[RescueDaneMom]

Yes, it’s crazy. I can’t afford that. I live in FL so I have to get 50lbs of food for free shipping from Reel Raw but that’s not a problem for me. 🙂 Thanks again for sharing that. I will definitely be buying from them in the future. I have to use up what I have first 😉

[RescueDaneMom]

Holy Cow! They ship 40lbs free!? That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing. The last time I went to place an order with MPC (a month or so ago), the shipping was around $50 for 26lbs of food (which is the most that will fit in one of their boxes).

[RescueDaneMom]

You can add the coconut oil to her food as well. Check out Nzymes.com. My Dane has been on Nzymes for six years. He had really dry, flaky skin when I got him. I think this product along with the right food really helped him.

[RescueDaneMom]

I definitely agree with Marie and C4C. Your GSD’s will need more than what is available in a food to help their joints. There are some threads in the Supplements forum on joint supplements. I am currently using some from Springtime Inc.

[RescueDaneMom]

I’ve never purchased from Hare but I have purchased from My Pet Carnivore. I loved MPC. I would be a more regular user but the shipping kills me. If you are looking for some variety in your mastiff’s diet, MPC makes some great mixes of grinds. My Dane really liked the Beef Tripe Supermix and the Lamb Supreme.

[RescueDaneMom]

Case-

I have a Great Dane. I agree that it depends on the size of the dog. The most important thing is to NOT feed a food that is only approved for Adult Maintenance by AAFCO to your puppy. I would feed an “All Life Stages” or puppy food (they truly are the same thing) until at least 1 year. If you have a large breed, then 2 years. If you have a giant breed (like a Dane), then 3 years. I also agree with aquariangt about vets. My vet and I butt heads over what I feed my dog. I choose to feed The Honest Kitchen and raw. My vet says that feeding Purina or Iams is just as good and all I’m doing is wasting my money on expensive dog food. I told him that we’ll have to agree to disagree and we don’t speak on the subject anymore.

I hope this is helpful. Just my two cents 🙂

[RescueDaneMom]

Mine did. In the directions it says not to grind bones but it handled chicken bones just fine. I ground all of the bones except the leg bones. I think I maybe could have ground those too if I broke them up with a mallet first but I didn’t want to break it on my first run. 😉

[RescueDaneMom]

A puppy food has to meet AAFCO standards for growth and reproduction. An “All Life Stages” or “ALS” food meets the standards for Adult Maintenance and Growth & Reproduction so it is also suitable to feed a puppy. Adult Maintenance foods are only appropriate for adults but are generally lower in protein. I personally would only feed an ALS food.

[RescueDaneMom]

These articles may shed some light on the topic for you:

/frequently-asked-questions/aafco-nutrient-profiles/

/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-vitamin-mineral-standards/

[RescueDaneMom]

I agree with Sandy. It’s always good to feed foods from multiple companies because their vitamin/mineral mixes will be slightly different and you can cover your bases that way. I wouldn’t stop using Champion, but I would start to try other foods just in case you don’t want to feed Champion in the future.

I was looking at Boreal Pet Foods yesterday. They are Canadian and the ingredients and profile of the foods looks similar to Acana (but it is legume-based). Another great Canadian company is Petcurean. They make 3 different lines: Now Fresh, Go!, and Summit (not available in the US so I’ve never used it). Between the Now and Go!, I prefer their Go! formulas. Also, Horizon is Canadian- great food and a great company. Their Legacy line is grain-free and their Complete line is grain-inclusive.

Hope that helps!

[RescueDaneMom]

No problem! 🙂 It’s Organic Coconut Extra Virgin Oil by Better Body Foods. It has a purple label.

[RescueDaneMom]

I get my coconut oil at BJ’s. 36 ounces for around $10. Can’t beat it. I give my Dane 3T per day.

[RescueDaneMom]

Not necessarily Cindy. The problem with just beef is that it contains a good amount of water which is cooked out when the kibble is extruded. After cooking the percentage of beef is much lower. Beef meal is a concentrated form of beef. As long as the company is trustworthy I wouldn’t worry about them using a named meat meal like beef meal as it is likely a high quality meal. I wouldn’t want to feed all meat meals though which is why rotation is important.

[RescueDaneMom]

I just wanted to get a sense of what people are using and what they like. My top 5 would be:
The Honest Kitchen
Primal
Stella & Chewy’s
Tucker’s Raw
Orijen

Max is getting tired of The Honest Kitchen and doesn’t really want to eat it anymore regardless of the variety. I started giving him kibble again even though I don’t really want to. Right now he is eating Orijen with his raw (Primal, S&C, Tucker’s, and Vital Essentials). I was looking in to other kibble brands but I want to try going grain-free AND potato-free for Max’s arthritis to see if it helps any.

[RescueDaneMom]

When our rottie had cancer I used The Honest Kitchen Embark, Thrive, and Preference. I also used Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance. Both foods are dehydrated. We also used low carb kibbles such has Horizon Legacy, Pulsar, Orijen, and Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural. I would also make homecooked food too for variety. He had lymphoma and battled it with chemo for 10 months.

[RescueDaneMom]

The Orijen LB Puppy has borderline too much calcium. If you read back in this thread, I believe it was stated a few times. I can’t remember the actual number but it slightly higher than what one would want to feed a LB/Giant puppy.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Yvonne E,

Do you happen to live in FL? Maverick Pet Foods is located in Hollywood, FL. I live in Central Florida and my local pet boutique carries the Genesis Raw made by Maverick. From what I can tell they look like a good company. I wouldn’t mind if DFA did a review for Nature’s Kitchen and Genesis RAW both made by Maverick Pet Foods. Although, I think these products may only be available in FL. I’m not sure what their distribution is like and if they are available outside FL or not.

[RescueDaneMom]

I don’t use Petflow regularly. I prefer Chewy.com. That’s weird that they said that. I’m pretty sure they are not discontinued as you can buy the 2lb boxes in those 4 flavors directly from HK as a starter pack.

[RescueDaneMom]

I paid too.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Leslie,

Your welcome. On a dry matter basis, Embark is 38% carbs and Love is 37%. You could definitely achieve even lower carbs by using the Preference and adding meat at a 2:1 ratio (2 cups meat to 1 cup Preference). The ONP Max Meat has 26% carbs on a DM basis. You could certainly try it and see if he does any better on it.

I don’t want to hijack this thread to talk about a cancer diet (because there is SO much information on it). If you want we can start a new thread or you can email me at ccapobianco85(at)gmail(dot)com.

-Caroline

[RescueDaneMom]

leslie, I’m on my lunch break so I don’t have much time to write as much as I want. My family’s rottweitler battled lymphoma for 10 months with chemo treatments. I fed him THK Embark and Preference. When using Preference, I only gave him cooked protein. No raw for compromised immune systems. I also fed some low carb kibbles (Horizon Legacy and Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural) as well as homecooked food. Please let me know if you need more info. I’d be glad to share our experience if it can help someone else.
-Caroline

[RescueDaneMom]

It is completely up to you. Not all of the Weruva varieties are made in Thailand. I noticed that too when I was buying canned food. I never bought the ones that were made in Thailand but that’s just my personal preference. They’re probably fine. I’ve never heard any complaints about them.

[RescueDaneMom]

So what I concluded from that is THK was removed because of their response to the alfalfa complaint. That seems to me what was said without actually being said.

[RescueDaneMom]

Good for you, jakes mom. It really is a great product. I’ve been feeding it for 6 years and my dog loves it. I have heard of dogs that just don’t care for it though. Hopefully yours isn’t one of those. 😉

[RescueDaneMom]

Your welcome, Bobby dog. I’m glad he’s like it.

Exactly Akari, you can add water slowly and mix until you get the consistency you want. You can also make batches of it up instead of at every meal time. I make enough to last me two days. I put 4 cups in a container, add enough water until it’s still loose and the extra water soaks in as it sits in the fridge overnight. I find that the Keen works better that way as the oats soak up a lot of water. It’s just a preference of mine but I like letting it sit overnight so all the fruits and veggies have a chance to soak up enough water so they aren’t hard anymore. I feel it makes them easier to digest. Just my two cents.

Akari, let us know what your dogs think of it.

[RescueDaneMom]

I mix kibble with raw for my dog. He has no problems with it.

[RescueDaneMom]

For Embark and Love, try 1/2 cup of water first then add more until you get the consistency you want. Keen and Force soak up more water than Embark and Love in my opinion, so you might need to use 1 cup of water then add more if necessary.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi cindy q,

I had to double check that because I refuse to use a food that has ANY ingredients from China. THK has a page that lists where all of their ingredients come from: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/the-benefits/our-ingredients

They have a table on the right hand side of the page that says “where our food is from.” If you click on Asia & Africa, you will see that nothing comes from China (see below, copied and pasted from website). Personally, I am ok with where all of these products come from.

Papaya: Our papaya is grown in plantations in Thailand. Papaya is a rich source of proteolytic enzymes. These are the chemicals that enable the digestion of protein.

Banana: Our bananas are from the Philippines. Bananas contain all 8 essential amino acids and are filled with vitamin B6, C, carotenoids, fiber, magnesium, potassium (electrolytes) and another good source of phytonutrients.

Organic Coconut: Our certified organic coconuts come from Thailand. Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It also has many wonderful nutrition benefits including anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

Chicory: Our chicory is grown on the plains of India. It is a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium and manganese.

Organic Basil: Our fragrant basil is from Egypt, and is now certified organic along with several of our other ingredients. Basil is high in vitamins and also possesses anti-bacterial properties.

Parsley: Our flat-leaf parsley is from Egypt. Parsley is high in vitamins, antioxidants and iron.

[RescueDaneMom]

Interesting, Patty. I suppose that could be why HK was removed. Though, I personally think it’s a little extreme to remove them because of one person’s interaction with them. I’m sure the other companies on the list have had people that weren’t happy with their customer service. On the whole, HK has pretty good customer service compared to a lot of other companies. I didn’t experience the problems with the alfalfa and I was using Zeal at the time too. Oh well. That’s why I use everything on DFA as a guide to help me make my own decision about things.

[RescueDaneMom]

Thank you! Happy Mother’s Day to you as well. Max is my only baby so he is spoiled rotten. He will be 8 on the 22nd. As an old man, he doesn’t eat as much as he once did. Plus, he’s a couch potato so he doesn’t need a ton of calories. I go through a 10lb box in a month. I guess that’s probably a lot compared to what you use. 🙂

As far as the other 50%, I make sure it is close to balanced. If I give extra boneless meat I will add the appropriate amount of bone meal so I don’t throw off the Ca/P ratio. He gets one soft cooked egg (cooked white but runny yolk) with his breakfast every morning. I use Primal grinds that have ground bone. I also use complete and balanced raw formulas. If you add extras and don’t plan to balance them, then just make sure it is not more than 20% of your dog’s meal by volume.

[RescueDaneMom]

I have no clue why it was removed from the list but if your dogs are doing well on it, I wouldn’t stop feeding it because it is not on the Editor’s List. Keep in mind that the list is the opinion of a few people (granted they are knowledgeable). If I had to guess, I doubt it’s because of their company or practices. It may be because of price or availability issues. I really can’t think of any other issues that would keep it from the list. They are an impeccable company.

I have been feeding HK for 6 years. I first started using it as a topper. Now I use it as the base of my dog’s diet. I feed Max 50% HK (Embark, Love, and Keen). The other 50% is made of raw and additions like eggs and kefir. Occasionally I will make homecooked food for a change. In my personal opinion, HK is better for your dog than any of the kibbles on the EC list because it is less processed than kibble. It is dehydrated so it is exposed to low heat but dehydration is a much gentler process than extrusion which is what it takes to make kibble. I made the switch to feeding half HK because I didn’t want to feed kibble anymore and it is so much more convenient than homemade food.

I hope that this post is helpful to you. Also, if you are a regular user, I would contact HK about buying directly from them. They give a bulk discount as well and you earn points toward free food with every purchase.

[RescueDaneMom]

Here are a few books that I have found very helpful for homemade dog food:

Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats by Beth Taylor and Karen Shaw Becker DVM
Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet: Healthier Dog Food the ABC Way by Steve Brown
Feed Your Best Friend Better: Easy, Nutritious Meals and Treats for Dogs by Rick Woodford
Dr. Khalsa’s Natural Dog: A Holistic Guide for Healthier Dogs by Deva Khalsa

All are available on Amazon and most in Kindle ebook format. The first two are great for explaining the nitty gritty details of food like protein, fat, etc (what they need and why they need it). It’s more than just recipes. I would recommend getting at least one of those. It’s very important to make complete and balanced meals if you’re doing homemade. I make some homemade food for my dog. I don’t have time to do solely homemade. It can definitely be affordable. You’ll probably want to buy meat in bulk at a wholesale club (sam’s, costco, etc) and incorporate foods that are on sale at the time.

Edit: This is also a great online resource for homemade food- http://www.dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by RescueDaneMom.

[RescueDaneMom]

I agree Betsy.

[RescueDaneMom]

I got the email too and took advantage of it. Max goes through a 10lb box of HK every month because I feed it as 50% of his diet.

Naturella- the key to HK is too keep the bag sealed when you aren’t using it. The big box has a zipper like closure on the bag (like a Hefty zip bag). I’m not sure if the 2lb size will or not. If it doesn’t, then I would just put it in a ziploc bag to keep it dry and fresh. Leaving it out in room temperature like kibble is fine. You just don’t want moisture to get in it.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi weezerweeks,

Just because your dog doesn’t like Honest Kitchen doesn’t mean he won’t like freeze-dried. HK has a lot of veggies and some dogs just don’t like it. I would try a freeze-dried food that is mostly meat. Orijen, Primal, and Stella & Chewy’s all make freeze-dried foods (in either patties or nuggets). You reconstitute them in warm water.

I agree with GizmoMom. If your dog is doing well on canned only then I wouldn’t add kibble back.

[RescueDaneMom]

I feed my Dane 3x/day as well.

[RescueDaneMom]

I believe you are correct, aquariangt. Protein is not the culprit. Overall calories is the culprit and fats contribute more calories to a food than protein does. On a 1 gram basis, fats contribute 9 calories and protein contributes 4 calories. Higher protein foods tend to have more fat as well so they are naturally more calorie dense. I personally would not feed a food with only 18% protein. That is way too low in my opinion, especially for an adult dog. I have been feeding my Dane foods with 30-38% protein for the last 6 years. Granted every dog is different, but I wouldn’t rule out high protein foods unless your dog doesn’t do well with them.

[RescueDaneMom]

cindy q,
I love The Honest Kitchen. I’ve been using it for almost 6 years. I think it would be a great alternative for raw for you. I’ve never used Fresh Pet so I don’t have an opinion on that.

[RescueDaneMom]

If I had to rank commercial foods in order of preference, I would say raw first, then dehydrated/freeze-dried, then kibble. Primal and Stella & Chewy’s make complete and balance raw formulas. Darwin’s is also complete and balanced plus they ship right to your door (you can’t buy it in a store). For dehydrated food, I like The Honest Kitchen. Grandma Lucy’s is similar but freeze-dried instead of dehydrated. If you want kibble, then I agree that Orijen is one of the best kibbles you could feed.

I feed my Great Dane (also a rescue) a 50/50 mix of The Honest Kitchen and commercial raw. I try to rotate as many different brands and proteins of raw as I can. I use Primal, Stella & Chewy’s, Tucker’s, Vital Essentials, and Genesis Raw (local to FL). I do keep a small bag of Orijen Adult on hand for when I forget to thaw out raw or I’m in a hurry.

If I were you, I would try to locate a small, independent pet store or pet boutique. They tend to carry the quality kibbles and also raw/dehydrated foods. They will usually special order things for you as well.

I hope this helps and good luck!

[RescueDaneMom]

Like with anything else, I like to rotate. I’ve used stoneybrook, chobani, and fage yogurt. I like the Greek style yogurts better because they have more protein than regular yogurt. I also like to use kefir because it has more strains of probiotics. The Lifeway brand makes and organic kefir that has 10 strains. I haven’t used any in awhile because Max doesn’t really care for the taste of yogurt or kefir. I’ve been using a human probiotic capsule from swanson’s (Dr. Langer’s I think) which works well.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi! I wanted to comment since I have a giant dog and use an elevated feeder. I have been using an elevated feeder for Max since I brought him home. He is 36″ tall at the shoulder and his bowl is held at 24″. It is at a height where he can comfortably eat. I don’t know whether an elevated feeder prevents or causes bloat but I can tell you that Max has never had an issue with bloat in the 6 years that I have had him and fed him from an elevated feeder. I can’t imagine feeding a Great Dane on the floor. In my personal opinion, elevated feeders are important for taller dogs to eat comfortably.

[RescueDaneMom]

My Dane chatters when he is nervous/anxious.

[RescueDaneMom]

I’m not that savvy with evaluating vitamins and minerals. It looked like a lot to me. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t overkill and there wasn’t anything added that shouldn’t be. I’ve never heard of the company before but the owners of Woof Gang Bakery in Apopka (my new local pet store) rave about this food. It is somewhat local, made on the west coast in FL.

Thanks for the input, Patty. I really appreciate it!

[RescueDaneMom]

Opinions? Patty? HDM? Please.

[RescueDaneMom]

I wanted to chime in on the THK topic. I have been using it for about 6 years now. I’ve used every formula they make. I recently bought a box of Zeal and didn’t notice any abnormally large alfalfa pieces in it. I just joined recently so I didn’t know they were on the list and subsequently removed from it but I think they deserve to be on it. So I would nominate The Honest Kitchen.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Dori,

I am going through something similar. I did regular bloodwork on my Dane in February and his liver enzymes came back high. His AST was 150, ALT was 720, and Alk Phosphatase was 267. Everything else was normal. They put him on milk thistle and Sam-E. We are rechecking his bloodwork this Saturday (after 6 weeks on the meds). I was giving him white willow for his arthritis and we’re hoping that is the cause and nothing more serious. White willow (like aspirin) can cause liver damage with prolonged use. He was drinking more before (but not excessively). I’ve notice in the last few weeks that he’s not drinking as much so hopefully things are looking up.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into diet as well in case his liver values are still high on this recheck. Darwin’s makes a prescription diet for dogs with liver issues that is made with white fish. It’s pricey (6.95/lb I think) but I’d do anything for him.

-Caroline

[RescueDaneMom]

Misinformation tends to spread faster and farther than factual information. I’ve fed my adult Great Dane high protein foods since I got him 6 years ago. He is 8 now and is in excellent condition. I agree with HDM. I would choose several foods from the 4 and 5 star foods to rotate. That’s what I was doing when I was feeding kibble.

[RescueDaneMom]

MastiffLove,

“i can mix the meat(s) fruits and boiled veggies and freeze and once thawed out add the supplements before serving.” – Yes, this is exactly what I would do.

I buy ground tripe as well for the same reasons as Patty (theBCnut). It’s pretty gross smelling stuff but the dogs love it!

Also, don’t worry about asking too many questions. Most people here want to help and we all started where you are at one point in time. I’ve only been doing this for about 6 months and I still have questions some times.

[RescueDaneMom]

Transferring my answer:

Hi MastiffLove,
I am answering your questions based on what I do and my knowledge and experience.

1- Yes, it is called green tripe. You may be able to get it from a butcher. For human consumption, they bleach the tripe which removes all the good stuff for our dogs.

2- Yes, you can grind necks if you don’t want to feed them whole.

3- Some people see vegetables as being optional. It is up to you if you want to include them. Remember that freezing can damage the enzymes in food so don’t keep food frozen for too long. I try to only have food frozen for a month or less. The Spirugreen is not a replacement for veggies. It is a green algae supplement. I wouldn’t freeze it. I would add it right before feeding.

4- I would puree fruits. You can feed in pieces but you will notice that some will come out just like they went it (example- the skin of the apple won’t be digested very well).

5- Sweet potato is a starchy root vegetable that has carbs. It can be used as a nutritious filler to bulk up meals for dogs that need a lot of food. It also contains high levels of vitamin a, vitamin c, and manganese.

6- Urban Wolf is a pre-mix that is meant to be used with meat only (no bone) as it contains enough calcium to balance the meat without bone. I believe Dr. Harvey’s is more of an herbal supplement and can be added to meat with bone.

7- I would suggest rotating different products for your supergreens. Try one then a different one. Variety is good!

8- Did you mean adding the product from question 7? From that quote I would think that adding some veggies is ok but not to overdo it. You wouldn’t want 50% of your pup’s diet to be veggies. I’d think you’d be ok having 5-10% veggies in the diet.

9- I would not freeze supplements like greens or fish oil. They may loose some of their effectiveness. I add my supplements right before feeding. I have the meat and/or meat/veggie mix portioned and frozen, then I thaw what I can use in 3 days.

I hope that helps.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi MastiffLove,

I am answering your questions based on what I do and my knowledge and experience.

1- Yes, it is called green tripe. You may be able to get it from a butcher. For human consumption, they bleach the tripe which removes all the good stuff for our dogs.

2- Yes, you can grind necks if you don’t want to feed them whole.

3- Some people see vegetables as being optional. It is up to you if you want to include them. Remember that freezing can damage the enzymes in food so don’t keep food frozen for too long. I try to only have food frozen for a month or less. The Spirugreen is not a replacement for veggies. It is a green algae supplement. I wouldn’t freeze it. I would add it right before feeding.

4- I would puree fruits. You can feed in pieces but you will notice that some will come out just like they went it (example- the skin of the apple won’t be digested very well).

5- Sweet potato is a starchy root vegetable that has carbs. It can be used as a nutritious filler to bulk up meals for dogs that need a lot of food. It also contains high levels of vitamin a, vitamin c, and manganese.

6- Urban Wolf is a pre-mix that is meant to be used with meat only (no bone) as it contains enough calcium to balance the meat without bone. I believe Dr. Harvey’s is more of an herbal supplement and can be added to meat with bone.

7- I would suggest rotating different products for your supergreens. Try one then a different one. Variety is good!

8- Did you mean adding the product from question 7? From that quote I would think that adding some veggies is ok but not to overdo it. You wouldn’t want 50% of your pup’s diet to be veggies. I’d think you’d be ok having 5-10% veggies in the diet.

9- I would not freeze supplements like greens or fish oil. They may loose some of their effectiveness. I add my supplements right before feeding. I have the meat and/or meat/veggie mix portioned and frozen, then I thaw what I can use in 3 days.

I hope that helps.

[Author]

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