I'm getting my 8 week old pup next month on Valentine's Day so I've been looking up as much information as possible about anything and everything! I have about five different brands of food to look into based on what I've read up on. I've always liked Blue Buffalo, but I'm also considering Nutro, Wellness, TOTW, and Orijen. I'm not very familiar with Wellness or Orijen, but they've had some pretty great reviews so far. When Jack comes home, I'll be slowly switching him over to the new food from Purina Puppy Chow.

Anyone else have any input?

Why not just switch to raw right away?

I actually haven't read up on that, so I'm not familiar with raw at all. Is that what you feed Link?

Yep.  He has eaten raw since the first week we got him.  He was fed Purina Pro Plan for the first two months of his life and we switched him over to raw right away, more or less cold turkey.

We had some kibble left over originally from the breeder and I think we kept it around for treats and training, but once it was gone, it was gone for good.  

You have a multitude of options available to you in Seattle, including many different commercial raw foods and lots of butchers in town, some of whom specifically deal scraps and pieces for dogs.

This was Ronin's dinner last night. It was a bit bigger than normal but he has been doing a lot of exercise . It was Duck carcass stuffed with beef and a small bit of liver and kidney. All served frozen

Ronin has been on prey model raw since 7 months old - he is close to 15 months now.

He is fed a variety of foods; Whole fish, kangaroo, lamb, beef, duck, turkey, chicken and a host of any organs I can get my hands on - he even had crocodile for his first birthday but that is way too expensive for regular feeding LOL

When he was a wee puppy he was fed kibble and raw which was recommended by our breeder - I know it is controversial to mix kibble and raw, but we never had any tummy issues or loose stools. I would say to anyone mixing kibble and raw that there is a need to make sure you get the calcium:phosphorus ratios right, especially for a growing dog  

I made it a mission when he was very young from 9 weeks to feed as many different meat sources that I could get my hands on - it is my personal view that early exposure like this has contributed to Ronin having no known allergies and a cast iron constitution... much like exposing out young children to different foods can reduce the likelihood of allergies. - again this is just my unproven theory  

Here is a long and possibly boring vid of him enjoying last nights dinner

I would love to feed raw! It sounds like it would be much better than kibble. The only thing is I live in an apartment and I don't have very much space, so I wouldn't be able to buy in bulk. Would that be an issue?

Also your dog is adorable!

I feed my maggie TOTW. I used to feed raw but can't now. TOTW is all my maggie will eat.

We feed TOTW too and have been for almost a year now. Layla started having runny poop with Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete so we switched.

I'm also happy to report that a couple weeks after she finished her Lyme disease antibiotics Layla's appetite has finally returned. It had been four or five months of struggling but finally we figured out the cause and solved it. It's so nice to see her so excited about food again and finishing every meal. I think she's finally started filling out a little, too.

suepatt22 wrote:

I would love to feed raw! It sounds like it would be much better than kibble. The only thing is I live in an apartment and I don't have very much space, so I wouldn't be able to buy in bulk. Would that be an issue?

Also your dog is adorable!

Thanks!

Bulk is obviously cheaper, but as you mentioned space can be an issue. I ended up buying a Waeco 60L portable camping fridge freezer. You just adjust to the minus temp you want and the whole unit becomes a freezer. So I use this and a small area in our normal fridge freezer.

Good shopping for whatever is on sale should equate to the a similar saving that you get by buying bulk.

It is possible without a separate freezer, in a very short period of time you will work out a system to make it work for you. It really is far less daunting than it seems.

Oh, and if you have friends or family near you with a chest freezer, they may let you put some food in it, this way you can just bring a weeks worth of frozen food home at a time and use your normal freezer compartment.

If you are really committed to feeding raw, some places have "food lockers"... places where you rent freezer space. You might want to see if something like that is available to you. Check with a custom butcher or look for "freezer plans".

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I think eventually when I have enough space to buy in bulk then I'll feed my dog raw, but I think I'm going to stick with Orijen for now. Occasionally, I could give him some meat though, right?

Absolutely! Frozen raw marrow bones are also good as a nice snack. I get them at the regular grocery store, freeze them and give them to Layla now and then. They're packed with nutrients, and she loves chewing at the frozen marrow trying to dig it out. Keeps her occupied for a good hour or two.

That's a great idea! Thanks!

What is everyones input on Royal Canin Maxi puppy? The breeder I purchased charlie from had him on this, i did not switch as i heard huskies have a very sensitive belly and didnt wanna upset whats going good for him. I have had him for 4 days now, and just want to be sure I'm doing everything i should be for the little guy!!

side note, he has normal stool formed small etc. goes 1-2 times in 24hrs. -- he does however eat "grass" has not puked and is 12 weeks old. iv only had him for 3 days but in those 3 days he has ate only about 4 cups of food.. is this normal? he also has gas.. most days and STINKY -- should i look into a switching?

Hello guys! I'm brand new over here, I have a year old husky, his name is Kodak and I've own him since he was 3 months old, I have an issue with him, he is a very picky boy, I have tried taste of the wild, pedigree, beneful, he eats it when he feels like it, but I'm concern about his weight, over the past 6 months he gains weight and then loses it, he had whip worms before, but its been under control with panacur.

I was wondering if any of you had tried Wilderness before? I'm thinking to give it a try... but still I'm worried, if any of you had an experience with this brand, please let me know.


THANK YOU

Do you mean Wellness or Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula? There are a few people on here that used to feed Wellness (not sure how active they are anymore). Some dogs can handle it and some can't. Most opt for the grain free version. As for Blue Buffalo Wilderness, you might poke through this thread. There are a few that chime in their experiences on it.

Blue Wilderness

Another thread to consider though if you are going with Blue Buffalo.

Blue Lawsuit

I actually feed Diamond Naturals and have never had any issue with my two not wanting to eat it or having digestive issues with it.

Hi... can i feed my puppy (2 months) raw food? So far, I feed him kibbles for a starter but plan to raw feeding from time to time... kibbles on the morning and raw meat in the evening...

Hey Drew, I started both of my girls with a partial raw diet at 12 weeks old. Start with one protein for 2-4 weeks before trying another protein. If you are going to continue feeding kibble, I would not be too concerned with organ meats and stick to muscle meats and bones. organ meats like liver is very rich and puppies have a hard time with it, so for now until say 6 months old I would avoid liver and the like, at around 6 months slowly introduce liver and build him up on it, to avoid mushy poops. My girls do fantastic on a partial raw diet. Sofie at 6 months eats 2 meals kibble and her evening meal raw. Good luck!

@renee... hi... thanks for your input... Currently, I am feeding my other 2 dogs raw meat... kibbles in the morning and raw meat in the evening... so far, they are doing very well with it and hopefully Hutch can do the same... I've done some readings and most of it prefers feeding raw meat...

For a 2 months pup, can someone tell me the feeding ratio or how much raw meat can I give to Hutch? I don't have any weighing scale at home so I just do the calculation by the looks or gut-feeling...

@renee... you've been feeding them raw, right? may I ask if what part of the chicken can be grounded? I've read that too much meat can cause them loose stools...

Drew, you can grind everything up in a chicken, or any protein for that matter. If you are using raw as a supplement to kibble, there shouldn't be too much worry as to loose stool and too much meat. The issue lies with too much organ meat, like liver, or too much fat like with drumsticks and thighs, if you are using drumsticks and thighs I would remove skin first. The bone acts as a natural stool firmer. I just prefer giving bones whole so they can get their teeth cleaned in the process of eating their raw. Some things you can do as well is adding a raw ground egg(shells are stool firmers as well as added calcium), a tablespoon of pure pumpkin (not pie filling, look for cans of pure pumpkin, no sugar is added and the ingredients will say just pumpkin), same goes with yams or sweet potatoes if pumpkin is not available. Pumpkin is natures fiber for dogs, helps firm up and when they are constipated, helps them go.

Are you supplementing with kibble? I can't remember. As far as puppies are concerned, I would do the ground up of everything, bones, meat, fat, adding a small amount of organ meat. If you are feeding raw only you will have to work your way up to the proper ratios, like with liver. I hope that helps, and let me know if you need more help, or clarity.

Drew to answer this question.....I go by gut also, for my younger girl, she gets between 2-6 ounces of raw per day, and about 3 cups of kibble, she is on the leaner side of dogs, so I want her to gain weight. So a 2 month old, I would go about the same 25% less kibble than recommended, and 2-6 ounces raw meat, can add bone to help even out possible tummy issues. One of the easiest thing you can do is get a package of ground turkey burger, at my store comes frozen in a 12 ounce package, I give Sofie a third of it (so 4 ounces), then give her a raw meaty bone, I buy meat cuts that I eat that has bone in it, example t-bone(the bones here are semi soft), I eat the meat she gets the bone. Chicken thighs, give Hutch one and maybe a few more bites of just meat. Chicken bones, raw, are pretty soft, so he should be able to eat the whole thigh, bone and all, just watch to make sure her chews and doesn't swallow. Those are just examples. Ask more question if you need me to clarify something.

@renee... im very thankful for your pointers on raw feeding... Yes, every morning, I give him kibbles and evening raw meat... I will try to stay this course for a month... I know, I have so much to learn but it's worth it...

I hope I'm not on off-topic here but the thread is all about what we feed to our furkids, right?

I am new here but have been feeding our Siberian Husky for nine years. We quickly decided not to use pre-made dog food as we don't eat much processed food ourselves. A small surprise to us was that his stools do not smell and disintegrate quickly into a white-ash like substance after a few days.
Although the recipe has changed over the years, I now start a pot of 6 cups of water in the morning when I make my coffee. I drop in a whole baked chicken leg cut in half, 2 cups of rice, a cut garlic clove, a cut large carrot, 1/2 cup of grits, 1/2 old fashioned oats. Bring it to a boil for about five minutes and turn it off covered. Around 3 pm, I take it out to his pen where he lives with a rescued yellow lab and split it between them.
He is a very handsome, healthy and strong dog and has never had a problem with chicken bones. He only has to visit a vet for the necessary immunizations every few years. Both dogs live outside even in the middle of winter and are quite active together.
I have never met another Husky owner or even other dog owner who feed their dogs homemade food. Most folks frown at us and tell us we shouldn't feed human food to animals.