[plearbear]

Hey all,

I'm sorry I disappeared for so long again... I haven't had much time to come on, but I've been lurking every now and then. I work so much that when I'm not working I want to spend all the time with Jax that I can (he goes basically everywhere with me other than work... and the boyfriend actually takes him up to see me at work sometimes too... hahaha).

I wanted to ask if anyone had any experience with Instinct Raw food. http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/dog/all

I just switched Jax over from Blue to a combo of Instinct Raw (I'm going to switch up the flavors every time I stock up, right now he has beef and lamb) and Orijen dry food. He seems to be doing great, although he still has some pretty crazy gas.

- Anyone feed this/have any experience with it?

- Do you think the kibble/raw combo is a good idea, or would you phase out kibble all together?


Thanks!

 

[Sam1491]

I've done it a little for my own dogs as well as others.

To me it's balanced enough you don't need the dry and the dry is just an added expense then, plus without the dry then you'll have even less poop. I had good results with mine on it but it wasn't cost effective for me, and the others I've fed that way for work did well and are doing well, it keeps stool to a minimum in size and frequency, for most makes a beautiful coat, and well they just plain love it
Extra bonus is easy pilling! Feeding one sheperd about 11 pills in a patty is easy peasy!

Also be sure and watch weight with the different varieties, with my girl she needed to eat more with the chicken and beef varieties than the bison

 

[Hank]

The Rabbit is sourced from China.
The patties dont look like the picture on the bag.
My dog didn't care for it.

My only experience

There's a few DTers who feed it and love it.

I would faze out kibble all together imo. But that's up to you

 

[LVdobe]

I'm not a fan of there raw. But I do feed primal raw premade. And no kibble. Months that are tight on cash they do get a few kibble meals a week of Evo. And they are def more gassy on the kibble raw mix. Pure raw = no gas in my house

 

[EmilyB]

Feeding kibble and raw together at once (if that is what you meant) isn't a good idea, however NV seems to have built that in for feeding their dry and raw together.

In the process, their dry gets a coating of raw basically. You can read more about that on their website.

They do source their rabbit from China.

For another couple of reasons I am moving away from NV. They may not relate to a healthy dog so I won't get into them here.

The patties look grey when compared to local frozen premade suppliers.

 

[ssgharkness020147]

I used it for a while. My dog did fine on it but I did find that the amount the recommended for a dog his size was not nearly enough, I messed around mixing it with kibbles before settling on mixing it with The Honest Kitchen.

In time I noticed the consistency of the NV patties varied a lot, the last bag I bought had this really nasty slimy feel to them and that was the final straw. I switched to Stella and Chewy's and haven't looked back since. I also feed Stella and Chewy's in conjunction with The Honest Kitchen.

 

[plearbear]

Awesome. I know Bark Avenue has another brand of raw as well, I chose Instinct over that one because the patties were bigger, but I'll definitely look into that one as well.

Keep 'em coming if you've got anything to say

 

[LindaH]

Just want to address where the rabbit is sourced. The rabbit for raw is sourced from China, but NV says they have an employee therethat insures quality. Not sure of exact words now OR if the employee is from here or China. The rabbit meal for the kibble is sourced from France.

 

[lestat1978]

Ivan is currently getting half TOTW and half Nature's Variety. I'm rotating between two types of TOTW (Pacific Stream and Sierra Mountain). For Nature's Variety I rotate through all flavors but the rabbit (because the frozen is from China) and organic chicken.

I can't afford to feed him all pre-made raw with the amt. he's currently eating as a growing pup, so that's why I'm still feeding half kibble.

I only used their recommendations as a starting point. The amt. Ivan gets fed varies with his activity level and his appearance.

In terms of quality I have no complaints. There was bag of one type that was grey in appearance, but nothing otherwise indicating it was bad. No funky odor, slime, etc. I assumed it was just the general appearance of the meat and everything ground into it. I purchase it from my vet and I know they go through it rather quickly and are always reordering, so perhaps that plays into the consistency/quality - if it's sitting in the freezer longer. . . I know the chicken and beef I've gotten have definitely looked good.

In terms of gas Ivan is fine on either kibble or half and half. The only time he has gas is if the amt. of treats is high.

He is every enthusiastic about eating any of the varieties I give him.

To be honest I don't see that his coat is any better or worse than when he was fed just TOTW kibble. Perhaps feeding only raw would make a difference - I don't know. Or maybe since both are high quality and he doesn't have allergy issues, it wouldn't matter.

I've seen a lot of people post online that feeding kibble and raw together isn't a good idea because of varying digestion rates. Considering bone, fat, protein, vegetables, yogurt, etc. are all going to digest at different rates anyhow, I'm not sure I see that as a problem. I haven't found a scientific study stating that doing this is an issue - just a lot of people stating it. They argue that the kibble holds up the raw and gives bacteria the chance to grow. Aren't dogs digestive tracks better able to handle the bacteria - thus the reason it isn't an issue with raw in the first place? I believe I read when I was researching the fact that TDI doesn't allow raw fed dogs into their program (because of the potential for bacteria) that TDI's argument was invalid because eating raw didn't necesssarily mean all dogs were passing bacteria through their system AND that treats, kibble, etc. frequently have bacteria on them anyhow so any dogs eating those are just as likely to have a bacteria issue as a raw fed dog.

I have also seen several posts were people state they feed both at the same time and haven't had problems. I'm currently feeding both and as of yet haven't had any problems.

I think this is another one of those things were time, money, the individual dog, etc. are going to be the deciding factors and not so much that it's clear cut one way or the other.

 

[lestat1978]

Just want to address where the rabbit is sourced. The rabbit for raw is sourced from China, but NV says they have an employee therethat insures quality. Not sure of exact words now OR if the employee is from here or China. The rabbit meal for the kibble is sourced from France.

I believe their position is it isn't an issue because he was educated/trained in the U.S. They also stated their food is tested both before leaving China and once arriving in the U.S.

Call me a chicken, but I still don't feed it.

 

[Bella Monterey]

Bella was very gassy while on Canidae ALS. I took her off and went to only a raw diet. Bravo is what I feed her now and I mix in Animal Essentuals Plant Enzymes & Probiotic Diggestive Support to the meat. For the past month I've been adding Natures Variety kibble in her bowl along with the raw and she has no problems with gas. Poops are small. I started the kibble because I have to board her when I go out of town. They won't feed a raw diet. I guess because there isnt refrigeration. As I get closer to when I'll be leaving I'll give just kibble to make sure she has no problems. NVI raw is very expensive. Bravo is more affordable. I feed mostly chicken but switch off with beef and lamb. She's doing good on the turkey kibble. I haven't tried their other flavors yet.

 

[lestat1978]

Just wanted to make a correction. I said TDI prohibits raw fed animals from participating, but it's actually Delta Society.

 

[LindaH]

Thanks for the additional information. I have been feeding Parker raw a lot with his kibble for a couple of years as a nutritional booster. It is hard to beat raw meat.

 

[Hank]

I used it for a while. My dog did fine on it but I did find that the amount the recommended for a dog his size was not nearly enough, I messed around mixing it with kibbles before settling on mixing it with The Honest Kitchen.

In time I noticed the consistency of the NV patties varied a lot, the last bag I bought had this really nasty slimy feel to them and that was the final straw. I switched to Stella and Chewy's and haven't looked back since. I also feed Stella and Chewy's in conjunction with The Honest Kitchen.

I love Stella & Chewys. The frozen raw is way too expensive for me to feed exclusively. But I buy the dehydrated raw food and treats to use as dog treats. Havent found a dog yet that doesnt like them.

 

[mmctaq]

I believe their position is it isn't an issue because he was educated/trained in the U.S. They also stated their food is tested both before leaving China and once arriving in the U.S.

Call me a chicken, but I still don't feed it.

I wouldn't call you a chicken... I would call you smart!

The FDA has been trying to figure out since 2007 what is wrong with the Chinese chicken jerky treats, and they can't find it. Just because they have a guy on site and they are testing the rabbit, unless they have a clue what to look for they ain't gonna find anything beyond what few things they routinely test for. Thanks, but no thanks...

 

[Luvbirds]

I've used it for convenience while on vacations in the past, while Petey was alive. He liked it fine and I had no issues with the food other then the price. Once I had the two dogs at the same time, I decided it was way too expensive and started to either bring my own bagged meals or check with the local stores where we would be staying and buy their meat when we did our own grocery shopping.

As for mixing raw and kibble at the same time, what I've learned is that it's fine to do with the ground raw. It's only a potential problem when you feed whole meaty bones with kibble at the same time.