Nature's Variety Raw Medallions - Frozen

Oh one more thing - the bag says to give 5 medallions a day for a 10 lbs dog.  However, I am finding that Winston won't eat that much - I also know that when feeding raw, you should feed less.  He's eating at most, 3 to 4 medallions a day.  He gets lots of treats, but that is because we are training him alot.  He's almost 9 months old.  If anyone has any advice here, I welcome it all!!!!  If I need to withdraw some treats, I can do that. With the raw, I can't really leave it out very long, so it goes in the garbage after an hour and he gets kibble in the bowl to free feed - which he doesn't touch at all.  The tough love thing isn't really working either......and I'm paranoid that he's starving himself!!!  I may have an anorexic dog.

The only reason I probably wouldn't use it is that it's incredibly expensive...a bag that would only last my dogs a few days costs like $11.  If I were to feed raw I'd prefer giving them bones anyways to help keep their teeth white.  I'm using Nature's Variety Raw Instinct at the moment because they had a buy 1 get 1 free deal at the store, but I'll probably switch to Innova after it's gone because it's a *tiny* bit cheaper and similar in quality as far as I can tell.

I use the medallions as on occasional addition to baily's diet.  They are expensive and wouldn't last long for me either.  I fill a plastic container up and put in the fridge to thaw (usually 24-30 hours) then he gets 5-6 one meal a day for two days.  No problem with them sitting out too long here []

When I first started Romeo on raw, I used Nature's Variety frozen medallions.  He loved them, but after about 3 mos or so, I noticed his coat was not shiny anymore and it did not feel soft to the touch, it even started falling from one side.  I went ballistic and had him tested for everything, Cushing's, thyroid..you named it he had it done and nothing, in one last desperate attempt I switched him to Bravo and within a couple of weeks I noticed hair growing where it had fallen, long story short it just did not work for him.  I do know two other dogs who eat it and are doing wonderful on it.  Each dog is so individual that works for one might not work for another.

My 1 year old loves Nature's Variety raw medallions. I have recently been feeding her raw frozen meat and veggie combo's from a wonderful company called, "A Place For Paws." They grind up raw meat and veggies, freeze, and ship in plasic containers in a styrofoam cooler. They also have raw green tripe. They have a variety of different meats, a great website [linkhttp://www.aplaceforpaws.com]www.aplaceforpaws.com[/link] and are the nicest people to deal with. They also sell freeze dried meats as well.

Slick's been eating the NV Prairie medallions (all but beef) since he was 8 weeks old.  He eats EVO in the AM and NV in the PM.  Nothing but good things to report here!  He loves it, it's convenient/easy for me and he looks fantastic.  It is very expensive (so is the EVO) - he's 60lbs and eats 10 medallions a day.  He'll continue growing for about another 9 months, so that bill is just going to get bigger!   I plan to rotate some Oma's in soon...

Bailey likes them but she eats them too fast, then I feel like I didnt giver her enough.  I used a bag of the Organic chicken and then switched to Vension and found a blue thing in one of the medallions.  It looked like a little cut piece from a milk top that you pull off, or like a small cut of a blue rubber band, that sort of thing.
 
I didnt post it because I didnt want to cause a big deal about it, it was the only problem I've had... but I did continue to finish the bag just while mashing them up I made sure to look through them really good.
 
Also, if you are feeding him the raw medallions I dont think thats a balanced diet is it?  I thought they were just meat?  You would need to include some other things for him if thats all hes eating, but if thats included already and Im mistaken then ignore that.
 
I just decided to just add a little raw from the meat section of the grocery to her food once in a while.... not right now though she has demodex.

I use these for Zhi and love them!  It is not all she eats, though, and I rotate among all the non-poultry varieties.  I also add fish and a little something else with most meals.  Zhi weighs ten pounds and only eats a couple per day!

The medallions are complete.  This is the ingredient list from the Lamb:
 
Lamb, Ground Lamb Bone, Lamb Liver, Lamb Hearts, Lamb Kidney, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Chicken Eggs, Montmorillonite Clay, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Kelp, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Persimmons, Olive Oil, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary Extract, Sage, Clove, Mixed Tocopherols, Citric Acid.

So, you have a proper calcium/phosphorus ratio as they include the bone.  You also have the necessary organ meat component.  Omegas are included in the Flaxseed, Salmon, Olive Oil and eggs.  They've included Vit.E for Omega balance/absorption.  They've also added 2 things that I am personally impressed by: Apple Cider Vinegar and Montmorillonite Clay.  Very progressive ingredients for a dog food! 
 
 

It is highly possible that something didn't agree with olinda's dog, rather than its not being complete.  That's the only thing about having all those neat ingredients.  Back when the premiums were much more limited in availability and I was trying to feed Ben the Allergy King, I would tear my hair out reading ingredient lists - arrrgggh, tomato?  quinoa?  cottage cheese?  flax oil?  There would always be something.  [] 

I'd have to avoid something like this for Ben even if there weren't anything obviously objectionable, because if Ben got sick I'd never know whether he was reacting to any one of those dozen novel ingredients or something he's been exposed to many previous times without serious problems.  Or both.

Then again, I spend all this time thinking about stuff like this and then Ben sneaks off and eats the flock guardian dogs' food.  Woo hoo.  You'd think 125 pound dogs would defend their food but they don't care.

My 60 lb boy eats 2 beef patties per day which = 6 days =$20.  Perfect amount for him and he loves it.  His coat is awesome, and his poops are normal.
 
My 38 lb girl eats about 1 1/3 venison patties = about 9 days = $24.
 
I just tried the medallions, but could not figure out how much to feed and it seems to go pretty quick so I think I am overfeeding my girl.  The medallions thaw very quick which I like very much.
 
I would never throw out raw meat, just put it back in the fridge! Sometimes I forgot and left out the next days patties overnite (12 Hours) and it was fine.

WOW!  Thank you everyone for your responses!  It's so nice to see that other people here are feeding this.  You see the same subjects posted all the time, but I never saw anything about this particular food.

I was so afraid about leaving the meat out, but now I won't waste as much.  I do feel a bit better about what we're feeding, and since Winston's so small, (9.5lbs) he doesn't eat that much and a bag will last me just short of a month, so $11 a month isn't so bad.  I also just bought the Nature's Variety Dry Kibble with "Raw Meat Bio Coating" or whatever that means, to leave out in case he's hungry.

I actually just bought the turkey & chicken medallions, but I don't think he likes them as much as the lamb so I may bring them back to the store to exchange for another lamb or maybe to try the venison.  I wish they sold a variety bag!

Thanks!  Thats interesting, I just never looked at the ingredients and assumed it was just frozen ground meat.  I should know better by now...

Yes there is less poop.  And it turns white after about 3 days and desinigrates all by itself!  I do very little pooper-scooper detail!
 
Prior to feeding this, my poor boy would have partial runny stools, the first part was ok, the last part was runny as it came out (gross I know).  On NV, they are perfect.
 
My dogs love all varieties.  Except since I read that Monica Segal the nutritionist says ckicken and turkey don't have as many nutrients, I now give the beef/venision /or lamb.
 
My bulldog can't handle mixing 2 types of protein in a meal, her intestines gurgle like crazy.   
 
If I only had to spend $11 a month I'd be elated!  I spend about $160 a month on NV.  I stretch my meat bill out by rotating a few meals with a couple eggs, a can of mackeral/salmon or sardines and adding fresh cooked greens