Natures Variety Medallions
 

So i went to the pet store today to get some cans of Canidae. The store i went to only had the dry so i was browsing around looking at the other canned food. As i was doing so one of the employees came up to me and we started talking about foods and our dogs. He feeds the raw medallions. I told him i was debating starting to feed that as well but didn't want the hassle. Well after talking for a while he convinced me to try a bag of the lamb frozen medallions.

So my question is for those that feed this is do you strictly feed the raw medallions or do you leave dry food out as well? I wanted to leave her Canidae dry out all day for her to munch if she wanted. She's not a big eater of the dry food so i know she's not going to gobble the dry up while i'm not home because she doesn't do that now. So if i continue to leave the dry out how many medallions should i feed her at night? Also with this food did you slowly switch your dog onto it or did you just flat out give them a medallion for a meal to start out with? When i give different wet foods that morgan hasn't had before i'll give her the whole can or however much i feel like giving her and she doesn't have stomach problems. The only food that actually did give her diarrhea once was the canned merricks (i was shocked that this brand would upset her stomach, because the canned canidae, wellness, evangers, and innova didn't do this).

....sorry for my rambling, i hope i actually got my point out without being confusing. LOL

The only thing I know for sure is that you cannot feed raw and kibble at the same time.

It has something to do with the bacteria and the fact that the raw takes longer to digest.

Ideally, they should either be on a completely raw diet or a kibble diet. But if you chose to feed both, the meals should be seperated by at least 12 hours.

Good Luck!

I started NV by giving my boyz about 1/4 of a medallion for a treat for a couple of days and slowly went to a full madellion from there. There was no stomach upset or anything...no gas or smelly pooh either.

We do leave dry kibble out if we're going to be gone past their mealtime but the NV is a complete food and you don't need to feed anything else. My boyz rarely ever go to the dry food bowl and most days I only leave fresh water down.

The amount you feed depends on the size and activity level of your dog. You can use their feeding chart on their website: www.naturesvariety.com and it will tell you how much to feed. My boyz are both about 4 pounds with a moderate activity level so they each get 1 medallion for breakfast and one for dinner.

You will se a big difference in her stool. Once she's on the NV raw she won't go as much and when she does it will dry, turn white and blow away. They use everything from this food so there isn't much to waste.

My boyz love their NV and I've seen some wonderful changes in Jo since I switched them so I'm sticking with it.

hmm did not know this. Thank you!

Good luck with the NV raw. It is convenient and easy. If Chloe would just EAT, I'd be still giving it to her. She likes to hem haw all day before gettng around to it. You just can't leave raw out like that. If your dog is the type to just eat it and be done with it, you're good to go. it is supposed to be really good food, and that Lamb one is the one Chloe liked. She did not like the chicken and turkey one at all. Also, go to the website (google it) and fill out the questionaire. They'll give you a coupon for a b1g1 free of those medallions. :thumbup:

As far as feeding them both, I have heard mixed reviews. I have heard that it is not good to feed both kibble and raw at the same time because the kibble takes a long time to digest and the raw presents new bacteria.

I have also heard others say that is bogus and that there is no trouble giving both.

Just go easy and see what works best for you.

hmmm, so ideally she should be getting one for breakfast and one for dinner without dry food in between?

On the weekends i take her places with me to spend the night so would it be ok to feed her the dry kibble them so i don't have to take the raw food with me? if so can i use the canidae or should i get the nature's variety kibble because its similar to the raw?

Morgan picks at her dry food but if i give her people food or wet food for a meal she gobbles it up in minutes so i'm thinking this is what she'll do to the raw food.

Thanks for the heads up about the coupon! i'll definitely look into that.

I'm gonna have to look around for more info about the kibble and raw at the same time.

That depends on your dog's weight and activity level...it varies from dog to dog.

You could try that and see how it works for you. However, I like to stick with one food so the ingredients/quality are the same so I would get some samples of the NV dry kibble and see how she likes it. Don't get the Raw Instinct though...it's too high in protein for a Yorkie. By sticking with one food it's easier to pin point any allergy related health issues if you need to at some point.

I feed Lacy NV raw in rabbit and venison. We've never tried the lamb. She's been eating raw for almost a year. I read that the best way to switch to raw was just to switch it...not gradually like you do with kibble. So I just immediately made the switch and she did fine. You can go to NV's website and they have a feeding chart. www.naturesvariety.com You put your pet's weight and activity level in and they tell you how much to feed. You can also put a percentage in that you want to feed of raw and kibble and they will tell you the amount of each to feed. Personally, I don't see the point in leaving kibble out when you are feeding raw. RAW is the best way to go and there is no point in keeping kibble in their diet. I feed Lacy in the morning (around 9:00am) and in the evening (around 7:00pm). I usually give her a couple treats (normally grain free) during the day as well but not always. She does just fine with those two meals. As far as going away for the night, that's where it gets a little inconvenient. Every time we travel, I always take an ice chest and make sure there is a refrigerator to put her raw in. It hasn't been a problem so far. One option though is to buy some freeze-dried raw. I think Nature's Variety makes some and I know The Honest Kitchen does. That would be a good thing to have in case you are staying some where without a refrigerator. You just rehydrate it with hot water and feed it. That way you don't compromise your raw diet by having to feed kibble.

I just did the questionnaire on how much to feed and it says two medallions.

Thanks for the tip on the Raw instinct. i was just looking at that as well. Now i know not to buy it.

thanks for your advise. I think i'm just gonna give her a medallion tonight for dinner and see how it goes. :) And if i find that bring the frozen raw is a problem on the weekends i'll look into getting the freeze-dried raw.

You guys are always so helpful! Thanks

OH, one more thing, do you guys give your yorkies the frozen treats/bones that they keep in the freezer with the food at the store? While i was getting my bag a lady was picking out neck bones, i didn't ask what kind of dog she had tho (it was probably a big dog)

I agree with everyone's advice. IMO Raw is a good choice. Roxy and TJ have been eating raw since March and they LOVE it! I feed NV or another brand www.morigins.com, they love them both.

Mine like it really frozen when they eat it. So just before feeding time, I take out of the freezer their portions and let it sit on the granite countertop (either in a baggie or on a small piece of clear plastic wrap) for about 5 to 7 mins. Then it is thawed just enough for me to cut it up into tiny pieces.

Lately, I have been hand feeding the pieces to Roxy. She used to inhale in the whole plate in a matter of 2 seconds. TJ takes his time and chews each piece.

By hand feeding Roxy, she too chews each piece now, and being that it is still pretty much frozen, it is really helping to clean their teeth :)

Best of Luck!

Ah, thank you for bring up this point. While coming home from the store i was wondering how thawed it needed to be to feed it. I was wondering if i had to thaw it like steak if i were going to eat it, or (i know this sounds stupid) if i had to microwave it to thaw it out. I for for a vet hosp. and some people bring their raw food in for us to feed their dogs that spend the night. A couple people handed me raw food and told me to microwave it and i thought that it totally defeated the purpose of feeding raw cause the microwave cooks its it alittle.

to everyone, does your dog like it still alittle frozen like TLC's dogs, thawed but still really cold, or thawed to the point of being room temp? is it ok to let the raw sit out till its room temp?

When I first stared to feed Raw, I'd take out 4 medalions the night before and put them into a baggie and into the fridge.

Roxy inhales anything, frozen or thawed. But TJ was having a hard time with it being thawed. He has adult teeth that never formed, upper and low - along the side of his mouth, so I think the thawed food just kept getting stuck on the roof of his mouth. Eventually, he didn't want to eat it :(

That's when I went to feeding it really on the frozen side, plus I have heard that when it is sorta frozen they really have to do some chewing, thus helping clean teeth ;)

Thanks! I'll see how she likes it

I thaw out two days worth at a time. I like for it to be pretty much competely thawed before feeding. I wouldn't thaw out more than two days at a time though. I just put the portions into ziplock bags and put in the refrigerator to thaw.

Some advice that might help: I tear the medallions into smaller pieces (like 8-10 pieces) so that it's easier for her to eat. The first time I tried to feed her I just put two whole medallions into her bowl and she tried to carry it off to chew on it (yuck). So I tore them into smaller pieces and put in her bowl and no more carrying off. She ate it right away straight from her bowl.

I've never tried any of the raw bones but I've been wanting to. I'm mostly just worried about the mess it might make. I'm afraid it will get her face nasty and the floor nasty. I might try them one day. Most people that feed raw like to give raw meaty bones. I usually just give bully stix to chew on.

let me know if you do try them! i'd like to know how lacy likes them

Oh, about microwaving. When I was first researching raw I read to never thaw it out in the microwave because it does cook a little. Cooking does ruin the purpose of feeding raw - you're losing nutrients. If you really need to thaw some out quick, you could put them in a baggie and submerge in hot water for a few minutes. That's what I do when I need to thaw anything out fast. The hot water thaws very quickly.

that's what i thought as well. I figured i'd just thaw them like regular hamburger meat.

Morgan just had her new dinner. She was a little confused at first but ate it all up within minutes :) yay!

I've never heard of thawing in hot water because that can also cook some of the meat. Try putting it in a bag and running under cold water. That's how I defrost fish and shrimp and stuff like that.

i did that too when i fed raw

I found this at Wildatheartpets.com in the FAQ sections about feeding raw:

Q. Can I cook your raw foods?
A. Cooking is not recommended. Cooking destroys the enzymes and some nutrients in raw food defeating the purpose of feeding a raw diet. The Chicken and Chicken & Beef Varieties have finely ground bone in them which is easily digestible in it's raw form but cooked bone is difficult to digest and may pose health risks. Microwaving to defrost is also not recommended due to the uneven nature of microwave heating. Some of the food gets cooked when defrosting in the microwave. If you forget to take the food out to thaw, our suggestion for a quick defrost is to place the container in a dish of cool water in your sink. That will speed up the thawing process. In general you should plan ahead to remove our food from your freezer and allow it to defrost in your refrigerator as you would with your own food.

I wouldn't thaw it out in really hot water - just room temp to warm I guess would be better. I've never had to thaw out raw quickly because I've always planned ahead and thawed in the fridge.

I've given Chloe chicken wing drummettes (raw). It does take some time for her to get going on it, but she does seem to love them. She really loves that bone. The only thing is, she wants to take it over on the carpet to eat it. I have to bring it back to her bowl a few times. She seems to "get" it that I don't want it on the carpet.

Nature's Variety does make the freeze dried but I think it is really expensive. JMO. BUT - for going on a trip or something, it would be ideal.

I switched Izzie to raw the week I got her. She is doing great! Loves it and I am going to try other flavors soon. Bella only like the turkey/chicken so that's all I have right now. She didn't get diarrhea or anything. I do keep dry out because I don't want her to get so hungry her bs drops, but so far she hasen't really eaten any.

i've read a few places about some type of "enzyme" product to add to raw food. Do you guys use something like this? what kind of supplements do you give your raw food eaters?

I never gave Lacy any supplements until recently. We started carrying Juice Plus for Dogs where I work and I thought why not..can't hurt. So I've started adding 1/4tsp of Juice Plus to her raw medallions every evening. She was recently diagnosed with luxating patellas so I've started giving her a glucosamine/chondroiton supplement in the morning as well.

I give them fish oil sometimes, I also give Missing Link plus but not all the time. You really don't need to supplement.