opinions on food please!!!!

[4KB]

I have recently switched over to RAW. I am very pleased and so are they!
I have tried Natures Variety (which is 95% meat) and then thought I would try Healthy Paws which contains more vegetables (they liked both). I have been doing a lot of research and have also come across The Ultimate Diet and was wondering if anyone has any opinions about this diet. There is also another called Pets 4 Life.....that I am considering.

How do you know which one to choose???????

Any and all information would be GREATLY appreciated.

[pitgrrl]

I think, even if one is choosing to use a pre-made raw diet, it's a good idea to research and understand raw feeding first. This will help in a few ways: help you pick an appropriate food (because they are not all equal, by a long shot), help you spot and resolve any problems that might come up and give you a better all around understanding of feeding your dogs.

Here's a great list of resource materials compiled by someone on another forum who has a ton of raw feeding experience:

Books:
The BARF Diet by Ian Billinghurst, DVM

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze

Work Wonders by Tom Lonsdale, DVM

Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale, DVM

The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard
Switching To Raw by Susan K. Johnson

The New Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier

Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard Pitcairn, DVM and Susan Hubble Pitcarin

The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat by Juliette de Bairacli Levy

Raw Dog Food by Carina Beth McDonald


Websites:

General Information About Raw Diets
Raw Learning Site
The Top 50 BARF FAQ for Beginners
WellPet's Nutrition Articles
Caber Feidh's Holsitic Care Articles(site owned/articles written by sfraw member, Christie Keith)
RawFed.com
US Raw Meaty Bones Organization
Raw Connections

Articles
What's Best, Cooked or Raw?
Do Dogs and Cats Need Grains?
The Importance of Feeding a Natural Diet
Natural Diet for Dogs and Cats by Jeff Levy DVM
Why Raw?
Is A Raw Diet Dangerous? by Dr. Wysong
Why Cats Shouldn't Eat Dry Food

Raw Diet Guru Websites
Richard Pitcairn
Ian Billinghurst
Wendy Volhard
Tom Lonsdale
Kymythy Schultz
Sue Johnson
Marina Zacharias - based on Juliette de Bairacli Levy's diet
Monica Segal

Feline Specific Sites
Pottenger Cats study
Cat Nutrition
Feline Future
Holisticat
Raw Fed Cats
Michelle T. bernard's diet
How to prepare fresh cat food by Christine M. Ruessheim

Canine Specific Sites
The BARF Pictorial
Raw Dog Ranch Step-by-Step Pictorial
Raw Fed Dogs
Lew Olson
Dogaware
4LoveofDog


Forums:
Raw Diet Lists
The RawFeeding List(the biggest raw diet list - you should start here if new to raw)
The RawDiet List
The RawPaws List
The RawChat List
The BARFWorld List (hosted by veterinarian, Dr. Ian Billinghurst)
The advBARF List (for advanced discussions - no beginners, please)
The Basic Raw List (for those following more of a Lonsdale/whole carcass approach)
The BARFLite List (for those who feed cooked meat or kibble in addition to raw)

General Health Lists
WellPet (the original pet health list)
The NaturalPet List
The HolisticPet List
The Pets4Homeopathy List

Feline Lists
The Holisticat List
The CatBARF List
The CatNutrition List
The RawCat List
The FelineFutureDiet List
The CatWell List (general cat health, not just diet)

Canine Lists
The K9NutritionStudyGroup List
The RawPup List (great for learning to feed puppies raw)
The RawBreeder List
The NaturalRawDog List
The SeniorRawFeeding List

The thing about your question is that there isn't a straight forward answer. Some models of raw feeding call for a lot of veggie matter, others none at all. Personally, I think it's best to combine philosophies in a manner that works best for your individual dog, but doing so requires an understanding of various methods of raw feeding and the theory behind those.

Personally (and again, just my opinion, might not be the best for your dogs) I wouldn't feed the Ultimate Diet as it contains oats and (though they don't give %, which sucks) seemingly a whole lot of veggies. Pets4Life also seems pretty veggie heavy and I'd personally prefer a wider variety of organs, but your dogs may do very well on it.

The Nature's Variety I actually fed for a while, I liked it, but I finally started using a food which was just whole animal carcass patties both to get great organ variety and so that I had complete control over all the "extras" such as eggs, veggie, supplements, etc.

[4KB]

Pitgrl....thank you so much for all of the great information! I really appreciate it!
I have purchased Dr. Pitcairns book and have spent hours on the internet trying to find what would work best. It is just so difficult to know what is best. I have contacted most companies directly to find out about the content, etc. and everyone has something different to say.
Again, I thank you so very much.....

[Goldens4Ever]

Originally Posted by pitgrrl

Personally (and again, just my opinion, might not be the best for your dogs) I wouldn't feed the Ultimate Diet as it contains oats.....

Yeah, I saw the oats & was like what the heck!!?? Oats in raw food?