Best Commercial Raw?

sunkissedpr1ncs

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Apr 3, 2013
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Barkley and Pippen
Hi everyone! As some of you may have seen from my other posts, we recently found out that Barkley has Cystinuria and had cystine bladder stones removed about a month ago. The vet wants him on Hills U/D to help prevent more stones but I definitely don't want him on this food. I have half-way switched him for now (feeding half Hills U/D and half his old Fromm since I still had a lot left) until I figure something else out.

I have been doing a lot of research and it seems like diet may not really even really affect preventing the stones from forming again, however, it is recommended to have more moisture in their food so that they get more water intake to help flush out the bladder better. I have also seen a few other people say they started feeding their dogs a raw diet after being diagnosed with this and they have been doing great since! So, I figured a Commercial Raw diet would be best so that I can ensure he is getting a completely balanced diet and so that he can get more moisture in his food.

Can anyone recommend which brand they think is the best option for Commercial Raw? I've seen a few posts on here about Stella & Chewy's and it seems to be a great option, I just didn't know if there may be any better brands out there? I feed him pieces of the Stella & Chewy freeze dried as treats now and he loves them! Do you think the Frozen or Freeze-Dried would be a better option if I go with Stella & Chewy? Which flavor would be the best option to avoid any allergy conflicts? I'm not sure if he is actually allergic to anything but I think he may be more sensitive to Chicken, Salmon and possibly beef, so I know those are all out. I wish they had a Pork flavor, he's been on Fromm Pork and Peas for the last year and was doing great on it!

I know the prices of these foods are pretty high but I'm sure in the long run it is worth it by avoiding more doctor visits and surgeries! I think I have seen somewhere that some feed one raw meal a day and one kibble (I'm sure to keep the price down some)...Does anyone do this or think it would be a good/bad idea? Or should I just suck it up and feed 100% raw?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm so new to this and just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to keep my little guy healthy! Thanks for any advice!! :)
 

aprilemari

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We use NVI raw patties and medallions, and Tollden Farms which is a canadian company, and has more variety than NVI. Stella & CHewys I thought was freeze dried which is a bit different than the normal commercially available raw foods.
 

aprilemari

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Lola is allergic to chicken and beef, and slightly allergic to venison and lamb. We opted to switch from NVI to tollden farms because they offer boar and bison, which we alternate for Lola. I'd not feed kibble and raw in the same day, but you can probably get away with freeze dried raw and frozen raw as two meals in one day. We feed the commercially available because we are limited in freezer space. We have hunters in the family so when we buy a house (currently rent first floor in major city), we will buy a deep freezer and switch to prey model raw. Our dog loves to chew antlers so we think she'll do fine at whole prey model raw feeding.

if i were you i'd buy trial bags of the raw chicken and raw beef medallions from NVI and give it a test run. Chicken in kibble reacts with dogs differently than raw (likely due to processing and the source - human grade or not). Thse are the cheapest proteins and will be a better bang for your buck. Ultimately we spend between $5-7 per day on raw food for Lola. Its worth it because #1 , she eats it, and #2 she is super healthy because of it.
 

nycbullymama

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Stella and Chewy's offers both, freeze dried and frozen. We switched to the frozen venison about a month ago.

Between the freeze dried and frozen, they're the exact same ingredients.

If there are better commercial products out there, I haven't seen anything other than just straight up raw meat, organ, muscle and bone. If I go that route, I'll just buy my own ingredients.

The reason I chose Stella & Chewy's is because they use human grade meat and organic fruits and veggies. I also recently found out where they source their ingredients and that makes me even more comfortable.
I also appreciate that they support many rescues. I just like the company.
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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Thanks so much for the info! [MENTION=3225]aprilemari[/MENTION] and [MENTION=7457]Blueberrys Mom[/MENTION]

I went to the pet market during my lunch break and spoke with them on the raw options they have. They recommended the Stella & Chewy Frozen since it comes in larger sizes. She recommended I try the lamb and see how he does with it. She said if he doesn't like it or do well on it then I can bring it back for a return or exchange.
 

aprilemari

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That's a pretty nice pet market lady! Good luck

sent from my droid mini
 

nycbullymama

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[MENTION=8518]sunkissedpr1ncs[/MENTION] while your bullies on the lamb, don't give them anything else. No treats, human food, nothing. The only way to really tell if they tolerate the new protein is by getting rid of everything else.

Good luck and keep us updated :)
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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@sunkissedpr1ncs while your bullies on the lamb, don't give them anything else. No treats, human food, nothing. The only way to really tell if they tolerate the new protein is by getting rid of everything else.

Good luck and keep us updated :)

Oh my gosh, he is gonna be so mad if he doesn't get his daily kong with peanut butter!! haha....How long should I be doing this for? I give him the Freeze Dried lamb as treats right now, which is why I thought it would be ok to try the lamb since he does fine with those (even though it's just a small amount).

Thanks for the tip!
 

nycbullymama

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[MENTION=8518]sunkissedpr1ncs[/MENTION] according to my new vet (dermatologist for Blue's allergies), a true elimination diet should last about 12 weeks. She said that's about how long it takes to see results if they tolerate the new protein.

I wouldn't give him the peanut butter, nor the freeze dried lamb unless it's strictly lamb without any other ingredients. You really want to limit what Barkley's eating so there won't be any doubt as to what he's reacting to.
 

nycbullymama

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@sunkissedpr1ncs according to my new vet (dermatologist for Blue's allergies), a true elimination diet should last about 12 weeks. She said that's about how long it takes to see results if they tolerate the new protein.

I wouldn't give him the peanut butter, nor the freeze dried lamb unless it's strictly lamb without any other ingredients. You really want to limit what Barkley's eating so there won't be any doubt as to what he's reacting to.
[MENTION=8518]sunkissedpr1ncs[/MENTION]
oops, forgot the most important thing- you're supposed to try a protein they've never been on before. So since Barkley's been getting lamb treats, not sure if anything i wrote above even matters.
 

dieMuttivonBifi

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Oh my gosh, he is gonna be so mad if he doesn't get his daily kong with peanut butter!! haha....

try filling the kong with ground lamb then freeze it. Thats what i do with Bifi and he loves it :).
oh and alternating kibble with raw is not a good idea. They have different digestion times (kibble takes longer to digest) he'll get digestion problem. Just a reminder ^^.
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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Apr 3, 2013
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@sunkissedpr1ncs
oops, forgot the most important thing- you're supposed to try a protein they've never been on before. So since Barkley's been getting lamb treats, not sure if anything i wrote above even matters.

Oh no! Haha....well I really appreciate all the tips anyway! Hopefully everything goes well with it, I'll update once I see how it's going! :)
 
May 18, 2011
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Oliver
Hi everyone -

Oliver has had so many issues that are food related. He spent the last year on a prescription diet and has lost 12 pounds through the year. He recently started having diarrhea and our vet felt he could have built an intolerance to the protein. We switched to canned i/d to try to alleviate the diarrhea but things got even worse, despite also being on Metronidazole. Our vet has run tests, checked stool samples and everything is checking out. We have fasted Oliver, and now have begun a chicken and rice diet while he finishes a Tylan powder course. Oliver has many issues and I've just begun researching a raw food diet, but it would be a commercial one. Threads on here have been helpful. While we don't believe Oliver has an allergy, I am beginning to believe raw might just be better for him overall.

He is currently on a Vegan plant enzyme and probiotic, along with a digestive enzyme.

With that being said, I'd love some more advice:
-When we decide on a brand (which is another heavy decision), should we fast again-- or slowly add the food to his rice and chicken and increase the new/decrease chicken and rice daily (as we would any other food change)?
-Consistency: Oliver has esophagus issues (however, not Mega Esophagus) - Are most raw foods soft? He can swallow and tolerate pate-style, but not anything too "soupy". (Was that a dumb question? I'm totally new to looking into raw foods.)
-Oliver does have one specific food issue: Carrots. I know, weird, right? He cannot digest carrots. SO many dog foods contain carrots so I'm assuming it will be much easier to avoid them in a raw food, right? Edit - - (Ugh, I'm researching brands/ingredients and I keep seeing carrots. Does anyone know of any brands that DO NOT use carrots?)
-Protein: I assume he would need to try a protein he's never had before. If there are issues with him tolerating that protein, is it safe to immediately try another protein, or would we being in the "fasting-chicken-rice" phase all over again?
-Brand: For those that feed commercial raw - what is your favorite brand?

ALL/ANY advice, input thoughts would be appreciated. I personally do not eat meat and could not tolerate making my own food for him which is why we would go with a commercial brand.
 

aprilemari

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You can try a protein you've used before in kibble format. We feed nvi duck formula raw pellets, which I don't thaw and Lola eats them like kibble right from the freezer. I think you can go straight to raw, no transition from bland diet. I don't know if nvi has carrot or not... Likely not.

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