Lesson Learned
 

I just wanted to share this story with you...kind of funny but not. So, I ran out of Izzy's food about two weeks ago...not realizing that I did. :rolleyes: The same day, I was expecting 12 people over for dinner. :eek: The store that I usually go to was not close and I didnt have enough time so I ended up going to the local grocery store and picked up some food for him...which I have never done. After learning about what is good for them and not good, going to the grocery store was like going to McDonalds...lol I bought the kind that I thought was somewhat close to healthy...Beneful Healthy Naturals kibble form...something like that. I figured, I'll get a small bag just for the day and I will get his normal food tomorrow. Well, soon as he ate it...he threw it up! So every bad word came out of my mouth...dang! Now, when I rotated his kibble between Merricks, Canidae, Wellness...he NEVER got sick! I didnt have to do the transition thing, nothing like that.

This goes to show you that the food in the grocery store is not good quality AT ALL. I see why people think that if you change up the dog food they will get sick!!

So after all that, I decided to go back to homecooking for him again. I feed Dr. Harvey's Canine Health.....Later that evening, he ended up eating what we had: Turkey, sweet potatoes and green beans!...and he was fine. ;)

Sorry Izzy got sick. It really shows you the difference between quality and not. My girls have been on Freeze-dried raw now for about 7 months. The changes in Sissy's coat have been amazing. It is incredibly easy to use this food, the girls love it and it is also easily portable!!!!!!

Good luck with home cooking. Post some photos of Izzy when you get a chance. Miss you guys!!!!!!

Thanks Jodie. I will post some pics soon! The food is easy to make, I just got lazy over the past few months lol...but now Im back on track, he's eating better and so am I;)

Point Me in the Right Direction
 

Where would I look for freeze-dried food? Can it be found online? Are there different companies that produce it? Are some better than others?
How does it compare in the amount you feed with dry food like Royal Canin or Canidae.
thanks

I use Dr. Harvey's Canine Health, so far I've found it at a boutique shop in Michigan. You can definitely order it online. His website has a listing of online sites you can order from. Ive also seen it on Amazon.

Other people on YT have used The Honest Kitchen as well. As far as I know both are very good. The amounts are somewhat comparable to dry food. I am still trying to figure that one out.:rolleyes: I fed it to Izzy last year but stopped, now I am back on it again.

http://www.drharveys.com/home.asp
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml

Hope this helps!:)

Dry food would require you to feed a lot less. Ellie would eat about 1/2 cup a day dry and atleast 3/4 cup to maybe even 1 cup a day homecooked or wet. Look at the calories and compare. That is what matters. Wet food is usually 75-80% moisture.

Thanks, that is good to know. I've been feeding him 3/4 cup of the cooked food so far...I just started on Sunday and he seems to be doing fine. As far as the calories, how do you determine how many they should have? Is it by weight, age etc?

Hard telling. It is about 40 calories per day per pound. Ellie is 5 pounds, so she should get about 200 calories per day. Her nutritionist figured she should get 182 calories per day (don't know how she came to that). Their caloric needs can decrease after spay/neuter. Now Ellie is supposed to get 182 a day and 200 to gain weight. She is still starved after 270, so it depends on the dog and their activity level. I would go with whatever the package says (if it says anything) and adjust as needed.

Okay, thanks for the info!

Thanks
 

It's very helpful to know calorie requirements and differences in wet vs dry food.