Food and Health Q&As

Hi Cindy, I noticed by your newsletters that you all are pretty involved in feeding raw and support certain grain free products etc...Thought you might be able to help me out. I have a GSD and the best we can narrow it down he is allergic to wheat. When he was younger he had some strange GI issues...neg EPI tests, did okay on Science Diet I/D (which is mostly corn and chicken as you know) had some antibiotics and has been fine ever since. I have kept him on a fish based grain free diet s...

Hi Cindy, I have written you before and you have helped a great deal. I have a 2 1/2 year old GSD. We have a lot of children in the house. In order to keep him from taking food from them (and from strangers). He was taught a release command. Unless it was from one of four people he will not take food unless given the release command (this has worked well with my previous dogs). Some how, I am not sure when, something has went wrong. He will no longer eat anything unless he gets it from m...

Hi Ed, I have a question for you we have a German shepherd male dog which is 12 months old and just will not eat we have tried all sorts of things (fresh meat, home made stew, BBQ chicken, Sardines, eggs, 100% natural canned food, dry food, etc) and just can not get him to eat correctly he is in very good heath as we have had him to the vets. please can you give us some Ideas!!! Thanks, Colleen

Hi Cindy, I really appreciate your website & articles. I just rec'd a couple of training videos from you and I can't wait to get started on the Michael Ellis Focused Heeling one. :-) I have a raw diet question for you. I have been feeding my pup raw since she was about 5 months old and she is doing great (she's now 2 & a half). I read Kymythy Schultze's diet, most (if not all) the articles on your site re: raw diets, and quite a few other articles and books in between. I am very c...

Hi Cindy, I switched to the raw diet and things are going well. However, my wife has some concerns regarding the dog licking the kids and household items after feeding. She is concerned with cross contamination of household items and the kids. I have a one year old and a three year old. Can salmonella and E-Coli be passed through stool as well. I pick up the dog's stool but sometimes I miss a few. She is most worried about the chicken quarters. This may be addressed in the DVD I have comin...

Hi Cindy, I love your website, found you when looking for a muzzle for my rock eating labrador. I started him on the Honest Kitchen(Force) after surgery for rock removal. I have since added chicken quarters and then tried some beef after several weeks of chicken. He has gotten increasingly itchy and I have gone back to just feeding chicken quarters and a small amount of Honest Kitchen(Force). He is still very itchy and I am concerned that maybe something in the Honest Kitchen is making him...

Hi Cindy, I have three German Shepard which I feed raw diet to and veggies and supplements. Recently I was feeling that my female who is 12 years old is having difficulty with the raw food. She recently had surgery for mammary cancer and is on an Chinese herbal supplementation for it and doing remarkably well. Her eating habits were always on the low side (sometimes eating once every 2 days) and seemed to pick up when being fed tripe, but now she is more picky. If I feed her cooked meats -...

Mr. Frawley, I want to quickly say that what you have done with your site and eBooks has turned my interest for my dogs into a passion and have steadily increased both my wife and I?s as well as our dogs quality of life, and I thank you for it. I know that you are not a dog nutritionist, but you have a lot of experience with feeding so I want to ask you what you would do if you were me. Situation: I have 4 dogs, two females, to males, all rescues, all under the age of 2 years, betwee...

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 courser 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

3 year old GSD with an extremely sensitive stomach ... We feed him Royal Canin GSD. Often, his stools are somewhat pudding like. No diarrhea, No giardia (he did have it bad when he was young). We are doing chicken and rice right now with some flagil (as recommended by our vet who we trust greatly). Are there any supplements that you can recommend which can help rebuild and maintain his system? There's so many... What's your best recommendation? Thanks so much. Frank

Dear Cindy, I'm very excited I found your website; it's so informative and helpful. I have a so-called long-hair GSD (technically still a puppy, he has just turned 8 months). The only problem that 'I'm still trying to solve is feeding. He is not a good eater. We really have to crawl after the dog on all fours around all house and try to hand feed him. He wouldn't eat from his bowl, it's a stainless-steel bowl and he is drink his water from exact same one mounted right next to the one wit...

Hello Cindy, I feed my female GSD raw: meat & bones only. I started a week ago. But I am not sure if I could mix meat of different animal in one meal. For example I give her chicken quarter & ground beef together. Or chicken thigh, chicken gizzards & beef liver all together. Could you tell me please if it is OK. She seems fine & very active, but I always doubt my actions when it concerns her health. I also noticed in your menu that you do not give many bones. I give my girl chicken qua...

Hi Cindy, I have some questions for you and thank you in advance:) I am receiving 3 GSD pups for K9 training from 8-10 weeks...I am a raw feeder, but ran into an issue with my older shepherds recently... e coli, so I am a little hesitant to feed this anymore, but do not want to feed a commercial kibble. So, let me list my questions regarding the pups: Food issues: 1. What would be the most economical way to feed the dogs, but with the best nutrition? 2. Would Honest Kitchen work it ...

Hello, I was told that if I ask you a question you would answer them to the best of your ability. If I was told incorrect information please accept my apologize. My question is do you have any idea why when I try and put my dogs halter on him to go for walks he freaks out. He is a cocker spaniel and when we try he will run all over the house until we get him cornered and when we do get the harness on him he will try to rub it off. I have checked under his leg for soars and there is none af...

Hello, Cindy. I would like to get my dogs off dry kibble, but do not want to go all raw just yet. I have been reading over the information on your website and would like to try Honest Kitchen. However, I am having a hard time deciding which formula to pick. I have a two year old German Shepherd that had pano when he was younger. The vet said to feed a food that contains glucosamine and chondroitin. I have been feeding him Royal Canin. He is a pretty active dog and gets approximately 3 hours ...

Hey Cindy, I have been feeding my GSD a raw diet ever since visiting your website and I couldn't be happier with the results. Now I'm getting a Lhasa Apso puppy and I'm wondering how to go about feeding such a small dog. He will probably only be about 5 pounds when I get him. Can I give him a small chicken wing or should I wait until he gets his adult teeth before feeding him any RMBs? Any advice on feeding him would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Boyd

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 have a ques...

Hi, Can you tell me if there would be any problems with feeding my dogs venison in place of beef? Would there be anything that I had to worry about because it is a wild animal, or are the cows we eat dirtier than wild deer? Thank you, Jackie

I have a 70 lb male and a 60 lb female. How many lbs of chicken should I feed them for their meal? I would love to buy your DVDs on feeding, but I cannot afford it at the time. Although I do have your pack structure and obdience DVDs. I am glad to share your info with every dog owner that I meet. Thank you, Jackie

I was hoping you might be kind enough to give me your opinion on a situation I'm having with my rottweiler. He is a kind and gentle boy who just turned three years old. The problem we have is that when he is in the yard he grazes on grass, mud, sticks, and on occasion his own feces. After doing this he becomes sick to his stomach in the house, or even worse...he has explosive diarrhea. Believe me it's a mess! This has happened on multiple occasions. If I call him, it becomes a game and he ...