# Can those of you who feed raw maybe answer a question for me?



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I posted a thread explaining Lulu is having liver issues and at the moment is on a liver cleansing diet. The last time I tried homemade was when I joined chi ppl last year, and I was definitely not doing it right and stopped after only a couple of weeks and went with a quality kibble then ZP, so I have not had to think about vitamins and minerals except I have been giving her Nupro. Now, I am of course following a strict recipe for this diet she is on now and it says: For supplementation use the recommended dose of infants liquid multi-vitamin. What I did was looked up one of the Acana regionals foods because I believe them to be excellent foods and Ziwi Peak and looked and the vitamins and minerals added to see if they matched the vitamins in the infant multi-vitamin. They did except they also include many chelated minerals obviously not included in the infant vitamins. I said all this to say. For those of you who feed a total raw diet you are not getting those chelated minerals, are you giving any kind of supplements? Biotin was the only ingredient in the dog food that was not in the infant vitamin that I could tell I could very easily supplement. What about all those chelated minerals?


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## Lola's mom 2013 (Aug 25, 2010)

I personally do not supplement except I do give my older dogs glucosamine/ chondrotin, vetri disc they are doxies so this helps with back health. I would like to supplement with omega 3 but I have not found an oil they will except. Some people feed fish for this but only one of my dogs will eat fish. I think the topic of supplementing is interesting. When I switched one of my dogs to raw her coat was a mess she was always itching and licking herself bald. Now she has a very thick beautiful coat and never itches however in the winter it still gets a bit dry so I am sure a supplement of omega3 would help I just can't get her to accept it. She is the one who eats fish but it made her so sick the whole house smelled like fish I had to wash their blankets 10x. I swear I still smell fish so I am not trying that again. From what I have read and been told if you do a 10 organ 10 bone 80 meat your dog is getting all the supplements it needs. I think though that sometimes a dog is having an issue and adding supplements will help.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

You can try coconut oil for that. It can be bought at health food stores or I also found organic coconut oil at Walmart. I is solid so you can skim off a little and they usually love it and it helps with dry skin. It is also good for other things as well. I don't really give it very regularly so I don't have this problem, but I have heard if you give too much they will have runny poos. Oh, and thank you for your reply.


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## Rubyannie (Jan 24, 2013)

I don't give my furkids any supplements unless directed by my vet. I believe that good food should supply everything needed. Acana is made by Orijen and is a premuim food. Protein is lower in Acana, not all dogs do well on a very high protein diet like Orijen. 
I would choose Acana over Orijen.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Rubyannie said:


> I don't give my furkids any supplements unless directed by my vet. I believe that good food should supply everything needed. Acana is made by Orijen and is a premuim food. Protein is lower in Acana, not all dogs do well on a very high protein diet like Orijen.
> I would choose Acana over Orijen.


Thank you for that, but I understand what is in commercial dog food. I want to know what those that feed raw do for supplementing minerals or do they consider all the minerals they need to be in the food they feed. And if so why do chelated mineral have to be added to commercial dog food if it is also meat, rice, vege. etc?


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## Rubyannie (Jan 24, 2013)

Feeding solely raw is a big commitment as you need to make sure you get the right balance. I feed raw and commerdial dog food. One day raw and one day commercial prenuim food. Here is a handy link explaining chelated minerals. 

Ask the Expert About Chelated Minerals as Dietary Supplements


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

They get those minerals through different kinds of veggies! Although veggies are controversial, I have learned from research & Huly's Herbs & vitamins thread how essential getting these vits & min are. Read through the thread. Midgie likes brocoli & even ate a small piece of cauliflower. I know feeding raw is best but because I'm feeding just beef cubes & not bones, organs & all those other parts that have important V&M, I feed ZP for the 2nd meal because it's complete with all that. I do supplement as well because her immune system is so compromised.


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## DeniseByford (Jan 1, 2013)

i never gave any type of supplements to my dog but would only say to you that many times when due to any illness my doggy becomes thin i provide him dog food named PEDIGREE


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

DeniseByford said:


> i never gave any type of supplements to my dog but would only say to you that many times when due to any illness my doggy becomes thin i provide him dog food named PEDIGREE


What are you feeding when you are not feeding Pedigree? Please go to a website called dogfoodadvisor.com. It rates dog foods from 1 star to 5 star with 1 star being the worst you can feed and 5 star being the best--unless you are feeding raw or homemade. If you are feeding raw you must do it in correct proportions of meat, organ, & bone. If you are feeding homemade it must be a balanced diet with proper vitamins and minerals, or you will do serious damage to your dog. Pedigree is a 1 star dog food. After doing your own research on dogfoodadvisor and other dog food websites, you may want to reconsider your use of Pedigree.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Hmmmm... interesting question Tina!

Vitamins and minerals are added to dog food because they are COOKED OUT during the processing of the product. Just as vitamins and minerals are added to our breakfast cereals. The processing removes the nutrients. In order to be a 'balanced' food, they must be added back in.

So where do these vitamins and minerals, chelated or not, come from? The biggest supplier of vitamins and minerals is China. 

Here's an article geared to the pet food industry on whether chelated minerals are worth adding to the food or not. It appears to be somewhat of a marketing gimmick to make the consumer feel like they are getting something good.

Are chelated minerals in pet food worth it?

I am a believer in fresh raw foods. And their ability to provide all the vitamins and minerals needed. I have a friend who measures and tweaks her dogs diet to the AAFCO standards using a raw diet and a spread sheet. She finds that zinc is often less than optimal in a raw diet, so she supplements, usually with oysters. She loves to micro manage the diet. Others are not as meticulous. I think you have to do what your comfort level dictates.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I actually use a multi vitamin. I know, I know, I am the odd raw feeder out around here. I started it when I started raw years ago and just never stopped. Things have been going well for us using it and my raw supportive vet read the ingredients and said- "well it certainly isn't hurting anything." I get it from a company called Natures Farmacy (get it farm-acy  ). They are meant as a supplement for a raw or home cooked diet and the company is always responsive to my questions and is extremely transparent about their sources when you e mail them. They are literally the only dog multi vitamin out there I trust, as brodysmom has said many supplements are sourced very iffily. I don't think at this point my diet needs it because of all the different meats and organs I have access to but in the begining it helped me not worry about things as much. Now my attitude is more like "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

If you end up long term needing a vitamin supplement for a home cooked liver diet I would absolutely recommend naturesfarmacy.com I use their Dogzymes Ultimate.


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