Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO Food Forum => Food Discussion & Information => : Berner_Mom October 19, 2008, 04:57:16 AM
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I don't know how many of you all on here are Canadian, or are living in/around Calgary such as myself, but...if you are...where do you get your raw food from?
I've been doing lots of research on the subject, and want to know which raw food suppliers are considered to be at the top of the list of the best, which would be mediocre and which should be best left alone. I am surprised at the number of raw food producers I've come across:
-Amore
-Arusha
-Mountain Dog Food
-Nature's Premium
-Red Dog/Blue Cat
-Urban Carnivore
-Pets Go Raw
-Farm Fresh
-Glengary Bison
-Fresh Start
-Nature's Variety
-Pleased Pets
-Top Hand
to name a few that are supplied in my local Tail Blazers pet store. How do you choose which one is right? And then, how do you choose which varieties to go with, or is it best to still keep it different and sometimes feed raw beef/veggie/fruit or chicken/veggie or bison/veggie/fruit or simply whole turkey etc....the possibilities are mindboggling.
The more research I do, the more I learn and am thinking that the visible results from dogs on raw diets speaks for itself- especially where BMDs are concerned.
Also was wondering if anyone out there is feeding a combo of kibble (high quality, like Orijens) and raw food, meaning kibble being fed 4 times a week, but raw being fed 3 times a week, or something like that?
And one last question: should we decide to take the leap and make the switch to raw food for Tucker, what is the best way to wean him from his Orijens to the raw?
Thanks in advance for all the info- I always know I will get great advice and feedback from any posts! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.
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I get my raw from the grocery store! I feed a variety of meats and include fish and organ meat at least once a week. I buy on sale and keep the freezer stocked to keep expenses down. I also keep kibble down so the dog in effect eats about 1/2 raw and 1/2 kibble. Fruits and veges are fed as treats and when I cook a 'doggy stew'- its loaded with veges and fruits- dogs love cooked apples and pears.
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I sell raw, so I buy in bulk and divide it up into meal size portions. I don't feed any kibble, just raw meats, organ meats and bones. I changed from kibble to raw, when the kibble was gone. Supper one day was kibble and breakfast the next day was raw. No runny poop, no throwing up, nothing. It is my understanding that you cannot do this in reverse, but you can go kibble to raw, no problem. I don't feed ground meats, just chickens, whole or parts, pork ribs, pork cheek meat, pork tongue, pig feet or ears, turkey wings and necks, lamb ribs and legs, whole mackerel, pork organ meats, etc. As long as you are feeding a variety of meats, you will be fine. Just jump in.
Kathy
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I now buy from the grocery store but I have tried a few pre-grounds when I was first starting out. I've used Nature's Variety's, Paws and Claws Pet Pantry and Mountain Dog Food. I really liked NV and Paws and Claws, but the MDF had way too much bone for Boston.
Now we just buy whats cheap from the grocery store/butcher/meat packer/etc... We've found this the most cost effective and have been the happiest with the results.
When we we're first looking into raw I was feeding Orijen and Legacy Grain Free kibble. I was feeding kibble in the morning and then a raw meal at night. It worked well until I felt more comfortable with going all raw. I then started doing pre-made in the am and continuing with my own in the pm. It made the transition easier on me. ;)
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Also was wondering if anyone out there is feeding a combo of kibble (high quality, like Orijens) and raw food, meaning kibble being fed 4 times a week, but raw being fed 3 times a week, or something like that?
I do this, which makes me an outcast in both crowds, LOL! I feed kibble (Eagle Pack with the new pups, old-formula Canidae with my RIP Staffie), supplemented as follows:
All meals get salmon oil, glcosamine, chondroitin, and probiotics
Breakfast: banana or apple
Lunch: veggie "soup" (chicken broth and pureed fresh veggies)
Dinner: organic, grass-fed "pet food" (a combo of organ meant and trimmings from the sides of beef from a local butcher)
I think they're going to start getting chicken necks and wings and feet soon.
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I live in Calgary too ;D I get my raw from tailblaizers I just buy it by the case load as it is chaper. I go with Mountain Dog food (as that is what my holistic vet in Edmonton recommended) and Urban Carnivore as well when I can't get the type of meat I am looking form from Mountain Dog Food. I prefer that the Mountain Dog food is not in the patty form and the varity they have, organ meats chicken backs etc.
When I switched Harley to raw I just made the switch; no weaning from they Evo she was eating and she was fine, no soft stool, upset stomach etc.
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I get my raw from the grocery store! I feed a variety of meats and include fish and organ meat at least once a week. I buy on sale and keep the freezer stocked to keep expenses down. I also keep kibble down so the dog in effect eats about 1/2 raw and 1/2 kibble. Fruits and veges are fed as treats and when I cook a 'doggy stew'- its loaded with veges and fruits- dogs love cooked apples and pears.
Question: if you are cooking the fruits and veggies, are you not defeating the purpose of doing the raw thing? I read somewhere in my mass-efforts in research that fruits/veggies should be pureed into a paste form almost, because its easier for doggies to digest than eating chunks of carrots, apples, beans etc...but does that mean that cooking them first is better? Seems to me raw and run through a food processor would make more sense- but I am VERY new to the concept of raw, so really, what do I know, LOL!
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I live in Calgary too ;D I get my raw from tailblaizers I just buy it by the case load as it is chaper. I go with Mountain Dog food (as that is what my holistic vet in Edmonton recommended) and Urban Carnivore as well when I can't get the type of meat I am looking form from Mountain Dog Food. I prefer that the Mountain Dog food is not in the patty form and the varity they have, organ meats chicken backs etc.
When I switched Harley to raw I just made the switch; no weaning from they Evo she was eating and she was fine, no soft stool, upset stomach etc.
May I ask what the average price per case is of the Urban Carnivore and MDF? We have been impressed by Tail Blazers, we bought a box of pure whole chicken patties from Urban Carnivore, and also bought Top Hand turkey patties. Tucker will be having his first taste of raw tonight!
Mountain Dog Food is another brand we were interested in, but we liked the wide variety of different types of meat that Urban Carnivore offered...so we decided to try them first.
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Question: if you are cooking the fruits and veggies, are you not defeating the purpose of doing the raw thing . . . Seems to me raw and run through a food processor would make more sense- but I am VERY new to the concept of raw, so really, what do I know, LOL!
This is yet another argument that just goes round and round (among health food types too, not just dog owners). Some of the benefits are better/more accessible raw, some are better/more accessible cooked. You have to decide what works for you and, most importantly, what works for your dog.
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Another question has popped into my head as I sit here avoiding work...LOL...
A friend of mine just sent me an email outlining how she got her dog started on raw, and that she too, started out buying premade stuff but quickly graduated to making her own.
I need some clarification: when serving chicken backs or other parts of chicken etc...that have bone intact, are you just letting the dog crunch everything up on his own, or are you chopping/food processing the food before serving to the dog?
I have this picture in my head of a dog staring down at his bowl that's been loaded up with chicken backs, thighs, some organ meat, a drumstick or wing....everyt hing whole, raw and just sitting there!
Do you chop up or run through the food processor first?
Thanks so much for everyone's answers- and your patience with me!
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The dogs have wonderfully efficient choppers- give it to them whole!
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Yep! When we used to feed raw we would get whole rabbits and they'd have at it...but the veggies...sinc e...they're not too keen on eating those, I would run those through a processor, and coat it in salmon oil...worked really well. :)
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Most raw fooders just feed whole pieces of meat, bone intact. Your dog may do well with this, or they may not. Many dogs have trouble passing the bones properly (when wild canines eliminate the bones are usually wrapped with the fur/feathers; we don't feed those bits, so it's not equivalent to real, natural feeding). With the ground-up product you eliminate this problem, but you want to make sure that you’re not overloading the dog with calcium. BARF and RMB feeding can be wonderful, but it's also complicated.
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here's a good place to buy raw, bulk... they have duck and rabbit too!
http://www.naturalconceptsinc.net/index.html
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We gave Tucker his first taste of raw last night for dinner- kept it pretty bland, just whole chicken patties from Urban Carnivore. We expected Tucker to look in his dish and be "OMG! CHICKEN!! :o :o" and just devour it right up, but he didn't. He sniffed, looked at us like we were crazy, and walked away.
He went back a few minutes to sniff again, then sniff again, then he took a lick, and another lick, and another lick, then a small bite, then another bite, then he started eating. He ate the whole thing, from the first sniff to the last bite being eaten it was probably about two hours in time, maybe two and a half.
Which leads me to my next question: how long can the thawed food, sitting in the dish, stay out and still be ok for him to eat?
My hubby said as long as the food was COLD in the dish, it was ok. If it had started to go to room temperature/feel warmish then he would've chucked it, but of course- what does he know? So I'm asking you guys!
Thanks in advance, and have a good day everyone!
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Actually, a lot of dogs do NOT like cold raw meat and bones. When Lily was on raw and I feed her cold turkey neck or chicken back she would leave it in her crate until it is room temperature and then ate it...pretty weird :-\
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My Staffie wouldn't touch cold meat. I gave her a raw chicken leg once, she took it politely, ran outside and chucked it. Then she came back in the house and looked at me like I was nuts, LOL! The ground pet food (no bones) that I fed her had to be warmed in the microwave or she wouldn't touch it.
The pups seem fine with it straight from the fridge, though. But they seem to exist in a state of perpetual hunger.
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I live in Calgary too ;D I get my raw from tailblaizers I just buy it by the case load as it is chaper. I go with Mountain Dog food (as that is what my holistic vet in Edmonton recommended) and Urban Carnivore as well when I can't get the type of meat I am looking form from Mountain Dog Food. I prefer that the Mountain Dog food is not in the patty form and the varity they have, organ meats chicken backs etc.
When I switched Harley to raw I just made the switch; no weaning from they Evo she was eating and she was fine, no soft stool, upset stomach etc.
May I ask what the average price per case is of the Urban Carnivore and MDF? We have been impressed by Tail Blazers, we bought a box of pure whole chicken patties from Urban Carnivore, and also bought Top Hand turkey patties. Tucker will be having his first taste of raw tonight!
Mountain Dog Food is another brand we were interested in, but we liked the wide variety of different types of meat that Urban Carnivore offered...so we decided to try them first.
Sure :) The urban carnivore I didn't buy a case just the box it comes in, I got a box of the beef and a box of the organ meat and they were both around $12/$14 the MDF there are 2 options you can buy a case of 12 packs of the same food or you can mix and match (which is what I did)when you buy a case you also get I believe a 5% discount. So it was around $45 for the case, MUCH cheaper than buying for 2 weeks at a time which is what I used to do. That case will last me about a month.
Nina
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Funny I have a dog on Satin Balls and he would rather die than eat one UNLESS its frozen- then he loves them. Weirdo!
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My dogs are all different on temp preferences. Cody will eat frozen meat. Max and ChiChi will eat icy meat. Jake will only eat warm, gross, stinky, chicken. Everything else needs to be at least room temp. It will not hurt healthy dogs to eat bad meat.
Kathy
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Hmmm...room temperature. That makes sense as to why Tucker wouldn't touch it right away. Tonight we will "warm" the food, or take it out of the fridge to warm up for a bit before serving.
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Thanks for tip on feeding at room temperature. It has made a difference, and Tucker is now diving into his dish of food with gusto. So far we've tried just plain chicken and just plain turkey. We'll be trying a "complete" dinner of chicken/fruits/veggies tonight! Its week 2 of raw, and so far we have stuck to buying the premade stuff, from a variety of suppliers (MDF, Urban Carnivore and Top Hand), and all are being eaten happily by Tucker.
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Congratulation s to you for continuing to work through your dogs preferences. I see so many people try raw and swear their dogs won't eat it and give up. Each dog is different and in all honesty, some of my dogs have days where they don't gobble up whatever I am feeding. That's okay. They do without for that meal, but it's okay. They just have their off days. I can feed the same thing at the next meal, a few days or a week later and they will eat it like it's their favorite food. Just like people, they have their quirks. Good luck and it sounds like you are on the right track with Tucker.
Kathy
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Congratulations to you for continuing to work through your dogs preferences. I see so many people try raw and swear their dogs won't eat it and give up. Each dog is different and in all honesty, some of my dogs have days where they don't gobble up whatever I am feeding. That's okay. They do without for that meal, but it's okay. They just have their off days. I can feed the same thing at the next meal, a few days or a week later and they will eat it like it's their favorite food. Just like people, they have their quirks. Good luck and it sounds like you are on the right track with Tucker.
Kathy
Thanks for the encouragement! I have heard that from a few people I've been talking to, when they hear we are trying raw they say "Oh we tried that but Max never took to it." and I'll say "oh really? How long did you give him to get used to it?" and the answer is usually "two days." or something as equally as short. My neighbor said "we tried it for dinner once, but it was not a hit." My answer to that was "well, I didn't like broccoli the first time I tried it either, but my parents persisted and now its one of my favorite veggies!" Funny.
I have to say, so far of the different varieties/suppliers we've tried, I think the MDF (Mountain Dog Food) is my least favorite (and Tucker's as well). It is a better price, but the look of it when I serve it is so gross- not that raw food should have much eye appeal!- I have to fight not to be nausiated. I'm thinking its going to be the one we feed the least often, which is ok, since its also the one with the least amount of variety (chicken, beef, turkey).
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I just wanted to say good luck with raw! Its been quite an experience with Boston and the cats, and really I don't think I'll ever go back to kibble.
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Glad to hear it's going so well. Keep us updated on what Tucker likes. I'm always curious to know what's working for people (gives me more amo for my own babies).
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Will do.
We were going to be trying turkey patties and seperate veggie/fruit patties tonight, but alas dear hubby didn't read his cell phone in time, and didn't get my text to take the patties out of the fridge when he got home at 3pm...so they are still mostly frozen.
Tucker will be having them for dinner tomorrow, looks like tonight its Orijens.
Its been working well, feeding his Orijens kibble in the morning for breakie and then raw at night for dinner. We've already seen improvement in him- hardly scratching at all anymore, WAY less farting, and less poop. So far, so good.
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I don't think anything makes my beasts less farty, LOL! Though adding yogurt in seems to be helping a little. Thanks all that's holy.