[Cyndi]

You are doing great. As long as you keep the extra under 20% of the amount you feed, you are absolutely upgrading the dry. You could also use tinned sardines in water, raw or lightly cooked eggs, plain yogurt or kefir. The meat you add doesn’t even need to be cooked if you don’t want to. I’m sure your dogs are loving the fresh toppers!

[Cyndi]

Another Ohio person! 🙂 I live in Northeast Ohio, near Cleveland. Welcome to DFA! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Liz & Mr. Lou….. you’re in good hands here! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Awww, well I’m so glad I inadvertently helped! If I can handle feeding raw, anyone can, lol! I did the same as you and read a whole lot of the posts in raw feeding forum before I asked questions. Thank god for google, because that’s how I found this site. The people here gave me the courage to finally say ‘Ok, I’m gonna do this’, although it did take a while.

Just keep asking questions. Sometimes they may not get answers, and other times you get a ton of help. Just depends on who sees your question. Good luck to you and welcome to DFA. Like I was told a long time ago, “It will be ok, you’re here now”! (wish I could remember who said that to me, but they were right! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Ha ha! You sound way ahead of where I was when I first started! Lol! It sounds like you’re off to a really great start. I’m not one of the pros on here, but I know a bit more than I did back then, lol! I’ll let someone else take the other questions, but I think you’re ok with adding the RMB in the evening, anyone can correct me if I’m wrong though.

Good Luck to you and your pup! You’re off to a great start! 🙂

Oh & btw, your dog is adorable! 😉

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

I have no clue how to help you, sorry, I’m just replying to bump up your post so someone more knowledgeable will see it & can help you out. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

I agree with Heather, raw feeding is the best you can do for your dog. Most vets don’t like raw feeding because it keeps dogs healthier usually and out of their offices.

Someone else hopefully can chime in and help you out and let you know what else you should be doing.

I can suggest taking a look at Steve Brown’s book “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” or “Real Food for Healthy Dog’s and Cats” by Dr. Karen Becker. Maybe those might help you out some…

[Cyndi]

My dog had Giardia also, when I adopted her. She had to go thru 2 rounds of metronidazole and panacur before we got rid of it. It is common, so nothing really to worry about. Hopefully you can get rid of it before your other dogs get it. Good luck!

[Cyndi]

I’m trying to research that, but I think that’s an old recall. There is no date on it, except the expiration dates of the food. I think this is actually from last year…

[Cyndi]

I just read about the recall too. It’s a voluntary recall of Iams and Eukanuba. Here is the link:
http://www.dogsplanet.net/Very-URGENT-2-major-dogs-food-brands-issue-recall

[Cyndi]

I’m not sure about My Pet Carnivore, but I use Hare Today, and their site says exactly where every bit of meat comes from. I would NEVER feed Blue Ridge beef products after all that’s been said about them. I stopped using commercial dog food because of all the crap in it, I’m not about to use raw food if there’s the slightest chance that they use 4-D animals and crap. I’d much rather spend a bit more on quality food for my dog instead of saving a few bucks and feeding crap.

[Cyndi]

Hi Stefan, Good for you getting your dogs on raw! I started my girl on raw a little over a year ago. You sound like you know what you’re doing, for the most part. You should check out the raw food forum here: /forums/forum/raw-dog-food-forum/
Specifically look thru the thread second from the top, “Suggested Raw Dog Food Menus” started by Hound Dog Mom. She posted a few of her recipes there as well as other people posted what they feed too. It is a long thread, but HDM’s recipes are in the first 3 pages.

Someone else can chime in and let you know what else you should be doing or not doing. I get advice from the raw feeders on here. I use, and it’s very well recommended, See Spot Live Longer dinner mix. I add it to my dogs boneless grind in the morning 3 or 4 days a week, just to ensure I’m not missing any add ins that my dog needs.

Good luck! 🙂

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

Awww, weezerweeks I didn’t know you had a Bailey too? My girl is named Bailey too. 🙂 I like yorkies. When I had my doberman, a girl up the street had 2 yorkies that absolutely loved my doberman. They would see us walking and go nuts until we stopped to say hi. Then they would both stand on their back legs and give my Moose kisses. It was so cute to see them together.

P.S. No such thing as rambling on this site. I think we all like to hear about each others experiences and lives of each others animals. 🙂

[Cyndi]

🙁 My dog won’t touch ANY of that stuff. She makes me so mad sometimes, lol! I eat alot of fruits and raw veggies & I haven’t found any of them that she’ll eat. I was hoping to use those as treats, but she won’t eat them.

[Cyndi]

I give sardines to my girl as well. She loves them. She gets them a couple times a week.

[Cyndi]

Glad to hear they’re doing better. Geez, what a freaky coincidence. I agree with Betsy, good thing it did happen over a long weekend and not during the week when no one was home. Poor dogs! Praying for a speedy unswelling! 🙂

[Cyndi]

All 3 of those are good and are used by most of the regulars here. I myself, currently am using See Spot Live Longer and the Dr. Harvey’s Veg-to-Bowl, although with that one, I am using the fine ground veg-to-bowl. I like them both alot. I always worried that I wasn’t giving my dog everything she needs with her raw meals, but with the pre mixes, I don’t worry.

[Cyndi]

I am not positive that getting that worked up about the fireworks and noise couldn’t have caused it either. I just know that a bee sting can swell up pretty bad.

My Bailey went in her cage yesterday when the neighbors started shooting off fireworks and she was in there just about all day.

Hopefully it was just a bite from something and the worst is over. Poor thing!

[Cyndi]

Wondering if he got stung by a bee or something? My doberman got stung one time on his nose and it swelled up pretty good. I pulled the stinger out and gave him some benedryl. I didn’t take him to the vet because the swelling came down and he was fine. There are those big whatever kind of bees that burrow in the ground, I wonder if your dog came upon a few of them and they attacked him?

[Cyndi]

LOL!! BCnut I can picture it now!!

Thanks Nancy, that’s the same stuff I picked up yesterday. I put one in her food this morning and was so happy to see it was gone when she got done eating. When I was putting fresh garlic, and even the Bug Off Garlic, in her food, she either ate around it or refused to eat altogether. Glad I found something that will work now.

[Cyndi]

Thanks BCnut!!

& USA Dog treats, when BCnut is in her laboratory, mixing up her essential oils, she’s rubbing her hands together and doing that evil laugh like a mad scientist, then she cuts the arms and legs off gingerbread men! Lmao!!

[Cyndi]

Sue, I saw pics of that dog you’re talking about. So very sad to see her like that but she is doing pretty well, huh? I didn’t realize Faith retired and there are a couple other pics of her there too, once when she was just a puppy. There’s also a pic of a boxer on a beach. That dog only has 2 front legs. I saw a video of him running and playing on the beach and he was pretty quick too, lol!

[Cyndi]

Nancy C, how many of those garlic capsules do you give your dog a day? I just bought those today, because my dog has refused to eat fresh garlic and the Bug Off garlic tablets. I’m hoping she won’t notice these in her food, because they don’t have a smell. Or if any one else wants to answer this question, feel free. They are little 500mg garlic extract capsules. The dosage on the bottle says take 1 softgel twice a day. Bailey weighs about 53lbs.

[Cyndi]

That first dog, and the 4th or 5th down is Faith, she’s amazing!! <3

[Cyndi]

I thought I noticed that too Betsy.

[Cyndi]

I understand, I was just so used to saying your name, from when you did use it on here, that I have to correct what I’m writing and change it to BCnut. I don’t want to use your real name, because I know you don’t want to…. Know what I mean? Lol!

[Cyndi]

Thanks, BCnut, (I keep wanting to say your name, lol!) In the back of my mind I didn’t think that he would have done that and I’m so glad that wasn’t the case, because I was about to give up on the review side all together if it was gonna stay like that, lol! Man, that was frustrating as all heck!!

[Cyndi]

Ok, I was completely wrong then. The timing of it made me think my original thought was correct.

Thanks for the update Sandy!!

[Cyndi]

I have a feeling that this was changed because of a minor feud the other day on the off topic section and Dr. Mike had issued a warning to the parties involved. It seemed right after that, that’s when the Off Topic comment section changed. I could be wrong, but it seems like he doesn’t want us bantering back and forth and getting into arguements.

Or…….it could be that Disqus has totally gone crazy!!

[Cyndi]

I’ll send her a link to this post and see if she has any insight.

Dori, I didn’t realize you tried the food and it didn’t change anything for Hannah. 🙁 Maybe Labs’ dog was younger and it wasn’t an age related problem. I don’t recall how old she said her dog was either…

[Cyndi]

I believe that’s the problem LabsRawesome had with her dog. I remember reading in the reviews that once she switched her dog to Victor it cleared up. The Victor dog food contains montmorillonite and I think that’s the ingredient that she said cleared up her dog’s eyes. I am not positive if that was the problem her dog was having, but I do remember it was something with the eyes and it cleared up after switching foods.

So, maybe go to the review side, find a recent comment from LabsRawesome and ask her.

Good Luck!!

[Cyndi]

LOL!! That’s a good idea too!! Do you do an evil laugh when you cut the arms, legs or head off the gingerbread men? Lmao!!

[Cyndi]

Lol!! I would imagine you could get them at like Walmart or something similar. Good luck! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Zach, I’ve seen smaller icecube trays. I used to have one that froze cubes into little inch by inch squares. That might work for you.

Edit** I had this one http://www.kitchenproject.com/EnchantedSpice/VanillaSugar/VanillaSugarCubes/images/icecubetra.jpg

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

Awwww, I am so very sorry to hear that! I didn’t know. I’ll keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers. I know all too well how hard it is to do that. & yes, it does help to have other animals that need you to keep you occupied.

Glad Rupert is doing well. 🙂

[Cyndi]

That’s cool! Actually, after the last week of this weather, I feel like I live in the tropics. This heat and humidity doesn’t agree with me, lol!

How’s your new guy doing? For the life of me, I can’t remember his name.

*sorry to hijack this thread, lol!

[Cyndi]

Jan, I didn’t know you were in Ohio too? Atleast I don’t think I did, lol! Where about? I’m in northeast Ohio, near Cleveland.

[Cyndi]

I’m never vaccinating my dog either. After all the horror stories I’ve heard and read about. We have to do rabies vaccs here, it’s the law, but other than that, not doing anything else. I use all natural stuff for fleas, but I do use Ivermectin (sp?) for heartworm once every 45 days during mosquito season because they are bad here.

We were just having this discussion on the review side and there’s quite a few people on here that don’t do any vaccinating except for puppy shots…

All I can say is, inform yourself, do research and read, read, read. There are a ton of articles out there proving dogs don’t need vaccines every year or really ever, after their first puppy shots.

[Cyndi]

There aren’t too many here that feed their dogs a vegetarian diet. Dogs are meant to eat meat, IMO.

[Cyndi]

Maybe that can expired April 11, 1917. Lol! Just kidding! 😛

[Cyndi]

OMG!!! Your dog’s name is Alf? That is friggin’ adorable!! I LOVED Alf!! Lol!

[Cyndi]

That does make sense C4C, I should have mentioned that I feed raw. Thanks for clearing that up! 🙂

[Cyndi]

I give my Bailey a few raw, cage-free chicken or duck eggs per week. I feed her the whole egg, shell and all, and she loves it. I also use tinned sardines, yogurt or kefir, pumpkin, etc.

Here is a good article about feeding your dogs eggs. There is also a ton of good info on the rest of the site.
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/feeding-your-dog-raw-eggs-good-or-bad/

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

I agree with the Nut, also made & sourced in the USA, no chinese stuff for me, well, my dog actually!

[Cyndi]

I still worry if I’m giving Bailey the right vitamins/minerals/supplements, etc. Check out See Spot Live Longer dinner mix. I use that often. All you do is add it to boneless meat. I also use, on occasion, Dr. Harvey’s Multi-Vitamin & Mineral Herbal Dog Supplement. Other than that, I add Coconut oil, some tinned sardines a couple times a week, a fresh, cage free egg every couple days and some Apple Cider Vinegar, that’s pretty much it. It really did seem overwhelming to me at first, so I know how you feel, but once you get going and get the hang of it, it’s really easy. I’m still learning and I read everything I can about raw feeding and all the threads and stuff. The different kinds of raw foods you can feed your dog, once he’s used to it, are endless…

Zach M ~ You’re very welcome! 🙂

[Cyndi]

meky6ra and Zach M this reply is for both of you. I have been feeding my 50lb. girl a raw diet for a little over a year. Here is a thread, in this Raw Dog Food topic, of mine that I started before I jumped in to raw feeding…

/forums/topic/help-with-starting-my-dog-on-a-raw-diet/

There is a ton of information on this site, especially in all the threads in the Raw Dog Food Topic. I asked questions, did a TON of research and was scared to death to start feeding my dog raw, lol! But, I did it, and my dog is healthy, happy and I am so glad I did. It is pricier than feeding kibble or canned food, but their are so many resources out there and raw feeding groups that can help cut down on the cost. I chose to feed my dog homemade raw, but there are alot of commercial raw products available that many people use and love.

Zach, You could start by giving your dog a turkey neck or a chicken back. It’s mostly bone, but has some meat on it. Your dog can consume the whole thing, bone and all. Unless your dog is a very voracious chewer or a gulper, you shouldn’t have any problems at all. Your dog will figure out how to crunch and chew the bone up and it is very good for their teeth.

Good luck to both of you! Take the time to ask questions and research and then, take the plunge…..your dog will love you for it! 🙂

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Cyndi.

[Cyndi]

Bailey was totally fine when I started feeding her whole carcass rabbit grind. I was already feeding her raw though, but when I added that into her rotation, she was completely fine, no digestive issues at all. Good Luck! I’m sure Mila will do fine. 🙂

[Cyndi]

I don’t blame you at all patvl246, I’ve cut back on the variety I feed my dog, just to save a bit of money a little.

[Cyndi]

I just looked at their site and their prices do look pretty good. They don’t tell you much about themselves or their products though. That’s what I like about Hare Today, she tells you all about her farm, where all the animals come from, where they’re raised and where they are processed. Even if I pay a little more, I’d still prefer to use Hare Today, for now anyways.

I didn’t realize, in your first post, that you had already said you buy from them.

[Cyndi]

Just wanted to chime in and tell you guys about where I, and quite a few raw feeders on this site, get their food. A company called Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow. I’ve been using them for a year now and I have nothing but praise for this company. The owner, Tracy, is so helpful with any questions you have and they carry boneless meat and grinds, bone-in meat and grinds, organ meat and whole prey animals. They truly are a great company. They are in Pennsylvania and the shipping isn’t too bad. Their website is Hare-today.com.

There is also another site, very similar to Hare Today, call My Pet Carnivore. They carry a lot of similar meats and grinds. Their site is Mypetcarnivore.com

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