinion, the healthiest way to feed canines but especially for canines with food intolerances.

Please keep in mind that the log (list) is very very important. In keeping a list it will also better inform you if your dog is having an issue with the protein or is it another ingredient in the food. If you feed rabbit and Bella has issues with it and then you move on to goat and the same thing happens, then you have to compare the ingredient labels of both those foods and see what other ingredients do both foods have in common other than the protein. When starting to gather foods for dogs with allergies it’s easy to assume that it’s the labeled protein in the food and keep moving from food to food thinking your dog is intolerant of every single protein. Typically that’s not the case. It’s that we forgot that they could be allergic or intolerant of any other ingredient in the foods. So it’s important…..keep a log of foods you feed and the ingredients in the foods. You can print out the ingredient list from their web sites or you can take a picture of the ingredient label on the bag itself for reference purposes.

“Toppers” by the way is just a term that’s used meaning anything that you would put on top of the food you already have in their bowl. I would suggest you not use any of them at all until you have some foods that you can easily feed to your dogs with no allergy symptoms. You’ll confuse the issue if you start adding other things. You won’t know which or what is causing the symptoms. I do add things to my dogs foods but I did not in the beginning. Had to find the foods first. Then started adding little things to see what the affect would be.

Plain Kefir (you can buy it in grocery stores) acts like plain yogurt in that it contains friendly “probiotic” bacteria that helps the gut. I will add here that my allergy girl, Katie, cannot have kefir, yogurt or cheese. Actually I’ve yet to find a probiotic that doesn’t contain something (yeast, or whatever) that she doesn’t have issues with. She’s too intolerant of them and the craziness starts all over again. Not saying that your dogs will react, but owners of dogs with food sensitivities have to be very careful of every single thing that eat. Their immune systems are pretty much in a weakened state especially until their immune system improves on better foods, less toxins and carbs to deal with. 70% of the immune system is in the gut.

Allergy symptoms can be skin issues and/or digestive issues as is the case with Katie. Once I cleared up all her food issues her digestive and skin issues all disappeared.

Once on line please check out all pro-inflammatory foods, fruits and veggies. Allergies are an inflammatory based issue so you need to avoid those foods as best you can. It’s not always easy to eliminate each and every single one but do your best to avoid as much as possible. That’s also a good reason for rotation. If one of your foods does have pro-inflammatory ingredients your dog will not be getting them for too long a time.

If you find, eventually, that your dogs are not allergic to sardines then you can give them sardines packed in water with no salt added (canned in the grocery store) two or three times a week (as a “topper”) on top or mixed in with the food in their bowls. Sardines are an excellent form of Omega 3 which most foods are lacking. Most foods have plenty of Omega 6’s and not enough Omega 3’s to balance them out. That is true most especially in kibble foods. On the days that I don’t give my dogs sardines I keep a bottle refrigerated of Nature’s Logic Sardine oil. Oils go rancid fairly quickly so it’s best kept refrigerated and also says it on the bottle I believe. Anyway, once I’ve put their meals in their bowls, and on the days I don’t add sardines, I splash a little of the sardine oil on top of their food in their bowls and promptly put the bottle back in fridge and immediately give the dogs their bowls of food. I believe the oil has the dosing on the bottle. Please do not give your dogs salmon oil as we already know that they had issues with the salmon food. Also, salmon and tuna have the most amount of mercury in them due to their long lives. I don’t feed either because of those reasons. Sardines and krill have the least as they have very short lives and very short digestive tracks.

Just for your info I realize that I didn’t tell you what type of dogs I have or anything other than Katie’s allergies. So, Hannah (my avatar) is my 15 1/2 year old Maltese. Katie is my 5 1/2 year old Maltipoo and Lola is my 5 1/2 year old Yorkipoo.

One more thing. I no longer have my dogs vaccinated. I do the titers on the core vaccines. Rabies vaccine in my area is only required every three years. Though recently I’ve learned that the county I live in will accept rabies titers. Very few counties in the country are on board with titers for rabies. I don’t believe that any dog should be vaccinated unnecessarily. Dogs with allergies shouldn’t be vaccinated. Of course, I am in favor of doing all the initial puppy vaccinations spaced out as they should be. Each vaccine should be done separately and not the three in one type. It’s too much of an overload on their systems. After those initially puppy shots which, if memory serves me, ends when they are about a year old. After that having your vet do titers to check their antibodies to the core illnesses will let you know when and if they have to be vaccinated again.

[Jon h]

I think the reason you are receiving so much negativity is you are seeming to conform to a lot of the stereotypes of vegetarian feeders (ie: lack of knowledge of canine nutrition, lack of canine medical knowledge, lack any sort of formal nutritional training and yet propose that they know more than their vet and people with PhDs in the field canine nutrition). Vegetarian diets should only be imposed on a dog if there are medical reasons to do so (ie: some sort of allergy) and I personally haven’t read any cases of dogs allergic to all meat sources so I highly doubt that is a legitimate argument in your case. Now if you are switching your dog to a vegetarian diet because of your own moral reasoning or some ill founded notion that vegetarian diets are healthier than diets that include meat then I would strongly reconsider being a dog owner.

Lets take a quick look at your arguments. First (in regards to your dog being obese before), a dog becoming obese is almost always the direct result of an owner not properly managing their dogs caloric intake to activity level ratio. Not because meat was magically making their dog fat. Switching to vegetarian meals most likely significantly reduced the dog’s caloric intake therefore attributing their obesity to meat is a really poor argument. Second, in regards to your dog always being sick. If their sickness was food related your dog may have had an allergy you were not aware of and switching to a vegetarian diet eliminated that allergen. Saying that this means that vegetarian diets are better than diets that include meat is a poor founded conclusion from your observations.

Third (and this one really concerns me), no… coconut water is not some magic fluid that will cure all ailments, to draw the conclusion that coconut water is such a strong medicinal product that it cured your dog overnight is logic I’d expect to see on late night infomercials, not from someone who claims to know more than their vet about canine medicine.

I understand that this doesn’t directly answer the question you originally asked but I am a strong proponent of making medical and nutritional decisions using science and always in the best interest of your dog (even if it goes against something you believe in).

Some of things you’ve said really concern me. At the end of the day if you can’t have a science based discussion with your vet on why you chose a vegetarian diet for your dog then that should be a flashing red light for you that you haven’t done the proper research and don’t have the knowledge/qualification to be making such a drastic change to your dogs nutrition source….

[crazy4cats]

Hi Joyce-
As Marie mentioned, Tucker’s is reviewed on this site. It gets 4.5 stars. There are a handful of people on this site that feed exclusively raw either home made or commercial. The queen of raw, Hound Dog Mom, does not frequent the site as much anymore due to going to school to become a vet. Woo Hoo! I am actually considering getting a grinder which surprises the heck out of me. But I’d like to grind at least some various poultry necks and such as my dogs are such gulpers, they scare me when I feed them.
I do feed some frozen raw nuggets (NW Naturals or Nature’s Variety) mixed in kibble to my dogs occasionally with no upset. Also freeze dried raw as well. That seems to be a controversial subject. But there are many of us that do it with no issue. I also feed my pups lightly cooked ground turkey with the See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix once a week. Pre-mixes with raw could be another option for you. There is some info on those on http://www.dogaware.com if you have not already checked out the site.
Welcome aboard and good luck to you.

[joyce h]

Hi Everyone, I’m Joyce and I am also new to the forum…ready to learn and exchange ideas. I’m a positive dog trainer that used to feed her dogs raw years ago and stopped for some unremembered reason. I’m BACK!! A lot had changed in the arena.
At another trainers recommendation I’m trying a raw food called “Tucker’s’ (www.tuckersraw.com). I looked it up on DFA and it’s not listed…so, don’t really know what that means…has anyone heard of it? It’s complete and balanced.

I also bought a 3/4 horse power grinder (that can easily grind any and all chicken bones) in hopes of making some raw ‘patties’ to freeze of my own. Bought Dr Karen Becker’s book on Raw Food , but hadn’t yet actually tired any specific recipe yet. I’ve been watching her on YouTube speaking on raw food and it’s advantages.
I noted that she was against mixing raw and kibble together as it moves thru the short digestive track at different rates which is not good for proper absorption…just an informational thought 🙂
So…is anyone grinding their own raw dog food and freezing it? I understand that if you do this you will need to add supplements for sure for it to be complete and balanced.
Looks like a great forum…thanks for any comments or help you can give…Joyce

[Naturella]

Hey, Joe, if you’re even still here. Although I entirely second Melissaandcrew’s statement of fact that dogs are carnivores, I just want to throw my 2 cents in there.

First off, PERSONALLY, I would not feed a dog a vegetarian diet. That being said, I also believe that if something “ain’t broke”, it doesn’t need fixing. So if your dogs are doing fine on a vegetarian diet, then hey, it is what seems to work for them… THAT being said, this may be just temporary. Because I don’t feel that a vegetarian diet is species-appropriate (as Melissaandcrew said, herbivores need to eat plant matter, not meat, and it is the total opposite with carnivores, but the same idea), I would not lie to your vet because should an issue arise, it may well be the diet’s fault. If you were feeding, say, balanced raw meat-based diet and your vet did not approve of that, I would probably choose to respectfully not discuss my dog’s nutrition with the vet. But because I see the diet that you feed as deficient in the main thing dogs need – animal protein source in their diet – I would probably put it out there, and as long as your dogs remain healthy, I would respectfully defend it to the vet as a choice of their diet. But definitely disclose it, because there is a risk of the dogs becoming unhealthy down the way should they continue to eat species-inappropriate food.

And we do not mean to bash anyone – on the contrary – I believe that we all do what we perceive as best for our companions. But we can always learn from each other, and we can all do better. Hope this helps.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Naturella.

[dana i]

Hi! I’ve been reading this forum all day today, but am overwhelmed by all the choices. I’d really love to hear people’s actual experiences and thoughts– what is on paper does not always match what makes the dogs happy and healthy.

I have two lab mix dogs– both rescues.
Diesel is a 1 year old Lab/Shephard mix who has allergies. 65# dog
Dudley is a 1 1/2 year old lab/Greyhound mix who has gas issues when he eats ANYTHING other than the current food… (even treats) 83# dog

They were both given horrible diets before they came to me.
I have them on Science Diet Lamb and Rice Large Breed formula.

At the time, it’s the ONLY thing that I found that helped Diesel’s allergy symptoms (they are completely gone on this food but when I try anything else it comes back) and Dudley’s gas is now a very rare thing on this food.

However, reading it seems that people don’t like this one and that there may be better out there… And the fact that when I went to buy it today I found it went up in price AGAIN. uugh. Maybe now is a good time to switch…

I want what is best for them, with budget kinda on the mind at the same time.

Right now, it takes us 11 days to go through a 33 pound bag of Science Diet Lamb and Rice large breed formula dry food and used to cost us around $45 a bag but did just go up to about $50.

I’d really love to get them something better. Maybe something that also makes their poop a little smaller too? (I know–wishful thinking? LOL)

Any suggestions based on the gas/allergies?
I priced raw diet– which I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do, but it’s way out of our price range from what I am reading.

I CAN and will supplement a little bit of our cooked food on top (If I can avoid the gas and allergy issues– that will take a little experimenting)….

I have a feed store 1 mile from my house that sells some food but he’s kinda expensive on some items. I also live near Petco, Petsmart and have Amazon prime… I live in Texas, suburb of Dallas if that helps.

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated!

[GSDsForever]

I’ve had good success crumbling Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried raw medallions over the food, just about a quarter to half of a medallion, crumbled fine enough that the dog cannot pick it out and just eat the S&C. I honestly think of it as like doggie crack (lol).

Some dogs have also been attracted to virgin coconut oil mixed into the food.

Turkey/chicken/beef broth warmed & poured over the food is another winner.

Other ideas: parmesan cheese or garlic powder* (or a minced clove*) sprinkled over

*NB: Although this is considered a controversial item by some, I’ve always used it in medium to large breed dogs without problems. I regard it as safe and beneficial to health. The dogs seem to like it. And my vet approved it.

[Pam P]

I know this isn’t food related, but it seems your dog has some serious issues and it might not be all due to food. Pet healthcare is a lot like traditional healthcare or sickness care (as I call it)….it’s big business. Dogs are way over vaccinated, and traditional vaccines have mercury, formaldehyde and other toxic substances that can affect a dog’s health over time. Metal toxicity is a serious issue as they aren’t eliminated from the body. They are stored in the organs and joints. The core vaccines are usually good for life. A titer test can determine the antibody levels. A holistic vet uses vaccines that have no mercury or heavy metals. My holistic vet detoxifies the dog immediately after giving a vaccination. If a dog does need the 3 core vaccines, he does them in 2-3 week intervals so the dog isn’t overloaded all at once. That’s why it’s not a bad idea to do the kefir diet for 30 days or more to detoxify the dog and get all the junk out of their system, and then gradually get them back on a very clean, healthy food. I still give our Mastiff all the oils I mentioned previously; just no kibble or meat. I also give her a tsp of organic turmeric at each feeding. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and there is obviously some serious inflammation going on with your dog. I mix it with the kefir and she downs it. I start with a small amount and build to a tsp each meal. Just like with humans, a detox diet can make them feel worse before they get better; as all the toxins are being released and coming out of the body, the dog can appear worse for a while. I detoxified the Mastiff gradually starting with Nature’s Logic, then raw, then kefir. She’s a senior dog so didn’t want to overload her system. The kidneys and liver are the detoxifying organs so didn’t want to take a chance to overload them. Just some more suggestions.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi John
.

Sadly welcome to the world of wheaties. Great dogs, lots of medical concerns. Be thankful yours has the skin issues from allergies and not the intestinsl. Ours had both. We feed high quality dry and raw foods to control his issues. He eats a lot of Acana, Orijen and Nature’s Variety products. Once you find a brand that is higher rated, look for any chicken in it. We started ours on the Acana Lamb/ apple with great success. We never feed him a food for long term, in the hopes that he will not develop an allergy due to exposure.

For example. Last week he ate Acana Pork/squash for two days, Nature’s Variety Rabbit (limited ingredient) for 2 days, and the lamb Acana for 2 days. Grandma Lucy dehydrated venison for one.

[deja]

We have a dog recently diagnosed with epilepsy and I’m on the search for a new food because I suspect the one she’s on now contains these preservatives (a prescription Science Diet food). I’ve been finding it very difficult to find definitive information on whether foods use BHA/BHT/Ethoxyquin. I figured people on this website might have more experience/information.

Do you know of dog foods that the company has stated do not contain BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin? Either on their websites or through response to email inquiries.

Personally I’m also looking for non-raw food that does not contain rosemary (not easy to find!), and is also not too high in fat (less than 17% preferably). But I think I can narrow those down myself more easily, so I’m mostly looking for help with the preservatives. So far Life’s Abundance is the only one I’ve found that also meets my other requirements. Natural Balance says no BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin as well on their rolled food and some treats, but I can’t find comments on any of their other food.

[Dori]

If I haven’t nominated OC Raw Dog Food I would like to do so now. I’ve had it in commercial raw rotation feeding and all three dogs have been doing very well on it. Thank you.

[Pam P]

I feed my dog Answers fermented raw food and kefir. My son’s Mastiff mix had such itchy skin she had to go on antibiotics for a wound she scratched raw that wouldn’t heal. I started her for one month on Nature’s Logic Sardine. Nature’s Logic is one of a very few that doesn’t use synthetic vitamins and minerals. The synthetic vitamins and minerals come mostly from industrial waste such as coal tar for one. They aren’t good for humans and they aren’t good for pets. She started detoxifying on Nature’s Logic. Then I put her on Answers Fermented Raw food for a month. The itching became less. Now she is on only Kefir for a month and her itching has just about stopped. The kefir is a detox diet. She hasn’t lost weight. Her energy is 300% higher. I’ll see how she does after another 2 weeks to see if we gradually get her back on food or keep her on kefir for another 2 weeks. The key is to clean and detoxify the system and then to make sure the immune system is strengthened. Allergies are an immune system issue. I also give my dogs organic extra virgin coconut oil, sardine oil, pumpkin seed oil, and royal jelly. Royal jelly is excellent for the skin and coat. Its what the queen bee is fed. I learned that from an owner of champion show dogs. I have also given them canned sardines. Frozen sardines can be purchased in bulk online. They have small bones which are loaded with calcium. If I was going to feed kibble, I would lean towards Nature’s Logic or one that doesn’t use synthetic vitamins and minerals. They are a little lower on the meat, so I would add gizzards and some raw meat to it, preferably a balanced frozen meat. There are several to chose from….Nature’s Logic, Primal, Instinct, and others. I hope this gives you some ideas.

[Dori]

Hi John P. First let me say that I’m a commercial raw feeder grain free foods so I’m not going to really be of much help with kibble. I do know that a lot of people on this site consider Acana and Orijen made by Champion to be a quality company. The only kibble that, on rare occasions, I have put in rotation is Nature’s Logic Kibble but only the Sardine. All others contain either some sort of beef or poultry (eggs). One of my dogs has many many food intolerances and sensitivities. The list is quite long so I won’t bore you as they don’t pertain to your dog. But she is highly intolerant of all things poultry which includes all fowl. Below is a partial list of what I feed my three dogs and they all do very well on them, I’ve left out any of the beef that I feed because your dog has an intolerance to beef. I feed all my dogs the same food because of my allergy girl, Katie. I feed a rotational diet so here goes.

OC Raw: Fish & Produce Patties, Lamb Patties, Rabbit Patties, Goat Patties

Primal Raw Formulas and/or Primal Pronto Formulas: Venison Patties, Rabbit Patties

Vital Essentials Raw: Fish Patties, Rabbit Patties

Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw: Venison (also contains lamb), Rabbit (also contains pork)

Stella & Chewy’s Raw: Venison, Lamb, Rabbit
I’m not a great fan of Stella & Chewy’s but will feed it if I’m in a pinch.

Natures Logic Kibble: Sardine (It contains millet which is a pseudo-grain. Katie can’t tolerate grains but for some reason the millet in Nature’s Logic doesn’t seem to bother her. Could be because I feed it so infrequently and never for more than one meal every so often.

I’m an advocate of rotational feeding for my three dogs so I rotate their food pretty much with every meal and don’t feed them the same protein without a three day break in between. It’s the only way I can get around Katie’s food issues. Dogs with allergies should also avoid corn, white potatoes, rice (all), soy. They are all pro-inflammatory so you’re basically feeding the allergies and making things worse. You need to feed non-inflammatory foods and ingredients as best you can. It’s pretty difficult to avoid every single thing all the time but it helps a great deal to do your best.

Hope some of this has helped. I’m sure someone else will chime in soon to help with kibble feeding.

Oops! Don’t forget about checking to see what’s in the treats you give your dogs. For treats I only give pieces of fruits (no grapes) and veggies. No seeds or pits with the fruit please (toxic), I also peel apples and cucumbers. I don’t feed any commercial treats due to grains and too many recalls for my liking. Too many pesticides used on both. Good Luck and if I can answer any questions please ask.

I just wanted to mention that the only fish that Katie cannot eat is salmon. All other fish foods she’s fine with but is very sensitive to salmon.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Dori.

[John P]

My four-year-old Wheaten Terrier (wheatable really – dominant wheaten mix) has serious allergies, skin issues, and food sensitives to most grains and several proteins. He started on a poultry-based food (Organix) but became sensitive after two years. After trial-and-error and an allergy test, we switched to a fish-based food (Natural Mix). However, recently he has become sensitive to it. I am desperate to find a food with a new protein. It breaks my heart to watch him itch and scratch all day. My vet is wonderful, but beyond sending me to this site, she is as desperate as I am.

Right now, I’m feeding him a raw diet consisting mainly of quality meat leftovers I buy from the butcher (pork and venison, mainly), but I can’t afford to do that much longer. I subscribed to the Editor’s Choice, but almost every food is poultry-based or enriched with poultry meals. I noticed Acana foods might have some alternative proteins (such as pork). Does anyone have experience with them?

I know he is definitely allergic to most red meats, including beef and bison. The poultry-based food he ate contained turkey and chicken. The fish-based food he ate contained salmon. He has never had any issues with pork or venison. I am wondering if someone might have experience with a dog who became intolerant of one poultry protein but could tolerate another (say I could try switching him to duck or pheasant)?

Otherwise, do any of you have favorite foods containing pork, venison, rabbit, or lamb? Do you have any other protein recommendations? Do you have any other suggestions period?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

Best,

John

[GSDsForever]

But you started this with a concern for digestibility, good absorption of nutrients, stool size, and gas. So I wanted to comment on that.

“I don’t know if having more animal protein versus plant protein would help her digest the nutrients and poop/have gas less?”

In short, no. It is the quality of the individual ingredients, what they are and their grade, that affect digestibility as they go into a formula. You’re also playing a balancing game with some ingredients, between rich in nutrients and greater digestibility. From there, processing matters. It can affect overall digestibility and preservation of nutrients. Finally freshness of ingredients going into the formula and from date of manufacture to purchase and use are very important.

I would highly recommend calling the company of the the foods you’re considering, as well as the one you’ve been feeding (Infinia) and asking for Total Dry Matter Digestibility, plus digestibility of protein, fat, and carbs.

The Infinia is rather low in protein, lower than I personally would feel comfortable feeding. But that isn’t the problem when looking at nutrient absorption and digestibility. But when the protein IS very low, then it becomes even more critical to ensure that it is very high quality and highly digested.

Since Infinia Holistic Salmon & Sweet Potato’s primary ingredients are ones that look good and CAN be highly digestible . . .

Salmon, Menhaden fish meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes

it may the grade of ingredients and/or processing that is problematic.

Fish meal, for example, comes in MANY different grades at VERY different price points to pet food companies. It can be very high ash & bones, leftover carcass material or low ash/high protein & high digestibility and come from good cuts included or whole fish with most bone filtered out, which costs the company considerably more and is harder to source. It also, by AAFCO definition, can be stripped of its oil (which is sold separately at profit, rather than going into the food) or have those precious Omega 3s left in. This formula appears to be very low in Omega 3, particularly for a fish formula, and even though it has been already boosted by plant oil (Canola). Reasons for fish formulas to be low in Omega 3 tend to be the meal has been stripped of its oils and/or use of farmed salmon. Salmon varieties also range greatly in Omega 3 content!

Canola oil is not going to be as digestible and its nutrients absorbed well in order to be used by your dog vs., say, salmon oil or an animal fat. (I personally don’t like canola oil anyway, as it’s not a very clean ingredient. In commercial use, it is generally high heat and chemical processed, damaged, and and contaminated.) Potatoes, sweet potatoes can include skins or not, etc. affecting digestibility and stool volume.

Foods cooked for less time and at lower temperatures preserve more nutrients. And gentle cooking both increases digestibility and nutrient absorbability in ingredients and nutrients AND decreases them compared to raw, depending on the ingredient or nutrient.

Consider how fresh the ingredients are, how fresh from date of manufacture, how it was stored and transported prior to getting to you, and how properly sealed the bags are. (From there, you must also store foods properly.) Actually smell the food.

But just to give you an example of how you can never tell with things like digestibility from the price and marketing/popularity of a product or just looking at the ingredient list of a “better” brand — Orijen’s 6 Fish formula has a pretty poor overall dry matter digestibility for a premium brand and is in fact the lowest among their formulas. It’s also lower than the cheap bulk bags from Costco, Nature’s Domain (by Diamond).

[Dina H]

I am a ‘raw convert’ in the past 6 weeks. Initially, I was feeding the Honest Kitchen base mix called Kindly, but after speaking with others, they said no need for base mix, just feed the raw. As someone said above, when you add a base mix, you go from those dried-up nuggets of poo to the same steaming piles of poop…no thank you.

As far as transitioning (my own two are 12) from lamb to beef to chicken to whatever..I think that dogs in the wild will just catch whatever they can and do not eat the same protein source every day, so I have been doing the same with good results.

The skin issues on my 12 year old male have self-resolved as well as yeasty ears. I also do rescue and put 3 other dogs with skin issues on raw just this week to see how they would do. So far, so good. I think we have all been there with the dry when a transition would have you anxiously waiting for what’s gonna happen now….I’ve been there and done that one. But have not found the issue with raw.

[Meghan M]

Hello all!

I have been to the Dog Food Advisor website many, many times over the last year or so, and recently decided to post a forum so I could get some personal insight regarding my issue. I have a 3 year-old Doberman who has been getting fed Infinia Holistic Salmon and Sweet Potato for quite some time. I also give her fish oil, yogurt, eggs, pumpkin, various fruits and veggies, and recently started adding wet food to the dry food based on many suggestions to vary a dog’s food.

When I first got my dog, she was the runt of the litter. She had horrible skin, recurring UTIs, recurring issues with digestive upset (vomiting, diarrhea, constipation), etc. I tried a lot of different foods to no avail before I realized she likely has an allergy to poultry. I switched her over to the Infinia dog food and she has done great ever since. People always talk about how beautiful and shiny her coat is, how healthy she looks, etc. But I’ve noticed that, for the amount of food she eats per day, her stools are REALLY big and I feel like she goes way too often, which makes me worried that she’s not getting all of the benefits from the food that she should be getting. She also has gas ALL THE TIME. I thought it may have been the yogurt, so I’ve been giving her probiotic chews, but it’s still horrible.

I’ve really been spending time the past few weeks researching, and I feel like the Infinia has too low of protein for her (22%) and does not have enough animal/fish protein. I don’t know if having more animal protein versus plant protein would help her digest the nutrients and poop/have gas less? Anywas, I thought Canidae Pure Sea would be a good first change-up, so I started to transition her EXTREMELY slowly, and she still ended up getting sick. I have her back on her normal food while I figure out what I want to switch her too. Candiae isn’t completely out (I could need to transition her even more slowly than I did, who knows).

So, after all of my research on this website I found 9 other dog foods that seem to be high-quality and offer higher protein contents. I also have to take cost into consideration, because I’m a college student and can’t afford food like Orijen. So, here is my list of foods that I’ve found and like. If anyone could give me advice or suggestions about what food(s) would be best or personal stories, I would really appreciate it. And I’m sorry for the long rant!

1) Sammy Snacks Ancestry Salmon and Sweet Potato
2) Wellness CORE Ocean Formula
3) Horizon Legacy Fish
4) Innova Nature’s Table Cold Water Salmon and Wild Herring
5) Zignature Trout and Salmon Meal
6) Earthborn Holistic Grain Free Coastal Catch
7) Horizon Pulsar Fish Formula

The Sammy Snacks Ancestry is my favorite so far that I’ve researched, but I wondered if ethoxyquin was present. Also, once I get her comfortable with a higher-protein fish food, I will start introducing different protein sources, like beef and possibly bison, as well as adding canned sardines, salmon, and other “raw” foods.

[Naturella]

Nice! Well, maybe these will work for you then! Even if Haley and Dweezle don’t have them. Seems like Bentley would enjoy them quite a bit! 🙂

And I tried cutting mine with the best knife we own, no way no how, it is way too hard for knives I think. And since we don’t have kitchen scissors, I will just have to give them to Bruno like that and watch when he gets to about half of it and take it away. The second halves I will stuff like you for Bruno’s RMB/raw meal replacement/week too, I think it is a great idea! 🙂 If that goes well and BBS still has the 50-piece on sale, I will probably get it too. 🙂

[Naturella]

Akari, that’s great that Bentley’s tummy is made of iron! 🙂

I will try the knife tomorrow… Or in a few minutes, lol.

Here is something I thought you may be interested in: http://www.bestbullysticks.com/3-inch-trachea-dog-chews-50-pack Pretty affordable, eh? It will make for many special meals for Bentley and/or Haley and Dweezle if you still feed them a raw meal replacement/month like you used to. 🙂 I may get these for Bruno.

[aquariangt]

I am, part time, unfortunately. I’d love to make it full time, and while I have some plans potentially in the works, it will be a while before that goes on. To be able to sustain as that being your source of income, you have to really have a niche in the market that is already saturated. I’m not really a behaviorist, and I’m not sure that’s the direction I want to go in, so that’s the majority of what people are looking for. While I do agility and teach some basics, I have no titles (yet ;-)) so there’s another big revenue draw. Right now I do group classes of obedience and agility for the typical pet dog, and that’s good enough for the time being :). Grew up with it, showed in 4h when I was younger, led 4h as I got older, and never could fully separate from the dog world. Food service is fun too though 😛

And what you are doing with Lily is great, it’s the same concept as what I said with the cars, and have used the same technique with Liesl-most positive trainers use the same things, which is why nothing I do I would consider “proprietary” as Naturella asked

[Akari_32]

She very quickly loses interest in anything that doesn’t giver her immediate satisfaction LOL I’m pretty sure thats why she doesn’t like the Halo chews– because they’re too hard for her to chew, and she doesn’t get anywhere with them, so she gives up. The Denta Sticks are soft enough that she can eat them in a minute or so. I hope that once her teeth are dealt with, she’ll feel better. Just waiting on mom to have her half of the money for it.

I don’t know where I got the idea for it! But trachea is really high in glucosamine and stuff, and best of all, its not a bone, so no hard bone-poops LOL It fits in nicely with the raw meals I already have balanced out in the freezer :p

[Michelle T]

I have had several Standards and currently have 2. I rotate their food with one meal per day being raw&/or The Honest Kitchen and the other meal one of the following:
Orijen, Acana, and Fromm. I like to rotate protein sources and I occasionally add a bit of green tripe to the kibble. I stay away from grains as Standards often can have yeasty issues. Good luck & congratulations on your new adventure – life with a Standard Poodle is never dull!

[Susan]

I think Laleah should give the limited ingredient Natural Balance a go, it may just work for her little dog….Why I mentioned IBD as its a inflammatory disease like skin allergies…sometimes dogs will have both illnesses like Patch has, once your fix their diet you fix everything..
Some dogs that have skin problems the NB Kangaroo & Potatoes or the Duck & Rabbit limited ingredients works great for their dogs & clears their skin problems up, just cause it has low protein it gets a lower star rating…… Every dog is different with their skin problems, what works for your dog will not work for my dog (Raw)….. Patch does not eat NB he can’t eat potatoes gets real bad Colitis…
I’m sick of Marie always having a go at my post, she has done it for 2 year now, I’ve had enough…..if I see something that I don’t agree with or a mistake or what ever, I just MIND my own business & move on….maybe take your dogs out for a nice long walk & smell the beautiful flowers….
Have a nice day…

[Dori]

Weezerweeks. Freeze dried that I have fed and will continue with in rotation with commercial raw diets are Primal, Vital Essentials, Natures Variety, Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance. Fair warning though…Grandma Lucy’s seems to produce larger stools. I think it has more fiber than the others, also I can’t discern any ingredients in their poop for that food. The girls do really well on all these freeze dried foods. I’ve tried others but I didn’t care for them. The girls ate them but, then again, they’ll eat everything. The only food Hannah has ever turned down in her entire life and just would not eat was Dr. Harvey’s Oracle Tripe. Which was funny because she loves their tripe treats. She liked the tripe bits (treats) in the food but not the food itself.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Sandra,
Why the correlation between what you cooked and the vomiting? Could have been a virus the poodle got from walking and sniffing something, maybe because of the age his/her system is changing,and possibly something in your home cooked meal doesn’t agree with him/her anymore. Is the poodle off the meds? You say he still feels bad,all day only after meals?
If after meals you mast have to go bland very bland boiled beef with a cooked sweet potato or plain canned pumpkin NOT THE PIE FILLING. If inflammation is brewing stay away from boiled rice. Please don’t get me started on vets and nutrition, if your daughter goes back i guarantee it will be suggested a veterinary diet be purchased.
I know my older fur-kid went through the same thing in Dec started throwing up every day after eating she can’t tolerate kibble anymore started her on the honest kitchen dehydrated food and commercial raw -big difference so far.
It’s all a process of elimination and that sad to say means no treats either until you can get to the bottom of the problem,BLAND BLAND for a few weeks then slowly very slowly introduce 1 thing at a time. Kibble may be to hard on the puppy’s system.

[InkedMarie]

James,
Up above, click the Dog Food Advisor bnner. Then, look at that page, there is a link for raw dog food reviews. i wouldn’t feed Bil jac.

Edit: Bil Jac is apparently cooked frozen, not raw. For that review, just look under “B” in the reviews.

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

[aquariangt]

If you’re wanting a frozen cooked or raw product, there are some others you should check out over Biljac-it’s still not the best. I probably would feed it over Blue personally because I have extreme distrust of that company, but Biljac isn’t something I would feed either. The ingredients aren’t great, and for a product in that style, it’s protein level is pretty low (lower than most kibble I feed, if not all-when I use raw or cooked I use it as a topper and use it to really get that protein level up without a lot of added crap).

I would check out Nature’s Variety or Freshpet, both available where Biljac is, or if you shop at smaller food stores, there are even more available

[Dori]

Hi Weezerweeks. I’m with you on the subject of recalls. I do not buy foods that have had recalls. If our dogs have healthy guts, than a bit of salmonella is not going to hurt our dogs but it will hurt us. Aspen A. seems to think that we are only concerned about these issues only for our dogs. We that feed raw, freeze dried, dehydrated, canned and, yes, even kibble know that we need to wash our hands, counter tops, etc. etc. We take all precautions necessary on a regular basis anyway but that doesn’t make it okay for manufacturers with recalls should think that it’s really no big deal. If other companies can get it right than why can’t the ones with recalls.

Also, Dr. Harvey’s answer to you that dogs drink more water on freeze-dried foods would mean that your yorkie would be drinking more water on all freeze-dried foods. Have you found that to be true with your yorkie? I haven’t found that to be true with any of my three dogs. I should mention that I don’t feed Dr. Harvey’s Oracle. Tried it once and I didn’t care for it but I certainly do have other freeze dried foods in rotation.