[Liz S]

I’ve always fed a kibble or canned for a dinner treat. But no matter what I do my chi will only eat canned. Vet visits etc. She is fine.

She was on Science Diet. Once I found out how bad it was I tried switching. I gave her ample time. I tried HQ kibble.

I’ve heard good things about Instinct Raw. I got a sample bag of the boost treats and she LOVED them. I think the fact that they weren’t too hard really appealed to her.

I’m going to give this stuff a go I think.

Who else feeds Instinct Raw?

[Dori]

Hi Liz S. NV Instinct raw is one of the foods I use in rotation feeding with my three toy dogs. I also use Answers Detailed, Vital Essentials Raw, Stella & Chewys Raw,
Primal Raw Formulas, OC Raw. In rotation feeding I also use The Honest Kitchen which is a dehydrated food and BDN which is another dehydrated food. The only kibble I have fed recently is Natures Logic Sardine Formula. The food is teeny tiny and they love it and have had no issues. The reason for the kibble after almost three years on raw is that if I have to leave them with someone or travel with them it would be more convenient than traveling lots of raw food which means a number of coolers with ice packs and I’m not Sure I feel completely safe with the food that way. I’ve also tried some freeze dried from a couple of the raw food companies. It’s an expensive process to freeze dry apparently so that’s the reason for freeze dried being so costly.

[Liz S]

Dori would it be ok if I only rotated with the NV Instinct Raw with one MAYBE 2 of those others you mentioned? I have 3 ferrets, 3 dogs and 2 cats. And a 2 yr old. I try to make sure everyone’s getting the best. And I love the idea of a rotation diet. You think 2 would be ok? I could experiment the others later but for now I think money wise I can only do 2. Would mixing the NV with the Natures Logic Sardine kibble be fine? Or should it only be NV mixed with Stella & Chewys Raw? I already know the brand from my ferrets and love it. And when could I give the Natures Logic? Mix it with the raw every once in a while?

It’s hard to get anyones attention about this I need a sponsor or something lol.

Let me know what you think about my rotation idea.

[Liz S]

Also would it be okay if I only used the NV Instinct Raw for awhile? Is that enough nutrition for her?

[Dori]

Hi Liz S. Two brands would be fine. What you can do is rotate protein formulas within the brands so that gives you even more variety in nutrition. I wouldn’t bother to add anything on the Nature’s Logic kibble when you start using it, if you start using it. They are all quality companies with quality ingredients. This way if you feed them separately your dogs will digestive systems will further strengthen allowing them to tolerate different proteins and different ingredients in the foods. I don’t believe in mixing kibble and raw in the same meal. I know plenty of others do. My girls are very small. Kibble and raw digest at different times so I don’t want anything causing any upset. Also though my biggest reason for not mixing meals is that if your dog suddenly develops digestive issues you then have to figure out if it was the food and if it was the food, which one. I like to make it very simple on them and myself.

With rotation, there really isn’t any wrong way to do it. You can feed NV Instinct Raw and when you buy the next food, pick out a different protein. When you’ve gone through all their proteins you can go to a different company and do the same thing. A lot of people rotate from bag to bag or meal to meal. Once your dog’s gut is healthy you can rotate however it’s most convenient for you. That’s one of the beauties of rotation and definitely one of the advantages to raw feeding. No transition periods from food to food. By the way, you can ask me all the questions you’d like. We’re all happy to help on DFA. We raw feeders all started somewhere and most of us got lots and lots of help along the way.

Awwwwww! I love ferrets. My son used to have two of them. Smokey and Bandit. What characters they were and so sweet. Though the did like to nibble on everyone’s ankles. Not fun at all that was for sure. Lots of jumping on sofas and screaming yikes, somebody come help! Funny little guys although not so funny if you were the one they decided needed a little nibble on your ankle.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Dori.

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