experiance with grainless foods - Page 2

We had one of our females n Orijen for a while while she was nursing.  I don't think the fish one though.  She loved it.  Loose stools though so we switched her back to Canine Caviar.  The bit of leftover we had is the morning treat for my big baby dog as he helps me get ready for work, a handful a day.....  The other grain free we use for a couple of ours is the Natural Balance duck and potatoe.  They have done very well on it.

We feed our dogs a dehydrated 100% human-food-grade made in an FDA approved, human-food-producing facility in Southern California.  It contains no by-products, no added salt or sugar, no chemical preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors and NO beet pulp, rice, wheat, corn, or soy.   The two formals we feed (Embark and Force) contain no grains as well. 

Benefits?  It is a natural human grade diet.  It is dehydrated so it takes up a lot less room to store.  It does not have to be frozen.  It is GREAT to travel with, easy and convenient to pack.  Last but NOT least, the dogs LOVE it.

It ends up being around $100 a month per dog to feed, depending on the dog and if you supplement with other raw foods.

We are a distributor and can have it drop shipped directly to your door ( http://www.klgsd.com/DogFoodMain.htm ).  But if you have more than one or two dogs, the most financially beneficial thing would be to probably order in Bulk from the company themselves ( http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml ).

The Honest Kitchen foods are GREAT exepensive but great!  One of my club members lives in SF and she keeps two of them around for herself incase of an earthquake!  She is a little crazy, but they are human grade food!  Sasha used to get it mixed with her kibble as a gravy type mix.

I also fed Sasha the Innova Evo and loved the results, but it was so expensive when I brought Jager home I couldn't afford it anymore at $42.00 for a 28 pound bag, so I swtiched to Royal Canine which I have loved!    Sasha always had a great coat when she was on Evo, and she loved the food as well!

A month or so ago I was introduced to K-9 Kraving www.k-9kraving.com and love this raw diet!  It is the only raw diet that is USDA approved, and it has full nutrition, bones, vitamins, etc.  It costs about $1.68 a pound after shipping, and yes my two dogs are both eating 2 pounds a day, my male gets about 1/4 of a pound of tripe excaliber as well.  It is easy to feed, it's in tubes that you just squeeze the food out, like breakfast sausage!

I normally would not be able to afford this food at nearly $8.00 a day for two dogs, but I have worked out a deal with a local distibutor and we are making a trade, so I am happy to feed this to my pups.  I do give them a raw egg with their breakfast, and also add two capsules of fish oil omega 3 pills from costco.  And the dogs also get to chew on beef rib back bones at least once a day.

Best of luck!

I personaly have experience with the Common Sense food as I purchased 2 females from Tracy and they were both raised on it. Probably THE best coats I have ever seen and very little stool. Down side is I didn't have the freezer space to keep up with it so I switched to the only thing I can compare it too, the Natures Variety "Instinct". My dogs have done very well on it, their coats look awsome still and small stools. My male is now gaining weight, finally, and I just had a litter and the pups have amazing shine at 3 weeks and mom looks great! I have tried Innova in the past and also found that to be a very good food as well.  I did try to cook my own food with a recipe that was sent along with my girls but with 4 dogs, 3 kids and a full time overnight job I didn't have the time or space to keep up with it.

I feed a combination of (1) grainless kibble; (2) rehydrated dried veggies (Olewo carrots, Happy Dog grain free, and the Honest Kitchen "Preference") with salmon oil, garlic, and unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar (with the "mother") (3) The Honest Kitchen "Embark"; (4) Oma's Pride Beef mix; (5) Oma's Pride Performance (green tripe, beef, cartilage, ground bone) in the morning. This meal is easier than it may appear because I make up a large batch the veggie mix and keep it refrigerated for ~1 week.

I usually feed raw pork necks in the evening. I also feed a few supplements.

Yes, this diet does cost ~$100/dog. I'm retired and living on a limited, fixed income. I can afford it because, with a diet of this sort, I have essentially no vet bills and outrageously healthy dogs. The second or third generation of dogs on a raw diet are even more healthy and problem free.

I also feed it to an 11.5-year-old spayed female. No way does she look or act her age!

If I were traveling, I would probably take one of the grain free kibble and The Honest Kitchen "Embark".

Shelly,

I feed raw as well, but average under $1.00 per pound. I feed no grain, and have found a few ethnic markets along wiht a wholesaler to keep my costs down. The Honest Kitchen is a great alternative while backpacking or traveling if you don't feel like bringing a cooler, which is what I do.

  I fed Evo (red, cause I liked the idea) and had good results with respect to small, compact stools and shiny coat.  But, the stools were also often quite black, which alarmed me.   I went back to Candidae, but could tell the difference, until I mixed it with Addiction.  Addiction is also grain-free and kangaroo-meat based with apples.   Now, my dog eats the Addiction, mixed with either Steve's ( a Washington State frozen, raw food) or with another Australian food which is nothing but dried venison--it is like bite-sized jerky pieces.  The stools are small and firm, the coat is shiny, eyes clear and bright, dog really happy.    I like feeding no grain because I did not have to panic when that tainted dog-food hit the air-waves.   That was such a relief that I will never feed dog food with grains again. 

I used to feed a nice Canadian raw food called Amore, but, alas, it disappeared from the stores down here when the Mad Cow panic started.  Amore had an ostrich variety that the dogs liked so much, they clearly understood the word "ostrich"! 

N

I fed Evo (red, cause I liked the idea) and had good results with respect to small, compact stools and shiny coat.  But, the stools were also often quite black, which alarmed me.

I believe that very dark stool is a non-issue. The kibble contains highly concentrated red meats which cause the stool to be dark. If you feed a chicken/turkey based grain-free, the stool will be lighter.

Honestly, I don't think there is any one "right" answer when it comes to diet.  I've heard a few of the self-righteous BARF crowd proclaim that you don't love your dog if you don't feed raw.  Hmmm.... no.  I think there are many possible choices, grain free and healthy for your dog. 

I also used to have a GSD with severe food allergies... hair falling out, itching all the time, painful bleeding sores... the whole nine yards.  Switching to Innova Puppy Lamb and Rice food solved his problems. I don't feed grain-based dog food anymore, but having fed both raw and grain free kibble, I haven't seen any need to invest in the chest freezer myself. 

Don't hate me because my dog food is portable.