Dehydrated Raw?

[dab_20]

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?

[Freedom]

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.

[MonicanHonda]

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.

[dab_20]

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!

[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.

[Freedom]

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.

[dab_20]

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.

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

[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!

[*LabLoverKEB*]

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

[GoldenLover]

I also feed Honest Kitchen dehy raw and my Kody 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.

[dab_20]

I also feed Honest Kitchen dehy raw and my Kody 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.

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