# Journey from dehydrated to frozen raw



## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I've fed my 3 dehydrated and freeze dried now for over 3 years and they have done extremely well on it. However I have 2 dogs that have conditions that I feel warrant trying frozen raw to see if it will help even more. My Zoe was diagnosed with Cushings and we are treating holistically. I really believe Zoe has developed Cushings due to a couple of factors. She was spayed at 6 months and she had to be on Prednisone to control her pain from her degenerative disc disease. Thankfully I have found how to control her pain using holistic products now, with no harmful side affects. But the damage has been done. And she is doing really well. Her hair is coming in nicely and she seems to be more like her old Zoe self. But she's not quite 100% there yet. I know most people would have been thrilled with her results and left well alone. But I want to see if she can do even better. And from what I've heard from both of my holistic vets, dog's with Cushings really do need frozen raw. They simply do better. I do want to add that both of my holistic vets are in agreement that raw is not necessarily the end all/cure all of foods for every dog. Both went through the phase early in their holistic careers believing every dog needed to be on frozen raw. But in their years of experience, not all dogs thrive on it. Ok so back to my 2nd dog that I felt would benefit from frozen raw. And that would be my Callie. When she had her abscess, she was put on the most inappropriate antibiotic for her breed and size. I had not found Dr. Steph yet and was still at a clinic I was not happy with. Due to this wrong antibiotic, Callie has now developed what is called 'leaky gut' which is causing her to paw and scratch at her mouth. We have doubled her probiotics and the scratching is at a minimum. She only does it first thing in the morning as we are waking up and occasionally in the later evening. But I want it to be completely gone. So again, frozen raw in itself will often help with allergies and leaky gut. But I could not put her on frozen raw until after her last blood work. I want to make sure it's not too high of protein for her. I had current blood work on both Zoe & Jett so I started Zoe on frozen raw 3 weeks ago. And of course all 3 wanted it. So I put Jett on it as well 3 weeks ago. The only one of my 3 that I didn't feel really needed it. And I have to say that Jett is the one that has had the most amazing turn around in such a short period of time. He has always had trouble digesting his food in the correct amount of time since the day I got him. That is why he's been on grain free and probiotics with digestive enzymes. Due to this, he's one that typically vomits some undigested food a couple of times a month. He's a recovered IBS dog, which he came to me with from rescue. Since being on the frozen raw he has yet to throw up. He was my lazy dog that liked to lay in bed until he had to get up in the morning. He has always had the least energy out of my 3. Since being on frozen raw he is the first one of my 3 ready to get up in the morning. He wants to get up before my alarm goes off! NOT necessarily something I wanted but am happy to see his energy has picked up. He is still my lower energy dog then the other 2 because that is who is is. But his energy level is back to how it had been when he was younger. He has the sparkle back in his eyes. He's just plain happier. I am now starting to see a change in my Zoe as well. It took longer with her. But the condition of her hair is better since she developed Cushings. And she also has a sparkle and her eyes that had been missing since she got sick. She is wanting to explore more outside rather than just go out and do her business and turn around and come back in. She has that sweet smile on her face again. So I'm thrilled with what I'm seeing in my older two. I've just started Callie on the frozen raw this week. We will run liver panels on all 3 in a few months to make sure the protein amount is not too high for them. If it is, we will reduce the protein amount by adding The Honest Kitchen Preference (pre-mix no meat) to it.

So you could say I'm trying to emulate the AHMVA's motto of 'I want to know'. I'm not saying that frozen raw will ultimately be the best for all 3 of my dogs. But because I want the best for each one and their individual needs, I'm going to try, observe and test. And I'll share our journey and outcome with you all here.

Because of this I will be selling frozen raw at the store now. I have 2 customers whose dog and cat truly need a frozen raw diet. Plus of course now mine. And I feel it is my responsibility to make sure my customers who feed raw are fully educated. So I will have an educational poster on my freezer as well as a hand out for first time buyers that will tell them about safe food handling such as only thawing 1-2 days worth at a time. Using metal food bowls and washing with soapy water immediately after eating. (No free feeding.) Washing all counters, utensils, and floor where pets are fed with soapy water. Of course washing hands after handling. And also for those with dogs that have fluffy faces, washing their face after eating. In addition it will also address that raw feeding is not for animals or any human in the household with a compromised immune system. It may not be the best choice for those with young children who are crawling. And of course that even though everyone should be picking up after their pets, they really need to when feeding raw.

And I will also recommend a full blood work up prior to starting to feed raw as well as a liver panel several months after for breeds prone to liver issues. So to choose to feed frozen raw is truly a commitment and one that is not necessarily easy. But if it is what is best for my crew, I'm willing to do the work. And honestly, it really isn't anything that I haven't already been doing anyway. But I want to make sure those that are considering it know what is involved. As far as safety concerns for the actual food itself, the process of the top brands that I will be carrying is *Hydrostatic High Pressure (HHP). *It's a technology that kills food pathogens without cooking out vital nutrients or changing the natural taste. It’s based on the discovery that bacteria cannot survive at pressures five times those found at the deepest sea level. To date, HHP is the only scientifically recognized pasteurization process that does not use heat or irradiation to accomplish this. And they test every batch. That's more then we can say for kibble and canned food.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Good to hear it's working out for you Crystal. I believe in rotating foods often, and we rotate between all kinds of food. I've always liked frozen raw whenever we've tried it. It is a hassle to wash their faces for sure. 

I'll be interested to see what brands you get in your store. We've done S&C and have Small Batch thawing in the refrigerator right now. I also have some patties of Primal in the freezer that I haven't tried yet.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

eiksaa said:


> Good to hear it's working out for you Crystal. I believe in rotating foods often, and we rotate between all kinds of food. I've always liked frozen raw whenever we've tried it. It is a hassle to wash their faces for sure.
> 
> I'll be interested to see what brands you get in your store. We've done S&C and have Small Batch thawing in the refrigerator right now. I also have some patties of Primal in the freezer that I haven't tried yet.


Couldn't agree more about rotating even in brands Aastha. With the dehydrated I did several as well. In order to have a good variety of novel as well as hot and cold proteins, I may be doing some Stella & Chewy's, Primal and some OC Raw, like the goat. But there are a couple others I've been looking at as well.


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

I also like to rotate foods and have been doing mostly various homecooked recipes with BalanceIt supplement and Freshpet Nature's fresh. I also use fresh vegetables as toppers. My two love Stella and Chewy's dehydrated raw but somehow do not like the the frozen raw of the same thing. I think it was a texture and temperature issue for Obi. Half of the bag was given away as a result. I had tried Addiction Dehydrated and Obi got tired of the flavors after 2 days and then Owen threw up . I have tried The Honest Kitchen but it really made the dogs into pooping machines. I'm interested in the different brands you guys will be trying out. I am very pleased with how happy my pups are to eat with their current diet but i'm always wanting to try new things. Do you find the frozen raw diets to be too high in protein? 


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

hoaloha said:


> I also like to rotate foods and have been doing mostly various homecooked recipes with BalanceIt supplement and Freshpet Nature's fresh. I also use fresh vegetables as toppers. My two love Stella and Chewy's dehydrated raw but somehow do not like the the frozen raw of the same thing. I think it was a texture and temperature issue for Obi. Half of the bag was given away as a result. I had tried Addiction Dehydrated and Obi got tired of the flavors after 2 days and then Owen threw up . I have tried The Honest Kitchen but it really made the dogs into pooping machines. I'm interested in the different brands you guys will be trying out. I am very pleased with how happy my pups are to eat with their current diet but i'm always wanting to try new things. Do you find the frozen raw diets to be too high in protein?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I don't know if you were asking me or Aastha. I won't know if it's too high for my crew until we recheck their liver levels in a few months. But I do think it will be fine for some and too high for others. So far they are all acting better than they had been acting. In fact, last week when I took Jett & Zoe to see Dr. Dan for their 2 month tune up as I call it, Dr. Dan was feeling Jett's pulse, looked me directly in the eye while he was still feeling his pulse and said, "What are you doing that's different? His pulse is stronger than it's ever been." Jett's always had a slower heart rate and what my 2 holistic vets have called a weak pulse.

Funny about THK. I found mine pooped more on that too. But it was in our rotation of dehydrated foods.


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## TLR (Nov 13, 2011)

Crystal, this is an older article but has really good info about leaking gut.
Canine Allergies and Your Dog's Health - Whole Dog Journal Article


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

TLR said:


> Crystal, this is an older article but has really good info about leaking gut.
> Canine Allergies and Your Dog's Health - Whole Dog Journal Article



Thanks!! We've already doubled her probiotics that has digestive enzymes in it. She's gone through a 3 month protocol for Animal Essentials Detox, which is a liver and kidney detox. Now I'm trying frozen raw. Will give that a few weeks and see if that's enough to tip the scale. If not will add the cellular detox from Dr Steph. We talked about Sea Cure as another supplement to try if this doesn't completely take care of it. 


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## maltese manica (Nov 6, 2012)

I am very much interested in getting a great probiotic for my three! What would you recommend and how do you give it?


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

I hope it works well for you! Sounds like you are really on top of things, such a good maltese mom!


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

So glad the frozen raw is working out so well for you, Crystal! I absolutely love it and do think it's the healthiest thing I can feed to my dogs. I am a big believer in rotating foods so my two are quite used to a huge variety. Primal Raw has been part of Bailey's rotation for over a year or so now, and he loves it and does well on it. For Emma, I've mainly stuck to the dehydrated raw, with some canned, kibble, and FreshPet. I've been waiting until she was a bit older before incorporating the frozen raw in to her diet. She just got spayed and had perfect bloodwork so all looks good and I will probably start having her try a tiny bit of raw at a time soon.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

maltese manica said:


> I am very much interested in getting a great probiotic for my three! What would you recommend and how do you give it?


I really prefer a plant based probiotic that has no dairy in it. And I recommend rotating between 2 different brands that carry a different strain of probiotic. So far I've only found Animal Essentials to have no dairy. I'm still looking for my 2nd one. If anyone knows of one, please let me know.

Animal Essentials is in a powder form that I mix right into their food. I give it daily.



bellaratamaltese said:


> I hope it works well for you! Sounds like you are really on top of things, such a good maltese mom!


Thanks Stacy. Right now I'm kicking myself and not feeling like such a great mom that I didn't question the antibiotic for Callie. I did text Dr. Dan about the pain med that they gave Callie and his response was absolutely not. It was not the correct dosage for her size and they wanted her on it for far too long. The abscess had already opened and drained by the time we got to the vet so truthfully the really painful part was over. I did give her a little of Zoe's poppy blend for that day. Otherwise she acted like she felt fine. I should have asked him about the antibiotic. He told me he never would have ever thought a vet would have prescribed that to her and so he didn't think to ask either. It wasn't until he saw the blood work up of my friend's Terv that he is finally realizing that I've not been exaggerating about the quality of vets in my area. When he saw her dogs blood work from the past 2 years, he really should not have survived. And Dr. Dan has always been good about not speaking badly about another vet but he was really angry and said even a traditional vet should have known to give him B vitamins. That would have helped immensely. It would not have cured his IBD but made him feel better and gotten him out of danger. It wasn't until she put him on the protocol I have from Animal Essentials that he had a marked improvement. Both he and Dr. Steph said the same thing about the B vitamins and when Dr. Steph ran bloodwork last month on him, both she and Dr. Dan were just amazed at the improvement. (She's just started to see Dr. Steph as well.) My friend's Terv is a true IBD dog, had bloody sores on both his upper and lower GI when they did the scope at Purdue. I really should post pics of his bloodwork from the last 3 years. So I've had to be my own vet now for over 3 years. You have no idea what a relief it has been to finally find Dr. Dan (even though he's 2 hours away), and Dr. Steph who is 45 minutes away. People who live in bigger cities have no idea how good they have it that they have more vets to choose from. I'm sure there are just as many bad vets in cities as we have here. But to have a larger number of vets around would surely increase the odds of finding a good one I would think. And I think sheer competition would force vets to go to more seminars for continuing education and be more open to other options when western medicine can't help anymore.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Our nutritionist recommended Schiff milk-free but it looks like they are not making it anymore. 


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

eiksaa said:


> Our nutritionist recommended Schiff milk-free but it looks like they are not making it anymore.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Oh drat. Let me know if you find another one. :thumbsup:


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

Crystal, have you tried this one (or know anyone who has)?
Pet Probiotics | Probiotics for Dogs & Cats - Mercola.com

it's the one that Dr. Becker promotes. I was looking into this for awhile. Currently, I am using the Animal Essentials one and a human one (lactobacillus acidophilus by Nature's Blend). I was hoping to try the Dr. Becker one but couldn't find many reviews on it.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

hoaloha said:


> Crystal, have you tried this one (or know anyone who has)?
> Pet Probiotics | Probiotics for Dogs & Cats - Mercola.com
> 
> it's the one that Dr. Becker promotes. I was looking into this for awhile. Currently, I am using the Animal Essentials one and a human one (lactobacillus acidophilus by Nature's Blend). I was hoping to try the Dr. Becker one but couldn't find many reviews on it.


I know of several on this forum that rotate between Mercola's and Animal Essentials. I have put a call into Mercola to make sure there is no whey in it. I don't see it on the label but several year ago I'm almost positive there was whey in it. Maybe they reformulated it? It does not have the digestive enzymes in it either. But it is the one I will most likely be bringing in if I don't find anything else.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

Very informative read. I am glad that it is working for u guys, crystal.

I do like to rotate between food. Snowy & Crystal love S&C (the frozen dried).


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