Food and Health Q&As

Hello Cindy, Do you have any good referrals for my needing to buy helps for my 12 year old dog who needs a rear harness to help her get up, and other such equipment? Also, would syn-flex or grand flex be best for her progressed hip dysplasia? Thank you so much. Dodie

I was just wondering if you guys have ever used the herbsmith clear allergy supplements that you sell with your dogs at your kennel? I am just looking for something to provide some relief to Sierra for her allergies. She has something that has definitely worsened since we moved out here to Arizona, and she is in absolute misery right now. The problem is, she's nursing the puppies and I don't want to give her anything that will harm them, but she needs something! I don't vaccinate her except r...

My Daughter thinks she's noticed a problem without almost six year old male Aussie's rear leg. Is it too early to start giving him Glucosamine and if so, do you have any recommendations as what to start him on as a preventative for future years. Also is it necessary? Our previous two male dogs really had problems in the end with arthritis. Thank you. Beverly

Cindy, I was looking at the biweekly newsletter and saw the herbal and holistic vitamins. I have a 4 year old beagle and she sometimes gets a little over excited and anxious when I bring her out to places. I am a trainer and she is getting much better with the help of training. She has no phobias or extreme anxieties, but I was wondering if maybe one of the calming or anxiety pills or supplements that you have may help out a bit. As long as its 100% natural I have no problem giving...

Hi Cindy, I have a 4 1/2 month doberman pup that I'm considering feeding Force. The breeder feels strongly that the puppy should be feed adult food with a protein content less than 20% so that she does not grow too quickly. So I'm think of feeding her a little less of the Force than recommended but mixing in some fruits, vegetables, oils, yogurt, etc. (items that have low protein content). Could you please let me know what you think about this? I'm also considering the Keen...

If I'm switching my puppy from kibble to Honest Kitchen should I do it gradually or it won't make a difference. I plan to feed him honest kitchen with raw meat. When I do feed the honest kitchen with meat should I only feed meat that has no bones at first or start with chicken wings with little bones until they get used to eating raw? Thanks in advance.

Hi Cindy, I have two small yorkshire terriers who have been eating Honest Kitchen for about 18 months. They are doing fantastic. I feed Preference and supplement with meat protein, fish, turkey, etc. The older one (12 years) had continuous tummy upsets (continuously soft stool) for the first 10 years of his life. Since eating Preference we have not had one instance of runny, soft stool. The younger one (2 years) was raised on it from the time he was 12 weeks old. Their coats are beautiful ...

Hi Cindy, Could you tell me how you wean pups to the Honest Kitchen product. I usually wean by using baby rice cereal and goats milk, gradually adding powdered kibble, then a little corser until the pups are eating kibble mixed with warm water. I have not weaned a litter to Honest Kitchen or a raw diet. Most of my buyers do not understand the raw concept so I have always gone to kibble. Thanks for help, Lewie

Hi Cindy, A friend recently recommended the Leerburg website to me as a #1 resource for getting started on raw feeding. I must say I have been more than impressed by the plethora of information available on your website. Thank you! I switched both of my senior dogs (American Pointer & GSD) off of a prescription kibble diet to a raw diet supplemented with the Honest Kitchen Verve formula as recommended here. They are both doing VERY WELL and LOVE the Verve formula as much a...

I noticed that on your website it says that the Honest Kitchen brands verve, force and embark are not made with intense heat? does that not hold true for the keen brand that Honest Kitchen offers? I've also been reading up on the harmful effects of vaccinations and I'm seeing it's not good for my dog but this is my problem: When I take him to the kennel they require that he be up to date on all vaccinations. I have not seen any kennel that does not require that, at least anywhere ...

I am a raw feeder for my dogs. I have recently took up raw eating for myself too and have learned if things are dehydrated at higher then 118 degree it begins to kill enzymes and is no longer considered raw. So I am wondering if your raw dehydrated dog food list what temperature it is dehydrated at as I would like to buy some if it is truly raw? Thank you, Robin

Hi Cindy, I wanted to thank you for all the help on starting with the new raw diet. Caddies itching has reduced by 60% (still some chewing and scratching but not like before) and this is just the first 3 weeks. She has gone from being lethargic to full of energy and personality. When I brought her home (she was a rescue) all she did was sleep and mope around, now it's like someone changed dogs on me and gave me this loving happy active dog. Oh how I love her even more now. I...

I currently feed my 3 Weimaraners (2 - 60 pounds, 1 - 80 pounds) Honest Kitchen, Embark and Force, (sometimes Preference). I am also feeding them raw in the morning, RMB's and meat, (alternate). I tried asking the people on the H.K. forum this question but I don't think they are understanding me. I am reading your questions and answers maybe you can help me? You mention something about giving 1/2 of H.K. to cut the cost down. So, if I am reading this right, instead o...

Hi Cindy, I have a ten month old cocker spaniel that I suspect has some allergies-not sure what specifically but I thought a grain free food would be a good place to start. I am presently feeding him Natural Balance fish and sweet potato dry kibble-it was suggested after I tried giving him Orijen for a couple of weeks -but he had bloody stools( to much protein maybe) but he seemed to like it-he does not seem to like the Natural Balance I am feeding him now. My question is-does Hone...

Hello, First I would like to say your site has helped me so much. Also your DVDs are great. I have my little 5 pound yorkie on Embark. She seems to be itching a bit less than she was on kibble. This and her general health was my reason for changing her diet. I feed her embark alone, no supplements. My main question is that she is having three BM's a day, She had less than that on kibble. I thought it would be less than on kibble. Is this normal or is this not the right Honest Kitch...

Its hard to add a feeding schedule when I work away from home. Do you think adding it to kibble is a bad idea? I don't have an reservations about feeding the Honest Kitchen with additional meat. However, what meats would you add that would be easy? Also, I have three Great Danes; wouldn't it get quite costly to do the meat add ins? Thanks, Amy

Hi Cindy, I have three Danes between the ages of 14-17 months that I'm feeding the Wellness Core (grain free) Ocean formula. I am thinking about substituting the can mix in that I'm using in conjunction with their kibble with the Honest Kitchen, but wondering which one would be more favored for a picky/finicky eater. One of my Danes is petite and its hard to find something that she really is 'crazy' about enough to keep eating and maintain her weight. Its amazing what 3-5 lbs can ...

Hi Cindy, I have 2 poodle mix dogs they are both 3 yrs old. I have been feeding them force for over a year now and they get along great with it. I put some high quality canned on top of it and some cooked meat. My question is about calories, I was considering switching to Verve, Is it less calories? Is it ok to switch back and forth between force and verve? They are fairly active but being small it is easy to put on weight. The canned food I use is Spot's Stew & Merrick. They also ...

Cindy, Hello. I have been talking with Connie back & forth on the leerburg forums in regards to raw feeding. We are going to be switching from kibble to THK & get started on the raw. What should we introduce with the THK to our dogs? What THK should we purchase? Any ideas you can provide is greatly appreciated. Do you need the weight & ages of my dogs? I have been wanting to go raw for a few years now but I have been very intimidated on getting the raw feeding right for our pups. W...

Hi, I am using Preference for my 5 yr. old Dogo and my 8 yr. old Golden. I will be getting a Lab puppy about 8 weeks old. Should I use Preference and does it have the right ratio of calcium and phosphorus? Dogs can develop a bone disease when the calcium/ phosphorus ratio is disrupted. I always add beef meat and pork and sometimes chicken. I do cook the meat. Should I be adding calcium to the diet? I do give them yogurt add vitamin E and eggs a few times a week. They also get Acai & Goji ...