Posts Tagged ‘Canine’

Q:   Hello there! I have written you before to request a brochure – thank you so much for sending one, along with a treat pouch and 2 canine cookies. My dogs realized before I did that there was not just a brochure in that envelope!

I have a question regarding amounts to feed. Currently I feed K-9Kraving on the weekends for my dogs. The rest of the week they eat a premium grain free kibble supplemented with lots of fresh vegetables and other things like yogurt and fruit.

I understand that feeding guidelines are ‘general’ guidelines to follow – as it is all about monitoring your dogs intake and body condition as they are on a food. Prior to starting K-9Kraving I knew that a general rule of thumb for feeding raw diets for an adult dog is 2-3% body weight per day. I have a 50lb dog and a 45lb dog, both seniors at 11 and 12 years old and in good health.

So if I go the low end at 2% for each dog that would be for a 50lb dog=16oz per day and 45lb dog=14.4 oz per day.

When I look at other frozen raw diets, there is a range:

• Bravo: 50lb dog=16oz per day and 45lb dog=14.4 oz per day – which seems consistent with the above
• Nature’s Variety: 50lb dog=9.3oz per day and 45lb dog=8.7 oz per day

And according to your guidelines, which is not as specific as the range is wide:

• K-9 Kraving: 25-50lb dog=6oz and 50lb= is 1lb daily

Your guidelines cover a large spread in weight and I was wondering could you narrow that range down for me? For example, for a 50lb dog on your food would it be closer to 6oz or 1lb?

With the often stated raw guidelines stating to feed 2-3% body weight per day, how would you respond that your suggested feeding amounts are significantly less?

Also can you provide the approx kcals per lb for each of your complete diets?

My dogs love your food and I will continue to feed it to them, I just would like more information about the food so that I know I am feeding them the right amounts off the bat.

Thanks so much!

- J

 

K-9 Kraving Representative requested:   While we await Dr. Patton’s response to your feeding guideline inquiry, I invite you to click on the following links to read about the caloric details you requested:

• Calories…Airedale
• DVM…Technically Feeding and Speaking
• Recovering Healthy Weight

 

A:   I understand your interest in specific, narrow range guidelines.  Let me use as a working example your lighter weight dog, the one that weighs 45 lbs.  This happens to be very nearly exactly 20 kg, and all the scientific literature discusses energy needs using metric units. For your 50 lb dog, the amounts would be approximately 10% more.

A 45 lb dog needs 1166 calories a day for maintenance.  Feed whatever amount of a diet delivers that level of caloric intake.  Now you can’t get much more narrow a range than that–one number–1166. 

Let me tell you where that number comes from.  (Here comes the lecture. Brace yourself.)  If you go to Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th ed, page 1010, Table D-6, there are listed 8 different alternative ways to calculate the daily maintenance energy requirements for a dog.  For a dog that weight 45 lbs, these eight learned, scientific references are as low as 927 calories, and as high as 1396 calories.  That is a range of 50% and a standard deviation of 153. 

Which one is correct?  The answer is all of them, and none of them.(They average 1166, the source of the number provided above.)  Too many factors are in play to have a chart work except in very broad terms.  The most important factor is temperament of the individual, but also there is the matter of temperature and humidity, age of the dog, sex, reproductive status, social environment, to name a few.

As we’ve said before, the best and most reliable authority is the pet owner.  We balance the nutrients to the energy in a diet.  Only the owner can control caloric intake.  The larger problem is not people like yourself, who seek the best thinking on a topic.  Its the handlers who have an obese dog and when they look at it, don’t see an obese dog.

Hope this helps.  Let us know.

- Dr. Patton

K-9 Kraving’s Canine “Beef Jerky” is made from 80% lean, choice beef and nutritionally enhanced with essential supplements to compliment a healthy diet. Our Beef Jerky is an excellent training or anytime treat. The great beefy flavor will have your dogs begging for more!

PRESERVATIVE FREE: Store in a cool dry place; refrigerate after opening.

Average Per Piece Size: 1.25″ wide x 6″ long

Available in 1/2 pound package (8-pieces)

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein 38.6% (min.) 
Fat 26.1% (min.)
Fiber 11.1% (max.)
Moisture 18.8% (max.)

INGREDIENTS: Beef, Egg Powder, Vegetable Fiber, Linseed Meal, Sunflower Meal, Tomato Pomice (Dry), Kelp (Dry), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Natural, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin A, Niacin, d Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin, Selenoyeast, Biotin, Vitamin B12, Pyridoxine HCL, Thiamine Mononitrate, Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, EDDI (an organic source of iodine).

K-9 Kraving’s Chicken Bites are  all-natural and made from 100% USDA, human-grade, unprocessed chicken meat. These high protein, low fat tasty bits of varying size and shapes make for a great anytime atta’ boyor midday forage for all dogs, big or small!

Average Per Piece Size: 1″-2″ wide x 1″ long 

Available through K-9 Kraving retailers in 1/2 pound packages and bulk. 

Guaranteed Analysis:

Protein: 73% (min.)

Fat: 5.4% (min.)

Fiber: .5% (max.)

Moisture: 15.9% (max.)

 Our K-9 Kraving Bully Sticks are USDA and cleaned, meaning:

• Sourced from US beef cattle only
• No bad breath or odor

BULLY STICK: Is made from the bull Pizzle (Penis). Each unit ranges from 20-40+ inches in length. They are dried and then cut to smaller pieces for an all-natural chew treat for dogs. The Bully Stick has great last-ability (1-4 hours) and is especially great for canines who have ambitious chewing behavior. While a dog chews on a Bully Stick it softens, preventing sharding and is easier on the teeth and gums when compared to bones and digests safely. The diameter of a Bully Stick will vary as well depending on if a piece is cut from the wider base of the Pizzle or the narrower head of the pizzle. Click here to view our K-9 Kraving video ”How We do Bully!”

K-9 Kraving available sizes:

• Whole STick
• 12″ pre-cut
• 6″ pre-cut

What else is Pizzle used for? Click here to learn more

Available through K-9 Kraving retailers.

Beef liver is high in protein, and it is a high quality protein, in addition to, a good source of both fat soluble and water soluble vitamins.

 

Our K-9 Kraving Beef Liver Slices are dried in our vintage smokehouses with no added ingredients…just pure beef liver. An aromatic, tasty and healthful treat for your companion.

Break large slices into smaller, treat-size bits prior to feeding.

Available through  K-9 Kraving retailers.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein: 63.9% (min.)

Crude Fat: 10.7% (min.)

Crude Fiber: .9% (max.)

Moisture: 12.5% (max.)

K-9 Kraving Cookies are like Flintstone Vitamins for dogs; a nutritionally enhanced combination of muscle meat and organ meat, vegetable fiber, egg powder, PLUS essential vitamins and minerals; they smell terrific, digest beautifully and dogs of all sizes love’em.

Excellent for a snack, tracking and/or use with obedience training.

Core Flavors (all Gluten & Grain Free):

• Beef  – Real USDA Muscle Meat
• Duck – Steriod & Antibiotic Free, USDA
• Green Tripe – from USDA Inspected sources
• Trachea – USDA
• Sweet Potato – Meat-free, Human grade,  Low-fat
• Salmon – Farm Raised

 Liver Cookies (all Gluten & Grain Free):

• Bison Liver – Free-Range, Naturally Lean
• Duck Liver - Steroid & Antibiotic Free, USDA

Individual Cookie Flavor Ingredients & Guaranteed Analysis

Available through K-9 Kraving retailers.

In two short weeks, Hector, an American Eskimo rescue,  has made noteworthy strides. With his regime of raw diet dog food from K-9 Kraving and a heavy peppering of affection from his foster family, he’s growing stronger, more alert and sports a more lustrous coat (all things considered).

As we enter the third week of Project Pet, our six-week study of Hector’s rehabilitation – aimed at documenting the positive role raw diet plays – there is still a laundry list of things to accomplish.

One of the most important is Hector’s mouth. The gaping holes where his canines once resided are at risk of impaction and/or infection regardless of what diet he is eating.

On March 5, 2009, Dr. Marcella Bonner, DVM  chief veterinarian of the Swan Harbor Animal Hospital in South Baltimore, attempted a gingival skin flap. The procedure involved taking tissue from a healthy area of Hector’s mouth and grafting it over the targeted region. In Hector’s case, this skin graft was applied to the right side hole that resulted from a rude extraction of his canines. Unfortunately, the grafted flesh and intact flesh did not bond.

The next step was for us to contact a veterinary dental surgeon in hopes that other methods may prove successful.

Dr. Ira Luskin  med vet, FAVD, Diplomate, AVDC came highly recommended. I didn’t realize, until preparing to contact him what a gem this man is.

Since 1979, Dr. Luskinhas been actively involved with Small Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery. He’s the hospital director of the Animal Dental Centers located in Annapolis and Towson, MD., and one of only 73 Diplomates of the American Veterinary Dental College  worldwide. He’s also a well-known speaker on small animal dentistry and oral-facial surgery. In 2000, he established the first private post-graduate training center for veterinary dentistry in the United States named the Animal Dental Training Center of Baltimore.

With a picture of Hector’s mouth and the few facts we had, Dr. Luskin was contacted. Perhaps more intrigued than hopeful, he agreed to a consultation with Hector.

To prepare for the consultation we needed to provide any and all medical records available on Hector and immediately called Sallyann Jennings, Hector’s rescue guardian. Within twenty-four hours…tada…Jennings had Hector’s admission records from BARCS along with his blood screen, procedure notes and comments from Dr. Bonner.

It was after receiving these records that I realized an error in our original post stating that Hector was neutered at BARCS. Hector’s neutering was, in fact, performed by Dr. Bonner.

Scheduling the consultation proved the more daunting task. Luskin’s office was great. After dodging conflicting appointments, out-of-town plans, etc. all parties agreed to meet at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7th.

The small wait is welcomed. With Hector’s health improving, from the inside out, daily – we feel that the extra week or two until his consultation will increase his odds of being a viable candidate for oral surgery.

Meanwhile, we hope to get Hector groomed.  Maybe it’s the sight of dead cells suspended in his fur from underlying healing skin. Or the random multi-colored lengths of his coat making a comeback from the nasty allergies that ailed him. It could just be that the lively and sweet spirit that exudes from Hector doesn’t match the scraggly outer package. With Dr. Bonner’s approval, we’ll be in the market for a shampoo, trim and blow-dry.

Hector, despite his remarkable adaptability, had to overcome a few obstacles over the past couple weeks.

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