[Z B]

Thanks, Akari, I have gotten some good feedback!

I actually just ordered some SSLL mix for my dogs, and decided to research Raw pre-mixes for cats, and found this: http://www.thetotalcat.com
Didn’t order any, I’m going to poke around and see if can find any reviews or experiences here with it first.

[Michael H]

Tried some heart with the cat, warmed it in a 100d water bath (I have a sous vide controller I use with a crock pot), she ate about an ounce, so maybe there’s hope. From a feeding calculator it says she may need 6-8oz raw food a day, but I’m assuming the heart is very rich.

Still a little confused on all the portions of the ‘meaty meats’, rmb, and organs, especially if I feed the 1 meal of it. I see that the ratio is 80 meat/10 bone/10 organs (half liver), thought I’m unsure how ‘meaty’ the rmb needs to be, or if it’s more so just about the bone calcium to match phosphorous, and the potential teeth cleaning. From the calculators I’ve found, seems my dogs (both averaging 43lb, somehow) @ 2% would be nearly 100oz of raw food a week, if fed only raw. So, 80oz meat, 10oz bone, 5oz liver, 5 oz other organs, roughly, and half those amounts if I feed FD for dinner.

To get the correct oz of bone, am I supposed to guess how much of the rmb is bone vs meat? Or do I just weigh the rmb pieces and feed 10oz a week of them? For example, a chicken thigh seems to be more meat to bone than eating a chicken wing. (I’m probably looking way too hard into this :-).

So far for the freeze dried meals I’m liking either Big Dog Natural, K9 Natural (New Zealand stuff), or maybe Orijen, since Bernie has done better on their kibble…though gassy. I’m not all convinced the extra stuff in Orijen justifies the price-“chicory root, dandelion root, summer savory, peppermint leaf*, ginger root*”. Looks like a lot of marketing fluff. BDN looks good from the fermented veggies and tripe, though the cod liver oil is a concern…I’ve taken that myself and OD’d on Vitamin A, corner of my mouth cracked open, so painful. Not sure what other FD foods may be good. Suggestions?

Thanks for all the help!

PS Thanks for mentioning Hare Today and MPC. I’ll keep MPC in mind for next month-they have a stop pretty close to me, but I’m past the day to order until next month it seems, drat! HT’s shipping seems a little much, so I’ll need to crunch some numbers. That’s the worst part, pricing everything out to see what’s the best deal.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Michael H.

[theBCnut]

Raw in the morning and freeze dried in the evening is good.

When I had one of my goats butchered, my dogs absolutely went ga-ga over the head pieces.

Heart and gizzard both count as muscle, but heart still has some good stuff than isn’t in any other muscle type in abundance, like taurine.

To start with for your gulper, you want to use pieces that are too big to eat quickly to force him to have to take his time and eat properly. Something like a whole leg quarter, and give it to him leg first, would be a good way to start. If he needs it you can even attach a pair of vice grips to it to slow him down more. Once he learns that he has to chew his food, you won’t have to do any of that anymore.

[Akari_32]

Good luck with your question, Bri! This something I’ve been wanting to try, but I simply don’t the money. My cat loves raw beef hearts, and any part of the chicken. I gave him a bit of thigh with a small bone the other night and he loved it! Wish there was something like See Spot Live Longer for cats. If there was, he’d be eating raw every day!

Any of you guys see the PetSmart Black Friday ad?? Friskies is going to be on sale for 39 cents a can!!!! I’ll be all over that, and I hope other foods are on sale, too. I hate to give him all Friskies, or even mostly Friskies, but it’s better than nothing with money as tight as it during the holidays, and I pick the best three of the recipes with the least carbs (Special Diet Beef and Chicken, Special Diet Turkey and Giblets, and Senior Diet Lamb and Rice). I actually don’t mind using the Special Diet because I am really paranoid about UTIs and all that bladder crap lol Gives me some peace of mind, though I have no idea if it actually works or not. So far this is the only store I’ll be hitting, unless I decide to go PetCo or Pet Supermarket. I don’t need any human things, other than the new Pokemon games coming on this friday, but someone can get me that for Christmas lol

[Michael H]

Visited the butcher today. I found I can get beef heart at 2.29/lb from the butcher, so I may end up going there weekly for some and maybe grind it in with another meat myself. I have a gimpy grinder that can do meat, not bone though. They do bone in grinding, but can’t offer it until deer season is over. Wish they had any pastured/grassfed meats, but at least its promised they don’t use sodium/broth injected items.

They also had frozen cows brain there! Not sure if they’d go for that, haha.

So from them I found I have access to:
Organs-beef heart/liver/brain, chicken liver/unsure of hearts/gizzards(is this meaty or organ?), possibly spleen I think if they can order it.

RMB-bone in chicken parts, turkey necks/wings, assorted ribs. Other necks, trachea, chicken feet, etc. are still hard to find. Bernie is a gulper so I’m not sure what size to even use-too small and no chewing action, too big and he may choke on it. Zuli is a gnawer and has great teeth already, 3yo and never needed a dental.

I forgot to mention that between us boarding guest dogs from our home, and another cat present from my sister in law who lives with us, I may just be able to raw feed for the first meal of the day, while everyone else is put away. Either that, or have RMB meals in the morning, since I’m assuming they’ll take a while to chow down and everyone else will go nuts if they sense what’s going on.

Do you think my ‘bases’ may be covered if I did raw in the AM and a good freeze dried in the PM?

[theBCnut]

I can’t answer all your questions, but I’ll try to answer some. First, there is no guarantee that your cat will eat raw. They can be kind of peculiar about switching types of food, so the first thing to try is to switch the cat to canned food. Pick up dry food and allow the cat to get hungry, not starving, just hungry, and then offer canned food. If kitty eats it, great!! If not, after an hour, offer the dry food for 20 minutes, then pick it up. Next meal time, offer canned food first again. You may have to offer quite a number of times before she will eat it, or you may be one of the lucky ones. Once you have your cat on all canned food, start the process over again switching to raw.

There are many people that do not give any supplements, but they are the ones that need to be really careful to feed whole prey raw. Your dog might not eat kale, but if they eat an herbivore, they will be getting predigested greens that the food animal ate. You can predigest your own choice of veggies but blanching and pureeing.

You can also feed turkey and fish, so beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and fish are plenty of different proteins, and maybe a few times a year you can find lamb.

I use premixes +-3 days a week and no premix the rest of the time. I want to be sure to cover my bases.

Soup bones are not RMBs. RMBs are bones that are soft and can be completely eaten at meal time. Ribs from lamb, pork, or calves are good RMBs. So are neck bones from those same animals. All parts of chicken and turkey have good bones in them too. You should be able to get heart and liver and maybe kidney for organs. Maybe you can occasionally get some whole prey, even whole prey grinds, from Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore, to make up for not feeding other organs.

You can feed grinds to your cat, if you make sure they have heart in them, or add a taurine supplement. It her meats are frozen, you need to make sure the water that separates out as it defrosts is mixed back in, because that is where a lot of taurine is lost. I get whole carcass grinds from Hare Today for my cats, both rabbit and quail.

[Michael H]

Hi everyone!

We have 2 dogs:

Bernie, 9y M allergic-to-life Basset Hound
Zuli, 3y F Lab Mix

and our cat:
Sophie, 8y F Mackeral Tabby, borderline diabetic

Due to both Bernie and Sophie’s above issues, it seems like my best option at this point would be to try raw feeding. The dogs both enjoy the occasional chicken wing or turkey neck, but I have not yet tried feeding it as a whole diet. The cat, who was originally an outdoor stray who did hunt for her sustenance, does accept things like turkey and pepperoni, but for most of her life has been on dry food…which is probably why she had the October diagnosis for diabetes. She is near impossible to catch (the yearly vet visit can take us anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to capture her-we’ve blocked off hiding spaces as we find them over the years, though once she actually broke INTO the wall to hide) and has a lack of scruff, and at this point I’m really fearing the ability to be able to administer insulin consistently. So, it seems that a diet change may be my only help with this. For Bernie, I can control what goes into the food, and avoid his allergens altogether.

I work from home, so cooking and preparing isn’t a big deal. I handle raw meat for my own consumption so that doesn’t bother me, and I’m very versed in the realm of preventing cross contamination.

My access to pastured/organic items is limited to either very far drives or possible home delivery (have to order a LOT at a time to make the shipping be affordable). For the delivery [ReelRaw] they do have a lot of variety, which is nice, but seems the most expensive option that I’ve come across ($300/mo for all pets, around 50lb of items, still cheaper than whole foods). I do have a butcher shop somewhat nearby, but the only organs they carry or process is beef heart, and the variety of RMB’s I can get aren’t much, as well as they do not carry any pastured/organic meats.

Upon my research, I’m finding a lot of conflicting information. It seems that on one side everyone is pro supplements to add to the meals, which I’m hesitant to do so, as I’m of the perspective to not take any synthetic or multivitamins myself since I feel I’m literally peeing the money away, and rather get what I need from whole foods. I know dogs cant digest fruit/veg well, as anytime I’ve given a piece I find it the next day pretty much intact in their waste. We do own a masticating juicer, so that is an option. I’ve come across some freeze dried foods (Big Dog Natural) that say they ferment the veg to make them bioavailable, which is interesting, though I’m unsure if it’s still too high-carb for Bernie. It could all be a bunch of hogwash as well. I do agree with adding omega 3/sardines at meal time, as I feel that the fats are too delicate for any processing procedure.

Then there’s all the premixes available with vitamins, minerals, kale, sweet potatoes, etc. (Urban Wolf, THK, SSLL Dinner Mix). It’s hard to find a premix without one of Bernie’s proposed allergens in it, and to be honest I’d rather keep the carb count for him down as much as possible, as Bassets are already yeast factories, and Sophie needs as little carb as possible-I don’t think I’ve come across mixes for cats anyways. What dog eats kale in the wild anyways? I have a hard time getting it down myself…lol.

On the other side, I’ve come across a few companies that don’t use added vitamins/minerals (Answers, ReelRaw), stating it’s complete/balanced as is, or with Answers, their own products they (conveniently) suggest to add, which is goat’s milk yogurt, or buy their combination product with veg, clay, cultured things, etc. Bernie is borderline allergic to cow dairy, so I’m unsure if he can even have that anyways. I’ve tried kefir with him before, but the yeast didn’t get any better, and would occasionally have putrid gas as well.

Bernie is currently on Orijen, which he does seem more energetic and less itchy, however the gas has been atrocious, and even though he’s not been really red and itchy on it, still is having a yeast issue (underarms, ears, back of legs). This is a dog that sleeps 14 hours a day on those areas, so not much air is circulating. The gas has gotten better by feeding him less of it, but it can still clear a room. I think it’s due to the lentils/chickpeas-while he’s not allergic to them, doesn’t mean he can digest them well.

So to end my novella for how, I’ll boil it down to some questions:

-Do you feel that the supplements are needed if I use the cheaper conventional meat from the butcher? Or would possibly they be getting enough if I splurge for the pastured meats/organs/rmb? It’s doubtful I can afford both the pastured and supplements.

-Do you feel premixes are worth it, and would make the conventional meat balanced? (again, may not be able to do both pastured + mixes)

-How important do you feel variety in meats is? If I shop locally, I only really have access to beef, chicken, and pork, which I myself am even tired of, haha. Most any recreational or RMB’s I can find in the area are meant for soups and have very little meat left on them. With delivery I can get many more options, but I pay out the wazoo for it.

-Would maybe just doing the freeze dried route be the best idea? Between the issues above and our cat, I’m also leaning towards this route. I’ve also heard that cats don’t dig cool meat very much, and as its the winter now I don’t want Sophie to lose any weight form refusing food. The 2 dogs will eat anything so I’m not worried there. I know I have to avoid giving Sophie all ground meat due to taurine loss. My wife also would rather rip off her eyebrows than touch raw meat, so if it comes a time when I cannot feed them, I’d have to have an alternative on hand anyways.

Thanks for any input!

[Cindy S]

Thanks, I do order via petfooddirect.com and they are very good. Unfortunately, none of those websites ship raw frozen foods — from what I can see — only raw freeze-dried. I did find one located in Colorado (Only Natural Pet Store, LLC / http://www.onlynaturalpet.com), but there is a surcharge of $30 for shipment of frozen items. Also, they only ship frozen product out on Tuesdays, so you need to place the request no later than Sunday.

[Michael H]

Thanks for all the input everyone! Right now I’m mostly considering raw, but that in itself is a deep rabbit hole to go down. I’m going to make a post specifically about my questions on that in that forum.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I am thinking of adding THK to my rotation, I ordered some samples yesterday. I have thought about Sojos, I am a bit germ-o-phobic so I’m a little wary about raw. Do you know what food safety measures Sojos takes to prevent contamination? I couldn’t find much about this on their website.

[Jess L]

We feed raw, fresh food. We also feed dry in the evenings and wanted a reliable, high quality dry food. I have long researched and looked for a reliable dry food and now have found it. It is Orijens, grain-free and whole prey. They are family owned from Alberta, Canada, but sold select retailers in the US. You can go to their website and see where it is available, near you. Good luck.

[pugmomsandy]

Sojo’s is completely raw. The meats are freeze dried and the veg/fruit are raw and air-dried. That’s alot of raw sweet potato for a dog, isn’t it? My recipe books says to cook starchy veggies, then puree.

[aquariangt]

I’ll second/third/fifth what everyone said about keeping up with a rotation. Get one bag of what the breeder fed (hopefully they send you home with some) and once that’s close to gone, start mixing a new food in. With a puppy it’s pretty easy to get them on a rotational diet and be able to switch as often as you want. I switch after every bag, so approximately 3 weeks. Make sure you are switching up protein sources to keep a variety as well. I have a few brands that are always in rotation, and then I try to try something new every 5-6 bags as well

for toppers-since it’s a topper I give them a different one every day. I keep a variety of canned, dehydrated, and commercial raw to throw on top there. The fun thing about that is you can really get a big variety going-I keep a box of honest kitchen, a bag of sojos, and usually some frozen pucks of nature’s variety around. Then I just raid the store for whatever toppers seem fun at the time. I like Simply Nourish, Weruva, Tiki, Fromm, Earthborn-many others as well, but those are the brands most often in the house.

[InkedMarie]

THK is not raw.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Is THK actually raw? If so, how can it be human grade?

[Naturella]

BCnut, I have a question – I have seen in Bruno’s stool undigested carrot and apple pieces from Sojo’s/THK dehydrated foods. It is only those two that he seems to be unable to stomach. However, if I give him raw apple, I see no peel, nothing discernible in his stool (and I am a stool examiner, lol). I haven’t tried with raw carrot recently, but I think it would still come out as it enters. I have also given him raw coconut and it comes out as it entered him. Coconut oil gets absorbed though. Kale sticks (branches) with some leaf matter are not discernible but sometimes when he eats grass (he does it every now and again), it comes out in straight bunches, like it entered him.
So why would he not be able to eat some rehydrated veggies vs raw? I do let them sit for a while in the water, but they don’t ever completely return to an “original” form. This also happens while on THK Perfect Form.

My next question is, I have seen recipes for cooking with THK for treats and such. Should I cook it first till the veggies are mushy, or cook it lightly and puree it, or is it not a big concern?

[Z B]

Pugmom – I found one place not too far away where I can buy primal. Thx for the tip.

Bobbydog & Kristen – haven’t tried pumpkin but I will. But I have doubts my cat will go for that !

Crazy4cats- my cat doesn’t seem to have a preference. She’ll eat raw and canned food cold or room temp.

[Bobby dog]

Hey c4c:
I feed mine room temp. I put it out to thaw after I feed them in the morning for their dinner. Only three of my kitties eat the freeze dried or frozen commercial raw; they seem pretty enthusiastic eating it when I feed it to them. They lose their enthusiasm if I feed it for more than two straight feedings so it’s part of their rotation with canned foods.

[theBCnut]

My cats prefer it at room temp. When I get raw for my cats, I divide it up into single serving portions. I have saved little yogurt cups with lids that are exactly the right size. I take one out of the freezer and float it in hot water and go do morning chores. When I’m done with chores, the food is usually close enough to the right temp. Sometimes I have to add more warm water and let it float a bit longer, and sometimes I just add a little warm water to the food and mix it in. There is a certain amount of extra water that is OK, and a certain amount that is just too much. I don’t quite know where that line is yet.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Guys-
When you feed the frozen raw to your kitties, do you warm it up a bit or bring it to room temperature? I’ve been curious about raw. Thanks!

[Gloria K]

TheBCnut: I just got a shelter rescue dog about 10 days ago, (11 lb. terrier mix) and I have been making his food and supplementing it with a little kibble. I chop everything real fine and grate the carrots with a rasp but I cook all of this homemade food – nothing raw. Could that make a difference in being able to digest it better? I just can’t seem to bring myself to purée the stuff and give it to him like baby food …yuck. I give him ground beef or ground chicken, hard-boiled eggs, spinach, carrots, some ground egg shells, oatmeal and occasionally rice or barley.

[Cindy S]

Thank you so much crazy4cats. I did complete and submit the form, and Community Support for dogfoodadvisor.com replied that she did not see the complete product label info in a government compliant format for the K9 Natural Raw Frozen dog food on K9’s web site. I subsequently emailed K9 Natural and they responded (very promptly!) that they are working on updating their web site and they will be including complete labeling information. In the meanwhile, I will, as theBCnut suggests, compare the ingredient lists of the raw frozen version to the freeze dried to see what, if anything, does not match up. Appreciate the help and support!

[arwyru24]

I worry about artificial vitamin supplements from China in the food. I worry about issues like Blue Buffalo was having wth not actually knowing what the people making the food were actually putting in it. Then I have to contend with what my cats will actually eat. And one is immuno compromised so raw isn’t an option and I don’t feel comfortable making my own food nor does that work well for my life style. I worry about over vaccinating and about under vaccinating. I just try to use my best judgment and do the best I can for my animals. It just complicates things when companies knowingly compromise our pets health and lives for the sake of profit maximization and you have to research everything you pick up off a shelf to feed your pet because it could potentially kill them very suddenly which is the worst because you have no time to fix it or slowly but surely over a little time.

[arwyru24]

It’s always really bothered me that it would even possibly be worth it to ship chickens halfway across the world and then sent back. It’s crazy and super shady. I also do not buy anything jerky regardless of the brand. Before I was better educated I bought my last dog jerky treats ..blue buffalo brand and also happy hips. He lived to be 15 when he died and I don’t think he suffered any ill effects but it’s hard to say He got epithelial lymphoma at about 14 and the tumor was removed but who can really say what causes some of the cancers. It really hurt his quality of life in his final year. He didn’t tolerate chemo well and developed pancreatitis as a result and it was just a hard last year. I don’t make my own food or feed raw but I try to do all that I can to feed healthy foods and not take undue risks but I am always questioning myself. I have a vet I trust implicitly now but unfortunately didn’t find him until the dog was 13 and cat was 15. He would have saved both of those animals a lot of pain and suffering. The dog had two surgeries to remove crystals the second time he was 12 and was blocked completely. The other vets just had him on c/d dry his whole life. This was the first vet to tell us water is very important and took him off the rx food and had us feed high quality canned with lots of water added in. They don’t push science diet there they give a list of brands they suggest which are all good choices (taste of the wild is the only one I can think of that’s debatable) It’s such a shame that it’s so hard to know who and what to trust to take good care of our pets. I agree with BC nut completely. … this shouldn’t be so hard.

[pugmomsandy]

CarnivoreRaw doesn’t have flax!

[Kristin C]

I feed both my dog’s raw but only one seems to eat grass regularly. What super green do you use BC?

[Dori]

Freeze dried is much closer to raw than dehydrated. Sorry, I keep coming in late to the discussions. It’s been a crazy crazy day. I groomed all three dogs this afternoon and am exhausted. I need to take a shower but don’t know that I’ve got the strength. Bought these new clippers and stainless steel comb attachments recently and I couldn’t wait to try them so I groomed all three dogs today. Hannah is in long show coat but she’s harder to do then the others because of all the matting. Hubby loves her in long show coat, not that he contributes anything to her grooming. Every time I say I’m thinking of taking her coat down to a puppy cut he makes his own sorrowful puppy dog eyes. She does look very pretty. It’s just a lot of work. I keep Lola and Katie in puppy style. I couldn’t keep all three in long coats. Too much work.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[Kristin C]

I have recently started using See Spot Live Longer Dinner mix which I like but they are discounting as of December. Once my supply is depleted I will probably try THK, one of the bases, which I’m not thrilled with because of the chunkiness. I have been looking at Better In The Raw. Would love to know thoughts on that.

[Z B]

Pugmom-,I was feeding only raw for past 6 months because I find that when i try to rotate her foods she gets even more finicky and so much food gets wasted.
I’ll research the ash contents of the commercial raws, thanks for the suggestion.

Bobbydog- the vet didn’t have any recommendations about adding fiber, she only said to continue on a low dose of laxative a few times a week for now and then see how it goes decreasing it from there.

Thanks for the responses !

[Bobby dog]

Did the Vet mention anything about adding more fiber to your kitty’s diet?

I rotate (constantly due to finicky kitties) commercial raw, canned, and some dry. Not sure of bone content, but I feed NV Instinct frozen, Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried, and Primal freeze dried with no issues. None of my cats will eat the same food two days in a row.

[pugmomsandy]

Do you alternate canned and raw or just mainly feed raw now? Alternating raw and the canned foods may help prevent the constipation. As far as bone content in raw foods, check out the ash content in various recipes and try to chose ones with lower ash. You might have to contact the food companies to get the ash content. You can also use boneless raw intermittently.

[Z B]

Hello all
I’ve been lurking for a while and enjoying the site and all the great info here! I have a finicky 13’yr old female spayed cat who I finally put on good quality canned food about a year ago. After lots of trials I found a couple brands that she liked (hounds & gatos and simply nourish) but she still wasn’t eating all of it so I tried Darwin’s raw and she loved it!

So she was on Darwin’s raw for 6 months or so until last week. She was acting sick and I had to take her to the ER for what turned out to be severe constipation. One kitty enema under anesthesia and a thousand later she is doing ok and back on simply nourish and hounds & gatos canned, but not eating as well as I would like.
I tried Pet Fresh this week but she wasnt crazy about it.

I’m guessing it was high bone content in the Darwin’s raw that caused the constipation??Does Anyone have a recommendation for another commercial raw food that has a lower bone content?

• This topic was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Z B.
• This topic was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Z B.

[Z B]

Edit: decided to start a new thread for my question, re: raw cat food.
/forums/topic/raw-cat-food-recommendations/

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Z B.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Z B.

[theBCnut]

First, please don’t settle on one food. Go over to the review side and do a search for the article on rotational feeding.

For the first couple weeks, feed him exactly the way the breeder was feeding him. That way, the only big stressor on your pup will be the adjustment to his new living arrangements. After he has fully adjusted, then start transitioning to the new food. I would only add one new food at a time, so if there is any issue, you know what is causing it. Transition slowly, but know that if you do go with a rotational diet, soon you won’t have to transition at all to switch to a new food.

Yes, use canned foods, and dehydrated, and freeze dried, and if you can handle it, even raw.

The benefits of using canned are in the moisture content and the meat content. Canned is closer to a natural diet. However, be aware that some canned food companies under report their fat level by a huge amount and dogs that are at risk for pancreatitis can become deathly ill from eating some of these foods, so read the review before buying canned, and pay attention to what is said about the fat level down in explanation. If you are only using it as a topper, it probably won’t matter, but if you ever have a reason to feed a whole meal of the canned you are using, it is something to be aware of.

[pugmomsandy]

Vetsallnatural dot com has a complete mix. Not sure if it’s available in the US though. Youngagainpetfood dot com has CarnivoreRaw. There is also Urban Wolf.

[pugmomsandy]

Dehydrated and freeze dried can be either cooked or raw. Grandma Lucy’s actually lightly cooks their food products before freeze drying so they may also do that with their treats.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks! There are some freeze-dried treats I give her, they are called Trail Buddy treats and they are made by a company called Cycle Dog. For some reason, the only place they are available around her is REI. There are some other freeze dried treats at the pet store that I might try. In terms of freeze dried food, is dehydrated/freeze-dried the same as raw?

[Cotons mom]

Looking for recommendations for brands of mix to add to raw meat for a balanced meal. I know that THK has one but was looking for other brands as well.

Thanks

[Dog_Obsessed]

I am always looking for healthy treats that are either complete and balanced or pure meat or veggies, and so that I don’t have to worry as much about feeding too many. I am not opposed to raw feeding in general, but I don’t really want raw treats because it is harder to use good sanitation practices when giving treats throughout the day. Anyone have suggestions?

[Dori]

Hi Peter. You’re better off giving your dog canned sardines in water ( you’ll find them at you local grocery store). Sardines are very short lived thereby not being subjected to the same amount of toxins in the waters. Tuna contains the highest levels of mercury than any other fish. Pregnant women are even advised not to eat any tuna during the length of their pregnancy and breast feeding. Also no raw fish for the same reason.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[Cotons mom]

My two Cotons eat grass like it is going out of style. They race out of the door into the yard and start looking for their favorite type of grass. Is there something missing in their diet? I feed raw using food only from the EC list along with rotation of the food. They get probiotics daily. Any suggestions would be great, I want to do the best that I can for these bundles of joy. Thanks so much.

[Peter S]

Hi, I’m wondering how often you all rotate your dog kibble…I have 2 adult labs who go through a large (25-30 lb) bag in about 4 weeks…My normal feeding program is kibble (currently Nature’s Logic rabbit ) approx 5 days a week, and on the other 2 days it’s a mix of frz-dried green tripe, pureed greens/veggies, canned pumpkin, raw egg. And included in those 2 ‘whole-fresh-food’ days is usually a 24-hr fast. So ,would it be appropriate for me to switch over to a different brand kibble/protein source after each 4-week period ? Or should I go 2 months(or more) on one brand/protein before switching ? I actually just got a new bag of Farmina N&D low-grain (cod is protein source) delivered today…that will be a curveball for my guys since they’ve never experienced cod as their main protein source (OR spelt or oats near the top of the ingredients list).
Thanx in advance for all advice and feedback !

[InkedMarie]

I don’t have a puppy but my favorite foods are:

Kibble: Farmina, Dr Tims, Annamaet, Natures Logic, Brothers.

Dehydrated: The Honest Kitchen

Premade raw: Vital Essentials, Primal & Darwins

[Dori]

Love hearing success stories. Way to go Naturella!!!!!

I agree with BC on the bumps that disappeared being most likely fatty tumors. Hannah had a few before I went grain free and raw that the vet used to tell me where old age bumps (!?!?!). They all disappeared.

Zach: Is bump on Ginger hard, can you move it around? If you press it is it soft and feel a little mushy. If so, then it sounds like a fatty tumor. Is it bothering her? Is it painful, discolored, anything. I think we need more details. Also was the bump there when you took her to the vet regarding the brown spots on her ears?

[Naturella]

Hello, all!

I know we all have a passion for dog health and love to spread the word to other dog lovers. This thread can be for our success stories, if anyone cares to share.

For me, I have several (3, really). I think you have heard them before, but one is a close friend of mine who used to feed Shep and is now a crazy dog food lady like me, feeding 3.5-5-star foods, rotating all the time, and giving canned or THK as toppers. Another friend used to feed whatever Walmart carries and is cheap, so Beneful, Pedigree and the like. Now she feeds Victor, TOTW (every once in a while), Holistic Health Extension and Pure Balance, with various canned as toppers. The third story is the lady I babysit for and they used to feed their dog Kibbles ‘N’ Bits, Beneful, Iams, etc, and now I am in charge of their dog’s menu and I also shop the dog food for them on a budget, so she ate 3 bags of Dogswell LiveFree and is about to start a Wysong bag. She also had 2 bumps on or really close to her ribs before I started her food change, and I almost can’t believe it, but I can’t feel those bumps anymore! Is that even possible? I don’t know. I plan to get her 3-4 bags of various Earthborn Holistic next and maybe a bag of something else to stick in the middle. I’ll see what deals there may be around Black Friday online and in stores. She’s also been on a daily teaspoon of coconut oil for about a week now, and also I advised the family to use it as a “leave-in conditioner” after bathing her, so she gets it on her skin and coat as well. In a month or so she should have nice, healthy, shiny coat, in addition to loving her food and being more energetic. I want to introduce her also to having a lightly cooked or raw egg once a week and maybe some sardines too. I will take it slow though – I want them to notice the benefits of coconut oil first so that they know I am not doing crazy experiments with their dog, lol.

[Kristin C]

Susan-so sorry for your guy. Have you thought about trying an elimination diet? Novelty proteins (rabbit, duck, quail, etc.) plus veggies, to see what bothers him? We live in the U.S. and our dogs get sneezy and eye boogery too, usually environmental. We feed mostly raw, little kibble and freeze dried, so they don’t get used to any one thing.

[Kristin C]

Jumping in too. I feed raw (w/ SSLL dinner mix) and Orijen kibble and Orijen freeze dried for convenience. Have tried other brands but I don’t love the ingredients or processing, and one of my dog’s seem sensitive to many of them.

[Kristin C]

Hi Julie-I feed my dogs Orijen Adult 2x per week. One of my dogs was overweight on a Blue Buffalo kibble, but since switching her to raw and Orijen she has lost almost 10% of her prior weight. I agree with BC that the amount on the bag is a suggestion. If you can feel your dog’s ribs that’s good so adjust accordingly. Can you provide more activity to lose weight? I found that helped with my dog, but our second pup helps with the activity.

[Zach M]

I also use vital essentials and primal along with my dogs kibble. She loves a raw treat. I HIGHLY recommend those brands.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I use a lot of different treats, but lately I’ve been using freeze-dried raw. I’ve got the Stella & Chewy’s medallions now which are pretty large and perfect for my big girls but they could be easily broken into small pieces. Some other freeze-dried raw I like to use is Nature’s Variety, Wysong, Vital Essentials and Primal. I try to go with the complete and balanced foods so I don’t have to worry about how many i give them. Most dogs seem to really like freeze-dried stuff.