[mah4angel]

Thanks HDM!
So, do you think that pretty much any combination of super foods would be a good idea? My Costco has organic baby kale at an AMAZING price. Unfortunately, I prefer “adult” kale (I guess?) so I don’t ever actually buy it. Do you think that kale would be a good superfood for dogs? I don’t know that it’ll be super easy to find alfalfa, wheat grass, kelp, etc. Someone also said they add in berries for antioxidant benefits.
I guess I’m just being cheap and lazy lol. I’m just trying my best to get in a lot of nutrients and whatnot with a little less work hunting down the ingredients and making the food.

[mah4angel]

I also had questions about supplementation with vegetables and with fish oil!
Costco has Wild Alaskan Salmon oil pills (not in the pump like they have at Pet Smart), would these be okay? Coated or uncoated? Do I poke a hole in them and squeeze out the oil? How many mg’s of omega-3’s and 6’s does he need (what should I look for on the label as far as levels are concerned with a supplement like this)?
I also found some Herbacil Artichoke Dietary Supplement at Target, it’s in a little bottle/vile thingy in liquid form, I guess, and it contains artichoke, grapefruit, fennel, prickly pear, apple cider vinegar, and L-Carnitine. What fruit/vegetable supplements would you guys recommend? I just sort of didn’t feel right about the Herbacil (idk, I guess I was looking for something with more superfoods?), and it was a little pricey. I also had no idea how much I should be adding to his food. Maybe a powdered supplement would be better?

Right now, here’s what I’m doing for Louie:
1/2 cup raw whole chicken grind
1/2 tablespoon of golden flax (for fiber and a little extra omega-3’s and 6’s)
1/2 tablespoon of low fat plain yogurt (enzymes/probiotics)
1/2 cup of Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (I’ve kept this in so far because I have yet to figure out my supplementation and this formula has omega-3 sources (fish) very high up on the ingredient list as well as fruits and vegetables… Also, it wasn’t cheap to buy and I still have quite a bit left)

I’m hoping to get here:
1/2 cup raw whole grind (alternating between chicken, beef, pork, etc.)
1/2 cup XKALIBER green tripe grind (greentripe.com)
Some sort of fruit/vegetable supplement (for antioxidants and vitamins)
Some sort of omega-3 supplement (fish oil, whole fish, etc.)
RMB’s: I was giving him pork necks (which were GREAT, he LOVED them!!) but then my mother-in-law cooked them -___________- So now I’ll have to go out and somehow find pork necks for him and freeze them for 3 weeks before I can start giving them to him again, or find some chicken necks or something comparable for his size (he’s a little silky; 10 pounds)
I believe everyone said that I wouldn’t need to add any fiber, enzymes or probiotics because of the green tripe, but I’d like to be sure. Also, any fruit/vegetable supplement should contain fiber, anyway.

Your advice, as always, is much appreciated!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by mah4angel.

[mah4angel]

I live in Steinbeck country so I’m pretty sure I can find some Mexican markets lol 10and I’ve been to a local Asian market that has fish but I can’t remember what kinds. Alrighty, yay, new leads to check out 🙂

[mah4angel]

I wonder if I can get raw whole sardines at Costco?

[mah4angel]

Just noticed I spelled your user name incorrectly sorry *pugmomsandy!
Yeah, Louie doesn’t like eating at the bowl, he loves to take his food out and chew it over our very nice floor rungs -_- LOL. Outside it shall be!

[mah4angel]

pugsmomandy thanks so much for recommending greentripe.com to me! Turns out, the company’s warehouse is 15 minutes away from my house!! I asked if I can do a pick-up, thanks so much, I never would have found it without you AH! I’m very excited ^_^

[mah4angel]

The green tripe that was available in Salinas was canned ($4 a can, ouch) 🙁 I really wanted raw. But I picked up some ground frozen chicken patties with bone and organs for $1.50 per pound. Not TOO shabby since I get to forgo the cost of shipping and don’t have to grind myself.
ALSO, I found out that greentripe.com is based in Hollister! Literally, the warehouse is 15 minutes away from my house o_O I emailed to ask if pick-up was possible. I hope so!

[mah4angel]

Yay! Oh goodness thank you guys ^_^
I found a local place over here in Salinas, CA that sells green tripe! My fiancee and I will be headed over there tomorrow hopefully to check out the prices and variety. It sounds like green tripe is all-around great for my Louie I’m so excited!

[mah4angel]

Okay! So, if he were to eat one pound per day of a normal meal (which would be wayyyy too much for him), I would give .75 pounds of the everyday mixture and then .25 pounds of the sardines, herring, or whathaveyou?

[mah4angel]

I wonder if my Silky would need more oils, I’ll probably start out with one meal a week and then watch his coat.

[mah4angel]

YAY! I see it now, guess it just a little while to work, sorry!

[mah4angel]

I created mine and my profile picture shows up when I go to my profile but not on the forums or in the left-hand corner of my screen by my user name, does it show up for you guys or no?

[mah4angel]

Okay and those won’t mess up the balance of the meal? How much of the fish should I put in?
Okay… I feel like I’m getting it a little now. LOL. I’m a work in progress, I know.

[mah4angel]

Also, does green tripe contain any omega-3’s? Should I add some sources of omega-3’s if not? What are a few different sources of omega-3’s that I can rotate between for variety?

Cyndi is right when she was talking about how great DFA is! It’s so great to be able to come on here and get real opinions from real people without alternative agendas!

[mah4angel]

Okay!

And the other things I might want to add would be fiber and vitamins? What about fruit?

(Sorry, just wanting to clarify) 😀

[mah4angel]

Thanks! pugmomsandy, so, I shouldn’t add anything to the green tripe? Or I shouldn’t add any other protein source? I’m pretty sure I should add veggies and fiber/probiotics/enzymes/vitamins, no?

[mah4angel]

Not this thread, the other one about starting off with raw feeding ^_^

[mah4angel]

Thanks you guys!!
You should post some of your recipes, Cyndi! I read through this thread and your story with Bailey is awesome! I’ve been incorporating little bits of raw into my Louie’s diet already and HIS POOPS ARE SO GREAT RIGHT NOW! 😀 I think the addition of the flax seed and the yogurt has really helped his tummy (enzymes and fiber), but I really think the raw has been helping. Maybe I’m just crazy (I am crazy but, still… hehe) 😀
HDH, I wanted to get the EXKALIBER grind from greentripe.com, how would I use that in a well-balanced diet (since you mentioned boneless meat and not only is the EXKALIBER not boneless, it also has organ meat as well)? In general, it looks to be a good idea to sometimes incorporate bone-in grinds, and sometimes use boneless meat. I also wanted to be feeding RBM’s (I’ve already started with pork necks) for dental health 😀

[mah4angel]

How much is the green tripe and the XKALIBER? It says to call for pricing, but it’d be much easier to just ask here and then head off to work and check back later lol.

[mah4angel]

Based on what I’ve seen of Hare Today, it’s totally great! BUT I live all the way over here in California, and the shipping costs will equal the price of all of the food in my cart no matter what I do 🙁
Does anyone have any suggestions as far as retailers for me that are similar to Hare Today, but closer to me?

[mah4angel]

These meals look so complex and scary to me! I’m trying to do some shopping but it’s very overwhelming.

[mah4angel]

It looks really fatty in the packaging, but I wasn’t sure if that was excessive or normal.
What proteins are lower in fat? Also, do you ladies recommend Hare Today for buying the raw? What are their shipping costs like?

[mah4angel]

HI! I’d like to ask a question or two!

I just started incorporating some raw meat into my dog’s diet. Here’s what I’ve been doing: 2 tbsp or low fat, plain yogurt, 1 tbsp of flax seed, 1/2 cup of Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (as opposed to the 3/4 cup recommendation), and some muscle meat (first I saw doing pre-ground chicken, now I’ve started on half breasts, and some Earthborn Holistic moist tubs-the lamb formula). Thanks to the RMB topic that HDM started, I’m going to be feeding Louie some pork necks that have been in our freezer for a VERY long time, as well. This is just my way of incorporating raw into his current diet slowly. Maybe this is the wrong way to do it, if so, please yell at me and tell me the right way lol.

My first question! Like I said, I’ve been feeding my Louie meat from half breasts (chicken). These half breasts naturally have bone in them (ribs, etc.) but I’ve been cutting away the bone and just feeding the meat. Should I NOT cut away the bone? Should I just chop it up and serve it with the ribs and the rest?

Second question! I found some pork cushion meat at Costco for $1.29 a pound. I have no idea if it would be a good idea to buy it and serve it when we run out of the chicken, or if I should not buy cushion meat (for some reason) .I’m not sure what cushion meat actually is, I’ll probably look it up after I’m done posting this.

Anyway, thanks!!

[mah4angel]

The Quadriguard?

[mah4angel]

Sigh. When the universe sends us a furry friend it should also send us an instruction manual! Haha. I think I’ll try the fiber with his current diet and see if it improves. Maybe it is the fiber. You said on my other post a tablespoon of pumpkin puree? Maybe that will do the trick. That’d be very very nice. I should also add a probiotic even if his stools aren’t too loose. So much to do! Lol. Someone also said that human probiotics are less expensive and work just as well, or maybe I’m confusing that with something else?

[mah4angel]

Yeah 🙁
Now that I look at his history with us, he really has never had consistent or healthy bowel movements. For the most part, his stools are always loose and light-colored. The only consistent thing about the three dry foods we’ve fed him (Purina Puppy Chow-not our choice, Innova Prime Chicken and Turkey, and Earthborn Holistic Primitive. is that they’re all chicken-based (or chicken is the main animal protein). We’ve been doing the Primitive with the Earthborn lamb-based wet food tubs as well. We’ve done plenty of fecal tests with the vet and no parasites… I’m just at a loss.

[mah4angel]

Is it normal after general anesthesia for dogs to have a loss of bowel control/diarrhea? My dog just had an accident and he has never pooped in the house. It was also essentially nothing but liquid 🙁

[mah4angel]

Okay! Makes sense, he’s on heartworm prevention (Quadriguard, which no one at the vet’s office has heard of lol we got it from the previous vet), and flea and tick prevention, And, when my fiancee and I got home yesterday his two little nieces told us that they had been “feeding” him but could not tell me what they were feeding him… Sigh. AND he’s taken a dewormer once in the past two months, I believe. We’re supposed to give him another one even though there were apparently no worms detected in his fecal testing. I trust my vet, but it doesn’t make sense to me.

[mah4angel]

I would avoid the microwave. The radiation changes the molecular structure of whatever is put inside and becomes less bio-available to us and other organisms.

[mah4angel]

I’M SO HUNGRY NOW o_O Hahahahahaha.

I haven’t tried too much gluten-free stuff for myself, I just have a very limited diet. When I’m a little more financially stable, I’ll probably explore more of the gluten-free options out there. For now, it’s just fruits, veggies and occasionally meat for me. I got so worked up about Cesar’s dog food having sodium nitrite only to be reminded that it’s also in pretty much all processed meats, included my all-time favorite Evergood pineapple sausages from Costco 🙁 So, my diet is going to have to be even more restricted now as I look at the labels and inevitably find the sodium nitrite and nitrate as well as MSG in my own food.

I think that’s really how I’ve cracked the code into people’s thinking when they feed their animals the kind of crap that they do. People don’t even really feed themselves that much better, for the most part 🙁 So sad.

[mah4angel]

I really wish I wasn’t allergic to gluten because OH MY GOODNESS I want that pizza NOW!! Hahaha 😀 I love artichokes and AHHHH roasted red pepper! I miss my pizza-eating days!
Thanks! I probably wouldn’t have considered that 🙂 I need to do my research! Phew!

[mah4angel]

So much for me to learn! I’m actually really glad to know that I can feed him table scraps without worry. I’ve always wanted to give him little treats with real food but that stigma that it’s unhealthy held me back big time! I should go to the market after work and get some bell peppers 😀 I also love bell peppers and feta cheese-stuffed olives myself. It’s like we’re soul-mates ^_^

[mah4angel]

Okay! I know that table scraps every now and then isn’t a bad thing, but I always thought it should be avoided on a regular basis so that their diets maintain balance.
I also know that fruit and vegetable seeds are not good for dogs because they contain cyanide.
I’m glad he likes bell peppers, then! It might be a great alternative to traditional treats and a great source of vitamins 😀

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