[Naturella]

@Peggy, you’re very welcome! I am not by any means the epitome of healthy dog eating, but I try to keep his diet varied and healthy on a budget! 🙂 Hence the dang near stockpile of kibble in my bathroom cabinets! LoL.

Bruno will eat ANY fruit or vegetable, raw or cooked, lol! Glad your pups at least eat the ones you mentioned cooked. I forgot, peanut butter is also loved by Bruno but he only gets it in homemade doggie treats or doggie ice-cream. 🙂

As for flax seed meal, I would just buy the cheaper one to be honest. I keep mine in a glass jar in the fridge for storage to prolong shelf life.

[Naturella]

Hello here too, guys! 🙂

Ok, so for Peggy, I will post again the pics of Bruno’s menu and additives schedule, maybe she can choose some from there, and also check out the amounts for a 15-ish lb dog.

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/Bruno2014-2015Menu_zps6ccc6e19.jpg

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/BrunoWeeklyToppers_zpsdfd1a9be.jpg

Ok, so I feed the above toppers with the 1/4 cup of kibble as noted. You can use other fresh food toppers, like I see you have – raw or lightly cooked ground meats are great, raw or lightly cooked eggs too, cottage cheese, cooked veggies/leafy greens, some fruits (I give fruits raw), raw meats/raw meaty bones, canned sardines, jack mackerel, or salmon (not tuna – too much mercury I hear), yoghurt/kefir, coconut or fish oil (or both), canned pumpkin is good for fiber as is flaxseed meal (and the latter also gives Omega 3s), etc. There’s a lot to choose from that you can add, but let me recommend that you also add some warm water to the kibble. You may choose to soak it or not, but it does help with hydration and for ease of mixing oils, eggs, yoghurt, dehydrated foods, and just about anything else. It may look gross and soupy in the bowl, but it is so good to our furry friends, and they will slurp it all up nonetheless! At least Bruno does! 🙂

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Naturella.

[Dori]

Thanks Marie. I’m always hoping that when I post on the benefits of raw (commercial raw) feeding that I’m making myself understood. I have a tendency to ramble and then not read what I’ve typed before pushing the submit button. Sometimes I remember to go back and read and can’t believe how much of my thoughts were left in my head and never made it to the keyboard. I don’t know if that means I think faster than I type or the other way around.

Always good to hear from you. 🙂

[Dori]

Hi Deanna. Life stories are always welcome. It lets us all know background stories and whether one is old or new to the world of companion animals.

If your vet is a traditional vet than he/she will give you all the cons of feeding raw. Bacteria, yada yada yada. None of that, in my experience is true. All dogs have a bit of salmonella in their guts. It is dogs that have been fed kibble and/or inferior foods that will or could have an issue with salmonella in foods. A healthy dog (gastrointestinal health I’m speaking of) have no issues with a commercial food that may have a little bacteria in it. I’ve actually never known or heard of a commercial raw fed dog that has fallen ill from bacteria of any sort from a commercial raw diet. The issue with salmonella contaminated raw foods is more of an issue with the animals owners (humans) and not the owners. We are the ones that will get sick BUT only if we are slovenly. I’m sure cooking for yourself and your family now or in the past you have handled raw meats and poultry. When done you are always cautioned to clean all surfaces, clean all utensils and scrub your hands and all surfaces that the raw foods have touched. It’s the same thing. Raw meat and poultry is raw meat and poultry regardless of whether your feeding it to yourself and loved ones of the human variety or your animals. A lot of the traditional veterinary community seem to think that commercial raw feeders are indiscriminate as to what we feed our animals. I’m not sure where some of these vets are getting their education from or lack thereof. They don’t really keep up with the times and would prefer to just scare you off.

As to how much I feed my dogs, specifically Hannah, as she weighs 7 lbs. like your yorki does, it depends on what I’m feeding. If I’m feeding Primal Pronto (it’s a complete and balanced diet from Primal made in little “kibble like” bits frozen) then I scoop out 1/4 cup in the a.m. or p.m. just as I would have done with a kibble. If it’s in a pattie form, then I read the packaging for her weight and feed her accordingly. Typically it’s 1/4 of the pattie per meal. For varying meals even though all three of my girls weigh a little bit differently I pretty much feed them all the same amount. Lola, my 5 lb. girl is very very hyper so she burns everything off quickly. If she’s awake, she’s in motion. Katie my 6 lb. girl is tall for a Maltipoo and very petite in structure. She was the runt of the litter and due to be put down before I rescued her into our family. She has a lot of issues food wise, environmentally and muscoskeletal so I’m always making sure she keeps her weight on. Hannah, my true couch potato, and at her age that’s okay with me, she stays on the lean side. Because she is 15 1/2 years old and a touch of old age arthritis I keep her on the lean side. I’m not big on having a scale to weigh them on a regular basis. I feel my dogs. If they have a little bit of coating on their ribs that I don’t mess with the amount I feed them. If I feel one of them and can too readily feel their ribs where with my fingers I can actually feel an identation then I know that dog needs a bit more food. If I have to press down too much to feel ribs, then I feed a little less for that dog. Kind of like ourselves. We have heavier days and lighter days. Winter we’re indoors a bit too much in the summer we’re very active.

I got both Lola and Katie both when, I guess I was around 61 or so. I thought I’d go insane. Literally, I was shedding tears all the time. I then thought it was one of my bigger mistakes. It was tough going having to 9 week old puppies at the same time. I hadn’t had a puppy in so long I’d forgotten the colossal amount of work let alone having two. Well, now that all is said and done I have to say that Lola and Katie are the best of pals. They are not siblings in the true sense of the word but you’d never know it. They sleep by each other, they rough house, play, everything together. But honestly I didn’t think I’d make it through those first couple of years. Hannah was none to happy about any of it either. Now they all pal around together. When I call them to let them out in the back Hannah won’t go out until she waits for the other two to catch up. All three wait for each other by the back door before they’ll come back in. Very very cute. Of course, if one of them barks, they all start barking even though the other two haven’t got a clue why or what they’re barking about. Very funny. Some times irritating but mostly have given me so much love and quality to my life. At 66 I’d probably be able to handle a puppy again but certainly not two at a time. Though I think I would rescue a senior at this point in my life. At one point in your life you want babies and are all about babies and as you get older you see the need that seniors (whether they be humans or dogs) need.

One last point on commercial raw feeding. Once you do it you’ll wonder what took you so long and what you were so worried about. Also, feeding commercial raw foods is not at all what you think it’s going to look like. It’s not like you’re going to toss a whole animal at your dog for dinner. I couldn’t possibly handle that. Really it just looks for the most part like ground meats in shapes of hamburgers. Other than the “kibble like” bits that are meant for the squeamish kibble feeders trying to make a transition into raw and also because they defrost so darn quick.

[InkedMarie]

Michael,
where is thi auto ship from? I had autoships with Darwins Raw, Chewy.com and The Honest Kitchen; there was no fee to cancel. I would never use a company that did that.

[weezerweeks]

Hi Dori. I have thought about it but for some reason I can’t do it. How much do u feed your 7 lb baby? I give my Bailey Fruits and whole green foods too. I am thinking about getting a yorkie puppy. My Bailey is a rescue and my second yorkie. I’ve been trying to find another rescue but yorkies are so hard to find. I’m 65 so the thoughts of a puppy is scary. I support United yorkie rescue but most of them are too old. My Bailey was 2 when I got him.He was an owner surrender with heart worms. Oh well didn’t mean to give u my life’s story but I am going to talk with my vet about the raw feeding. He’s all for it. He’s the best Vet. Thanks, Deanna

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

BC
thanks so so much.
I guess the breeders must get some kind of kick-back (i don’t mean that in a bad sounding way) but this was a mini schnauzer breeder and yes her guarantee was also contingent on giving the Nuvet vitamins, she even gave a special code to get a 45% discount.
Thanks again.
Do you think a puppy that is fed commercial raw, orijen & legacy kibble, cooked meats, poultry & veggies and eventually THK should be on supplements ?
My older gal is on some ,but with this gal at 6 1/2 months should I be giving them so soon?
She grew in the 3 1/2 months that’s she’s been with me and weighs almost 15 lbs-all she wants to do is eat, I hesitate to take the 3rd meal away, but I don’t want her to gain too much weight too quickly.
Thank you always for your input and knowledge

[Dori]

Uh Oh Peggy! You weren’t taking into account the wet food were you? Or the treats? Yikes is right. Back to the drawing board for you dear lady, that’s for sure.

Happy if my post helps you rethink the amount of food you’re feeding. No way was Tebow going to lose weight eating that much food 🙂

[Peggy]

YIKES! Back to the drawing board. 🙁

[Dori]

Hi weezerweeks. Thought I’d jump on in the conversation since all three of my girls of teeny tiny also. Lola 5 lbs., Katie 6 lbs. and Hannah 7 lbs. Have you ever given thought to feeding commercial raw foods to your yorkie. I know that commercial raw foods are way more expensive than kibble but you don’t feed kibble at all. You feed canned foods which aren’t typically cheap. Since you’re only feeding a 7 lb. yorkie the frozen food would last you a good long while in the freezer. Just take out the night before what you would feed him for the next day in the fridge to defrost. All three of my dogs were a little on the chunkier side before I went to commercial raw diets. Since feeding commercial raw diets (3 years now) they have all thinned out to their present weights and maintain that weight all the time. I also give them organic (when possible) fruits and veggies as their treats. It doesn’t seem to change their weight at all and Hannah is a real couch potato. Hannah, my 7 lb. 15 1/2 year old Maltese, is hypothyroid and has been for probably half her life if not more and her thyroid level always tests normal. The diets are high in protein, fairly high in fat and very low in carbs. Some people think that because the fat % is so high they will get fat, or have all sorts of medical issues, pancreatitis, etc. etc. In actuality, the opposite is true. As to the fat content in foods. I have said this so many times I need to make a recording…..It is not the amount of fat in their food (or ours for that matter) it is the quality of the fat in the food. Your dog will lose the weight, stay at a nice lean weight, will not act like he’s hungry or starving day in and day out. I can’t say enough good things about the commercial raw dog foods. They have made a world of difference in all areas for my three dogs.

[Karma]

Some people feed their dog/s an entire bag of food and then rotate to a new brand/bag. Some rotate so that every meal is different. Like Cheryl above me asked, do you eat the same thing every meal/every day of your life? I’d guess not and I’m sure our animals would prefer not to as well.

Also, some recommend phasing in/out from old to new foods, while others simply give the new food. I fall into the last category of both giving a new food and different food at each meal. I rotate between 2 or 3 brands/proteins at a time. Currently we are using Wellness Simple Salmon and Merrick Steak and potatoes. Our red meat food is about to run out so we’ll be trying I and Love and You’s Raw dehydrated Beef when that happens.

[Jane E]

http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm

[Rita G]

I am transitioning to Stella and Chewy raw frozen food. The amounts recommended seem excessive. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations?

[Olayemi P]

This has been really beneficial, thank you! I usually feed Yoshi a half cup of Evo per day. I’ve experimented with it but pretty much ended up with whatever was on the package. I went to the store today and came back with a couple of starter pack raw nuggets — one of the ones you suggested and another they had there which I forget the name of. Yoshi was interested immediately and wanted it as soon as I tried to open the bag. Once it had thawed he was happy to eat some mixed with his kibble. I’m hoping it makes a positive difference because I could be a convert…I appreciate your help!!!

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Phillip O
Did you happen to ask your vet what the rationale behind not feeding a rotational diet was?
Does he or she eat the same exact thing day in day out their entire lives?
I suspect many may agree or disagree but here goes if you pups stay on the same food day in day out and suddenly develop itchy ears, eyes ,paw licking they will say an allergy has developed and an elimination diet is necessary or even better they will want to prescribe a prescription diet, while visits ,tests etc and you feeling helpless and your wallet gets thinner and thinner.
From most of the reading I have done eating the same food can actually cause problems for some dogs. That’s why offering different proteins different brands is actually beneficial.

I know how overwhelming this site can be,if i may I would suggest you first decide on what TYPE of food you want to feed: Kibble, canned, freeze dried , commercial raw, dehydrated, home cooked, real raw,and then look at the 4-5 star rating within the food,
I feed kibble but I lightly cook a topper of turkey chicken beef to up the protein or you can do kibble with a topper of canned. Kibble w a raw patty. so many varieties. I used to stay on this site most of the night trying to figure out what to try, plea don’t to that.
There are very helpful knowledgeable folks to guide you on this site
Good luck.

[Jamie H]

Greetings giant breed owners,

My current Dane is 10.5 years old and looks and acts like he’ll be around for a few more. He’s happy and and alert and active for his age. My buddy eats “Paleo” right along with me. Mostly Protein, (often red Pacific wild salmon–we live in Alaska) mixed with quality rice or root vegetables drizzled in olive oil and baked, carrots and celery (his fav) for snacks. He was boarded for a while when I couldn’t keep him and his caregiver gave him about 1/4 of fish oil in his dry food and and plenty of rawhide to keep him busy. When I got him back he was panting a lot and I assumed a heaet condition. X-ray showed a slightly enlarged heart. I did some research and discovered dry food is lacking in Taurine, L-Carnitine and Acytel L-Carnitine, among other critical amino acids and nutritional components. I started supplementing with the three amino acids, and adding squirts of liquid B-complex. His panting decreased and his eyes became focused and alert and his energy level increased. I abandoned my conventions on the focus of food “brands” and the idea of consistency. How boring. What do animals in the wild eat for dinner? Who cares? Its what ever gets them to the next meal! Variety and fluctuation is normal in the wild, and in fact stimulating for an animal. I mix table scraps with dry food. Dinner always taste different, what a pleasure for an animal whose sense of is also a form of communication! some days he doesnt get the dry food at all. Just after I started the supplemts I decided to feed him raw. I bought grass fed buffalo and he got 1/4 to 1/3 pound, give or take, twice a day. I’d recomend not using any grain fed meat for the reason it is sometimes 10x higher in the inflammatory Omega-6’s which is why we humans should avoid grain fed beef like the plague as well. Grass fed free range livestock has the balance of O-6’s to O-3’s that our paleo brethren grew up on and adapted to. But the most IMPORTANT thing one can do is treat your large breed friends as if they were your own grade school aged children. Get outside with them. Play with them outside like your own child. They DO have vocabulary you know. Just because they don’t show it in reciprocal speech doesnt mean they wouldn’t love to hear you talk to them about your activities. Label things when you are on walks. My buddy loves clover. When I get ready to drive him to a nearby trail i always ask if he wants to go smell “clover” or do you want to drink some water from the “stream”, excitement and anticipation dripping from my words. I don’t always know his choice but I always to to keep things varied. Satiate your large dogs with human interaction and variety. You’ll get more out of your companions than any top brand food can make a difference.

[jakes mom]

I’m looking for a little guidance concerning the amount (size or ounces or?) of raw to feed along with kibble. Right now Jake gets about a cup of kibble per day, a little less depending on the topper. Half a cup am and pm. I was thinking about giving him raw at suppertime. If I buy commercial raw I can obviously go by the instructions on the package but what about giving a piece of meat? What would be a “meal sized” amount for a beagle/basset, about 34#? Do I give him a chicken drumstick? A thigh? Can I hand him a pork chop? Is that all he gets or does he need a little bit of kibble, too? And how often? Can he have that a few times a week and kibble for his other meals? Would the nutrition all balance out in the end? He’s had RMBs as a treat and loves them. I just don’t know how to figure the right amount to count as his meal. I know he’ll eat whatever I give him so I worry about weight gain.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Oh Dori,
This has been a real nightmare, I wanted to downsize, yard etc, saw this townhouse well didn’t like the cabinets tore them out & found BLACK MOLD -well you can imagine gutted the entire 2 stories to the studs!!! As I said a nightmare that is a sinking well of money!!!

I guess while reading your post you do make sense – why have someone else cook, when I could do the same.

It’s funny I got the Primal Nuggets from Wag.com will have to check on the “Pronto” since it ships from the manufacturer.

I can get the “Vital Essentials” & Nature’s variety Instinct Raw here so that’s good , they also had Nature’s Logic it was on Susan’s list in 2013 but just read the review here and I will pass on that raw brand.

This is another reason I so miss living in a city-the availability of everything.

Well if i can rotate different brands with the lower fat proteins , I guess that would be ok., since you said each protein though the same is just a bit different when you change up the brands.
I am going to call Answers as you suggested along with OC Raw, see if they will ship directly to me. This local feed store cannot get either from there vendor.

You are wonderful, thank you again.
Have a great weekend

[Rita G]

I started my dogs on Stella and Chewy raw frozen patties today. It seems like the recommended amount is much more than I was feeding before. One was on kibble and the other was on the Honest Kitchen. Are the recommended amounts correct?

[Dori]

Cheryl,
Don’t let the fact that Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw is sold at those large stores deter you from using this food. It has a very good reputation and I feel comfortable feeding it to my girls. Though I don’t shop at large box type pet stores, at least three of the local “boutique type” dog food stores that I shop at carry the food.

As for Fresh Fetch, it’s been on Susan’s list for a while. I did research them at one time and their shipping prices were astronomical. Shipping cost more than the food did. If they’ve changed their shipping prices (which I doubt), I’m still not sure why anyone would pay their prices for food and shipping when you can research complete and balanced cooked diets and make it at home for a heck of a lot less. As to Frenchie’s Kitchen, again very expensive for a cooked food. If my memory serves me correctly, the shipping on frozen food was free but the cost of the food was crazy high. Again, one can cook a complete and balanced diet at home from recipes found on this site and others and many great dog books. That is if you want to feed cooked or supplement raw feeding with cooked meals to bring the cost of feeding down. Though I have no inclination to cook complete and balanced meals on a daily basis for my dogs, if that’s what I chose to feed my dogs I would make them myself. I don’t cook on a regular basis for hubby and I anymore so I’m not about to start now.

I’ve renovated probably every home we’ve lived in and so I know what you are going through. It’s exhausting and takes up almost all your waking and sleeping thoughts. Whenever I start a renovation project it is pretty much all I can think about. Glad I can help you in my small way.

OH! Just wanted to say about the Primal Pronto, any place that sells Primal will also sell the Primal Pronto. It’s actually the same food as the Primal formulas just made into small “kibble like” bits so you can scoop out and serve. The real plus of the frozen foods that are the little bits like is that if you’ve forgotten to put the days frozen meals in fridge to defrost, you can just scoop them into their bowls, leave on counter and approx. 15 minutes later they are soft and ready to serve.

[DogFoodie]

I feed my dogs raw chicken and turkey bones all the time, but I would never give them knuckle bones or other heavy weight bearing bones like a femur. I would worry about mine breaking a tooth on those. I still supervise them, but I have significantly less concern over soft, consumable bones like chicken wings, chicken necks, chicken backs, lamb trotters, turkey necks or chicken feet. Cooking changes the composition of the bone.

[DogFoodie]

Cooking a bone changes the structure of the bone will cause it to splinter. Bone splinters are dangerous. You should only offer your dog raw bones. I don’t give my dogs weight bearing bones either because they’re aggressive chewers and weight bearing bones are too hard for them. Here’s a thread about raw, meaty bones: /forums/topic/eating-raw-meaty-bones/

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Dori,
Please, please forgive me for not replying sooner to your kind post of letting me know the foods in your rotation.
I am in then process of renovating a Townhouse I purchased last May and between that and the girls well i am under a great deal of pressure.
I am trying to get all this in my brain and figure out how to go about the full transitions and rotations to raw and probably Honest Kitchen varieties.
It’s pepper i most worry about, so far it seems Millie can transition easier than pepper.
Concerning Nature’s Variety Raw ( and I don’t mean to sound like a snob) is that a good company-I know you do EXHAUSTIVE research,I just thought since all the big box stores carry it, that it was just a so-so company. AS I guess you can surmise by now, I make it very difficult for myself. If it’s too easy, I always question why??
But your endorsement means a great deal.
I can’t seem to find the primal pronto but will call the company next week.

I know you must be familiar with Susan Thixton.
She provides a “Best Foods list yearly.
Have you ever heard of “Fresh Fetch” or “Frenchie’s Kitchen”Fresh Fetch looks interesting-
these are cooked so you may not be too interested in them, just thought you MAY want to look at them.
Dori, thank you so much again, I sound like a broken record but you are really a very special and lovely person.

[pugmomsandy]

Yes, Raw Meaty Bone (RMB) is actually raw meat and bones. My personal dogs are raw fed (ground to whole prey) and eat dehydrated foods and my fosters eat kibble, canned and dehydrated foods. I’ve used Amicus, Back to Basics, and currently use Muenster Grain Free and Pro Pac Ultimates Grain Free and Nutrisouce Grain Free regularly and all the dogs’ stools have been solid, even with the addition of canned foods. How much are you feeding of EVO BTW? Also, you might find a Rotational Diet beneficial. My dogs always have solid stool no matter what I’m feeding since I change regularly.

http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59

For a dry, shelf stable dehydrated raw product, check out Stella and Chewy’s, Primal, Nature’s Variety, and Vital Essentials.

Here’s the raw feeding pictures topic:

/forums/topic/pictures-of-dogs-eating-raw-raw-meals/

[deborah d]

btw….if you do raw, most of them only have the one meat protein. ie Primal Turkey and Sardine only has Turkey and Sardine. Bravo turkey only has turkey.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Robert B:
Is there a reason you don’t want to continue mixing fresh meats with your dog’s kibble? Many regular posters feed their dogs this way, topping kibble with either fresh healthy meats, canned, or commercial raw. I use a topper for each of my dog’s meals.

Where do you buy food? Annamaet, Wellness, Earthborn, Fromm’s, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Nutrisource, and Precise are some other brands to look into.

[Dori]

Please read review on Blue Buffalo and google complaints about Blue Buffalo. Maybe your do is trying to tell you something. As to any suggestions for a dry food I’m sorry that I can’t be of any help there. I feel commercial raw foods to my three toy dogs as well as organic fruits and veggies. I know that quite a few posters seem to like Victor’s Grain Free, Nature’s Logic, Annaemaet (?), Brothers Complete, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Acana, Orijen. Those are just a few that I have read dry food feeders compliment. I’m sure there are others but I don’t know. What you can also do is switch to a dry food (for economic reasons I would suppose) and use a canned or freeze dried food as a topper. Your dog would get better nutrients than merely feeding a dry food. There are many other things that you could add to a dry food to make it more palatable and nutritious.

I hope this bumps up your question and kibble feeders will see and respond. 🙂

[Olayemi P]

Oh interesting, thank you! Now when you say “Raw Meaty Bone” do you mean exactly that? I am absolutely clueless about raw foods but I feel certain that this pooch would love to indulge once in a while. Thank you for these suggestions, I’ll go off now and do some research…

[Cheryl F]

Thanks InkedMarie. I have been researching Reel Raw…they look real good so far. Great reviews and prices are competitive. I’m also looking at Hare Today and maybe even Greentripe.com. Things have changed a lot in the raw dog food industry since I left it in late 08. I wish I never changed the dogs food, as I have lost all my saint bernards to various types of cancer. My last two died within the past 9 weeks – so it’s been a very rough couple of months.

[pugmomsandy]

Over the last five years, I’ve used Amicus, Back to Basics, Perfect Balance Grain Free, Nutrisource grain free, and Pro Pac grain free. I haven’t had any soft stools on these from my foster dogs. Since your boy is small, you might consider adding some real bone to his diet and reducing his kibble some. I’ve found that adding a Raw Meaty Bone 2 or 3 times a week firms up stools. Even something as small as a chicken neck or wing. He can even have a meal out of a drumstick. Another option is to feed a premade raw nugget like Primal nuggets or Primal Pronto and Nature’s Variety Instinct has a small nugget formula. These raw foods have include ground bone and you can just give him one 1 oz nugget with his kibble meal or a couple pieces of the small nuggets.

[InkedMarie]

Look at Reel Raw as well.

[InkedMarie]

I agree with skipping the chicken. If you want a pre made, have you looked at Vital Essentials? Also, look at Hare Today & Reel Raw. You can buy them, scoop it out, weigh it and feed. Hare grinds come in one, two & five pound chubs. Reel Raw comes in a variety of ways. I buy the complete mixes that come in ten pound bags that I re-portion. In fact, I have 30 pounds thawing in my spare room right now!

[InkedMarie]

I have a dog who didnt do well with chicken kibble. He is on raw jow & he can have a little chicken.

[aimee]

Hi Vanessa,

It is a very good question. Proteins are changed when heated so it is thought that a dog could react to a cooked/processed protein but not to the same protein raw. On the flip side if exposed to raw only the dog may react to the protein when raw but not cooked.

[Susan]

Hi Sherri, I’d be careful with raw, sounds like your boy has IBD, like my boy, how long has he been on the cooked chicken & rice?? I’d leave him on the chicken & rice only if poos have firmed up, so everything can start to heal (Bowel) when they have bad diarrhoea they call it a “flare” then you must let the bowel start to heal & get better…I’d wait a good 2 months before starting anything new…
Dr Karen Becker has a book called “Dr Beckers Real Food For Healthy Dogs & Cats” she writes you take 3 months to introduce raw meat to dogs with sensitive stomach/bowel, first you cook the meat same meat all the time, then after about 1 month on the cooked meat you boil the meat less then less all along watching their poos, if poos are still firm, then just soak raw meat in boiling water for around 20-30sec just to kill any bacteria & the fat will dissolve….

Boiled rice can irritates some dogs bowel cause of the way the rice is shaped with sharp corners, Patch has very sloppy poos when he eats boiled rice, but he can eat grounded rice in kibbles…. Susan Lauten a dog naturalist said to try rice noodles instead of rice, you just soak them in boiling water for 10mins then drain water, I buy the thick flat rice noodles also some boiled pumkin about 1 spoon has helped Patch, start with 1 teaspoon then see how poos are going, then I add 1 big spoon with every meal… Pumkin soothes the stomach & bowel…
I’d get Oliver stomach/bowel settle first, the Tylan powder should be firming up the poos, the Tylan made Patches poos perfect just after 2 days but he was on a vet diet as well but the Tylan made him feel sick, he kept licking & licking his mouth, then I put 1/8 teaspoon in capsule & gave the capsule halfway thru his meal at night but the next day he was licking mouth, have you tasted the Tylan it taste awful, I also got a bad headache after making up 20 capsules, I stop using the tylan as Patches poos are firm already, if I stick to his diet….. the Hills I/D Low Fat GI Restore wet tin works excellent for Patch not the Hills I/D Gastro the fat% is too high at 14.3% the I/d Low Fat GI Restore has only 8% fat, High fat diets can cause bad diarrhoea also, that’s why I have never tried raw cause of the fat is tooo high…stick with meats that are lower in fat…

[Vanessa K]

Hi All! Doing the research to start my pups on a raw diet! My GSP/Pit Bull mix, Keisel, has had an allergy to chicken since we adopted him as a pup. Has anyone noticed that perhaps chicken allergies are only to the chicken in kibble or all chicken in general? Might be a dumb question? Haha, but I wasn’t sure if fresh/raw might be different than processed.
Hope that makes sense! Thank you!

[theBCnut]

I haven’t heard of Raw Feeding Miami. I was on another raw feeding group that is closer to me, but I really couldn’t use their products because of my allergy dog.

[Marta W]

BCnut have heard of Raw Feeding Miami?? i havnt tried it but heard good things about it

[Dori]

Cheryl,
The commercial raw frozen foods that I use in rotation are:
Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen (if you can’t find it, please call them and speak with Jacquie, she’s the owner, and she’ll let you know who sells the food in your area. Don’t go by the store locater on their website because a lot of stores carry their goat milk but not their food and they are listed in their store locater because they do sell Answer’s Detailed just not the food).

Primal Pronto and Primal Formulas. Vital Essentials Raw. Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw.

Stella & Chew’s Raw (I feed this once in a blue moon. My dogs eat it but I’m not crazy about it. I come back to it periodically to give it a try because it does get good feed back from posters and is highly reviewed on this site and wonder if I’m just missing something). I will say that the company has a great reputation.

Commercial Frozen Raw foods are, by nature, high in fat. None of my three toy dogs have issues with high fat so it’s not a concern of mine. Beef, in my experience, will always be higher in fat than other proteins. If memory serves me, I think Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw and Vital Essentials Raw are probably lower in fat than most others. As I said, my girls don’t have issues with high fat diets. I have always contended that it is not the quantity of fat in a diet, it is the quality of the fat. Now, with that said, I don’t feed foods that have a higher level of fat than they do protein. I’m not paying high prices for fat. You have to keep in mind that the lowest % of fat that I feed is probably around 38% and up to around 58 – 59%. You have to know your animals and what they will be well with and can tolerate and thrive on. That goes not only with fat but protein and carbs as well. Also I think I’ve told you that I do not feed any food that has poultry, fowl, of any sort. One of my girls is highly intolerant of all forms including the different chicken and turkey fats that are put in some foods. Interestingly enough, she has no problems with eggs so long as it is no more than once every two to three weeks, maybe longer.

Moving on the Freeze Dried, I feed Primal Freeze Dried, Vital Essentials Freeze Dried and again, once in a blue moon I’ve wanted to like Stella & Chew’s Freeze Dried.

Dehydrated Foods: The only dehydrated food I feed is The Honest Kitchen. I’ve tried a lot of the others and for one reason or another I don’t like them.

There are, of course, foods in all categories above that I don’t feed for my own various reasons but that doesn’t mean that because I don’t care for them or how my dogs do on them, that they are not going to do well for other dogs. Katie, my allergy girl, has a list of food intolerances as long as my arm that I must avoid. Katie is the reason that I went to commercial raw foods and my other two dogs were lucky enough to come along for the ride and thrive on their diets. Dogs, like people, are all different. We all react to different ingredients differently. Some issues I have with some foods may not be an issue with others or may not be any issue for their dogs. (I don’t mention cats because I don’t have any. I’m allergic to animals which is why my dogs have always been of the hair variety and not fur). I am, fortunately, in a position that I can feed all 5 star rated commercial raw, freeze dried and dehydrated foods from companies that I trust that (in my opinion) have quality ingredients and quality customer service.

Ask away, I’m happy to help with my experiences and my trials and errors of which there have been many along the way. I’ve pretty much got all the kinks worked out for Hannah, Katie and Lola. I’m hoping that Millie and Pepper are well. Though you didn’t take Shawna’s advice years ago I’m glad you’ve jumped on board now. Better late than never as the saying goes.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Dori,
would you mind if you could give me some choices for a dehydrated food beside the honest kitchen or in your opinion is that about the best available? I know you mentioned Sojos.
As for commercial raw beside Primal & Vital Essentials any brand that comes to your mind with some lower fat offerings. i don’t think I will be able to get the OC Raw seems very hard to get and they don’t ship to consumers.
I just like to have options for them-I guess there are enough varieties within the same brand, but I want to make sure there diet is balanced overall.
Thanks so much Dori.
I have so much going on right now, it is so hard for me to devote the time I really need to research all the various brands.
I so appreciate all the information you have given me.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Good Morning Dori,
Yes, ideally having both girls on the commercial raw & dehydrated (i think) would be a good mix & as you say balance out in the end.
Both are quite expensive
I don’t think I am imagining this,but since pepper is no longer eating any kibble,at times she seems to have more energy, more vitality then when she was on the Amicus.
I don’t know, I know it won’t stop the clock for her, so I am just thankful for any tiny improvements she gains from changing her diet.
You have a great day.

[pugmomsandy]

Another great source of cartilage is beef trachea. I used to get raw trachea from GreenTripe.com but they are huge and hard to cut up (for me anyways).

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/beeftrachea2_zpsd3236fb6.jpg

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/beeftrachea4_zpsa1f2c128.jpg

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/beeftrachea6_zps6fabdea6.jpg

[theBCnut]

If your vet thinks it might be a food intolerance, then switching to chicken and rice might not be a good idea for very long. It might be an intolerance to chicken or rice.

You shouldn’t have issues switching from homecooked to raw, just start by giving him a little bit of the raw as a treat and make sure that it doesn’t trigger anything, then replace a meal with the raw, maybe a small meal at first, and increase the amount slowly until you find the right amount to feed him.

[theBCnut]

Sometimes, I make my own wet food by putting heart, liver, and kidney in the crockpot and then putting it through the blender.

Consider feeding raw chicken or turkey necks for a joint supplement. They have tons of cartilage in them.

[Andi G]

I’m looking forward to the catfoodadvisor.com too! So many sites seems to contradict each other about what foods are good. I guess it’s all just opinion but I value the opinions on DFA because they seem well-researched and don’t seem to be just trying to snub store-brands or push the expensive stuff for no reason except to be snobby.
I used to feed my cats Purina One SmartBlend for Sensitive Systems. It proved better for them than regular Purina for indoor cats but then I had to go and read all about cat foods and now I’m always stressing over whether I’m feeding them good enough or not. So, currently, my cats eat Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Duck & Turkey Meal Formula Dry Cat Food twice a day and a spoonful of the Nature’s Variety Instinct Beef Canned food twice a day. They are loving it but still fat as ever! haha

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. So glad to hear Millie and Pepper are doing well. If you can get them both transitioned to raw and raw and dehydrated that there is no need for worries or for feeding kibble if you can afford financially raw and dehydrated. One of the things that I think I have forgotten to say to you is that a complete and balanced meal does not have to be achieved with every single meal. Complete and balanced needs to be achieved over time. Not every single meal every single day. If you feed one meal dehydrated and one meal commercial complete and balanced raw, then you are golden. Kibble companies would have you believe that each and every single meal, no matter how many meals you feed per day, must be complete and balanced. That’s nonsense and not true. It’s the reason that a lot of people, myself included, feed a rotational diet. What nutrients they may be lacking in one meal or with one company with their different proteins (remember…most companies will change the protein, but typically the other ingredients pretty much stay in the same realm) the will get from a different food, different company. If they are getting to high nutrients or ingredients from another company, it will all balance out with a rotational feeding protein. Two companies can have the same exact ingredients in their ingredient list on their web site or their packaging but the % of ingredients are all minimums so they will all differ. That’s why a lot of us believe that “complete and balanced” diets need to be met, and will be met, over time. Not meal to meal.

[Sherri G]

Hi there –

I have a four year old English Bulldog (Oliver) who is…”special”. Ha! He has a very sensitive stomach along with some random other issues. Oliver had to stop eating kibble at age 2 because while he doesn’t have Mega Esophagus, he was having kibble get trapped in his cardiac sphincter, causing him to randomly and sporadically regurgitate. Soft, pate-style food and a Vegan Digestive containing Slippery Elm, Marshmallow and Licorice finally stopped that issue. Going to canned food, Oliver gained weight. He began a prescription diet food (canned) exactly one year ago and has lost 12 pounds.

A week and a half ago, Oliver began having awful gas (something of note: he does not receive any “people” food) which led to extremely horrible diarrhea. And when I say “diarrhea” I mean a gushing geyser. (sorry!) Naturally, we went to our beloved, trusted vet. After two trips and some tests (blood and stool) nothing out of the ordinary was detected. She felt he could have simply built up an intolerance to his food. She suggested switching to I/D (canned) to help with diarrhea and a course of Metronidazole.

After 3 days on I/D and Metronidazole, his diarrhea became worse. We switched to a chicken and rice diet and 7 days of Tylan. He is mid-way through the Tylan and our vet would like us to call when he finishes and then decide on food options.

After researching and making myself crazy (is there anything worse than not being able to make our “fur kids” feel better?), I started reading about raw food. I knew nothing about it until yesterday, when I spent hours upon hours of reading. I am not a meat eater myself and would definitely use a commercial brand – but we have yet another issue: Oliver cannot digest carrots.

After HOURS of research, I have found only 3 flavors of 3 different brands that do not contain carrots. Of those 3 brands, Primal Formula (Turkey/Sardine) seemed to be the “best rated” food. I have ordered a small bag to try.

So.. my questions are:
-Since Oliver is on a chicken & rice diet, would/should we fast him before trying the raw food? I’ve read different opinions on it but most dealt with switching from kibble.

-Do any of you have experience with your dog having chronic diarrhea or sporadic periods of diarrhea and you feel raw food has made a big change?

I apologize for the extremely long post. Our Oliver is complicated and we give him the best care we can, following our vet’s advice. I haven’t spoken to her about going raw yet but she leans more towards homeopathic and naturalistic approaches to everything so I suspect she will be in favor of it. I guess I’d like some advice/input/thoughts if anyone would care to share.

Edit: Since switching to Tylan Powder with chicken & rice, no diarrhea – just very soft stool.

Thanks so much,
Sherri (& Oliver)

• This topic was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Sherri G.

[Ivchister]

Cheryl,

Q: What do you mean gastro sensitive?
A: She vommits immediately when she eats something she can’t digest, for eg. raw meat, any kind of fruit or when my mother gave her some inappropriate food. She ate grain free food with salmon but was stressed out when we were moving and had very bad gastritis that culminated by blood in vommit. We gave her Hills i/d after which she had a bad case of skin allergy so we tried with z/d and it worked for a while..
Q: Does she eat a grain free diet?
A: Not now..
Q: Is she sensitive to certain proteins& or grains that you are aware of?
A: I’m not sure because she first reacted badly while eating grain free food (with fish).
Q: Did your vet culture the ear discharge to see what it was exactly(yeast, fungal, some other infection)?
A: The vet said that there is no inflammation or otitis just a lot of dark brown ear discharge. But A LOT, like there is mud in her ears. I clean it with Otifree fluid.
Q: Do you think the ear discharge is diet related?
A: Yes, it might be related..
Q: Have you changed foods recently and this happened?
A: It is happening for a while now.. It started before the horrible gastritis period and I can’t connect it with anything else but food. We moved, the aparment is clean and new.
Q: Have you been feeding the same food(s)? I know lots of questions
A: No, because of the gastritis episode and the allergie reaction..
Q: Does the food have to be dry? If so, have you ever tried soaking the kibble in warm water before feeding? softer foods might be easier on the stomach.
A: Yes I have and there is no difference because she just doesn’ drink water if I soak it. She normally chews the dry food and drinks some water, she’s not only swallowing..

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Ivchister.

[Cheryl F]

Hi everyone. I’m new to this forum, but not new to the BARF diet. Back in 2004 I was feeding all my dogs/pups this diet quite succesfully, then I became unemployed for a period of 9 months late in 2008, and had to switch back to horrific kibble. I had 4 Saint Bernards, 1 Bassett Hound and a 60lb mix breed. Needless to say, the BARF diet food bill was quite extensive back then, and i had to re prioritize in order to pay the mortgage. I have only 2 dogs left now and the BARF diet is calling me back for all of it’s wonderful benefits. There weren’t as many suppliers then as there are now, and I’m reading the posts on the pros/cons of each supplier as well as performing my own research. I live in NJ and am looking for several suppliers who are reliable, have a good quality product, don’t gouge you on price and have a good selection of RMB, meat and organs. Please tell me your experiences with the various providers so I can make an informed decision before I place my order. Thank you all so very much.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Dori,
I had wanted to post to you sooner, but was waiting.
OMG Dori, I am amazed, Millie eats it so fast its incredibly.
Pepper ADORES it she got 1 whole nugget today & it was gone in a second.
Oh, if pepper can continue to tolerate raw, at least I could rotate every few weeks with the raw and the Honest Kitchen.
I am going to take the freeze dried out for Millie due to the high fat and if they can both tolerate the raw, who could ask for more, at least for my kids.
Thank you Dori sincerely for giving me a push.

Shawna if you peek in I am so sorry for not listening to you yrs ago, I never knew you could buy commercial raw-raw to me meant raw meat poultry etc, and i just couldn’t risk giving it to Pepper.

I hadn’t heard back from OC raw-i emailed the company, I can get Vital Essentials ordered for me locally, so I know I can interchange that with the Primal nuggets.

I would like to get millie off Kibble even though I am feeding her Orijen & Horizon.
I know you told me and forgive me for asking again, in your rotation you feed raw & dehydrated, I think?? I remember you saying you don’t feed kibble of any kind, i hope i am correct in saying this.
Aimee worried me a bit especially in Millie’s case that the Honest Kitchen would need be a complete meal to feed her during her growing stage, I guess that’s why I keep the kibble in.
I add a bit of lightly cooked meat or poultry & just feed a little less of the HK mix to Pepper & that’s using there protein inclusive mixes, I guess i could do the same for Millie.
I am not confident enough to just transition Millie to HK now, so far so good with the raw, and like you told me safer to stay on 1 new food for awhile, which I am doing.
Thank you so much again.
You take care.