# Instinct Raw Frozen Diet



## Soheru (Feb 3, 2013)

I ran into a salesperson advertising the raw diet by Nature's Variety/Instinct and got a fifty cent sample which should last about six days for my Papillon. He's always had a strange eating pattern and my vet advised me to play around with samples and see if I could find something he would eat. (I've tried giving him food for fifteen minutes and then taking it away twice a day, but he still goes days without eating and he isn't getting any treats on the side.) So obviously he loves the raw food, and I'm just curious as to whether or not this would be a good diet for him since it isn't home made. I've only ever fed kibble but heard about raw being good and decided--if it's healthy--to give it a try. Any thoughts?


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Soheru said:


> I ran into a salesperson advertising the raw diet by Nature's Variety/Instinct and got a fifty cent sample which should last about six days for my Papillon. He's always had a strange eating pattern and my vet advised me to play around with samples and see if I could find something he would eat. (I've tried giving him food for fifteen minutes and then taking it away twice a day, but he still goes days without eating and he isn't getting any treats on the side.) So obviously he loves the raw food, and I'm just curious as to whether or not this would be a good diet for him since it isn't home made. I've only ever fed kibble but heard about raw being good and decided--if it's healthy--to give it a try. Any thoughts?


Yes, Nature's Variety is poor quality in my opinion. They use Chinese ingredients, their rabbit and vitamins, and it's not truly raw. They use a process that heats the food to remove the moisture. It's overpriced for the poor quality. I would look for Primal or Vital Essentials for premade raw.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

K9 Naturals frozen is a raw unprocessed (unheated) food that I started feeding my dog, but because of his size it became too expensive, plus I now mostly do prey model raw. Of course as it is a New Zealand product it may be more expensive than a local product for you, but the ingredients are pretty good .K9 Natural | Best Raw Dog Food for Healthy Dogs-K9 Natural
K9 Natural | Best Raw Dog Food for Healthy Dogs-K9 Natural

Here a 1kg (2lb) bag is NZ$10


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

Here's a link to a good pre-made raw diet: Blue Ridge Beef: Raw Meat for Dogs - Cats. I tried Nature's Variety Instinct Raw, but my westie was allergic to the alfalfa in it. The Blue Ridge Beef (they have other proteins, as well, BTW) is all meat. This is the only premade raw diet that my pet store recommends.


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## Soheru (Feb 3, 2013)

I've never really looked into raw before so it's great to have some guidance, thank you!


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

Soheru said:


> I've never really looked into raw before so it's great to have some guidance, thank you!


If you want the best complete raw diets and you can find Abady, use those. They were the first on the market nearly 40 years ago and still the best, especially the NPF formula.

The rest are junk.


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

Georgiapeach said:


> Here's a link to a good pre-made raw diet: Blue Ridge Beef: Raw Meat for Dogs - Cats. I tried Nature's Variety Instinct Raw, but my westie was allergic to the alfalfa in it. The Blue Ridge Beef (they have other proteins, as well, BTW) is all meat. This is the only premade raw diet that my pet store recommends.


I can agree with the Blue Ridge Beef. I've used it for the past 7 seven months and Duke looks fantastic. It's the only meat only "premade" I could find and it's actually affordable. The most expensive meat is $1.75 a pound in my area.


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

monster'sdad said:


> If you want the best complete raw diets and you can find Abady, use those. They were the first on the market nearly 40 years ago and still the best, especially the NPF formula.
> 
> The rest are junk.


Doesn't it make you wonder though why they don't even post the ingredients on their website?


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

SaharaNight Boxers said:


> Doesn't it make you wonder though why they don't even post the ingredients on their website?


Abady's website really does suck. No it doesn't but they should improve that website. I agree its a joke. There is a store near me that carries 20 raw diets and even the owner uses the Abady raw diets. I will often buy Abady NPF to use with kibble because its the only line with green tripe. Oma's sell a food called Performance Dog that is beef, trachea and tripe that is good too. Hardcore stuff.

For the dogs I see on here. The original Abady complete raw diets are the best IMO. They have some rice in them to round things out and have a nice blend of meat, organs, green tripe, etc.

They will email you ingredient panels if you want.


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## Neeko (Aug 11, 2010)

According to this website http://therobertabadydogfoodcoltd.com/abady_response.htm these are the ingredients of Abady raw food:


Beef Lung, Beef Muscle Meat, Dressed Chicken, Rice (label soon to be changed to white rice) Beef Meat and Bone Meal, Sunflower oil ( label soon to be changed to safflower oil) Dicalcium Phosphate, Chicken Meal, Lard (Pork Fat), Beef Liver (human grade only), Flaxseed Oil, (organic)**** (previously accidentally omitted from labeling), *Beef Fat (human grade), Potassium Chloride, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Alpha tocopheryl Acetate (source of Natural Vitamin E), Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Amino Acid Supplement, Niacinamide, d-calcium Pantothenate, Cupric Oxide, Inositol, Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C), Ergocalciferol (Vit.D3), Potassium Iodide, Riboflavin, Vitamin K (Menadione Sodium Bi Sulfate) (label soon to be changed to Vitamin K1 (Phytonadione), Thiamine HCL, Pyridoxine HCL, Cobalt Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vit.B12 (Cyanocobalamin Concentrate).


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

Neeko said:


> According to this website http://therobertabadydogfoodcoltd.com/abady_response.htm these are the ingredients of Abady raw food:
> 
> 
> Beef Lung, Beef Muscle Meat, Dressed Chicken, Rice (label soon to be changed to white rice) Beef Meat and Bone Meal, Sunflower oil ( label soon to be changed to safflower oil) Dicalcium Phosphate, Chicken Meal, Lard (Pork Fat), Beef Liver (human grade only), Flaxseed Oil, (organic)**** (previously accidentally omitted from labeling), *Beef Fat (human grade), Potassium Chloride, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Alpha tocopheryl Acetate (source of Natural Vitamin E), Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Amino Acid Supplement, Niacinamide, d-calcium Pantothenate, Cupric Oxide, Inositol, Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C), Ergocalciferol (Vit.D3), Potassium Iodide, Riboflavin, Vitamin K (Menadione Sodium Bi Sulfate) (label soon to be changed to Vitamin K1 (Phytonadione), Thiamine HCL, Pyridoxine HCL, Cobalt Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vit.B12 (Cyanocobalamin Concentrate).


Abady NPF is : Beef Muscle Meat, Beef Tripe, Lard (pork fat), Beef Fat, Sunflower Oil (non genetically-engineered variety), Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Lung, Beef Spleen, Flaxseed Oil, Anchovy Oil, and assorted vitamins and minerals to balance.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

monster'sdad said:


> The rest are junk.



You really believe this food is junk? Why? I don't understand. 
*

Ingredients / Composition:*

Lamb meat, lamb bone, lamb blood, lamb green tripe, lamb liver, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, spinach (chard), cabbage, apple, pear, lamb hearts, lamb kidneys, eggs, green lipped mussel and garlic.

K9 Natural is made with meat (derived from grass-fed, ranch raised animals), bone, blood, tripe, liver, heart and kidney plus vegetables, fruit, egg, green lipped mussel and garlic.


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## TJMagoo (Dec 17, 2011)

I have ordered food from Janet at Three Cheers for Raw. Excellent quality, she ships and my dogs love it: Raw Pet Food - BARF Diet


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I give Murphy Nature's Variety every now and then, and he does well on it. It's not a large enough part of his diet to judge, but it doesn't mess with his stools. 

I also recommend K9 Naturals, Northwest Naturals (my favorite), Vital Essentials. My friend's store just picked up a new line called K9 Kravings too that looks pretty good. It's only got 7% veggies in it and is pretty affordable. I've used Oma's before but the veggie content is a little high and Murph's stools were pretty soft...


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> Yes, Nature's Variety is poor quality in my opinion. They use Chinese ingredients, their rabbit and vitamins, and it's not truly raw. They use a process that heats the food to remove the moisture. It's overpriced for the poor quality. I would look for Primal or Vital Essentials for premade raw.


Find me a company that doesn't get at least some vitamins from China. There are almost none. Even ones that say the vitamin mix is from Europe, it usually comes from China first and then gets certified in Europe. 

Primal also uses HPP processing, for the record.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Savage Destiny said:


> Find me a company that doesn't get at least some vitamins from China. There are almost none. Even ones that say the vitamin mix is from Europe, it usually comes from China first and then gets certified in Europe.
> 
> Primal also uses HPP processing, for the record.


Primal only uses HPP on certain formulas. Not on their red meats. Like I said, it's not ideal, but NV doesn't even use HPP.

And for what it's worth, you have to take the company's word. You yourself said "it usually" so there are certainly exceptions. A company that works hard to only use ethically raised animals that were handled and cared for individually and never given steroids is certainly more creditable in my book.

I don't feed any premade mixes except for when I'm in a pickle. I personally don't trust anyone else to feed my dogs but myself. I like to know exactly where their meat came from and know exactly how that animal lived. But if you're doing premade you can't be AS picky....Not everyone cares about being as picky, though


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> Primal only uses HPP on certain formulas. Not on their red meats. Like I said, it's not ideal, but NV doesn't even use HPP.
> 
> And for what it's worth, you have to take the company's word. You yourself said "it usually" so there are certainly exceptions. A company that works hard to only use ethically raised animals that were handled and cared for individually and never given steroids is certainly more creditable in my book.
> 
> I don't feed any premade mixes except for when I'm in a pickle. I personally don't trust anyone else to feed my dogs but myself. I like to know exactly where their meat came from and know exactly how that animal lived. But if you're doing premade you can't be AS picky....Not everyone cares about being as picky, though


NV has used HPP since their big chicken formula recall a year or two ago. 

There are very few exceptions. It is almost impossible to find vitamin C or folic acid that are not made in China. Also, you must be naive if you think every company that uses antibiotic/hormone free meats used meat from animals that were handled and cared for individually. Lack of added hormones does not mean good care.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Savage Destiny said:


> NV has used HPP since their big chicken formula recall a year or two ago.
> 
> There are very few exceptions. It is almost impossible to find vitamin C or folic acid that are not made in China. Also, you must be naive if you think every company that uses antibiotic/hormone free meats used meat from animals that were handled and cared for individually. Lack of added hormones does not mean good care.


These companies, Primal and Answers, thrive on feeding animals who have been well-cared for. Do you know anything about the people behind Primal for example? Pretty sure they're not using factory-farmed animals. 

Answers, the one I know the most about, is rated by the Global Animal Partnership. Do you know what that is? The cows in their beef proteins, for example, are killed using Temple Grandin's method. Do you honestly believe a farm that doesn't care somewhat about their animals would put forth the effort? If they were not treating the animals with good care they wouldn't be rated a four. Does NV have grass-fed beef like Answers? They're also grass-finished. Also, their pork proteins are labeled a four and state "raised on sustainable. stress-free farms." They're definitely more cared for than any ingredient you'd find IN NV for sure. Considering the bunnies in NV never even see daylight. No animal in Answers is ever kept in a cage, and the cows/pigs are fed non-gmo food. I've clearly researched where the animals come from and their care other than the basis of not having growth promoters. 

And Naive? I don't see how you can call me naive when I just said I won't feed a premade because I can't go directly visit their sources. Could Primal/Answers by lying? Yes, of course. Which is why I don't leave it up to another company to supply my animal's food. 

Do some research on the pre-mades if you're going to feed them. NV should be at the bottom of the list compared to how many good ones are actually out there.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Savage Destiny said:


> Lack of added hormones does not mean good care.


Also, it's not hormones we're discussing. It's steroids. It's VERY rare/hard to find a dog food, hell human food, that advertises they use meat without steroids/growth promoters. Hormone-free means nothing. Steroid-free is what you're looking for.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Answers pet food is on Susan Thixton's (small) list of foods that she would feed her dogs. Here is why they made the list:

Things that set this pet food apart from other companies are:
Ÿ 
* All meat and vegetable ingredients are USDA inspected and approved. Meats are sourced from facilities that practice humane handling; animals are raised in non-confinement facilities (no factory farm sources). Each supplier has a Global Animal Partnership (GAP) rating.
Ÿ
* Answers Pet Food has performed a year long feeding trial of their foods, and their trial was performed by a veterinarian (on
her own pets) - Dr. Amy Nesselrodt. Science Diet or Iams or Purina might brag about their feeding trials, but none of their trials were performed by a veterinarian who is not on the payroll (like Answers did). Plus, this feeding trial was performed on pets in the home (not in a laboratory kennel under controlled circumstances) and it lasted for one year instead of the required six months. You can read about Dr. Amy's year long feeding trial with Answers pet food, the various health
conditions addressed in the study, and the end results from each dog, Click Here.

* Answers is genetically modified ingredient free.
Ÿ
* Answers packaging is 100% recyclable, BPA free.

Ÿ* Answers has provided pet food
consumers their Pledge to Quality and Origin. Click Here to read.

Answers Pet Food is available in most of
the U.S.

Great pet food, great company. Excellent customer service.


Also, K9 Naturals, Nature's Logic, Raw Health Pet Food made her list... in regards to premade raws.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

If I fed pre made raw, I would either go with Bravo or Primal. Especially if you can find a retailer that sells bravo is 10 lb chubs, it's a good value.


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> These companies, Primal and Answers, thrive on feeding animals who have been well-cared for. Do you know anything about the people behind Primal for example? Pretty sure they're not using factory-farmed animals.
> 
> Answers, the one I know the most about, is rated by the Global Animal Partnership. Do you know what that is? The cows in their beef proteins, for example, are killed using Temple Grandin's method. Do you honestly believe a farm that doesn't care somewhat about their animals would put forth the effort? If they were not treating the animals with good care they wouldn't be rated a four. Does NV have grass-fed beef like Answers? They're also grass-finished. Also, their pork proteins are labeled a four and state "raised on sustainable. stress-free farms." They're definitely more cared for than any ingredient you'd find IN NV for sure. Considering the bunnies in NV never even see daylight. No animal in Answers is ever kept in a cage, and the cows/pigs are fed non-gmo food. I've clearly researched where the animals come from and their care other than the basis of not having growth promoters.
> 
> ...


Primal says absolutely nothing about their animals used being free range, cage free, grass fed, or anything else. Hormone, steroid, antibiotic free and USDA inspected is all they'll say. So don't go on crying about the "bunnies" in NV's food "never seeing daylight" when a food you're touting as better makes no statement that their animals are treated any better. 

NV is _definitely_ not at the bottom of the list when it comes to quality. For example, Rad Cat uses bone meal, gelatin, and psyllium husk in their food. There are plenty of other premade raw diets that have grain in them, for pete's sake. 

Answers is a very small company that is able to control their sources because they are small. A large company can't do the same, realistically, because there's not enough supply of animals raised that way for a large company to thrive. Answers has chronic shortages of their product due to supply issues. I use their goat milk for Melon to help his digestive issues, and my vet that sells it can't always get it in. That's the trouble with a small company like Answers, and the reason large companies don't use the same sources. 

For the record, I don't feed premade to my dogs, I've been making their food for almost six years. But you're making a lot of claims that just aren't correct, and that type of thing bugs the crap out of me.


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## Soheru (Feb 3, 2013)

*Bones*

Thank you all so much! I'm still looking around for the perfect one--I'm surprised at how many are out there. On another but related note, is that true that it is dangerous for pieces of soft bone to be a part of a raw diet? For example, Primal, has "raw meaty bones", but I've heard that's unsafe because the dogs can ingest shards which would cause obvious issues. Is that something to be concerned about or was that incident a one in a million sort of thing?


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