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Old July 24th, 2011, 03:29 PM
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Rgeurts Rgeurts is offline
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Has anyone ever tried "The Honest Kitchen"?

I have been struggling with making food for Nookie and Thorin. It seems that Nookie has a hard time with most veggies (gas, spitting up etc.). He also has a lot of "heat" in his body. We saw the holisitic vet, it was a specialist from Calgary who was seeing Dr. Marsdens patients while he was on holidays. She said Nookie has so much heat radiating from his upper body and that could be contributing to all the "weird" episodes he has. She asked what we were feeding him and I gave her the recipe. It seems that a lot of the food he was getting is considered "warm" or "hot", so she said we needed to change it and gave me a list of warm/hot, cool/cold and neutral foods. One thing I was concerned about was a vitamin/mineral deficiency with the home cooked. I told her I was looking at some different pre-mix foods and she said The Honest Kitchen is a really good one. I had been considering trying it, but kept putting it off because availability is slim. So I looked in to it again and found a couple of stores here that carry it and are willing to order a few large boxes at a time for me. I have had both Thorin and Nookie on it for a week now and they seem to be doing well. Just wondering if anyone else has tried it? One thing I like is I don't have to worry about supplements and they actually pay close attention to the calcium/phosphorus ratio, unlike a lot of the other pre-mixes. It definitely isn't cheaper than home cooking, but if it's better for them, it's ok! We were spending around $400 a month on home cooking. This is going to be $500-$550 depending on the meat prices in our area.

This is the one I'm using:

Preference

Foundation-Mix For Homemade, Grain-Free Dog Food, All life stages (when mixed with meat)

n. Choice, Desire, Option, Selection.
Ingredients

Alfalfa, sweet potatoes, cabbage, celery, apples, spinach, organic kelp, coconut, bananas, zucchini, honey, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.
Guaranteed Analysis

* Protein, min 12%
* Fat, min 5%
* Fiber, 10% max
* Moisture, 8% max

About

Just add meat! The easiest way to make homemade dog food, Preference is a grain-free foundation diet, to which meat must be added with every feeding. The beauty of Preference is that you can add whichever meat you would like, so it’s an excellent option for dogs that can’t tolerate more common protein sources or who just like a little variety. Suitable for dogs of all ages including pups and seniors.



The one thing I really like is that all but 2 of the ingredients are cool/cold. The sweet potato and coconut are both warm, but the coconut is such a small amount and the vet said the sweet potato has a lot of nutrition and fibre benefits, so it's ok.
__________________
"Obey my dog!" - Mugatu

"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile Gautier


"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" - Ok... whoever said this has never had a sick or special needs baby. They ARE our whole life!

R.I.P. my sweet, handsome Thorin. You are missed dearly Dec. 25, 1999 - Mar. 4, 2012
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  #2  
Old August 14th, 2011, 06:21 PM
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SuperWanda SuperWanda is offline
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Hi Rgeurts -- Haven't been here for awhile. The summer sure is going fast. I noticed this post -- I've been feeding the Honest Kitchen since the Spring. I usually give a kibble breakfast and then use the preference with meat at dinner. Our dogs seem to really enjoy it and they seem to digest it well, mind you, I do see the flecks of some of the veggies and other greens come out in their poop but they have had perfectly formed poop while on this food so I have been happy. I also tried Force, Embark and Zeal. They seemed to like the Force but weren't too keen on Embark. Zeal was okay -- it is the most expensive but has a higher protein with the fish. That one doesn't get as thick when you mix it up because it has no potato. I ordered a few boxes from a site called petwellbeing.com. You have to pay 9.99 shipping but they were cheaper than our local store and you can sign up for e-mail coupons so that can help as well. I hope everything is going well for you and your guys.
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Old August 14th, 2011, 06:55 PM
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Rgeurts Rgeurts is offline
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Hey SW!!! Hope everything is going well with you guys! How is Timber doing? And thanks for replying
Both Thorin and Nookie are on THK now. I use the Preference and half ground beef, half wild pink salmon. It's a good food for cancer dogs and has done wonders for both Thorin and Nookies tummy troubles
Nookie was at the point where he was spitting up several times a day. He would be running around, playing, then all of a sudden he would burp and up came whatever happened to be in his tummy. They thought he had Megaesophagus, so we went for x-rays etc, but they didn't find anything. Since we have switched to THK, he hasn't spit up even once

He is having tummy troubles atm, but it's due to other issues. He has hookworms and whipworms right now and has really bad diarrhea. He was vomiting a lot yesterday, but none so far today
The vet thinks it could be a reaction to the HG, his new herb, worm load and possibly (the one vet thinks "probably") he ate something and has a partial blockage. We're just on a wait and watch for now. But he's been a little monster, so he's feeling better
__________________
"Obey my dog!" - Mugatu

"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile Gautier


"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" - Ok... whoever said this has never had a sick or special needs baby. They ARE our whole life!

R.I.P. my sweet, handsome Thorin. You are missed dearly Dec. 25, 1999 - Mar. 4, 2012
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  #4  
Old August 15th, 2011, 04:56 PM
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SuperWanda SuperWanda is offline
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Glad you guys are doing well but sorry about the digestive and worm issues. I hope Nookie continues to improve!

When I first purchased THK, I thought that there was no way my dogs would like it. It just seemed too green but maybe it's the addition of the meat that makes it more appealing. I tried it myself and it is a little bitter and grass like with the alfalfa but I have had no issues with their digestion so feel it is helping in that department.

Timber is doing well, still continues to have some hind leg shakiness but I contribute that to some nerve damage from the tick disease. I did find a fully engorged deer tick in June on our floor. Test results came back negative for Lyme and Anaplasma so that was good but I am obviously taking them to an area where I am picking up ticks. I have crossed a few parks off my list due to my paranoia but it has been really hot this summer so we have been sticking close to home and enjoying more leisurely, senior paced, on-leash walks. I think everyone will be glad when winter comes (I can't believe i just said that).

Hope you guys had a good summer!
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  #5  
Old August 15th, 2011, 07:59 PM
Choochi Choochi is offline
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I love HK, so do my dogs. You can also add raw meat to it which is nice without causing digestive issues like with kibble and raw.
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  #6  
Old August 15th, 2011, 08:54 PM
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Rgeurts Rgeurts is offline
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My 2 boys love it as well. I wish I could try raw, but neither of them can have it. So we're good with HK and the cooked meat!

SW, I tried it as well. It had a very sweet taste to me. I think it's probably the honey I was tasting
I found there were a lot of undigested pieces too, so I asked Dr. Marsden about it. I wanted to make sure they are getting enough nutrients. He said if I'm finding a lot of it is undigested, I could either rehydrate it and put it in a blender or grind it dry. So that's what I do... I put the dry mix in a coffee grinder and it works great! No more "chunky" poo
__________________
"Obey my dog!" - Mugatu

"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile Gautier


"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" - Ok... whoever said this has never had a sick or special needs baby. They ARE our whole life!

R.I.P. my sweet, handsome Thorin. You are missed dearly Dec. 25, 1999 - Mar. 4, 2012
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  #7  
Old October 3rd, 2011, 03:33 PM
x5er30 x5er30 is offline
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the honest kitchen

I will never buy that stuff again..bought it last week..so far I have paid over 2000.00 in vet bills..gave my dog pancreatits, I can not recomend it...but good luck on your search









Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgeurts View Post
I have been struggling with making food for Nookie and Thorin. It seems that Nookie has a hard time with most veggies (gas, spitting up etc.). He also has a lot of "heat" in his body. We saw the holisitic vet, it was a specialist from Calgary who was seeing Dr. Marsdens patients while he was on holidays. She said Nookie has so much heat radiating from his upper body and that could be contributing to all the "weird" episodes he has. She asked what we were feeding him and I gave her the recipe. It seems that a lot of the food he was getting is considered "warm" or "hot", so she said we needed to change it and gave me a list of warm/hot, cool/cold and neutral foods. One thing I was concerned about was a vitamin/mineral deficiency with the home cooked. I told her I was looking at some different pre-mix foods and she said The Honest Kitchen is a really good one. I had been considering trying it, but kept putting it off because availability is slim. So I looked in to it again and found a couple of stores here that carry it and are willing to order a few large boxes at a time for me. I have had both Thorin and Nookie on it for a week now and they seem to be doing well. Just wondering if anyone else has tried it? One thing I like is I don't have to worry about supplements and they actually pay close attention to the calcium/phosphorus ratio, unlike a lot of the other pre-mixes. It definitely isn't cheaper than home cooking, but if it's better for them, it's ok! We were spending around $400 a month on home cooking. This is going to be $500-$550 depending on the meat prices in our area.

This is the one I'm using:

Preference

Foundation-Mix For Homemade, Grain-Free Dog Food, All life stages (when mixed with meat)

n. Choice, Desire, Option, Selection.
Ingredients

Alfalfa, sweet potatoes, cabbage, celery, apples, spinach, organic kelp, coconut, bananas, zucchini, honey, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.
Guaranteed Analysis

* Protein, min 12%
* Fat, min 5%
* Fiber, 10% max
* Moisture, 8% max

About

Just add meat! The easiest way to make homemade dog food, Preference is a grain-free foundation diet, to which meat must be added with every feeding. The beauty of Preference is that you can add whichever meat you would like, so it’s an excellent option for dogs that can’t tolerate more common protein sources or who just like a little variety. Suitable for dogs of all ages including pups and seniors.



The one thing I really like is that all but 2 of the ingredients are cool/cold. The sweet potato and coconut are both warm, but the coconut is such a small amount and the vet said the sweet potato has a lot of nutrition and fibre benefits, so it's ok.
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  #8  
Old October 3rd, 2011, 04:11 PM
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Rgeurts Rgeurts is offline
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I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I don't know what ingredient in it would cause pancreatitis, though. It's not high in fat at all. In fact, I'm having to add an Omega 3 capsule so my boy gets enough. I have been using it since early to mid July with no issues at all. In fact, it's the only food that my one dog can eat without reflux
__________________
"Obey my dog!" - Mugatu

"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile Gautier


"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" - Ok... whoever said this has never had a sick or special needs baby. They ARE our whole life!

R.I.P. my sweet, handsome Thorin. You are missed dearly Dec. 25, 1999 - Mar. 4, 2012
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  #9  
Old October 3rd, 2011, 08:40 PM
Choochi Choochi is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by x5er30 View Post
I will never buy that stuff again..bought it last week..so far I have paid over 2000.00 in vet bills..gave my dog pancreatits, I can not recomend it...but good luck on your search
I find that very hard to believe. A spontaneous bout of Pancreatitis is usually caused by a dog ingesting a large amount of fat in a relatively short time period, for example if your dog jumps up on the table and eats the turkey. HK doesn't have nearly enough fat content in it to cause that. Otherwise it is far more likely that it was a pre-existing condition you didn't know about. Most common causes are obesity, metabolic problems, and some times even abdominal trauma.
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