[Nancy C]

I saw this food discussed on DFA but then the discussion was closed. Something was said re Dr. Mike doing an investigation on something in the food and that is why the brand was pulled from the site. Any comments or answers to update this? Has the brand fallen off the DFA site totally? Appreciate whatever can be said.
Nancy Calloway

[Dori]

I too would like to know if anyone has any thoughts on Big Dog Natural Dog Food. It’s not on the review section but maybe someone has some experience feeding this food. I’m always on the look out for raw foods to add to the rotation. As always, thanks to all.

[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]

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

[Dori]

Hi Cyndi. Knew I could count on you for a quick reply.

[Cyndi]

🙂

[pugmomsandy]

I still have a case of BDN to use up. I use it as a topper in rotation with my other toppers. Dori, have you seen my dog supply room? I have lots of topper choices! BDN rehydrates well and looks like cooked ground beef when it’s ready to feed. If you send an email to them, the owner will reply quickly. There were questions about this food regarding it’s GA and it’s calcium level and Ca:Phos ratio. I just use it as an unbalanced topper.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/dogfoodcans_zps83871f36.jpg

This is dry:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/bdndrybeef2_zps877bb1cb.jpg

and rehydrated:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/bdnwetbeef1_zpsa0b84618.jpg

[neezerfan]

I have ordered and fed this food and I like it a lot, especially that it has tripe and fermented veggies. I rotate with many other brands so if it turns out not to be AAFCO compliant, it’s not a big deal to me.

[neezerfan]

OMG Sandy! You have a whole room for dog food! If my husband ever complains about how much I order I sure will show him those pictures!

[Dori]

OMG! Your dog food room is practically as big as the pet food store I go to. How many dogs do you have? I’m like really speechless. Wow! I’m floored! How long does it take you to use all that food up? Won’t it go bad? That’s a heck of a lot of food. Your dogs are quite the lucky ones.

Thanks for the pics of the food dry and rehydrated. Makes it easier to know what to expect. I rotate foods on a daily basis, sometimes meal by meal so I’m never particularly concerned about whether a food is totally complete and balanced or AAFCO compliant. So long its close, that’s good enough for me. That’s another benefit of rotational feeding.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Dori.

[Dori]

Hey, good point Neezerfan. I will definitely have to show Sandy’s pic to my husband cause he thinks I’m nuts with the dog food. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Wait til he sees Sandy’s dog food room. He’ll think I’m perfectly normal now.

[pugmomsandy]

He-he! That’s just one wall. The closet wall has bags of kibbles and my personal small kitchen equipment and vitamins/supplements. The the third wall has some more foods, boxes of Halo Herbal Dip, other topicals for the fosters, extra dog beds, shampoos, cases of Merrick GI Bones, Ranger Ribs and Flossies. And I keep chicken treats in there too (tubs of Mother Clucker, Chicken Crack and Cluck Yah) and I just put three 7.1 cu ft freezers in that room too to fill with the 8 cases I just ordered from greentripe.com. And here’s the dog freezer in the garage:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/fulldogfreezer765x1024_zpsb5463b60.jpg

My personal dogs aren’t eating much kibble right now! I have 3 personal pugs and the rest are fosters. Sometimes I have up to 12 pugs total and they usually eat 1 cup of kibble per day with some toppers. Sometimes I give them a whole raw egg fresh from the coop! So to me, it really doesn’t matter too much if BDN is not aafco compliant like Neezerfan.

Here’s a picture of bath day:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/pugs8pugs_zps0cd62c42.jpg

My awesome Weston 22 grinder:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_5170952x1024_zpsec466d4d.jpg

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Bobby dog]

I love the bath day photo, however I am concerned for you and your family…is there any room in your house for people food? lol 😉

[pugmomsandy]

Actually, my freezer is behind the open door of the dog freezer! And I have another side-by-side in the laundry room mostly full of drinks and yogurt and upstairs in the media room I use this unit to thaw food out in.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Bobby dog]

I am envious of your stash by the way; you have quite a setup.

I have a soft spot for Pugs. Bobby has a “cougar” Pug girlfriend that lives next door. A few times a week she spends about a half hour with us doing barn or garden chores. He really likes showing off for her, it’s too funny sometimes.

[Dori]

Girl, I am seriously impressed. That is some set up you’ve got there. What did that room used to be before you became pug obsessed and seriously an angel? Do you take care of all of them and all it entails by yourself or do you have help? That has got to be a lot of work but so very rewarding and a Godsend to the babies you are fostering. As you can tell by now, I am seriously in awe.

Bobby dog. I was wondering the same thing.

[pugmomsandy]

That dog supply room was the 3rd bedroom. My breakfast room was made into the dog’s room (before fostering) by putting down an iron gate. Now since fostering, it’s the foster’s room. Ordered 3 custom cage banks for the pugs and had Elfe shelving put in. So my breakfast table and china cabinet is the living room with the couch and tv.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/dogroomcratebanks_zps4c41d520.jpg

I take care of them by myself while hubby works way too many hours. Feeding, watering, plants, chickens and poop duty takes about an hour in the morning. The dogs get out 4 times a day if they have heartworm, then back to their crate to rest. The others can use the doggy door.

Other days, I might be the pug taxi taking them to their dr appt or to go see a possible adopter. 252 pugs and counting…

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Bobby dog]

Love the pics! 🙂

[Dori]

Just curious. How, when and why did you get into fostering especially having three dogs of your own. Where I live you’re not allowed to have more than three dogs at any given time. Neighbors also get annoyed if they hear too much barking. It also looks like you have a nice size yard for them.

[pugmomsandy]

I have a pie shaped lot. Large back yard and small front. Greenbelt behind me. One neighbor to the right and one neighbor across from my side driveway. Actually I bought my first pug at Dog Alley in ******. He was so active and wild, I had to adopt him a brother to play with. So we did. Then we got an email a year later from the rescue that they were seeking foster homes. So we volunteered for that and adopted are first foster pug. That made 3 for us. Several pugs later and a year later, we fostered and adopted Missy Poo, our 4th pug (who has passed). We haven’t stopped fostering for 5 years now. While we do have 3 pugs of our own, they rest we just dog sit and they aren’t at my house permanently.

This picture might show a 1/3 of my back yard. I’d always wanted my own tennis court in it!! But so far, I’ve given the dogs and chickens 1/4 of the yard.
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_7685_zpsdb09ee98.jpg

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Cyndi]

Very impressive Sandy! 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I always love looking at Sandys dog food room. Me, expecting an order from Hare today!

[crazy4cats]

Awesome! I bet vacations are very few and far between. Thank you for sharing. I think the Big Dog Natural food actually looks pretty good. I might check it out as a topper as well. The Honest Kitchen is not going well at my house.

[Nancy C]

OMG
I am SPEECHLESS!
Probably won’t talk for days!!
UNBELIEVABLE!
Thank you dear Sandy, for sharing and inspiring.
Your pugs are the happiest dogs and BLESSED beyond belief.
Nancy Jane Calloway

[Dori]

You are one serious dog lady. That’s so great of you and, of course, your husband to go along with all this. A tennis court would never give you the same sense of well being and satisfaction. Job well done!

[Nancy C]

Hi Pugsmom: My intro box of BigDogNatural just arrived yesterday. Their customer service is wonderful. My Question to you since you have experience: I’m transitioning my 10 yr old Golden to Raw. Historically she can eat anything anytime. The Homeopathic vet I talked to yesterday highly recommends this food and Darwin’s for raw dogs. Says he uses both (rotates) with his 6 dogs with great results.
The Customer Service urged me yesterday to feed it Cold Turkey – not to mix with kibble due to the length of time kibble requires to get digested. (That seems so severe esp for an older dog) but their rep was very clear about not mixing bec could cause gas and stomach upset. She said with the tripe and fermented veggies the dog will do FINE on it alone. The plan is to move to Darwin’s next. My Darwins arrived yesterday too. The vet yesterday said he thinks BDN will be more readily welcomed by the gut than even the Darwins, due to the fermentation and the tripe. But he really likes Darwins as well.
In her video Karen Becker suggests NOT mixing kibble with raw but to feed kibble and offer the raw separately as treats during the day, increasing the treats and reducing the kibble gradually.
The BDN woman said if I still feed kibble should feed it separately as a meal without raw, and feed the raw as a separate meal.
Any insights/ suggestions FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE will be welcome.
Thank you.

[Dori]

Hi Nancy. I was suppose to get my order yesterday but it didn’t arrive. I guess it will be stuck somewhere until Tuesday after the holiday weekend. How does the food look. When you get ready to feed it do you think you might take a picture of the food before and after rehydrated in the bowl? Thanks so much

[neezerfan]

Sandy already did that, see the previous page.

[Dori]

Oh for goodness sakes. Thanks Neezerfan, I’ve got way too much going on in my life right now and should have refreshed my memory with the first page of the thread. My apologies ladies and gents, and again, thanks for responding Neezerfan. I like the name, does it stand for anything. I get the ………fan part but whats a neezer? Please forgive me if I’m being terribly stupid. Thanks 🙂

[theBCnut]

Havanese.

[Dori]

Hey BC. Haven’t seen you around lately. I’ve miss you. I would guess you’ve been way busy with summer and now school has started. Crazy time. Anyway, Neezer stands for Havanese? Or were you replying to someone else? I love the breed but had never heard them referred to as Neezer. Anyway, glad your back.

[theBCnut]

Havanese are neezers, yes.

I’ve been really busy with my aunt. She isn’t doing well and is needing someone with her all the time. Unfortunately, I never have time to read the forum anymore and rarely get to read the review side. I really miss everyone too. I had a free hour today and this is where I came.

[Dori]

Oh my gosh BC. I’m so sorry that your aunt has gotten so much worse. She’s very fortunate to have family to support and help her at this unfortunate time in her life. Your aunt and you and your family are in my prayers. Just know that you are missed and we think of you and miss your expertise and definitely miss your humor.

[neezerfan]

Yes, Neezer is for Havanese. I have 2!

[neezerfan]

Word on fermented veggies, BDN has them! http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/08/31/pet-fermented-vegetables.aspx?e_cid=20140831Z1_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140831Z1&et_cid=DM54918&et_rid=641772839

[Nancy C]

Okay – For whoever is interested, I am presently transitioning my 10 yr old Golden Retriever to Raw. I acquired the help of a homeopathic vet to be my coach for the transition of my two dogs due to the horrific time I had with my GSD in the spring. Dr. Loops has a website on which he strongly recommends raw. He specifically recommends BDN and Darwin’s. His 6 dogs all eat rotations of those two foods. In consultation with him on Friday he suggested that I try the BDN first , due to the fermentation and the tripe which is in ALL of BDN food. After a few days I will introduce Darwin’s which arrived Friday. The woman at BDN all but promised me the golden would do fine, saying so many very sick dogs have transitioned to this food with ease. She claims that the tripe and fermentation are key to digestion.
Yesterday morning I gave my golden 1/2 cup of BDN with NO KIBBLE. (The BDN company recommended NOT mixing the two together due to the different digestion times. They were confident that she would do fine).
Hannah gobbled up the food and licked the bowl like there was no tomorrow.
Early afternoon I gave her some homemade bone broth.
For supper she ate 3/4 cup of only BDN. All was well.
TOday it was 3/4 cup again and tenacious bowl licking.
During our walk she pooped small poops as the woman at BDN said she would. It was normal in consistency and NO DIARRHEA (yet ?) and the stool was not even “soft.” It was moist, smaller than usual and just fine. Yesterday’s stool was the kibble from Friday and it was large and lots of it. Today’s, which reflected yesterday’s BDN, was VERY different.
The woman told me to watch the poops, that they would tell all.
That’s my story of the last 28 hours.
It appears that by tomorrow she will be on her protocol of 1 cup 2x day.
This transition has been a piece of cake.

[pugmomsandy]

Sorry for delay. Been busy with Blues Fest this weekend. Glad the transition to BDN is going well, Nancy. It’s really what you’re comfortable with when changing forms of food since there are different schools of thought on that matter – cold turkey or taking time to transition. And only you know how your dog handles change. I usually end up mixing forms of food since splitting up one 8 oz raw patty between three dogs doesn’t make a complete meal. And I think adding the BDN with kibble would actually help digest the kibble better.

[Nancy C]

Yes, Sandy, I agree with you. Each dog is different and the hope is to know each in particular so we can succeed. Our GSD will require a slower pace, so I will be mixing kibble and raw with him. (There’s room in the world for both approaches! )
Splitting one patty: tricky. We’re so blessed by these precious animals, aren’t we! Have a nice day and thank you.

[Holly N]

I just moved my 5 dogs and 1 foster to BDN. I was wondering if you all are still using this food.

[neezerfan]

I use it in my rotation. I don’t have it right now but I will order it again. I just have a backlog of other foods right now…..

[Nancy C]

I use it once a week as rotation. I moved our GSD and 11 yr old Golden Retriever to FULL TRUE RAW (using Whole PRey Model) and they had an easy transition from BDN to true raw. I fed raw chicken for 4 weeks and am now feeding raw beef. They are doing better than ever and their TEETH are white as snow now. NO TARTAR AT ALL. I just saw my neighbor who started using BDN in August and she says her three dogs are STILL eating it exclusively (all flavors) and love it and there are NO ISSUES. It is SO EASY. She is very satisfied as well.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nancy-
Long time no see! Glad to hear your dogs are doing great on raw!

[Nancy C]

Hi Crazy:
I’ve been captured by Raw Feeding Protocols… setting up to do it, learning details, getting a small freezer for the food, finding farmers/ resources for food etc. It takes a lot of time to learn the ins and outs and get my system going. The dogs really are doing well – never skipped a beat. I also only feed at supper, which helps. Using BDN once a week for a break… maybe twice when busy.

Hope you are fine!

Q: Have you ever fed Nature’s Logic? Thinking about buying some to stash away in case of a disaster hitting and my not being able to get Raw for a while. need something in the closet to pull out. Have some BDN but need something else too. Suggestions?

Thanks.
Nancy Jane Calloway

[crazy4cats]

Yes, I have fed it a couple of times. It’s just too expensive for me to feed regularly. Grain free joint health Victor is one of my main Kibbles. I tend to use less expensive kibble so that I can add quality toppers. I’m one of those rebels that mixes raw with kibble. Lol! Take care.

[Author]

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