My 2-yr-old GSD has been on raw food for the 7 mos. I've had her - chicken, veggies, eggs, yogurt, etc. I expect to be going to IL for 7-10 days and will be boarding her at the vet. When I left my last dog there, I gave them a supply of frozen raw food. "Not gonna do it" this time.

From what I've read here, looks like THK would probably be the best way to go for the dog and the vet staff. Anyone with experience with this have other suggestions? I'm not concerned about a week's nutrition as much as making the switch back and forth in a short period. I suppose I should introduce the new stuff to her first if I have a chance, huh?

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My 2-yr-old GSD has been on raw food for the 7 mos. I've had her - chicken, veggies, eggs, yogurt, etc. I expect to be going to IL for 7-10 days and will be boarding her at the vet. When I left my last dog there, I gave them a supply of frozen raw food. "Not gonna do it" this time.

From what I've read here, looks like THK would probably be the best way to go for the dog and the vet staff. Anyone with experience with this have other suggestions? I'm not concerned about a week's nutrition as much as making the switch back and forth in a short period. I suppose I should introduce the new stuff to her first if I have a chance, huh?

Yes, you could try, say, Embark, with or without add-ins, in advance.

I gotta say that I was amazed that I have not have any problem switching back and forth with raw and THK grain-free (there are two).

I've used THK maybe 20 times when I was out of thawed meat or just didn't have time to shop, and I haven't had one single digestive complaint from the dogs, even going from one day on one to the next day on the other.

You will mainly want to make sure she likes it, I think, and fool around with the amount of liquid added (to make the consistency the way she prefers it). If she thinks it's a tad bland or boring, then you might want to throw some goody in, and the field is wide open. I've even added a meatball or two from a bag of Trader Joe's turkey meatballs; it doesn't have to be a raw add-in. (I read their website carefully and emailed them about the add-ins, too. When I showed my vet the ingredient list, she thought almost any add-in would work with it, especially in variety.)

I've used an egg, a little canned fish, and many other things.

The kennel will have to be clear on the instructions, I think, which require rehydrating at least 10 minutes before the dog eats. Maybe bigger instructions taped on the bucket!

Mike, why on Earth would anyone come to Illinois <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />?

If the vet is going to be a p.i.t.a. about it, try Innova Evo. That's a raw kibble that I've had luck with not causing issues back and forth from raw. I just don't see them being happy about the extra "work" for THK, unless they're really great. I've heard stories where they just dumped the special diet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />. They may be more likely to do what you ask if it comes out of a bag.