The day has come - for RAW - tips? advice?

TyTysmom

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So I think we may actually take the hit, and go RAW with Tyson. We have gone through 3 flavors of Fromms, and 2 flavors of the Natures Variety Limited Ingredients - he's doing ok on the Natures Variety now, however he still has tear stains, he's still having some GI issues (he currently gets Pepcid everyday) - which is fine, but we just want to do everything possible to help him live his senior years as healthy as we can. He's doing well, and I'm very thankful for that, but he could do better. So we're leaning towards the Stella & Chewy patties! I've already reached out to a few members who feed this for advice. I've been researching & researching - I can't find any negative at all - except for price. Which honestly, if its for his health & benefit, it doesn't really matter.

Anyway, if anyone currently feeds S&C - what are your thoughts? Love it? Any specific flavors? I guess my main question too would be, what were the most obvious changes you saw after going from kibble to raw? And how soon did you see change? I've read they don't drink as much water on raw, which freaks me out, but I understand its bc the food is hydrated enough already.

TIA! Jessica & Tyson
 

brutus77

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Jessica, I just switched the boys to The Honest Kitchen and I love it as do they. Brutus already is showing benefit from it after only two weeks. I don't care how much it costs, if it keeps my babies healthy, I am all in. The Honest Kitchen is really easy, all I have to do is add water. The protein is already in it. Brutus is on Duck for his allergies and Frankie eats the Beef because he told me he hates Duckies and Grass!!
 
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TyTysmom

TyTysmom

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Jessica, I just switched the boys to The Honest Kitchen and I love it as do they. Brutus already is showing benefit from it after only two weeks. I don't care how much it costs, if it keeps my babies healthy, I am all in. The Honest Kitchen is really easy, all I have to do is add water. The protein is already in it. Brutus is on Duck for his allergies and Frankie eats the Beef because he told me he hates Duckies and Grass!!


I'm the same way, I don't care about the cost if it means they are healthy. We've tried THK here & there, but just the base, not anything with protein in it. I wonder how that differs from like Stella & Chewy patties. I'm kinda freaked out thinking that he won't drink much after going raw. This weekend, I'm going to go to the store we buy from and really look & talk to the owner. He's been eating grass alot lately, burps & smacks his lips at night. I just want to be fully prepared on what to expect so I don't freak out. LOL I usually go full panic mode if I see a change. haha. What kinda of changes did you see on your boys? Like their skin/coat?
 

2BullyMama

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brutus77

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I'm the same way, I don't care about the cost if it means they are healthy. We've tried THK here & there, but just the base, not anything with protein in it. I wonder how that differs from like Stella & Chewy patties. I'm kinda freaked out thinking that he won't drink much after going raw. This weekend, I'm going to go to the store we buy from and really look & talk to the owner. He's been eating grass alot lately, burps & smacks his lips at night. I just want to be fully prepared on what to expect so I don't freak out. LOL I usually go full panic mode if I see a change. haha. What kinda of changes did you see on your boys? Like their skin/coat?
I haven't noticed any decrease in their water intake. I have noticed that Brutus' coat is silky smooth where on his RX food it was rough and course. He hasn't had any pimples on his face or cysts in between his toes either and his licking of the paws is under control.

- - - Updated - - -

they are demanding little buggers! :laugh:
Tell me about it :yes:
 

RiiSi

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Great decision! I have no experience on this product and my boys have been eating raw since 7 months(Usko) and 2 weeks (Voitto). Since Tyson has been allergic I would try to find a protein source that he hasn't eaten before and the ingredients should be limited. I don't know how much these guys would drink if they were to eat kibble, but in my opinion they drink normal amounts.
 
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TyTysmom

TyTysmom

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Great decision! I have no experience on this product and my boys have been eating raw since 7 months(Usko) and 2 weeks (Voitto). Since Tyson has been allergic I would try to find a protein source that he hasn't eaten before and the ingredients should be limited. I don't know how much these guys would drink if they were to eat kibble, but in my opinion they drink normal amounts.

Thanks Riikka, I had been wanting to reach out to you since I know you are so knowledgeable with the raw. I know you don't do commercial, but I've been researching the Stella and it has everything in it. Seems pretty good, and I've read great reviews. I still have alot of questions, so I'll be asking the owner of the store where we purchase from this weekend. I also wanted to get a feel for others experiences. I'm hoping the switch in general helps with his overall health. Do you know if they tend to lose weight on raw vs kibble? Could I still supplement with greens beans, veggies, etc?
 

nycbullymama

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I'm in the middle of switching them back to Stella & Chewy's for now (am aiming for my own raw sometimes this summer. meaning, i buy the meat/bone, etc.)
Well, I bought a few bags of the Super Beef over the weekend but haven't started the switch yet.

Blue was on it initially for six months. He developed nice muscle tone, and had lots of energy. I took him off because of his allergies and put him on an Rx food. But since I believe his allergies are environmental (mostly), I'm slowly putting him back on Stella and Chewy's, Wellie too.

This time, I'm gonna do itt very slowly. When I initially switched Blue to raw, he was throwing up for the first few weeks. Don't want him to go through that again. Wellie also has a very sensitive stomach so the slow switch is a must for us. I know others here disagree and believe when you switch, you should not do a transition. Reason being, is they digest differently. That didn't work for us at all (throwing up), and if you contact Stella and Chewy's, they'll tell you to do a transition as well.

Regarding the water, it's not a big deal..lol, he'll still drink. Just a lot less than with kibble. They're getting most of it from the patties. Blue was not dehydrated at all.

You'll also notice his :poo: will be a lot firmer and smaller. Just less of it. This is perfectly normal. If it gets crumbly, that means too much bone. When that happened with mine, I gave him half a patty and substituted the rest with tripe or ground beef as per the help I received for the raw forum. It worked.

[MENTION=9370]brutus77[/MENTION] is Honest Kitchen raw? I thought it was cooked. They have the meat free base mixes if you want to do raw. At least that's the impression I got in the FAQ section.
 
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TyTysmom

TyTysmom

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I'm in the middle of switching them back to Stella & Chewy's for now (am aiming for my own raw sometimes this summer. meaning, i buy the meat/bone, etc.)
Well, I bought a few bags of the Super Beef over the weekend but haven't started the switch yet.

Blue was on it initially for six months. He developed nice muscle tone, and had lots of energy. I took him off because of his allergies and put him on an Rx food. But since I believe his allergies are environmental (mostly), I'm slowly putting him back on Stella and Chewy's, Wellie too.

This time, I'm gonna do itt very slowly. When I initially switched Blue to raw, he was throwing up for the first few weeks. Don't want him to go through that again. Wellie also has a very sensitive stomach so the slow switch is a must for us. I know others here disagree and believe when you switch, you should not do a transition. Reason being, is they digest differently. That didn't work for us at all (throwing up), and if you contact Stella and Chewy's, they'll tell you to do a transition as well.

Regarding the water, it's not a big deal..lol, he'll still drink. Just a lot less than with kibble. They're getting most of it from the patties. Blue was not dehydrated at all.

You'll also notice his :poo: will be a lot firmer and smaller. Just less of it. This is perfectly normal. If it gets crumbly, that means too much bone. When that happened with mine, I gave him half a patty and substituted the rest with tripe or ground beef as per the help I received for the raw forum. It worked.

@brutus77 is Honest Kitchen raw? I thought it was cooked. They have the meat free base mixes if you want to do raw. At least that's the impression I got in the FAQ section.

Wonderful info, thank you so much. I will definitely transition, I wouldn't dare just switch. I'll do slow as well. We'll probably pick it up this weekend. I wonder though, bc I've seen the pattys. Does that fill them up? I mean they look small to me. Tyson is def a big boy, and while he needs to lose weight, I still don't want him feeling hungry.
 

nycbullymama

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@TyTysmom You're welcome.


Depending on which one you choose, you'll need to feed between 2.5- 3.5 (maybe even 4) patties per day. Blue weighed about 58lbs at the time, and I remember feeding him 2.5 to 3 patties per day depending on the protein. That kept him nice and muscular, with a steady weight.

Yeah, it gets very expensive.
 

brutus77

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Jul 18, 2013
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Brutus, Frankie, and Jack
I'm in the middle of switching them back to Stella & Chewy's for now (am aiming for my own raw sometimes this summer. meaning, i buy the meat/bone, etc.)
Well, I bought a few bags of the Super Beef over the weekend but haven't started the switch yet.

Blue was on it initially for six months. He developed nice muscle tone, and had lots of energy. I took him off because of his allergies and put him on an Rx food. But since I believe his allergies are environmental (mostly), I'm slowly putting him back on Stella and Chewy's, Wellie too.

This time, I'm gonna do itt very slowly. When I initially switched Blue to raw, he was throwing up for the first few weeks. Don't want him to go through that again. Wellie also has a very sensitive stomach so the slow switch is a must for us. I know others here disagree and believe when you switch, you should not do a transition. Reason being, is they digest differently. That didn't work for us at all (throwing up), and if you contact Stella and Chewy's, they'll tell you to do a transition as well.

Regarding the water, it's not a big deal..lol, he'll still drink. Just a lot less than with kibble. They're getting most of it from the patties. Blue was not dehydrated at all.

You'll also notice his :poo: will be a lot firmer and smaller. Just less of it. This is perfectly normal. If it gets crumbly, that means too much bone. When that happened with mine, I gave him half a patty and substituted the rest with tripe or ground beef as per the help I received for the raw forum. It worked.

@brutus77 is Honest Kitchen raw? I thought it was cooked. They have the meat free base mixes if you want to do raw. At least that's the impression I got in the FAQ section.
Not cooked. It says raw on the box. I am checking again but I thought they called it a prepared raw? [MENTION=8859]Marine91[/MENTION]
 
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TyTysmom

TyTysmom

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Tyson aka "Ty-Ty"
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@TyTysmom You're welcome.


Depending on which one you choose, you'll need to feed between 2.5- 3.5 (maybe even 4) patties per day. Blue weighed about 58lbs at the time, and I remember feeding him 2.5 to 3 patties per day depending on the protein. That kept him nice and muscular, with a steady weight.

Yeah, it gets very expensive.

Yikes. I wonder if I should do lower bc Tyson needs to lose weight. I can suppl with green beans too like we are now. I just wonder if he'll stay full.
 

nycbullymama

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Well, bulldogs are generally always hungry..lol.. but you will have to play with how much you're feeding until you get it right.

If you see him "foraging" for food- give him a little more. The best thing you can do is exercise him.
 

nycbullymama

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Not cooked. It says raw on the box. I am checking again but I thought they called it a prepared raw? @Marine91

Thanks.
I wish they made that clear on their site because I didn't see it anywhere. In fact, it gives the impression it's cooked in their FAQ section- more than once. Like when they compare it to RAW, and when they say to use their meatless base mixes if you want to do raw..etc. I was confused..lol..
 

brutus77

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Thanks.
I wish they made that clear on their site because I didn't see it anywhere. In fact, it gives the impression it's cooked in their FAQ section- more than once. Like when they compare it to RAW, and when they say to use their meatless base mixes if you want to do raw..etc. I was confused..lol..
Who knows. I don't really care. all I care about is it is 100% healthier than what Brutus was getting and they are doing great on it.
 

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