[Dori]

Hi Courtney. If your dog does wind up having crystals be sure to ask what type. As far as the UTI the other posters have helped. It is important that your dog is walked often and that she drink plenty of water. If you are feeding her kibble then please add water to it and let is absorb the water before feeding her the food. It’s a good way to get more moisture into a dog that doesn’t drink enough water. As the others have suggested, dry food (kibble) is not what she should be eating. Commercial raw foods (if you don’t want to hassle making your own), dehydrated, canned, freeze dried. In that order would be the best way for you to go imo. Normally I would put freeze dried before dehydrated but a lot of freeze dried foods don’t absorb water very well. There are plenty of quality dehydrated foods so your dog will win with the moisture and the quality of the food.

You didn’t mention what food you feed your dog. How many meals a day does she get and hopefully you leave water down for her all the time.

[theBCnut]

I hate cutting up raw liver, so I throw it in a pot of water and boil it until it starts to turn grayish, then I cut it up and dehydrate it. That improves the texture or the finished product, too.

[InkedMarie]

Hi Courtney,
I had a dog with frequent UTI’s and he was diagnosed with struvite crystals. My vet had me give him one 500 mg vitamin C a day but you don’t do this without your vets okay. It is extremely important to get enough liquid into your dog. Dry food is the worst you can feed. Best is a raw diet, canned or dehydrated. If you must feed dry, add canned & water to his food.
Don’t worry about low oxalate foods unless it’s needed. I would not use a prescription food at all. If your vet tells you to, I’d find a holistic vet to go to and get their advice. Keep us posted on how she is.

[Cyndi]

I FINALLY dehydrated (in my oven) a little bit of the deer liver I had gotten from a friend of mine. My Bailey is funny, she will eat chicken livers raw, no problem, but any other kind of liver she will not eat. So, before I dehydrated some of the deer liver, I gave her a little slice and she wouldn’t eat it. Damn mutt! So, I sliced off about 20 little slices and cooked them in the oven on low for a few hours and she LOVES it. It didn’t even smell all that bad while cooking, but it sure was gross slicing it up, lol! Next weekend I’ll do the rest and I’ll probably have enough treats to last a month. Yay for free liver treats! 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

If he’s having solid stool and no gas than continue on with what you’re feeding. But for a healthier gut and immune system, it could be beneficial to add some additional probiotics once a day or just a couple times a week, and also doing a rotation diet. I buy the Swanson Vitamins Dr Langer’s Ultimate Probioitcs. They’re often buy 1 get 1 free! I also buy Garden of Life Raw probiotics from the health food store. I buy the human products and just share with the dogs.

http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59

http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-for-pets.html

[Kristin C]

I think adding any real food, cooked or raw, is a great addition to the canned food. The SSLL Dinner Mix would make any homemade meal balanced if I read it correctly. If you are feeding at least one meal per day commercial food though you probably wouldn’t have to worry too much about balancing it as long as you use proper ratios of meat, veggies. I started using SSLL to be safe but am not adding it in all the time.

[Naturella]

Does anyone know if these chews are safe to give to a dog, recently recovered from a tummy upset? Bruno is 100% right now, but still on Perfect Form for this week and next week, and for now on canned and dry food, same protein, same brand. However, I have midterms and papers this week, so what (if anything) can I give to the poor guy to distract him from me?

Also, do you think he will be fine with having THK (like he used to before he got sick) as a topper after I take him off the canned? I will introduce all his usual additives (coconut oil, yoghurt/kefir, raw egg, canned sardines, RMB) one by one and one per week or until I’m sure his tummy can handle it. But THK is his usual staple – and I rotate between 4 flavors of it and one BDN. Should I just go one at a time and one per week for those too, or would it be safe to rotate again?

[cindy q]

Thanks for the replies! I just found NRG dog products, originally in Canada but now in the US. Its a dehydrated Raw and it looks very good. Anyone use it?

[Nancy C]

So, I just emailed DARWIN’S to cancel my order which was due Oct 22. I told them the new formulation has too much fat and with the price increase along with the incr in fat — NO, NOT FOR US. Too bad.

I was sorry about that bec I saw Darwins as a primary participant in my supply. I liked the fact that it was organic. So, do you ladies feel that STEWARTS is equal to the old Darwin’s?

I don’t hear you mentioning ZIWIPEAK. (I’m not attracted to it for some reason.) Should we be? And I can’t get into K9Natural, mostly bec of the fat. So, Good Question, CindyQ. ANSWERS is a good one I plan to try. Also Vital Essentials and That other Raw one Dori was trying. O A Raw or something like that? It is supposedly very good.

[theBCnut]

Freeze dried is better. Dehydrating applies some heat, which destroys some very sensitive nutrients. It also takes longer allowing for more bacteria to grow. It isn’t a huge difference though. I just don’t think in an either/or fashion when it comes to dog food. I think and. Feed dehydrated and freeze dried. And raw and (fill in blank)…

[cindy q]

First is one better than the other? My picky eaters seem to like this type of food, they love Big Dog Natural and now they will also eat Stewarts freeze dried raw. I want to add more so I can rotate their food. What freeze dried or dehydrated food do you like? They seem to prefer a chunky food not mushy, they would not eat Honest Kitchen and I tried several of them. So what are your favorites and how many foods are good to use in a rotation? I was thinking 3.

[Marietta B]

Only Natural Pet Easy Raw doesn’t have enough protein. I bought a sample packet from them and my dog wouldn’t eat it. I do buy their Max Meat dog food and my dog loves that.

[Akari_32]

I just kind of eye-ball it for canned, to be honest. I use just enough canned to coat the kibbles evenly (a few spoonfuls of canned over 1/3-1/4 cup dry for my dachshund, and a whole 13 oz can to 3-4 cups split between my big guys) and if I notice undesirable weight change, I adjust accordingly.

For “fresh” toppers, as long as it’s not making up more than about 20% of the dogs diet, it’s fine. That 20% can mean daily toppers, or even a whole meal once a week or so of a raw meaty bone or something. No need to make it all scientific, really. Have fun with it!

As for size and breed specific marketing, it’s pretty useless. Keep life interesting and switch it up. I’m actually feeding all my dogs on Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health right now– even the 130 pounder! I shoot for 25% and up (the higher the better, but I use coupons for my dog food, so I can’t be too picky), and as high callorie as possible. This one happened to fit the bill with 30% protein and 502 calories per cup, and be free, plus money back, after coupons.

Nothing wrong with questions! If you don’t ask, you don’t learn. 🙂

[Haleybop]

Thanks. Along with all the info, it doesn’t help that you have a vet that you’ve been trusting and going to for 18 years who follows AAHA’s guidelines of no raw. Really hard to find a holistic vets in my area but I now have a lead on one. Just found out that the beef hearts I bought for the ABC diet, when I bought my grass-fed/antibiotic free beef, aren’t grass fed. Sigh. We try and try to do the best for our babies. Sometimes, I wish someone would tell me exactly what to do but it might not be the right thing for my pup (or me). I’m still going to keep on learning!

[Kathleen C]

That’s OK, I’ve actually wondered about feeding raw. My idea of raw, though, is the ready to eat you can find at higher end pet stores, or feed stores like we have here…Olsen’s Feed and Grain carry things like that. If it had everything added the dog needs it would be a consideration. However, I don’t even cook for myself so probably wouldn’t do it for Jack either. The vet recommended Forbid, but I’ve read reviews and many people say it doesn’t work. Thanks for the information.

[jakes mom]

Don’t feel guilty about not doing raw. I feed kibble and do the ABC diet, although I add fresh throughout the week instead of all on one day. I think that’s better for my guy’s tummy, I’m afraid all fresh one day might be a bit much for him. I agree, there’s way too much info out there, hard to sort thru it all. I think a good quality kibble and the ABC diet is a good compromise.

[Kristin C]

Kathleen-re: your dog eating poop, I have read that the natural flavors added to kibble don’t digest so the poop appeals to the dog because it still tastes like kibble. My older dog used to eat her poop religiously. Then I switched her to eating raw and I have not seen her eat poop at all. I know this reply doesn’t have anything to do with his weight issue but just wanted to mention it.

[Kristin C]

Hi Kari-I feed both my dogs raw and have found making my own food to be the most economical, although I estimate it’s still almost twice the cost of high end kibble. Buying commercial raw or freeze dried raw is probably 3-4 times more than the kibble. My husband and I agree we’d rather spend the money on real food for them versus vet bills and potential illness. Sounds like you have a lot going on as it is, but you can probably start by making small changes. The book See Spot Live Longer the ABC Way might be a good start. I’ve started using the SSLL Dinner Mix to ensure my homemade meals are AAFCO compliant. There are other supplements and base mixes you can use as well and just add meat. Hope that helps some.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I am also wondering about commercial treats, for homemade I like to use bits of raw carrot or apple(no seeds or core), or plain, boiled, chicken. These can be un-ideal because they don’t keep long and need to be refrigerated, so I am also looking for low-cal commercial ones.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Here are the ingredients to Hills z/d:

Starch, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil, Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement , Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors , Beta-Carotene.

It doesn’t look overly horrible, but it doesn’t look great. I am surprised that it contains chicken and soy, both common food allergens. I might recommend trying your own elimination by buying high-quality dog foods free of certain common allergens and seeing which ones help. I have heard that feeding raw can help with allergies, but I can’t say from experience on that. Hope this is helpful!

[Kari L]

Hi, I am considering doing a raw food diet with my two dogs. They are old and have no real health problems but do have big lumps forming on their skin for the past 1-2 years. Fatty tumors I am guessing. I haven’t taken them to a vet in a very long time.
My daughter has autism and is obviously my priority. We eat 90% organic diet as a family and spend most of our money doing so among many of her supplements.
I am kind of sick of buying crappy dog food for them. I buy them a grain free dry dog food now which is mostly meat then followed by sweet potato which I know they don’t need.
I am not so worried about these two ( I love them but realize they are on there way out of this world and the damage of their teeth wont be repaired) but when they go would like to ditch the crappy dog food for sure.
So sorry for the long introduction but my question is how much does this all cost and how much preparation is involved? I have been buying what I thought was raw dog food at Whole Foods lately but realized it was lightly pasteurized. It was lamb and many lamb organs with many synthetic vitamins/minerals.
Do most people use synthetic vitamins/minerals on this diet? Again total newbie but do love nutrition.
BTW my dogs now are 11 and are 10 and 15 pounds. My next dog I plan will be bigger like a golden retriever.
Thank you much!

[tina b]

Hey, Bobby Dog… 🙂

I put Major, and my other 3 Labs, on Olewo carrots a little over 3 months ago. I called and spoke with Ina, the US distributor, for a half hour…and picked her brain on whether or not it could help Major. Just so you know what I was dealing with…Major has suffered bloat (daily, to some extent) and IBS since he was about 4 months old….he’s 5 1/2 years old now. He had diarrhea all. the. time. A few years ago, I switched him to a premium (grain free) kibble and it helped…it helped even more when I switched to 100% raw almost 2 years ago. Major’s diarrhea would range from cow patty to brown water…it was horrible for him. I tried different probitics and digestive enzymes…with no real improvement to speak of. When I added the carrots to his diet, the diarrhea all but disappeared!

I gave Major 1 Tablespoon of carrots mixed with 1/2 cup water on his breakfast. For the next 10 weeks…he had 5 days in which he had diarrhea. When I say “days”…I mean one bad stool each of those days…not and entire day of running outside to pooh (which was not unusual). I spoke with Ina and shared the outcome, she suggested increasing his carrots just a bit. I started adding 1/2 Tablespoon carrots to his 1 Tablespoon of beets for his evening meal 4 weeks ago, and he has not had a single episode of diarrhea since!

I rescued a diabetic Lab 2 years ago…he’s 10 years old now. From the time we brought him home, he would generally pooh only once a day…and his stool was so dry, it would crumble when it hit the ground. No joke. Since adding the carrots to his meal (1 Tablespoon each morning)…he pooh is firm and glossy now and he goes twice a day most days. I wasn’t expecting that to happen.

I added the beets to my dogs’ diet 2 months ago…mostly for the anti-inflammatory benefits for my older dog’s arthritis and for Major’s inflamed intestines. It’s to soon to tell if it’s helping the arthritis, but Major’s intestines aren’t nearly as swollen as they were…we could literally see them swirling in his stomach when he’d lay down. Poor guy.

I can’t recommend the carrots enough…and I’m a picky person when it comes to feeding my dogs.

[Jude s]

Hey! I was going to make a thread on this topic, but I saw this one….I hope it’s ok if I can ask my question on here 🙂
My 2 month old puppy has really soft stool, foul smelling, some mucus, and always seems to push kind of hard. He doesn’t whimper, he still eats and plays just fine.
I checked for worms, or any white specs, but he’s clear. I’m thinking he’s just having some irritation. I was thinking on putting him on some digestive enzyme supplements, I saw the suggested ones above, but not sure if those are ok for my puppy. I also saw the honest kitchen had supplements as well (Perfect Form & Pro Bloom).
Also if this helps he is a pitbull/chihuahua mix and about 7.5 lbs. He is eating Wellness puppy kibble, but I will be introducing raw foods sometime this month.

[Kristin C]

Has anyone fed raw beef ribs? If so, HOW? I regularly feed chicken backs and necks, duck parts and necks, turkey necks as part of a weekend morning meal. Would the beef ribs be equivalent? I can’t imagine they eat the bone? Is it more like eating a beef marrow bone where I give it as a snack?

[Kristin C]

Jan-I feed my girls raw meaty bones on the weekend and split a can of sardines between the 2 of them at the same time. I also split a can between the 2 girls mid-week as a snack. I prefer to feed whole food versus a daily “supplement”. Have you explored yeast overgrowth for the skin allergies?

[Kristin C]

Hi Jan – the Natural Balance kibble looks largely potato based. I would personally stay away from them. We use Orijen a couple times per week (convenience) but I believe it has pea fiber in it. Perhaps if you cook, or feed raw, for a period of time you could reset your pups digestion to incorporate a kibble again (later). See Spot Live Longer Dinner mix would work with a lightly cooked or raw program. What is she getting for fat or oils in her diet?

[Bobby dog]

Hi JAN:
Maybe the Natural Balance LID Duck, Kangaroo, or Rabbit recipes. I would also look into commercial raw for variety as a topper (or full meal a few times/wk) as pugmomsandy suggests.

Another option would be to make some or all homemade meals using a dinner mix. Here’s a link to some info on mixes:
http://dogaware.com/diet/dogfoodmixes.html

Here’s a link to a dinner mix that is fed and recommended by several regular posters. This is also the site for the book that BCn recommended, Steve Brown’s “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet”:
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/smartlist_13/dinner_mixes.html

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Bobby dog.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Bobby dog.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Bobby dog.

[Kristin C]

Hey Jan -that’s a tough one. I am scrolling through dry dog food ingredients and can’t come up with one. Have you considered freeze dried? I feed my dogs raw, I make most of it, so cooking and storing may be the best option for you to control the ingredients. Hopefully someone else pipes in with a solution for you.

[pugmomsandy]

It’s mainly dry hard kibble I prefer not to feed more than twice a day. Other foods that are easier to digest or enzyme rich raw foods I’m less concerned about. Plus when I feed kibble or a food with lots of plant matter, I give enzymes with it.

[Kristin C]

Got it BC. But I’ve noticed when I make my own raw meals (I freeze in single serving mason jars) that the older portions start to turn brown like Darwin’s. The newer portions stay pink throughout. I agree that it doesn’t cause short term issues. But it’s expensive brown meat (Darwin’s). I know they mark their production date on each package but by the time it’s shipped it could already be several weeks old, and depending on how much you order by the time it’s eaten it could be several months old. Just consider that Nancy because you might want to order smaller quantities more frequently.

[theBCnut]

If you don’t bake them first, the membrane will coat your food processer blade. And I’m sure baking also cuts down on the possibility of salmonella comtamination, which most raw feeders aren’t too worried about.

[pugmomsandy]

Here is the topic with pictures! The pugs and quail are on page 4.

/forums/topic/pictures-of-dogs-eating-raw-raw-meals/page/4/

[Kristin C]

Nancy- Yes, it means oxidation. To me that just means older meat. Oxidation changes the protein structure some but I don’t think it’s necessarily harmful. Since the raw meals I make stay nice and pink (unless I stock up for a while) I have decided to forego Darwin’s moving forward and just make my own chicken and beef every week or two. I am starting to try Reel Raw’s novelty proteins so I will see how pink those stay.

[pugmomsandy]

Not sure how big your pups are but you can try some raw sardines too (or when they get a little bit adjusted to raw first). They come in different sizes. Also, splitting a big can (12 oz or more) of mackerel or salmon between all the pups might be cost efficient. I bought my whole sardines for $1.19/lb.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/0bd6f2d9-225c-454e-9521-122834da060d_zps44b288af.jpg

[Kristin C]

Dfw – when you say rotational what do you mean? Ever tried just plain white rice and boiled chicken to reset his digestion? I did this with my 5 month old pup after it was coming out both ends for weeks. Turns out a raw diet worked best for her so I switched both my girls to raw.

[Susan]

Hi, has the vet tried him on a vet prescription diet kibble yet like the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat or the Sensitivity Control….My boy was put on the Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet, it only has 1.75%-fiber 10%-Fat, he was put on the Intestinal Plus 4%-fiber first, he was still doing very sloppy poos after 2 weeks, then I had to order another bag, the lady made a mistake & gave me the Intestinal instead of the Intestinal Plus it was a blessing making the mistake as the Intestinal is only 1.75% crude fiber, as soon as he started the Intestinal 1.75%-fiber his poos were back to normal within 2 days, thats when we realised he needed less fiber, vet said she wanted him to stay on the Eukanuba Intestinal for 1 year but around 6 months when he was doing real well, I started trying other kibbles, I stay around the same fat% protein% & I tried to find a low crude fiber% as his Intestinal Vet diet but it was hard as the vet prescription diet only had the real low crude fiber, even when I give Patch Pumkin I cant give him more then a little teaspoon, if I give more his poos are very sloppy, he cant have too much fiber or fat..
Have you ever done an elimaintion diet, thats the best way, I found that Patch was getting real bad diarrhea from potatos & itchy skin & Sweet potatos made his ears itchy when I did the elimination diet, Vet tried him on the Euknuba FP for his skin last December 1 week after just introducing 1/4cup of the FP to his Intestinal for the whole week, (I slowly introduce new kibbles I use to take about 1 month) he had real bad diarrhea as soon as he ate something he had to run outside & do water poo, so I took him straight off the FP vet thought it was from the higher fat% as it was 15% where his Intestinal was only 10% then 6 months later when I started the elimination diet, I realised it was the potatos in the Eukanuba FP as it was Fish & Potato giving him the bad diarrhea…the less you give the better, there has to be a food that stops his diarrhea, on the yahoo groups there’s a group called “IBDogs” & most of the dogs with real bad diarrhea are put on Prednidsone (Steroid) has he been put on a steroid yet, its for inflammed bowel, I never put Patch on the steriod as I got his diarrhea under control, he was put on the Metroniazole for 2 weeks & when he has had a flares, he gets put on the Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 2 weeks,
Most of the kibbles that you have tried have they been grainfree, try & get a kibble with low fat, low protein, low fiber & not a grainfree kibble as some grain free kibbles are higher in fat & protein, try a limited ingredient kibble.. after trying about 6 different kibbles, I put Patch on the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal first then I realised it has Potato protein (he started to scratch) then I changed him to the Lamb & Oatmeal it has Oats & rice I found Patch does better on grounded rice & oats kibbles, the fiber is 4.75% I was a bit worried to try but it had been over 6months since Patch had a real bad flare, last December but I still do his Eukanuba Intestinal for dinner & the Wellness Simple for breakfast & lunch… I have to give Patch smaller meals thru the day he doesnt do well on 2 large meals a day.. Have you tried the Wellness Complete health Puppy Large breed Deboned Chicken & brown rice.. I was going to try the Large breed if the Wellness Simple didnt work, but there was too many proteins in it & it has brown rice, brown rice is higher in fiber thats what worried me.. try to get a kibble with just has 1 protein that’s why I tried the Lamb & Oatmeal & the Duck & Oatmeal cause there’s just the 1 protein but it has peas & Patch farts cause of the peas…. Less is best..
Another kibble some of the ladys are using on the IBDogs is “Natural Balance” limited ingredients…try one that has the less ingredents some have more ingredients then the other limited ingredient kibbles… here’s the link to have look at the ingredients in the LTD kibbles, the Kangaroo has just Kangaroo & Potato & the fiber is 3% fat-10% there’s Bison & Sweet Potato but it has has peas, I wouldnt try a kibble with peas just yet, there’s the Potato & Rabbit that doesnt have peas or too many ingredients, have alook at all the Limited ingredients kibbes & pick one with just 1 protein that he has never had before the Kangaroo looked the best & had the least ingredients..the other one was the potato & Rabbit also didnt have too many ingredients to irratate his bowel..
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product-category.aspx?…
Or start an Elimination diet & don’t start with chicken as u’ve tried the Chicken & it didnt work, another protein like Lamb, kangaroo, rabbit, fish, one lady feeds her dog horse meat, if you can find a place that sells horse meat, cook it, not raw yet & dont do the boiled rice, Patch can have grounded rice in kibbles but not boiled rice, it irritates the bowel for some dogs, maybe try potato or sweet potatos instead of the boiled rice if he goes good then add another food.. or ask vet put him on a vet prescription diet like the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat alot of dogs do real well on the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal or the Royal Canin Sensitivity Control its just Duck & Tapioca & no other foods, no treats etc then when he’s better after 6months try & find another kibble with similar ingredients to the vet diet he’s on..
He would be so skinny as he wouldnt be getting any nutrition cause he’s pooing it back out…something is really wrong with Banes digestion, vet may need to do bi-opies to find what the problems is.
I feel for you & Bane there’s a few Great Danes on the IBDogs group if you join they also may be able to help you out as they have & are going thru the same thing, also Coconut oil at this stage is a No No when he’s going real good then maybe introduce new things but sooooooo slowely cause 1 thing can make him have a real bad flare & then you’ll have so much touble getting them back to pooing normal again like last December, it took me nilly 3 months to get Patch back to doing nice firm poos again & on the Wellness Simple he does nice firm poos, I think he did better poos on the Duck & Oatmeal it had less peas cause they used the Potato protein & not as many peas in the Duck & Oatmeal…. Good-Luck have a look at the Natural Balance LImited ingredient kibbles…

[Nancy C]

I just went to the BDN site – it is not freeze dried. It is AIR dried. I am not knowledgable about the difference but I remember CHRIS the woman with whom I spoke telling me their process is unusual to what most companies do which is FREEZE dried. And they do not heat it so hot either. Sometime call her and ask. She is very nice and told me recently she IS one of the owners. Another one of the owners is supposedly VERY knowledgable about canine nutrition. He has several Mastiffs and they ALL eat and thrive on BDN.
Chris told me too that one of their goals was to produce an affordable healthy raw food. I am FAR from an expert, but as I said, I know Dr. Loops knows what he’s talking about. He was originally for 10 yrs a regular vet. then learned about homeopathy because of all the things in the vet business that HE DID NOT BELIEVE WEre goOD FOR DOGS…. so he trained to become a HOmeopath. I think he has trained with Dr. Pitcairn. Enough for now.

[Nancy C]

The Homeopathic vet I have worked with recommends BDN and Darwins as raw food options that HE stands behind. I have asked him point blank about BDN and he says it is excellent food, he knows the company (has no ownership and is not personally involved) and he knows the food and therefore recommends it on his website.
I called them (BDN) today to ask about the calcium/phos ratio for beef. no problem: It’s 1:1. I do not understand the issue with BDN but my dog gobbles it like there is no tomorrow and I am going on my vet’s recommendation because he is extremely particular. Has 6 dogs himself, including several Grayhounds I think he said (or some large specialty breed) and feeds it and Darwins to ALL SIX of his dogs. Loves both foods. To find his website can google Dr. Charles Loops DVM. He is VERY intelligent and has been a homeopathic vet for 30 yrs. Pays attention to things that regular allopathic vets do not. Treats lots of dogs with Cancer succesfully. His recommendation goes a long way with me.

[Nancy C]

Cindy – glad your dog liked the BDN. I got the variety pack and the golden likes everything in it. gobbles all of it up. This company works very hard to produce a good digestible food. I called the other day to find out the calcium phosphorus ratio for beef since it is not listed on the site. Just FYI it’s 1:1. I also plan to give my dogs a Raw Meaty Bone 2 x a week because they are very healthy. That will work with their ca/phos ratio.
I am also feeding some Darwin’s to the golden retriever. She loves that too, but it is pretty pricey and I am not sure how long I will keep that up for two large dogs.

[Jude s]

Ok guys, I think I’m going to start my puppies off with premixes for they can used to raw food, but I’m not sure which to choose. I was thinking of See Spot Live Longer dinner mix, The Honest Kitchen preference or kindly, Dr. Harvey’s Veg to Bowl Fine Ground….which one do guys think is the better one of the bunch?

[Akari_32]

I have a dog with the exact same problem. Not only was he extremely allergic to everything blooming here in southern Florida, as well as fleas, but he’s also got over active yeast on his skin. We had to cut as many carbs as possible out of his diet for him to clear up, and even then, you can’t avoid a dog (especially not a terrier) from going in the grass.

We first put him on By Nature 95% canned food, and now he’s on See Spot Live Longer raw. He still breaks out when it rains and the grass shoots up and grows like crazy and pollinates, but it’s Florida, and there’s no preventing that. He did have himself chewed bald from his ribs back, and we finally have him down to chewing just his feet after rainy days.

[Kristin C]

I order from Reel Raw too. I ordered their 10lb complete beef mix, but I’m not sure how much fat is in it so I’ve decided to stick with ordering novelty proteins, organs, and RMBs. I give them a thumbs up too.

[Dfwgolden]

I have a 6 month old Great Dane puppy named Bane, I love him to bits and will do anything for him. So when I say I am desperate I mean it.

My baby has had Patte type Diarrhea since day one. His breeder had him on Diamond . And he was mushy but not sloppy. We switched him to 4 health that did not agree with him and since then it’s been a down hill battle.
We’ve tried
4 Health
Earth born
Pro Plan
Gravy Train
Rachel Ray
Raw (Prey Model)
Pure Balance
Whole Earth Farms
Wellness

It does not matter what we feed him he ALWAYS has diarrhea. We’ve done medication, pumpkin, yogurt, pro-biotics and other things. We’ve done chicken and rice.
No matter what IT WILL NOT GO AWAY.
Diamond makes it explosive and he threw up Gravy Train.

It seems like nothing we do works. And even our vet is stumped.
We cannot spend over $50 a bag, I live in the USA in Dallas Ft. Worth area of Texas. I am at my wits here I don’t know what else to do!

None of my other dogs are effected by it. We have fed a rotational diet for about 3 years now and have had Great Success. But with Bane I don’t know what to do. Other than the diarrhea he is 100% healthy and growing like a weed.

I just am tirred of picking up water.

Any ideas?

[Judith M]

I would love to have a long lasting, chewy type treat for my large Borzoi, Mikko, that is healthy, helps keep his teeth clean & keeps him occupied & doesn’t cost an arm & leg. I don’t particularly like giving him rawhide, bully sticks, smoked bones, etc. But, he loves them & keeps him happy for extended periods of time. I am just very careful & keep an eye on him when he is chewing them. I would love a better suggestion.

[Paula D]

The ONP easy raw is similar to Honest Kitchen or the Stella and Chewy’s mix that you,rehydrate with water. My girls much prefer the ONP Max meat–a jerky type texture.

[theBCnut]

Different people foods digest at different rates too, but we don’t worry about having problems with it. I feed half raw and the raw is mixed in with the kibble at every meal. My dogs have never had any issues. Many of us here add raw as toppers without issue. Shawna has even speculated that adding raw might help dogs digest kibble better. I don’t know if that’s true, but as long as I have been feeding raw, I have never had one of my dogs vomit formed kibble, and one of them used to do that all the time, so I believe it.

[Haleybop]

Thanks, Aimee. Sometimes, there’s just too much information out there. Some say it’s ok to mix raw and kibble, others say feed them separate – they digest the different types of food differently…it’s so overwhelming. If anything, I know Ziwi Peak will be an excellent training treat. Thanks, again!

[aimee]

Haleybop… So sorry for your loss….

Ii feed freeze dried raw both as a topper and as treats. I’ve also used Ziwi Peak as treats.

I’ve never had a problem mixing different food types together.

[Haleybop]

Oh, I have another related question. I know you’re not supposed to feed raw with kibble – they should be separate meals. What about treats? I have a bunch of samples from Ziwi Peak. Is it ok to use that food as treats in between meals? Thanks, again!

[Jenny M]

I’ve been reading this thread with interest as I have a small dog who has recently started throwing up pretty much daily. He’s been raw fed and minimally vaccinated since he was a puppy, so I was pretty shocked. Once he lost about 15% of his body weight from all this, I decided to have the endoscopy done on him and I should know the results next week. It showed a “normal looking” stomach with some inflammation in the small intestine so biopsies will be done.
It’s difficult to say if the issues are food related or stress related, as this started about 2 weeks after I brought a new puppy home. Perhaps both as the original vomiting episode was accompanied by a nasty, angry red rash and hives all over his stomach/chest/legs. His skin felt hot to the touch, but thankfully that’s settled. At this point he’s getting Cerenia to control the vomiting (until we’re 100% sure what’s going on, and can either treat the food allergies with a change in protein sources and tweaking what he actually gets, or treating the stress issues perhaps present with the new puppy). I don’t want my dog on Cerenia or Pepcid for the rest of his life, however (like the original poster), I want my dog to be able to keep food down! He’s doing pretty well on Wellness 95% Salmon (NOT a complete diet, and not for long term, but a good start for a food elimination trial and pretty much the best thing I’ve found that agrees with him at this time).
Unless something bad happens, I’m going to start stretching the time he gets the stomach medicine. Instead of every 24 hours, tonight I’m stretching it to 30. Later, perhaps 36, then 48, etc until hopefully his body is able to handle food without the help of the medicine. I do intend to keep it on hand in case of a flare up…
Also, I ordered some things from the b-naturals.com website, Berts Zymes (digestive enzymes) and some other things to help aid dogs having digestive difficulties. If Chewy needs an extra “boost”, it might be something you’d be interested in checking out.