# Honest Kitchen for 7 month old?



## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Hi everyone!! I have been lurking for a few months and was feeding kibble (Fromm LBP and Orijen 6 fish) to my 7 month old but was having problems with scratching and lots of itching. You can see the hair loss on his knee in the photo. He also has hair loss on the inside of both rear legs. Was keeping soft stools and all fecals have been negative. 

I started him on the HK "Preference" 3 weeks ago mixed with cooked ground turkey and his stools firmed up in just a few days and are great now. I have been cooking it less each week and he is now getting raw ground turkey with the HK and loves it!! He also gets a frozen turkey neck each day (about 10 oz. each). He is scratching a lot less and hair is starting to come back in. I am new to raw and am worried about him getting everything he needs as far as nutrition with him being so young. I just ordered Feed-SENTIALS K9 and Sunday Sundae for him. He is getting 3 cups (1.5 lbs.) of meat to 1 1/2 cups of the dry mix with added water. I also add 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil each day. He is a big guy at 27 inches and weight is 78 lbs. I will try ground beef next for him. We suspect he is sensitive to chicken so not trying that right now. So for the experienced raw feeders do you think this is OK? Again due to his size I don't want my inexperience with raw to mess him up. I plan to switch to Primal Grinds for the meat but wanted to see how he did with the turkey first.

Thanks Debbie


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

Sounds like he eats a whole lot better than just kibble, and great supplements too! I've been feeding THK Love for a couple months with coconut oil and probiotics and my pup is doing better than ever! She's been itchy since getting off of antibiotics, could be seasonal? Maybe your dog just needs a bath and a little olive oil rubbed into his itchy areas. If you really want to know your dog's food sensitivities check out Nutriscan by Hemopet. I'm on the fence about prepared raw as it's hard to transport. If that's a non issue, Darwin's sells a complete and balanced diet for your dog delivered to your door, it's expensive.


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

We did a blood panel on him for allergies (food and environmental) and everything came back negative. But I know food sensitivities may not show up on the blood test. I am doing it by elimination by adding one thing at a time and going slow. I may try the Nutriscan if this doesn't work. But right now he is responding much better to raw. 
My main concern is my lack of knowledge on feeding raw and making sure he gets what he needs. I am hoping by using the HK with the raw ground as my base will meet his nutritional requirements along with the supplements. He loves the Feed-SENTIALS K9 that I just received!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Maybe consider adding some fish (salmon) oil. 

I would check with THK about puppy growth -- not all of their formulas are all designed for all life stages, and I don't remember whether Preference is (their website is down currently). If you send them an email, they'll check with their nutritionist for you--they have great customer service.


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

I know their "Brave" formula is OK for puppies but feeding just that at his size would be extremely expensive at a box every 9 days. I will check with them on the "Preference". If it is not suitable for puppies I can put him back on kibble but I really hate doing that since he is doing so well right now. But not meeting his nutritional needs would be even worse. 

I just ordered some Sh-Emp Oil for him to replace the coconut oil I have been giving since it has fish and coconut oil in it.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

kigers24 said:


> I know their "Brave" formula is OK for puppies but feeding just that at his size would be extremely expensive at a box every 9 days. I will check with them on the "Preference".* If it is not suitable for puppies I can put him back on kibble but I really hate doing that since he is doing so well right now.* But not meeting his nutritional needs would be even worse.
> 
> I just ordered *Feed-SENTIALS K9 and Sunday Sundae for him.*
> 
> I just ordered some Sh-Emp Oil for him to replace the coconut oil I have been giving since it has fish and coconut oil in it.


*I would "bite the bullet", pay the extra $$$, and keep him on one of the appropriate HK products for 6 to 8 weeks until you can research raw feeding and come up with a plan. :wink2:*


Feed Sentials are FANTASTIC! 

LOVE this stuff! Contains the 3 oils (Herring, Hemp & Coconut) mixed into one providing Omega 3,6,9 and lauric acid!

Honest Kitchen products are great and have helped *many* dogs due to the fact that it is REAL food, Human grade and does not contain an abundance of ingredients.

The HK Preference and Kindly Base Mixes are listed for "Adults & Senior Dogs". The Cal/Phos is higher than the products I've listed below so you definitely want to check with customer service at HK (as magwart suggested).

*Brave* (fish), *Love* (beef), and *Embark* (turkey) are for "All Life Stages". You can add raw or cooked meat to these. 
Per HK site:
_"We recommend 1/2 to 1 cup of extra ingredients for each dry-measured cup of the food. A more active dog would have these quantities added to the regular food serving. For a less active or senior pet, you can cut back the amount of Honest Kitchen food to allow for the additional ingredients being included, and prevent the calories from increasing too much."_

Make sure that you stick with ONE recipe with ONE protein for 6 to 8 weeks if you are going to do a true "elimination diet". 
Also, be sure that your treats have one ingredient and match the protein you are feeding. Treats (of any kind), or anything that goes in his mouth, including recreation bones, can skew the progression/results of the elimination diet if not kept consistent with what you are feeding.

You can also prepare the HK, stuff into a "Kong" and freeze it!

So glad your dog is doing better!
Moms


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

OP, if you are stretching the budget to get the "right" THK product, one tip is to buy through OnlyNaturalPet.com -- with a promo code. They often have GREAT promos with free shipping when you buy two boxes at a time (the promos are often 15% off or more, or sometimes fixed dollar amounts). 

Set up an ebates.com account, and click through there every time you order from ONP, for 3% back as a rebate; you'll also get a couple percent back as a rebate credit from ONP, for reorders. Together it adds up to about another 5% net savings on top of the promo code you're using.


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

Thanks everyone!! I will check out ONP for the HK Embark. He is doing well with turkey but my concern with the Embark is it contains egg. I know he itches like crazy with kibble that contains chicken so I don't know if that will be a problem. The HK Love doesn't contain eggs but I have never given him beef before so I have no idea if that is a problem for him. So frustrating dealing with allergies but he is a great puppy with a wonderful temperament and I am willing to try and help him. I may end up having to go straight raw and read up on it to see where to start using turkey first. For treats he is getting Primal freeze dried Liver Munchies. For Moms I will keep him on the Feed Sentials products also even if I have to got back to kibble. But will only do that as a last resort since he isn't scratching himself raw and has logs instead of soft piles now...lol


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

kigers24 said:


> Thanks everyone!! I will check out ONP for the HK Embark. He is doing well with turkey but my concern with the Embark is it contains egg. I know he itches like crazy with kibble that contains chicken so I don't know if that will be a problem. The HK Love doesn't contain eggs but I have never given him beef before so I have no idea if that is a problem for him. So frustrating dealing with allergies but he is a great puppy with a wonderful temperament and I am willing to try and help him. I may end up having to go straight raw and read up on it to see where to start using turkey first.  For treats he is getting Primal freeze dried Liver Munchies. For Moms I will keep him on the Feed Sentials products also even if I have to got back to kibble. But will only do that as a last resort since he isn't scratching himself raw and has logs instead of soft piles now...lol


Beef? Turkey? or Pork Munchies?

Did you mean you were feeding All Life Stages 6 Fish (not LBP)?

I'd go with the LOVE beef (a novel protein for him) and Primal Beef Liver Munchies if he were mine. 

Just a thought here, but.....if he has only been eating fish (and no other kibble) and itching.....he may be sensitive to one or all of the fish that was in the Orijen 6 fish. So, you may want to just give Virgin, Organic,coconut oil with the HK for a time before using an oil with fish. 

Keep us posted!
Moms


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## kigers24 (May 24, 2016)

He is getting the Primal Turkey Liver Munchies. 
He was on Fromm Gold Holistic large Breed Puppy and was having soft stools and itchy skin. Then tried Orijen 6 Fish _Grain Free_ which is what I fed my last shepherd that I lost to cancer about 2 years ago, he was 12.5 years old and my PPD. Still no luck on the Orijen but I think it was too rich for him causing really soft stools so I took him off of it after about 4 weeks so not long enough to know for sure if fish was an issue also. I decided to try the HK with turkey and that is what is working well.

I can order a box of the HK Love from ONP that Magwart told me about (thank you!) and see if he is OK with the beef and some of the Primal beef liver munchies also. Should I add some raw ground beef from the start or see how he does on just the mix first? I can give him this for a few months but due to the cost I will need to see if I can cut the cost some by mixing in some raw beef for some of the HK. 

He loves frozen turkey necks. Will it be OK to still give him those or should I just use the beef at first to see how he does. 

He is not a high energy puppy. He is pretty calm and laid back most of the time, takes everything in stride. My possible future service dog for mobility assistance.

Maybe go back to the Preference when he is a year old? He loves it so I want to stay with that as my base when he is older.

Thanks so much for all your help...
Debbie


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Once his initial growth is done (when most people would switch to an adult kibble), I would think you could switch to Preference. I feed Preference right now to my 3 year old while I try (in vain it seems) to locally source other organ meats (he can't have beef and that's the ONLY non-liver organs I've seen here so far).


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

kigers24 said:


> He was on Fromm Gold Holistic large Breed Puppy and was having soft stools and itchy skin. Still no luck on the Orijen but I think it was too rich for him causing really soft stools so I took him off of it after about 4 weeks so not long enough to know for sure if fish was an issue also.
> Debbie


Ahhhhhh, got it!  Different foods.....different reactions.

Fromm has some type of chicken ingredient in all of their products (itching).

It's pretty typical for some dog's to get soft stool on Orijen.

So the Sh-Emp Oil should be fine.

Moms


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

kigers24 said:


> *1)*see if he is OK with the beef and some of the Primal beef liver munchies also.
> 
> *2)*Should I add some raw ground beef from the start or see how he does on just the mix first?
> 
> ...



*1)* I think that is a good plan.

*2)* Personal decision, but you might want to just try the HK for about a week to see, then start adding the raw.

*3)* Since he's been doing well on the necks, and you are not doing a total elimination diet, I think he would be fine.

*4)* I would still check the age with HK. Growth plates close at different times for different dogs so, I'm not at what age would be appropriate to feed the Preference. 
"In a normal sized dog, most  growth plates  are  closed at approximately 1 year of age. However, in very large or giant breed dogs, they may remain open until 18-20 month of age." 

Moms


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Galathiel said:


> while I try (in vain it seems) to locally source other organ meats (he can't have beef and that's the ONLY non-liver organs I've seen here so far).



You should be able to find (and stock up on) turkey "giblets" right now! Fill up your freezer. If your supermarkets don't stock them, ask the butcher department manager if they can order them frozen (by the case). Giblets is a culinary term that includes turkey hearts, livers, gizzards, and other organs.

If that doesn't work, look in Asian supermarkets. There are Ranch 99 stores in larger cities in Texas -- they are a large chain, and great place to source organ meats not sold in Western-style supermarkets.


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