YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post

ChicagoSoul · 06-13-2012, 08:08 PM

I will be in opposition to the other posters here who recommended Nature's Variety. We tried everything and every flavor within every brand and we decided to stick with Primal for the following reason.

Primal has the lowest protein content especially in its poultry flavors as compared to other brands. Yorkies in general and my baby in particular are predisposed to digestive problems such as hepatic or pancreatic abnormalities. It is hard for them to process only protein. Any mammal needs to have an especially strong liver to be able to produce extra large quantities of enzymes to break down products of a 100 % protein diet. In other words, eating too much protein is hard on the liver. It is better to have a mixed diet of protein and veggies and/or fruits.

Aside from what I said above, Primal is not better than Nature's Variety or S&C in terms of quality, look or taste. In fact, S&C looked and smelled the most palpable, organic and home made to me. However, my dog, as I said, felt sick eating both S&C and Nature's Variety. Primal was our best choice. Her stools and the overall health became stable only with Primal.

It is also worth to mention that, before using commercial raw foods, we tried to prepare a home made version according to Dr. Pidcairn's recipe and it was also not as good as a commercial preparation. However, if you want to try preparing your own raw recipe for your dog to save money, you can try it. Maybe your dog will do fine with the home made version.

As far as flavors go, my dog loves any and all flavors. She is obsessed with the raw food. Any dog is. So, whatever you choose, they will like it.
I chose what I thought would be the most appropriate flavor for a sensitive stomach. So, my dog is on Primal's Pheasant. My second choice is Primal's Venison. However, they are the two most expensive flavors. Chicken is the cheapest. My only concern with chicken is that chickens are typically bred and raised so inhumanely and with so many hormones, etc, that is hard to ensure that whatever is placed into a Primal's chicken is free of junk. Pheasant, on the other hand, is wild and is not as commonly abused. Other than this possibly flowed logic, chicken is perfectly fine for a sensitive stomach.

As far as portion control, it is super easy to feed my dog Primal. My baby is 3.5 lbs. So she gets exactly one nugget in the morning and one at night. Perfect portion control and perfect freshness is guaranteed because you defrost only what's needed the day before. You can calculate how long the package lasts by dividing the contents by the number of ounces consumed daily. As I said, my dog is 3.5 lbs and she consumes 2 ounces daily. I don't know how big your dog is but there are guidelines on Primal's website, so you can calculate accordingly. I've heard other people also buying larger packages with medallions that they break down themselves. It is not as convenient as buying a smaller nugget packages but you end up saving approximately 25% over the cost of a smaller package.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Raw diet is the best for sure. I am glad you are choosing this option for your baby.

06-13-2012, 08:08 PM	#10
ChicagoSoul Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 130	Primal I will be in opposition to the other posters here who recommended Nature's Variety. We tried everything and every flavor within every brand and we decided to stick with Primal for the following reason. Primal has the lowest protein content especially in its poultry flavors as compared to other brands. Yorkies in general and my baby in particular are predisposed to digestive problems such as hepatic or pancreatic abnormalities. It is hard for them to process only protein. Any mammal needs to have an especially strong liver to be able to produce extra large quantities of enzymes to break down products of a 100 % protein diet. In other words, eating too much protein is hard on the liver. It is better to have a mixed diet of protein and veggies and/or fruits. Aside from what I said above, Primal is not better than Nature's Variety or S&C in terms of quality, look or taste. In fact, S&C looked and smelled the most palpable, organic and home made to me. However, my dog, as I said, felt sick eating both S&C and Nature's Variety. Primal was our best choice. Her stools and the overall health became stable only with Primal. It is also worth to mention that, before using commercial raw foods, we tried to prepare a home made version according to Dr. Pidcairn's recipe and it was also not as good as a commercial preparation. However, if you want to try preparing your own raw recipe for your dog to save money, you can try it. Maybe your dog will do fine with the home made version. As far as flavors go, my dog loves any and all flavors. She is obsessed with the raw food. Any dog is. So, whatever you choose, they will like it. I chose what I thought would be the most appropriate flavor for a sensitive stomach. So, my dog is on Primal's Pheasant. My second choice is Primal's Venison. However, they are the two most expensive flavors. Chicken is the cheapest. My only concern with chicken is that chickens are typically bred and raised so inhumanely and with so many hormones, etc, that is hard to ensure that whatever is placed into a Primal's chicken is free of junk. Pheasant, on the other hand, is wild and is not as commonly abused. Other than this possibly flowed logic, chicken is perfectly fine for a sensitive stomach. As far as portion control, it is super easy to feed my dog Primal. My baby is 3.5 lbs. So she gets exactly one nugget in the morning and one at night. Perfect portion control and perfect freshness is guaranteed because you defrost only what's needed the day before. You can calculate how long the package lasts by dividing the contents by the number of ounces consumed daily. As I said, my dog is 3.5 lbs and she consumes 2 ounces daily. I don't know how big your dog is but there are guidelines on Primal's website, so you can calculate accordingly. I've heard other people also buying larger packages with medallions that they break down themselves. It is not as convenient as buying a smaller nugget packages but you end up saving approximately 25% over the cost of a smaller package. Let me know if you have any other questions. Raw diet is the best for sure. I am glad you are choosing this option for your baby.