Raw Diet Questions...
 

Hi all...

I posted this within another thread but thought I would prb get more feedback on it's own...hope some of you can help...

I am SO SO SO tempted to start my Snickers on the NV rotation b/c quite frankly, I am so sick of his picky eating habits and him picking his kibble and me worrying about his health and nutrition. My husband thinks I'm crazy for stressing about it so much, but he understands too.

So my questions...

1) How do you serve the raw medallion? Do you thaw it 1st and then serve, or is it served frozen??
2) Is it stinky/does it smell?
3) Does it gross you out ever? (I was a vegetarian for 10 yrs!-I don't know if I can handle...but I want the best for Snick)
4) Should I not get it if I plan to have a baby in 2010??
5) Is it super expensive?? I emailed for the Buy One get one Free coupon:).
6)Have your dogs ever refused the madallion or the kibble? I would only do the raw and kibble, no canned.
7) Should bacteria be a concern? Raw meat left in his beard etc??

Currently I am feeding (or trying to get him to eat) NB Sweet Potato and Venison. He LOVES his Venison Wellness Jerky Treats, so we tried this food...again--he is not diggin it much. But I hope he will soon. I'm gonna give it a few days...who knows!! I'm just a little weary of the raw...

THANK YOU!!!!!
-Viv and Snick

1) How do you serve the raw medallion? Do you thaw it 1st and then serve, or is it served frozen??
I take about 3-4 days worth out of the bag, defrost on counter in some tupperware, then put in fridge and feed from that.

2) Is it stinky/does it smell?
Surprisingly, the odor is not strong at all. Doesn't bother me one bit.Keep in mind the meat is frozen when it's fresh - so there is no strange smell that one might associate w/ unattended meat.

3) Does it gross you out ever? (I was a vegetarian for 10 yrs!-I don't know if I can handle...but I want the best for Snick)
I haven't eaten meat in about 16 years, and it doesn't gross me out one bit. Then again, I'm a nurse - so bc of the gross things I've seen, this one isn't even on the scale :p.

4) Should I not get it if I plan to have a baby in 2010??
I think if you're trying to get pregnant or are pregnant, you should absolutely be careful - as always. There is no reason you need to actually touch the meat, if you don't want to. I use 2 mini-forks to "break-up" the medallion and spread it out.

5) Is it super expensive?? I emailed for the Buy One get one Free coupon.
It's more expensive than kibble, for sure! For me, it's less expensive than cooking (which I used to do). I think NV was costing me about $35-40 a month. But, I fed only raw - not rotation. The rotation diet would be much cheaper.

6)Have your dogs ever refused the madallion or the kibble? I would only do the raw and kibble, no canned.
I don't feed kibble. Wylie LOVES all flavors. Marcel didn't much like venison. I now have them on a local grind and it's Duck and they LOVE it. It seems that the NV Raw flavor most loved by dogs is the Organic Chicken.

7) Should bacteria be a concern? Raw meat left in his beard etc??
I don't worry about it too much or wipe their beards. Many organisms are killed from the freezing process. I follow normal cleanliness rules w/ raw - wash hands if I touch it, clean counter if I get it there etcetera. I think when/if you're pregnant, you should be as careful as possible. Keep in mind though that there is salmonella in pretty much ALL kibble -- so germs are everywhere.

You are awesome Ann...THANKS!!!! I calculated how much it would be for Snick to be on the rotation and it said 1 medallion a day & 1/8 cups kibble a day. Hmmmm, so looks like a bag of medallions would last me exactly a month. You are right...more expensive. I need to read more:)

Thanks again-
-Vivian:animal-pa