Need help deciding on raw pet food

[EENS]

Hi ladies,
I'm considering one of the following for my puppy - 9 week yellow lab, female.

Primal
Bravo!
Honest Kitchen

Does anyone have any comments on the above. Thank you so much.

I'm currently doing 1/3 kibble and 2/3 raw but really want something a bit more complete. Plus, I'm not too confident that I'm properly supplying any additional nutritional supplementation she needs.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by EENS

Hi ladies,
I'm considering one of the following for my puppy - 9 week yellow lab, female.

Primal
Bravo!
Honest Kitchen

Does anyone have any comments on the above. Thank you so much.

I'm currently doing 1/3 kibble and 2/3 raw but really want something a bit more complete. Plus, I'm not too confident that I'm properly supplying any additional nutritional supplementation she needs.

Honestly, I wouldn't do any premade raw diet especially for a puppy. They're notorious for having too much bone, since that is the cheapest component. The problem is that puppies cannot regulate their calcium intake the way that adult dogs can so you really want to avoid giving too much bone.

I would recommend doing some more reading on a good raw diet and skip the premade foods. We've been doing raw for over 4 years now and I can attest that it's really not that difficult. We can help if you'd like or point you to some other resources.

[Sailor]

I also wouldn't do pre-made raw food for dogs. I agree with the too much bone comment. Personally, I also have this idea that if I can't eat that meat then I'm not going to feed it to the dog.

You could VERY easily feed raw yourself. And more cheaply too than the pre-made stuff. There's tons of books that will guide you through it, as well as websites. If you google "raw feeding" or BARF you'll get tons of resources.

[greenmagick]

I've used some of the premade stuff when we have gone out of town for convenience, and I was not happy with the ingredients. Lots of extras that dont do anything for the dog.

[Nicole915]

The previous posters are right, especially Sailor. The premade packages are vastly overpriced, and to the best of my knowledge only one is independently certified through the AAFCO to be a balanced diet... and I believe that was only for adult canines.

What has worked for clients of a colleague in the past is a guy named Dr. Remillard, who is a veterinarian specializing in raw diet nutrition (meaning he has something like 12 years of education, at least 6 in nutrition). He can give you a well balanced diet to follow, but only after a very thorough questionnaire. I believe that if you go through your vet who is willing to do client interface its around $100. While I have not had a client use him yet, I heard nothing but good things. For some reason I can't get the website to come up, but I'm fairly certain that its petdiets.com.

Please talk to your vet about what is right for your puppy. We spend years in school learning about this stuff, and you're paying for our expertise anyway, might as well take advantage of it. There are raw friendly DVMs out there, sometimes you just have to search to find one. The vet can also give you information on raw meat diets as a zoonotic and bacterial risk vector (E. coli and Salmonella are the big ones). There is a great deal of anecdotal and testimonial reporting on barf diets, and your vet is a great way to cut through all that to the quick of what we know via science to be true about nutrition. We have to suffer through seminars on nutrition, let us use that time!

Have an awesome time with your puppy!

(I'm not your vet, and this isn't medical advice)

[Peepsqueak]

Originally Posted by Sailor

I also wouldn't do pre-made raw food for dogs. I agree with the too much bone comment. Personally, I also have this idea that if I can't eat that meat then I'm not going to feed it to the dog.

You could VERY easily feed raw yourself. And more cheaply too than the pre-made stuff. There's tons of books that will guide you through it, as well as websites. If you google "raw feeding" or BARF you'll get tons of resources.

I agree with this. I am a very busy person and not as organized with my life as many people so I do feed the premade Nature's Variety for my rat terrier. She gets 6 medallions a day in two feedings per day. This food is adequate, but to save money I should do this myself:

For instance: 12.50 for the chicken mediallions lasts her a week
If I buy chicken necks, or boned meats, I can do this for 20.00 a month:

3% of body weight of food per day: for a 30 lb dog that would be 0.9 lb a day: 65-70% of this is meat and bone: so 0.63 lb per day for meat and bone and the 0.09 lb would be a liver or offal (gut meat) and the rest is egg or veggie mix (preferable greens, or green beans - avoid brocoli, and high gassy veggies...lol) Anyway this sound like a lot of calculating but this should be about 20.00 a month vs. 50.00 with the already made diet. Because meat should be less than a dollar a pound...do not buy anything over a dollar a pound...the dog will not know the difference, just as long as it is human grade food.

So.....go figure.... .63lb X 30 days = 18.9 lbs a month with under a dollar a lb is less than 20.00

Add about 2 eggs a week, a little yogurt left over, and even left over steamed veggies and you are set.

[mistymama]

I know it can be a bit scary to switch -- I researched the heck out of raw feeding and *still* worried that my dog was going to be missing nutrients. But trust me, once you start to see the difference in their health, your confidence will build.

That, and once you start feeding raw, you really do learn what works for your dog and you can adjust. The best part is that each day, week does not have to be perfectly balanced, you are looking at the overall picture, kwim?

We've been feeding raw for about 4 months now, and it really is so very easy. I can't tell you how beautiful, healthy, shiny, etc our puppy is - and his coat starting getting super soft within days of being fed raw. Also, he had a super sensitive tummy prior and would always puke or have diarreah, and now - nothing. Nothing but those lovely, tiny, easy to pick up raw fed poops.

I started to research premade raw - but like the PPs have said, they contain all kinds of ingredients that are not necessary. I honestly think it's healthier to just do it yourself.

We started with chicken parts, moved onto pork, turkey and eventually some beef, liver, hearts, eggs and fish.

People here are VERY helpful when it comes to raw feeding, they helped me get started and I still ask them questions! But I would most certainly raw feed with my own meat purchases vs. buying premade stuff.

HTH

[naturemama1]

I agree with the others -- give it a try! Even a packaged raw food is going to be worlds better than kibble or canned industrial food, but there's no comparison to a homemade, biologically appropriate diet.

If you're already feeding two-thirds raw, I'm going to guess that you're giving her some raw bones at mealtimes, and relying on a bit of kibble to cover any nutritional gaps? If that's the case, all you need to add is the "glop" component (which is breakfast, for us -- the raw bones are given in the evening, and the veggie/meat/offal/supplements glop in the morning). It's easy to do, truly! We make a whole bunch and freeze them into patties, and then it's done. And dogs are even easier than cats, in terms of recipes.

I'll also echo what the PPs said about thinking in terms of the big picture, rather than meal by meal, when balancing nutrients. Like kids.

You'll never go back! It feels so good to get out each day's raw food packet and picture all the nutritional goodies going into their coats and joints and hearts and whiskers.

[greenmagick]

You certainly dont have to do veggies. I dont, dogs dont digest them. Makes it even easier. I feed raw meaty bones, meat, green tripe, and the occasional egg. They do also get random scraps from the kids

eta: forgot to list organs!!!

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by greenmagick

You certainly dont have to do veggies. I dont, dogs dont digest them. Makes it even easier.

I agree - we feed meat, bones, and organs. And some occasional treats of course (things that "fall" off the cutting board, lol) but they aren't a significant part of the diet.