K9 Kraving or other raw alternative? - Page 1

Oops

Was hoping for some input from someone on this raw food diet and others?

I am not really keen on formulating my own?

Opinions from anyone on this or any other alternatives?

I've heard its very good... I'm a distributor for Oma's Pride and Healthy Pet Products.. can't beat these typesof diets for the convenience.. makes it pretty easy to do

Hi

How does this diet work out cost wise? I know you will likely pay a little more for the convenience of prepared,

but what would an average ration cost for an 85+ lb dog that is active?

Click on this link to locate a Oma's Pride dealer in your area: http://www.omaspride.com/index.htm I particularly like the Performance Dog formula--not intended as a complete diet--but great for the dietary needs of "GSD gut".

No, I'm not a dealer. Fortunately, there is a dealer in my town--only a few miles from me. I pick up my order once a month and save a mint on shipping.

Yes, it is damned pricey. I figure that I spend roughly $100/month/dog (depending on metabolic variants) for a modified raw diet--plus some grain-free kibble, dehydrated veggies,a few supplements, and some pork necks. The diet is very easy and quick to prepare/feed.

The trade-off for the cost factor is that my dogs look and feel healthier than any dogs you'll see (everyone tells me this) AND they have no vet bills (just hip/elbow xrays and the damned mandatory rabies vaccines). Better to spend on food for healthy dogs than to line a vet's pocket.

I have no experience with K9 Cravings,

Thanks for the link and the feedback..

I think I would have to stay with quality kibble if it was going to cost me close to $100.00 permonth/dog...thats a bit too rich for my blood.

I guess we'll stick with Innova EVO and raw bones etc 3-5x's a week. I knew that it would be a bit pricey, but yikes...thats a little too much for us to spend each month for 3 large dogs.

The money that you spend for a raw diet will be a considerable savings over potential vet bills over the life span of a dog.

I am retired and live on a limited, fixed income--and have 3 large dogs. However, given my knowledge of the health problems in the breed and through my lengthy, past employment in the field of veterinary medicine, I feel that I have no choice but to feed as I do. BTW, I have had GSD's since 1964.

Hi Louise

I can certainly appreciate your stand on this diet, but we seem to be having some pretty good results with the EVO and raw..

Always wanting to "do better", and having some free time here at work, I thought I would ask for some feedback on the prepared raw diets.

So far, no "non-essential" trip the vet in the last 4 years, just regular rabies vaccine, and of course the required bordatella for when we board our dogs.

Be careful of Evo - at 42% protein if you want your dogs' kidneys functioning for very long you might consider changing foods to a more normal protein level.

I have heard Oma's Pride is excellent for a raw diet, so I would recommend that.  Personally I feed a good-quality no corn/no wheat kibble, plus raw eggs a few times/week, and supplements.  My older dogs are getting raw (chicken or beef) in the mornings, and a mixture of kibble and Honest Kitchen at night plus supplements.

molly

I have not tried the Oma's Pride.  I do feed raw but I use Sojo's.  It is so simple.  Add water and fresh meat.  That's it.  My dogs love it.  It looks similar to the Oma thing but is the meat in that already?  I like adding the fresh meat myself.  Here's two links.  One for Sojos and the other for meat.  It is reliviely inexpensive.  I have 13 dogs all over 50 lbs.

Sojos-Natural Raw Diet: http://www.sojos.com

Blue Ridge Beef: http://www.blueridgebeef.com/products.html

Thanks for all the input so far. Molly, I worried about the high level of protein initially as well, but after spending some time with the reps on their 800 number, what they told me made sense.. In a nutshell, there isn't a diet that is "higher" in protein than pure raw..after all, raw meat is pure protein right? The first couple of years on the EVO we did blood panels 2-3 times a year on the three dogs, all levels were totally normal.

The high protein number tends to scare people off, but we have had nothing but totally great results from the food!

I think for now, processed raw is out of the picture...we really don't have time it seems to cook properly for ourselves, so cooking,defrosting etc is pretty much out for the dogs. I guess if it ain't broke, we won't fix it...