[Thailand/London]

Has any one used Darwin’s Pet food? I want to feed raw but I want something that’s quick and easy. If you don’t like Darwin’s do you have another brand you prefer? I’ve looked into Instinct since you can buy it easily at a petsmart etc but it just doesn’t seem as good as they try to make it seem. It doesn’t even look like real food at least to me.

 

[Raindrops]

I feed raw but I use DIY and feed prey model raw. If you have a small dog and want quick and easy, I'd recommend Ziwipeak air dried raw. It's pricey but for a small dog it wouldn't be bad. For puppies you need to take extra care to make sure they're getting a good variety to have a complete diet. There are plenty of companies that do grinds that are "complete" but only if you do a lot of variation and add things like fish and eggs. I live in Miami so I use Raw Feeding Miami, but they also ship at fairly reasonable rates. But I would not feed their grinds unless you vary them a lot and are adding fish and eggs considering it will be for a puppy.

Also if you're starting a dog on raw that was not weaned to raw by the breeder, you will need to do it slowly to avoid upset. Otherwise you will get a lot of diarrhea and soft stools. I still got that even with my raw weaned pup and had to tweak things around for a while before I found what worked. But once you do find it, the results are amazing.

 

[Michigan Gal]

I feed raw. I find chicken parts work very well. With a small animal you get muscle meat, bones, ligaments, skin. I feed all of my rescues raw and none have ever had a problem. But, you have to remember to start them out with something that is too big to be swallowed whole. Coming off canned or kibble they do not understand they need to chew, chew, chew. Depending on the size of the dog, you could give them chicken wings, drumsticks, whole chicken backs, etc.

The thing with a ground food is that they don't have to chew and chew. Hence, the bones are not cleaning the teeth, at least not nearly as much as chewing on a bone. You have to remember to add liver twice a week and another organ once a week. Cook carrots with your meat and give them the carrots. Feeding raw vegetables just goes right through them. Use the carrots/peas/etc as a treat, same with the organ meat.( The pelvis of a chicken has organ meat in it.)

They will drink less water if on a homemade raw diet, they will not need their teeth cleaned by a vet. Just change it up with different meats (including raw eggs with shell).

 

[Thailand/London]

I feed raw. I find chicken parts work very well. With a small animal you get muscle meat, bones, ligaments, skin. I feed all of my rescues raw and none have ever had a problem. But, you have to remember to start them out with something that is too big to be swallowed whole. Coming off canned or kibble they do not understand they need to chew, chew, chew. Depending on the size of the dog, you could give them chicken wings, drumsticks, whole chicken backs, etc.

The thing with a ground food is that they don't have to chew and chew. Hence, the bones are not cleaning the teeth, at least not nearly as much as chewing on a bone. You have to remember to add liver twice a week and another organ once a week. Cook carrots with your meat and give them the carrots. Feeding raw vegetables just goes right through them. Use the carrots/peas/etc as a treat, same with the organ meat.( The pelvis of a chicken has organ meat in it.)

They will drink less water if on a homemade raw diet, they will not need their teeth cleaned by a vet. Just change it up with different meats (including raw eggs with shell).

I was planning on doing a pre-made raw and then maybe once or twice a week give a bone like a chicken wing or chicken neck. I was looking more for suggestions of raw brands others have used for their dogs and/or toys. And experiences and if they had to add supplements. I don’t have the option of doing homemade so pre-made is the next best option and Darwin’s seems to be an okay brand but it’s hard trying to get legit reviews of it.

 

[Thailand/London]

I feed raw but I use DIY and feed prey model raw. If you have a small dog and want quick and easy, I'd recommend Ziwipeak air dried raw. It's pricey but for a small dog it wouldn't be bad. For puppies you need to take extra care to make sure they're getting a good variety to have a complete diet. There are plenty of companies that do grinds that are "complete" but only if you do a lot of variation and add things like fish and eggs. I live in Miami so I use Raw Feeding Miami, but they also ship at fairly reasonable rates. But I would not feed their grinds unless you vary them a lot and are adding fish and eggs considering it will be for a puppy.

Also if you're starting a dog on raw that was not weaned to raw by the breeder, you will need to do it slowly to avoid upset. Otherwise you will get a lot of diarrhea and soft stools. I still got that even with my raw weaned pup and had to tweak things around for a while before I found what worked. But once you do find it, the results are amazing.

I heard of raw feeding Miami by 1 person on YouTube. I’ll look into it and see if they ship to Dallas and how much it’ll be.