[Punky T]

Hi! I have a 19 month old French Bulldog (Gigi). She developed small, crusty bumps under her fur (on back and upper legs). She was not scratching them. The vet said it’s staph infection and gave her 2-weeks on antibiotic. They cleared up about 95%, but within a week off the antibiotic they were back. So vet put her on another 2 weeks; they’ve started to clear again, and he will reevaluate this week. In the meantime I ordered Dinovite. Gigi is a small Frenchie, 16.3 pounds, so I have been giving her 1 tablespoon (or 1/2 scoop) with both meals, am/pm. She eats Orijens “6 Fish” dry food and loves it. Occasionally she has an itchy butt and licks her paws, and has some eye goo, too. I’m hoping that the Dinovite will help. I also got the Omega oils, but am finishing up the brand I already have for her first.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Also… do you store Dinovite in the fridge?

Thank you so much!

[Kristin C]

I heard back from BDN and they did not provide the reconstituted nutritional analysis nor did they answering whether they’ve through feeding trials. I was mostly wondering if this is really a raw product but I think it’s dehydrated based upon their pricing. I agree that it should be used rotationally. I may try it but can anyone tell me if it reconstitutes to a mushy substance or are there chunks and hard pieces (like Sojo’s). I tried Orijen freeze dried which I like but it’s too expensive to feed on a regular basis. I am looking for options when I travel because I feed mostly raw.

[cindy q]

Dori, I have 2 very picky eaters so I have been feeding all different foods trying to find something they will eat. We have tried Blue Buffalo, Merrick, Orijen,Primal, Fresh pet, honest kitchen, Now Fresh, Go! The only ones they seemed to like somewhat were Primal, Now Fresh & Go! They love BDN, they eat it right away and lick their bowls clean they have never done this before. I was always wasting food before throwing away what they didn’t eat. For me don’t you think it would make sense to stick with what they will eat?

[DogFoodie]

Hi Ray,

Take a look also at Go! Senior, Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Orijen Senior. All are excellent foods with high quality protein, lower fat and higher fiber.

[Kristin C]

Hi Cindy – I have recently used Orijen Adult Freeze Dried. It took about a half hour to soak and get to the consistency I was looking for. My dogs loved it and since I sometimes feed Orijen Kibble they had no digestion issues. It is expensive but I am looking for something to use on vacation since I feed primarily raw.

As for the Sojo’s, I have tried the Complete grain free mix where you have to add in raw meat. I find that it comes out much like it goes in, it doesn’t digest well. I end up soaking the Sojo’s then putting it in a food processor with my raw meat. I am going to use it up but won’t buy again.

Hope that helps!

[aquariangt]

Nancy-Are you a member of Editor’s Choice here? None of the brands there are Diamond made. I feed a pretty rotational diet myself, a few brands that I recommend that are NOT diamond associated: Fromm (I use 4star, and grain free mostly, just not for my pea intolerant girl), Earthborn (again, I like grain free of theirs), Acana/Orijen, Simply Nourish Source, and if you are interested in the dehydrated route, The Honest Kitchen. Victor is also a top food recommended on here, but I haven’t tried it myself-hard to find here

[Lance & Nikki]

Hi, hopefully someone here can offer some advice. We have 2 dogs, a 19 month old Great Dane and a 10 month old St Bernard. Both of them seem to have sensative stomachs and go thru bouts with diarrhea off and on. It seems like they will be fine for a few days, then it gets bad for a few days and then it clears up again and it just keeps repeating. At first we were feeding them Merrick dog food, grain free for the Dane and regular puppy formula for the Saint and then we switched Thor the Saint over to the grain free puppy food from Merrick when that came out. They both loved the food but to try and eliminate the possibility of the food being the issue, we have recently switch to the Taste of the Wild grain free food. It seems to have helped with the diarrhea issue, but now both of the dogs have become extremely gassy which as I am sure you all know, can drive you from the room in a hurry!

Not sure what to do next except possibly switching foods again, but I don’t wan tot be playing the trial and error game for ever. I looked at switching over to Orijen, but when I saw the price there is no way I can afford to feed two dogs of their size food that expensive, no matter how good it’s supposed to be. Does anyone have a food recommendation, or am I doomed to just playing the ‘try it and see game’ with them? Ideally we would like to find one brand of food that both dogs will like and won’t cause them any issues with their tummies. And just as an FYI, I was looking at possibly switching to Fromm or Canidae next if the gassy issues with TotW continues.

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Lynn J]

Are you feeding the Orijen fish formula, or one of the others? I might suggest trying another formula if your dog is doing well on Orijen in general. Also, even a premium food like Orijen can go stale (the fats get rancid) if not stored properly or if the contents of the bag get too old. The general advice seems to be to use up the bag within 6 weeks. Just a thought.

[aquariangt]

I wouldn’t worry yourself over staying within the brand, that’s a bit of a myth. I switch between brands with every bag, and i don’t even bother to mix them unless i dont have enough left to give a full meal. Depending on how you switched though if your dog isnt used to a rotational diet, you may have switched Acana too fast, as that is a fair amount lower in protein than orijen (which i can’t use either) I do like acana, though alot if their kibble sizes are a bit big for my liking.

I don’t recommend blue buffalo at all-any line of them. sketchy company, if you nose about on the forums you will see a lot more in depth comments about tham

Some dogs dont do well on certain proteins, so that could have been the case with the beef there, though it could have been changing him too quickly if he isn’t used to it.

As far as that range of protein %, I would try out Fromm, especially the 4 star line, they have plenty of flavors to pick from. I also like Earthborn, and the small breed i use a lot in my rotation as I have one that has issues with peas so a lot of grain free blends don’t work for us (though sometimes I just buy her a separate bag and the other 2 can share) but the Earthborn grain free line is a favorite of mine as well, though it’s a bit higher in the protein than what you are looking for. Go! is manufactured by Now Fresh and they have Now Fresh and Summit you could look into. Nature’s Variety prairie is a bit lower and from a solid company, precise is a good company…you will find that in the 20%s for protein, you probably won’t be at 5 stars, but as long as the red ingredients are kept to a minimum, i wouldn’t balk at the food if it’s what you need to do for your dogs stomach

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi All!

So I moved in January for a new job. Max had been eating half raw and half THK for about 3-4 months at that time. I continued that routine for the first month or two after the move but he was losing interest. I tried THK’s new base mix when it came out but he only ate it once or twice before he decided he didn’t want to eat THK anymore. He has been eating at least some THK since I got him, about 6 years, so I guess he just got tired of it? I tried several other similar products with little success- NRG Maxim, NRG Optima, Grandma Lucy’s Valor, and Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance. On these other foods, he was pooping in the house while I was at work and was never regular. When he was on THK, he was pooping so regular I could set my watch by it. So I tried each food for about a month. I figured that was enough time to see if his system would regulate. It never did and I got tired of cleaning up poop in my house. So frustrated, I tried Orijen and Zignature kibbles too to see if they would work. No improvement. I was at my wits end a couple weeks ago and decided to try Brother*s Complete kibble. It has worked like magic. I feed Max 1 cup of kibble and 1/2 lb of raw at each meal (3x/day). He is back to pooping like clockwork. He hasn’t pooped in the house since we started the BC kibble with his raw. I am so happy I found something that works for him!

Has anyone else had a similar experience with certain foods just going right through their dogs? I still have no clue why system was so wacky with those foods yet was fine with THK.

-Caroline

[DogFoodie]

In addition to those Marie mentioned, I’d also recommend Orijen Senior and Go! Fit + Free Grain Free Senior. I’ve used them both and love the quality, ingredients and results I had with them.

[texasniteowl]

I thought I would come back with a brief update since it has been a while!

After the Orijen we went to Acana Singles…the Lamb and Apple and he did very well on that. We finished the 13lb medium bag. Now we are still on Acana but trying the Duck flavor and we are still doing well. We did a cold turkey switch from Lamb to Duck with no problem.

I am still not giving him a powder supplement, but he is getting “active culture” greek yogurt. His poo overall has been good…mostly normal…except for the day after obedience class usually when he gets a few more treats than normal!

I want to identify 1 or 2 more foods that he does OK with so that I have a 3-4 food rotation. We may try a bag of Nature’s Variety Instinct LID next as an option. Then not sure on a 4th. I may try the Orijen Adult again just to confirm whether it was the food or just the timing that caused him to not do really great on it. But we may just stick with foods in the 30-35% protein range.

[Michael L]

Hi Again,

So I think it was a little too early to call that success.

Based on this link /reports/editors-choice/
I decided to try Annamaet Grain Free Manitok however after two days my dog just stopped eating it. I mean he won’t even sniff it. At first I thought it was still his allergies but once I gave him some of his old food (Orijen puppy large) he finished that in 2 seconds.

I found this link:
/best-dog-foods/hypoallergenic-dog-foods/
That talks about Suggested Hypoallergenic Dog Foods
And more specifically I decided to try ACANA Duck & Bartlett Pear Singles Formula Dry

This food has limited ingredients and I figured it would be a good place to start as it’s based on duck and not chicken like the orijen one.

My dog loves it, I mean he chases me when I go get it, which he has never done before (very picky eater).

However I’m not sure about the dosage and/or if it’s suitable for large breed puppies. My golden retriever is 9 months old and weighs about 83lb.
The label says that there’s 1.3% calcium which I think should be okay (as per my understanding as long as it’s less than 3.5% it’s all good). Can someone confirm that?
http://www.acana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ACA-SINGLES-WEB-PDF-2014-DUCK.pdf?20c636

Can someone confirm that?

Thanks in advance.

[Lisa R]

She only eats the Orijen mixed with wet or freeze dried. It doesn’t smell “meaty” to me, it smells like old fish. I was hoping someone would suggest another dry to which they have had good reactions. My last dog lived to almost 19 on Taste of the Wild so I think other brands must be of equal quality to Orijen. I was hoping for suggestions rather than judgments. Thanks.

[Patricia O]

Hello my dear forum !
I got my first and only dog about a year and a half ago ! He is the joy of my life but a very very very picky eater ! He does not like kibble (orijen), or canned food or raw food for that matter ! He wants me to hand feed him !!!!

[Ramona F]

Hi I read a post from HDM that compared Horizon Puppy with Orijen LB Puppy and HDM preferred Orijen. I read another post that said all Orijen foods were too high in calcium. We have fed Now, Horizon and now Orijen and my lab puppy is just shy of 7 months
I have seen the list of HDM foods put not all are available in small towns all hough we have 4 retailers of upscale quality food. Dog didnt like Horizon or maybe we overfed because the instructions on the label are hard to decipher and seem much lower volume of food for age size and weight of puppy.
Whats the verdict on Orijen Large breed food? anyone?
Thanks for this awesome site

[DogFoodie]

Does your dog like Orijen?

[Lisa R]

I have been feeding my 2-3 year old 13 pound dog Orijen dry food, but I find the strong smell very unpleasant. She is quite picky, I tried Taste of The Wild which my previous dog loved and she doesn’t eat it. I have had her about 5 months and am still trying to figure out her likes. She loves Weruva wet but the price is an issue.
Thanks.

[George D]

Hi Stewart, I started her when she was 4 months on orijen dry mixed with their freeze dried line, she likes it and no problems. I’ve tried stella and chewys frozen patties and she also likes them. I’m leaning towards half dry ( orijen ) and half raw. Any other suggestions on good brands? Was also thinking of trying Darwin’s free trial.

[George D]

I was feeding my 7 mo old pup ziwipeak for 2 weeks with no problems, however, over the past week she’s been regurgitating the ziwi minutes after eating it. I’ve tried venison and beef with the same results. I went back to orijen and no problems, anyone else have similar problems with ziwi? I’m kinda bummed because she likes it and it’s a good product, maybe too rich for her ?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Paul B –

Primal and Orijen are both already featured on the Editor’s Choice.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Michael,

I’m so glad you’ve already seen an improvement! That’s great!

The next thing I would do is start some sort of document and keep detailed notes of what you were feeding, when you were feeding it and your dog’s response to it. I’d try to keep the ingredient panels off of the bags, if possible also. This was the way I figured out my Golden’s food intolerance issues. Keep in mind, it’s not just the proteins that can cause problems. Mine is intolerant of all forms of fish, but also chickpeas, lentils, flax and garlic. Have you already compared the Orijen and Annamaet ingredients? Swollen, itchy, water eyes sounds not only miserable, but more like an allergy.

I had to laugh at your last sentence! Oh my gosh, I switch constantly. : )

I think right now for your pup, I’d find something that works for him and keep him on it for at least six weeks while the histamine clears completely out of his system.

But, when I switch, I always rotate proteins (amino acids) and binders. I believe it’s best to rotate between brands for more diversity of ingredients.

Keep us posted on how things are going!

[Michael L]

Thanks a lot 4footedfoodie! I gave him some Annamaet Grain Free Manitok Red Meat yesterday and this morning (with a mix of the Orijen puppy large) and I think it’s already looking better for him. The eyes are not as swollen as yesterday and he’s not puking today. I think I might have proven my suspicion. I’ll monitor for a few days…

How often would you say you need to switch foods?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Daria –

No worries, Dr. Mike’s post was not directed at you. 🙂

If you read through some of the articles linked at the beginning of the thread you’ll see that, to date, research has shown that high protein levels have no negative implications on growth in large breed puppies.

As for Orijen’s updated LBP formula, the low end of the range would be appropriate but the higher end would supply too much calcium. As I’ve told people in the past, my personal feelings on this food are that it would be acceptable if fed in rotation with other foods that are well within the safe range and/or topped with a meat-based topper that would lower the C:P ratio slightly (such as Tripett).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Charles –

Non-raw treats definitely should not cause an issue with a raw fed dog. My dogs eat raw but receive all kinds of treats from cooked “human food” to biscuits and dehydrated meat-based treats. No issues ever.

Some things you may want to try which would be closer in resemblance to a fresh raw diet would be air-dried (like ZiwiPeak which BTW works great as training treats) or freeze-dried raw (my dogs like Wysong, Stella & Chewy’s, Primal, Orijen, Nature’s Variety Instinct and Vital Essentials).

[Daria S]

Hello, I hope you don’t mean me as a critic, there was nothing critial meant by my post. I read all 75 pages and found no info for First Mate which is also included on thr list, so I contacted the company myself and found that the Ca:P ratios are not suitable for LBP. That’s only a fact and fyi, without any offense or other intention. I highly appreciate the work and effort HDM did and wanted to contribute with my findings 🙂 I hope there is nothing wrong with exchanging the information.

More importantly I’d need advice regarding Orijen Puppy Large (as per my question in prev post) and another thing which comes to my mind is how much the protein influences the growth hormone production and such high protein food as Orijen is really safe to feed with..

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Daria S.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Charles,

That’s what I was thinking too, Melissa. Dehydrated or freeze-dried. A few that come to mind are Orijen, Vital Essentials and Stella & Chewy’s. Dr. Tim’s just came out with some new ones that I’m eager to try also.

[Gail W]

1. Quality similar to food
2. Manufacturing standards similar to their food
3. Easy to give as a training treat or as a high value reward

Like other posters, I want treats that have similar quality as their food. We went with Orijen puppy because they comply with Canadian & EU standards. For high value rewards, we use Orijen Freeze Dried Wild Boar. Those treats don’t break apart all that well, so for puppy training treats, we are trying Sojo Good Dog bones. In the bag, there are very few broken pieces and little dust. They break in thirds or in half very easily for our young Yorkies.

[DogFoodie]

Oh wow, Michael. Have you gotten him off of this food already? If not, I would right away. It sounds like he’s having some true allergic reactions.

Personally, I believe that one of the problems with Orijen is that their recipes are so complex, it would be hard to know what exactly were the problem ingredients. Right now, you’re still on the verge of needing to feed a food with controlled Calcium and his being fully grown and it not being the concern it was during his growth phase.

Either way, I think I’d work on starting to figure out what his allergies are. I’d probably start with a limited ingredient food, like Nature’s Variety Rabbit (which she has an appropriate Calcium level for a LBP) and is a protein that he wouldn’t have been eating with the Orijen.

And then, it’s entirely possible his allergies are environmental. Lawn applications, fertilizer, pesticides, floor cleaning products, new flooring, detergent, etc.

Just in case you need it for reference, here’s HDM’s most recent list of 4 & 5 star foods with appropriate Calcium levels for LBP’s: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/preview

[Michael L]

I have a 9 month old golden retriever. I’ve been feeding him Orijen Puppy Large for the last few months but I suspect that he’s getting allergies from that.
We’ve been noticing him licking his paws a lot and scratching his nose, also there were some cases of vomiting and swollen eyes.
After fasting and some benadryl it looks like the issue goes away.
We also took him to the vet, blood work looks good and x-rays didn’t show anything ( Basically we payed over $600 for them to tell us he might have something in his stomach and he needs to poop).

Anyhow, I’ve been looking at other brands that I wanted to compare and try out. Any recommendations for Golden Retrievers? Anyone had similar issues like mine? What would you recommend?

Also, I’ve been looking at the top dog food brands (for instance real meat) and it’s a little pricey for me to pay $100 for 5lb bag.

Thanks in advance.

[Daria S]

Hello all, Hello HOUND DOG MUM 🙂

Speaking about Ca:P ratios – I’ve just received response from First Mate pet foods according to their actual Ca:P ratios. On their pages and on the internet the figures are really really high (1,9:1 for Pacific Ocean Endurance/Puppy which made it to the HDM list). Here are the figures I received by them:

Pacific Ocean Fish Original 1.44:1
Pacific Ocean Fish Endurance/Puppy 1.50:1
Pacific Ocean Fish Large Breed 1.45:1
Pacific Ocean Fish Weight Control/Senior 1.40:1
Chicken with Blueberries 1.85:1
Australian Lamb 1.78:1

The ratios are lower than shown on their pages BUT still high for any large breed puppy because of too little Phosphorus. It’s a shame, I really liked the company and the food so now I’m thinking about Orijen Puppy Large (new formula since January 2013).

Orijen CS couldn’t give me answer about actual Calcium level and kept saying the same info as on the pages – Ca is between 1,2 – 1,5. The best i got from him is “The minimum calcium and phosphorus contents that are listed on our guaranteed analysis are reflective of the typical content.” Kcal is 3800/kg. So while 1,3 would be acceptable, 1,4 is too much. Now I really don’t know. I have a 3,5mths GR puppy and as everyone here I want the best for him. I like high protein in Orijen and quality ingredients.
Also I heard that Orijen is being too high in iron – I still need to analyse this topic.

Any thoughts here?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Daria S.

[Robert R]

I supplement my 2 small poodles usual diet of Orijen kibble with Pure Balance canned from Walmart. It’s only $1 per can and I like the ingredients better. It’s rated 5 stars. Both dogs love it

[Robert R]

I used to use Canidae canned for my 2 little poodles to supplement Orijen kibble, but switched to Pure Balance canned because I liked the ingredients better and it was much cheaper — only $1 per can. It’s also better rated. They love it.

[Robert R]

What about Pure Balance canned from Walmart for $1 per can? It’s rated 5 star. I use this for my little poodles to supplement Orijen kibble and they love it. One can lasts for 2 days.

[Sandra R]

I’ll have to get those books so I can really be sure I am not doing anything wrong. I’m from Portugal and here is really difficult to find any brand are food, so I will have to do the meals at home. What kibbles brand do you use? Has anyone ever tried the Orijen raw food? That I can ship from Spain.

[Oceans11]

I have posted under this topic before but haven’t found anything that works. My one year old Malagasy Coton De Tulear is a picky eater. I have tried Basic Instinct Raw, Fresh Pet, various 5 star canned foods including Tripett, Orijen dry puppy kibble., Fromm Gold kibble, Blue Wilderness. What he will eat on a consistent basis is rotisserie chicken which probably isn’t healthy. We have tried giving him raw ground round and raw steak. All he wants to do is bury it. I have supplements that I try to give him hidden in his food but one whiff and he walks away (supplements: Angel Eyes, Grizzly Salmon Oil, probiotic, and Vitamin supplement). I am concerned that he is not getting any of these supplements or more importantly a nutritious diet. Because he doesn’t eat much on a routine basis, we have all too often shared what we are eating. I don’t believe he is underweight. I would appreciate any suggestions and/or advice anyone could share. Thanks much!

[Ly]

No 🙁 It was like 3 days! I took him to the vet this morning. He said initially his digestion issue could be from the transition, but it’s because he was eating his poop! Of-course I don’t let him eat it! It’s just that it’s pure liquid, so it’s impossible to pick it all up. Then the next time we go out, he sniffs it out and gets a lick in before I’m fast enough to pull him back.
Plus for vacation we were at a friends house for a week (3 weeks ago) and they have 3 small dogs and a fenced in back yard. He literally went around and ate all their poop! Then later puked it up on their living room carpet! I went around and tried to pick it all up outside and kept him on a leash and walked him around after that. So maybe it was still in his system from then, and changing his food on top of that didn’t help!? The vet gave me an antibiotic and a probiotic and I switched his food to Holistic Select Adult/Puppy dry food and he absolutely loves it! It smells sooooo good too! So I think I’m sticking with that. I just want a firm normal poop now! Vet said to stop the chicken and rice and just give him that. They advertise it’s like yogurt for dogs. He’s the pickiest when it comes to food (didn’t care for but would eat BB, hated Wellness Core, loved Orijen), but he’ll eat any animals poop! “They” say he’ll outgrow it. idk? I tried those pills stool-no! Didn’t work.

[aquariangt]

you may try some probiotics or pumpkin while you transition to the higher protein, especially orijen and other close to or over 40% proteins. Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form is a nice one, and plenty of other options as well. 11% protein is quite a jump for your yorkie and if you have a sensitive stomach it may take a little bit for him to get used to it. But yes, some dogs do struggle with protein that is quite that high

[Ly]

I noticed BB Freedom puppy is 27% protein and the BB Freedom small breed is 30% protein. My yorkie’s poops on the 27% were perfect and the 30% were a little soft. I recently switched him to Orijen and that’s 38% and he had major diarrhea. So would higher protein make softer poops? And some dogs just can’t handle it? I think I’m going to go back to BB on 27%. But if that’s not the case, I want Orijen….it’s like the best it seems!

[Ly]

I changed my 7 month old yorkie’s diet from Blue Buffalo Freedom to Orijen last weekend. He got Diarrhea. He was on it from Sat-Thursday. I called my vet Thursday and they said to give him chicken and rice, then go back to BB and transition again. He’s been on chicken and rice since Thursday night. Now his poops are orange liquid. Should I fast him or maybe I’m just giving him too much food?

[Case]

If this was the case, why would Acana, Evo, Orijen, Timberwolf, Victor, etc, etc print the info on their bags?

[Case]

On June 30th, I contacted Earthborn Holistics with the following inquiry:

On Jun 30, 2014, at 5:48 PM, Case and Nicky Lofton wrote:

Hi,

I see other brands that list the % of meat and plant ingredients that are used in their products. I use your food and I’d like this information on your grain free dog foods.

Thanks,
Case

I received the following reply:

Case,

Thank you for your interest in Earthborn Holistic Natural Food for Pets. I do not have this information. I can see if our nutritionist has it available. Some parts of our formula info is proprietary; we don’t want others to figure out how we make our great food. I’ll check to see if this is available.

Cindy Montgomery
VP, Marketing
Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc.
9634 Hedden Road
Evansville, IN 47725
p 812-867-4504, ext. 107
f 812-867-0424
[email protected]

To which I replied:

Cindy,

The info that I’m seeking is in no way detailed. Many manufacturers print it on their bags. Orijen puppy
food for example is 80% meat ingredients, 20% plant ingredients. There are many other companies that share this info. It doesn’t offer any real insight on the formula.

Thanks for your time,
Case

I never heard anything back so I wrote Cindy again yesterday:

Hi Cindy,

Any word on the percentages?

Here’s a photo of the food that I’m currently feeding to demonstrate that I am an actual customer with a simple inquiry. The Primitive Naturals is for my nine month old APBT, I’d love to feed it to my six month old Great Dane as well, but from what I understand the calcium content is too high, so she gets Meadow Feast.

Thanks again,
Case

I also made the same inquiry on their Facebook page, where my question was basically ignored and then deleted.

Are any of you guys aware of these %s? Is it unreasonable to ask Earthborn for this information?

[Kristin C]

As a follow up, I feed Darwin’s and Nature’s Variety raw and Orijen 6 Fish kibble. I usually add cottage cheese or yogurt to the kibble meals. My homemade consists of 65% meat, 10% organ, 5% liver, 15% pumpkin or sweet potato, 5% veggie pulp from my juicer, plus eggs. I add a half teaspoon eggshell per each pound of meat and some fish oil and vitamin e. RMBs consist of chicken backs, turkey or duck necks. My homemade is chicken and beef, beef I can get more variety of organs. Sometimes I use a pre-mix (Sojos grain free) if I don’t have time for the veggie pulp. I usually give 1 or 2 small dried beef trachea during the week too, not too many other treats.

[Kristin C]

Recently took our 1 year old to the vet for an underarm rash. They gave her antibiotics and allergen pills for 2 weeks but did not identify the problem. The vet does not believe it is diet related, however she recommended we start feeding her 75% from one source and get a nutrition consult from Tufts. I feed both my dogs a combination of commercial raw (30%) homemade raw (50%) and a small amount of Orijen kibble (15%) plus raw meaty bones 1x per week. The raw is a variety of chicken, beef, duck and turkey. I did a lot of research working up to their current diet and am confused with the varying opinions out there, and now worried about the balanced nutrition. They are both energetic, glowing, and their stools are consistently as they should be. My concern with Tufts is they don’t seem to advocate raw diets and I don’t want to switch them to that much kibble. I can feed both dogs different proteins at every meal, and different brands, and they have no problems I believe because it is all high quality food. I am looking for some dialogue here from a knowledgeable raw feeder to get an opinion on my approach.

[Case]

Sorry for posting in two places. Hoping for a quick reply.

I’m already in trouble with the wife for the amount of time that I’ve spent reading over the past few days, so as much as I’d like to, I can’t read the large breed puppy food thread from the beginning. I downloaded the list on page 15 but still a few questions. We’ve recently added an English Mastiff x Great Dane pup to our family. My other dog is currently on a bag of Earthborn Primitive Natural. From what I gather it’s calcium/phosphorous/calorie content is not much different from Orijen’s large breed formula. I can get the meadow feast formula locally but I frown on the single source of amino acids. The only other decent food that I can get locally is blue wilderness large breed. My wife plans to top the food with 1/2 tablespoons of pumpkin and jack mackarel. Would the primitive naturals be too much? (1.5 calcium, 1.0 phosphorous, 20% fat)? Should I go ahead with the blue (not a huge fan but need a bag of food today).

• This topic was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Case.

[Case]

I’m already in trouble with the wife for the amount of time that I’ve spent reading over the past few days, so as much as I’d like to, I can’t read this thread from the beginning. I downloaded the list on page 15 but still have a few questions. We’ve recently added an English Mastiff x Great Dane pup to our family. My other dog is currently on a bag of Earthborn Primitive Natural. From what I gather it’s calcium/phosphorous/calorie content is not much different from Orijen’s large breed formula. I can get the meadow feast formula locally but I frown on the single source of amino acids. The only other decent food that I can get locally is blue wilderness large breed. My wife plans to top the food with 1/2 tablespoons of pumpkin and jack mackarel. Would the primitive naturals be too much? (1.5 calcium, 1.0 phosphorous, 20% fat)? Should I go ahead with the blue (not a huge fan but need a bag of food today).

[Deborah M]

Hi Nancy,

It really wasn’t a difficult transition. I was given a sample from the pet store and took it home to try it. My dogs went so nuts for it (I had never seen them eat with such gusto) so I thought I would try it. I have had VERY successful communications with the folks at K9 in Australia. I just email them with my questions, and they email me right back with a personal email. I have even struck up a friendly rapport with “Shane”… very helpful “Kiwi” as he calls himself 🙂 He suggested to me that when making the transition, that I might want to try to start with the Lamb Green Tripe, which I did. It has the most HORRIBLE smell in the world, but its ONLY ingredient is Green Tripe and very digestible and VERY good for them. They gobbled it up, despite the disgusting smell. I started adding in the venison, and they gobbled that up too. I don’t get the beef b/c it’s too high in fat. I noticed a difference in their stool immediately. Much smaller, and on the dry side. Sometimes, I add a little straight pumpkin so help keep their stool from being too dry. Now, I feed them only the venison, and add just a little of the tripe to aid in digestion. I’ve read ONLY good things about green tripe. Believe me when I say my dogs were finicky. I coaxed, begged, and added topper after topper – wasted a lot of money on high end kibble, Orijen, Acana, etc.. They didn’t like anything. Now, they eat like regular dogs, and on cue, so that I don’t have to leave food out for them when I leave for work. I purchase through Chewy.com – in bulk – it’s cheaper. Sometimes, Amazon. I’m sure there are other brands of freeze dried raw that are good, but I like the ingredients of the K9 Natural and I’ve had nothing but success. It will be pretty expensive for a large breed, however. That’s the downside of raw. I’ve priced all of the better ones out, and they all seem to be very similar in price. Good luck!

[Linda J]

Orijen grain free dog food is the best that I have ever found for my dog.

[Deborah M]

On paper, Fromm’s is definitely an above average food. That’s why I tried it for my two Shih Tzus. But, sadly, they wouldn’t eat it. I’ve tried so many “five star” dry foods and the reaction I got with just about every thing I tried would go something like this….: They anxiously wait for me to put the bowls down, they stand in front of the bowl, give it an unenthusiastic sniff and walk away with sad eyes as if I’ve just given them cardboard or something. I would come home after work, and food wouldn’t be touched. Orijen is one dry that they will eat, but only sometimes. I recently switched them over to K9 Natural (freeze dried raw) – venison and occasionally add in some of the Green Tripe. OMG!!! – you would think they died and went to heaven. In two years, I’ve never seen them attack their food like this … like actual REAL dogs. It’s expensive, but soooo worth it. Since mine are small, the expense isn’t as much a factor. I do feel bad for those with large breeds who want to go the raw route because it IS expensive, but I am factoring in how much money I’ve wasted in the last two years with failed trial and error. I order on-line … it’s less expensive.

[Naturella]

I did feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness with great success for 4 months to my terrier mix. It made a lot of difference for him, coming off of Purina One (what the people who rescued him fed him), and Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy (what we were initially advised to feed him at PetSmart the day we got him). His coat got shiny, he had good appetite, good stool, no problems whatsoever. I do know people who feed Blue in rotation, and some who feed it exclusively, day in and day out, so far no problems.

I think for us, I will keep an eye on it and the cases surrounding it, but maybe in 2 years, when I have had a bunch of other foods I want to rotate Bruno through, I may go back to it if I get a good sale on it, lol. If not, I will stick with some favorites – Victor, Dr. Tim’s, Annamaet, Earthborn Holistic, and hopefully Wellness, Wysong, Canidae, Fromm, Orijen, Acana, 4Health (yet to feed those in our rotation).