[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 11 years, 2 months ago by Kimi_forever.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 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

[Glen R]

I started feeding my dog raw chicken and now he has diarrhea and vomiting. My fiance is not happy and blaming the raw meat. I did some research and learned that any harmful bacteria will only be on the surface of the meat. So, is it possible to quickly cook the meat i am giving in order to kill the bacteria, but still have it raw for the most part bones and all. Also, what would be the best method for slightly cooking ( ~ 1 minute of boiling?).

My assumption here is that if I take for instance a frozen chicken drumstick and drop it in boiling water for a minute that the bones will remain uncooked and not splinter?

[Dori]

Happy belated birthday Haley. So sorry I missed your actual day.

My girls had THK Zeal for breakfast today. They also had a couple of blueberries and a little piece of banana each just now. My three love to eat which is so funny because you would think they would all be a bit obese and yet they all maintain their weight and are all actually on the lean side. I think it’s probably that they are on raw diets for the most part. They don’t bother to stop and sniff. Lola whines the entire time I’m preparing all meals or cutting up fruits and/or veggies. Katie twirls in circles (vet calls her our circus dog) and Hannah sits and stares at me and every move I make.

Thought I’d mention that Katie and Lola have never ever turned down any food. There has been only one food that Hannah has refused to eat and that was Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Goat. First time she ever sniffed a food and backed up and would have no part of it. That was the one and only time she’s ever done that. If it hadn’t been that Lola and Katie ate theirs just fine I would have thought their was something wrong with the food. I offered Hannah something else just to make sure she wasn’t sick and she ate her food just fine. With my girls being such eaters, if one of them misses a meal I figure there is either something wrong with the food or she’s sick. That was a couple of years back when I was constantly in search of foods that Katie could eat. Needless to say I never bought Grandma Lucy’s again. I hadn’t liked the food anyway so regardless of whether Hannah had eaten the food or not I wasn’t going to buy it again.

[Bobby dog]

My cats get a different food & brand every meal too including some commercial raw thrown in. They just like giving me a hard time.

Is the kitty going all raw or still some canned thrown in?

[Akari_32]

That’s funny, Bobby Dog! I’m glad mine doesn’t really get sick of any one food. Then again, he gets something different every single meal. Nothing two meals in a row, and hardly every even the same brand two meals in a row.

Oh! Forgot to tell you guys! I’m going to be starting the cat on raw 🙂 Him and Bentley can be food buddies lol

[Naturella]

All yummy stuff, everyone!

Bruno’s menu today was 1/8 cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF and 1/8 cup of Wysong Nurture with Quail (transitioning to it now), topped with 1 tsp of Sojo’s Beef – all that was for breakfast, and dinner was a raw chicken neck. Mid-day snack was 1/2 of a six-inch Etta Says deer chew (hoping for no loose stool from it) and a few Wellness CORE puppy kibbles as treats. I took him to the dog park today and he got nice and muddy, so when we got home, he got the full service – pawdicure, brushing, and bath by yours truly. He got the chew as a reward for enduring the “torture” and the kibble-treats for a bit of training. 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Naturella.

[Dori]

The girls had Nature’s Logic Raw Venison this morning for breakfast and OC Raw Rabbit for dinner. Some blueberries, raspberries, and bananas mid morning and afternoon as treats.

[Naturella]

I have received samples from the following awesome companies:
Annamaet (samples of the GF formulas plus a full-size bag of treats)
Dr. Tim’s (sample of one formula and literature)
Canidae (a whole bag of PURE Sea plus full-size bag of treats)
Wysong (samples and literature)
Brothers Complete (had to purchase the samples, BUT they doubled my order either by mistake or just because for free)
Victor (had to purchase the samples, I ordered more than the limit, but they honored my order)
Big Dog Natural (had to purchase the sample)

Companies that did not send me samples when I contacted them:
Nulo (sent me coupons instead)
Fromm (said they have money-back guarantee, so if I buy it and Bruno doesn’t like it or whatever, I’d get my money back)
Merrick/Castor&Pollux/Whole Earth Farms (said they have money-back guarantee, so if I buy it and Bruno doesn’t like it or whatever, I’d get my money back)
TOTW (said my local store should give me samples)

My local store, however, offers free samples ALLLLLL the TIIIIME, and I have obtained samples of Fromm, Victor, Merric, Wild Calling, TOTW, NVI, Stella and Chewy’s (RAW! FREE sample starter bag! WHAT?! 😀 ) and more.

I love all the samples I have as I use them to spice Bruno’s menu up and I use them as training treats. 🙂

[jakes mom]

there’s a whole forum on DFA for home made food. You might also check ingredient lists for some of the premade meal mixes. If those don’t contain the problem ingredients that might be the easiest for you. Just mix the powder into your own meat and you have a complete meal. There’s a discussion about meal mixes on the raw feeding forum but you can also use a mix with cooked food if you prefer. Good luck.

[Cotons mom]

I want to start making my pups raw food and want to know which pre-mix is the best one out there. I want to put this in the rotation with the other raw that I already use.
Any info would be appreciated and, also, do I feed that same with the home made as I would with the store bought raw?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Kristin –

I’m not sure if there will end up being a recommended treats list. Going over users’ posts it became clear that people look for very different criteria when searching for treats. It’s hard to say which treats are safe to give dogs unsupervised because, technically, a dog could probably choke on anything and it also varies based upon the dog’s chewing style. If you worry about your dog choking I’d recommend avoiding things like rawhide, bully sticks, pig ears, dental chews, etc. while you’re not home. A safe and healthy (and yummy!) treat to make that will keep your dog busy while you’re away would be to stuff a kong with canned food or layer it with kibble and canned pumpkin and freeze it. It will take longer for your dog to eat if it’s frozen. Making “konsicles” like this is also pretty cheap to do – unlike many of the dental chews and natural chews on the market that can be quite expensive. If you want to keep your dog’s breath in check, I’d recommend regularly brushing it’s teeth – dogs really should have their teeth brushed at least 3 times per week.

[Ben H]

Thx. I knew I came across that list before. Lol. Benefits/drawbacks for the labs in regards to grain free vs. Grain inclusive?

[MelSnowy]

Thank you much, crazy4cats for responding. Old vet, (since my pup wouldn’t even eat much, (a few kibbles) of the high quality dry foods, like Royal Canin, Nutrisource, and Wellness – too rich for her,) New Vet recommended I give her the Purina Pro-Plan SELECT Sensitive Stomach/SALMON. She has been eating this for awhile, however, the recently opened bag she has eaten from, the Vet determined was the cause of her issues. (Very Scarey, Vet thot renal failure). I will never feed her that anymore! All of the times she has transitioned to new dry food – did it very, very gradually. Am stymied, I don’t mind paying the price for a good quality dry food but don’t see any others for sensitive stomach. She loves boiled lean hamburg and rice but know she needs other nutrients. Am so very willing to make home made food, (am retired, so have the time) yet, having seen so many ‘recipes’, (many raw meat, which I won’t use) don’t even know where to begin. “Snowy” is such a cuddle bug, 1/2 Great Pyr, 1/2 St. Bernard. She is small for the mixed breed (both parents seen in person were small, too) weighing 80 lbs. Her only other med issue, (6 months ago) was a Seresto Collar making her very aggressive, which when removed, she was back to her loving self.

?????? Want to give her the best, but don’t know where to start. Thank you, crazy4cats!

Melinda

[jakes mom]

Cheryl, the mix I used was from Know Better Pet Food. If you go back to the first page you’ll see I originally asked about a mix for my dog. Bobby dog gave me links for a couple of companies that sell mixes and I decided to try a mix for the cats to save myself the trouble of constantly lugging home cases of canned cat food (I have 5 cats and a dog). But the cats are not cooperating. I have used Honest Kitchen for Jake and the aroma is not as strong as this other brand, I agree, it smells pretty good!
Jake is helping me use up the raw cat food I’ve made so it will not go to waste. He’s a happy boy at least!

[jakes mom]

Just checking in with an update. Cats never would eat the raw turkey mix. I made the cooked mix today with some ground turkey. One cat tried it and seemed to like it but a little while later I heard the sound of a cat vomiting. Yep, it was that cat, Teddy. There was a hairball involved so maybe it was just a coincidence. Fingers crossed. I’ll give it a few more days and see how it goes. These mixes have a strong aroma, kind of like a boullion cube. Maybe the cats aren’t happy with that part of it. Do the other mixes have an odor?
Peggy, meal mixes are a supplement powder you mix in with your own meat to make a complete meal. Some are for raw meat, others are for cooked.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Hi Peggy,
I too, am trying hard to figure out how to introduce the various commercial raw proteins to my girls, I think we just have to do it!!! Slowly, but, I do truly believe it is their best interests long term.
My new puppy Millie is on orijen & horizon kibble both excellent, but I do think as many have advised if she can handle all raw I am going to go for it. Today will be the 1st for the Vital Essentials Fish, I am keeping my fingers & toes crossed she & my older gal Pepper will do ok.
Pepper has been doing ok on the Honest Kitchen, which i plan to introduce to Millie soon.
Good luck to you –

[crazy4cats]

I just took a look at Nature’s Variety frozen raw foods. They say they are complete and balanced, but they don’t have any vitamins or minerals added either. Isn’t that the purpose of feeding raw? To get the vitamins and minerals from the actual food due to the fact that the good stuff isn’t cooked and processed out? I’ve read Hound Dog Mom say more than once that if you are concerned, you can always give a multi vitamin.

[Dori]

Aimee, if you’re around would you please check this forum out. Tracy has a question on Big Raw Country dog food. Specifically their dinners. I’ve gone to their site to try and help her but the foods contain no vitamins or minerals whatsoever that I could tell. I don’t believe they are complete and balanced. At least they don’t appear to be unless Canada has different thoughts on what’s complete and balanced. Thanks.

[Dori]

Hi Tracy. I’m a commercial raw feeder to my three girls. Maltese, Maltipoo and a Yorkipoo. If the food you are feeding is complete and balanced than no supplements are required. When you say that you were told that the food contains no cheated minerals, are they saying they contain synthetic minerals or just no minerals at all? That’s an important thing to know. With probiotics, once again, if it’s a truly complete and balanced food than, no, in my opinion there is no need for probiotics. Have you been to their web site and read up on the food itself and checked out ingredients and guaranteed analysis. If not, I would suugested you do that. Whatever food you are going to switch to please remember that since your dog has been eating kibble and canned, YOU MUST transition him slowly to see how his gut does with raw so that he doesn’t have diarrhea or loose stools. Once you know he doesn’t then your good to go. Once he’s been on raw for a bit I would suggest that you introduce different proteins and then different brands. That will benefit his gut and he’ll be able to make the switch from one food to the other with no issues whatsoever. I rotate brands and the different proteins within all the brands that I feed with the exception of poultry of any sort as one of my girls has food intolerances and for convenience sake for me I feed them all the same. I believe that a rotational diet is the best and healthiest way to feed. Also less chance of them becoming sensitive to the same protein fed day in and day out. Also it makes meal times more interesting for them. Anyway, all this is my opinion and my experiences with my three. So very glad you’re switching to raw. Yay!

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. A lot going on right now. My husband had surgery for cancer two years ago so I’ve been busy sitting around waiting rooms while he goes through a battery of tests. We should be getting results sometime next week. My brain has been a bit scattered and I’ve been on pins & needles. Thx for thinking of me.

Now, on to your question. I don’t transition my girls from one food to the other anymore but I’ve been feeding them this way for a long time. What I would suggest to you for a couple of months or so is every time you’re going to introduce a new food add some of the new to the old for a couple of days or so. If you see there are no issues then you can just make the switch. Do that with new proteins for a bit until you have fed a few different foods that you can rotate with. Once you see that all is well with no gastro issues you can just switch whenever you want. Dogs fed raw don’t appear to have the same transitional issues that dogs fed exclusively kibble do. Introducing the different proteins slowly will also let you see whether Millie or Pep are going to have a sensitivity issue with a food. Unless you’re one of the lucky ones who has dogs with no food intolerances. If you are, I’m quite jealous. I’m at the point where I never feed the girls the same food in a day. Actually I keep a number of foods for them in the freezer and just switch their menus around constantly. It keeps their meal times a little more exciting for them I think. As for fruits and veggies, it’s just whatever I have in the fridge or bowl on counter. I don’t go out and buy special fruits or veggies just for the dogs.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tracey-
I am not a raw feeder, but was curious about the food you bought. The website claims that the meals are complete and balanced. So you should be fine without any supplements. You could probably add some fish oil or sardines a few days a week but other than that it looks like you are good to go!

I do add some frozen or freeze dried raw to my dogs’ kibble two or three days a week and they love it and do fine with the mix. Hopefully I will be able to eventually even feed it more often.

Good luck with your new adventure!

[Tracey K]

Hi! I have a 5 year old shih tzu/bichon mix that I have been feeding Fromm Grain Free kibble and canned for the last 2 years and after much reading on the benefits of a raw diet, I went out and purchased raw dinners from a local company ( Big Country Raw) located here in Southern Ontario. I went with the dinners because they included vegetables and fruits along with the meat.
My question is do I have to add any supplements to this food? I’m so nervous he won’t be getting the required amount needed. I want to start him on it in the morning and is it ok if I don’t have the supplements if needed then?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[Z B]

I like Hounds and Gatos a lot, this is one of the foods I use in rotation for my cat. I had to take her off raw due to constipation issues and this is one of the few premium canned foods she will eat. At 13 yrs she is doing very well. I would feed it to my dogs, too, if I could afford to.

[theBCnut]

For fish oil, you want to make sure she is getting 100mg combined of DHA and EPA per 10 lbs of body weight, so the supplement you gave her could be given much less often. If you are moving towards raw or some raw, replacing one meal a week with sardines or herring should give her enough omega 3s.

[theBCnut]

The first time I switch to a new raw food, I do half and half, but after I know mine tolerate it well, I just switch.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

BC,
Thank you so much you Dori and a few others have been invaluable.
If Pepper & Millie could talk they would say thank you too-I know they talk just not in a language we understand 🙁 .

I checked out Hare Today wow they sell everything -it scares me since I am not ready yet to go “REAL REAL RAW” -I will have to see about the tripe that both sell.
I did get my local feed store to get the Vital Essentials tripe-so maybe I will try that first –
could you check out my post on “Commercial Raw” and if and when you have time please give me your opinion-this all so new to me
Thank you so very very much again

[theBCnut]

To start with, I would get just plain tripe, nothing added. The supreme and others are great if you are going totally raw and need a little of this or that to balance things out. They aren’t bad for toppers, but with the organs in them, they can be rich, so make sure your dog does well on just tripe before you add something to the mix that you don’t know if it is going to cause an issue.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Hi everyone,
This is a question for Dori or anyone who feeds commercial raw.
Is it o.k. to just go from one protein source to another without a transition period when feeding commercial raw. I am almost finished with my bag of Primal rabbit -can I just say tomorrow give my gals Vital Essentials fish alone or do I have to add a small piece of fish patty with the rabbit?
Thanks so much ,so sorry if this question seems like a no brainer to most of you!

Dori
How are you haven’t seen you posting, hope all is well with you

[Jan E]

I have a Rotti/Malmute mix, now 11yrs old, diabetic x 3 years. I’m a fan of rotating foods but must be careful of glycemic index and glucose spikes. The best food for good control for the longest time was Merrick canned, then suddenly she lost her desire for the food.She did this sudden change in the past w/ Freshet rolls, Primal raw, Evo canned… I wondered if they changed recipes?… Currently on Canidae – can chicken & rice – she is finicky and this is what is currently working. Any suggestions for top diabetic foods? (I joined this editors forum I don’t don’t have to do the the calculations…)
Thank you!!!
Jan

[Akari_32]

Lol well he gets one tomorrow! He already ate his ground pork tonight :p Usually it’s the cat I have to worry about when fixing up Bentleys meals. I tend to have to throw him scraps to keep him off the table LOL I about sat on him when I put the package of meat on the table and went to sit in the chair! I tend to get a lot of help in the kitchen and while eating… LOL

I want to get the cat on all raw here soon, as well. I gotta see how I handle it with Bentley. And I may not do completely raw, come to think of it, because I seems cats need a lot more per pound than dogs do. Might not be able to afford it. May just have to half and half balanced raw and canned or something like that.