K9 Kraving raw diet, appropriate for working dog? - Page 1

I’ve noticed that even after having been in pretty heavy work for more than a month (this is on top of a reasonably active lifestyle of 1 to 2 mile walks daily and lot’s of ball playing) my dog (3.5 y/o Austrian show line import) doesn’t seem to have built up much endurance or stamina and seems to tire quickly at training and club day. I’m wondering if diet might be related – does anyone else feed K9 Kraving raw diet? Any opinions of it’s appropriateness for a dog in serious work? (1 lesson day and 1 one club day a weekly, with at least 30 minutes a day training obedience, plus tracking also, every other day, pls the regular play and walks) The reason I'm thinking diet is that when we had our lactating bitch (after whelp) on it she dropped A LOT of weight quick even after WAY upping the volume of K9 Kraving – and we ended up having to do a lot of supplementing to get her weight stabilized during the litter. Regarding supplements, I have the working dog on Vertex also. Attached below is is the nutritional make-up of the food. Thanks for any input. -Calvin CHICKEN, BEEF & VEGETABLE INGREDIENTS: Chicken, Beef, Beef Liver, Sweet Potato, Broccoli, Flax (Linseed) Meal, Rice Bran, Tomato Pomace, Salt, Sunflower Meal, Egg Powder, Carrot Powder, Dried Kelp, Choline Chloride, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, A-Tocopheryl Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Copper Sulfate, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine HCL, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin B12 supplement. Guaranteed Analysis, As Fed Crude Protein (Min.) 16% Crude Fiber (Max.) 2% Crude Fat (Min.) 12% Moisture (Max.) 65%

Hi Calvin, I also use the K9 Kraving and am very happy with it. I think it is a good food and I have not had any problems keeping weight on my dogs. I feed 3% to 5% of the body weight daily depending on activity level. I also feed green tripe and performance dog. If you are feeding a raw diet the rotation is critical to making it work. I supplement with Vertex and Salmon Oil. If I have a pregnant or lactating female I also use the Structure supplement and again increase the food. I hope this helps

IMO, 16% protein is too low for an active working dog unless you are supplementing with another protein source, that is the protein level that is found in most senior or light foods.

The protein level is critical inasmuch that protein, unlike fats and sugars, requires a tremendous amount of the body's energy to digest. The amount of 16% does not seem too high, especially since there are other foods avaible that are several percentage points higher and are readily fed to heathly GSD's. The protein is necessary to build and repair the body's tissues, and the fats and sugars provide the energy. Fats and sugars are quickly converted to fuel for the body and unlike protein require little effort for complete digestion. We know that too much fat is a no-no as it places much stress on the pancreas, so that is not the simple answer. I have a young working-line bitch and it is nearly impossible to increase her weight to the end that her ribs are not showing too much. I can raise it by five (5) pounds or so, but that is about it. From the appearance of her stools her digestive system is working normally. She is a high-strung girl who is a continual bouncer. Her endurance is never really in question. I presume your dogs are making correct stools. If so, they may just have a very high metabolic rate such as my girl and require a lot of food. I don't feed K9 Cravings, but I understand that it is a very good food. Bob-O

WOuld also love to hear Kravings opinions. Had our puppy on it exclusively for first 7 months then started supplimenting with dry food. She seems much better, calmer and works harder with suppliments

I fed my competition/working/stud dog this food for 7 months - did not give him anything else during this time. He did not have any problems keeping his weight normal, and did like the food, appeared healthy and though I didn't notice any improvement in stamina, energy or fitness (the reason I tried the food), there was also no noticed decrease of these. However, his coat lost all luster, condition - he started shedding constantly and his coat became the worst condition I've ever seen it. He is a black sable and appeared a red - his outer coat was brittle, his undercoat "dead" and blowing throughout this period of time. When I switched his food back to a good-quality kibble, his coat almost immediately changed for the better, and was back to a dark, shiney, healthy coat in a short amount of time. A friend whose dog is also a black sable, I have seen occasionally over a period of a year - he started out as a beautiful black sable and progressively lost coat condition until this weekend I saw him - his coat looks grey, dry, brittle, looks like someone shaved him. Looks terrible. He is fed K9 Kravings. But he is working, looks in good condition, and is working with plenty of energy, stamina (apparently). So in my experience it's just the obvious coat condition issues that seem to be caused by feeding this diet. Or apparently so. molly