Food and Health Q&As

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...

Hi Cindy, I've been having a big problem with my German Shepherd's skin. He seems to have an infection. He has lost some of his fur and he smells. I took him to the vet but he has been unable to clear the problem. He prescribed some antibiotics and he gave him a steriod shot but the problem persists. His ears are also affected. He also itches. I have tried different diets but no change. Would you have anything I can buy to help my beloved shepherd. Thank You

Hi Cindy, I am so glad I found your site as I purchased a German Shepherd puppy and will be bringing her home December 15th. Her diet currently consists of Royal Canin and milk replacer. I would like to switch her to a Raw diet and if you have any suggestions on what would be easiest on her? I have a lot of venison available, could I use that at first or should I buy some ground beef? I purchased Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats and Raw Dog Food (just waiting for them to arrive) but wou...

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...

We have a 8 1/2 year old Kangal from Turkey. His name is Yurek. We have had him since he was 10 weeks old fed him a raw food diet, he weighs 136lbs.. We boil Chickens, have raw meat cut into 1? stew size and he eats around 3lbs per day. He recently has been having some stomach problem is there anything I can give him to settle his stomach down. Robert

Cindy, Should I have concern over my GSD's eating chickens that ARE NOT "free range" or "organic" fed chickens? A health food store employee asked me about long-term concerns due to all the hormone injections into grocery store chickens and chickens from a restaurant supplier and that this may cause high estrogen levels in the dogs over long term feeding? Also, why do you add salmon oil to the food rather than herring oil or other fish oils? Is the fish oil mainly for the coat or "brain...

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 Cindy, First I just wanted to thank you for your excellent web-site and DVDs. They have been a god-send for me and my 12 month old GSD (He is a great grandson of Otis). After reading your web-site, and watching Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Basic Dog Obedience about a million times, I decided to try out the BARF diet and see how my boy does on it. After a few weeks of gradually incorporating it into his diet, he now won't even look at his Solid Gold kibble! The only problem is, ...

Hi Cindy, Sure could use some help with some foods. I have German Pinschers and have tried the raw diets, the blood work is a real mess on the Pinschers. But I'm looking for a really good food I can feed them. I live in a po-dunk little town, that if you don't feed Ole Roy your in trouble. So I sure could use your help. I do not know about any of the foods you sell at Leerburg, so I'm vey interested in what you have to say. Thanks, Linda

Hey, True or false. It is a myth that dog kibble food containing 42% protein can burn up a dogs kidneys? I am feeding my golden retriever conformation show dog Orijen dog food made by Champion Pets out of Canada. (Please see their white paper on their web site) I chose this food because it is grain free, made from quality ingredients, and high in protien. My supposition is that it takes protein to grow the lush coat I am looking for in my 19 month old open bitch. Thanks Ed, Bill Pondv...

Hello, I bred my poodle about 60 days ago. She was a finicky eater so I tried Walmart brand cat food, beef and gravy. I was happy that she really enjoys it, but now reading on the internet, it warns not to feed cat food because it has additional fat and protein. Is that really a bad thing for a pregnant dog? Her stools have been perfect, but that basically is the only thing she eats, although I mix it in with Purina puppy chow. Sometimes she will eat some of the chow, sometimes not. Do yo...

I've had Sheba on Blue Buffalo with limited results. I also supplement with NuvetPlus. Based on your information on raw diets I've decided to switch. However, I have a few questions. You say to only feed chicken for a few weeks and then begin adding other types of meat, etc. Sheba is 62 lbs. so I believe I should feed almost 2 lbs per day. Should I split this in half and feed two times a day or just once? I usually feed 75% at night and the rest in the morning. Next do you see any reason to s...

I have a GSD who is a year and 8 months old, she only weighs 62 pounds, I heard that they continue growing till the age of 3 yrs old is that true? Also about her weight the vet says she is perfect all blood work normal and he says her weight is just fine but I was always told you should be able to feel the ribs and only be able to see them when they inhale. We had her on Royal Canin for German shepherds but after not seeing a change in her weight in a year I tried the chicken soup for dog ...

Hi Cindy, I received the books you recommended on feeding raw last Thursday. I started my GSD on Friday with the chicken backs and necks. I happy to say he's loving it! My question to you is about his poop. He is only going once or twice a day in very small amounts. Is this normal? I'm not sure if he's constipated. He has always had very loose and large stinky stools, so this is an extreme change. Also, I took him to the vet to check on his sore elbow and shoulder, he embarrassed me. He...

Hi Cindy, I have a 4-year-old GSD. I would like to start him on a raw diet. He has always been on kibble. He has an extremely sensitive stomach. He never has a solid stool and any type of food change causes major diarrhea. Can you suggest how I should start the process and also recommend the best book to start with. He is an athletic dog and loves to jump in the air for frisbees. This activity makes his shoulder sore. I was wondering if changing to raw would help his joints stay healthy or...

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, ...

Cindy, I am reading Raw Meaty Bones from cover to cover. Can you tell me some other good books that you follow on raw diets. We are going to start processing our own beef for the dogs. We are ranchers and are going to butcher a grass fed steer for the purpose of feeding the dogs. Do you recommend grinding the organ meat along with everything else. I thought that would be the way to do it. What is your opinion? Laura

Dear Cindy: I have a 5 year old German Shepherd male who has food allergies. He is allergic to chicken, rice and carrots. We are presently feeding him potato and duck light dog food from Royal Canon. This dog food costs $60.70 per 18 lb bag. We give him duck chips from Smokehouse for treats. In order to supplement and stretch the expensive food, I tried adding some Alpo prime cuts beef but his stool became loose. The vet said Alpo was the very worst food which I didn't know. The vet gav...

Hi Cindy, I have a 2 year old male Siberian Husky. For about 6 months I fed him a raw food diet. He loved it and did quite well on it. Two problems arose however. One, it was difficult to keep weight on him no matter how much I fed him. Two, it became expensive and cumbersome. In an attempt to fix these problems I switched to the Honest Kitchens dehydrated raw food and also supplemented with raw meat, eggs, etc. He refused to eat. Turned his nose up every time and would go days without ...

Dear Cindy, You answered a question for me a couple of years ago and I wondered if you can do it again. I purchased a 2 year old American pitbull terrier in April 2008 and I'm having trouble with him adjusting to his raw diet. He will eat the meat and bones part just fine but when it comes to the veggies, he will not budge. I do not feed him veggies every day, just a couple times a week but to no avail. Tried steaming them, didn't work. Yogurt or cottage cheese didn't work. Switched him to...