Primal Raw

It's true that a lot of the pet store folks have what I'd call odd views of the foods they sell. I've been to places where the holistic food was consigned to a dusty corner and the employees, when asked about it, mumbled apologetically that "some people" liked it but it was "awfully expensive."

I have one little anecdote about NV raw. My Maggie will be 13 in December. Like many older spayed females, she started having incontinence issues last year. I put her on the expensive drug for it (which made her kind of grouchy), and then a while later for some other reason switched her from my kibble/rmb combo to the NV raw patties. A couple weeks later she ran out of the Proin and I couldn't afford to run out and get it immediately. That had happened before that year and I had immediate cause to regret it unfortunately. This time, however, there were no puddles - and Maggie's temper improved drastically also.

Notably, it's now late summer financial squeeze time and I've had to switch her back to the kibble/rmbs. It took several weeks but she's back to piddling again. I need to crunch some numbers and see whether I can get her back on it immediately instead of waiting until the farm money cycle turns the other way again in Nov (lol).

Primal is about $10.00 more than six of NV

 
I think our pricing must be different...I can't remember off the top of my head the pricing for the large bags...but a 3# bag of NV runs $10.55-$12.99 depending on the protein source. Rabbit and organic chicken being the two highest priced ones. A 4# bag of Primal runs $16.25 to $17.65.
I do remember the prices on the NV 6# bags. $18.75 for Chicken/Turkey, Beef, Lamb...$20.60 for the Venison, $23.99 for organic chicken(?) and $25.99 for the Rabbit.
 
 

Maisey, I'm sorry! See what trying to read a post and reply to it without my morning coffee yet AND without my glasses on does??! hahaha.

There SHOULD be more shops like yours around. I don't buy Ella's food from places like Petco, not that the food they sell is bad, but because if I have a question about a food, they more often than not will not be able to answer my question. Smaller shops, like the one you work for, often times have fed the foods they sell and if they haven't, they have other customer testimonials to share with about the food.

a bunch of NW Naturals, two bags of NV, one Primal bag of patties and 6 chubs. I brought home a tube of Canz frozen Country Pet to try..even though it is a cooked food, so thats in there too. There are bones from Raw Advantage, Primal and a couple from NV and a 5# chub of Happy Pet Beef. Some are premixes, some are not. I also have a bag of NV salmon and brown rice, and a big bag of California Naturals Herring and Sweet Potato in the house.

Ben has just informed me that he's moving to your house. He'll take the NV rabbit, CalNat herring, several of the bones (please reserve about 2 pound a day) and there's one of the Primals he can eat.

I can't find any of that stuff around here! Sometimes I miss the other coast. The granola side of my crunchy conservative lifestyle fits in so much better there . . .

Thats interesting Becca.
I have a Poodle named Darby and he is the reason for me originally looking into better foods years ago. He had had three surgeries for kidney stones, the meds were not helping, the food (SD)was not helping and he was allergic to it. My vet could only assign the word "chronic" to him and said there wasn't anything he could do. My flyball coach encouraged me to try raw..my vet said no. I finally told him I was trying it when he told me he couldn't do anythig more for my dog. I was scared to death to try making my own..so I chose NV, it seemed the safest to me at the time. Within one week Darby's urine pH was in a normal range...something that had never been true for him no matter what he was eating. Within a month he had stopped pulling his own hair out and licking at his feet and butt. My vet was amazed and told me to keep doing whatever I was doing. Foods I was told Darby was allergic to qwhen I was feeding him kibble, like chicken...he had no issues with in raw. I can't explain that..but there isn't one thing in raw that he has an issue with. He pretty much only gets raw now.
I have an Aussie/GSP mix that I got as a foster named Annie, she was only supposed to stay a week! She is now a part of our family.
When we first got her she was nearly two and was having troubles holding her urine. She would go to the door and tell you she had to go..but before you could get to the door she would lose it. When we decided to keep her I changed her over to raw. I almost put her on the meds from the vet for the leaking..but I kept thinking that it might be undeveloped muscles. She had been crated for most hours of every day for a long while before coming to me. I also lightly wondered if it was behavioral. At any rate...within  about a month and a half she stopped doing it. I don't know what the original cause was or what helped it. I always wonder if it was food, exercise or a solid home. I really don't think it was behavioral, but I do think that a change in diet or developing muscle was responsible for the cure. Just not sure which.
Since then I have become aware of a product called HomeoPet Leaks No More. It is a homeopathic..just drops you put in their mouth a couple times a day. I know of two customers using it, one swears by it and one just started using it. Maybe you could check that out, it may be less expensive than the prescription??
 

The granola side

 
LOL! Thats me...[]
We are rather "granola" style around here. I'm a bit more conservative than many of our customers. I really enjoy them though.
We are having a customer appreciation day in September and there will be lots of freebies, a free raffle, many companies there giving great deals on their products, BBQ, my youngest daughter in a  dog costume [], microchip clinic, adoptions of ferrets, cats and dogs, an animal massage therapist and an animal communicator. I have found myself really torn over the last...I am soooo intrigued and curious and I will definately take two of my dogs to her for readings, but at the same time I am a bit skeptical. I do believe there are people out there who can communicate with animals, it's just finding one who is genuine. I'm also worried about what my dog is going to tell her LOL! "My mom drives like a maniac"....ohhh the list could be long! It should be a fun filled day.
The reps that come in do tell us that Portland is very proggressive when it comes to dogs compared to other cities around the country, and I am reminded when I come to boards like this..that not everyone has such selection.
Ben..2 pounds a day?! what are you a Great Dane?
 
Chewbecca..we actually give freebies away to our customers if they promise to come back in and let us know what they think of a product after trying it. It's important to know. Our dogs can't be the guinea pigs for every item!
Places like Petco often have teenagers working for them..it's not fair to expect them to be able to answer much. We have several PetsM--- employees as customers =)

Ben..2 pounds a day?! what are you a Great Dane?

Poor Ben. No, just a largish Border collie with a really inefficient metabolism, apparently. He'd be fine if I could feed him, you know, like 3 cups of EVO or something, but his needs are really hard to meet with fresh (and expensive) foods. He's the dog in my avatar and my sig, until recently my only full time working dog. The young Turk has arrived and alleviated him of some of the burden, but the young guy, Cord, is still working up to full conditioning.

I always buy the six lb bags of NV which run from about $19 for chicken/turkey to $22 for lamb (one of the darlings doesn't like venison). The store I shop at hasn't offered rabbit yet, but the NV rep was in there the last time I was, so maybe soon. Primal ranges from about 28. to 33 for eight pounds of Primal. I don't use the straight NV because I think a little fruit/veggies/carbs certainly aren't detrimental and may be beneficial. A typical meal here is 1 NV patty, 1 cup cooked meat, 1/3 cup carb such as yam or potato, 1/3 cup fruit/veggie blend plus supplements. This is  per dog, per meal so I'm doing six of these concoctions per day. My dog food budget is substantially higher than my human food budget.  LOL.
 
Last Nov./Dec. one of my dogs had three Grade II Mast Cell tumors in a two week period. He was a basket case from two surgeries and looked like Frankenpuppy so that's when I consulted with the holistic vet. She prescribed a varied diet, as natural as possible, filtered water and supplements. It could be purely coincidence but he's had no more tumors. I doubt that the improved blood/urine panels are coincidence though, so I'm not arguing with success.

I supplement the NV with home cooked veggies & carbs. Plus I'm feeding three large, active dogs and my food bills are huge. I have no problem with NV raw as a 100 percent diet and have never met someone whose dog became ill from it....so if it works for you go for it. IMO

a bunch of NW Naturals, two bags of NV, one Primal bag of patties and 6 chubs. I brought home a tube of Canz frozen Country Pet to try..even though it is a cooked food, so thats in there too. There are bones from Raw Advantage, Primal and a couple from NV and a 5# chub of Happy Pet Beef. Some are premixes, some are not. I also have a bag of NV salmon and brown rice, and a big bag of California Naturals Herring and Sweet Potato in the house.

Yes and Ricky will have the same....... it's any dogs paradise!!!

Based on what they said at the seminar did you get a feeling
one food was better then another?

BTW if you open a store in Berkeley CA. you can bet Ricky& I will
be there, you don't see that kind of customer service anywhere

Yes and Ricky will have the same....... it's any dogs paradise!!!

Based on what they said at the seminar did you get a feeling
one food was better then another?

BTW if you open a store in Berkeley CA. you can bet Ricky& I will
be there, you don't see that kind of customer service anywhere

 
The seminars approach was greatly about how to educate consumers on raw feeding...then sort of turned into educating the retailers who were asking some pretty basic stuff. None of the manufactuers talked about what makes their product great...they did discuss how it's handled and quality control. They also discussed their ingredients..but there really wasn't any touting of bests.
Canz Country Pet was the only food up there that's not raw..it is a blanched food and from New Zealand. I think it is a great product for those who like to home cook for their dogs. I learned the history of why they produce it the way they do. It's not a food I would feed very often, but not because it's bad..it's just not my kind of thing. One thing that bothered me about their label..the ingredient list says "a pinch or two of vitamins and minerals"...I asked him about it. He explained that in New Zealand their regualtions are different and the term "pinch" is acceptable. I didn't say it to him, but I can't help but wonder how that will get over in the US..where they are now marketing it. They also listed "poultry" as an ingredient. When questioned about it he answered that all new labels will show "chicken" and that that is all they will use.
 
Farmore and Wet Nose didn't show up to speak and I have no experience with their foods.
 
Raw Advantage..I really like this food, but I wouldn't use the products in this line that have grains in them. The ones that are grain free are handy to use and I have great faith in their quality control. Their Rock Island Raw is too spendy for me and looks weird, lol. I have used her grain free products in the past. My cats wouldn't eat the cat line..I think because it has yams in it. My dogs will eat darn near anything and if I hazard a guess, I'd say tey thought it was fine..but not fabulous. She explains on he web site why she thinks grains are important.
 
Northwest Naturals..I don't know how widely available this food is..but I use it frequently. The owner is an absolute GEM. She is very helpful and knows her stuff. She has been doing this for over 25 years. The product is awesome and very convenient to use. In our shop it is, I believe... the 2nd most economical to use. It comes in bags of nuggets or bars. I use the bars. They are one pounders that are scored into 1/4 pound portions. EASY to defrost quickly because they are flat..so they are great to keep around for when you forgot to take something out of the freezer. You can also order 25# bulk boxes of bars and save alot of mula, if you have the freezer space. This is one of my favorite companies.
 
Primal is new but is definately tops in my book. It is spendy, but so are his ingredients. He uses only oragnic fruits, veggies and minerals. The vitamins are unrefined, the meats are all free range, antibiotic, hormone and steroid free. He used to be a Chef..he started cooking for his own ailing dog and friends and neighbors started asking him to do it for their dogs when they saw the difference in his dogs health. Thats how he got started =) Their customer service is great, and they have a really varied product line which allows people to customize their dogs diet.
 
Wild Kitty is made by a lady who loves cats. She is a character and very educated. She was my favorite up there and I'm not even into cats. Her product is new and we just started carrying it in our shop. It is very convenient, but also expensive. Maybe because she is the only one doing a study? Her packaging may also contribute to cost..it comes in really easy plastic tubs. Pull the lid off and serve. Her ingredients are tops as well. She told us where her food is handled..I can't remember, but it was a human food facility.
 
All the above is only my opinion and experience..as I said before I don't think any one food is the perfect food..I think variety is key. All manufacturers claim their food is the one complete and balanced diet, yet they are all different. Every animal is different as well so I am sticking with the variety approach.
 
 
We do get complimented frequently about the amount of time we spend with customers, I know they appreciate it..I just didn't really know that they were not getting it at some other shops. Maybe the best thing consumers can do is to TELL the shops they visit that what they really want is educated shop clerks who are willing to talk with them and not just sell them stuff. I know that for some liability is an issue..and we are very careful how we say things..but simply giving someone a web site address or the name of a book so they can read what you have read, or recommending a vet or trainer doesn't put you in danger...it allows them to do their own educating, but gives them a place to start.