but it smoothed out quickly!

Cathy
when she first came home

...I hope my question didn't rub you the wrong way. I just wanted to try to distinguish if going raw is more benefitial with dogs with skin problems versus no problems and it's before and after effects. Knowing a good baseline of what the dog was like before the food switch helps me to make a better dicision if the change was better or not. I have been told by vets that it takes about a month or two to see significant changes with foods and your raw diet seems to be working faster. I like that, and I am thinking it's because "less processing " of the foods. Again I enjoy your posts.


Javier

I've been thinking of trying one of my 4 on it to see how she does but I haven't seen it locally. Have you tried tums or the generic Walmart version for the tears??? 1 a day and after 6 weeks nice clean faces. Our white face kids are actually white. My Vet says that it is perfectly safe!

...and I don't recall you posting that you had a problem with your pup's coat other than tear stains and rash prior to switching to raw. Am I mistaken? I also believe (80%) my bullies are sensitive to grain also and I'm now on NB limited ingredients (1 month) and so far major cut down on stains and bumps. My question with Raw is preparation and costs. Is it worth it? We don't eat steak everynight so I want a reasonable cost when it comes to feeding our bullies.

Javier

I checked the Primal website and the 8 pound bag of lamb (if I read it correctly!) was around $48... does that sound right? that means approximately $200 per month? eeeekkkk don't know if i can do that

~Kellie and Chloe~

Cathy,
You make a very good statement for feeding raw. I have read a lot online about raw (well, the "real raw" LOL)... feeding the actual meat and such. I REALLY don't think I could do that... I'm pretty squeamish about raw meat/chicken/etc. I think that's why i have been following your reports on Primal so closely. You seem to have had excellent luck with it and as you said, it cleared up some issues (her coat) that you didn't even know could be different. Thanks so much for posting updates! ( I am still contemplating it, but the $$$ have me stumped right now :0( (and we aren't dealing with the issues that Audrey had, just want to do the healthiest thing for Chloe)



~Kellie and Chloe~

and actually decided on the Primal once I got there. I haven't tried Tums for the tears, thanks for the suggestion!

Cathy
when she first came home

the store I go to charges $37 for an 8 lb bag of lamb. The other proteins are less expensive, but since we were doing a food trial with proteins she wasn't on previously lamb was the best choice. We will be switching proteins regularly so that will help with the cost.

Cathy
when she first came home

I was just pleasantly surprised when it showed such an improvement. I thought it looked good before, but now it's gorgeous. She didn't have a rash but she was itching her face constantly, to the point where her eye started to swell. It smelled yeasty and she had a stubborn yeast ear infection. She was on Angel's Eyes for the tear stains and it worked beautifully, but I wasn't comfortable with her being on long term antibiotics. We weren't 100% certain it was grains, so we started off by eliminating all grains. I read about doing an allergy food trial, but it's hard to find a protein she hadn't had already, so we switched her to TOTW salmon. She threw up whole undigested food 3 out of the 5 days she was on it, so obviously that was not working for her. The more I read the more I decided I didn't want her eating food processed by rendering and preserved to keep it fresh for months on end. How would I know if it's the preservatives she's allergic to and not the ingredients? As far as cost goes, I paid $215 in a month for an ear infection that wouldn't go away, plus the cost of the ointment I was constantly having to put on her face for the raw wrinkles. She was miserable and itchy all the time. What kind of price tag do you put on that? I don't have the $$ right now to buy a meat grinder, but I do plan to get one in the next few months to help reduce the cost by making my own. As far as preparation goes, I do not care how long it takes to prepare her food, and I can't imagine it is going to consume an overwhelming amount of time. That is irrelevant to me. I don't eat steak every night either, but neither do I feed my family pre-cooked processed foods every single meal and expect them to thrive on it. I guess reasonable to me is what is the best thing I can feed my dog for HER optimal health. After seeing the difference in her on an optimal food I am not willing to settle for just "OK" anymore.

Cathy
when she first came home

the problems we were having and what we tried (TOTW salmon made her throw up) she suggested Primal. I can't even really remember now why! I like it because it doesn't have a whole lot in it. They do have Natyre's Variety too, and I think I am going to try it also.

Cathy
when she first came home

Did you choose Primal for a specific reason? I have been looking at Nature's Variety and it seems less expensive and more available than Primal and basically the same thing, I THINK. Does Audrey spray her food all over when she eats? I have never seen anything like the mess Bobo makes when he eats, I would say 1/3 of the food lands on the floor.

and 1 oz nuggets. The recommendations for weight maintenence at 'normal' activity level is 2.5% of their bodyweight. Audrey is 43 pounds so she was getting 18 oz a day; one patty plus one nugget per meal. Now we have cut out the nugget and she gets one 8 oz patty per meal, for a total of 16 oz per day. She is getting out to play more now that it has stopped raining and she has recovered from her spay, and she looks really good.

Cathy
when she first came home

Cathy, would you mind posting the amount you are feeding her... i was re-reading the older posts and i see that you were cutting it down in order for her not to gain weight. I am trying to figure out how long a bag would last (just an estimate) for Chloe... she weighs 48 pounds but probably needs to lose a few... she is a shorty.
thanks!

~Kellie and Chloe~

the store also has Nature's Variety and I think I will try rotating between the different kinds. Not yet though, we will stick to the Primal and just rotate the different varities of it first.

Cathy
when she first came home

you are using?

Naughty or Nice? NAUGHTY!
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and she still has tear stains, I would definitely recommend it because of how BEAUTIFUL her coat is, and because her face used to really smell, even with the Angel's Eyes, she would scratch it constantly, lick her paws, and she got a yeast ear infection that was very stubborn to get rid of. All of that went away within the first week. I like knowing also that there is NOTHING in this food that is processed, it's just meat, bone and veggies, with oil and vit e.

here's the ingredients in the lamb formula
Ingredients: Lamb, Lamb Hearts, Lamb Livers, Ground Lamb Bones, Organic Kale, Organic Carrots, Organic Yams, Organic Broccoli, Organic Apples, Cranberries, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Parsley, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Kelp, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Mixed Tocopherols (source of vitamin E).



Cathy
when she first came home

These are so helpful. At this point would you recommend RAW over dry dog food?

i know you probably mentioned this in the past.. but do you use filtered water and stainless steal bowls for their water?

also, my bullies tears stains finally went away after i stopped feeding her such a "meaty" type protein kibble... such as duck, lamb, and venison, beef , with potatoe or sweet potatoes, seems to make her have red too.

i use the natures variety salmon kibble and then add a little wetfood so they can get their "meat" fix, and the tear stains have cleared.