Most Popular Q&As

Hi Ed and Cindy, This is the first time I have emailed you, though I have referenced your site more times than I can count over the years. I have owned working Shepherds for 10 years now (all of my adult life) and have fed raw this entire time. I feel that I know a lot about raw, much more than the average person. But right now I am questioning myself and it's driving me mad, so here is the deal: Last Monday I went to a trial and picked up kennel cough. It's the first time I have eve...

My mother has a female Yellow lab that she rescued when it was a couple years old. She drove by and saw it outside in a kennel and she was severely neglected. My mother has nursed her back to health and given her a very loving home for the past several years. She has socialized her the best she could. I believe that due to the lack of early socialization and training, she gets very aggressive (only barking and backing up) at some men (not all) and is very aggressive with other dogs at times. ...

I have a male and female ridgeback and 3 of their pups (2 males and 1 female). Females spayed, males intact. Pups are 17 months old. The one male challenges the other males only when we are not at home. I come home to bloody paving too often and he (the challenger)is always the one that loses the fight. Is it too late to neuter him? I don't want to give him away as he is the most loving most playful and respectful dog when we are around. He always loses but keeps growling at the other males. ...

Hi Ed, I just finished reading your article "Introducing a New Dog into a Home with Other Dogs". I found it very interesting. I just got another dog (Cotton de Tulear, little guy, 14 lbs) at my house. Now I have two. This new dog seems to have a problem of being "gluttonous." He finishes his food in 30 seconds and I am not exaggerating. The breeder told me that he could eat until he bursts. Anyway, I don't consider that as a big problem. The real problem is that when I give him a treat, he...

Hello, I have an adopted female/spayed German Shep, guessing between 3 & 6 years old. I am feeding BARF diet, along with your products, ie, alfalfa, kelp, and Vit C; no grains, only raw meat (primarily beef & chicken), bones, organ meats, pureed vegetables. I give cod liver oil and flaxseed oil (about 1:2 ratio) for EFAs, etc. Her coat is wonderful, and she appears generally alert and active, however, she seems to have some type of allergy. She does not have fleas or mites, and I am cu...

Hi Ed, right now my shepherd gets a salmon oil pill daily. She has since she was a pup. But lately she has been shedding alot more than usual. She has been fixed so it isn't the heat, and the season change hasn't been happening for the last consecutive 5 months. I know I should up the amount of pills she gets but not sure how much more. They are 1000mg per capsule. She absolutely loves it, so it won't be a problem giving her more. Could you please let me know how much more to give. Thanks.

I feed my 10 month old GSD raw food. To further add variety, I was wondering if I could feed him ribs, or steaks like a T-bone steak. I read on your site that ribs were fine. Just to verify since I thought rib bones were much harder than leg quarter bones...dogs can eat those, just as they do the leg quarters? And can they eat steaks that have bones in them like T-bones? Any experience? Thanks Adam

Dear Cindy, We have a 9 month old Black Russian Terrier. We bought him from a local breeder when he was approx. 4 1/2 months old. He was being fed raw chicken quarters. Two quarters in the morning and two quarters in the evening. We added some oil, kelp combination and a 'joint' powder as the breeder did. We also added some salmon and organ during the week and daily gave him some raw vegetables and fruit. Recently, we added chicken necks in the mix as the breeder went to a wholesaler and p...

Dear Cindy, I just wanted to thank you for putting information on your web site about raw diet. When I heard that a raw diet was the best for my puppy, I kept searching the web and it was hard to find menu. I found your web site to have the most information and answered my questions. I have found that if you do not give you dog enough RMB, they will have a loose stool. I was also wondering what are good RMB bones to feed to large breed puppies. From what I have found, I think turkey neck, ...

Hello, I will get right to the point since I know you are terrible busy. I have a female GSD that to us, is awesome. Great temperament and drive and a wonderful mother. Here is my problem, she has since a puppy, had bouts of loose stools. She will go along for a while doing just fine then start in with the runs. Also, she is pretty energetic yes, but I don't think she is overly, so I don't understand why we can not get weight on her. I have had a full blown blood work up done on her...

Hi: I have a one year old great Dane. I switched him completely to raw about a month ago. He is dropping weight, and also pretty short. I am feeding 3 chicken leg quarters and 4 chicken backs and either organ meat, or a can a fish (depending on the day) a day broken in two meals. I have another phone consult with my holistic vet, (there is no vet around here that will agree with raw feeding or no vaccines) She already thinks he's eating too much. Common sense says he needs more, but what...

Cindy, I'm hoping you have some good advice on this. We have been feeding our 135 lb. Boerboel a raw diet for several months now. I am so glad we switched!! I am a little confused about one thing, though. Everything I have read seems to say or imply that raw fish is ok 1-2 times a week. Is there a risk associated with feeding raw fish more often? And aside from salmon, are there types of fish that should be avoided? Are farm-raised fish as good as wild-caught? Thanks so much for yo...

It seems too complicated to feed a raw diet, I don?t have any free time to spend on this. How much time does it take each day to prepare the food?

I have small kids and I am worried about Salmonella and E-Coli!

What about Grains? I read that you don?t feed them to your dogs . Why not?

What about vegetables?

Are there parasites in raw meat?

I want to feed a raw diet but whole bones scare me! Can I grind them up before feeding?

What about feeding Raw and Kibble together, is that OK?

Hi Cindy, As always thank you very much in advance for you help and the answer. I am going to switch my 61/2 month old GSD to raw. I have a couple questions. She is our house dog and would like to train her as a personal protection dog. I work nights and she spends the day with me and the evening with my wife and children. How should we direct her during the cooking time of our own meals? She is always following my wife by her side during the house work (cooking, laundry...). W...