[mountainhound]

Interesting results. Have you beef feeding whole prey including bones? ground raw won’t clean teeth or improve breath since they are not crunching on bone. I’ve never heard of a dog becoming aggressive on a raw diet either. Sometimes they go through a detox period of about 2-3 months which can create mood variations, so thats always a possibility.

[mountainhound]

I would never feed any prescription food to a dog with joint issues, the bulk of those ingredients are highly inflammatory and will cause more harm than good. Feed a good quality raw diet (even premade raw will probably be cheaper than Hills), raw food contains natural sources of glucosamine/chondroitin from ground up cartilage. Lack of carbs will help with inflammation and pain reduction. You can also give her treats like tracheas and duck feet since those are good sources of glucosamine. I’ve had good results with a supplement called Liquid Health, its tasteless and easy to mix with ground raw food.

[lovemypuppy]

I’ve tried warm water, I’ve tried hot water, I’ve tried cold water, lol.

Thankfully, the raw food diet is continuing to go great! She is gaining weight and her coat already looks much better. Her stools are healthy, consistent, and they stink less. Her gas is less than it was on quality kibble and the stink isn’t there. My guess is it’s the apple cider vinegar and the natural enzymes in the food that are taking the smell away.

I need to figure out how to load a picture on here. I have pictures on my phone but don’t know how to get them onto my computer. I need to figure it out soon 🙂

[Kate F]

Thanks for all the great questions and it’s wonderful to hear about all the dogs doing well on our food! Here are some initial responses to some of the questions but I also encourage you to give us a call so we can get more in-depth answers for you: 866-437-9729

@Dog_Obsessed:
For a more active dog, we recommend increasing the ratio of meat to the dry mix. This provides more calories from the protein and fat, and less of the fruits and veggies, which offer less calories per gram. The guidelines are offered as a place to start and we strongly believe that each and every dog is an individual. So, we recommend that you start with these amounts and then adjust in time to suit your dog’s individual dog’s needs.

You may increase the ratio of meat to base mix by as much as 2:1, two parts meat to 1 part dry mix. You may also increase the total amount of both meat and base mix as needed, as long as you feed within our recommended ratios, which will keep the nutrients in balance. The minimum is 1:1, maximum 2:1 (meat:base mix). If fed within our recommended ratios, you may create a meal that meets AAFCO guidelines.

If Lily needs more than what is recommended, please feel free to increase her daily portion to suit her calorie needs.

@cheryl-pepper-millie-belle:
It may be helpful to know that the stool created from a diet of colorful whole foods will naturally be more colorful, too! It will not look the same as a the stool created by a homogenous dry kibble or a mostly meat raw diet. A whole food diet allows the GI system to efficiently absorb the nutrients the body needs and move the rest on out, including the insoluble fiber in fresh fruits and veggies. Your dog’s overall body condition and health will determine if he/she is getting the nutrients they need.

While most dogs with a healthy and balanced digestive tract are easily able to digest and assimilate the nutrients from our dehydrated whole foods, some may need a little help. If the GI tract has been compromised in any way due to a variety of chronic ailments, courses of antibiotics, medications, stress, etc., the addition of digestive enzymes and probiotics can help a dog regain balance and the overall strength of the GI system.

For Pepper, it may help to blend the mix using a food processor or blender prior to feeding to break the larger pieces down a bit. I’ve heard a few customer doing this for their very sensitive pups and it works great! We’re happy to hear that Pepper is doing well with the food!

Hope this helps! -Kate, THK

[pmsuperstar84]

Honest Kitchen is now being carried at Pet Supermarket. I prefer Stella & Chewy’s to THK though. They just make a very good product. As for Vital Essentials Raw, they are my favorite because the ingredient panel is so simple. My IBD cat is actually on the raw frozen cat version but they will be discontinuing it so the dog version is nearly identical to it except for the taurine that I will add.

[Dori]

Hi Kimberly. The Honest Kitchen you can order on line. You can also order a lot of the freeze dried foods on line also. I mostly feed the frozen raw foods but if you don’t have as much access to smaller dog food stores that typically carry a variety of commercial raw foods then you can feed the freeze dried foods and when you do get to Petsmart you can stock up on the Nature’s Variety Instinct raw foods so long as you have the freezer space (I think both Petco and Petsmart only carry Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw as a commercial raw food. With all brands that I feed I rotate between the different proteins as long as they don’t contain any chicken or turkey and that includes chicken fat and turkey fat in the list of ingredients in the foods but that’s only because Katie, my Maltipoo is highly intolerant of all poultry so I feed all three dogs the same exact food. I’m not sure which online stores you order from but I think chewy.com is a very popular on line site that a lot of posters on DFA order from and $49.00 and over they offer free shipping. I’m fortunate that I live in Atlanta, Ga. with an over abundance of local pet food stores so I can pretty much buy any dog food I want to try with my dogs. Another thing you can also try is calling and/or emailing companies that you would like to try their freeze dried and dehydrated foods and ask for samples. Most companies will charge you a nominal fee for shipping and others will charge you a nominal fee for samples and shipping. It’s a good way to see how your dog does on different foods.

As far as Stella and Chewy’s. I have tried it in the past and I know a lot of posters feed it. I don’t. I’m not really sure I remember the reasons for it. I’m sure my girls liked it but none of my dogs are picky eaters. They know that with me as their mom if they see food down for them they need to eat because in 20 minutes it will be gone and I won’t feed them until the next scheduled meal. I’ve always trained all my dogs meal times that way. So it’s a non issue here but as soon as their bowls are down they just inhale their food. For three teeny weenie dogs that are on the lean side they just love to eat. All three girls recently had their yearly physicals and all blood work came back great and the vet is very happy with all of their weights.

Edit: I meant to mention that Vital Essentials makes really good freeze dried foods. My dogs favorites (though they love all foods) is the tripe. But all the freeze dried foods from the companies I mentioned in a different post to you are great. I’ve used them all.

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

[Kimberly C]

Wow Dori! Thanks for sharing……I’m definitely starting to feel more comfortable about feeding raw. However, I live in a small town and sometimes order his food online. We have a Petsmart not too far off, but we don’t get out that way much. Which flavor of the raw instinct do you use, and do you buy the freeze dried or the frozen? And I saw you mentioned The Honest Kitchen “Zeal”…did your dogs take to this flavor pretty well? My Pepe is a very finicky eater, but I’ve got to get him on a better diet. Also, what do you think of Stella freeze dried?

[Kimberly C]

Hi Dori….looks like you have a dog similar to mine…is yours a Maltese? I have a Maltipoo. I’ve had other dogs in the past, both big and small, but have never had a dog with seizures until I got my maltipoo. He is almost 4 years old and most of his problems started about 2 years ago…..it has been one heck of a rollercoaster ride and many trips to the vet, however, I wouldn’t trade him for anything…..he is such a joy to have even with all the challenges. I was glad to hear you mention not giving him grains because that seems to be such a controversial subject. I’ve been wanting to try him on raw food, but like you, I don’t want to prepare it myself. The Raw Instinct sounds like a good start as well as using a rotational diet…..just makes sense.

[Dori]

Hi Kimberly C. It sounds as though your dog is having food intolerances/sensitivities. First off he should be on grain free foods. Avoid corn, soy, white potatoes, rice and all poultry. That’s for starters. You also mention that your dog has seizures. Very important is to avoid any foods that contain rosemary in any form.

I have three small dogs all of which are on commercial raw dog foods. One of my girls has a multitude of food intolerances which is what led me on the road to raw feeding about three years ago. I started by eliminating all the ingredients I mentioned above. I feed commercial raw foods. I’m not inclined to make my own because, well…. truth be told I just don’t feel like doing it. Here is the list of commercial raw food companies that I have researched to death over the years and that I trust. Primal Raw Pronto, Primal Raw Formulas (these are Primal’s complete and balanced foods…you don’t have to add anything to them in the way of supplements). Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Dog Foods, Vital Essential Raw Foods, OC Raw Dog Food, Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen. I also from time to time have on hand their freeze dried foods (they’re raw and you can feed as is without hydrating). As for dehydrated foods, the only one I use is The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal formula. The others contain some type of poultry or white potatoes that I choose not to feed. I feed what is called a rotational diet. I rotate different brands and different proteins within the brands with the exception of any and all poultry. I also do not feed any commercial treats. For the most part they all contain some sort of grain and there have been way too many recalls of dog treats for me to take a chance with my dogs. For treats I feed them little pieces of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I puree them. Sometimes they’re cooked from our dinner. For the most part since I use them as treats for them I’m not particularly concerned about how much nutritional value they get from the fruits and veggies. The enjoy them, as they would a commercial treat, and that is my intent in giving them to them. If they get some nutritional value from them, even a little, that’s great; if not, that’s not the purpose I give them the treats. Of course you know you can go on google and just google what fruits and vegetables you can feed your dogs or go in reverse and type in what fruits and veggies you should not be feeding your dogs. Always, of course avoid onions, grapes, raisins. As for fruits, never feed anything that still has it’s pit or seeds. They tend to be toxic. As for apples I always don’t feed the peel. Apples are sprayed continuously to detract worms. They are also highly waxed to appear pretty for the consumer. I think I read somewhere, but don’t now remember where, that the skin of an apple has more bacteria than any other fruit on the market. That would probably hold true for cucumbers on the market due to the same reasons. I feed both but I peel them. Hope any of this has helped you. If you have any other questions, please ask.

Please remember to check any and all foods you feed your seizure dog so that you avoid rosemary in any form. Studies have shown (in people so far as no study has been done in animals as of yet) that if one has a predisposition to seizures, rosemary can trigger a seizure.

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

[Melissaandcrew]

I don’t think so. My crew eats different brands on a daily basis alternating with various cans dehydrated etc. Sometimes it’s just raw.

[Kimberly C]

I want to try raw for my seizure dog, but am highly concerned about the quality of the commercial ones. However, I don’t want to prepare it myself. I have researched and researched soooo much and spent a small fortune on dog food, homemade diets, etc. My dog loves the homemade cooked recipes I cook for him, but hates the supplements I have to add to balance it out. He doesn’t seem to thrive on anything…..he scratches, has ear problems, chews his feet, you name it. So, the only option I seem to have left is raw, although it does scare me……guess I’m looking for support and reassurance.

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

[Sam D]

Hi all,
We have a 15 week old Aussie and he’s been doing well on his rotating diet. I want to get him used to different foods but I also don’t want to upset his stomach. So far he’s been tolerating the following pretty well.

Mon-Fri – Kibble Taste of the Wild Puppy. Sometimes his kibble dinner is topped with TOTW canned food or Merrick canned food.

Sat & Sun – RAW – Either instinct raw frozen bites (turkey or beef) with Honest Kitchen Topper OR Aunt Jenni’s raw (turkey or beef)

1-2 days a week I’ll give him a lunch of canned Tripett

His 30lb bag of Taste of the Wild Kibble is almost up and I wanted to get Orijen large breed puppy. Does this seem like overkill on variety? We watch his stools. When he’s on raw his stools are dark, hard and once or twice a day. Kibble he poops up to 4 times a day. More gassy on the kibble too.
THANKS!!!!

[Lyndel M]

Hi Gloria,

Yes, there is certainly a lot of confusion amongst the raw and the cooked dog food camps. I have been reading heaps about it. Those in the raw food camp put forward for the raw food diet. I shall do my best to summarise a few of the key points that are important to me. First, they say that the dog’s metabolism has changed very little from the wolves, the original wild dogs. They suggest that when we provide our dogs with the right proportions of meats, organ meats, vegetables, fruit matter and bones, they’re digestive systems have the best chance of exacting the nutrients they need for shiny coats, healthier skin and teeth, stronger bones, and decreased chances of modern-day ailments and diseases that dogs in the wild rarely if ever have. Some of these ailments include itching, skin irritations, including dryness, fleas, hip dysplasia and arthritis.

In the other camp, there is some criticism of the raw diet saying that giving a dog only food i.e., meats risks feeding contaminated food, that people don’t take enough care in raw food preparation, that dogs today have evolved to adjust to modern (cooked, commercial) food and that dogs are at moderate – high risk of injuries from bone which become lodged in the throat or gut.

I am definitely against using any commercial dog foods. There are some great you-tube documentaries disclosing the shocking truth about the poor quality of nutrition of kibble and canned dog foods and the associated illnesses. In addition, that most Vets receive very little real knowledge of nutrition in their veterinarian studies and are just as influenced by the unregulated marketing and commercial dog food producers as GPs are by drug companies.

Regardless, Jean Hofve & Celeste Yarnall “Paleo Dog” is one book that has been recommended provide excellent information for providing your dog with all of the information needed to provide our dogs with all of the nutrients required and how to do so, if we want to go down the raw food pathway. Also there is the BARF raw foods that you can purchase and other online info about this pathway. And there are heaps of recipes for cooking our dogs food as well. Andi Brown “The Whole Pet Diet: 8 wks to great health for dogs and cats”, which is also excellent for going down the cooked food pathway. They both recommend certain supplements and they both provide enough evidence to suggest that just like for humans, if we give our pets fresh wholesome, organic foods (either raw or cooked) we will be doing our beloved pets a great service.

Given I have been a passionate advocate of healthy, unprocessed foods for more 40years, I certainly want to extend this to my pet. People on this post have just been concerned that I was being cruel to our new puppy for placing his food into chewtoys. However, I made the mistake of saying that we would be putting all of his daily foods into chewtoys, whereas that won’t be the case. But I will definitely using chewtoys together with crate training, self-soothing, stimulation and entertainment as I mentioned in my previous post. I am definitely not an expert, but a concerned pet owner who has done lots and lots of reading in order to do the best by our new puppy in terms of nutrition and training. All the best!! :0)

[Kristin C]

Addition to my previous post-I also add add raw eggs to the poultry I make, and add cottage cheese once a week as well as yogurt and green tripe once a week as a frozen treat. On the days I don’t feed sardines I will add a small amount of fish oil and vitamin e to supplement. It’s hard to include every single thing on these posts. Just remember balance over time.

[Kristin C]

BulldogMom-I make most of my dogs food and if you are looking for a chicken recipe here is one.

30% breasts
30% thighs
5% liver
15% gizzards
5% pureed vegs and/or fruit
15% pumpkin
If you are not adding a supplement with calcium then add 1/2 tsp ground eggshell per lb of meat.

Please note that this is not all you can feed in the long term. I feed beef with many organs, plus a variety of other proteins/organs and raw meaty bones, plus sardines. Hope that helps.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Kate, Maybe you can help me and others that are concerned about the grain free- base mixes having too many of the veggies not being digested by the pups. In my particular case when feeding either the Kindly or Preference what went in came out EXACTLY the same way, I did a test and it happened each and every time. Big pieces of undigested veggies were very visible in Pepper’s stool.
It is not AS BAD with the protein inclusive line,but I do see tiny pieces of undigested veggies in Pepper’s stool.
I have e-mailed the company about doing a digestibility study on various breeds ages etc. and post the findings on your website. I still have not gotten an answer to this.
I cannot feed my older schnauzer kibble any longer and so far she is tolerating the grain free protein inclusive line. I just do not like the fact that i still see bits of undigested material in her stool.
I want to insure she is getting a nutritious meal so I always use a topper of boiled poultry or beef or commercial raw.
I will continue to feed my angels this food ,because all that matters is that the like it and especially with Pepper who suffers with bad gastric problems she is doing well on it.
I just feel it is important as a consumer and a pet guardian that your company who prides themselves on using human grade ingredients be made aware of this important issue.
Their is another Honest Kitchen thread that many of us have voiced are concerns about this.
Please read these so you see i am not the only one concerned about this digestibility problem.
Thank you Katie

[Dori]

I agree with you DogFoodie and have posted often after Losul’s experience with Turbo. I will forever give all three girls and any and all dogs forever after HW meds monthly all year round. I’m not willing to take a chance and gamble with heart worms and my girls. Raw is never, nor has it ever been considered a deterant (sp?) against heart worms or any other worms or parasites. If only that were so! I’ve been feeding my girls raw for the past three years but will not expose them to the possibility of getting heart worms or any other type of worms and parasites if I can help it. Raw is a good alternative, in my opinion, to feeding kibble but it is not a preventative for worms nor do I believe it is the be all and end all of nutrition.

[DogFoodie]

After Losul shared his personal experience with heartworms with us, I’ll never NOT give my dogs heartworm preventative. Since he first told us about Turbo months ago, I have been vigilant with dosing my dogs. And, I believe, that raw is not a guarantee that your dogs won’t get adult heartworms. Just my .02.

[Rebekah W]

I have a 5 year old Chihuahua and his health was not very good so I decided to look into getting him a better brand of food. I stumbled across a raw food diet for dogs in which you bass the weight of your animal to how much raw meat they eat. I’ve heard many miracle stories about this diet where animals who have cancerous tumors which are expanding. Once they started the diet, their tumors stopped expanding. So I decided to give the diet a try and I created a website to show my progress!
http://pudders-chow-time.weebly.com
Check out my website if you want to hear my story with the raw food diet and get a schedule for the food plan.

[Nancy C]

I have worked with one homeopath who recommends NO heart worm meds. ??? Correct. He says he has had his great danes for 30 yrs, and he’s always had 5 or 6 of them, NEVER given them heartworm meds and they have never had heart worms. NONE of them. He feeds raw and he says THAT is the key. Total raw. He also told me that in the last 7 years he has never lost a dog patient to heart worms.
There are several other Homeopathic websites I frequent. One is VitalAnimal.com in Texas with Dr. Will Falconer who is nationally known (his website is wonderful) and Dr. Patricial Jordan in Asheville NC. (Her bio is beyond belief)… They DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY heartworm meds! So My two dogs are not on it now and I am trying to decide what to do in the spring. Also the homeopath, Dr. Dobias in California does not recommend either. So tell me: Anyone reading this doing some REthinking about it. The heartworm meds are VERY toxic themselves and there is good reason to be very suspicious of them. The Pharmaceuticals have penetrated the vets and they have scared us to death. Fear is a big piece of the problem. And I find myself being fearful too. Will be interested in what anyone has to say about this.

[Nancy C]

Here’s what I did. I was very nervous because my GSD had had terrible digestion problems and the vet was pouring down HILLS WD formula (which is sawdust) in him which made me cringe.

I ordered an air dehydrated dogfood called BIG DOG NATURAL. You can Google it. My homeopathic vet recommended it and Darwin’s to me and HE suggested that I start out with Big Dog because it has fermented vegetables in it and that is outstanding for the digestive track. One morning I started cold turkey on it. They LOVED IT. I have an 11 yr old Golden and a 2 yr old GSD. They licked the bowl for almost a minute! I was amazed. So that fast they were on RAW FOOD. I took it carefully for two or three weeks – they had NO PROBLEM with that food, and it is air dehydrated RAW! Then one day I just gave them chicken. Raw. I followed the guidelines and gave the golden 17 oz and the GSD I had to end up giving him 2 1/4 pounds per day. I got the butcher to quarter the chickens (Whole Foods $7.99 and I would pick through the chickens and get a 5 pound one). He would quarter it for me. NOW I do all that myself. I get chickens at Costco that are non chemical/ no hormones. $1.09 a POUND! You have to have a set of scales to weigh out the proportions. And I cut the nub off the chicken drum sticks. Put the piece(s) in a bowl and voila. You need to give 10% organs and 1/2 of that must be liver. I also give them Mercola’s probiotics, a fish oil cap and garlic caps. Happy Dogs.
Good Luck.

[Nancy C]

Okay — I’ve been gone for a while…. trying to get this Raw Food under my belt…
My first golden lived 15 yrs, never had commercial flea control, I gave her garlic as the breeder said. Never a flea problem. Second golden, same. she is 11 yrs old now and I have NEVER seen a flea on her. Garlic. I give her 2 a day (She’s 58 lbs) – I use the little round ones from Whole Foods, 500 mg. That is ALL I have ever used with her. No Fleas!

My chair when I got my Phd, Dr. Norman Shealy, former Harvard Neurosurgery prof and founding president of the American Holistic Medical Assoc, uses BEST YET by CEDARCIDE on his dogs. He lives on a farm way down a mile or two gravel road in Missouri on the Mo River where it is damp and fleas love it there. He swears by it. Recommended to me. I spray that on my dogs now too for safe measure, now that I have the GSD too. He is 73 lbs and I give him 3 of those garlic caps and spray him once a week. Best Yet is Organic. There is a competing similar brand, but Best Yet was apparently there first. I think the other brand is WonderCide. They put a fragrance in theirs. Best Yet smells like cedar. Fleas HATE CEDAR!! Hope this helps.
NOW the Q is: WHAT TO DO FOR TICKS??? Season will be here soon.

[Gloria K]

Lyndel M., you wrote an excellent post. I agree that dogs cannot sit all day and do nothing. Fortunately I’m home all day so I have time to play with him and take him for walks and his favorite past time- going ANYWHERE in the car. Unfortunately the car trips will and in the next month or so when the weather here starts to heat up. Temperatures are well above 100° from late April through October.
When I fed him this morning I only gave him the homemade food plus a tablespoon of his cottage cheese. Then supplemented with kibble in his Kong about 20 minutes later. He loved it and has the system down pat so I may be doing this a lot more often.
I do have a question though.. why the raw food versus cooked food? I know there has been a lot written on this site about it but not sure why. What is the advantage of raw over cooked. It’s difficult for me to get my mind wrapped around giving Mickey raw food. Enlighten me. 😉

[Lyndel M]

Hi again,

Thank you for all of your comments. However, can I say that I was responding to another member’s query as to how to stuff chew toys when she is using a raw food diet and I provided with options from my own my own research and provided a link.
However, given some of the confusion that, i) it is cruel to make a puppy work so hard for its food by giving all of its food in a chewtoy, ii) that they can’t get all of their nutritional needs met from a chewtoy due to the difficulty of getting all of food out, especially the raw meat out; iv) the raw food may go off or the chew toy become contaminated with raw food left in there and cleaning difficulties etc. Yes! I agree to most of those responses.
A puppy has very specific needs indeed. He/she needs a balance of 70% protein, 20% carbs !0% veg/fibre. Their protein should also include 10% organ meat, with only 5% of that being organic liver.
I am going on my own research and as most of your know there are many benefits to using stuffable chew toys and food puzzles. Dr Ian Dunbar (a UK vet and one of the first positive dog trainers) recommends that for the first few days to a week only feeding you puppy either by hand or in chew toys to teach them i) bite inhibition;ii) to teach the a chewtoy habit so they only chew on appropriate chew toys. However, in his day in the 80’s kibble was viewed as the best food for all dogs and he did feel his puppy’s chewtoys with kibble.

We do not intend to feed all of my puppy’s meals in a kong and we will not be leaving our puppy unsupervised…ever! We have used chew toys with previous pets and of course know the importance of cleaning. While our puppy is getting positively conditioned to his portable crate, his chew toys will be in there for him to chew on for entertainment and teaching him to self-sooth for those times in the future when he will need to be on his own. Outside of his crate (which by the way, will only be used in this way for the first few weeks), his food will be hand fed and given as treats in his training sessions.

I have found and spoken to a holistic vet in my area and will of course be guided by her expertise. We will also be supplying certain omega -3 & 6 rich oils for a shiny coat and skin health and other vitamin supplements. We love and have always loved dogs, however, this will be the first time that we will be introducing raw food into the diet after our growing awareness of how poor the quality (even premium) commercial dog foods are. Given the controversy around raw vs cooked food, my partner and I have decided to offer a mixture of both home cooked and raw food.

As most of you know that daily physical exercise is essential for a healthy pet, I am a big advocate of not allowing our pet just sit all day with nothing to do except sleep and wait anxiously for us to come home for his walk. So chewtoys are great for reducing anxiety and boredom and providing mental stimulation.

As our pup grows, we will of course be providing some of his meals in bowls and some in puzzles, kongs etc and some still by hand.

It is great to see though that some of you who are concerned about the issue of animal cruelty are being outspoken about this, we are all definitely on the same page there. I am passionate about preventing cruelty to all animals and humans. Have a good day!

[Kate F]

Hi everyone! Kate from The Honest Kitchen here. I just wanted to help try and clear up any confusion. All of our diets (excluding base mixes) are complete meals that are balanced to AAFCO standards. This means you can feed them as stand alone diets and know that they have the appropriate amounts of nutrients – including protein – that dogs need. If you want to look at the specific nutrient breakdown, you can find the nutrient profiles here: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/help-center/nutrient-profiles/

The reason that you can’t actually see pieces of meat or fish is because we ground our protein down to almost a powder so that it is evenly distributed throughout the recipe. This ensures that every scoop of food will have protein in – whereas if it was chunks, they could all settle at the bottom of the box and you wouldn’t always have the right amt of protein in every meal.

Our base mixes are different in that those DO require a protein to be added. The base mixes have a balanced amount of nutrients and vitamins except protein – so that all you need to add is meat or fish (cooked or raw) and know that you are feeding your dog a complete diet. This takes the guess work out of trying to feed a raw diet and wondering if your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. These recipes are great for raw feeders, people who like to make homemade diets or dogs that have severe allergies & can only eat specific proteins like rabbit.

Please feel free to give us a call at any time and we can discuss this in more detail with you. Our customer service team is amazing and happy to answer any questions. 866-437-9729

Hope this helps!

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I would add 25% of the commercial raw to his diet for say 1-2 weeks, transitioning is a personal thing, some can do it rt away, some not.
But in my opinion with raw I would do it slowly, say after 1 week cut back on the blue buffalo by say another 25%,add more raw, see how his tummy takes to the new food. Also monitor his stool for any change, if you see a change cut back on raw & wait until his stomach settles down.
You might want to add a probiotic or digestive enzyme during the transition -the honest kitchen makes a so called transition enabler called “Perfect Form” which worked for me. TheHonestKitchen.com
I will check back later to see if you have more questions, 1 of my angels needs her walk ,so i must go.
Good luck

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I ,too agree one wonders where’s the meat.
That’s why like Melissa I ALWAYS top it off with either meat ,poultry or commercial raw.
My older gal can’t eat kibble, and she is doing well on THK ,there is ALOT i do not like about this food, but, it is working so far for Pepper and that’s what counts.
I wouldn’t feed this alone.

I have emailed the company about my concerns esp. their base mixes which i will not feed any longer!! I am still waiting to hear back from them.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie.

[Naturella]

Welcome to DFA! It can be overwhelming, yes, but sometimes the best way to learn is just by trying some of the different ideas people post that appeal to you, see how it works with your dogs, and tweak the thing or choose something else.

I just posted the below info for someone else, lol, but it is altered to fit your questions. I am not a professional or anything, I can just tell you what I think and do:

I think that no single dog food is perfect, and different foods have varying amounts of protein, carbs, and fat, but Victor is a high-quality food and all the flavors within it seem pretty good to me. If you want, you can also rotate both within a brand (basically switch up the Victor flavors), or rotate the Victor brand with other good foods, like Dr. Tim’s, Earthborn Holistic, and Annamaet, among others – this will offer your dogs a variety in the formulas, tastes, vitamins, etc. The kibble sizes in most of these foods are pretty viable for a Chihuahua to handle, but I am not sure about Dr. Tim’s – the kibbles may be a bit big for a 4-lb dog.

If you choose to rotate brands, give it at least 10-14 days, adding a little bit of new food to the old at a time, and watching the stool – if stool is good for 2 days or so, add more new food, take more old food out, and so on. If stool is not good, back down the amount of new food, up the old food. When they get used to rotating, you can switch brands with every big bag (what I do, but with small bags, lol). For now, you can switch to a brand, then exhaust most of the flavors within the brand just so they don’t have too many changes at once, then go to another brand. Also, you can add canned plain pumpkin to aid their digestion in the process, or a supplement called Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen (THK). I swear up and down by it – anytime my Bruno has an upset tummy, it tightens him back up in a snap! But don’t overuse the Perfect Form – use it only as needed, and the amounts to feed are on the package, as well as on THK’s website. Which leads me to…

… if feeding Perfect Form with kibble, you will need to add some water to it. It will look like a greenish soup of kibble, lol. But, with that said, extra moisture added to dry kibble is always good for the dog. You can add plain lukewarm water, yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil and water, or canned food (and water). Any mix of kibble and canned is fine as long as the dog’s tummy is ok with it and as long as you adjust the amount you add and remove the appropriate amount of kibble so that the caloric intake stays about the same. So introduce the canned slowly, and not while transitioning between brands. You can also add dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried foods and water to kibble as toppers too, canned sardines (no salt added, in water only), fresh vegetables and meats, some fruits, and the above suggestions. Make sure you add NO onions or any grape products (grapes, raisins), some mushrooms.

For my 15-lb terrier mix I feed 1/4 cup of dry kibble twice/day, each time with some different topper from the ones mentioned above. I use coconut oil (twice/week), raw egg (once/week), The Honest Kitchen dehydrated foods (4 recipes, each one once/week), Big Dog Natural air-dried food (once/week), yoghurt/kefir (twice/week), 1/2 of a 3.5-oz can of sardines (once/week), 1/2 of a small can of dog food (right now either Weruva or Wellness, twice/week, no kibble at said meal), and a raw meaty bone once/week. All toppers minus the egg, sardines, can of dog food and the RMB I give a teaspoon of. And I add warm water to the mix in all meals. The dehydrated/air-dried foods kind of require it, lol. Bruno loves his “soups” (that’s what kibble and water and toppers look like) and he is slim, but muscular – his body condition is great, his coat is great, and he loves meal time.

So you can implement some, all, or none of the suggestions, or tweak them to fit your dogs’ needs. Good luck, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions. 🙂

[FunsIzE]

I recently adopted a dog (not my profile pic!) and he’s 4 yrs old and 50 ibs. He’s been fed grocery store kibble in the shelter and I switched him to a high quality dog food, in my opinion, blue buffalo. I think feeding him raw food would be best, not for health reasons, but maybe just because. 🙂 How do I switch him from kibble to raw?? I’d really like to know!!

[Dori]

My concern aquariangt with the OP is that she is talking about a puppy that she will be getting in a couple of weeks. Feeding out of a Kong is perfectly acceptable to me as are slow feeding bowls for adult dogs, not puppies. Puppies have needs that must be met by feeding three or four times a day. She has also stated that she wants to feed a raw diet. In my opinion it is completely inappropriate to have raw food for a puppy stuffed into a Kong not knowing how long the food will be in the Kong while the puppy tries to figure out how to get it out and if, in fact, the puppy is even capable of getting it all out and then there is the problem of thoroughly cleaning the inside of the Kong. I have no issues whatsoever if she wants to hold out one of the puppies daily meal and put that into a kong (only if it’s a dehydrated or freeze dried food). I love Kong’s . I use them myself for my three. I make up a batch of dehydrated and freeze them. They are a great source of entertainment for dogs of all ages. I just want to make sure that the rest of the days meal the puppies nutritional and caloric needs are met.

[Naturella]

I would have to say that even when Bruno was a little puppy, he received at least one out of 4 meals per day in a puzzle toy of some sort. Either a wobbly tower thing that he had to push around for the kibble to come out (with awesome adjustable levels for varying difficulties and kibble sizes); a treat-dispensing ball; or a small Kong. Normally within just a couple minutes he had figured out the toy and was happily finished with his meal within 5 min or less overall, from serving to the last bite. He also seemed to have a lot of fun and is always excited to see those toys, because they mean fun and food for him.

Nowadays he has about 2 meals per week (randomly chosen, without toppers, just the kibble) come out of toys and he still loves it. We have gotten 2 new puzzlers and use those, and the good ole tower and ball (the Kong got lost in our last move, still need to get a new one). Also, the RMB he gets every Sunday evening he doesn’t get in a puzzle or treat, but spends some extra time working on as it is, well, an RMB.

Personally, I wouldn’t feed ALL meals from a Kong or a treat dispenser/puzzle of any sort because I like to keep using toppers for his kibble and don’t want the mess, but on occasion, I would totally use them for some of his kibble-only meals. 🙂 And I wouldn’t put raw in a Kong or a puzzle toy either.

[aquariangt]

I often have my dogs eat out of either slow bowls or various puzzles. It really isn’t cruel, dogs with some toy drive or mental capacity to spare often thrive on doing this. There is plenty of research out there to show that it isn’t a cruel tactic at all, and helps work their brains. What a lot of people forget is dogs (especially dogs that are still closer in their lines to dogs that still work) really enjoy having a job, and to them, that can be part of it. It helps wear them out similar to a good session of obedience work. People are often concerned with feeding dogs similar to their ancestry, which also comes into play-no dog in the wild was ever handed food to eat

Edit: Leaving raw in something all day is asking for problems. I also don’t give them a stuffed thing for them to nibble on all day, as meal time is meal time, and I don’t really approve of free feeding. It needs to be attainable, dogs needs to be setup for success

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

[Sam D]

Ok – I know it’s ground up and in there but I have two types of HK. Embark, which is the turkey and the base mix which has nothing. They look virtually the same except for some dehydrated, light-colored bits that are in the Embark. Is that the turkey? There’s just no possible way that’s enough meat for my dog, if it is the turkey. Sometimes I mix up his HK and it feels like I’m just giving him vegetable soup….

Anyone want to set me straight? I hate to sound like a paranoid person but I just don’t understand how a food looks like that is comparable to the Instinct raw beef or turkey bits we feed him where it looks like ACTUAL meat is the primary content.

• This topic was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Sam D.

[Akari_32]

Hiya Barbara! I have 2 large dogs and a small dog on kibble (and a small dog on raw and a cat on half canned half raw). I find I can get much better deals while purchasing small 4 and 6 pound bags. I typically get the small bags of Wellness for $4-7, for example, and often times even for free. I personally would much rather get a handful of small bags every couple weeks than lug a large bag around every month or so lol Actually, I stock up over several weeks to a month, and then I can “shop” at home lol 15 pounds last my two big guys about 2 weeks (they’re old and lazy, they don’t eat half of what the bag suggests). 6 pounds last the mini dachshund more than a month. Everyone has bad coupon days, poor Naturella just happened to have one on her first try at a serious couponing trip.

[Lyndel M]

While I wouldn’t be giving my pup raw food until my holistic vet approved of it, I would encourage you to have a look at Ian Dunbar’s e-book “After you get your puppy”
http://www.dogstardaily.com/files/downloads/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf. While I can understand that you think putting a certain amount of a puppy’s daily portion of food into a stuffable chew toy is cruel, I thought so too until I began doing my own research about dog training and teaching a pet good manners right from the beginning rather than focusing on what he does wrong (i.e., like ending up chewing things he shouldn’t be). Also, there are many benefits to placing a portion of the pups daily food allowance in chewtoys. For example, it entertains and stimulates them (in the wild, dogs naturally have to work for their food, even chewing the meat off of bones), it is a highly effective means of providing the pup appropriate things to chew on especially when teething, and it offers soothing and teaches them to self-soothe and entertain themselves rather than always expect you to entertain them. By the way, none of these are my own ideas, as I said, this comes from my own extensive research. But what you do and feed your own pups and beloved pets is your own choice. Good luck with it!

[Gloria K]

Dori I didn’t go into as much detail as you did but I sure could have. Your thoughts are exactly like mine. I’m already feeling sorry for the poor puppy who has to go through hoops just to be fed. I can’t imagine leaving raw food in anything all day – it’s going to spoil. Sometimes people who write books don’t always know what hell they’re talking about.

[Dori]

Hi Gloria K. I would certainly not beat you up for your “humble opinion”. It’s mine also. A puppy needs to be fed 3 – 4 times a day in a bowl and given water readily available. If one wants to put kibble or whatever ingredient (not raw) in a kong for entertainment purposes in addition to their meals that’s one thing (assuming you’re not over feeding the puppy), but certainly not his meals. The things people think of (the book, not the OP) is always mind boggling.

I do not believe that raw food should be put in a Kong. As a raw feeder myself let me say it’s a very bad idea. Dehydrated is okay as it’s not raw, but not raw food in a Kong. IMHO!!!

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

[Barbara]

Hi Carol M, i have never had a “newfie” only a mix that the father was newfie and chow and her mother was a golden retriever. Maya was a pup the owners insisted i take 23 yrs ago when i rescued the adults from excaping their back yard because of kids leaving the gate open! and they wandered 2 miles without tags! it took 2 days to find the owners and they had thought someone had stolen them because the female was pregnant and a beauty! Maya was my only puppy since i was younger and she grew up to about 80 lbs and loved to eat! she passed at almost 16 yrs with never a food issue or diarrhea. i rotated mostly dry kibble with some canned dog food, some fresh meat and carrots (raw) and (steamed veggies) broccoli, string beans or butternut squash…yum!

sorry about that long dialogue above but i was reminiscing… i do think you need to check out the list of recommended foods for Large Breed Puppies in the forums and especially read the info hound dog mom provides about large breed puppies. i know that the 3 dogs that run my life now love castor and pollux ultramix! (check out the prices on chewy.com very reasonable.) i have been rotating or mixing both the grain free duck 38% protein and 17% fat with glucosomine and the grain free and poutry free salmon 30% protein, 15% fat and high in omega 3’s (i am a little concerned about the mercury level in the salmon which has been questioned on this site…) neither of these have ever caused diarrhea in my border collie/flat coat ret. mix 14 yrs 50 lbs or my husky/shepherd 12 yrs 80 lbs. My 80 lb lab has a very sensitive stomach and for some reason has not had a problem with these 2 kibbles in the 2-3 months she has eaten them, but as you know any changes in food always needs to be done slowly…7-10 days depending on the dog. you can add some pumpkin puree to help with initial introduction and slight problems. i assume your puppy has been checked out by a vet for any issues that would cause diarrhea …but most vets know nothing about good food recommendations!

[lovemypuppy]

I wouldn’t say I’m educated, but I’m getting there thanks to sites like this! 🙂 Good point! Knowing what my finicky pup will eat is tricky since it won’t necessarily be the same as another’s finicky pup.

After speaking with some local dog peeps, I decided to switch her to raw with only one protein source (Primal Duck Formula). She doesn’t like most treats but has never turned her nose up to freeze dried meats, including duck.

I’m hoping she likes the new food and transitions well with little GI upset. I’m also hoping the single protein source will aid in sorting out her potential allergies (environmental or food). Once she is settled for a bit, I will start rotating her food … seems like a great idea all the way around.

We are so excited to have our first ever puppy-dog! She is the cutest thing ever and brings so much joy to our family!~ Thanks for the link and food recommendations!

[Naturella]

cdubau, coconut oil both topically and internally will help a lot! Make sure to use the unrefined, raw, cold-pressed stuff! Costco has a 54-oz jar for $17, great stuff and a great deal! I also second the fish oil as well – maybe you can alternate – one day give fish oil, the next – coconut oil. I think the coconut oil amount was 1 tsp/10 lbs of body weight, not sure about the fish oil.

And trying a novel protein, as Hanna suggested, may help too. Just make sure to transition her slowly – over at least a week – from what she’s currently eating to a new LID food. You can add some canned plain pumpkin (not the pie filling stuff) or plain yoghurt/kefir, or probiotics/digestive enzymes to aide her digestion during the transition.

[Katrene J]

Hi, I have an 8 yo, male English Springer with the same problem everyone here is describing. My sweet guy started with the gulps about 5 years ago. The frequency at first was once every 3-4 months. It gradually increased to every 2 weeks or so. Or it had up until last November [2014]. Since November he’s had two bouts and both were mild – no deeply scared, frantic grass-eating dog those two times. He was definitely uncomfortable and seemed kinda worried it might get worse but a little throat massage and he could go back to sleep.

Like a lot of folks on this and a couple of other wonderful, helpful forums, I’ve tried a ton of things and even thought at times we had the problem solved, only to find a few weeks or a month later that I was wrong and had to go back to the drawing board. It’s been 3 1/2 months now since Tommy’s had a bad night. Instead of the predicted 7 or so episodes you’d figure he’d have had at the every-other-week frequency, there were only the two mild ones. I changed only one thing.

Now it may be another wild goose chase in the end but with a hiatus of almost 4 months I figured it’s worth sharing the change we made at this point. I hope it can help another dog. The last thing I want thought, is to give anyone false hope. This may be something or it may be nothing and we all know that each dog is so very different what works well for one may do nothing for another.

With that part out of the way let me tell you what has worked so far for Tom. Back in early Nov Tommy and I were up with a night of the gulps. I scanned the web for any new info that might have been shared since his last bout of the gulps. One person had posted. She [I think] said the only thing that worked for her dog was Pepcid Complete – not regular Pepcid, Not Tums. Only the Complete formula helped. I didn’t have any Pepcid complete on hand so I went online to check the ingredients. It turned out that Pepcid Complete is basically Pepcid plus Tums plus magnesium. Those things I did have on the shelf. I gave Tom the equivalent. He shortly seemed somewhat better. Not good enough so we could go back to bed but somehow less worried, less desperate.

I started to research Magnesium. I had had it on hand for leg and foot cramps. It’s amazing for relieving muscle spasms. Could a throat spasm be part of the gulps problem? The dogs do seem to be gulping like they’re trying to swallow something stuck in their throats… One friend had had success with a very powerful anti spasmodic years ago with her gulps dog, an Aussie. A magnesium deficiency could be a cause of GERD too, I’d read. There sure seems to be some stomach problem with the gulps too… It seemed worth investigating.

I’m NOT a vet nor do I play one on television so please take what follows with that understanding. First I took some magnesium myself as a supplement. That went ok and I learned that, as mentioned in the research, too much creates loose stools. Good – that gave me a gauge to know when to cut back.

I began to give Tom magnesium as a supplement. This is plain magnesium we’re talking about here, nothing fancy. It’s regular grocery store magnesium, 250 mg tablets. Started Tom on it slowly, etc. He weighs about 55#. When he was getting one 250 mg tablet in the morning and two 250s at night I held it there. His stools were still fine and that dosage felt right – not a scientific reason but sometimes I think my subconscious notices things my conscious mind doesn’t and I’ve earned to pay attention.

Since being on that regimen of 250mg AM and 500mg PM Tom has had only the two bouts of the gulps that I mentioned earlier. One was over Christmas when I’d backed off on the Mg to about half the dose for a few days [we were guests and the loose stool potential was weighing heavily on my mind!]. The second was about a month ago. That was the time I never had to even wake up completely. He began soft gulping but was only mildly concerned. I gently messaged his throat for a minute or two. He sighed and curled up next to me. We both went back to sleep. One more momentary massage about 4 hrs later and the gulps were over.

My gut feeling is that some dogs have or develop a magnesium deficiency. If that’s the case Tom’s may have started when I had to take him off a raw diet. Or it may be it’s that the land that grows our food is so magnesium poor at this point the dogs are simply not getting enough no matter what they’re fed. Whatever the cause, for Tom at least so far, the magnesium supplement seems to be working. He and I both hope our experiences can help someone else’s good dog.

[lovemypuppy]

Amicus Puppy, Small Breed … grain free, low glycemic, non-gmo, includes probiotics, all sourced from Canada, except vitamin pack sourced and manufactured in the US (California). It’s oven baked at low temp, veggies and fruits are raw. It runs about $28 for a 11 pound bag. I can get it locally in the states, and it can be bought online. It was my #1 pick for my puppy, but unfortunately she is finicky and doesn’t want to eat it. I’ve read many other’s gobble it up no problem, even finicky ones, so I think it just depends on the dog. It’s a quality food no doubt, and the price is less than many others.

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

[Nancy A]

I would like to nominate Small Batch Dog Food. The company is based in San Francisco and sources its food ingredients from sustainably raised cows, chickens, turkeys, lamb and rabbits; and the produce is organically grown. It is a raw food diet that is frozen and comes in patties for larger dogs and sliders for smaller dogs.

[theBCnut]

Raw frozen from Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore. Freeze dried would be ok too.

[Connie M]

I guess I’m a bit old school and don’t go for drama. If I had a concern I’d pick up the phone and speak with them directly. They were very helpful to me when I first switched to raw and they also followed up every so often.

[Connie M]

I have been feeding Big Dog Natural for at least 4 years now. I started with their frozen raw and was thrilled when they came out with the dehydrated line. Prior to starting with Big Dog my dogs were always at the vet for one thing or another. Now, the last time was about 3 years ago for their rabies vaccine. They love their food and are always looking forward to it. What I don’t understand L H is why you are instigating and instructing people to go to the Facebook page and make “public” announcements? I didn’t find your last post here very nice. They have a good food and, in my opinion, one of the best foods around.

[Naturella]

BCnut, I had forgotten about Soil Based Organisms! Thanks for reminding me!

And do you feed raw green tripe, canned, or dehydrated/air-dried?

[Naturella]

Thank you all for the suggestions! And like I said, no PF will be used daily anymore – if anything, I will use some probiotics after some research.

And ok, so unopened foods are relocated in our closet. That’s where I keep the samples actually. I hope it is dark and cool enough – we usually keep the closet door closed and when the heater is on in our bedroom, the closet is still frigid, lol. I don’t think having the light on every once in a while will hurt anything too.

As for the opened food, I don’t really want to put it in the fridge because going in there twice/day, even just to grab a quick scoop, I fear of condensation, although it is such a quick thing. The opened food will stay in an airtight container, closed up with a food clip under the sink in the bathroom where we feed Bruno. I could repack it in freezer bags to keep in the fridge, but in a medium-sized 2-bedroom apartment, and a roommate that occupies equal space, places for dog food are limited, especially with shared fridge and pantry – plus the fridge and freezer already have all sorts of other foods bunched up in there, THK, some kibbles, some raw for Bruno and for humans (to cook), so yeah… One day, when we finally live alone (Brian and I), I will be free to put anything anywhere I want! 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I feed ground raw, prey model diet. I don’t think dogs need fruits & veggies in their diet. I buy grinds from Hare Today & Reel Raw. RR has free shipping; the amount you must buy depends where you live. RR has four different complete & balanced meals: chicken, turkey, beef, pork and a mix of all. Hare has a better selection of proteins & a good amount of boneless. I have one 33 pounder who gets about 3.5 bony plus about an ounce of boneless per meal.

[jakes mom]

Just a quick update on the kitties. The raw mix was a no-go for everybody, much to Jake’s delight. He has lots of raw food in the freezer for toppers. They like plain raw meat but I guess the mix ruined it for them.
All the cats were happier with the cooked mixes. I’ve tried ground turkey and ground beef so far. Thinking of trying it with some chopped/shredded stew beef next.