# your thoughs on dehydrated raw?



## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Hi there,

I have never done the raw feeding thing and I can't say I'm planning to do it like many of you do - real meat & manual labor preparation. They don't call it "barf" for nothing because that's what I'd be doing with that route.

I learned just today about dehydrated raw which I'm now very curious about. I'm going to try to do a bit of math cost comparison. Considering what we feed now, it might not be so highly priced as I'm thinking.

But anyway before I get myself all off in yet ANOTHER dog food direction I'm asking the raw feeding experts here ... what's your thoughts on dehydrated raw? I don't mean freeze dried either. 

Do you have any recommendations on what brand is good? This is the one that was shown to me:

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/

but being a potential newbie to this raw stuff, I'm looking forward to your input. Thanks!


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## MelissaHoyer (Sep 8, 2006)

I have fed THK before and I think it is a great way to ease into raw feeding for those that are not comfortable with the "nitty gritty" so to speak







I mostly fed it when I forgot to thaw out meat and to provide some extra variety.

One thing that is great about it is that for every 1 cup of THK you mix up, you can add up to 1 cup of extra meat (raw, cooked, whatever!) and still remain balanced. I truly think this is the best way to keep your costs down too by buying cheap cuts of meat and throwing them in there...better for your dogs IMO and better for the budget!


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## Doc (Jan 13, 2009)

I have been using The Honest Kitchen for over a year now. I also do the raw prey model. The Honest Kitchen is so easy and my dogs love it. Embark and Keen seem to be their favorite. Call Jena at THK and ask for some samples. They are very nice people and good to work with.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Rafi is on preprepared raw and I since I got some free samples of THK he has been on that for about a week now too. He loves it, he's digesting it well, it's easy and the company is great so I will be continuing to use it.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

What can I expect for poop on this stuff? I really don't wanna have pooh puddles. I prefer the "logs" that I easily pick up now, LOL!

What's the consistency after it's mixed w/the water?


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

It's one of the 2 things Dante has put his feet on the counter for (the other was a toy).
I don't feed it often, but from time to time pick up samples from my friend's store so I really can't comment on the poops.


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## balakai (Feb 9, 2005)

I have been using HK products for several years now. I prefer the grain-free, but the Keen and Thrive have been easier on the budget so that's what I've been using lately. My terriers get this for breakfast every day. India has had some as well. I ALWAYS mix it with raw meat (turkey, beef, beef heart, venison, pork, chicken). I can get ground beef heart for 50 cents per pound, so that really makes it much more affordable.

Poop is similar to what I get with grain-free kibble.

It's interesting, but the different formulas have different consistencies when rehydrated. I weigh it when I rehydrate, so I know that I'm using the same amount of dry and water, but one formula (Thrive?) is thicker than the others. One is pretty runny (the turkey grain-free?).

~Kristin


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Rafi's poops are perfect on it. The consistency is kind of like a really thick oatmeal.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Well, we bought a 4lb box of the Embark and one of the single serving of the Force, which is opposite of what I wanted but it's all they had at the store. Came home and tried the single serving. Dumb time to try it as they had eaten a good breakfast just a couple hours before.

Riley was funny, hubby was spoon feeding this stuff. Riley took his first mouthful and did that "blech, what the h--- is this in my mouth ?!?!?!?!?!?" routine. I'm sure it was the texture. He did eat it but he had this very strange look on his face and he mushed it around in his mouth really weird. Nissa scarfed it right down. 

Tonight for dinner I mixed some dry with what was left of the stuff we tested when we got home and they didn't touch it. I'm hoping it's just because they weren't hungry. I guess I should have bought at least 2 of the single servings because I really hate to open the box if they're not going to eat the stuff. Once it's open I can't take it back and that's like throwing nearly $50 in the trash









It's good to know the poops should still be log rolls, thanks!


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## meisha98 (Aug 27, 2008)

We've tried the HK route as well as freeze dried patties and nuggets by another company (name escapes me). They are all great although I believe that in general HK is probably the least expensive route. I alternate freeze dried raw or frozen raw (Stella and Chewy's) with their kibble or canned (natural) for variety. Poops will be fine once they are adjusted to it. My dogs have gotten used to the switching around and may have a "soft" one from time to time but other than that, no problems.


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## jake (Sep 11, 2004)

I personally do not see anything wrong with dehydrated raw -EXCEPT PRICE. Having had probs in past would just say -give change a chance?If you look at fillers and additives -real human super market meat (especially on markdown) may be a good choice.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I've used dehydrated raw to incorporate some extra variety into my dogs' diet. I use Addiction brand.

http://www.addictionfoods.com/usa/index.php 

Whew! Expensive. But my dogs loved it, and it was exactly like feeding regular raw. 

I'm a vegetarian and swore I'd never feed my dogs raw. I was literally nauseous as anything when I started to (because my GSD could NOT eat anything else). But now? Eh, it's like anything else: you get used to it. 

Try the dehydrated stuff. If you and your dogs like it, you can buy prepacked raw (which is cheaper). If that goes well, you can buy packages of drumsticks, quarters and thighs (already cut up) to supplement. Use tongs and lots of white towels that you can wash with lots of bleach.

Pretty soon, you'll be cutting up raw liver and serving it up without thinking about it.

Ok, raw organ meat still makes me gag, and I don't buy hunks of animals that have to be chopped up if I don't have to (I draw the line at chopping up turkeys, chickens and duck. For red meats, I buy roasts or legs of lamb that I can cut clean and neat). When possible, I prefer to spend a bit more and buy the meat pre-chopped. 

But there is a way to do it without actually barfing.







But it makes sense to start with the dry route and see if you like the results first.


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

This stuff looks very interesting, would probably work nicely if we ever get to do any overnight hikes. Thanks for the links!


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom Pretty soon, you'll be cutting up raw liver and serving it up without thinking about it.
> 
> Ok, raw organ meat still makes me gag,


I'm not a vegetarian.

I bought some liver for Dante, once.
I couldn't even take it out of the tub









Luckily for me, I don't feed a full time raw diet and so just buy "stuff" that is either prepared or necks etc to suppliment his diet.


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

I'm trying to price out how much it would cost to feed two 80 lb. dogs Addiction. Is it really $100 a week? I'd love to try it, but that's twice what I spend now.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

This Addiction stuff says you can see the chunks of meat etc ... right now we've just switched over to the grain free dehydraded from http://www.thehonestkitchen.com and there's no visible chunks in it unless you count the banana slices. So, just how well DO you see the meat in the Addiction stuff? It's pricier than the stuff we're currently using (you get 10lbs of Honest Kitchen for the price of Addiction's 8lb box) but I can't say I'm fond of the consistency and not sure the furkids are either - they eat it but I feel like I'm mixing up baby oatmeal for them










We first bought a 4lb box of the Honest Kitchen, it lasted 9 days for 2 dogs @ 1c of Honest Kitchen per dog per meal and they're fed 2x a day. Hope that helps. I've just opened the first 10lb box and I'm dating them so I can figure later.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: LJsMomI'm trying to price out how much it would cost to feed two 80 lb. dogs Addiction. Is it really $100 a week? I'd love to try it, but that's twice what I spend now.


Joanne, see my post just above. No it's not $100wk. I wouldn't/couldn't afford to be doing it if it was.


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try the Addiction. Due to allergies, I can't feed Honest Kitchen.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Joanne,

Would you report back here on the Addiction food or start a new thread or whatever? I'm very curious to know what their definition of being able to see the meat chunks in the food really is.

I think it's odd they don't have one single picture of the stuff made up in a bowl or something on their web site. That makes me suspicious of embellished marketing.

The Honest Kitchen looked really different than I'd imagined a dried meat product would look like.

At this point, I'm about halfway through a 10lb box of the Force. So, rough guess a 10lb box will feed my 2 for about two weeks. I'd need 2 boxes a month, again rough figure.


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

I posted in your new thread.


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