Was this a good decision?

[Leah...]

I was feeding kibble to all 3 dogs (diamond to sammie and bailey, natural choice puppy to skyler) and after tons and tons and tons of research and reading and research and thinking and research and reading and more research, i decided to switch Sky to raw. then, if it went well i would switch sammie and bailey, too. after 2 weeks on raw i decided to go back to kibble. i wasn't seeing any real benifits! Sky was sluggish (went to the vet-nothing wrong), and we both did not look forward to feeding time. he would only eat if he was really starving (he wouldn't touch anything meat-like for 4 and 1/2 days) it was hard to find stuff i could afford (a JH's income is not exactly steady!) and we both just hated it. was this an ok choice? i am going to upgrade our kibble ASAP, but i really don't wanna go back on raw.

also, anyone out there feeding Solid Gold? is it all it's cracked up to be? maybe i've been talking to all raw feeders to much, but it seems to have a lot of stuff they don't need. the healthier version of fillers, i guess. i mean, do dogs really need PARSLEY??? what other foods are good? i have been looking at Blue Buffalo, but it seems to be in between NC and SG, as far as quality and junked up-ness go. what do all 'o y'all think? \

Leah, the discouraged Junior....

[People Whisperer]

I think that Innova would be the best choice. Although, there are quite a few good brands on the market.
My pup is on raw. She hates grains and veggies of any kind. I was feeding her Solid Gold Wolf Cub for the first 3 weeks and it made her urine smell funky (must be that salmon in the food). Then we chaged to Innova and she loved it! She would not ctop sniffing the bag. Even now, while on raw, she is begging for it.
Sorry to hear about your dissapointment with raw feeding. 
What good for one is not good for the other. My pup loves meat and bones and really looking forward to every meal!   

[PennyK]

I'm feeding Eagle Pack Natural - its definitely better than department store type foods but it only costs a few $ more.  Its still quite a bit cheaper than some of the holistic/natural foods.

[brigid67]

I fed Willow raw for quite sometime and it was great.  She was weaned to raw by her breeder and I kept it up.  The little dogs I started on raw because of Willow and it took a few weeks for them to start looking great.  I really liked the dogs on the RAW but when I went back to work after knee surgery it was just to much.  I have tried several different types and most recently they have been on the food from three dog bakery.  Which I like.  But I have been looking to switch and I think I might try Innova - the large breed looks great and has lots of really great things added.  One of the things I look for in the list of ingredients is that the 1st 3 ingredients are meat.  The problem with a lot of the commercial dog foods (even the better brands) is that there is to much carbs.  All of the reading I have done about dog nutrition has sited that the increase in canine cancer can be attributed to commercial dog food and the increased amt of carbs the dogs eat.  There are really great books out there - one of my favorites is Give Your Dog A Bone - it is primarily about feeding RAW but there is good info on supplements and also a good section on commercial dog food.

[longshadowfarms]

Carter won't touch anything that is raw.  He really didn't care for the satin balls which everyone raves that their dogs love.  After I cooked the stuff, he loved it.  Give him a bone and he looks at you like you're trying to kill him.  He's just NOT a raw eater.  I think that if you've got a dog that's never tried stuff like that from puppyhood, it might be more difficult to start feeding raw when they are older.  I'm not touching the brand issue on foods.  You just have to go with one that works for you, your dog and your budget.

[newflvr]

I tried raw and even though the Newfs loved it, Cowboy just had too many health issues to do well on it.  Now I cook fresh for them and they are both thriving.  As a matter of fact, we just got Cowboy's lab tests back (he's getting re-certified for Therapy Dog International) and he's great in every category!  That's a first, for him!  He even has more energy.  For Chester, energy has never been an issue, but he looks fantastic!

[brigid67]

Well Congrats to Cowboy - I am glad to hear he is doing good