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  • I've gone over to feeding my dog homemade raw diet. The recipe i use calls for 5.25 lbs of chicken necks and 3.25 lbs of boneless chicken thighs plus a 1.5 lbs of different organ meat. (this is just the meat mix, they get veggies and vitamin supplements as well) I can't find chicken necks locally and have been using 8.5 lbs of bone in chicken thighs. My dog has been doing great with this, but I'm getting a puppy in a couple weeks and am very concerned about her not getting enough calcium. Do I need to supplement bone meal into their diets to get more calcium? If so how much more calcium?
  • I believe your current diet is still calcium deficient for both an adult and puppy.
    "Bones" do not correct an inverse Ca:Pho ratio - often suggested but nutritionally incorrect.
    Your diet is also missing several essential trace minerals .... probably Vit A and D which help to regulate calcium metabolism, so I would not suggest you continue the diet until it is nutritionally corrected for either dog.
  • My 5 year old afghan hound has had a couple of bouts with colitis, one hemmorhagic gastroenteritis. Vet has suggested an "easily digestible" food. She has been on hills ID GI now for several months and doing well but I fear this is not nutritious long term. She doesn't have much pep. Is there something "easily digestible I could feed with better nutrition, or supplement this current prescription food with something?
  • No there is no such supplement - I would not add blindly add any supplement at this time 

    The Hill's i/d has been shown for decades to be a nutritionally complete and balanced diet so once a food has passed this criteria there is little to improve upon ....
    One cannot evaluate a pet food by reading the label .... don't fall for that marketing gimmick.

    Having said that, in my experience, including specific types of fibers improves colitis. If you have not yet try different fiber types to further improve the dogs response to the i/d, I would suggest seeking advice in this direction. 
  • I have a 1 yr old GSD female, spayed, who is taking Tylosin and extra psyllium husk powder to control chronic diarrhea. Recently, it was suggested to me to send in hair and saliva samples to Glacier Peak Holistics for food sensitivity testing. The results are supposed to tell me what food ingredients to avoid in her diet as she shows a sensitivity to them (via the hair/saliva analysis). Are you familiar with these types of tests and are they accurate in what they claim to measure? Thank you!
  • Yes I am familiar with the tests and their claim.
    Save your $$$ - they are not accurate.
  • If a pet is allergic to a specific meat, like chicken or beef, then will it also be allergic to the generic animal fat and animal digest found in some pet foods?
  • Possibly ... One cannot be allergic to a fat or carb, it has to be the protein fraction - If there is protein (meat) in the fat or digest.
    Poultry digest most likely does contain chicken meat.
    Chicken fat may or may not contain chicken proteins depending the processing of the fat.
    In general I would avoid the fat and digest version of whatever protein (chicken or beef) you think the pet is allergic to .....
  • Do you offer grain free diets? Isn't this healthier?
  • Yes we offer them in our Homemade Diet Recipe module for healthy pets as there is no evidence that it is harmful.

    There is no evidence to date that feeding grains is healthier ... started as a marketing gimmick and unfortunately some pet owners (and Vets) have come believe it is true.
    Any stated advantage is pure nonsense and the marketing folks are laughing all the way to the bank.

    I think the more important issue is that feeding high meat, i.e., no grain, is not sustainable.

  • My Vet has recommended that I contact you about my dogs' diets. I have 2 Golden retrievers that I home cook for. They have mostly protein, either chicken thighs or lean roast beef. I add some vegetables, fruits or eggs. They also occasionally get other types of meat and fisht. They get a multi-vitamin, probiotics, fish oil, an herbal flea powder and Doxiquin daily. Once every 2 weeks or so they chew raw marrow bones.
    Do you feel this is an adequate diet?
    Thanks so much for your help.
  • Unless you are using as supplement that specifically states that is was designed to nutritionally complete a homemade diet, (and there are only 3 such products on the market) then no ... your recipe is not properly balanced.

    It sounds excessive in proteins and most likely has an inverse calcium to phosphorous ratio, which the dogs can tolerate for many months but eventually their health will begin to fail.

     If your dogs have no medical issues, we have an automated module for owners to obtain a balanced diet for their healthy pet.

    Go to www.petdiets.com. You begin the process by logging into your account or opening an account for you, your pet and link it to your Vet info, then click on 'Services:’ drop down to “Homemade Diet Recipes’. Select the “See all ingredient options” to see all of our food options or one of several specific diet types (high or low calorie, etc.). You may select ingredients similar to those you are now feeding. The software will re-balance your diet properly and suggest vitamin & trace mineral supplements. The cost is $25 for the first recipe and $12 for each thereafter purchased at the same time. Recipes are available for immediate download after payment.


     
  • We want to feed Miles a raw diet. This was not an option on any of the fields listed.
  • Correct. We do not promote feeding raw meat or eggs to household pets due to the risk of food poisoning to the pet, you and other household members in keeping the FDA, AAHA, AVMA, CVMA  consensus statements.
     
    Having said that, if you wish to feed the meat or egg portion in any of our recipes you may do so as feeding raw has NO effect on the nutrient profile according to NRC or AAFCO recommendations.
    Feeding raw is not a nutritional issue and the homemade diet can still be complete and balance regardless of cooked or not.
  • I have a 7 year old female Jack Russell. I'm trying to make sure that she is getting her correct nutrients but I'm unsure about Phosphorous. Could you tell me how many milligrams of Phosphorous she should be receiving (or minimum and maximum)?

    Thank you!
    Mike
  • I would have to know the dry matter content and the caloric density of your HMD diet and the body weight of your dog in order to cite you an absolute mg/day but here are the guidelines.
     
    AAFCO recommendations are 0.5 to 1.6% for the dry matter in a 3500 kcal/Kg or 1.4 to 4.6g /Mcal.
    NRC recommendations are 0.3% of dry matter in a 4000 kcal/Kg diet or 0.75g/Mcal or 0.1 g/Metabolic body weight with no safe upper limit stated.
    However at 7 yrs old, most veterinary nutritionist would recommend feeding at the lower end of any range, and of course the phos always has to be in proper ratio to the calcium content.
     
    Or if your dog has no medical issues, we have an automated module for owners to obtain a balanced diet for their healthy pet.
     
    Go to www.petdiets.com. You begin the process by logging into your account or opening an account for you, your pet and link it to your Vet info, then click on 'Services:’ drop down to “Homemade Diet Recipes’. Select the “See all ingredient options” to see all of our food options or one of several specific diet types (high or low calorie, ect). You may select ingredients similar to those you are now feeding. The software will re-balance your diet properly and suggest vitamin & trace mineral supplements. The cost is $25 for the first recipe and $12 for each thereafter purchased at the same time. Recipes are available for immediate download after payment.
     
  • I have a 5yr old female German Shepherd pure breed that we rescued but has elbow dysplasia since she was 2. Longs story short, we have done the orthoscopic surgery and feed her Prescription J/D dog food to control her weight, also for the Glucosamine. This food is very expensive, what food could I switch her to that's not so expensive? Her weight is steady at 33kgs.
  • Actually the Hill's j/d product is the best of its kind in terms of managing weight and in delivering nutrients known to help the joint in dosages you would not be able to supplement.

    The next best option is the Purina JM which I often recommend for dogs prone to orthopedic diseases, but I suggest the j/d when the dog actually shows clinical signs of pain/damage or has documented joint damage.

    You are getting the best food for the money. In other words, there are plenty of want-a-be j/d products but no other has the same nutrient profile, has been shown to lessen the inflammatory profile in the dog or can deliver the best clinical results possible to my knowledge.


     
  • Hi, is it okay to feed my dog Pedigree if I can't afford the better foods? I am talking specifically about their canned puppy food (dog is still under a year and eats mostly kibble but I like to give him canned food sometimes). I read that they base their recipes off Waltham nutritional studies, which makes me feel good.
  • Yes you are correct .... and I have no concerns about the products you are feeding. The hardest part is to ignore the hard handed marketing by pet food manufacturers and the over the top chat by those who know very little about the pet food industry or pet nutrition.
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