Nature's variety..

[mizzwanned]

How do you introduce it to them? cause i think i did it wrong. I just fed it to them like it was their reg. food and when i came home today the girls left diarrhea all over my room, the stench is horrible! Could it be the raw food? This morning we feed their kibbles, i dont know how far apart they ate the raw and the kibbles from each other

[southernchick]

Poor babies! hope they are feeling better?? IDK I changed Regan cold turkey & she had no problems or diarrhea.. her stools have been solid & no smell at all since we started NV. Hopefully wylies mom or my fair lacy will be able to help, what kind of kibble was it?

[tumismom]

i changed all mine cold turkey with no problems..sorry about your babies girl!! I usually have at least 6-8 hr between raw and kibbles. But mine are on raw 99% of the time. I only give them kibbles when i forget to defrost..

[mizzwanned]

Originally Posted by southernchick

Poor babies! hope they are feeling better?? IDK I changed Regan cold turkey & she had no problems or diarrhea.. her stools have been solid & no smell at all since we started NV. Hopefully wylies mom or my fair lacy will be able to help, what kind of kibble was it?

It's california natural the small bites. They love it

[mizzwanned]

Originally Posted by tumismom

i changed all mine cold turkey with no problems..sorry about your babies girl!! I usually have at least 6-8 hr between raw and kibbles. But mine are on raw 99% of the time. I only give them kibbles when i forget to defrost..

oo i see. I give them both..maybe that's why. Can it be also cause the first time i defrosted it by only 1 hr and put hot water on it?

[YorkieSue]

I was frantic with my rescue Buddy Boy about eight months ago. He was SUFFERING FROM SEVERE IBD (not just a sensitive stomach)and had made many, many vet visits. I love and adore my vet (even though very traditional) but I do my own thinking now. Anyway, meds, prescription food worked for a SHORT while but once the antibiotic was stopped, back came the bloody/mucousy stool and vomiting and well, I was really frustrated. I contacted a Nutritionist who was kind enough to help me. I put Buddy on organic supplements (and they worked so well that I became a Rep of the company) with the prescrip food and things DID GET BETTER. But of course, I didn't want on this type of food forever and it was with tons of experimenting that I wound up using and still use Nature's Variety. All of my dogs love it but I must WARN YOU TO BE CAREFUL.

I have called the company several times about the BONES in this food. No one has to write me to tell me of the benefits of bones..I know this, when given properly. But NV simply will NOT LISTEN to the bones I have found in this food. I have founds pieces that are longer than the 1/4 inch THEY SWEAR they never go over and SHARP AS HELL. This distresses me, esp. since the company will not listen. But since Buddy is doing so well on this food, I now, METICULOUSLY finger my way thru his food before feeding it to him and this has worked. Occasionally, I come across a piece of bone that, if digested improperly could rip the wall of the intestines. The company still is not listening. I saved two of these pieces, took pics and am DETERMINED to get this company to listen. I do NOT WANT TO HEAR HOW BENEFICIAL BONES ARE TO DOGS...NOTHING LARGE WITH POINTS IS GOOD FOR ANYONE OR ANY ANIMAL.

Anyway, just be careful PLEASE. It only takes once to hurt our little loves. Check your dogs stool for redness etc. and stay on top of this. I know the food is wonderful if handled PROPERLY but those bone chips/pieces can be nasty. Be vigilant. YorkieSue

[subro]

Max went cold turkey (thanks to autum star!) yesterday and is doing great. He did seem confused as to why his kibble was gone but, he has had no tummy issues. I chop the medallions up before I give them to him and have not noticed any large bones. Hopefully the chopping will help me catch any large sized bones...

[southernchick]

I use my fingers to break it up into small bites but thank you for the heads up I will be sure to be looking alot more!

[mizzwanned]

Thank you i will make sure to check for bones!! So far i mash it up and put it into small pieces cause its really soft

[YorkieSue]

HI all,
Yes, people are catching onto the RAW feeding frenzy that is now, thankfully, becoming popular. It should because commericial dogfoods are downright UN-nutritious so much of the time and loaded with SYNTHETIC fillers ALL OF THE TIME. Yes, Yes, before you scream at me, there are good, better and best foods that are sold commercially and not everyone has the time or inclination to go raw. I want to go raw desperately but can only bring myself to go so far <G>. After MUCH discussion, with the gal who was guiding me nutritionally, we agreed that since RAW really turned me off and I was never going to do it anyway, that if I lightly steamed the Nature's variety medallions AND ADDED THE BLUE GREEN ALGAE SUPPLEMENTS that my little Buddy and Dixie would be fine. And this was FAR HEALthier THAN what I was doing. I also add a little veggie here and there (organic sweet potato or organic squash) and called it day. This is how I am feeding them to this day--I started about eight months ago.

I did have to learn about supplements etc. and once convinced that all the meds were literally depleting my babies of their immune system benefits and causing them to remain ill, I became a follower of using supplements..but only PLANT BASED ONES. I discovered a great company and well, more on this if anyone is interested.

CAution: Nature's Variety, raw or steamed has bones in it. Yes,they are very small and for the most part harmless BUT IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE FOUND longer SHARP pieces in the food and my neighbors dog had a bloody stool that she is convinced came from one of these rogue bones in the food. I have called the company THREE TIMES and though they are lovely and professional, I am not happy with the wall they are putting up over the size of the bones in their food. They constantly tell me that they have a machine that is set to cut those bones to specs...I told them Bullsh** the last time cause I saved one of the bones I picked out and had my dog gotten this, it COULD HAVE MEANT TROUBLE. So now, Since this food has helped two of my dogs digestion and health, I meticulously go thru each medallion each time I feed them and 'FEEL' FOR HARD PIECES. I pick them out and toss them. The food though, is wonderful but for god's sake be careful.

YorkieSue

[mizzwanned]

Originally Posted by YorkieSue

HI all,
Yes, people are catching onto the RAW feeding frenzy that is now, thankfully, becoming popular. It should because commericial dogfoods are downright UN-nutritious so much of the time and loaded with SYNTHETIC fillers ALL OF THE TIME. Yes, Yes, before you scream at me, there are good, better and best foods that are sold commercially and not everyone has the time or inclination to go raw. I want to go raw desperately but can only bring myself to go so far <G>. After MUCH discussion, with the gal who was guiding me nutritionally, we agreed that since RAW really turned me off and I was never going to do it anyway, that if I lightly steamed the Nature's variety medallions AND ADDED THE BLUE GREEN ALGAE SUPPLEMENTS that my little Buddy and Dixie would be fine. And this was FAR HEALthier THAN what I was doing. I also add a little veggie here and there (organic sweet potato or organic squash) and called it day. This is how I am feeding them to this day--I started about eight months ago.

I did have to learn about supplements etc. and once convinced that all the meds were literally depleting my babies of their immune system benefits and causing them to remain ill, I became a follower of using supplements..but only PLANT BASED ONES. I discovered a great company and well, more on this if anyone is interested.

CAution: Nature's Variety, raw or steamed has bones in it. Yes,they are very small and for the most part harmless BUT IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS I HAVE FOUND longer SHARP pieces in the food and my neighbors dog had a bloody stool that she is convinced came from one of these rogue bones in the food. I have called the company THREE TIMES and though they are lovely and professional, I am not happy with the wall they are putting up over the size of the bones in their food. They constantly tell me that they have a machine that is set to cut those bones to specs...I told them Bullsh** the last time cause I saved one of the bones I picked out and had my dog gotten this, it COULD HAVE MEANT TROUBLE. So now, Since this food has helped two of my dogs digestion and health, I meticulously go thru each medallion each time I feed them and 'FEEL' FOR HARD PIECES. I pick them out and toss them. The food though, is wonderful but for god's sake be careful.

YorkieSue

Thnx for all this info..that's a good idea to cook it a little and add veggies. What supplements do you give?

[YorkieChick1]

If you are going to cook the NV you might as well just home cook instead, it would be a lot less expensive!! Especially if you are giving supplements. The whole reason for feeding raw is to not kill the enzymes in the meat, if you are going to kill the enzymes then just buy regular chicken and make your own meals. I was homecooking before I went to raw, some NV and mostly prey model raw.

[YorkieSue]

Yorkie Chick is correct to a point. Cooking the NV kills the enzymes which is why you need to add supplements. And if you are going to do this anyway, then basically a good commercial food with the added supplements is ok too. This is such an individual thing. However, even feeding the NV RAW really doesn't supply any dog with ENOUGH of what they really should have even though NV is a very good product (but please watch the bones some of which have POINTS which I have picked out and was not happy one bit). And so, I very lightly steam the medallions AND add a probiotic and digestive enzyme. I also add a blue green algae vitamin supplement and feel their meals are complete. This is me. Others have their own ways.

Yes, it is cheaper to buy your own chicken--for the most part. But really, for me, it never worked out cheaper because I use ONLY ORGANIC FOODS with my three dogs and this gets pricier than the NV; especially considering two organic chicken breasts don't go as far as the bag of NV medallions. So, again, this is an individual choice.

Opinions are a dime a dozen on the internet so one really has to research and do what's best for his/her pooch. I researched until I was blue in the face and then consulted regularly with the supplement expert of the company I decided to represent after reading about their products. I am absolutely certain that the supplements, all derived from BlueGreen Algae are the best anyone is ever going to do. There isn't a synthetic ingredient in any of them and all are formulated from the algae of the lakes of Washington State. My rescue Yorkie, I am convinced, is alive today because of the education I got on how to use the supplements with him and my vet is still shaking her head over his 'miraculous' remission with IBD>

Anyway, even with supplements one still has to use one's head and not think that you can open any ole thing, dump in supplements and think your dog is well fed. No way!! Lightly steaming the NV medallions does detract SOMEWHAT from the enzymes but not totally. I am a woman who just cannot stand to feed raw nor do I trust RAW because of possible bacteria contamination etc. etc. from even my own mishandling. A friend of mine made a mistake with defrosting (left them out too long) and made her dog very sick. Sure, it was human error and not the NV itself but I, speaking only for myself, am not willing to take any chances with RAW...enter my supplements and organic veggies about three days a week. It is just so easy to do now. Sometimes I also use organic chicken breast too esp. if I am shopping in Trader Joe's and see them. I always buy a package of these and also steam these.

Don't know if this was a help at all but I am NOT A PURIST. I just know that I am doing the very best I can for my dogs and it's a whole lot better than what I was doing, that is for sure. My little Shih-tzu rescue is now<arrrgh> on prescription food (low residue) because I threw in the towel with the novel protein diet I had him on. If I had continued long enough with this venison diet it would have been good but I quit too soon. And so, I put him on this prescrip food because I was at my wit's end with the diarrhea (I posted under the title Giardia if anyone is interested) and the vet laid it on the line for me--either STICK WITH ONE THING OR WE WIL NEVER FIND OUT WHAT HIS PROBLEM IS. I have had him on the low residue garbage for four weeks now and his poop has risen to creamy p-nut better, never firm, and this tells me that something else is going on. But even with this food, I am VERY LIGHTLY adding a probiotic...VERY LIGHTLY..1/2 A CAPSULE ONCE A DAY.

Anyway, even with Henry (shih-tzu) I am probably going to put him on a single protein commercial food <arrrrrgh again>WITH SUPPLEMENTS once we get his little colon under control from whatever is causing him the problem. More than likely I will use either Wellness (damn, this food has always set well with my dogs) or the Natural Balance WITH SUPPLEMENTS. I evenutally hope to graduate him to NV or homecooking...time will tell. First things first--I am on poop patrol and have been for months now--once I don't need to do this any longer, THEN I will consider upgrading his nutrition.

All the best...fun, isn't it???

[maybea_mommy]

My MayBea is such a picky eater. I was thinking the raw diet would be the way to go for her, so i too picked up the frozen nature's variety diet.

I called my vet and they started in on how dangerous it is, and how they can get e-coli and salmonella. And how it's just Atkins for Dogs.

I want to hear if YOU GUYS have had good experiences with YORKIES eating this food and succeeding.

[YorkieSue]

I called my vet and they started in on how dangerous it is, and how they can get e-coli and salmonella. And how it's just Atkins for Dogs.

Your vet is trying to get you to BUY FROM HIM/HER. How unbelievable that he would say something like that to you because he is DEAD WRONG if only in his alarmist attempts at getting more business from you. I despise vets like these and you should too. VETS ARE IN BUSINESS AND A GOOD PORTION OF THEIR BUSINESS IS SELLING YOU THE TYPE OF FOOD THEY ARE CONTRACTED TO SELL--never forget that. They are NOT CONCERNED (yes, some are but most are NOT) with what is in the food and the worst of the bunch will EVEN denegrate other brands of food THAT THEY DO NOT SELL. Please remember this too. Yes, of course, raw foods must be handled carefully (would you do anything else but be careful?) but so must other foods that all of eat. I am really infuriated by his attitude. At any rate, now it is up to you to either make this vet your GOD or do some thinking and researching on your own. I have been suing NV for a year now with zero problems and so have hundreds of others. Some goraw (careful handling and reading the instructions is the key) and others, like myself, lightly steam the medallions and then add digestive enzymes because of the one's that were lost in the steaming. At any rate, this is all a long winded way of saying that your vet just wants you to buy from him. If I had to guess, i would say he is either a relative NEW vet or a aged one...but for heaven's sake don't let this guy intimidate you away from a wonderful food that is 100x more nutritional than anything he will ever sell. Bet he doesn't know a Ph factor from his elbow. YorkieSue