[Cyndi]

Here is that list of Hound Dog Mom’s I was referring to, so you don’t have to go searching for it. I was bored, so I did it for you 😉
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1

If that link doesn’t work, it’s on this page
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/page/15/

[Cyndi]

Hi Karen,

There is a thread here in the forum specifically for Large Breed Puppies. You can find it here /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

Also, on one of the pages, I think, and someone can correct me if I’m wrong, on page 11 or 15 or somewhere around there, Hound Dog Mom made a list of the best foods for Large Breed Puppies. That thread is long, but you may find some helpful info in there. Good luck!

[Cyndi]

The only question I can pretty much be almost positive about answering is that they ARE old enough to be fixed and I’m also pretty sure they are fine for the shots too.

Also just wanted to bump up your post so hopefully someone else can help you out!

Good Luck! 🙂 Oh, and where’s the pics?? 😉

[Cyndi]

Well, I can tell you that no one on here would recommend any Diamond products because of the recalls they’ve had. It may be a good food, but…. I think you’d be safe with Victor. It’s definitely a great food and many of the kibble feeders on here feed it in their rotation. Maybe you could get your sister to switch too?

Good for you for checking out your dog’s food. This site has been a godsend to me and a real eyeopener! Good luck with your pup! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Cameron, by looking at the ingredient list I posted above, if I were you, I would INSIST that your sister does not feed that food to your dog, or even her dogs for that matter. Take a look at some of the 1 star foods over on the review side and find one that has “wheat middlings” and read what that is. Also read what “meat and bone meal” is. Trust me, you do not want to feed those things to your pet if you want it to live a long and healthy life, which I’m sure you do.

Labs gave you some great suggestions for budget friendly foods. I would switch as soon as possible to a better food.

[Cyndi]

Here is the ingredient list for Good Friends dog food:
Wheat middlings, ground yellow corn, soybean meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat, salt, calcium carbonate, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, niacin, copper sulfate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, managanous oxide, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfate coplex, riboflavin supplement, sodium selenite, calcium lodate, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, cobalt carbonate.

Crude protein: %18 Crude fat: %6 Crude Fiber: %6 Moisture: %12

Definitely NOT a good dog food!!

[Cyndi]

Akari, I did check out your post about your “haul”! My sister does that crap all the time and she pisses me off! Lol! I never get good deals on anything.

I will though, however, keep my eye out for sales and coupons next time I go to the pet store and pick up a bag of something and donate it!

[Cyndi]

Did you check those bags and make sure they’re not on the recall list? Sorry, had to ask!

I wish I could donate something, but I’m broke until next pay. 🙁

[Cyndi]

Well Nancy C., look at you giving advice and helping people out!! 🙂 You’re one of us now! Ha ha!! 😀

[Cyndi]

Ha ha, I knew it! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Wow Marie!! Great find!! I wish there was a store like that by me. I can totally picture you walking around that place, lol! “OMG, they carry this…..and here’s this…..and OMG they carry THIS!!” Lol!

[Cyndi]

Lauren E., sorry I hijacked your thread. 🙁 But I think you got some great info above already. 🙂

[Cyndi]

Lol! Sounds like the ferrets I used to have. I could never get a good pic of them together. They were always on the go and getting into stuff. Bobby does sound like fun! 🙂

That’s Pooh, and Tigger is behind him, but she was next to him when I went to take the pic, lol!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

arwyru24, you could switch him to the Go! dog food, and also find a few more good dog foods and start rotating between them. That is good for dogs to be on a rotational diet.

[Cyndi]

Bobby dog, interesting picture! Lol! Cute butt! 😉

[Cyndi]

I second what Sandy said and also, the Pure Balance canned, if you wanted to go that route, are 5 stars. Canned is much better for dogs that dry food, but not sure your friend’s dad would want to switch.

[Cyndi]

So very sorry for your loss Milly! 🙁 Pawdy sounds like he was an awesome dog!

[Cyndi]

I have a deer liver in my freezer that I think I’m finally going to get to dehydrating in my oven. I’ve been thinking about getting a dehydrator myself, but I think I’ll take USA’s advice and try out the oven way first. Thanks for the tips USA! 🙂 (as always) 😉 Oh and I’ve heard my house is probably going to STINK! I can’t wait, lol!

[Cyndi]

Wayne G, I am so sorry for your loss too!! I am sitting here crying after reading this. As I said a few comments up, I used to feed these to my doberman, who died 3 years ago this Saturday, all the time. I still, to this day, can only guess what he died from. He went downhill over the period of 6 or 7 months though and the vet couldn’t figure out what was going on with him. I ended up having to put him down. I firmly believe it was a combination of the crap food I fed him, because I didn’t know any better, and now these treats, and vaccinations and toxic flea crap! Sorry for my rant, but stories like yours just really hit home. 🙁

Again, I am so sorry for your loss! It sure the hell isn’t an easy thing to go thru, losing your beloved pet that way. 🙁 My heart aches for you and your family as well. May your boy rest in peace.

[Cyndi]

I have learned that you feed 2-3% of the dogs body weight. Closer to 2% for less active dogs and closer to 3% for more active dogs. I’m not sure though about growing puppies. Hopefully someone else that knows can chime in and give you a better answer. I feed my dog closer to 2% now because she was getting a bit on the pudgy side, so I feed her a bit less.

Awesome that you found a website that sells green tripe. That’s the kind of place Hare Today is. They raise rabbits and chickens and goats & stuff just to sell to raw feeders.

Freezing and defrosting foods is something just about all us raw feeders do. Most of us buy in bulk and freeze until needed. For instance, I’ll get frozen goat pieces. I thaw them out just enough to break them up into individual servings, then refreeze until I feed them. Then I’ll thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and feed it the next day. I do the same with raw ground meat. I’ll thaw it, portion it out and refreeze. As long as you’re not freezing it for over a year, it should be fine. The sooner you use it the better I believe.

Here is just one article I was able to find quickly…
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/starting-puppy-on-raw-diet/

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

Bailey loves her bully sticks, but never knew they put them in dog food. “Pizzle” is a polite way of saying Penis, I guess, lol!

[Cyndi]

Dori, I did think 6-7% sounded kind of high, but for a puppy, I wasn’t sure. I thought it would be different for a puppy than for an adult dog. Charles you may want to research this a bit more and make sure that isn’t too much.

I would also keep her on a twice a day feeding if I were you. It is better for them. I’ve been feeding my dog raw for about a year and a half and let me tell you, it sure was hard at first when I fasted her for the day. I still feel guilty, so I don’t eat in front of her on those days. She gets a good breakfast in the morning and then around dinner time that day that I fast her, I’ll take her for a walk or to a park or something. She’s used to it now and doesn’t bother me too much. She’ll go out and lay on the deck or something.

Also, with the tripe, make sure it’s raw green tripe. I didn’t realize you live in the UK, but it is very easy for me to get it. I order from a place called Hare Today-Gone Tomorrow. I get most of my raw food from there, including the tripe. Hopefully you can find it somewhere locally. They do also make canned tripe. Not sure what is available to you though. Good Luck!

[Cyndi]

It wouldn’t be “starving” her for a day. Most places that recommend raw diets, also recommend “fasting” for a meal, or even a day. I do that on Sundays. I will give my dog her a.m. meal and then not feed her again til Monday a.m. meal. Oh, my dog is also raw fed.

One suggestion, have you tried feeding raw green tripe? Most dogs LOVE it, I know mine does. Maybe offer a meal of that after you fast her for a meal, or a day and see if she will eat it. I bet she does.

I know you haven’t been feeding her raw for long, but have you been rotating proteins yet. Maybe try giving her something different for a while and then go back to chicken or something. There are somethings my dog has gotten tired of and refused to eat, so I pretty much just tried other things and left the stuff she doesn’t care for out of her rotation. I might try to go back to them after a while though…

Good luck!

[Cyndi]

I would imagine when they stop growing, which I believe is about 1 1/2-2 years. At least I bumped up your post though, so maybe someone else can give you a definite answer.

[Cyndi]

So glad you got it figured out BRT, but you should switch foods anyway. Rotating foods is beneficial and maybe, since he started eating grass so much and then you switched foods and he stopped, maybe it would benefit him even more…. Just throwing that out there, but I’m sure you are just so happy he stopped eating grass.

[Cyndi]

Very impressive Sandy! 🙂

[Cyndi]

The benefits or owning a little ankle-biter! 😉 No offense! Lol!

[Cyndi]

🙂

[Cyndi]

Here it is:
/forums/topic/big-dog-natural-dehydrated-food/

[Cyndi]

Dori, Dr. Mike replied to Nancy about Big Dog Naturals, but I can’t remember where. She asked about them somewhere else too. I’ll see if I can find it and post it here for you. It seemed like they were a shady company, if I’m not mistaken…

[Cyndi]

I am going to 2nd, or I guess 3rd, the Fresh Pet recommendation. I feed my dog that occassionally and she loves it. Also, you should look into a good canned food. Like C4C said, it is much better than kibble.

[Cyndi]

I don’t have any answer to the pancreatitis part, I just wanted to address the table scraps part. Giving table scraps and human food is not a bad thing any more. Actually, it can be beneficial. Try adding things like tinned sardines in water, or raw eggs or lean cuts of meat or healthy dinner leftovers to their food a few times a week. It really is good for them. Just keep them under 20% of their amount of food you give them or give them a bit less kibble on days you add toppers.

[Cyndi]

Hi Liz. How long have you had the dog? Maybe something traumatic happened before you got her around that time. My dog gets anxiety and stresses over thunderstorms and fireworks, but only during those instances and then she’s fine.

If it happens about the same time every day, maybe, just before it happens, you can change her routine and take her for a walk, or, if she doesn’t mind them, give her a bath, or arrange a play date or just play with her for a while. Dogs easily get used to a routine and if it’s routinely happening, try changing it to something that she likes, something pleasant and do THAT every day about the time she’d get her anxiety and see if that helps.

[Cyndi]

Oh, I get it now. I knew I must have been missing something, lol! I was just going to type it out too, but figured posting a pic would be easier, especially since I’m a dumbass and didn’t understand the chart, lol!

[Cyndi]

Took me a few tries, but I got it, lol!

[Cyndi]

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Cyndi.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

My dog is 50lbs. I’ll take a pic of the chart on the bag and show you. It says tablespoons in the directions but on the chart, it uses cups. No clue.

[Cyndi]

Wait, that sure sounds like an awful lot of the SSLL mix. It also says, on the directions, to mix 2 level tablespoons for adults to one pound of meat. Which is what I do. I feed Bailey 6-8oz. of meat and use 1 tablespoon of mix. No clue why that chart says to use so much more.

[Cyndi]

Hi Akari, on the SSLL dinner mix bag, for a 5-10lb dog, you use 3-6oz. of meat and 1/2-1 cup of mix per day. I was going to take a picture of the chart, but figured all you needed was the info about a 7lb. dog. I have a bag here, so let me know if you need anything else off of it.

[Cyndi]

Why does it say “This reply has been reported for inappropriate content” above my reply?? I was nice. Lol!

[Cyndi]

Not sure if it will hurt it or not, but I wouldn’t do it. You could always let it sit out for a few minutes if you have a picky eater who doesn’t like it cold. My dog will eat it cold, so I don’t worry about warming it up.

[Cyndi]

I agree with Inked Marie. The foods on HDM’s list are much better than Eukanuba or Purina. I wouldn’t use Purina anything, even if you paid me to.

[Cyndi]

Hi Betsy,

Well, I’m not quite sure. She’s been scratching a bit, not always in one spot though & she’s got a few red marks on the inside of her back legs. She’s been playing with my boss’ dog quite a bit, and they do play rough, so, I’m not sure if that’s what it’s from or not. I’ve been checking her every time I see her scratch, which isn’t that often, but I don’t see anything. Also, I did go ahead and use the Sentry Natural Defense on her, because I do not want fleas and I want to make sure she is protected with that and the other stuff I use. USA had mentioned something in that could have been the culprit of her itching and scratching and losing her hair. I should have waited longer before I put that on her, but I didn’t. I’m still kind of in the “keeping an eye on her” phase. If the scratching gets worse, then I am kind of thinking it may, in fact, be that Sentry Natural Defense stuff. Still got my fingers crossed.

Thanks for asking! 🙂

[Cyndi]

I used to feed those to my doberman all the time. They were his favorite. 🙁 Now I certainly know better. Wish I would have learned all I know now back when my boy was still around.

[Cyndi]

Isn’t that always good, when they are busy with something else and not bothering you? Lol! Good boy Harry! 🙂

Are the kneecaps fully edible? Or are they like the marrow bones, too hard to consume?

[Cyndi]

Naturella, here is an article from Dog’s Naturally about garlic:
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/garlic-for-dogs-poison-or-medicine/

[Cyndi]

Hi Betsy, that’s what I’ve been giving Bailey usually. Bailey is, or should I say ‘should be’ 50 lbs. She’s a little over that now and I’m trying to get her to trim down some. I usually give her a tin of sardines twice a week, but I’m going to try for 3 to see if it helps her coat any. She only scratched once yesterday and I yelled “No, what are you doing?!” I scared the crap out of her, lol! I think it was just a regular itch. I’m thinking it looks like it was in fact the Gain detergent. What a relief!

[Cyndi]

I remember that too Betsy. I think two people were on there from that company and they were side-stepping the questions being asked of them…

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

Good questions! I will be having my Bailey titer tested next spring and I am curious to know the answer to these questions as well….

[Cyndi]

There is a thread here in the forum about this already. There used to be a review on this food, but Dr. Mike removed it. Not sure if that is revealed why in this thread or not…

/forums/topic/big-dog-naturals/

[Author]

Posts