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Natural Pet Foods

33K views 173 replies 78 participants last post by  HealingBeam 
#1 ·
I think we should make a sticky for natural pet foods. This will be a great resource for everyone. Let's list all the natural pet food websites we can find, including natural commercial foods and recipes for raw and homemade diets. The dangers of mainstream pet food additives and inferior ingredients are also welcome. Also, personal reviews and opinions of specific products would be great!

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#152 ·
Okay, managed to sneak a look at a few sites I had bookmarked. (The kids are playing downstairs.
)

Based on ingredients, I'm leaning towards Orijen. Here's the list of ingredients:

Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.

TONIC HERBS AND BOTANICALS

Chicory root, licorice root, tumeric root, funugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, zea mays, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosehips.

ORGANIC MINERALS

Iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate.

PROBIOTIC MICROORGANISMS

Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

PREMIUM VITAMINS

Mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), choline chloride, vitamin A, vitamin D3, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin.

I looked at the ingredients for Precise Puppy Food, but it contains rice and oats... are those considered grains?

INGREDIENTS
Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbyl Palmitate), Ground Oats, Beet Pulp, Lamb Meal, Rice Bran, Dried Egg Product, Fish Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Chicken Flavor, Lecithin, Fish Oil, Salt, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Calcium Carbonate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, DL-Methionine, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (B6), Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate.

Am I on the right track? Is Orijen a good choice? It is available locally at the independent pet food store I am planning to patronize, so that's an added bonus.
 
#154 ·
Thanks!


My mil feeds her Doxies Arcana, but I really like what I've read about Orijen. Just wanted to make sure I was on the right track.

I need to make sure Finn drinks a lot of water with it, though, right?

What do I need to look for, in terms of, uh, output
to make sure that he is getting enough water with the food?
 
#155 ·
Most dogs are fine with grain free kibble as far as drinking goes. Just make sure he always has clean water available and you should be fine. Cats are a different story because most of them are not naturally good drinkers.

Typically expect stool output to be lower with a grain free as compared to a regular kibble because there is less filler in the food. If you really want low stool volume, then feed raw.
 
#156 ·


I would love to feed raw, but until my kids (who will be supervised around the dog at all times) understand that they are not, under any circumstances, to touch the dog (while eating) or his food, I'm not comfortable w/ raw feeding. I have poultry issues.


Also, the kids are going to be responsible (on a rotating schedule) for feeding Finn, and it's a lot easier for a 3 or 5 or 7yo to pour a scoop of kibble into a dish, kwim?

Once we settle into a groove (he'll be our first pet that didn't live in a cage or a bowl, lol) I'm going to look into raw feeding.
 
#157 ·
You know hand-feeding is always a really good thing to do for the first 1-2 weeks whenever you bring a new puppy or dog home. It allows them to connect you to the food which is probably the most valuable resource to a dog. I wouldn't hesitate to have you let your kids hand-feed Finn occasionally as well. Obviously you want to make sure that he's not biting little kid fingers to get the kibble, but it can definitely help Finn to realize that even the kids control such a hot commodity.

By hand-feeding I mean that at scheduled meal times (probably 3 times per day for a while with such a young and small pup) you or whoever measures out the ration and gives Finn individual or small handfuls of food. You can use this as good training time too (ie. attention to name, watch me, sit, etc.).
 
#158 ·
Wow... I had no idea! THANK you!


I will most definitely do that with the kids. I know they will love that, too!

I'm sure the daily ration is on the bag (I'm pretty sure I saw it on the website, too)... but if the ration is 1 cup/day, then we would feed 1/3c 3 times per day, right? First thing in the morning, lunchtime, dinnertime? Or more like 8am, 2pm, 8pm?

I have a bunch of links for basic puppy care bookmarked, but haven't been able to find the time to look at them.
The kids don't know about the dog, and with it being summer holidays there are always lurking around.
Makes it hard to research in secret.
 
#159 ·
Another good training technique that has worked well with me that involves feeding, is as follows:

Keep puppy in eyesight of meals, but restrained in some way (inside a crate in full view of the dinner table is what I have done myself), so they cannot scrounge under the table for 'dropped' food.

Then feed the puppy after EVERYONE in the family has finished eating. This will establish his order in the family pack (the lowest). The lower member always eats last.

Hand feeding is wonderful, and even better, is having puppy sit or 'wait' until release word is spoken (such as 'okay').
 
#160 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mommyswenn View Post
Wow... I had no idea! THANK you!


I will most definitely do that with the kids. I know they will love that, too!

I'm sure the daily ration is on the bag (I'm pretty sure I saw it on the website, too)... but if the ration is 1 cup/day, then we would feed 1/3c 3 times per day, right? First thing in the morning, lunchtime, dinnertime? Or more like 8am, 2pm, 8pm?

I have a bunch of links for basic puppy care bookmarked, but haven't been able to find the time to look at them.
The kids don't know about the dog, and with it being summer holidays there are always lurking around.
Makes it hard to research in secret.

Yes, split up the daily ration into 1/3's. It doesn't matter when you feed, just do as convenient for you. It is a good idea to feed after the humans eat if your mealtimes are going to coincide at all.
 
#163 ·
We started our chihuahua on a raw meaty bones diet a few days ago. He gets one whole chicken thigh to gnaw on over the course of a day and the occasional egg. Eventually we'll add organ meats and maybe different cuts of various animals. He's quite overweight and we're hoping that the raw diet will let him slim down and build more lean muscle.

He now passes the most horrendous gas I've ever encountered; he smells like a Dumpster in July. Is this normal? Will it go away? This morning he made my eyes water!
 
#164 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by peainthepod View Post
We started our chihuahua on a raw meaty bones diet a few days ago. He gets one whole chicken thigh to gnaw on over the course of a day and the occasional egg. Eventually we'll add organ meats and maybe different cuts of various animals. He's quite overweight and we're hoping that the raw diet will let him slim down and build more lean muscle.

He now passes the most horrendous gas I've ever encountered; he smells like a Dumpster in July. Is this normal? Will it go away? This morning he made my eyes water!
add some probiotics or yogurt to his food as well as raw apple cider vinegar just a TSP a day.
 
#166 ·
Some people are having trouble with feeding cats Innova Evo - it's high protein content can cause issues for PKD susceptible cats, and the high Caloric content (612 Calories/day) means the cat can only eat 1/4 to 1/3 cup a day!

Another option is Solid Gold Indigo Moon holistic, it's grain-free like Innova Evo but has lower calories (I think around 425 C?). Naturally it has more carbs (I think around 13%) but that's still very low for dry food. The protein content isn't as high, either!
 
#167 ·
I had started buying the innova evo and had my cats eating that for about a year. My older siamese cat was looking a bit thin, and still is. My husband does all the grocery/pet supply shopping and he saw solid gold was cheaper all of a sudden, so he bought a bag of that. Just the regular adult cat food.

My cat hasn't put on any weight and still feels all bony. Many times I think it's just because my other cat is maybe not letting her eat, but they've lived together his entire life. He is now 13 years old and he has no weight problems. Not fat, not skinny. My siamese, though, looks like she has lost a couple pounds and I know that is a lot for a cat. She is going to be 15 in May.
 
#168 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by k9rider View Post
Rice and oats are grains.

Yes, I think Orijen is a good choice for a small puppy. If it were a large breed, I would say no to the grain free kibbles.
Why's that? Both my large breeds (A lab-border collie X and a Doberman) are on Orijen 6 Fresh Fish formula and do very well.

Avery gets gassy from time to time, but I'd hardly call it an issue.
 
#169 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by k9rider View Post
Rice and oats are grains.

Yes, I think Orijen is a good choice for a small puppy. If it were a large breed, I would say no to the grain free kibbles.
I know that some people are concerned with the protein levels of grain free....but when you you figure out the amount of food they eat grain free vs the amount they eat of grain inclusive...the actual amount of protein is lower overall. Also, the protein from meat is appropriate for them and they can handle it.
 
#170 ·
my 14yo border collie mix has been on California Natural Low Fat for a few years now. We just got a new younger dog, and I went in our local feed store to check out different brands etc. I was shocked to see some of the higher end middle of the road (Nutro in particular) was MORE expensive than CN! Not by a HUGE margin, but enough to notice it. ANd the thing with Calif Nat., it has less filler, so you feed them less food than regular dog food. So I went with Calif Natural regular for my 2yo new dog. Especially with Calif Nat going up in price the past few months, it was STILL cheaper than a few other mid range brands......
 
#172 ·
Since my dog is 14 and just went thru 2 bouts of vestibular disease, i took her to a holistic vet who recommended a grain free kibble. We went with TASTE OF THE WILD bc it was reasonably priced. This morning she was actually picking out her old kibble and dropping it out of the bowl so she could eat the new grain free kibble..........

just wanted to add that t his same vet sold Orijen out of his office. He said it was the best......but a little too pricey for us......
 
#173 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by daekini View Post
Some people are having trouble with feeding cats Innova Evo - it's high protein content can cause issues for PKD susceptible cats, and the high Caloric content (612 Calories/day) means the cat can only eat 1/4 to 1/3 cup a day!

Another option is Solid Gold Indigo Moon holistic, it's grain-free like Innova Evo but has lower calories (I think around 425 C?). Naturally it has more carbs (I think around 13%) but that's still very low for dry food. The protein content isn't as high, either!

My ut problem cat is now on complete wet food and gets cranberry, VIT C, herbal pills every few days to keep the urine more acidic. My male cat is now the only one on Innova Evo (he is a good water drinker though) but it's not always out so as to keep the other cat from eating the dry. During our last bout with a UTI the vet said her protein levels were off the chart and her urine was way too alkaline.

So question for you mamas who have posted about watching out with grain free foods and water -
I'm wondering now about why the high protein in dry food is a problem for cats susceptible to UTIs? Also why they have to drink so much more water with grain free dry foods?

Thanks!
 
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