[Victoria Q]

What commercial raw food do you use, per your response to Linda S.?

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

[Akari_32]

Check out the Raw Feeding Community on Facebook. They have helped me a ton for both my cat and dog. Lots of people have growing pups on there, too.

[BulldogMom]

Hi all! My puppy is 8 weeks and I’m wanting to get away from the dry dog food and feed him a raw diet. I’ve been researching for hours and I cannot find a good raw recipe to start him on. It seems like everyone just feeds in whole rather than mixing… I did find one recipe with ground beef and rice but I’m wanting something with chicken, veggies, fruit, etc. Can someone PLEASE help me? I have no idea where to start. I need some recipes, a menu, something! I’m feeling absolutely discouraged. I was looking for something I could freeze in bulk rather than spending a ton of money on whole chicken, turkey, etc. for different days.

He’s an 8 week old American bulldog.

Thanks in advance!

[BulldogMom]

Hi all! My puppy is 8 weeks and I’m wanting to get away from the dry dog food and feed him a raw diet. I’ve been researching for hours and I cannot find a good raw recipe to start him on. It seems like everyone just feeds in whole rather than mixing… I did find one recipe with ground beef and rice but I’m wanting something with chicken, veggies, fruit, etc. Can someone PLEASE help me? I have no idea where to start. I need some recipes, a menu, something! I’m feeling absolutely discouraged. I was looking for something I could freeze in bulk rather than spending a ton of money on whole chicken, turkey, etc. for different days.

He’s an 8 week old American bulldog.

Thanks in advance!

[kgoble78]

Hi! I’m a newbie who needs help. A little background… I have a weimaraner named Ruby who will be 5 yrs old May 8th. Originally she was on Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin formula due to her having a skin allergy that we think is because of a tall weed like fungus that likes heat (I live in the South) and has a black powdery top that when you touch it it makes a black powder on you. It’s VERY annoying. Anyways, she kept throwing up from time to time when I realized she likely had a food allergy. (This dog is allergic to everything it seems!) I’m not sure what she’s allergic to in foods. All I know is I switched her to Natural Balance L.I.D Sweet Potato and Fish formula and it cleared right up.

Fast forward to last week.
She had been peeing a lot for a couple of weeks. I knew she needed to see a vet when she peed in her crate a couple of times. I take her in and she has a UTI and struvite crystals. The vet puts her on Royal Canin SO for urinary problems. I inform her she has a food allergy so she sold me the smallest bag she had. I slowly presented it to her along with her normal food until she was eating only the royal canin. So of course she’s throwing up at least once a day now. I looked at the ingredients and the food looks like rubbish. Seems like every ingredient that a dog could be allergic to is in it. Being that I don’t know which ingredient she’s allergic to it makes it tricky. I lucked out and bought a LID food that worked right off the bat.

So what is your suggestion as to what I should feed her? I saw in another post someone didn’t switch foods but just started giving their dog cranimals original formula http://www.cranimals.com and it cleared the crystals right up. All the info I’ve read about crystals said a special food/diet would be needed so I was nervous about doing that. Does anyone think that would be a good route? It’d be so much easier on myself and Ruby if that’s a possibility.

Also, I read something that made it sound like feeding a fish based dog food can cause crystals to form. Can anyone confirm that? Is fish not something I should be feeding her? Any suggestions on food if not?

Sorry for my LONG, drawn out post. I wasn’t sure what info would be helpful so my apologies.

Thanks!
Kristi

[Victoria Q]

I would like to nominate Steve’s Real Food Raw. What are your thoughts on Steve’s?

[Susan]

When I rescued my boy he didn’t eat kibble, then I brought him a can tin dog food, he saw it & went mad, maybe she was feed tin food instead of kibble or maybe raw pre mixes…

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Laura,
Thank you for your advice.
Believe it or not i did go to “the holistic” vet in my area and I think she needs to look up what the word “Holistic” means. I don’t mean to sound nasty or smarty pants, but it was a joke. I was asking her opinion on an unconventional treatment for Pepper,there has been so many issues with Pepper, my mind is drawing a blank now as to why I went to this so-called holistic vet.
She really leans to conventional medicine more than a true holistic way of practicing.
I tried to supply the link to the article at the WDJ, now i understand why I couldn’t.
I know that Pepper wasn’t spayed probably because it cost those horrible people money.
Is she suffering from not being spayed? Laura , I don’t know.Are all her health issues related to her not being spayed? Honestly in my gut, I say no, she has an inflammatory condition in her entire body from 8 years of horrendous care.
I know Millie is different, Oh well I guess I will have to obsess about this for some time.
Thanks you again for taking the time to post & not thinking there is something wrong with me for not going to a doggie park
Thanks to you also aquariangt for your doggie park input!

[Lyndel M]

Try buying a dehydrater. They are great. You can dehydrate your own raw treats for you dog. You can puree vegetables or fruits and spread out on a dehydrating sheet, then roll into balls or small pieces and stuff into stuffable chew toys. You can also dehydrate fresh meats, raw meatloaf, fish etc. I also make stock from organ meats and bones (no salt) and freeze into kongs as well as adding fruit, veggies or meats into the liquid and freeze into kongs in summer. Goats cheese which is lactose free is good as is quinoa cookies broken up. I also make meat pastes which I stuff along those stuffable chew toys that have groves along the sides, so they can lick it out and get interested in what’s on the inside. Hope these suggestions help, mind you, they are not my own, they are an accumulation of what I have gathered from my own research.

[InkedMarie]

Hi Michelle,
Look at the Reel Raw website. You CAN get free shipping. I believe its 30 pounds & over, may be in 30 pound increments. I think they have tripe too! They have four ground complete blends: $29.99 for 10 pounds.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Corey-

I’m sorry to hear of your dog’s troubles with stones. While I have no oxalate stones experience, I do with the struvites. But, I have read about the oxalate a bit when doing reserch on the struvite crystals due to my cat’s blockage.

I have learned with any type of crystals or stones, it is best to get the most moisture in their diet as possible. And they also need plenty of opportunities to pee. I would try to feed as much canned or raw food to your pup as possible. Some vet therapeutic diets actually add salt to encourage the dogs to drink more water to dilute their urine as much as possible. Another thing that has been mentioned with trying to keep the pH levels stable is that it is best to feed a few smaller meals throughout the day rather than one or two large meals. Also minimize the amount of calcium being fed to your dog.

At least the struvites can be dissolved with some types of vet foods, but the other types of stones and crystals cannot. So it is best to prevent them to begin with. Here is a site that has some decent information on it. Good luck! http://www.2ndchance.info/oxalatedog.htm

[Dori]

Kimi. The ones I trust the most are Primal Formulas Raw, Vital Essentials Raw, Natures Variety Instinct Raw. There are others I use also but thought I’d give you my favorites. If you want others just let me know.

[Akari_32]

My guy doesn’t like the Wellness Complete Health cans (though he will eat them if I put enough water in them and thin them out some). He does like the purple Cubed/Sliced/Minced ones, and the Duo’s, however. And he LOVES Halo. Impulse and Vigor are his favorites. Right now, Halo has $2 off any can of Vigor (cat and dog) and PetCo sells them for $1.99 each, so all you pay is tax on each can 🙂 Coupons are the best bet at feeding canned.

Definitely check out raw. I do raw a couple times a week for the cat right now, but once I get my canned supply down, I’ll be doing it more often. 🙂

[Kimi_forever]

Dori: most of those commercial raw diets are probably out of my price range, but do you mind sharing 1-2 of the ones you’ve found to be trust worthy over time?

[Kimi_forever]

One time our local petco had cans of instinct and wellness for like .15-50cents a can and we stocked up on a bunch only to bring it home and the cats not eat it and us have to give it away…ill have to try and find ways to get some decent cans for cheaper, i was pricing what it would cost to feed weruva, and that would be like 70$ a cat for a 24 day period :-0….20 dollars a month sounds amazing, thats about what it costs to feed them orijen kibble, i dont know where i could find cans of wellness or halo around where i live for that price or online…But basically what you said in your second paragraph seems to be the only solution…

from that catinfo.org site they give a recipe for feeding like you said about 5-6oz a day instead of 10oz a day in canned and using antibiotic free chicken thighs as the source of protein. Only thing is it’s a mixture of homecooked and raw that the vet on that site recommends but her estimated costs after supplements and all and her practical suggestions of locating cheap meat (from whole foods) make it seem very practical. I also like that unlike the canned foods which almost always have something extra in them that i dont want that we have complete control over every ingredient in the food….It makes me jealous that i want to be able to provide this for my dog too. But feeding an 85lb dog raw and a 10lb cat are two different things, that’d be 1.7-2.5lbs for my dog and i do not not know where i can get the organ meat and bones i need for my dog ill have to stick to Orijen for my dog for now. but i found this guide on the internet and it also looks easy to follow so i might make the full transition for both animals at some point http://puppybutt.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/9/2/7692088/beginners_guide_to_prey_model_raw_rv.4.1.pdf …

[Michelle D]

New to this forum and I can’t find a “search” area to view previous discussions on this subject, but I’m trying to find a good quality yet cost effective raw food and distributor/co-op within close range to Amsterdam (which is about 40 miles west of Albany) NY. I am feeding seven 75-90lb dogs, so having food shipped in is not an option.
Also, why is tripe SO hard to get anymore??? I would love to feed it almost exclusively, but it’s become near impossible to find! Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Michelle

[Akari_32]

I feed my 13 lb cat higher quality foods like Wellness and Halo, for about $20 a month. He does get some junkies foods like Friskies Special Diet and such to help keep cost down, but it is possible to feed good foods on a budget. Keep a look out for coupons and sales, and stock up when you find a good deal.

Right now, I’m switching mone to raw and am finding it be much more economical than even mid grade canned food. For example, on canned he eats 9-10 oz a day. On raw, he eats just 6 oz, and you actually want cheaper meats because of their fat and taurine contents, so you can get away with chicken thighs and quarters and pork and hearts. Might be something to look into 😉

[JetJacqui]

In my case, the best way to get rid of fleas is the combination of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast. the daily dosage of apple cider vinegar is 1 tablespoon for 60 lbs body weight in drinking water. too much apple cider vinegar (2 tblspoon / 60 lbs) will cause diarrhea; Springtime fresh factor contains nutritional yeast. The dosage is 2 tablet for 60 lbs.

I’ve tried springtime bug off garlic tablet and powder on my yorkie, chihuahua and collie. the garlic tablet is better than the powder because it contains nutritional yeast. i don’t use bug off garlic anymore because their gums and inner ears turned pale after few months. After 1 month without bug off garlic, their gums and inner ear turned back to healthy pink/reddish color.

I’ve tried wondercide repel with citronella and geranium. it didn’t help at all. I bathe my dogs once a month and they’re free from ticks and fleas.

[pugmomsandy]

I’ve used Duck & Turkey Raw Boost food and their Raw Boost treats and Boost topper powder supplement in Lamb and Beef. I actually avoid chicken products in general. I have pugs and they basically like 99.9% of all things edible. You might try the chicken flavor first since that’s what your dog is currently eating and then eventually add in other varieties.

[Dori]

Gloria. Definitely proves my point. You never know when a recall is going to pop up but you know darn well it will. I do my best to avoid the obvious. It’s also the reason that I avoid any manufacturer that has had multiple recalls. You know that eventually they are going to have more recalls and I don’t intend for my dogs to get caught up in the disaster. I only feed high quality commercial raw diets from companies that I trust completely because I have spent literally years researching commercial raw manufacturers that are made in the USA sourcing their ingredients only from the USA. Nothing GMO. No soy, no corn, no white potatoes, no grains, no poultry. I’m sure there are other things on my list of ingredients that I do not feed.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

I give my girls raw carrots all the time as treats. They have never had a problem digesting them. I check their stools and never see any pieces of carrot in it.

[Dori]

Linda S. The reason that Darwins would never be on the list is that it is considered a food that is not readily available to all. Because it has to be ordered and delivered, it makes it not readily available and shipping for raw dog foods is incredibly expensive. Most people don’t have the money to feed commercial raw foods and pay for the shipping. I understand that it pretty much has to be expensive to ship raw because of the packing and speed of delivery that are involved but it’s not economically feasible for everyone. I’m a commercial raw feeder myself but I buy them at my local “boutique type” dog food stores.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I have given Lily little bits of raw carrots and apple, and they seem to digest fine. Like Dori, I’m really doing more for her enjoyment then I am for nutritional benefit.

[Dori]

Gloria, I give my dogs raw fruits and veggies as treats. It entertains them and they’re happy. I don’t particularly care how much nutrition they receive from them. Very rarely do I find huge pieces of carrots or any raw veggies I give them so I don’t know. As I’ve said often, I don’t feed commercial raw treats (too many recalls, also Katie has too many food issues). Sometimes I do cook them, sometimes I puree them if I want them to get the most nutrition out of them. Mostly they like the crunch factor of raw. It makes them happy.

[Gloria K]

Well then. I gave Micky a carrot stick last night so I’m going to have to keep an eye on his stool today and see what happens.
I was under the impression, from what I’ve always read, that dogs can digest raw vegetables. Guess I read wrong. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Gloria –

Dogs do not produce cellulase, the enzyme required to efficiently digest raw plant material. Dogs will only efficiently digest plant matter if it is cooked/finely mashed.

“The carnivore’s pancreas does not secrete cellulase to split the cellulose into glucose molecules, nor have dogs become efficient at digesting and assimilating and utilizing plant material as a source of high quality protein. Herbivores do those sorts of things.”
Canine and Feline Nutrition Case, Carey and Hirakawa Published by Mosby, 1995

[Gloria K]

I’m surprised to hear that the carrot stick didn’t digest because raw vegetables digest in both humans and animals. Can’t imagine why it didn’t with your dog. I agree that carrying around raw meat is not something I would want to do either. When I take my dog to the park I always bring several of my homemade dog cookies because there are always other dogs around him that are going to want one too. It’s like a party LOL.

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

[CaneCorso15]

For breakfast; 3 cups kibble mix with 2 raw eggs and a banana.
For Dinner; Half of a whole chicken and a beef rib.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well, sometimes you need treats on the go – such as at dog parks or in training classes. I don’t know about you but I personally don’t want to carry raw meat around in my pocket. Also, feeding raw veggies is pretty pointless since dogs can’t efficiently digest them in the raw state. Last time my dog got a hold of a raw carrot stick it came out the exact same way it came in.

[Mary L]

Real food! I dont understand the question really. Organic raw cheese, raw free range meat, organic carrots, tomatoes, romaine lettuce… Why does anyone buy dog treats?

[Danie]

Hi all,
We are new to raw and have been feeding our Littles ground raw (with bone) because I am SUPER paranoid about them choking! We had a choking incident recently (before the raw switch) and I am really concerned that it will happen again. I have seen a lot of recommendations for chicken necks, wings, legs etc. However, I am not comfortable with these as my Cairn has really strong jaws and is famous for chomping and gulping things down when he can. (He’s the one who had the choking scare).

I really would like to give them RMB’s whole, for all the obvious benefits, and have been considering the following:
– Chicken backs; all ribs removed
– Turkey necks – though turkey is hard to come by where I live so this may not be an option
– Oxtails; uncut

I would really appreciate any recommendations / feedback in this area especially from other raw feeders with smaller dogs, as I am super nervous about it and will be watching them like a hawk when I do become brave enough to let them try it.

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Danie]

Hi all, we are new to raw and have been feeding our Littles ground raw (with bone) because I am SUPER paranoid about them choking! We had a choking incident recently (before the raw switch) and I am really concerned that it will happen again. I have seen a lot of recommendations for chicken necks, wings, legs etc. However, I am not comfortable with these as my Cairn has really strong jaws and is famous for chomping and gulping things down when he can. (He’s the one who had the choking scare).

I really would like to give them RMB’s whole, for all the obvious benefits, and have been considering the following:
– Chicken backs; all ribs removed
– Turkey necks – though turkey is hard to come by where I live so this may not be an option
– Oxtails; uncut

I would really appreciate any recommendations / feedback in this area especially from other raw feeders with smaller dogs, as I am super nervous about it and will be watching them like a hawk when I do become brave enough to let them try it.

Thanks in advance 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

He could have some arthritis in his jaw and eating bones could be a little tiring. Are his teeth and gums in good condition? No sores or broken teeth? I feed my old one mostly wet food and some ground raw.

[Akari_32]

Hi, Kimi! What are you feeding now? And is it dry or canned? Canned or raw are the best when it comes to feeding cats. Cats do not have a high thirst drive, which can lead to sever cronic dehydration while on dry foods. And not enough water can lead to all kinds of health problems, such as the ones you are seeing. Most health problems, especially in cats, can be fixed with a simple change of diet, under the direction of a vet. So, yes, go see your vet, but express that you would like to not do all the crazy meds if it’s not absolutely necessary (I have to remind my vet of this quite often lol).

[MIKE B]

Sorry for the long history, but the situation is complicated; I’ll stick to info that seems essential to this mystery.

Our 15.5 year old lab/setter mix has been on a raw food diet for about the last 14 years, since being diagnosed with mild hip disp. For all these years, he has eaten his nightly dinner with joy, mostly frozen raw chicken on the bone, lots of leg quarters, drumsticks, backs. Breakfast has also always been an eagerly awaited treat, a mix of ground turkey, tuna, fish oil, eggs yokes, and ground veggies (brocc, carrots, and other) and apples w/out seeds. I’m probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

His regular blood work has also delivered exemplary results from a doc sympathetic to but not knowledgeable about raw feeding.

As recently as this last summer we were needing to feed him a bit less to keep his weight down (approx. 60 lbs) because the warm weather really slows him down. He has always gotten two walks a day, totaling about 3-4 miles, off leash, though as he slowed down it was sometimes tough to get in 2 miles a day in 2 walks.

Then we tried some laser therapy on an arthritic wrist, which didn’t help, so we tried adding Tramadol to help w/ the arthritis. He has been getting daily Rimadyl, also, for probably the last year or more.

The Tramadol seemed to help, but he really hated the taste, and soon even hiding them in his morning breakfast wasn’t good enough, so we put them in fish oil capsules, until he detected the hated pills and stopped eating the fish oil caps that came with his breakfast.

Since the pills helped, we decided to hide the pills in very small Lean Treats, which did the trick, but soon after he started losing interest in breakfast and eventually his nightly chicken on the bone. He still ate, but seemed less enthused.

Now things get really complicated. To combat a growing problem with nightly incontinence, we started giving him testosterone shots. The results have been phenomenal. The shots not only got the incontinence under control, but they, along with cold weather, have him walking with great enthusiasm, speed, and vigor, so now we’re up to 4 or more miles a day between the two walks. Great news.

Except that even as he was getting much more exercise, his appetite has been greatly reduced. He still eats both breakfast and dinner as described above, but he will typically only eat a half portion, which has lead to significant weight loss.

When his ribs began to show we started trying different meats including beef and liver with some but not enough improvement. Finally, about a week ago, in desperation we did three things: 1) we started making silky balls for him as a supplement, and sure enough, he likes them; 2) we started adding canned dog food to his breakfast and 3) we started giving him some Iams dry dog food AFTER he ate as much of his chicken on the bone as he was willing to eat.

The latest is that he seems less and less interested in his raw food breakfast even when mixed with canned dog food, and while he can still be coaxed into downing a couple of raw drumsticks for dinner most (but not all) nights, he loves the silky balls and his kibble.

At this point I need another bag of dog food but I hate using the stuff and would rather see him back on a BARF diet, but if he won’t eat enough of it, well, he’s got to eat! At 15.5 years old, I’m tempted to say, okay, whatever you’ll eat, pal, that’s fine, but if anyone has experience with a situation like this I’d love to hear some suggestions.

In particular, I’d like to know a) are changes in taste common to older dogs, as they can be in people?,; b) does anybody recognize in the story above a causal explanation? (we have our own theories, but I’ll reserve them for now); c) does anybody have suggestions for how to get him back to enthusiastic BARFing?

Thank you.

[Kimi_forever]

I’ve heard some not so great things about them which disappointed me as i wanted to try some of their treats as they seemed interesting and i was particularly intrigued by their use of buffalo over beef as i personally feel buffalo is a superior protein source to beef. I would not personally trust meat from india, even if it is human grade. But then again i wont feed weruva to my dog because its made in thailand, but some people see no problem in this because its done at a human food processing plant, so if trusting india is a judgement call on your part i say no but someone else might say different.

One other thing to keep in mind about this company is that i learned evangers does the canning for their canned foods back when i was thinking of using their canned food as a topper for my dog. And like i saw one regular poster here say, “if they dont see the problem with having evangers can their food then i have a problem with that and i dont trust their judgement on any product they make given this”. I mean if these people don’t think doing business with evangers is a problem then where do they draw the line? i personally would return whatever i had from this company asap, but thats just me and i’m very picky and there arent many brands i approve of, so it’s really your call…

EDIT: one other thing about this company that i saw someone who reviewed their products point out which i felt was a good point. is that they focus their marketing a lot on unsubstantiated claims such as the food is good at fighting cancer instead of focusing on what is actually good about the food and why it’s a superior product. i just think they are shady all the way around and use a lot of clever marketing to sell products instead of focusing on quality…

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

[pugmomsandy]

Looking for suggestions/resources for balancing whole ground turkeys with added tripe instead of other muscle meats. According to preymodelraw, whole birds are about 30% bone.

[Riley T]

I have two French bulldogs and have had an issue finding a grain free chicken free or anything with feathers for that matter that is also potato free.
I am going to try out Earthborn Grain Free kibble and see what happens. I’ve tried them on Orijen (too rich) Acana ( they wouldn’t eat it), FROMM Gold (loose stinky stools & itchiness), Merrick Bison & Sweet Potato (good stools but still itchy), Taste of the Wild High Prairie ( made them gassy).
So this is one of my last options before going to a RAW diet, wish me luck lol.

[Sally C]

I am new to this site and a fairly new dog owner. Here’s the history of my pup: we adopted a 9 month old yorkie from a local rescue in November. He came to us eating Eagle Pack dog food which I kept him on. He was also coughing a lot, then he started itching and chewy his hind legs. He developed severe ear infections, then diarrhea and then he finally started vomiting roundworms. This was all over the course of 6 weeks. Before the worms were found (despite 3 stool samples), we were certain he had allergies. So, I tried him on Blue Buffalo Basics which was not helpful and caused diarrhea then switched to Nature’s Variety limited ingredient Salmon meal. He has completely quit scratching and the hair on his hind legs is starting to grow back. His skin is also less dry. The problem is that he really smells, he has gas, his breath is awful and his stools are very soft , large and smell awful!!! Now I don’t know if he really has allergies or if it could have been been getting worms.

I have read about raw diets but I just don’t know if I could do it. Maybe if it was already prepared. Dry kibble would be my first choice, but I don’t know if it will help him. This has been a very long process of trial and error and any advice would be wonderful! I have wasted so much dog food!

[Caroline H]

Hi – Hounddog mom!

I have been using mercola’s sups and as you note they are very expensive. I have started using their joint sup but with a 96 lb golden retriever (no not overweight but tall, muscular and big boned 🙂 it is just cost prohibitive. Also there is a new similar product on the market although more expensive I believe but it has significantly more of the active ingredients, called EHP Myristin. My golden is not showing any signs of arthritis with exception of being a bit slower getting up but that may just be old age. They Cetyl Myristoleate Complex per chewable in this product is 500mg compared to the 130mg in the Mercola product so it would actually be cheaper based on how many tabs I would have to give my boy daily. Any thoughts are you familiar with this product or do you know a similar product – human one – that would work equally as well? Also wondering what else I should give him to support his older body now. He gets daily omega 3s from Northwest Naturals and coconut oil (2tsps a day is that enough without adding too many extra calories?) and I feed him small batch raw dog food with some added cruciferous veggies. He also has Mast Cell Tumor cancer (Grade II stage II) but we believe we have removed it all surgically (they don’t ever say they are in remission). The raw dog food says “complete” re other nutrients and it has bone and organ meat but I always wonder if he could use a basic minimum multivitamin. Also how much omega threes should I be giving him? Thanks so much. Sorry for so many questions. I research a lot but there is so much overwhelming info these days. My go to has been Mercola, I like Becker’s approach and trust their USA made formulas but I also have dog insurance for my boy that goes up every year and trying to manage the dog budget is ridiculous 🙂

[Nikki J]

Hello everyone, I have just joined this very interesting website forum. My name is Nikki and I currently have one dog, a low content wolf cross. I have owned wolf crosses for the past 15 or 16 years, and for most of that time have fed a raw diet, preferring BARF to prey model.

I believe passionately that ALL dogs should be fed raw, but in particular the northern breeds and mixes. None of my boys have ever been able to tolerate kibble, especially my first dog, Hal, who was a higher content wolf cross.

I am looking forward to joining in on discussions and generally getting to know everyone. It looks to be a very friendly site.

[Akari_32]

For some reason, Vimeo hates me. Never uploaded my video or anything. I’ll have to get on the computer and do it. Tonight’s dinner went well, and he really liked the little bit of chicken wing I gave him, and he hate his liver no problem! 🙂 back to canned tomorrow, and we’ll try again in a raw days.

[Akari_32]

This?

http://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2015/01/08/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw/

[Susan]

About 1 month ago someone showed a video of a collie dog, I think it was a collie & they scanned his stomach & bowel every hour to see which digested quicker, Raw or Kibble & the kibble digested quicker, does anyone know where that was or have the link… Thanx

[Akari_32]

Wow, I totally replied to this but it didn’t post lol Anyways, eventually I’ll go all raw, but for now I’ll do it a few times a week. I want to get me cat food stash down some before I get too serious. Then I’ll keep it on hand for when I go out of town.

This morning it the first homemade raw meal for the kitty! I let him taste the organs and bones a couple nights ago while preparing it, and he actually loved all of it! I opted to feed on a plate, rather than his small stainless bowl, in hopes that he won’t drag it around. I’ll also lock the dogs up and feed him in the kitchen so if he does drag it around, at least it’s on the tile and not my carpet LOL

This meal is about 3 oz, with some beef kidney, a small bit of chicken breast that apparently escaped the dogs meals, and a nice big chunk of thigh. Dinner will be another 3oz, and have the end of a wing, and I think I saw some chicken liver in there, and more thigh/leg meat.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/50DD335D-F808-4E53-99D5-2E09C353FF0E_zpselkwpbdg.jpg

[Michael C]

Morning! My question is about fish. Where I shop I have the option of Ground Herring/Mackerel mix, Wild Caught Whole Portugese Sardines, and Whole Spanish Mackerel. I want the best Omega3 fish I can get that will feed a mastiff puppy growing bones :p

[charles h]

Hi Glen,

How did the change of diet happen, for example was your dog on kibble then one morning changed to raw food?

Any change of diet even going from one type of kibble to another instantly without a weening period can result in an upset stomach.

Bacteria does not affect dogs as it normally affects the intestines not the stomach however dogs have a much shorter intestinal track than humans so bacteria can not grow to cause issues.

I would guess you changed diet too quickly, persistence will ease any stomach upsets your dog has however you can use some human anti-diarrhea tablets in the meantime to make sure your dog does not loose too much liquid.

Bones such as chicken bones can also be used a binding agent to solidify stools so you can feed less meat and more bone to harden up your dogs stool then introduce more meat carefully monitoring their stools.

Hope this helps

Charles

[GSDMom]

I’m so confused. I emailed GT and asked them about their Xkaliber, they claim its complete because of the ground bone. I’ve heard different opinions about it being complete. My dog loves it and it’s the only raw he’ll reliably eat. GT doesn’t have a nutrition analysis on it yet, but they’ve said they’re working on it.

[GSDMom]

Can anyone tell me if the Xkaliber blend from GreenTripe is a complete raw mix? I’ve heard different opinions. Tia!

[Chloe j]

i am starting a raw food diet with my dog panda, i am looking for good supplements to feed, i will be feeding a variety of lean meat, RMB, and organs, veggies,fruit, i was looking at these supplements, to feed daily, how do they look to you guys? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AYL6M/ref=gno_cart_title_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A34A7V6YS432AV


if anyone has any suggestions i would be really gratefull, thank you
chloe