I’ve been feeding Lacey raw meat about twice a week for almost the past month now..She seems like she’s starting to enjoy it & over the past two weeks I have been giving her some raw this past week I have noticed her teeth has been extremely white no matter what diet she ate…She is still getting mostly dry food and can food in addition to raw meat couple times a week..Prior to this,she would eat mostly dry food,can food and mostly cooked meat and she’d still get tarter build up…..Am considering instead of buying another bag of Nature’s Variety when she runs out we’ll get her a couple choices of nature’s variety frozen raw in addition to raw meat and see how that goes then go back to dry food(Nature’s Variety) depending how much she likes frozen raw.
I do try to stick natural,organic raw meat for her when I do give her raw meat…If it’s a small portion of cooked meat like a small amount from fast food or cooked meat that’s not too bad but if it is raw meat for her to have as a meal I am a lot more careful of the type we buy her.So far we’ve used is 50th state poultry & foster farms..It also depends what is on sale & what she seems to like…Next up for Lacey is to try eating chicken drumsticks with the bone!
Category Archives: Lacey tries Raw
Frozen Raw Food vs Freeze Dried Raw Food Brands
Ok,so in the last post we mentioned that because Lacey is sensitive to the amount of carob,fish & lamb in her diet we decided to switch from Stella & Chewy’s.Stella & Chewy’s Beef formula is good but she didn’t like it.However her stool was good on it but the lamb formula was “absolutely loved!” by Lacey but the result was every time she had it she had soft stools..and we can’t have that!
So,I wanted something that was freeze dried till we got her more stable on eating raw food.Right now she’s only getting it a few times a week to help the Halo’s meat content(first ingredient is chicken/wild salmon which is less than what it says on the package once water is taken out).But w/the lamb sensitivity to Stella & Chewy’s which she loved…and got soft stools on it…I decided to try to keep her on freeze dried until…she got more regular meals on it..the thing w/freeze dried is you can keep it in the bag that it came in & all you do is break it up into smaller pieces & there’s no refrigeration time..no water needed though you can…BUT when the time came to buy Nature’s Variety Freeze Dried or Frozen like in the last post we mentioned about trying the lamb…we got the coupon and went down to Naturally Pet but they don’t sell it there…but they do sell the dry and can food…Now,the only other place that might have it is Bark Ave down in Hawaii Kai which is out of our way for us to travel just to get it or even check to see if they got it…..So,we had no other choice except to get Primal..one which I was sort of against from the start..not that it’s not a great food because it really is..that it’s frozen & you need to rethaw it..The good thing is it’s sold in more places in town where we live(not far to travel except a few miles<15 miles for sure)..it can stay in the fridge for up to 5 days unlike can is only up to 3 days.Odd thing is when you look it up online primal comes up less with search results vs nature's variety raw but when it comes to stores only 2 stores on Oahu SHOULD carry it and that was Naturally Pet & Bark Ave.Primal on the other hand seems it's more preferred in Hawaii.
Anyways a long story short,we got the Primal Lamb Frozen to see how Lacey will like it.I brought it in the car and she was just sniffing away at it..licking her mouth…When I showed it to her since I was going to unthaw it for her dinner, I took up all of her dry food & no treats or table food so when it comes to dinner she'll be hungry,she was licking her mouth already begging me for the piece that was to be unthawed…The result will be if she will eat it and how her bowel movements are.If both is good results we can stick with feeding her various formulas from Primal & get a card from Naturally Pet as a frequent buyer program.The other thing I like about it while it does not have L.Acid is that it's mostly organic food in the formulas.And we alredy know she loves the treats…Oh yeah the price we paid ~$32.?? with tax for a 4 pound bag.Expensive but good.The pieces are very small just one oz so it's actually better than Stella & Chewy.Stella & Chewy was $13.00 without tax for only 6 oz.
Looking back at Lacey’s first year:Health and all
Name:Lacey Princess Maltipoo Akamine
Current Weight at one year old:7.11 pounds according to vet records,7.6 according to home weight
Birth Date:March 13 2009
Born:Kailua,HI
Breed:Maltese/Toy Poodle
Mom:Poodle
Dad:Maltese
Adopted:july 17 2009
Age of adoption:16 weeks old
Found on:Kijiji.com
Price:$600
Name of Vet:Dr John Kaya
Vet Hospital:VCA Animal Hospital aka VCA University Hospital
Weight at first vet visit:4.5 pounds
Dog Food:Science Diet & IAMS,Beneful Prepared Meals till December 2009
Puppy Pad Training:9 weeks
Health Issues:Yeast infection in ear,worms,UTI,Spaying(February 2010)
First Heat:November 2009
First Treats:Nutro Dog Biscuits,Pupperoni,The Goodlife Recipe treats
First Walk:November 2009
Shortest Walk:<<<than 5 minutes
Longest Walk:62 minutes on her birthday
First Time Out: December 2009
First Thanksgiving:Thanksgiving 2009:Family Dinner
First Christmas:Christmas 2009:A new top,Waggin Train
Brands of dog food we tried:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Chicken Soup for the Pet lover's Soul,Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed/Super5Mix Complete Health Chicken,Halo's Spot's Stew
Current Dry Food Brands:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Halo's Spot's Stew(Wholesome Chicken & Wild Salmon flavors),Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural
Brands of Can Food we tried:Natural Balance,NV Instinct & Prairie can food,Wellness Can Food then lost interest,Halo's Spot's Stew Can Food,Merricks
Current Brands of Can Food:Merricks
First introduced to Raw(Freeze Dried):January 2010
Started accepting Freeze Dried Raw:Feburary 2010
Brands we tried:Stella & Chewy till APril 2010 then we'll be switching to Nature's variety Freeze Dried
First Freeze Dried Raw Treat:Primal Pet Turkey Liver(A birthday present)
Organic Treats she's tried:Trader Joe's,Waggin' Train,No Grainers
First Boarding Facilities we considered:Di Ventus Dog Hotel & Spa
First Boarding Facilities we looked at:The Ohana Doggie Day Care,Pets in the city
First Starts understanding people conversations:7-8 months old
First Command:SIT
Commands she knows:sit,stay,don't move,time out,sit & stay,shake paw/hand,"eat",hi5,shake your tail,down aka sit,lay down,kiss,learning roll over,"wait",inside,outside,table manners at the table
Uses Common Sense while walking:About 8-9 months old
Checks for cars like a human(right,left,right,left,center,then walk)about 10 months-1 year old
Goes outside for afternoon poop:December 2009-learned by example of aunty's dogs
Vaccinations:Distemper,Parvo,Lepto
First Carrier:casual Canine
First Crate:Pet Mate Kennel Cab
Characteristics:A definite mix of Maltese/Toy Poodle.Brains of the poodle.Looks of a maltese.eyes are poodle.Loves to play.Loves to sample food
Types of food she tried:Mexican,Italian,Japanese,Chinese
Favorite Fast Food:KFC chicken skin
Shops we shop at:Naturally Pet,Halo’s Purely for Pets,The Pet Spot,Kalihi Pet Store
Misc:Also tried Hartz Oinkies
Able to climb steps:10-11 months old
First Shampoo;Sergent’s Puppy Shampoo
Current Shampoo:Halo’s Cloud Nine Herbal Shampoo/Earthbath Shampoo
Grooming:Cardinal Pet Gold Metal Pets Unicoat Professional Spray
Trying Lacey back on SG Just a Wee Bit but…
she now turns her nose up at SG Just a Wee Bit & goes straight for the Halo’s!she might eat a few pieces of SG Just a Wee Bit but defiantly not to the same extent as last November-early December when I introduced her to Halo’s she’s since then not only been faithful to Halo’s but does so by turning her nose up at other dry foods besides Halo’s.Since yesterday(Friday February 26 2010)I have reintroduced her to SG Just a Wee Bit to see how she will do on it healthwise but she has eaten a few pieces–not enough to even equal 1/8 cup–sniff it,walk away then she’ll find her Halo’s and happily eat it by herself!I really don’t know what Halo’s puts in the food to make it so appealing to her but whatever it is it must be good.Otherwise she’d be turning her nose up at it by now & refusing it..Now only if Halo’s can make a few more meats such as Lamb,Beef,Turkey or Vension Dry Food using the same ingredients our house would have every dry food Halo’s has to offer providing it has the same appealing taste in every flavor.Providing the Wild Salmon has the same appealing taste as the Wholesome Chicken Lacey will eat it just as happily as she is with the Wholesome Chicken!I am trying to get her to eat a variety of proteins.Right now she has Halo’s Wholesome Chicken,SG Just a Wee Bit(Bison-providing she will eat it….)& stella & chewy’s Freeze Dried Lamb Dinner which I am happy to report is eating it two days in a row(even just a few bites makes a difference).Not sure if feeding raw is making a difference but at night she used to go to the kitchen to tell me she’s hungry but since she’s been placed on raw she’s been eating very little of the can food(during the early morning hours)and is eating more Halo’s & Stella & Chewy’s.It also seems that her fur may be slightly more fluffy.Hard to say just yet though since it’s been only about a month since she started some raw.
There is something about the Stella & Chewy’s Dandy Lamb that she likes.The Dandy Lamb she will actually eat it by herself at times but the Super Beef that we tried first was the hardest to get her to eat.But the Dandy Lamb she’ll open her mouth and gulp it or will eat it by herself providing it’s broken into smaller pieces for her.
Lacey’s results on raw food so far…
of canned & about half a patty of Stella & Chewy’s so far her results are amazing!!compared to last week when I had her on Halo’s,Merricks canned…Halo’s defiantly gives her more energy than SG Just a Wee Bit but she even wants to play at night about 9,10:00pm(HST)at night.Before only on Halo’s dry food and Merricks Canned Food she didn’t have this much energy.Not only that her stool is definatly more firm & dry opposed to being on only Halo & canned food(Merricks)was firm & slightly soft but despite still getting Halo’s,Merricks Canned Food & Raw her stool is STILL firm,good color & a lot more dry looking.Results are amazing so far & can’t wait to see how she does within months ahead of her health status…Should be a interesting journey….She’ll be getting dry food(Halo’s),various canned food,homemade food every so often,table/people food & various forms of raw(dehydrated & freeze dried raw) of various brands(Stella & Chewy’s-since it’s close by,Primal Pet-when we go to Whole Food to pick up Halo’s and possibly Sojo or Addiction for dehydrated)
Lacey takes a bite of Stella & Chewy’s but sees it as a snack/treat not dinner/meal.
Today for the very first time we were able to get Lacey to finally take a successful bite of raw patty from Stella & Chewy’s but it was not until we placed it beef broth and fed it to her as a treat not like a meal that she ate it.Placing it on a plate won’t do it either.It must be treated like a treat/snack.If she doesn’t do a trick to get the patty she won’t eat it..But if you give it to her as a treat with no broth she won’t touch it either.Has to have broth for her to eat raw freeze dried food.Hmm…Maybe Sojo’s,the honest kitchen or Addiction will work better for her seeing it looks like a meal and not like a patty.Something to think about and try next time.
