Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I just switched Ben back to all raw and drew this up to track variety and cost. No supplements other than fish oil and corresponding E are tracked here - I'll add those in after we have a professional consult with a nutritionist in January (to address his special needs, it's insane trying to fix food for a dog allergic to about everything and provide adequate nutrition - time to call in the Pro! ). This is Google Docs - my first time using it, very cool! http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pSU...i8I_eMXM2qHfBIA I hate spreadsheets, so I know I have truly gone off the deep end. The recent insanity with Timberwolf Organics is what did it for me! Since it really matters what's in Ben's food, there's no substitute for fixing it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I hate spreadsheets, so I know I have truly gone off the deep end. The recent insanity with Timberwolf Organics is what did it for me! Since it really matters what's in Ben's food, there's no substitute for fixing it myself. It's amazing what a little motivation will do What was the insanity with Timberwolf Organics? I tried a search but didn't find any recent threads on that food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 That link didn't take me to the spreadsheet (also feed raw so was curious), any other way you can share the info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted December 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 It should have come up for you. I switched it so the template didn't come up on top, so you'd see his current regime. Later when I've got the final form of his diet worked out, I hope to use this to help balance nutrients as well. Try this link: Ben's Diet Tracker or if that doesn't work: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pSU...i8I_eMXM2qHfBIA Possibly it didn't come up because the forum software shortened the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted December 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 What was the insanity with Timberwolf Organics? You can read about the Timberwolf problems here: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ Ben is violently allergic to egg and chicken, and there was no chicken fat listed on Ocean Blue. As you can see in the letter from the Timberwolf customer service rep, they claim that their recent shift to slightly cheaper ingredients merely is a "clarification" to their ingredient list, while what appears to be the addition of egg product and chicken fat in several of their products (including Ocean Blue) actually reflects what has always been in their products. Supposedly the ingredients were left off the label in an "oversight" that was not rectified for two years. Thankfully I didn't spend any money on OB, but I recently got a sample from a friend and Ben is currently in a full-blown attack - and I have no idea whether it's thyroid problems returning or the Ocean Blue with the side helping of Mystery Ingredients. Grrrr. I can really only blame myself - I've been playing Russian Roulette with Ben's health with the commerical food, even though it's always been selected with great care and research (including contacting the companies to ascertain whether they do "runs" of non-chicken foods before or after chicken foods). I was a 100% raw feeder several years ago, but it was easier because Ben could eat chicken then. I could use chicken as the base and add in beef, lamb, pork, turkey, duck for variety. His chicken allergy means my "base" meats are much more expensive - mutton is cheapest at $1/lb average, because it comes from my own farm. Chicken is $.40/lb average. And because what were my variety meats before now must be my "base" meats, his variety has to come from much more expensive exotics like rabbit, ostrich, goat, etc. This will help me tell what I can feed him and not have him eat us out of house and home, and also make sure he's also getting a good nutrient profile on those same foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Hey Becca - How does Ben do with pork? I've been feeding my dogs quite a bit of pork since i've been finding it for less than $1 a pound pretty easily. I use that and the Blue Ridge Beef high fat ground beef and am staying pretty close to $1 pound all around. I can give you info on where i've been picking it up if you want. Actually, the pork is coming from that place i was telling you about, where i found the cow head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetJordan Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I have done the same thing. So you're not alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted December 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Please do tell, Robin! Ben does fine on pork, not his best food (usually too lean, although the "picnic" joint with skin is pretty good). I'm glad I am not a complete weirdo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 It's Compare Foods in Durham, just right off of 85 at Avondale Rd. I bought a bunch of sliced pork loin ends for 98 cents a pound and they've had the picnic shoulder ham (whatever it's called) for 88 cents both times i've been there. I watch their sale circular (search online for it) and just run by and stock up. They have an, umm, interesting selection of stuff. I bought some rabbits for Denise a couple of weeks ago, and i've now seen about every part of animals in there. Last time they had pig heads to go along with the cow heads. Can Ben do Evo? I am finding that a couple of my dogs are a little skinny on the raw diet with the amount of pork they're getting. I try to toss more beef at them but i'm also starting to give them some Evo as well to supplement. I think it works out to about 55 cents per cup so it's actually a fairly low cost item on the menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted December 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Ben does great on EVO for about a week, then he reaches his tolerance level for the egg that is in it and blows up in itchiness. So, no go. He was on NV Instinct, which is similar in price/nutrient value, and has overall been kind of "meh" - good shiny coat, no itchies, but he's losing muscle tone. After five days back on mostly lamb and beef, he's muscling back up again, though still itchy (I think it will take a while to get over teh OB incident. grr). I'll have to check out that place. If I do two days of lamb, two of beef, and then one each of fish, pork, and poultry, it should strike a good balance. It's easy enough to add fat, too - just use 70/30 ground beef on the days when I'm doing a leaner raw meaty bone. That's where the consult and the nutrient spreadsheet will come in handy. Maybe I'll strike a beef head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I've been using the beef from that Blue Ridge Beef place - it's 40% fat. It's just kind of a pain to get it here from Statesville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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