Hey Guys,
I am looking for opinions on this dehydrated food.

http://www.sojos.com/complete.html

http://www.sojos.com/complete_info.html

It would be for my 5 1/2 month old Shepherd pup. I am going to be going away for weekends on and off during the next two months, and I would like to make it easier on the "puppy sitter" for her to be fed. This stuff sounds GREAT, and it is readily available at my local feed store. She is fed a raw diet right now, with salmon oil, seameal and nupro added. It really seems cost effective as the 8Lb bag makes 52 lbs of food and for $80/bag, that is 20lbs more of food than the kibble that is $70/bag.

Anyone heard or used this on a pup. She already gets recreational beef/bison/moose bones (she is very good and does not try to crush anything yet )

My only other option would be Orijen puppy or Taste of the Wild, but I want to stay close to raw if possible.

Anyone with experience long term with this food or similar on growth with a puppy?

I have heard of it, but have only used the dehyd veggies here and there. Plus I am not very experienced with puppies and feeding..mostly adults and seniors. So am of no help, sorry.

I can take a survey if you don't get responses as I know that our local pet goodies store carries it.

Thanks Aimee!!

I've used it. A rep for the company gave me some to try out, in hopes I would carry it in my store. I opted not to pick up the line. I didn't *dislike* it, but didn't find it to be anything at all close to raw once hydrated. There was a veggie version, which seemed helpful as supplements to raw when produce was running low. Overall, it's got an oatmeal-like consistency when ready to feed, and my own dog's enthusiasm was lukewarm. If your sitter wouldn't be opposed to thawing and maybe cracking an egg, I'd freeze meal-sized portions of the usual raw food in advance. Or if it's just a weekend away, just a sealed container in the 'fridge would probably work. If you do try it, please update us. I only tested it out off and on for a dozen or so tries.

Even though the dehydrated raw foods do have odd that oatmeal/stew consistency (necessarily, since they must be finely grated or "shaved" in order to be dehydrated at low temperatures rather than kibbled and long-baked), they have many good points. Not least of these (IMO) is that they are appropriate for combining with RMBs and/or raw meat (cooked meat, too, of course).

What are the chances of the sitter using the dehydrated food and adding RMBs? Even raw or cooked boneless meat is fine, as long as you stay within the package guidelines for how much boneless meat you can add and still stay balanced (in calcium:phosphorus).

I did have to accustom my dogs to THK at first, and I would not recommend doing this cold-turkey (so to speak ) at vacation time. However, after a few days, my dogs were salivating when they smelled it rehydrating. Now I always have it on hand for travel and emergencies, with raw (and sometimes even cooked) add-ins.

I like very much the fact that these are low-temp dried rather than baked to death. This does mean that the texture is strange to the dog at first, as Chip mentioned.

If you use real RMB add-ins, you can be pretty loose about the ratio of dehydrated to add-ins because the RMBs are calcium:phosphorus balanced on their own. If you use, say, cooked meat (for the convenience of the sitter), then just follow their add-in recommendations.

I don't know this particular brand, so I don't know whether it's as good as THK* as far as superior ingredients go. Do you have a link to the ingredient list?



*
I keep Force (or Embark) from LB handy, almost always: http://leerburg.com/honestkitchen.htm

I occasionally use it rehydrated to a "gravy" consistency and poured over the usual raw dinner just for variety.

One thing that was a bit concerning to me is in the FAQ section, there was a question about getting a dog to gain weight. The answer that they gave was to add avocados and alfalfa powder.

I am personally hesitant to feed my dogs a food made by a company that recommends adding avocado, as avocado has the potential to be toxic to some dogs.

Just my opinion, but if I was going to do dehydrated for a pup, I would do Embark from The Honest Kitchen.

Ok, most felt that HK and Sojos were similar enough in ingredients and quality and neither complete enough to not add the meat, plus both loaded with carbs which is never a good thing. Then you have to look at it being processed, but this isn't a food you are going to feed long term... Seems more people are more familiar and comfortable with HK.

I am liking THK.

It really takes some of the worries out of finding enough variety feeding raw. It has made raw feeding easier for me since my dog has decided that all poultry is inedible.

Embark with some pork, lamb, beef, liver or fish mixed it and we have our bases covered. I would also feel totally comfortable feeding it as a stand alone diet if I ever had to have a petsitter.

I only feed the other meat and rmbs because it is fun to play zookeeper!

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I am going to try the Sojo's and see how it goes. THK and Honest Kitchen are not available here and I would have to have them shipped, which if not for the HORRENDOUS shipping costs I would be willing to do.

If all else fails, Orijen, here we come