Dehydrated Raw?

Anyone feed their pups this instead of a raw diet? Molli and Sammy were put on California Natural awhile back... they both got colonitis and diarrhea ever since. They just have sensitive tummies, so we decided to switch them to a totally grain-free diet. The local pet store just got Acana and Orijen in and we decided on Acana. They are doing awesome on it!! (Thanks for those who posted a few months ago in my dog food advice thread) Poops are as healthy as ever and Sam has not had allergies! I have found dog foods that go great with his digestive system and not so with his allergies, and vice versa.

ANYWAYS, The girl at the pet store seems extremely knowledgeable about dog foods. She recommended that I actually mix dehydrated raw (obviously rehydrated), in with their kibble. She also recommended that I put some water in when I feed kibble to make it moist. She explained to me that dogs eat raw meat in the wild, which is what, 70% water?, and now we are feeding them kibble that is extremely dry. No wonder so many dogs have digestion problems! Her explanation made sense to me anyways. So I've been softening their food with water (which Molli, miss finicky eater, LOVES). I know many vets recommend you NEVER feed wet because the kibble helps with their teeth. But the girl told me thats not necessarily true.

Back to the point, there is a special kind of dehydrated raw especially for dogs with digestive problems that I'm thinking of mixing with their kibble. There is also the low grain, and grain free formulas. Anyone else do this?

Bichons tend to have food allergy issues. I feed grain free. My friend feeds her 2 a rotating diet which includes the hydrated raw. Her gals love it!

I always moisten the kibble. Someone told me the dog eating dry kibble is like us eating graham crackers. And you KNOW how those stick to the teeth! That is all carbohydrate which turns to sugar and . . . cavities and other issues arise. Mostly I use warm water, but if I have broth from soup or stew I use that.

tHe honest kitchen! I love their company. Only company that can truly say in the court of law that their ingredients are fda human grade. I cannot do a full raw prey model diet because dalmatians cannot have organs due to purines, so instead of making my own veggie mush, i use honest kitchen preference. Just add your own meat. I feel i can trust them enough. They better never let me down. Lol they also have a good supplement for digestive health that is good for colitis and ibs. It's a big step up from kibble. I would just switch to whole dehydrated if you want to. Dogs love this stuff too. Delta loves the preference even though it smells like guinea pig food. the force line smells like chicken broth. They have grain inclusive, grain free, and gluten free foods. Thy are also coming out very soon with a fish line.

Also, kibble doesn't help clean teeth at all. It is like us eating cereal. It actually is bad for teeth because it sticks into the teeth. Honestly, look at kibble dog teeth, more than half of dogs have mouth problems by age two. Its useless. Another gimmick to get people to use it. I agree 100% that you should wet it down. Especially for dogs that are prone to bloat. The food just blows up in the stomach once it is eaten.

Uggh, I'm so sick of vets, and it seems like they're all the same, telling me things that aren't true. Like everytime Sam gets Colitis, they insist we put him on one of their prescription diets, and the first ingredient is CORN. NOT good for allergies, thank you very much. I don't think any animal (whether it be dog or human), unless your a COW, should be eating mostly corn. Much less a carnivore.
Anyways, that's my vet rant for the day. lol

Monicanhonda,

Is that a dehydrated raw brand? I forget the brand that the holistic pet store in my area carries. I can't find the sample we got. I want to go all dehydrated raw, but honestly it's a bit pricey! It saves me money if I do a little dehydrated raw with their kibble, so I'm not having to buy it as often. I think it's like 70 dollars for the totally grain free? Equal to a 35 lb bag of kibble or something. I could be wrong though... I'll have to look again.

Anyways, I'm extremely happy with Acana, I just wanted to add some of that digestive health dehydrated raw to it... sounds like it's equal to what you were talking about. I'll see if any stores in my area carry that brand. I've just been concerned with Sam having so much Colitis, as the vets have talked about permanently putting him on steroids. Hopefully this will work. It's given me the most hope so far!

Yeah, allopathic vets usually try to mask symptoms, not get down to the nitty gritty. Have you looked for a holistic vet. I have one by me I am starting to use this year that my raw co-op lady recommended to me. She seems awesome. She doesn't push and shove about vaccination protocol and she uses a lot of natural holistic ways. But she's neither for or against raw feeding, which is about how good it gets around here.

Yes, the Honest Kitchen is a dehydrated raw... You may just want to think about their supplement too???

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/perfect-form/

And go with whatever brand your store carries. Some brands include Sojos, Addiction, and there is another one... but I can't for the life of me think of it.

There are several out there.

Wysong Archetype Buffet is one.

Only Natural Pet EasyRaw, N-R-G and Paw NaturaRaw also have dehydrated raw versions.

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Originally Posted by MonicanHonda

Yeah, allopathic vets usually try to mask symptoms, not get down to the nitty gritty. Have you looked for a holistic vet. I have one by me I am starting to use this year that my raw co-op lady recommended to me. She seems awesome. She doesn't push and shove about vaccination protocol and she uses a lot of natural holistic ways. But she's neither for or against raw feeding, which is about how good it gets around here.

Yes, the Honest Kitchen is a dehydrated raw... You may just want to think about their supplement too???

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/perfect-form/

And go with whatever brand your store carries. Some brands include Sojos, Addiction, and there is another one... but I can't for the life of me think of it.

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How do you go about finding a holistic vet? Do they typically charge more?

Oh I just realized The Honest Kitchen is the brand that store has now that you gave me the link! That perfect form is exactly what she recommended to me. I recognized the names. lol

You can google on line for holistic vet and put in your city and state.

We have ONE in Rhode Island. She has a 6 months waiting list for new patient appointments. Her name is: Dr. Doolittle! SERIOUSLY!

I don't like the idea of holistic veterinarians, nor do I like the "raw" diet. Dogs way before our time ate raw meat. Dogs nowadays have been domesticated, and are not exactly the same as wild dogs were. Dogs these days have been eating commercial dog food for years, and from what I have learned in school, there is no reason dogs today need to eat raw meat. It just isn't necessary.
The raw diets do have some benefits, but feeding raw is also nutritionally incomplete. Raw meat and bones don't contain all of the AAFCO standard nutrients. Please don't bash me, this is information that I have gotten from several veterinarians at school.

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Originally Posted by Freedom

We have ONE in Rhode Island. She has a 6 months waiting list for new patient appointments. Her name is: Dr. Doolittle! SERIOUSLY!

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OMG that's too funny!

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Originally Posted by Freedom

You can google on line for holistic vet and put in your city and state.

We have ONE in Rhode Island. She has a 6 months waiting list for new patient appointments. Her name is: Dr. Doolittle! SERIOUSLY!

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Haha wow! That is funny! I'll have to google it...

lablover... I'm sorry your name slipped my mind....
I also think totally raw is kind of unnecessary... at least for me anyways. I do think it is much healthier than most foods out there though... as long as you mix some of your own veggies and ingredients into it. I am quite happy with Acana and I just want something to mix with that. That is why I like the idea of this dehydrated digestive supplement. The ingredients are : Fennel, papain, papaya, pumpkin seed, plantain, pectin and slippery elm.

So not really all meat! I do like everyone's ideas on what is best to feed their animals, of course you won't be bashed. It helps me formulate my own opinions along with research :)

Sorry, Lablover, I am not bashing you, and you can just stop reading now if you want, but as a student that wanted to enter vet school, and would have next year, I just can't make myself sit through those years of lies. They are funded by Science Diet and have very minimal training (a few seminars) in the nutrition of a dog. If you want true information on nutrition, you should find a certified nutritionist. I went to the Vet Conference for the Midwest this year and was disgusted by everything Science Diet and Royal Canin.

If you are a fan of Acana and Orijen, then you should likely agree that dogs do not need grains. Carbs and plants are only needed in the Acana and Orijen lines because they need something to hold the kibble together or else it would fall apart and essentially be dehydrated raw. Carbs will always be found in kibble because it holds it together, but they are not necessary in a carnivore's diet. And for those that want to classify carnivores as omnivores, they may eat plants freely, but they can't survive in prime condition on them. Also, their stomach and GI tract are strictly carnivores along with their teeth and saliva components. This was stated correctly in my animal science class that is not swayed by poor animal dog food companies in Vet school. This came from a non-funded class at a private institution.

A dog's stomach is still shaped exactly like a wolf's. They have a large Fundic section and the other three sections of the stomach are smaller to account for all the meat they need to eat. This section is the glandular section of the stomach that secretes the HCl and breaks down the meat. Their GI tract is shorter to account for no fermentation of plants. They have no amylase in their saliva for breaking down amylose. For a dog to get nutrition from plants, they need to be broken down by pureeing or steaming. A raw diet is nutritionally complete when done correctly. For a prey model diet that does not have plants, this would be 80% meat, 10% bone, and 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ. You should definitely try to get in green tripe because this is a very healthy piece of meat with amazing calcium:phosphorus ratios. You have to make sure to do a raw diet correctly, and it will be nutritionally complete. You can't just throw your dog a chicken and say 'have at it'.

Holistic vets are very knowledgeable and accepted worldwide
http://www.holisticvetlist.com/
http://www.ahvma.org/

Holistic vets have way more training than your average veterinarian, and when a holistic vet is actually holistic, they will listen to what you want and not only do your holistic ways, but also your allopathic ways. They just get to the point of your disease and do not cover up your symptoms.

I am not trying to persuade you, Lablover. Most people are very hard to change when it comes to nutrition of their pets because there are so many conflicting stories. But I choose to do my own research, on AND OFF the internet and not follow a veterinarian because they say so. Once you see how many directions a veterinarian can take (specialties) you will find it is exactly like human medicine. Dogs have nutritionists too. You wouldn't go to your regular MD to get nutrition information and I wouldn't do the same for my dog.

But believe me, I don't like to get into it about nutrition because people are hard to change. But I'm just giving my opinion. :) I hope you don't hate me. LOL

Oh, also meant to add that at least you feed a good kibble and know that you should. Everyone is right, raw is not for everyone, and that is alright. It takes a LOT of research (I did about a years before I even truly considered trying it). But dehydrated raw does meet the requirements for the AAFCO guidelines (which isn't saying much anyways >.>) And a lot of true raw feeders don't even consider it real raw because it is still dehydrated and not fresh.

No I don't hate you Monica.
I just disagree, that's all. :)

I also feed Honest Kitchen dehy raw and my Kody :love:s it! We started with Embark, which is completely grain free. He eats it pretty much as soon as it hits the bowl, then licks the bowl for about 3 minutes to make sure he's got every single bit out of there. I'm trying the Thrive kind next, just because it is higher in calories and my boy needs to put on a little weight to be within the limits of his breed standards (only like 5 lbs). Anyways, I really like the HK line. I don't feed it exclusively due to the cost, but I alternate between that and Wellness Core, Whitefish. Both are very nutritionally complete foods.
I plan to follow the same model with my next golden pup, who arrives next week.

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Originally Posted by GoldenLover

I also feed Honest Kitchen dehy raw and my Kody :love:s it! We started with Embark, which is completely grain free. He eats it pretty much as soon as it hits the bowl, then licks the bowl for about 3 minutes to make sure he's got every single bit out of there. I'm trying the Thrive kind next, just because it is higher in calories and my boy needs to put on a little weight to be within the limits of his breed standards (only like 5 lbs). Anyways, I really like the HK line. I don't feed it exclusively due to the cost, but I alternate between that and Wellness Core, Whitefish. Both are very nutritionally complete foods.
I plan to follow the same model with my next golden pup, who arrives next week.

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They gave us a sample of Thrive, my dogs LOVED it as well. I just think they like the mushiness of it! Much better than hard kibble. I want to mix it due to the high cost as well.

BTW, we need pictures of your golden pup when he/she arrives! And of course Kody! Welcome to PT :)