[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi SuZee –

For chew treats I give my dogs dried tracheas, bully sticks and pig ears. I have never had an issue with any of these – they’re natural treats and species-appropriate, unlike a lot of those “dental chew” type treats you get at the store loaded with carbs, colorings and preservatives. I order from bestbullysticks.com and happydogplace.com – both these sites carry high quality, trustworthy products.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sisu –

I don’t think dog food manufacturers “over state” the amount that should be fed to sell more product. I’ve actually had the opposite experience – my dogs generally eat much more than what’s recommended on feeding charts. There’s no standard when it comes to how much a dog should eat as there are so many variables, so most feeding charts are just a ball park figure. According to SD’s feeding chart a 70 lb. dog should eat about 4 cups a day @ 413 kcal. per cup that’s only 1,652 kcal. per day – my 70 lb. female eats 2,500 kcal. per day.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi mbigdogs –

I feel your pain! I have three bloodhounds – my male is 110 lbs., my adult female is 70 lbs. and my 6 1/2 month old female puppy is pushing 60 lbs and they eat like horses. I feed a homemade raw diet, I order all my food in bulk 300 lb. shipments from a wholesaler that supplies restaurants and grocery stores – I save a significant amount of money this way. Pre-made raw, dehydrated foods and canned foods would pretty much be out of the question – way too cost prohibitive with multiple large dogs. If you want to go the kibble route, some quality cost effective choices would be Merrick’s Whole Earth Farms (4 stars), Pure Balance (3 1/2 stars), Eagle Pack (4 stars), NutriSource (4 stars), Fromm’s Classics Line (3 1/2 stars), Hi-Tek Naturals (3 1/2 stars), Victor (4 stars) and Healthwise (4 stars). All of these foods are in the $35-$40 range for a large bag (usually 30-40 lbs.).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi DrYattz –

You really can’t give a healthy dog too much protein. Most of the Solid Gold formulas (aside from Barking at the Moon) are actually low in protein, so I doubt that was the issue. My dogs eat a raw diet with 45%-55% protein at each meal – about twice as much protein as is in most kibbles. As far as worrying about availability I’d recommend you get your dogs used to rotating foods. Switching between brands and protein sources is MUCH healthier than feeding the same food day in and day out. Once you get your dogs used to it you shouldn’t even have to transition between foods. Before I switched to raw when my oldest was on kibble I got a new brand of food with a new protein source every 2-3 weeks and a rotated canned food toppers daily – he had no digestive issues. All three of my dogs now eat raw and get something different at each meal – no issues here either. The Ol Roy Pure Balance looks like a decent budget friendly food, it’s low in protein and fat though so it’s a good thing you’re adding the chicken.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jan –

I’m so sorry to hear about your Stella. Losing a best friend is rough. My condolences. 🙁

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi busterbrown –

I experienced a similar issue with one my dogs. When she was a puppy she was extremely skinny – it seemed like no matter how much I fed her she was just a skeleton. I couldn’t get any weight on her until I switched her to a high fat diet. She eats a grain-free raw diet now of about 45-55% protein, 30%-40% fat and 15-20% carbohydrates. She’s still slim, but I’ve finally got it to where her ribs and hips aren’t protruding too awfully bad. She put on about 8 pounds in the first 4 months I had her on a high fat raw diet. If your dog needs to gain weight and the excess fat doesn’t cause any intestinal distress, I definitely think higher fat is the way to go. W/d is an extremely poor quality food – as are most prescription foods – and while I go to my vet for advice on lots of things, nutrition isn’t one of them. In some rare/extreme cases I think prescription foods can help stabilize a serious medical condition but I don’t personally believe they should ever be a long term solution. With a sensitive stomach, I think all you really need to do is try some foods and find one that doesn’t cause any issues. I’m willing to bet there’s a non-prescription food that will work. I’d recommend something grain-free and limited in ingredients. Nature’s Variety Instinct has some limited ingredient canned foods that are moderately high in fat, EVO has a 95% Meat line that is high fat and very limited in ingredients, ZiwiPeak would be another great choice. I’d also like to mention Abady – they have a granular food line that is excellent for putting on weight (it’s high fat and very calorie-dense with nearly 800 calories per cup) and dogs with sensitive stomachs seem to do well on it. Abady makes some great canned foods too so that may be something you could check out.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi hvnlysrph –

There’s no reason to “transition” a healthy dog from food to food regardless of if you’re feeding canned or dry. If your dog is accustomed to eating the same food and has eaten the same food for a long period of time you many initially find that you need to transition, however once your dog gets used to switching foods you shouldn’t need to. When my dog ate dry food I got a new brand with a new protein source at the end of every bag (every 2-3 weeks) and rotated canned food toppers daily. All of my dogs now eat a raw diet and get something different at each meal. None have any digestive issues with switching. Switching brands and varieties is the healthiest thing you can do.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi gypsygirl –

A good place for this post would be the Diet and Health issues thread. The difference between grain-free and hypoallergenic is that hypoallergenic foods just avoid common allergens, grain-free is just grain-free. Hypoallergenic foods are often grain free, but they generally use a novel protein as well. Was your dog itching on Orijen? If she wasn’t I’d go back to that, it’s a great food. Dandelion in the food shouldn’t bother her because of pollen allergies. Another food you might want to check out is Nature’s Variety Instinct – they have a Limited Ingredient line that uses novel proteins and it’s grain free and white potato free.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Just noticed a mistake – not sure what I was thinking when I was typing it out – but the eggshell amounts should be half of what I wrote. 1 tsp. ground eggshell for the beef recipe and 1 1/2 tsp. for the venison recipe. Sorry. I noticed it and wanted to correct it in case anyone actually wanted to try these out for themselves. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi shelties mom –

Different bone meals contain different amounts of calcium and phosphorus so you can’t know how much to add unless you know how much calcium and phosphorus is in the bone meal. When using straight calcium (such as ground eggshell) you would add 800 – 1,000 mg. calcium per 1 lb. meat when adding bonemeal, because it contains calcium and phosphorus, you would have to add slightly more – enough to provide around 1,200 mg. calcium per 1 lb. meat. You don’t want to use eggshells and bonemeal – use one or the other.

[Hound Dog Mom]

i8ok –

I think Plato probably does use quite a bit of meat, just fatty meat. For example, if you look at their chicken jerky strips they have 30% protein and 25% fat – boneless, skinless chicken breast is only 10% fat (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/701/2). If they were using organic boneless skinless chicken breast the product would likely be very very expensive and also much lower in fat. Personally, the higher fat content wouldn’t bother me – I typically feed my dogs higher fat foods anyways. If you’re getting a dog treat, especially at the price Plato’s treats are sold for, you’re not going to be getting boneless skinless chicken breast. I’ve never used the strips before, but I have used the Plato’s Farmer’s Market treats and I don’t have an issue with any of their grain-free treats.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hey Melissa –

Why shouldn’t you get two littermates? I’ve never heard that. I just wouldn’t because I could never handle two pups at once.

Hmm..on second thought maybe there’s a link between adopting littermates and divorce. Last time we had a couple adopt two littermates from my shelter (puggles) – they got divorced two months later and had to return the dogs. lol.

[Hound Dog Mom]

No problem. Hoping it helps some people realize it’s not impossible to make a balanced homemade food. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Okay so my dogs have been on their previous menu more about 6 weeks now and I’m about to switch things up for another month or two. I’ll post the new menu I’ll be starting next week to give more ideas to those interested in homemade raw.

Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays

a.m. (divided between 3 dogs)
-1 lb. 90% Lean Ground Beef
-1 lb. Ground Green Beef Tripe
-1 lb. Ground Beef Organs (Heart, Liver, Kidneys, Lungs, Spleen, Trachea, Gullet)
-1 C. Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree*
-1/2 C. Cottage Cheese
-1/2 C. Sprouted Quinoa (run through food processor)
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral*
-1 tbs. Ground Raw Pumpkin Seeds
-1 tbs. Coconut Oil
-1 tbs. Krill Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-2 tsp. Ground Eggshell
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. (per dog)
-2 Turkey Necks (approx. 12 oz.)
-8 oz. Turkey Hearts

Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays

a.m. (divided between 3 dogs)
-3 lbs. Venison Meat and Organ Mix (from a whole deer)
-1 C. Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree
-1 C. Kefir
-2 tbs. Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral
-2 tbs. Sprouted Chia
-1 tbs. Reduced Vitamin A Cod Liver Oil
-1 tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
-3 tsp. Ground Eggshell
-800 i.u. Vitamin E Capsule

p.m. (per dog)
-Chicken Back (approx. 10 oz.)
-Chicken Foot (approx. 2 oz.)
-2 oz. Chicken Gizzards
-2 oz. Chicken Hearts
-2 oz. Chicken Livers
-Egg (without shell)

Sundays

a.m. (per dog)
-2 Whole Prey Quail (Approx. 1 1/2 lbs.)

p.m. -Fast

*Fruit/Vegetable/Herb Puree:
(I make up a big batch running all the ingredients through a food processor and freeze in ice cube trays. After they freeze I store all the cubes in giant ziplock bags in the freezer – each cube is approx. 1 fl. oz.)
-1 lb. Fresh Celery (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Beets (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Carrots (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Fresh Kale (blanch before pureeing)
-1 lb. Frozen Butternut Squash
-1 lb. Frozen Spinach
-1 lb. Frozen Broccoli
-2 Apples
-1 Banana
-1 lb. Frozen Mixed Berries (Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries)
-8 oz. Frozen Cranberries
-2 Bunches Parsley
-2 Bunches Cilantro
-1 Head Garlic

*Whole Food Multi-Vitamin/Mineral Supplement:
-4 oz. Kelp Powder
-4 oz. Alfalfa Powder
-4 oz. Wheatgrass Powder
-4 oz. Spirulina Powder
-4 oz. Chlorella Powder
-4 oz. Bee Pollen Powder
-4 oz. Turmeric Powder

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Shelties Mom –

For a 15 lb. dog I would give about 3/4 tsp. For vitamin e I would give a 200 i.u. capsule every other day or a 400 i.u. capsule once or twice a week.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hey Melissa –

If she has digestive issues and the canned tripe doesn’t cause any problems I’d definitely give it a try. It’s loaded with probiotics and enzymes so it might help her out. I doesn’t seem to me like raw would cause an issue if canned doesn’t…?

[Hound Dog Mom]

I would say that ribs are fine as they aren’t weight bearing – I occasionally give my dogs ribs. I would avoid weight bearing lamb bones (like femurs) but lamb necks make good RMBs for larger dogs (they aren’t weight-bearing so they’re not super dense). Chicken wings are fine but I would be careful giving them to a larger dog, you want to give bones that they actually have to chew not bones that are so small they may swallow them. I personally don’t give chicken wings or necks to my dogs because my dogs are so big I worry that they’ll just swallow them whole. Turkey wings are a good size for large dogs though.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Raw milk naturally contains probiotics – pasteurized milk doesn’t because the pasteurization process destroys the probiotics. I would say that as long as your dog isn’t experiencing any digestive issues that would require high doses of probiotics, feeding him raw milk on a regular basis would be plenty for keeping his gut flora in balance. I feel that for healthy dogs without digestive issues that consume foods naturally rich in probiotics on a regular basis (such as raw green tripe, kefir, raw milk, yogurt, etc.) it’s unnecessary (and kind of a waste of money) to supplement with probiotics.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I personally don’t use any chemicals on my dogs. I use Sentry Natural Defense topical which has pepermint oil, lemongrass oil, cinnamon oil and thyme oil and I put Earth Animals No More Ticks herbal tincture in their food 6 days per week during flea/tick season. My dogs are outdoors a lot, I comb them with a flea comb daily during flea/tick season and have never found a flea or tick on them. All their snap tests have always come up negative for lyme as well. Dogs with weak immune systems are more likely to attract parasites (both internal and external) – so the best and safest way to prevent flea infestations – imo – is building up their immune system. When my dog ate low quality kibble I always had flea issues (I used Advantix on him and he had a flea/tick collar purchased from the vet during the summer). Since I’ve switched to a grain-free raw diet, eliminated chemical flea and tick preventatives, eliminated chemical wormers and limited my use of heart worm preventative and vaccines – I’ve never had any of my dogs get fleas, ticks or intestinal parasites.

[Hound Dog Mom]

That’s the same way I feel and why I personally choose to make everything from scratch. I’m picky about what my dogs eat and every food or supplement out there there’s either something in it that I don’t want there or something that I wish was there that isn’t. By making my own food and supplements I can completely customize everything.

[Hound Dog Mom]

weimlove –

Raw meaty bones are safe – RMBs are those that can be completely consumed (chicken backs, turkey necks, chicken feet, chicken leg quarters, etc.). What you want to avoid are the weight-bearing bones of large ruminants (cows, buffalo, sheep, etc.) – these are called “recreational bones” and would include marrow bones, knuckle bones, etc. I personally don’t feed my dogs any recreational bones because of concern over breaking teeth and even if they don’t break a tooth, chewing bones like these over time can wear down the teeth.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Yes, Great Life foods don’t contain any white potato.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi onlywest –

I add the turmeric because it has anti-cancer properties and is a natural anti-inflammatory. I highly doubt your dog would be allergic to turmeric, however if it is you could certainly just omit the turmeric or pick out another “superfood” to add that’s not in the recipe.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Marie –

Yams would not be considered a white potato. Yams and sweet potatoes are very similar – but not the same. In the United States and Canada the terms “yams” and “sweet potatoes” are often used interchangeably. Yams have about the same glycemic index as sweet potatoes.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Saireah –

That’s really a tough question to answer as each dog is very different. The best thing you can do is monitor his his weight and adjust the food intake accordingly. So many factors can affect the calorie requirements of a dog including size, activity level, age, breed, gender, whether the dog is spayed or neutered, temperature, level of stress, etc. etc. A good place to start would be the feeding recommendation on the bag. Looking at Fromm’s feeding recommendation for their 4 Star line it’s based on an adult dog, so I would find his weight on the chart and double the suggested cups per day (because he’s a puppy and puppies at that age generally require about twice as many calories per pound as an adult dog). When he’s around 6 months old you could probably cut back to about 1 1/2 times the recommended amount for an adult dog. If he gets chubby cut him back, if he looks like he’s losing weight increase his feedings. Starting with the feeding chart on the bag is the and adjusting from there is the best suggestion I can give you. From personal experience though, you’ll probably have to adjust it. Just as an example, by 68 lb. spayed female eats the same amount as my 110 lb. unaltered male – doesn’t make any sense, right? According to Dr. Mike’s dog food calculator she should get 1,639 calories per day – she eats 2,500 calories per day.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Naya –

If you read through the comments on the Blue Buffalo threads and checkout the complaints about Blue Buffalo on consumer affairs, you’ll see that many people’s dogs are getting diarrhea on Blue. A friend of mine actually started her new puppy on Blue this past summer and she had horrible diarrhea for a month, she then switched the food and it cleared up within a day. I’d recommend just picking any 5 star food and add a few spoonfuls on plain canned pumpkin to boost the fiber rather than specifically looking for food based on fiber content (that would greatly limit your choices). You may also want to consider getting a high quality digestive supplement with pro-biotics and enzymes to get your dog’s digestive system back on track. This is a really good one: http://total-zymes.com/total-biotics.html . Good luck!

[Hound Dog Mom]

I don’t see why the AVMA needs to keep sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong – it’s not their business how someone wants to raise their dogs. Whether someone wants to feed kibble and vaccinate every year or feed raw and never vaccinate – it’s the owner’s choice. I sure feel bad for all you guys that show your dogs..

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jens –

Check out the “Transitioning to Raw” thread and the “Suggested Raw Dog Food Menus?” thread – there are a lot of tips on getting started and some recipes there. Dogaware.com is a great resource for beginners and I would also recommend purchasing a copy of “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” by Steve Brown – it’s a very comprehensible and quick read, a great book for raw newbies. As for a grinder, I personally don’t use a grinder for my RMBs – your dogs miss out on the dental benefits if you grind the bones. I know a few people here do use grinders though, maybe one of them will pop in with what kind they have.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well I asked for the “average calcium level” of the grain-free Kinesis. The reason I email each company directly and ask for the average is because what’s stated on the website and product packaging is the guaranteed minimum, not what’s actually in the food. Generally the average calcium level is quite a bit higher than the stated minimum. Dr. Tim’s site states 0.97% min – so when I asked for the average I’m assuming he gave me the average for that formula. Then for the grain-free the min is 1.51%, so the average is likely somewhere around 1.8% or so. Hope that makes sense!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Saireah –

Thanks for pointing that out about the Dr. Tim’s – I’ll have to remove it from the list. I got the percentage from Dr. Tim’s customer service, I emailed them and asked them for the average calcium percentage of the grain-free Kinesis. Looking at their site, I think there was some confusion and they accidentally gave me the calcium level for the grain-inclusive Kinesis. I had the email saved and checked it and I did say grain free Kinesis, so it must have been a mix up.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Marie –

Kefir is a fermented milk beverage. The consistency is somewhere between yogurt and milk. It’s a lot richer in probiotics than milk and most brands I’ve seen contain at least 10 strands. I buy it for my dogs at the grocery store. I think that for healthy dogs that don’t need specialized supplementation it’s a much cheaper way to give them some probiotics.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Loren –

NWC Nature’s makes a great digestive supplement called Total Biotics, it’s the best I’ve seen. It has 14 strains of probiotics, prebiotics and enzymes. Some other good probiotics are Mercola’s and Garden of Life’s Primal Defense. Adding a spoonful or two of canned pumpkin might be a good idea too, the fiber in the pumpkin can help firm things up.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I wouldn’t feed D/D to a dog with allergies. The D/D salmon is only 18% protein (the minimum a dog needs to survive) and the first two ingredients are potatoes. There are too many high quality limited ingredient diets available for anyone to need to go with a food like this. Many companies out there are very trustworthy as far as ingredients (many even utilize human grade ingredients) on the label matching what’s in the bag. If ingredients being accurate truly is a concern homemade would be a much better option. I think in some extreme cases prescription foods may be necessary to get a condition under control but they aren’t a long term solution, they’re low quality and over priced. There are commercial foods out there that will help dogs with most conditions and I believe a homemade diet can be formulated to help most any condition.

[Hound Dog Mom]

The carbohydrate content listed on EVO’s website isn’t on a dry matter basis, however the carbohydrate content Dr. Mike has listed is still way off the mark. EVO lists the carbohydrate content as 12% – converting percents to a dry matter basis for kibble doesn’t alter anything significantly as the moisture content of kibble is so low -and converting to dry matter basis only changes it by 1%, it’s 13% carbohydrates (max) on a dry matter basis. 13% is a big difference from the 21% carbohydrates stated on the EVO review. Like Sandy said, Dr. Mike estimates the ash content, so the carbohydrate contents listed on his reviews are most generally not going to be accurate, they give a good idea but without the actual ash content there’s no way of knowing the actual carbohydrate content. If someone really wanted the actual carbohydrate content of a food they’re better off contacting the company directly.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hey James –

Have you checked out Wysong Epigen? 60% protein/12% fat.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Paul –

If you think the issues are food related I would say step one would be to eliminate corn, soy and gluten containing grains (wheat, barley, oats, rye). Give it a few weeks, if that doesn’t work I’d try a grain-free food. If you still don’t have any success you may want to consider a limited ingredient diet with a novel protein source that doesn’t contain grains or white potato. Hope that helps.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Lab man –

I’m so sorry to hear about your dog, it’s not fun watching your best friend be in pain. I’m a little confused about your post though – you say she’s old and can’t stand on three legs, but that she doesn’t have hip dysplasia and isn’t in pain? I’m going to assume you made a typo and are looking for a joint supplement, otherwise I’m not really sure what you’re looking for.

For a senior dog experiencing arthritis I would recommend a supplement to maintain and rebuild the joints, a pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory.

I think Wysong has the most well-rounded joint supplements I’ve seen. Their “Joint Complex” has a blend of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans that will help to maintain joints, cartilage, tendons and connective tissue. Their “Arthegic” has several ingredients designed to moderate inflammation and pain including: boswellia serata, sea cucumber, turmeric, ginger, devil’s claw, yucca, red pepper and cetyl myristoleate. I have used both supplements myself and also on occasion for my senior dog. Personally if one of my dogs was experiencing severe arthritis issues I would put it on these two supplements or find other supplements with similar ingredients. Natural anti-inflammatories are a much safer option than steroids and NSAIDS that vets frequently prescribe – imo. They can be purchased here: http://www.wysonghealth.net/nsf-health-supplements.php.

I feel it would also be a good idea to start to give your dog a fish oil capsule every day – the omega 3’s in fish oil have an anti-inflammatory effect and the fish oil is a rich source of dha which senior dogs have difficulty producing.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well then you obviously have to adopt both lol! Shelties are pretty small I bet two of them put together wouldn’t eat too much. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well I’m sure Brother’s doesn’t have a high glycemic index, looking at the protein levels I’d assume there’s a lot of meat and a relatively small amount of tapioca. But definitely, adding fresh meat and eggs would lower the “glycemic” load even more. Starches are a necessary evil in kibble, but by choosing a quality food with minimal starch levels (like in Brother’s) and adding even more fresh meat (high protein, low glycemic) you’re getting the percentages even closer to those in the ancestral diet – what everyone should be aiming for. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Mike P –

You’re right – potato has a high glycemic index. However what you want to look at is glycemic load – glycemic load measures how the food will impact blood sugar based on the amount of the food eaten. Meaning, just because a food contains an ingredient that is high glycemic doesn’t necessarily mean the food as a whole is high glycemic. For example, Orijen contains white potato (a high glycemic ingredient) however, because they use such a small amount of white potato and such a large volume of meat, the food as a whole is low glycemic (certified low glycemic by the glycemic research institute). Looking at EVO’s protein content (without calling the company) I would assume the food is likely low glycemic. Also, not all of EVO’s formulas contain white potato – the weight management formula (which looks like a wonderful option for dogs with diabetes) is white potato free and has 52% protein and 15% fat, the fish formula is white potato free as well. Now on the flip side, you could use a binder with a lower glycemic index than white potato but if the food is a lot lower in protein/contains much less meat and higher in carbs/contains more binder – that food could actually have a greater impact on blood sugar then a food that contains a large volume of meat and a small amount of a high glycemic binder. White potato and tapioca are both high glycemic but if used in a high quality food with a large volume of meat and only minimum amounts of binders, they shouldn’t affect blood sugar significantly. That’s my understanding (James feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Shawna –

Check out sproutpeople.org – they have tons of stuff and that’s where they’re selling the sprout kit for dogs. I LOVE Ezekiel products – my freezer is full of them! In fact for lunch yesterday I had a spinach and mushroom omelet with one of their English muffins and before bed I had a PB&J on their cinnamon raisin bread. I’m going to attempt to try and make my own bread soon.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Thanks Shawna, that’s good to know. I’ve been doing a lot of sprouted grains and other sprouted foods for myself and I was thinking about incorporating some sprouts into the dogs’ diet (I’ve been giving them sprouted chia once in awhile but that’s it). I found a mix specifically for dogs that has red clover, alfalfa, broccoli, 7 types of lentils, mung beans and hulless oats – wasn’t sure about feeding because of the lentils and oats…sounds like it’d be fine if I use it as the veggie portion of their meal a couple days a week though?

[Hound Dog Mom]

If you decide to get one be sure to post pictures! 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Do sprouted grains and legumes contain lectins?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Can’t say I agree that adding tapioca to raw would be a good idea. I wouldn’t reduce the protein content of my dogs’ food, up the carb content and glycemic load to add pre-biotics when there are much more species-appropriate pre-biotics that can be added without altering the protein and carbohydrate content and glycemic load. Chicory root, burdock root, dandelion root and garlic are all pre-biotics. Many can be purchased in concentrated tinctures specifically for pets that add appreciable amounts of pre-biotics to the diet. I’ve used Prebiotic Plus herbal tincture from Animals’ Apawthecary before and I also add minced raw garlic 2 or 3 times a week. With kibble a starch is obviously necessary, so it’s great to use a starch that has some sort of benefit (such as the pre-biotics in tapioca) because you have to have it, but a raw diet gives the opportunity to completely eliminate starches and that (in my opinion) is the beauty of a raw diet and why I think dogs thrive so much more on raw than on kibble.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Lucky! I would love to have something like that locally. I have to make everything from scratch or have it shipped – downside of living in the middle of nowhere. I wish I had something like Hare Today or MPC locally, I’d be in heaven – or well, the dogs would be in heaven. The only thing that prevents me from ordering Hare Today and MPC grinds for every meal is shipping costs.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Got this in my email today:

“Urgent: If you believe in Homeopathic Therapies for Pets, PLEASE READ THIS”

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/01/04/homeopathic-therapy.aspx?e_cid=20130104_PetsNL_art_1

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi James –

I think I take a slightly different approach to evaluating kibbles than some others. I feel that all binders have their pro’s and con’s and I don’t believe that any (grains, potatoes, tapioca, legumes) are species-appropriate for dogs. I’d rather pick a food based on overall meat/protein content rather than ruling out a food based on the binder used – because ideally there should only be a very small amount of the binder (not enough to significantly affect glycemic load) and different foods with different binders should be fed rotationally in order to mitigate the negative aspects of any one food. You need to remember that the amount of the binder used is most important. Just because a food contains a high glycemic ingredient (like tapioca or white potato) doesn’t necessarily mean the food itself is high-glycemic. For example, Orijen contains white potato but it is a a certified low glycemic food by the glycemic research institute because the amount of white potato included in the food is so small that it doesn’t have a significant affect on the overall glycemic load of the food. When I fed kibble I rotated through tapioca-based foods, potato based foods, legume-based foods and would even occasionally use a grain-inclusive food if the grains used weren’t too offensive (I don’t mind millet or quinoa on occasion) and the protein levels were high. Luckily now I make my own food and don’t have to add any binders.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Unfortunately when it comes to shipping frozen raw food, that’s about as cheap as it’s going to get (wish places that sold raw offered free ground shipping!). For where I’m located, it costs me about $28 to have 50 lbs. of food shipped from Hare Today – VERY reasonable in comparison to many other places I’ve checked out (I’ve priced some and had them quote me over $200 to ship 50 lbs.). They key is finding a place to order from that’s close enough where you don’t have to pay for overnight or 2 day shipping – I’m in New York and Hare Today is in Pennsylvania so I can just get ground shipping.

Also, something else I noticed I forgot to mention before that I figure I probably should mention if you’re going to be ordering green tripe (you may already know this, but just in case) – green tripe has a naturally balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1:1 (unlike all other muscle meats and organ meats that are high in phosphorus but have no calcium) so when you feed green tripe you don’t need to add any supplemental calcium, it can be a meal on it’s own.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Try hare-today.com or mypetcarnivore.com – I order mine from these two sites (the green tripe supermix from mpc is my crew’s all time favorite). Both have reasonable prices and reasonable shipping.

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