The Shar-Pei Forums-Health Behavior Diet & Rescue Info and Discussion Group

Hello; just wondering if anyone has any experience with the Nature's Variety Instinct Frozen Raw food...

Kahlua is still having a few issues and I'm thinking about going raw... their formulas seem to have ground flaxseed which i want to avoid; the only one that doesn't have it is their Bison formula...http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/dog/bison

I like the look of it so far...but have yet to find the price out... judging by feeding guide kahlua would roughly need 7 to 7.5 oz's a day..meaning a 3lb bag would only last me a week


Also looking into Mountain Dog Food http://www.mountaindogfood.com/ as well..

Another company I'm looking into is also local http://www.boldraw.com/prepared.html but I would prefer the veggies already be added in..and they don't do that...

It's been suspected in the past that kahlua had allergies to poultry (although I have never had her tested) and to some fish as she had a horrible reaction to Orijen's 6 fish formula... so I want to try and stay with beef/bison/rabbit or lamb and see how she does.

Ive had good results with natures variety raw.

_________________
Brutus, born 12/12/10

Never forgotten...
- Suki 4/10/03 - 2/13/11
- Blade 12/1/01 - 9/28/10
- Zeus 3/19/96 - 6/1/99
- Cinnamon 6/8/93 - 4/19/96

I've never used Natures Variety, but have used Primal and I liked this brand very much. I haven't heard of the others that you referenced - but there are many raw providers.

_________________

I have not used , but know someone who used it and really liked it .
I did want to say you really can't compare kibble and raw as the processing involved with any kibble adds and takes things away like vitamins and preservatives.

yea i'm trying to figure out pricing

for the 3lb bag of nature's variety bison; it's 22.99 canadian. (without tax) and that would last me a week....

the mountain dog food case is 12lbs..at 41.00 canadian (without taxes) and would last me 15-16 days.. so by the end of the month it works out to be roughly the same price wise......

her acana food she's on now ranges from 24-26 (taxes not included) bucks for a small bag every week and a day or two.. so really; changing to raw is not all that different price wise...

i'm trying to find feeding guidelines as kahlua is only roughly 27 lbs; maybe 28 max.. so far i've found guidelines for 20 lbs (1/2lb raw per day) and 30lbs (3/4 lb raw per day)... if i give her what a 30lb dog eats; she'll get too heavy... so i'm trying to think what would be the in-between. i hate fractions!!!!

I started out feeding raw with Nature's variety. My Cosmo did well on it. It served as a transition for me to feeding raw on my own. It actually is very easy to feed raw once you get the hang of it. Until I got used to what the dogs needed, feeding a raw diet that was already prepared and had the nutrition the dogs needed reassured me.

Here is a good place to start http://gratefulpet.com/rawfeedingmadesimple.aspx
or this book proved helpful to me as well.Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog [Paperback]
Carina Beth Macdonald (Author)

_________________
Toni- Cosmo, Pei-le and Kaïa's mom

No you may want to feed her more raw initially as many dogs that have been on kibble loose weight . The protein/fats burn first and feed muscle for energy. Which you may see her become energetic as well. When you change diets they get a big boost of vitamins and minerals .

Mine get 6-7 oz of meat or fish twice a day. In addition to the meat they get pumpkin, yogurt, and some veggies (and supplements). They weigh 48 lbs, 52 lbs and 45 lbs. The heavier one is low energy and the smallest is high energy. It works out for us. When they get a bit heavy, I cut the meat down. When they get on the thin side I up the meat. I was gone for a month and when I came back, two of them were on the thin side. We upped their meat to 8 oz twice a day. It took about three - four weeks to pack on some weight. We just recently went back to the original meal plan.

_________________
Toni- Cosmo, Pei-le and Kaïa's mom

Amsol thanks for that site it's great and full of info.

On the weight part I tell folks to measure or weigh regularly
Easy to just take a string wrap it around and mark it then you can regularly check it.
Adjust the food as needed - I was happy to see that site gave very easy transition info where you homecook first and gradually change over - allowing it to give the gut relief from fast changes

That's a good idea. I tell my husband to do that next time I have to leave town for an extended time. I normally just eyeball it I like to see just a hint of the outline of ribs. My Pei-le I keep a bit chunkier as when she gets a fever, she drops lbs like no tomorrow! She is the lower energy dog.

_________________
Toni- Cosmo, Pei-le and Kaïa's mom

LOL she is already very energetic.. if she has any more energy she will be the energizer bunny!!!

i was figuring that since she is pretty active and her metabolism also seems high that i would probably feed her for a 30lb dog

Frustrated!! kahlua will NOT touch her raw food.. i ended up going with nature's variety. second day in a row she's refusing.... she wants kibble.

is this common?

bump

and a no go for dinner; she has not eaten breakfast or dinner today; i caved last night and gave her kibble...

i don't know why she's resisting so much; she stepped away from the bowl for a few seconds and scooby (parent's great dane) flew in and took a chunk of it and he had just eaten his dinner, lol; and he's one of THE pickiest slowest eaters ever and easily distracted; yet HE touches and ate it lol

Our diva, will not do raw. Some do refuse it. did you try adding fresh green tripe? Other experienced raw feeders will come on with their transition advice.

_________________

You can always buy some raw ground meat and give that. I have not had a dog refuse raw ground beef. Si if your dog will take it as a treat, then put it in the food bowl alone, then with a bit of nature's variety. You can also use tuna water (the stuff you drain out of the can when you eat tuna). Or you can mix it with the kibble for a bit. Slowly wean your dog from kibble to the nature's variety.

_________________
Toni- Cosmo, Pei-le and Kaïa's mom

i'm just frustrated because i'm getting all different kinds of advice from different angles.

I have people telling me that work in vet clinic that they see nothing but problems with dogs on raw diets.

then i have our great dane breeder saying she does the BARF diet for all her dogs; MY vet clinic is actually suggesting Kahlua go on raw...that's why i like them so much because they do what works for the individual dog; but they always try homeopathic/common sense stuff first.

then i have people telling me to be tough love and not offer her any food until she eats the raw; well i tried that and she refused the raw food for almost 3 days... she needs her supplements, she needs food. i shouldn't have to starve her to want raw. i can't just have her not eat; especially with the weather being like it is, etc. so i got accused of coddling her and that i gave up to early because i gave her kibble again.

yea well it's evident she doesn't want the bison; so i'm going to try another thing..that's not giving up.

see i've heard different opinions about the kibble mixed with raw. i have mixed her kibble with canned food pretty much since i've had her.. but i tried the raw bison with kibble mixed in..and no go. my plan is to get the duck, or turkey and try that.

I joined the "raw feeding" group on facebook and got labelled a "newbie" and to not ask questions and that i needed to read literature. every thing i read has different advice!! i have pages upon pages of print outs...so it's not like i'm being ignorant.. but it's such a broad spectrum of how things are done.

so i'm taking the heat for being a "bad mom" and letting my dog be spoiled because i refused to not have her go without food for many days. i'm not into breaking my dog in by making her weak. i got told "you are her owner, she eats when you say and what you say" well... i'm telling you now. i loathe certain things in life and i will NOT eat them either; if she has such an aversion i'm not going to force her.

sorry..ranting..i'm just frustrated. when the store is open on tues i will go get a different type..this time in trial bag size (they didn't have trial size for bison) and see how it goes. i'm not going to rush her; i'm not going to rush myself. if i rush her, she puts up more of a wall.. we all know how stubborn our pei's can be! lol

thanks for all the help so far:) at least here i know i'm not being judged

Every pei is different. No one forumla is going to work.
The over all dog's complete medical history has to be considered.
I will not tough it out and force my dogs to eat anything that they
do not want. I always have a back up plan.
I happen to have two rescues who were previously starved.
And my attitude is walk a mile in the other person's shoes before snapping judgment.
I won't put human expectations on a canine. Very misguided. Dogs are not
toddlers.
Dogs have instinct and know dietarily what they need better than most
of us. I have seen healthy feral dogs. So I am more open minded.
Bottom line, look at the overall medical needs of your dog when considering a diet.
We have three adult shar pei with three completely separate needs.
I can't put one exact diet into place and expect all of mine to thrive.
So, use your gut instinct.
There are a few members here who have mixed grain free kibble and raw, which
I had not learned until being here on this forum.
I started out with having an exam on my dog, reviewing her bloodwork,
and coming to the conclusion that standard medicine and commercial grain free just did not benefit our Noodle long term.
I took a leap of faith and tried Raw for her. She is doing well on a basic prey model diet for starters.
We supplement Noodle with fish oil and hyvitality and our vet agrees that she has done very well so far. I think some dogs need raw
depending on their environment, climate, and chronic conditions. Use your gut
and read up on raw feeding independently. Then read up on this forum. Lots of members here
can point you in the right direction for further fact finding resources. If Kahula rejects it, then so be it.
Go with your gut instinct.
I like the suggestions that amsol put down. that combination should keep in check and not upset her tummy.
I am not of the mindset that there is a cookie cutter way to care for this breed.
I do know that alot of research needs to be done when feeding this breed.
Hang in there and keep your chin up.

_________________

I'm lucky to have a husband that is a butcher, we just had her about a month now, she is a baggins shar pei and very loving and sweet. When we got her she was on pro plan, but since my husband can get any kind of meat for less, we thought we'd spoil her and feed her on an raw diet, we first gave her different cuts of meat, (sirloin, tip, rib-eye, just ends of pieces) and she loved it very much, then we'd thought we could make our own dog food by watching a few videos on you tube, it was pretty much a meat loaf. We used ground beef, cooked rice, eggs with egg shells (blended) and blended corn and carrots together mixed it up, an hour later, viola! Meat loaf! She wasn't to found of it at first, but after hand feeding her chunks at a time she came to liking it. From time to time we give her whole chicken without any bones (I'm worried she might choke) cut up. But watch out it gives her gas! Lol. Iv tried to let her eat dog food but she doesn't want it any more, I rather feed her raw meats instead.its better and healthier and read that they can live longer then being on dog food.

_________________

[img][/img]

Yea; the whole time I took the food away after she didn't touch it I felt guilty, so much i teared up; so I'd give her some treats, but the other night i decided "no way" not starving my dog...

kahlua has really bad cm around her neck/chest; she's on fish oils, msm, hyvitality, vitamin c... she's been on grain free food since she was a puppy

her only problem is that her one ear gets very yeasty, mainly in the summer and her CM.. so i thought going raw would help her; also her kibble is very high in protein and her last blood test showed her blood sugars and protein a little high (but not warning sign high) so i started to think that maybe raw would be better.

i'm heading over to the food store now to get some tripe; she's had it before and liked it, however it was canned tripe from merrick. there's a local company that makes it and it's carried in a pet health food store near by.

I also had bought sojo's dehyrated fruits and veggies to mix in..however it contains broccoli..to my surprise kahlua reacts to broccoli. she took it out of the bowl and then spit it out ..and i mean SPIT it out; and then shook her head and rolled around and sneezed. i was like whoa.. kahlua loves food...LOVES food..so for her to do this shows something. not that she wants to "defy" me and knows i'll "cave" (words i've been told recently) she's letting me know that she can't eat it! So.. i think i'll be going through the bag and removing the chunks of broccoli and seeing if she'll eat it otherwise

i too like amsol's suggestions:)

stay tuned; maybe we will have some success tonight!!

I have two dogs that like raw red cabbage. They eat it like treats. The third dog won't tough it. Each dog is different. I do think that you should be able to ease your pooch into raw by slowly mixing the two. I don't see any problem mixing with kibble and raw. I am sure I did that in the beginning. Some pei, like people, don't like change. The texture changes as well as the taste. Go slow and mix. See if your pei won't come around. (Actually, now that I think about it, I had to wean my husband off kibble. LOL He liked to feed it to the dogs. It took months but we got there. )

_________________
Toni- Cosmo, Pei-le and Kaïa's mom

SUCCESS!!

Went to the store; picked up some raw tripe and nature's variety BEEF (trial size) so it already semi defrosted on way home... tripe will be ready for tonight; but she JUST ate her raw beef; like a maniac! she likes it cold... which makes sense because she LOVES to eat ice cubes!

I'm so proud of her! it was the bison after all!!!!

happy pei mama! I even filmed it! hahahaha

success #2

just had raw beef in a bit of kibble with a bit of green tripe; gone in a minute. yay!!

Go Kahlua. So glad you are making progress.

_________________

Congrats!
Nature's Variety makes an excellent Raw food, and is cheaper per feeding (typically) than Primal or Stella and Chewy's. That doesn't make the food cheaper, but it's just how the pricing works out. It's a good food and I think that you are on the right track! Make sure you know how long the food will last for your dog, then figure out the price per meal. You can get some interesting numbers that way. My guy will eat a 6# bag of Primal in about 5 days. Nature's Variety might last a week.
I would also rotate the proteins around once you have them on raw. It's very healthy to do that and makes it so that your Pei doesn't get bored with the food. Keep us updated!

this morning she had a bit of her kibble (using it up) and her green beef tripe (with kelp) and nature's variety raw beef.. she's eating it ALL up i am going to try and try her on duck in a bit as well; and the local company also has rabbit