[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by chickendido

Like I said before, the truth hurts! And I stand by my posts. Respectable, long time YT er's? I guess everybody on here really knows each other personally? LMAO was used in the last comment, maybe it's more fitting now? This is an online blog, information exchange between dog owners, written comments. Taking it a bit too seriously??? Serious enough to try and attack me personally? I did NOT target anyone in specific, just posted general available reading! Last time I checked this is a free country, no? Freedom of speech? If anybody is offended by the fact that low protein does not cause liver disease and the points that I made regarding canine research, maybe I can remember to wrap it in a flower blanket next time ! Last time I checked all I did was post and quote accurate scientific information. I did not come to anybody's house and forcefully ejected kibble out of anybody's dog's mouth! Now that would be what I call offensive! To suggest that my point of view and saying so is condecending, offers no objective reasoning whatsoever as that would mean there's a different set of rules for people who joined this list sooner than I? What if I suggested that because I've had my dog for (almost) 12 years, someone who has less years invested is inferior to me? Would not be fair, would it?! Actual people(scientific studies) did actual research on actual dogs! Having said that, I don't need to do anything but be a responsible dog owner and homework on the subject matter, that I did! Just to clearify; I quoted some or one of the kibble pushers scientific evidence just to show that EVEN THEY know low protein is BAD! Can't wrap that fact in a flower blanket and I call it as I see it! If anything at all is offensive, it's giving junk advise to new dog owner's looking to improve their pet's health not make it worse! Why not just say; hey, I didn't do any research yet, so I can't give real concrete advise, just opinion!???? Don't most quotes ask to be corrected if found wrong? The problem is, SOME of these new pet owners actually take the advise of some other members and never investigate on their own because they think the advise given must be accurate, since it came from a long time, respectable YT member! Some advise here is good, some is not! I just happened to find a subject that needed a contrary point of view! I get questions all the time about raw, I refer them to articles, websites, scientific studies etc. and I don't just offer some advise I may or may not have heard somewhere. Has anybody tried low protein on their dog? If yes, what was the outcome? Care to feed low protein to your puppy? Willing to experiment? No? Then why advise to do so to somebody else? I actually care about those owners and I'd wish somebody had taken me aside a long time ago and had offered me accurate info! Isn't that what really matters? The dogs? Their health?

Chickendido, I agree with a lot of what you say. I am also a raw feeder and believe that dogs weren't meant to eat grains. I will never feed my dogs kibble again. It will be raw from now on. I think you really were just trying to get the facts out there, but you did come across as a little hostile. Maybe you weren't meant to - I'm sure you really were just trying to get the info out - you might just try to work on the tone you give it in. I have tried to educate on a couple threads about food as well and I try to do so in a tactful way. You'll get more people willing to listen to you if you present it in a less pushy way. It's hard to not be pushy about something you feel passionate about - I know that for sure (I can get a little worked up sometimes LOL) - but the key to getting people to listen is to not offend them in the process.

To the OP - As I said, I think raw is the way to go (my Lacy gets Natures Variety raw medallions) and homecooked would be another good option if you aren't so keen on serving raw food. I just think that if you are going to homecook, you are probably going to have to supplement and make sure you are balancing their diet. A lot of people on here could probably help with that. You also have to do that with raw if you aren't feeding a pre-packed raw like Natures Variety. If you really want to stay with canned or kibble, go for the premium brands. There are some good ones and not every one will work for every dog. Sometimes finding the right food for your dog is a little trial and error. It usually takes 6-8 weeks of feeding a diet to see the full effects of the food and to see if it's working for you. So far as Innova Evo - I haven't tried that with my dog but I did try it with both of my cats several months ago. I thought the idea of grain-free dry food sounded like a good idea and convienent but it ended up giving them severe diarrhea. I switched them to canned (mostly grain-free) and Nature's Variety raw and they have done great. My problem with the grain-free dry foods are that there is not much moisture there. That kibble is highly concentrated and your dog (or cat) has to drink a lot of water. I think high-protein diets work best if there is moisture in their food (such as raw or canned). If you think about it, that is how they naturally would be getting moisture in the wild...raw meat has a lot of moisture to it. I've heard a lot of people that have dogs and cats that do great on Evo and other grain-free kibbles, and I've heard a lot of people that have had pets that it just doesn't work for. I think if you are looking to go grain-free, it's better to go raw or canned. Good Luck finding a food for your puppy.