Kristin C., Aquariangt and Cheryl H. I wholeheartedly agree with all three of you.
Aimee. I typically don’t get into any discussions with you. I know your stance on foods for your dogs which are at polar opposites of what I feed. That’s fine. Whatever works for ones dogs is what they should be fed. But…I would love some day to know what your real issue is with The Honest Kitchen. You bash them all the time even when no one is discussing The Honest Kitchen. The COMPLETE MEALS are Complete and Balanced. Their mixes are not. The consumer needs to add the protein to balance it. It would be against the law of their state for them to say otherwise. If you feel that way, I wonder if you’ve attempted to call the state that THK is made and report them? Do you have proof that The Honest Kitchen gives kick backs to veterinarians and that they are the ONLY company that does that. One would be very naive (sp?) to believe that vets carry certain foods in their practices and not be rewarded in return for selling those foods. They are not taking up space with shelves of food for nothing. It is my understanding that they get a certain percentage of the cost of the food. Personally, I’ve never seen The Honest Kitchen at a vets practice. If I did, I would seriously consider switching vets to that clinic. I mean no offense to you aimee, I guess I’ve finally read a post of yours that I actually wanted to know the answer.
I have spoken to customer service people at THK many many times through the years as their complete and balanced meals are in rotation for my three dogs. They have always been courteous, willing to talk with me and answer all the questions I have asked and have even helped me find a holistic/homeopathic nutritionist in my area. No, the nutritionist does not recommend any commercial foods, only raw and home cooked so there was nothing in it for The Honest Kitchen’s customer service people or the company. I have never once called them and gotten an answering machine. Always a polite helpful person transferring me to whatever department I needed to speak to.
I have a 4 year old Miniature poodle who has never had any issues with allegries. But the past 6-8 months hes had outs of skin rashes and now he constantly naws at his groin area to the point of making it raw. At first i thought it was seasonal outdoor allergies, but now it’s winter and he is still so itchy and rashy. The vet gave me a steroid which does help, but i only give it to him when he gets really bad because i don’t like giving him steroids. I want to figure out the root cause. I have been adding omega 3 capsules to his food and Use Canine Life home made muffins (i make them with the mix and my own ingredients) which is his wet food once a day. I have had him on Wellness Complete Health for years and never had any issues with it, but i think this may be the cause. I want to change his dry food but am having a hard time deciding which brand to change it to. The vet is pushing the Ultra Low Allergen Hills Z/D prescription diet, but i feel its lacking nutrients and is super expensive. Any ideas or brands someone could recommend. I just want my pup to stop itching and want to give him a nutrient dense diet… Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Kristin C. Actually Just Food For Dogs does ship their frozen foods but you are correct in that their foods are not raw, they are cooked and frozen. They deliver to your door if you live locally, otherwise they ship frozen via Fed Ex.
Hi Lisa,
So sorry to hear about your lab: ( Increased BUN from diet is tied into protein but it sounds like your dog isn’t eating a lot of protein. Rawhide is a source of protein, but he is off those now. Any other high protein chews you give him consistently? Rawhide contributes calories too so hope the weight loss is from eliminating those from the diet vs something else.
Another source of protein that your vet probably already considered is from bleeding into the gut. This may or may not show up on a regular blood count. A rectic count in addition to the normal blood counts could be done to make sure that constant regeneration isn’t going on.
If this still could be kidney problems from a diet perspective controlled phosphorus levels are recommended in kidney disease. Phosphorus parallels protein which is likely where the rec to avoid high protein comes from.
Sounds like more diagnostics will be needed to sort this out.
Hi Kristin,
My dogs primarily eat commercial pet food along with some home cooked. The home cooked I add is primarily vegetables… all the colors of the rainbow, along with some lean meat. Primarily the home cooked is from my dinners but occasionally I’ll steam and puree large batches of veggies and cook meats specifically for them and freeze it to use as needed.
In regards to vets recommending consults if you are home cooking, I think all vets have a duty to recommend that the diet be evaluated to ensure the needs are being met. In fact I’d think they open themselves up to malpractice if they don’t make that recommendation. Similarly, if raw feeding, they have a duty to inform of the parasite and infectious disease risk. This is needed not only for the health of the patient but also extends to public health. Vets won’t get in trouble with AVMA, that has nothing to do with it, but they can lose their license and a huge chunk of change if they are sued if a person in the home comes down with illness traced back to the dog’s raw diet and it isn’t documented in the record that they advised against it. In fact just had a conversation about this at the vet. The CDC was involved, there was an outbreak of Salmonella in the household, 3 children were ill. Same strain in the raw food as in the dog’s poop as in the children. Thankful he had it documented in the record that he discussed risk with owners and advised against raw food.
Cheryl,
Yes, I checked out Balance It a while ago and the autobalancer is convenient because it takes the guessing out of creating a balanced meal. One of these days I will make time to research this more. Are you looking to cook or feed raw?
Remember there are more Vet schools that offer nutritional consultations I just thought those three had a good explanation of what they offer on their sites. At least you have some more options for your pup. And there is the link to find a Vet Nutritionist in my previous post too. You’re welcome!
My 7 year old chocolate lab has had a rising BUN count in his blood. His creatinine level is increasing very slightly, not proportionally in the manner the vet would expect if if we’re kidney disease. Additionally, his BUN continued to go up on RX kidney food and meds. The vet is baffled and doesn’t understand what the issue is.
I think it’s related to his diet in some way. He has always been, as my vet called him, a “fat magnet” since we rescued him 3 years ago. He gained a ton of weight very quickly when he first came to us, despite never being fed table food, etc, and continued to gain on small servings of RX diet food (from not quite 80 lbs to over 100). Currently he is on a very low quantity of weight mgmt IAMS, supplemented with green beans to fill him up. He was losing very little, very slowly and finally showed a big decrease in weight when we eliminated rawhide from his diet (unless it’s kidney disease and it just happens to coincide with the elimination of rawhide).
I think there is some dietary issue and he needs a different kind of food or supplement….maybe there is some intolerance for food we are feeding him and he needs grain free or salmon or freeze dried or something…but I don’t know what to try. The vet is advising against anything high protein in case he does have kidney problems but I’ve reqd every that is not necessarily a factor in kidney isses for dogs. But she doesn’t know what we should try.
Any thoughts?
Fade, hi.
I will second Marie on her comments:
1. Rotation is great, just make sure you do it over a few days. You can also add some canned/dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried/raw as toppers every once in a while, as well as maybe some coconut oil or fish oil (for Omega 3s), raw or lightly cooked eggs, and canned sardines, salmon, or jack mackerel (not tuna). Those are really good for dogs. For my 15lb terrier mix I feed one raw egg/week, 1/2 small can of sardines, and coconut oil every other day. I also use dehydrated/air-dried/freeze-dried as toppers on every dinner meal. I used to feed yoghurt too, but Bruno decided he’s had enough of it apparently, lol. But if your dog likes it, it is good stuff too. Kefir also.
2. Many dogs self-regulate, and many don’t. As Marie said, the bag directions are just guidelines, and many dogs require less than the recommended amounts. You should gage by body condition: https://dogchow.com/articles/1871/body-condition and adjust food amounts accordingly. My dog is at the caloric intake of 3/4 cups of food total, 1/2 cup dry and 1/4 cup (or so, calorie-wise) additives (“toppers”). This is within the recommended amounts, but when we used to exercise a lot, twice a day in the hot summer Georgia days, he would eat 3/4 cup of dry with similar amounts of additives. He was lean and mean even though he ate more.
3. As I have a small dog, I can’t tell you about good brands for large dogs, but this thread can: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/ Page 15 should have a link to a google doc with all brands written out, how they score, etc. It is an overall great resource for large breed owners.
Good luck, seems like Nala is in good hands! 🙂
Oh brother!! High protein does not cause hip dysplasia, no matter what bogus ideas you have come up with to try and explain your point of view. Try doing a little actual research on the current studies into the causes of hip dysplasia. Try starting with Dr Larsen, but don’t stop there.
Then go to your own dentist and ask what causes plaque build up on teeth. He should tell you that it is caused by starch in the diet. If he says anything else, get a new dentist. Kibble is 30% or MORE starch. Kibble fed dogs have to get their teeth cleaned just as much as other dogs and more than raw fed dogs, which are eating a HIGH protein diet.
No dogs don’t have to have high protein diets, but they don’t have to have starch at all. Replacing so much of what constitutes a natural diet for a dog with starchy kibble should not make sense to anyone. It’s like saying people should live off cereal bars and nothing else.
Basically, AVMA has taken a stance against raw, which means any AVMA vet is supposed to try and talk you out of feeding raw, and any vet that is pro raw feeding can get in trouble with AVMA.
To Anyone – does your vet suggest a consult when you tell them you feed homemade, raw or cooked? Mine did, but she suggested one who doesn’t advocate raw, which is what I feed. Another topic I guess.
Hey Cheryl – go for it! I make my dog’s food, but as of a few months ago I have added the SSLL supplement because I am paranoid.
I looked up the Just for Dogs website, and it’s probably not something I would personally use. It appears they cook their food, I do raw (with 1-2 x per week kibble + FD). Their “balanced” supplement is for dogs with GI problems under vet care. They also do not ship frozen.
Don’t get too frustrated. Most people on the DFA forums have been through all the questions and doubts too. Just find what works best for you and your dogs. And consider it a process that you can re-evaluate and make better.
I use ground raw. Boone gets about 3.5 oz bony and 1 oz boneless. The bony has meat, bone, tripe & organs. I do have some that has no tripe so I add that. He gets eggs and salmon oil a few times a week. He gets rib bones to gnaw on and I skip the boneless at that meal. Thats it.
Edit: he does get a joint supplement, apple cider vinegar & Bug Off Garlic as well.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by
InkedMarie.
1) changing food is good! Some people feed a variety of dry, canned, raw , dehydrated and freeze dried. Some change their kibble with every bag, some go a few bags.
2) feeding guidelines are just a guide and IMO, mine eat less.
3) brands I like are Farmina, Dr Tim’s, Annamaet, Brothers Complete
Hi-so I am constantly paranoid that my dogs are not getting what they need nutritionally and was wondering if anyone wants to share raw grain free recipes of their own. Today I made chicken meals with:
80% chicken: 30% breasts, 30 thighs, 15 hearts & gizzards, 5 liver
15% pumpkin
5% puréed spinach and green beans
See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix
Omega 3 oil and vit E
The beef recipes I struggle with percentages as I use more organs such as kidney, lung, thymus. I keep those percentages pretty small 1-2% each.
Much of the information I read is on the prey model 80/10/10 so it gets confusing. I am looking for experienced raw feeders to share here if possible. Thanks!
So I thawed RR rabbit chunks this weekend and the bag leaked but as Michael says it was probably from the bones. The grinds do not leak. I do thaw them in a bowl in the frig regardless. I would like to add that if you are concerned with the fat content then don’t feed it as your sole source. I open one 2 lb bag of grinds per week for my dogs. That’s only 3 meals each of a novelty protein. I probably would never feed them raw from one company all the time anyway just to be safe.
I’ve had no problems with my orders from RR thus far. As for holes being in bags, frozen chunked meats make for sharp edges, and even if they are frozen from raw within the bag, it will still expand and can cause perforation. Treat it like any raw meat being defrosted-put in a ziploc bag and/or on a container/plate to catch any drippings. Same for grocery store meats-I change bags even for water defrosting, as you don’t know who or how many people have handled the bags in transit to your home.
I’ve not ordered bulk meats, just the variety ultimate combos (one with RMB’s, one with ground in as my older dog is a gulper and keeps trying to choke on any rmb he gets), and all have been fine in the meat to fat/skin ratio.
Hey, a fellow Floridian!!!! 😀
I’ve been looking at the Raw Feeding Miami too, can’t wait till they get an actual site up and running. They have some great stuff there.
I have difficulty finding good variety too, but recently one of the Winn Dixie’s near me had a crap ton of sliced beef heart on sale, so I stocked up on that. They also had pork tails & beef livers on sale, too.
I have a small dog too, isn’t it great?? lol. I’m trying to feed him PMR with RMBs and organs and chunks, but it is seriously hard trying to get a good variety/balance with 4oz of food.
Kristin,
Sorry I forgot to answer your question.
I can’t get real commercial raw where I live-so checking out various sites wag.com was the only site that even carried the “real frozen raw” not the freeze dried variety’s.
It did state it comes directly form the manufacturer at checkout.
I don’t think this is something I will do when it gets warmer here-in Louisiana it would be too risky to have raw shipped & to get it overbite would be too cost prohibitive.
Cheryl – KBPF I believe stands for Know Better Pet Food. I’ve looked at their Better In The Raw mix and may consider trying a sample. I’ve heard about Just for Dogs in the past. They are a storefront that’s based out of CA. They have products you can order but I’d have to look closer at the ingredients. At first glance, they may not work for me since I don’t feed rice, white or sweet potatoes.
Guys guys guys guys guys!!!! We’re getting an Aldi’s!!!!!!!! Yay! So excited 😀 I hope their meat is cheap and they have a good variety. I know they are a good store to buy from.
Also, I’ve been price shopping online and found Raw Feeding Miami. They have pretty good prices! I’m thinking I’ll email them and see about their planning/budgeting thing they have. It’s nice they do that 🙂
Hi David,
You’re looking at an old list. I believe this is the most current list. It’s on page 36. It includes grain inclusive, grain free and raw. I agree with the others about Fromm. It’s a solid manufacturer.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/preview
Grain free is the old list. The new list has grain inclusive, grain free, and raw on it.
I own an adult small breed and recently adopted a large/giant breed puppy. What is the best food to buy them. I would love to do raw but can not afford it nor do I have the time to prepare it. I would like to be able to buy them a dry kibble with the occasional wet food, but having a lot of issues finding an appropriate brand. There is a local feed service store which supplies Diamond Naturals grain-free, Loyall, Holistic Blend(currently switching to this brand from Loyall), Summit, and Nutram along with very crappy brands like pedigree and purina. I would love to feed them a 4 star minimum. The small breed is a 16 pound Pomeranian/Shih-Tzu/Poodle male, neutered and the large/giant breed is a 12 Week Shepherd/Mastiff. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
I’ve been ordering strictly pastured, organic meat and poultry deliverd to my home through http://www.uswellnessmeats.com for my family’s consumption. They also sell “pet burgers” which is mixed raw organ meats/ muscle meat that comes from solely pastured, organic animals. It is raw, delivered frozen in 1 lb bags, costing about $5 a pound. I give it to my older dachshund as a treat to supplement his canned Wellness diet. He loves it! I think it releases his “inner wolf.” haha Just wondering if anyone else has come across this product. They also sell pastured beef bones of varying sizes with the marrow. Some of their beef comes from Tasmania/New Zealand where the air/pasture/water purity is high. Just passing it on. My doxie is a rescue dog I’ve had since he was 4 and now turning 16–still full of life!
LeahT, I live in Lexington and work at a holistic pet health store. We do special orders all the time for stuff we don’t stock on the floor. In fact, I special order my cat’s raw diet from one of our distributors. I know there are a tiny handful of stores like us in the state but they should be able to order as well. What were you looking for?
Aimee,
I just read your post on THK & need a pre-mix for my schnauzer as she cannot digest kibble,
I thought THK was the best, but if nutritionally it won’t be adequate for her, can you suggest something better.
I do top it off with lightly cooked ground turkey breast or low fat beef-she seems to be doing ok with keeping the food down. I have tried all in the grain-free line except the beef.
we have been transiting very slowly.
Now I worry she will not be getting the proper nutrient profile if she continues to eat this.
I am not a great fan of canned food, that’s why I thought this was the one.
My other choice is the Royal Canin Vet diet hydrolyzed protein. Urghh.
Freeze dried or raw is not an option due to her other health issues.
thank you in advance for any info you can give me.
I’ve learned about so many things on this site sometimes I don’t know where to begin, canned, raw, high quality kibble, ABC and kibble, RMBs, geez! Jake will eat anything as I’ve said before, I don’t even need to transition him from one bag of food to the next. Put it in the bowl, it’s gone. Sometimes I doubt he even chews! The cats are a little more high maintenance. Will try the Dr. Becker method for transitioning cats to a different food and see what happens.
Wholesome Hides are the only rawhide I use. It was one recommended by the Whole Dog Journal.
Jakes mom:
HAHA!! It’s been so long since I have talked to you it’s the least I can do. And you know me, I have a million things bookmarked and I love to post links! lol
Good thing we have our living garbage disposals for unwanted cat food, AKA our dogs.
I can’t wait to hear how it goes, so don’t forget about us on the cat rec thread. I have too many things I want to try, this brand is definitely at the top for Bobby and the cats. I will go with the cooked food version for the cats. They just don’t care for raw. I will be buying the SSLL dinner mix when it’s back on the market. I was going to buy a bag before he stopped selling it on his site, but I thought what if I like the old version over the new. So I figured if I never feed it I won’t know anything about the old.
Bobbydog, you’re costing me $$ lol! I started this asking about mixes for Jake but you gave me the link for KBPF and I just ordered cat premix! I got a trial size of both raw and cooked mix, since I don’t know how this will go over with the kitties. Jake has a lot of kibble bags in the pantry so I’ll think about him when and if I order more cat mixes. A few of the cats like raw chicken/turkey so they’ll probably go for the raw but I’m not sure about the others so I decided to try a cooked premix too. If all fails, Jake has toppers for a while. With 5 cats I’m constantly lugging home cases of cat food and if they like this it might be a tad more expensive but better for them and easier for me.
Only when cooked. Raw bones are generally very safe. However, some dogs are terrible chewers. Always supervise when giving any sort of chew, and take it away if you feel the dog isn’t chewing it properly. Bentley is very good at making sure he completely brakes the bone up into tiny piece before eating them. Some dogs get them into several larger pieces, and swallow them down, which is what you don’t want. Nor do you want a dog to chew too strongly on a bone that is too dense and break any teeth. Poultry bones and chews are best for small dogs. I also give Bentley pork hocks every now and then, as the bones are very small and soft, and there’s a lot of chewy skin on the outside.
I have never heard of this Jo. I will definitely try it.
Akari, you mention giving them raw necks, wings, thighs, legs…….. I always thought these bones were too brittle to give a dog?
I also don’t usually give or recommend rawhide, but I had seen a blog post recommending them: http://www.brisbanesbarkblog.com/2014/05/wholesome-hides-are-best-rawhides.html
As you can see, the Whole Dog Journal post is linked to in the blog. Apparently Wholesome Hides have a different build to them than most regular rawhides, which makes them safer. Personally I’d still prefer other natural chews, but if you want rawhide it sounds like this isn’t a bad choice. Of course, with any chew you still have to supervise.
I have the same struggle of Lily refusing to let me brush her teeth. I can sort of brush the front ones, and I can rub toothpaste on, but not much more than that. And this is after trying for several months to acclimate her to it.
I can also support that RMBs are good, even though I don’t give them myself. The idea of “raw” just grosses me out too much. I give Lily Himalayan Dog Chews, which are vegetarian natural chews made out of very hard cheese. I have no idea if they clean teeth, but she loves them anyway and it seems like they could. More on those here: /forums/topic/himalayan-dog-chews/
I don’t really believe that commercial “dental chews” such as Greenies really work, though I suppose they are better than nothing. The ingredients in most of them are really bad. I occasionally give Lily one of the ones with slightly better ingredients as a special treat. There is a topic on Greenies and other commercial dental chews here: /forums/topic/greenies/
Good luck!!! 😀
I don’t buy rawhides and prefer bully sticks also. I’m curious though as you mentioned the product was recommended by Whole Dog Journal. Here’s the link I’m thinking you might’ve read: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/12_5/features/Best-Rawhide-Chews-For-Your-Dog_16120-1.html.
I haven’t read the article yet, but I consider WDJ to be reliable source of information.
Is his mouth infected at all? If not, start giving raw meaty bones (like turkey and chicken necks, wings, thighs, and legs– my 8 lb Jack russell mix loves legs!). If the mouth is infected you can give chews like bully sticks and tracheas (you can give these along with RMBs, as well). If there is an infection, you should also consider asking the vet about giving him some antibiotics.
If he will chew any of these things, you will probably end up not even having to a dental.
I prefer not to buy rawhide chews. Have you ever tried bullysticks?
I’m looking for a good quality rawhide chew. Wholesome Hides was recommended on another “whole” dog website. Does anyone have any experience with these?
http://wholesomehide.com/index.html
Thanks!
Bobby dog-they’ll be getting their first rabbit bones in the morning. If all goes well, I’ll probably buy an entire rabbit and just cut it up myself. If it freaks me out I’ll probably just do rabbit grinds in the future.
Re: the dinner mixes. Urban Wolf looks like an awful lot of work to me. Better in the Raw is on my list to try. I’ll check out the CarnivoreRaw.
I’ll post if the rabbit bones go well, or not.
Kristin C: Do you feed your dog rabbit bones?
Hi Jakes Mom:
I haven’t tried a pre-mix yet, but I have several bookmarked. I plan on trying SSLL dinner mix when it’s back on the market in the spring. I haven’t looked at THK dinner mixes. Here are some others:
Urban Wolf
http://www.urbanwolf.cc/
Know Better Pet Food, they sell a trial size bag:
http://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/
CarnivoreRAW
https://www.youngagainpetfood.com/10browse.asp?category=raws
On another topic, KBPF makes dinner mixes for cats…
Hello (:
I have an almost 7m old rough collie pup. I want to start feeding him RMBs, but I’m worried about keeping the calc/phos in check. If I gave him, say, 1 chicken neck every 2 days or so and fed him a bit less kibble on those days would that be ok?
Also, I’m getting some raw green tripe tonight but I’m not sure how much of it to feed. I’d like to give a little bit each day or maybe every other day. He’s getting about 4c/day of kibble, so should I give him a few tablespoons of tripe to supplement or cut out some kibble and give him a more significant portion? Basically, how much should I give him to where he’s reaping the full benefits of it?
Thank you so much to anyone who answers!
I think you should stick with one protein per meal if your dog has allergies. Omit one ingredient at a time if you can. I make most of my own food so I guess that’s easy. Raw eggs make my dogs’ eyes run, sweet potato makes them itchy.
I use SSLL and I agree with C4C the dog poops are great. I don’t love the color or smell but when I make my own food I carve a hole, dump the SSLL in the center, cover it, and voila a great doggie dinner. I use small mason jars and freeze. Have only tried THK once and I did not love it, there’s a lot of chunks, and it’s dehydrated not raw. Have you looked at Better In The Raw? I may try it when my SSLL runs out.
My dogs are having raw rabbit chunks in the morning topped with sardines:) Their one RMB meal of the week. I am thinking about buying a whole rabbit at Whole Foods and carving it myself.
In the future is it possible to identify whether The Editor’s Choice raw picks are treated with HPP? It would be helpful if that’s something you think is important. I was looking at purchasing some Primal and found on their website that some of their products are treated with HPP and some are not. Thankfully the ones I’d like to purchase are not HPP products.
Just when I’m thinking about trying to put Jake on raw meat and dinner mixes I find out I can’t get SSLL. What are your opinions on the Honest Kitchen mixes? Price wise and quality wise? And which one? There are 3 to choose from. He’s a 30ish# beagle/bassett mix with no allergy issues or anything, I’m just thinking about better food for him. I’ve upgraded his kibble since I found this site altho I’m glad to know at least I was never giving him the 1 or 2 star stuff! Also added RMBs which he loves, but I’m not quite ready have a freezer full of bunny and quail. So I thought meat and the mix would be a good compromise if it’s not terribly pricey. Would that be comparable to a bag of 4star kibble? I’m betting he might drop a pound or 2 on the new diet, too, which would be good for him. He’s gained a couple of pounds since my other dog went to the bridge, Mom’s overcompensating I guess.
Ron-sounds like Blue Buffalo works for you. I thought it worked for me too. I fed my older dog Blue Puppy and then Blue Wilderness over the course of 4 years. I thought it was a premium food, and maybe it was at one point. When we got a new puppy Dec 2013 I naturally transitioned her to Blue Puppy and the shit literally started flying, and the barf. And for several weeks I tried everything I could think of to get her used to the food but it stumped me, never had an issue with my older dog. As I read more about kibble in general it horrified me and I tried the new pup on raw. Voila, no more diarrhea and barfing. So I transitioned my older dog to raw and not only did she lose weight taking her off the Blue Wilderness, but her coat got better and she doesn’t even smell like a dog anymore:) In fact, I feel terrible that I fed my older dog only kibble for as long as I did.
So my point is, maybe you have a dog with a great constitution and it works for you, but The Editor’s Choice is just that, it is The Editor’s Choice and there’s specific criteria he looks at. I signed up for a membership so I could keep track of how the kibble I feed a couple times per week ranks on a regular basis, and to see when any new raw foods make the list. If the kibble I use comes off the list I will most likely look at making a change. The information I have found on the forums, and the answers the other members provide, have been invaluable to me for keeping my fur babies healthy.
One of my dog’s ate her poo for the first 4 years. She was on Blue Buffalo (puppy, then wilderness). We switched her to a raw diet last year, along with the occasional Orijen kibble and she no longer eats it. From what I’ve read the flavors in kibble don’t digest and so poop tastes just like kibble to some dogs. Unless your clients are willing to change diet then picking it up right away is about your only option.
I can’t seem to find the bad reviews on Reel Raw on this site. I’ve looked for online reviews several times too and there’s not much out there on the company. I agree the 10lbs looked fatty so I have not purchased it again. As I said, the smaller portions look ok but I only order novelty meats. I don’t completely thaw the beef organs, just partially thaw and cut off what I need. Perhaps that’s why I have not experienced the leakage issue. Different products work for different people I guess.
Hello Kirstin,
The grinds I ordered from Reel Raw were the 10 lb bags. The packages I received were quite noticeably fatty. I have been buying grinds from other sources and none have ever looked fatty like these do. I did contact Reel Raw about the fatty grind and the holey packaging and received a very short (and late) reply stating that some of their bags do have holes in them and that they only are required to state the minimum fat content to customers.
I wish I had read the previous Raw Reel reviews on this site prior to purchasing. As there are others who have had issues with the fatty grinds also.
