So guys, I'm taking the long route to switch one of my dogs to eating raw food and in doing so decided to put her on THK Preference with supplemented meat, mainly for convenience. I will gradually over time increase the consistency of the meat until she will eat raw food in chunks(bigger than ground). I am however feeding them both the same just due to the fact that it is easier.

My questions are relating to feeding the dog though. My first question is in regards to feeding the diet. My dogs are 55lbs each roughly. I want to feed them the 60 lbs amount though as that would be the ideal weight they should be plus there metabolism is through the roof. Now I am looking over the feeding requirements, but I am finding that the instructions are very vague in how much you should feed. Anyone have an idea of how to help me in those regards? Are you following the 3% or what? I just haven't had a chance to call the company about it, but wanted to hear how others are accomplishing this.

My second question is actually in regards to the stool. My dogs seem to be pooping the same amount as before, but instead of just twice a day, it is three times a day. Not a big deal, and the consistency is OK, but it is actually what is in the stool that I am questioning. The stool is formed, not hard nor soft except during exercise, but it seems it is just THK coming right back out of their system. By this I mean I am seeing actual pieces of THK coming right back out. Is this normal? I am not new to food or stool, but it just seems like a ridiculous amount to the point where you can see individual fibers just looking at the stool rather than actually examining it. How is this showing my dogs are receiving all of the nutritional value out of this food? Are my dogs the only ones who seem to be doing this? The reason I bring this up is I just feel my dogs are just not getting much nutritional value from this food if it is just coming back out the way it goes in. If this is going to be the case, I might as well just go back to raw using my own mix as my dogs, not the one who won't eat big pieces, seemed to break down the food better and so it truly came out unrecognizable besides the bone fragments. Any thoughts on this as well?

Just looking for any responses so please feel free to add or ask me whatever in order to get these questions answered. Thank you.

-Lamarr

How long are you rehydrating (second part of post)? I suspect either too little water or too short a rehydration period. (The additional stool is not abnormal.)

I ask about rehydration because I have not seen this (I tend to leave it to rehydrate for a long time) when I use THK: "Are my dogs the only ones who seem to be doing this? The reason I bring this up is I just feel my dogs are just not getting much nutritional value from this food if it is just coming back out the way it goes in."

I am looking on a box of THK. In the 50-70 pound range, it has low to high, meaning exercise and metabolism. Unless I had couch potatoes, I'd probably start right in the middle and carefully watch body shape/condition and weight, then adjust if necessary.

But let me see if I'm clear first: Are you adding RMBs or meat yet? Or are we talking straight THK?


Also, they are very helpful by email and phone (on back of box, below the feeding guidelines, the very bottom 2 lines).

Hydrating the food the night before in the fridge fixed the digestion problems with mine. Otherwise, it was like what you describe. THK in, and THK out.

Turds were still green, but didn't look so much like formed THK anymore.

Thanks for the responses. Ok, so I've ranged my hydration period from the 10-20 minute range. I've added more and more water as well which is why I asked this question. The digestion isn't an issue really at all. Actually, this is the best stool coming to a new food one of my dogs has ever had. It is surely amazing as the only other best food transitioning to was raw food. How much water am I supposed to be adding? I thought it is the same amount as you give in the formula. So the same 1:1 ratio. Correct? Anyways, I'll try the overnight thing and see if it will work.

As for what I am mixing it with, I am using preference and I have been using just meat(ground only) supplemented with bone meal for the dogs. Like I said, one of the dogs is anti bone/big pieces of meat. Won't eat turkey necks, backs, thighs, etc with or without bone. I'm trying to transition to that. She will do only bone though(marrow bones mainly), just not meat with equal part bone. I am also using pro-biotics as well mixed in.

One other question I just thought of as well. If I make the food ahead of time, is it safe to freeze and defrost for a later date? Just wondering to help in the convenience factor. Also, what is the conversion of 1 cup of meat to pounds? I am giving roughly 2 pounds of meat a day to each dog which seems to be working for now, but knowing past history, might be too little in the long run. We will see though but do you think that is a good amount for them?

Thank you again and I will be calling THK later today if I get the opportunity. Hate emailing as I get too impatient with waiting.

-Lamarr

Lamarr, I feed THK on occasion, and have noticed the same thing with some of them. Specifically the Verve version. Actually, if I can get him to eat it, it comes out with the rye intact. I am gonna donate this box (so if anyone lives on the central coast of CA, come and get it! )

I (well, my dogs) really like the Force, and do very well with it, so we will be sticking with that one from now on...

Anyway, my point is, besides the super soak (and I give it VERY watery to help get extra water in my dog that doesn't drink much on his own...) some dogs just don't do as well on some varieties. By a small sample or small box of each and see if that makes any difference...

Thanks for that information. I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing this issue. I will have to give those other flavors a go as well to figure this out. My dogs tend to only drink water when I am present but when the do, they drink the ocean so I might just have to heavily soak this food to help with that, but on the reverse hand, they inhale the food so either option isn't that great.

Well I just called THK but had to leave a message as the consultant was busy. When I get that call and discuss some things with them, ill let you all know what transpired.

Even though I'm waiting to talk to THK, please keep answering my previous questions if possible. I like fellow consumer responses on products so it is appreciated. Thank you

-Lamarr

"One other question I just thought of as well. If I make the food ahead of time, is it safe to freeze and defrost for a later date?"

Yes, as long as it's defrosted in the fridge (and probably even if not; I am being conservative).

Sorry for the delayed response. The reason I went to the meatless variety was due to the fact that one of my dogs has an issue doing multiple meat sources at once. On top of that, the reason I am going back to raw food is because I need for my dogs to keep weight on and gradually gain weight over time. When fed poultry, I have to feed a lot more than if I fed some other meats.

RMBs cant be added at this time due to one dog will not eat them. No eggs because one dog will not eat them. Capsules, I can do, but right now I am transitioning bone meal with pieces of egg which is working so I feel that by the end of next week I will regularly be giving eggs. I hate bone meal myself, just needed it for this transition period, same thing with THK Preference.

So I talked to the representative at THK yesterday. It was quite the struggle as my phone seemed to break on me right when she tried to call me. In short, I think there was a huge lack of communication just because I wasn't able to explain myself clear enough I think. Right now again though, I will have to ask you all who feed honest kitchen, how are you determining how much meat you're feeding with your THK? The answer I received from THK was to stick the meat in a literal cup and measure which seems at times not plausible because of shape, bone, etc. So unless I always stuck with ground meat it would work. The only thing I can think of doing is weighing a cup, putting ground meat in cup, weighing that subtracting cup from total, this will give me the amount of weight is in a cup and a half of food, but then again, different types and parts of meat weigh differently so it just doesn't seem too accurate. Am I just thinking too hard here?

Also, THK representative, though couldn't give me more information than the guidelines on the box about how much to give, just was told up to a ratio of 2:1 meat to THK, explained to me that the food will look like what goes in for up to a month after I begin the diet as the dog gets used to the food. I've never experienced this, but I'll just have to wait and see. All in all I have no complaints about my experience with them and am glad I gave them a call.

Thanks for the help guys.

- Lamarr