natures variety raw boost

Hankster

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I know I know,,,,, I'm nuts but! I think that Dollys owner suggested this food once and it got me real curious. It has good reviews and I'm wondering if I should add to my rotation. We're going off for a week or so and it sure would be easier to travel with something like this than all the shenanigans I'll be carrying with the hk.. Just anyone's thoughts on this food??
 

Dollys Owner

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I've been using Nutrience Subzero raw boost because it's made in Canada so I'm not killed by the exchange rate. The kibble mixed with raw cube category also includes Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost and Wellness Core RawRev and I'm sure others. All 3 are 5 star, so you are ok with any one of those.

My French bully chews her paws non stop all year round so I was trying it out to see if it made a difference. It didn't, so my next step is to switch to a dehydrated raw dog food. When she had previously had surgery I tried giving her Honest Kitchen postop and she didn't like the taste. So now I'm transitioning her to a Canadian dehydrated raw food called Canisource Grand Cru which is quite inexpensive compared to everything else here. It comes in kibble which can be served dry or rehydrated, and she loves the taste. If she still chews paws after 4 weeks I'm going to try a more expensive dehydrated raw dog food that's available here called NRG. I got some samples of that and she loved the taste of that too. If that doesn't work I'm thinking of driving her to Buffalo for Cytopoint shots because I don't think Cytopoint is available in Canada yet.
 
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Hankster

Hankster

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I hope so much that we can stay away from that foot chewing, body scratching stuff forever. So far, he has no itch at all and looks great but he is only 15 months so fingers crossed. I'm sure with all the info you have that you have checked if there's any ONE same ingredient in the ones you've tried that could possibly be the culprit? Your way ahead of the game in knowledge but and still dang it have to deal with crud huh. Two things that I don't care for is for rosemary to be high up in the list and flaxseed, yet in the Kindly which he does great on its the second or third so that kind of goes out the window. My Shih Tzu would seizure with rosemary. So sad. I sure hope you get to the bottom of it all w/0 too much more digging..
 

Cbrugs

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I've been using Nutrience Subzero raw boost because it's made in Canada so I'm not killed by the exchange rate. The kibble mixed with raw cube category also includes Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost and Wellness Core RawRev and I'm sure others. All 3 are 5 star, so you are ok with any one of those.

My French bully chews her paws non stop all year round so I was trying it out to see if it made a difference. It didn't, so my next step is to switch to a dehydrated raw dog food. When she had previously had surgery I tried giving her Honest Kitchen postop and she didn't like the taste. So now I'm transitioning her to a Canadian dehydrated raw food called Canisource Grand Cru which is quite inexpensive compared to everything else here. It comes in kibble which can be served dry or rehydrated, and she loves the taste. If she still chews paws after 4 weeks I'm going to try a more expensive dehydrated raw dog food that's available here called NRG. I got some samples of that and she loved the taste of that too. If that doesn't work I'm thinking of driving her to Buffalo for Cytopoint shots because I don't think Cytopoint is available in Canada yet.

Is it possible the issues are environmental and not food related? My Frenchie is allergic to everything green outside.


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Dollys Owner

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I don't think it's an outdoor allergy since she is chewing her paws even in the middle of winter, and an antihistamine doesn't seem to help much in the summer. I think it's due to some kind of food allergy or atopic dermatitis or could even be an obsessive condition since she is a rescue.
 

Cbrugs

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I don't think it's an outdoor allergy since she is chewing her paws even in the middle of winter, and an antihistamine doesn't seem to help much in the summer. I think it's due to some kind of food allergy or atopic dermatitis or could even be an obsessive condition since she is a rescue.

Do her paws get yeasty? Is she eating carbs and/or fruits and veggies? Potatoes? It could be something like that causing the paw chewing. Jax gets fed raw because he was itchy on any kibble I tried and with all of the ingredients, it was hard to pin point what was causing it. I feed the prey model, no added fruits or veggies and it has helped a lot. I give him a little bit of fruits and veggies when I'm cooking but I'm in control of what he gets and how much.


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Dollys Owner

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Yeah I think the raw diet will be good too. She doesn't eat carbs or fruits beside her dog food. I don't have the stomach for real raw food so I'm transitioning her to raw dehydrated now.

Do her paws get yeasty? Is she eating carbs and/or fruits and veggies? Potatoes? It could be something like that causing the paw chewing. Jax gets fed raw because he was itchy on any kibble I tried and with all of the ingredients, it was hard to pin point what was causing it. I feed the prey model, no added fruits or veggies and it has helped a lot. I give him a little bit of fruits and veggies when I'm cooking but I'm in control of what he gets and how much.


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Cbrugs

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Yeah I think the raw diet will be good too. She doesn't eat carbs or fruits beside her dog food. I don't have the stomach for real raw food so I'm transitioning her to raw dehydrated now.

I'm actually a vegetarian, always have been, so I'm the last person that thought I would ever feed raw. I do patties that are already ground up. You would never even know what it actually was. I would never feed whole body parts or anything that actually looked like an animal.


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This quote cracked me up that someone said somewhere else:

"I grew up the son of a veterinarian, and know that some breeders feed diets of whole critters like baby chicks and bunnies to the kittens and puppies they've raised. So if you want to be nutritionally on point, and go totally for-reals, there are companies out there that sell frozen whole animals for the hardcore dietary enthusiasts. None of this namby-pamby, crafty-crocheted stuff allowed. You need to hear skulls cracking and your precious little pookie-pups snarling at each other, (and maybe even at you), while they protect their food stash and get back to nature."
I'm actually a vegetarian, always have been, so I'm the last person that thought I would ever feed raw. I do patties that are already ground up. You would never even know what it actually was. I would never feed whole body parts or anything that actually looked like an animal.


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Cbrugs

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This quote cracked me up that someone said somewhere else:

"I grew up the son of a veterinarian, and know that some breeders feed diets of whole critters like baby chicks and bunnies to the kittens and puppies they've raised. So if you want to be nutritionally on point, and go totally for-reals, there are companies out there that sell frozen whole animals for the hardcore dietary enthusiasts. None of this namby-pamby, crafty-crocheted stuff allowed. You need to hear skulls cracking and your precious little pookie-pups snarling at each other, (and maybe even at you), while they protect their food stash and get back to nature."

So when I first started feeding raw, I went to some websites where you can buy frozen raw and gave it shipped. I was HORRIFIED!!! Oh my god, the things you can buy. Then I joined a raw feeding group on Facebook and quickly unfollowed. Too many pictures of dogs eating heads and body parts. I'm sticking to my ground up patties that look like burgers!


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Hankster

Hankster

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This is funny , and gross stuff right here . Hanks daddy and benefactor keeps telling me to feed the best... I am still tempted to go premade raw soly but with me traveling with him I have to keep his gut prepared for different things.. I did rotation with my shih tzus and they could eat anything and they always had a good poop I'm hoping this follows with Mr. sensitive breed here. Edited to add … What's about the cost of straight raw these big eaters ?
 

Dollys Owner

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I think if you order those raw grinds from local farms it's actually cheaper than raw dehydrated. Check out the dogaware.com web site. DogAware.com: Raw Dog Food Co-ops and Local Groups

This is funny , and gross stuff right here . Hanks daddy and benefactor keeps telling me to feed the best... I am still tempted to go premade raw soly but with me traveling with him I have to keep his gut prepared for different things.. I did rotation with my shih tzus and they could eat anything and they always had a good poop I'm hoping this follows with Mr. sensitive breed here. Edited to add … What's about the cost of straight raw these big eaters ?
 

Cbrugs

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This is funny , and gross stuff right here . Hanks daddy and benefactor keeps telling me to feed the best... I am still tempted to go premade raw soly but with me traveling with him I have to keep his gut prepared for different things.. I did rotation with my shih tzus and they could eat anything and they always had a good poop I'm hoping this follows with Mr. sensitive breed here. Edited to add … What's about the cost of straight raw these big eaters ?

You can feed frozen raw at home and then do dehydrated or freeze dried when traveling. There are different opinions on mixing raw with kibble. Some say it's fine and others say it's not because they digest differently.

Commercial raw is definitely more pricey because it's already balanced out. Beef, chicken and pork are some of the cheaper proteins. You can also mix in quinoa or brown sprouted rice which would help costs cause then you're giving less meat. I mix in green bison tripe for Jax.


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Hankster

Hankster

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Great site and thanks! I know I've looked at it before but really interesting this time ;) .. I did get some primal venison (freeze dried patties) to add to some acana if need be on the trip. (I will take some frozen turkey for the kindly, but that will only last a few days in cooler I'm guessing, so covering best I can) .. also have the thk so hopfully we be good! boy, our heads spin for these guys don't they ... I just don't want some tummy upset if I can help it ;) then, will go back to some premade raw possibly after reading someore of the site yu suggest when we get home... haha,, not even leaving for a few weeks and I'm all spazen!!
I think if you order those raw grinds from local farms it's actually cheaper than raw dehydrated. Check out the dogaware.com web site. DogAware.com: Raw Dog Food Co-ops and Local Groups
 
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Hankster

Hankster

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Thank you and yep,,, going to be thinking about that as well... I actually do feed quite a bit of premade raw a couple of times a week, and don't mix that with kibble. though......... I have mixed in some freeze dried raw to kibble in the past w no issue. (and am taking some of freezedried and kibble for backup on trip ) Yep, I have read about mixing too. Some are adamant about not mixing, and others say don't scare people away from using at least some. Again, I guess you have to see what your dog tolerates. So far, I have been able to feed some of everything to Hank, and actually all my dogs through the years so fingers crossed, I've helped them gain an iron gut!! They also get alternate stuff,,, acv, pro/pre biotocs on and off, sauerkraut, organ meats,,,, lots of goodies. Mostly these days, it's the HK with turkey alternating with some preference, and then raw raw as well... lol
You can feed frozen raw at home and then do dehydrated or freeze dried when traveling. There are different opinions on mixing raw with kibble. Some say it's fine and others say it's not because they digest differently.

Commercial raw is definitely more pricey because it's already balanced out. Beef, chicken and pork are some of the cheaper proteins. You can also mix in quinoa or brown sprouted rice which would help costs cause then you're giving less meat. I mix in green bison tripe for Jax.


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