[Tracey K]

Hi! I have a 5 year old shih tzu/bichon mix that I have been feeding Fromm Grain Free kibble and canned for the last 2 years and after much reading on the benefits of a raw diet, I went out and purchased raw dinners from a local company ( Big Country Raw) located here in Southern Ontario. I went with the dinners because they included vegetables and fruits along with the meat.
My question is do I have to add any supplements to this food? I’m so nervous he won’t be getting the required amount needed. I want to start him on it in the morning and is it ok if I don’t have the supplements if needed then?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tracey-
I am not a raw feeder, but was curious about the food you bought. The website claims that the meals are complete and balanced. So you should be fine without any supplements. You could probably add some fish oil or sardines a few days a week but other than that it looks like you are good to go!

I do add some frozen or freeze dried raw to my dogs’ kibble two or three days a week and they love it and do fine with the mix. Hopefully I will be able to eventually even feed it more often.

Good luck with your new adventure!

[Tracey K]

Thanks so much crazy4cats. I was just wondering on the supplements because someone mentioned to me that the dinners don’t contain chelated minerals or probiotics.

[Dori]

Hi Tracy. I’m a commercial raw feeder to my three girls. Maltese, Maltipoo and a Yorkipoo. If the food you are feeding is complete and balanced than no supplements are required. When you say that you were told that the food contains no cheated minerals, are they saying they contain synthetic minerals or just no minerals at all? That’s an important thing to know. With probiotics, once again, if it’s a truly complete and balanced food than, no, in my opinion there is no need for probiotics. Have you been to their web site and read up on the food itself and checked out ingredients and guaranteed analysis. If not, I would suugested you do that. Whatever food you are going to switch to please remember that since your dog has been eating kibble and canned, YOU MUST transition him slowly to see how his gut does with raw so that he doesn’t have diarrhea or loose stools. Once you know he doesn’t then your good to go. Once he’s been on raw for a bit I would suggest that you introduce different proteins and then different brands. That will benefit his gut and he’ll be able to make the switch from one food to the other with no issues whatsoever. I rotate brands and the different proteins within all the brands that I feed with the exception of poultry of any sort as one of my girls has food intolerances and for convenience sake for me I feed them all the same. I believe that a rotational diet is the best and healthiest way to feed. Also less chance of them becoming sensitive to the same protein fed day in and day out. Also it makes meal times more interesting for them. Anyway, all this is my opinion and my experiences with my three. So very glad you’re switching to raw. Yay!

[Dori]

Tracy I just went on their web site to check their food and company out and my suggestion would be for you to call and speak to a customer representative and tell them your situation and ask what supplement would they suggest you add to their “dinners”. I don’t see that they include any vitamins or minerals at all. If that’s so, then you need to consult them on this issue. Their dinners do not appear to be complete and balanced.

I’ll see if I can get Aimee to see your question and respond. She’s pretty much the resident “complete and balanced” guru on this site.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Dori.

[Dori]

Aimee, if you’re around would you please check this forum out. Tracy has a question on Big Raw Country dog food. Specifically their dinners. I’ve gone to their site to try and help her but the foods contain no vitamins or minerals whatsoever that I could tell. I don’t believe they are complete and balanced. At least they don’t appear to be unless Canada has different thoughts on what’s complete and balanced. Thanks.

[crazy4cats]

I just took a look at Nature’s Variety frozen raw foods. They say they are complete and balanced, but they don’t have any vitamins or minerals added either. Isn’t that the purpose of feeding raw? To get the vitamins and minerals from the actual food due to the fact that the good stuff isn’t cooked and processed out? I’ve read Hound Dog Mom say more than once that if you are concerned, you can always give a multi vitamin.

[Tracey K]

Thank you for your responses Dori & crazy4cats 🙂
Dori, I personally went to the company yesterday so I could speak with someone in person. When I asked about having to supplement the food, I was told no and they only add Herring Oil to their dogs food because they don’t feed fish.

This morning was a disaster. He gave it a few licks and dropped 2 chunks on the floor which put my husband in a frenzy. Should have known not to start this when he was home…LOL! I ended up throwing it in the frying pan and cooking it to get him to eat and to placate the husband. The little dickens ate it all up lickety split.

[Leslie R]

I know I’m a year late but I have the same questions-please refer to the Feb 20 post in this link it refers to Big Country itself. I live right by them and want to switch but am concerned about having to supplement

/forums/topic/pre-mix-or-home-made-raw/

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