Like others have posted.....

[xoxodoglover89]

I'm taking "the plunge" & trying NV raw with Sasha.

I absolutely hate the fact that she goes all day without wanting to eat something. She usually doesn't begin to eat her kibble until aroung 6:30 at night! I've done some research & after talking with viviansnickers, I got some reassurance that this may work! I'm very excited to start tomorrow and give the raw a try in the morning. I plan on still offering her kibble in the evening as well.

Once she has gotten used to the raw (gosh I hope she likes it!) I do need to change her kibble as well. She is on Blue Buffalo right now, but just happened to notice today that she has some horrible dry skin and I really think it's from the food! I'm thinking of trying either California Natural or Merrick. Any suggestions as to which may be better?

[kalina82]

If your gonna be doing raw but you still want to supplement with a kibble you may want to choose a grain free variety like Wellness Core, Innova Evo, NV Instinct, etc. these kibbles have higher protein like the raw and no grains so they better compliment a raw diet

[Lolapup]

Good for you! You'll find her skin/hair improves with the raw diet. Why not go all raw? Since your going with the NV medallions I go with NV kibble if you want a dry food also.

[viviansnickers]

I really hope she liked the raw this morning!! And if she did, chances are she scarfed it down!! Yay!! I am actually putting Snick on all raw this week instead of his usual rotation w/ Evo. He still has alot of eye goop and I think it might be from the Evo. So trying all raw this week and maybe next week to see if it diminishes. I hope so!! B/c then I can rule out the Evo and maybe try Instinct or Orijen. It's hard narrowing things down!!

I think you and Sasha are going to LOVE the raw!!

[Wylie's Mom]

Wonderful!! Let us know how it goes.

[xoxodoglover89]

Sooooooo.........

I gave her the raw this morning for breakfast and it was gone within a blink of an eye, no kidding, 10 seconds flat! She licked the bowl clean afterwards to, which she has never done! I'm so glad that she liked it! It's so easy to do to! It doesn't smell or anything!

I was considering going all raw, but I wanna see how she does after about a month or so, just to make sure that she still enjoys it (which I'm sure she will) Plus, she might not even want her kibble anymore knowing her haha so I might have to resort to going all raw. I'm still going to offer it to her though, so we'll see!

AH I'm just so relieved and excited!

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by Lolapup

Good for you! You'll find her skin/hair improves with the raw diet. Why not go all raw? Since your going with the NV medallions I go with NV kibble if you want a dry food also.

I was just looking at the NV website and noticed that they offer Prairie and Instinct kibble. My only concern with the Instinct kibble is that the protein is kind of high. I wouldn't say that Sasha is SUPER active so I'm wondering if the Prairie would be better suited for her. Of course, I don't plan on changing her kibble until she is fully used to the raw. I didn't even know that NV kibble is coated with a freeze dried raw coating. This might entice her to want to eat the kibble! I may try the NV Prairie.

[xobklynqt143]

Originally Posted by xoxodoglover89

Sooooooo.........

I gave her the raw this morning for breakfast and it was gone within a blink of an eye, no kidding, 10 seconds flat! She licked the bowl clean afterwards to, which she has never done! I'm so glad that she liked it! It's so easy to do to! It doesn't smell or anything!

I was considering going all raw, but I wanna see how she does after about a month or so, just to make sure that she still enjoys it (which I'm sure she will) Plus, she might not even want her kibble anymore knowing her haha so I might have to resort to going all raw. I'm still going to offer it to her though, so we'll see!

AH I'm just so relieved and excited!

just an FYI if you register with NV they give you a buy 1get 1 free coupon but makesure you pick the place where you got urs from because thats the place where you will have to go to get it.
Welcome to Nature's Variety | Nature's Variety

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by xobklynqt143

just an FYI if you register with NV they give you a buy 1get 1 free coupon but makesure you pick the place where you got urs from because thats the place where you will have to go to get it.
Welcome to Nature's Variety | Nature's Variety

Thank you! I did this yesterday. I didn't use the coupon when I bought this 1lb. bag though because I wanted to make sure that she would've liked it. Plus, at the time, I wasn't even sure that the store I was going to had the raw, but they do so I'm definitely using it next time I go so I can get a bigger bag.

[Wylie's Mom]

YAY - so glad she loved it, that's always exciting!! I think the protein content in Instinct is great, but if it bothers you - you could go with Wellness CORE or something, which is about 30%.

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

YAY - so glad she loved it, that's always exciting!! I think the protein content in Instinct is great, but if it bothers you - you could go with Wellness CORE or something, which is about 30%.

I guess I was just concerned because the chicken formula had 42% protein while the other two flavors had 35%. Prairie has a bit less protein but there's also more flavors to choose from since she's a bit of a picky kibble eater and likes things changed up. I was always afraid that if I gave her kibble with high protein, that she would start gaining weight or get super bounds of energy since she isn't SUPER active. That's why I was considering the Prairie.

[xoxodoglover89]

Well I had success with her evening meal as well! I put 1/4 cup of kibble down for her dinner and she ended up eating it all! I'm so happy! I'm sure she won't do that every night of course, but still yay!

[Ivy Lucille]

Originally Posted by xoxodoglover89

I guess I was just concerned because the chicken formula had 42% protein while the other two flavors had 35%. Prairie has a bit less protein but there's also more flavors to choose from since she's a bit of a picky kibble eater and likes things changed up. I was always afraid that if I gave her kibble with high protein, that she would start gaining weight or get super bounds of energy since she isn't SUPER active. That's why I was considering the Prairie.

Mine loved it when I was giving them raw. I had them on raw and Instinct and I will tell you they both gained 1+ pound in less than a month. They were only getting 1.3 and 1.6 medallions a day. I have sinced switched their food again while I regroup. I still have a bag in the freezer and I have a coupon for my next bogo. I need to make my decision before 6/8. (coupon expires)

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by Ivy Lucille

Mine loved it when I was giving them raw. I had them on raw and Instinct and I will tell you they both gained 1+ pound in less than a month. They were only getting 1.3 and 1.6 medallions a day. I have sinced switched their food again while I regroup. I still have a bag in the freezer and I have a coupon for my next bogo. I need to make my decision before 6/8. (coupon expires)

Yikes. That's why I was considering the Prairie instead of the Instinct since there's so much more protein in the instinct than the prairie. I don't think she's active enough for the instinct, but then again I could be wrong. I don't plan on switching the kibble for awhile, but I'm just trying to get an idea as to what to do.

Are you still feeding the raw and just changed the kibble?

[Wylie's Mom]

I would just mention that it's not usually high carb or high protein diets that really make dogs gain weight. It's usually just too many calories for their activity level. But at the end of the day, just pick a kibble that you're comfortable with - all of the choices you've mentioned are wonderful - so you really can't go wrong.