# Opinions on whether this matters



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

First of all I really love Primal, but I just don't think it's working as the only food for Lulu. She is still losing weight no matter how much I feed her, and for the first time ever in her life her eyes have started weeping. I think that's an allergy of some kind to something in the food. I have no idea what because I feed so many different ones in the frozen and freeze dried at the same time I could never figure it out. But that's almost beside the point. The big problem is her weight and my inner feeling something's not right.

Now for the question on whether this is the problem. I discovered quite by accident that Primal doesn't add any vitamins. It says on the bag--*Naturally derived vitamins* and in the ingredients list it only gives tocopherols as a vitamin source. All other vitamin sources are expected to come from the food itself. And don't get me wrong I consider it an excellent food. I looked at S & C and it says on the bag *Natural with added vitamins and minerals, and I looked on the Ziwi Peak bag and it says *A Natural Meat and Organ Balanced Diet with Added Vitamins and Minerals (you can read the front and back of all bags with ease if you go to wag.com). I looked at the ingredient list of S & C and ZP and it list lots of vit & min. My question is this--if you are feeding a homemade raw diet then those vit & min are going to be in the food you feed because I know those of you that feed homemade raw don't give vitamin supplements, but if I am feeding only Primal could the freeze drying/freezing process kill the vitamins that are in the food naturally and that be the cause for Lulu not doing well on the food? Just wondering your thoughts.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Well primal is marketed as a whole and complete diet. So it for sure meets the AAFCO standards for vitamins and minerals in dog food. Even if some things were being killed in the manufacturing process the food must meet the AAFCO standards as a final product- so unless you are buying bags that are somehow defective they would have all the vitamins and minerals your dog needs the same as any other dog food sold in the US and marketed as a complete food. I doubt that has anything to do with it, in fact meeting those needs with foods only actually would theoretically make the vitamins and minerals in it easier for an animal to absorb.

If it is causing problems I bet it is a sensitivity to something that they put in all their formulas.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Thank you so much, Annie!!!! This is what I so needed! Someone to look at this and give me perspective.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I am still going to put Lulu back on Ziwi Peak for a while, but I am going to also feed her a meal every day or so of Primal because I have so much already bought, and I'm not convinced anymore of sticking to one brand of food at all times.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

For me, no added vitamins is a huge bonus. The added vitamins are usually sourced in China and often synthetic.
I don't know much about freeze drying, but freezing preserves all the nutritional value including vitamins and minerals.
The teary eyes would concern me. Mine occasionally get weepy but it is down to environmental issues rather than food. 
I think Lulu can afford to lose a little weight, (so don't panic, she won't fade away!) but she shouldn't still be losing if you have upped the amount fed. What was she on before the Primal? Maybe Primal is lower in fat and overall calories. Was she having carbs before?
If your gut feeling is that it isn't working for Lulu you are probably right.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Wicked Pixie said:


> For me, no added vitamins is a huge bonus. The added vitamins are usually sourced in China and often synthetic.
> I don't know much about freeze drying, but freezing preserves all the nutritional value including vitamins and minerals.
> The teary eyes would concern me. Mine occasionally get weepy but it is down to environmental issues rather than food.
> I think Lulu can afford to lose a little weight, (so don't panic, she won't fade away!) but she shouldn't still be losing if you have upped the amount fed. What was she on before the Primal? Maybe Primal is lower in fat and overall calories. Was she having carbs before?
> If your gut feeling is that it isn't working for Lulu you are probably right.


...so don't panic, she won't fade away! made me laugh out loud! Her eyes don't weep all the time. I have just noticed it a time or two, but since it's never happened in her 6 years--I noticed it. She does have a slight tendency toward environmental allergies. She has eaten only ZP for 2 years with occasions of me trying S & C or Nature's Variety Frozen Raw. She hasn't had a food with carbs in it for over 2 years, but I do know Primal does not have as many calories as Ziwi Peak nor S & C. I did add another nugget to her daily feeding, but I don't think that's enough. She went to the vet a couple of weeks ago and weighed 5lbs 5ozs. She woke me up night before last hungry. It was not just trying to get something from me because that doesn't happen often--when it does, I know she's truly hungry. It may also be which particular protein she's getting at the moment--may not be filling. She gets rabbit in the PM. I don't know, but it's very frustrating and scary.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Is the vet happy with her at 5lb 5oz?
Rabbit is a very lean meat. Maybe she needs more fat to keep her weight stable but also to keep her feeling full?


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## shamrockmommy (May 11, 2012)

I had similar issues with similar diets like that- very little carbs/vegetable matter made my dogs super skinny and coats got dry and brittle. They do much better on meat/carbs/vegs, personally. 

I put mine on kibble/canned/homecooked and coats and body condition much improved- and this is for a chi, a poodle, a bichon and a PWD. Hope this helps.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

He was fine with her weight. He did notice she has lost weight, but didn't say it was a problem, and he is always impressed with her food. 

If I fed her 2 nuggets at one meal or even 1 1/2, would it be OK to give her one beef nugget and 1/2 rabbit or visa versa?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

It is perfectly fine to mix proteins, my lot sometimes get some very strange combinations in their bowls lol


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