Bravo Homestyle Complete

kpromero · Aug 20, 2016

Oh another friend has a dog that eats poop, yuck. They asked me if this would cause an issue if on raw? I saw a few sites that actually said it helped stop them from doing this but before i tell them, do you all know if good or bad?

Cbrugs · Aug 20, 2016

kpromero said:
Thanks again Cbrugs and KimB3384. A friend i was taking to about actually brought hers to the vet today and asked about raw. He told her dont do it and he does not recommend feeding this way is pretty much all she told me.

A lot of vets don't know enough about nutrition and aren't fully educated on raw. Jax just went for his wellness exam last week and I told the vet he was on raw and he basically said to feed whatever works. He also commented about how good he looked and how soft his coat was.

Jax isn't a poop water so I have no knowledge on that issue!

KimB3384 · Aug 20, 2016

Here's what I say - unless the vet can tell me specifically why I shouldn't do it and give me hard scientific evidence to back up his or her reasoning, I am uninterested. When you go to the zoo at feeding time, what are they putting in the tiger's cage? A bowl of kibble? No, a slab of meat. Same thing for the bears, wolves, lions, etc. That says to me that it's what the animals are supposed to eat. But it's a decision each owner has to make on his or her own. If you are feeding a complete diet (meat, bone, and organ) there is no reason your dog cannot thrive.

Beezy used to be a poop eater. Switching to raw and adding a pre- and probiotic to her diet has taken care of it.

WeeDex · Aug 21, 2016

Our vet doesn't support it either. I do wonder sometimes if for the money aspect they have to push the brands they stock and sell and make a lot of money from, but actually at home what they feed their own dogs is completely different. They would never say to stop raw feeding however, they just don't prescribe it.

I just switched Dexter 3 weeks ago to raw. You maybe saw on my other thread that he had big poop issues, but with the advice from here I got that sorted after 10 days with some pumpkin, egg shells and a good probiotic. So maybe keep a tin in the cupboard for emergency use just in case

kpromero · Aug 21, 2016

Is that stuff from PetSmart good just to try. Fresh Pets or is there something I could get instead of a big order to see how it goes

KimB3384 · Aug 21, 2016

I think it depends on your dog and what you're looking to ultimately do. Dogfoodadvisor gives it 5 stars but a lot of people are critical of it because it *is* processed and contains carageenan, which some people feel is a carcinogen. I looked at it but decided against it because of the added ingredients like peas, carrots, rice, rice bran and salt. I personally feel that any time you add a bunch of extras you're just asking for trouble because it becomes nearly impossible to detect what is causing an issue if one pops up. If you're on the fence about going raw - and I get it because $100 is a lot of shell out for something you aren't sure your dogs will want to eat or even can eat - you can purchase a couple of ingredients at your local grocery store and give it a try. Here's a link to a video that shows you how to easily make food at home. You can choose to cook it or serve it raw, your choice. You could easily substitute ground chicken, turkey, or pork for the beef and go from there.

kpromero · Aug 21, 2016

Thanks again. I purchased some Natures Variety raw patties which has way less ingredients than the other but not cheap

KimB3384 · Aug 21, 2016

Excellent! Let us know how it goes

kpromero · Aug 21, 2016

KimB3384 said:
Excellent! Let us know how it goes

Thanks again Kim, should be enough for 6 days of feeding but $40 for it. Hope they like it.

KimB3384 · Aug 21, 2016

I'm sure they will. We used it for a short time and Beezy was a fan. Of course, I've yet to meet a food she won't eat, so maybe we're not the best test case. It's good food, in any case, so you can't go wrong

kpromero · Aug 21, 2016

KimB3384 said:
I'm sure they will. We used it for a short time and Beezy was a fan. Of course, I've yet to meet a food she won't eat, so maybe we're not the best test case. It's good food, in any case, so you can't go wrong

They loved it and licked the bowls clean. Will see tomorrow if I get same results. So when looking for a raw brand, do you need to make sure it's all range fed and organic meats? The one I mentioned in this post with all ingredients, the chicken is human grade I was told.

southpaw1746 · Aug 22, 2016

I was wondering if variety should be incorporated when choosing a commercial raw food? Would a Frenchie get bored say if they went on an all venison raw diet (such as what Lone star dog ranch sells)?
I see that Reelraw has a weekly variety of proteins. Is something like this better so that it adds variety or is it even necessary?

Cbrugs · Aug 22, 2016

With raw, they say you should rotate between at least 3 different proteins. I'll usually feed Jax the same protein for a week or two and switch to a different one for a week or two and so on.

KimB3384 · Aug 22, 2016

kpromero said:
So when looking for a raw brand, do you need to make sure it's all range fed and organic meats? The one I mentioned in this post with all ingredients, the chicken is human grade I was told.

Good questions! I don't pay super close attention to whether the source is all-range fed or not. I know that some people do, but that's not a huge issue for me. I mean, it would be great if all my meat was grass-fed but since Beezy is so sensitive to things, my main concern is getting her a meat she can eat. As long as she doesn't have a reaction to it, I'm cool. I don't even look specifically for organic. I mainly look to see if there's info on the company, see if there have been any recalls, etc. When I was using commercial foods, I checked dogfoodadvisor and then checked to make sure the company didn't have any recalls. If they did, I checked to see what they were for.

The place I buy most of my meat from now has been in business since 1999, is licensed and regularly inspected. They've gotten good reviews on their site and on FB. Those are the things I look at. If everything checks out and my gut reacts positively (and my wallet gives the green light), I give it a shot.

I think a lot of people overthink the raw thing and that, in turn, turns a lot of people off because they think it's too complicated or stressful. It's good that you're approaching it slowly and gradually. You need to be comfortable with it and you need to know what your dogs can eat before you go shelling out a ton of money.

KimB3384 · Aug 22, 2016

southpaw1746 said:
I was wondering if variety should be incorporated when choosing a commercial raw food? Would a Frenchie get bored say if they went on an all venison raw diet (such as what Lone star dog ranch sells)?
I see that Reelraw has a weekly variety of proteins. Is something like this better so that it adds variety or is it even necessary?

We rotate between at least 8: rabbit, pork, alligator, salmon, beef, sardines, bison, and goat. I buy most of the proteins in 2-lb. chub packages, which last me 16 meals (8 days). I'll switch off to another protein for the next 8 days, and so on. I like to try to rotate between lighter meats and darker meats as well for a better balance, so we do a lot of alligator.

kpromero · Aug 22, 2016

So I am guessing the price changes weekly on what your purchasing. The one from Lone Star I mentioned I emailed them to see where meat comes from and here is response.

The source of the chicken varies but it can be Tyson or Zacky farms, Pilgrims pride, all sources from your grocery store. I don’t believe any of us know exactly what is in it but I know that it’s the same source I purchase for my family, 4 legged and 2 legged. We all do the best we can. This is what I feed all of my own dogs and my children all feed their dogs as well. My vet is not an advocate of a raw diet but most aren’t and I don’t agree with the garbage they sell in their vet clinics either so we just agree to disagree.

I would recommend you to watch a series of videos on you tube with a vet that I respect that discusses feeding a raw diet her name is Dr. Becker and she has a lot of valuable information for you to learn from.

KimB3384 · Aug 22, 2016

Ha! Dr. Becker is my guru! She's so great and is pretty much the reason I'm feeding raw now

I have a friend who is lucky enough to have a dog that can eat chicken and she goes to the store and stocks up on whole chickens when they're on sale and grinds them herself. I wish I had that luxury. Because, like the Lone Star person says, if it's good enough for YOU to eat, it's good enough for your dog. That doesn't sound quite right, but you know what I mean.

And, yes, my price varies slightly based on what I'm purchasing. Sometimes she has sales on particular proteins and I try to stock up on them because, of course, Beezy can't eat anything cheap except for pork. We just bought a second fridge so that I could have a dedicated freezer just for her food. You can save a lot of money both on product and on shipping if you can buy in bulk. Lots of places have free shipping on 50 lbs.

kpromero · Aug 22, 2016

2nd day and they seem to like it. I cracked an egg an gave it to Rosie but not the shells due to not being organic. So far chicken does not seem to be causing anything. Stools are fine and no difference in that either. Will go a couple more days and then maybe order from Lone Star since they have a few extra added items like sardines, beef tripe and organic eggs