[bernardin33]

I have seen at our local pet store commercial raw diet from Instinct Natures Valley. I wanted to know what everyone thinks about this as a raw diet.

Here is a link of the food
Nature's Variety Raw Frozen Venison for Dogs and Cats | PetFoodDirect

I have been considering doing a raw diet for Aries and wasn't sure how good of a raw diet this would be.

 

[lestat1978]

I just started feeding Nature's Variety Instinct to my dog. Right now he's half kibble half raw at each meal. According to dogfoodadvisor.com it's a 5 star food that is "enthusiastically recommended."

 

[EmilyB]

I absolutely LOVE it! It has very little carb fillers and so you have to feed a lot less of it than a lot of other pre-made frozen foods available to me.

I will say that they source their rabbit from China however, so I wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole.

This is their response in that regard:

"Thank you for e-mailing! We understand your concern about sourcing ingredients
from China and that is why we have taken the steps outlined below to insure
quality control over every aspect of the sourcing. The rabbit protein we use in
our raw diets is from China and the rabbit protein we use in our canned diets is
sourced between Italy and China. We employ a U.S. educated food scientist in
China to oversee our rabbit sourcing. All rabbit protein is tested before
shipment from China and again after it arrives in the U.S. and is processed into
our raw diet. In addition, the rabbit liver we use in our canned diets from
China undergoes the same rigorous monitoring and testing. We feel very confident
in how we handle our sourcing from China. Rabbit is a popular choice with our
customers and provides a unique protein source. We have tried diligently for
years to locate a supplier in the United States and around the world to meet the
needs of customers without success in any other country. We take great pride in
our diets and formulas and we stand behind our products every step of the way.
We do realize that ultimately you have to feel comfortable making the decision
if Nature's Variety is the right food choice for your pets. At Nature's Variety
we are constantly evaluating our products and striving to make improvements. We
appreciate your feedback and thank you for trying our products."- Natures
Variety customer service

So you can make your own decision with regards to that....

 

[Herb2relax]

I personally feed raw by purchasing raw meat. I know what I am feeding and I prefer not to rely on what someone tells me they are putting in the food. If they did change a resource that they use such as changing where they are getting a meat product or whatever. They arent going to send you any info about it. The ingredient list will stay the same.

 

[Coco Loco]

I do not use premade raw for the same reason as Herb mentioned. I switched to completely raw so I always know what I am feeding. I also found premade was more expensive but I am lucky enough to live right by a completely raw food supplier.

 

[GRAYGHOST]

one half of our cat's diet consists of Nature's Variety Instinct frozen raw food. He does very well on it.

 

[mmctaq]

A lot of folks on the raw list of which I am a memeber are of the opinion that this is a little heavy with regard to bone content. I do not know if this is true, just that it seems to be said often...

With regard to the Chinese rabbit, they can employ all of the U.S. educated food scientists they want, and I don't care. The FDA has been trying without success to figure out what is wrong with Chinese chicken jerky since 2007. I simply have no faith that a protein sourced from China is something I would be wise to purchase. They have killed Chinese babies with crap formula, they have killed a huge number of raccoon dogs with tainted food, they sent melamine etc. here... it is an everyday occurrance that their food industry acts with wanton disregard for consumer safety... they have practically no regulation, and what there is is not enforced. Thanks, but no thanks...

 

[Faireview]

I've been feeding Chase Bravo pre-ground raw, and he has been doing VERY well on it. It's ground meat, organ meats, bone, and vegetables. You have to supplement a little, but it's no big deal. I've found it to be more reasonably priced than Nature's Variety.

 

[ShelianDobe]

I don't feed pre-made raw either. I feed prey model and purchase from a local supplier.

 

[lestat1978]

Rabbit & Bone

I did not realize the rabbit was from China. I was feeding the rabbit kibble to 3 of my 4 cats because the one has food allergies. Very bummed it's from China. I'll have to start looking for an alternative food. *sigh* I did e-mail them to let them know I'd rather subject myself to pilling my cat twice a day than feed a food from China.

I've also contacted them to find out about the percentage of bone.

 

[EmilyB]

I always thought if there was too much bone, the stool would be dry and crumbly. It's sure not that here. I wonder if it varies between the varieties. I feed mostly chicken and only occasionally beef.

Be good to know.

 

[stryker2]

We feed beef and chicken Natures Variety twice a week. They love it. It would get very expensive to feed 2 dobes premade raw all the time.

 

[Hank]

Pre-made raw is way too expensive to feed exclusively. Much cheaper to buy from local butcher

 

[EmilyB]

Pre-made raw is way too expensive to feed exclusively. Much cheaper to buy from local butcher

Well, it is expensive. But I choose to feed it because I could not imagine dealing with raw meat organs and bones in my small home, lol.

 

[Hank]

Well, it is expensive. But I choose to feed it because I could not imagine dealing with raw meat organs and bones in my small home, lol.

lol. I dunno, I dont really have a problem with it. Only problem I have is I usually feed outside but since it was cold out in the mornings I was freeding inside. But I have to tether him up while he eats or he'll drag the meat into his bed. Ew.

 

[lestat1978]

Bone

I heard back from NV and the raw diets contain no more than 15% bone. How does that compare?

 

[Dobiewankanobi]

I started my dogs on RAW with the NV Instinct Raw pre-made patties. I did it because it was convenient, didn't take up a lot of room, and I wasn't 100% confident in switching to prey-model raw and investing in bulk amounts of meat if they weren't going to eat it.

As you can imagine, they loved it! This was before my Kai passed, so I had 3 dogs eating those expensive patties! In the end, I switched to prey-model simply because I couldn't continue to pay that kind of money.

I will say when I switched from kibble to the NV Instinct Raw, I noticed an amazing difference in their coats. Kai had always been bloated looking and overweight and within a month of using the NV Raw he was slim and trim. He looked fantastic. It only improved when I switched to the prey-model raw and started getting a variety of different meats.

The only "flavor" that all of mine hated? Bison. I couldn't believe it, but they all refused to touch it. No idea why.

 

[lestat1978]

Ivan has had lamb and bison so far and loved both. Today I'm picking up chicken.

 

[Dobiewankanobi]

My dogs LOVED the lamb, chicken and beef. They even enjoyed the rabbit. For some reason they weren't feeling the Bison. I offered it up to the neighbor for her dog and she says he can't get enough of it! My dogs are clearly just odd creatures!

 

[Jenny]

I get my ground from Darwin's - they are out of washington state and ship it to me 40lb at a time. Since he only eats ground for breakfast it lasts for awhile. I get their beef, turkey, and duck. Vader loves it & has never turned up his nose at it. They also have green tripe. It is awful smelling and disgusting but V loves it.