# Honest Kitchen questions



## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. About 3 weeks ago, I started one of my dogs on THK Keen and Verve, mostly Keen. About a year ago, she was sick (alternatively not eating, throwing up, and diarrhea) for about a month straight. We could not figure out what was wrong with her, her blood work was off but in ways that did not make sense, x-rays were normal, the vets just couldn't figure it out. Eventually I put her on Blue Basics turkey & potato and was very careful about everything that went in her mouth, and she finally started to improve. Still don't know if that was diet related or something else, but ever since then, I've had to be careful about what she will eat or she will have stomach issues, mainly diarrhea. Before that happened she was able to eat anything with no problems.

So that routine worked until about 3 months ago when she stopped eating the Blue. Since I had been through many limited ingredient foods before finding the Blue, I was reluctant to try to switch to a different food, so I started a homecooked diet for her. She ate it and did well, no problems at all and then began to be really reluctant and slow about eating that also. Nothing changed in what I was cooking. I did have her checked out and we couldn't find any reason for it. 

I had picked up a little box of THK a while back so I decided to try that. She LOVES it, so she's been on that ever since. She seems like she feels great, has more energy, poop is normal, etc.--but the gas. Oh, the gas. Is this normal? She's just so happy to eat it and seems to feel better than she has in a long time, so I'm really reluctant to change her food. But her stomach gurgles a lot and between that and the gas and burping, I'm not sure this is the best thing either. Is there anything else I can give her? Would some kind of digestive enzymes help?


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

flashyfawn said:


> Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. About 3 weeks ago, I started one of my dogs on THK Keen and Verve, mostly Keen. About a year ago, she was sick (alternatively not eating, throwing up, and diarrhea) for about a month straight. We could not figure out what was wrong with her, her blood work was off but in ways that did not make sense, x-rays were normal, the vets just couldn't figure it out. Eventually I put her on Blue Basics turkey & potato and was very careful about everything that went in her mouth, and she finally started to improve. Still don't know if that was diet related or something else, but ever since then, I've had to be careful about what she will eat or she will have stomach issues, mainly diarrhea. Before that happened she was able to eat anything with no problems.
> 
> So that routine worked until about 3 months ago when she stopped eating the Blue. Since I had been through many limited ingredient foods before finding the Blue, I was reluctant to try to switch to a different food, so I started a homecooked diet for her. She ate it and did well, no problems at all and then began to be really reluctant and slow about eating that also. Nothing changed in what I was cooking. I did have her checked out and we couldn't find any reason for it.
> 
> I had picked up a little box of THK a while back so I decided to try that. She LOVES it, so she's been on that ever since. She seems like she feels great, has more energy, poop is normal, etc.--but the gas. Oh, the gas. Is this normal? She's just so happy to eat it and seems to feel better than she has in a long time, so I'm really reluctant to change her food. But her stomach gurgles a lot and between that and the gas and burping, I'm not sure this is the best thing either. Is there anything else I can give her? Would some kind of digestive enzymes help?


My guess it is the cabbage in the food. Not a good thing for dogs to have especially everyday. That is also a pretty high carbohydrate food so it could be starch that is not fully cooked. That is a common problem.

What breed?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Do you still feed Keen? I would try one of their grain free lines like Love or Embark, Zeal is also good for sensitive dogs although it's most expensive.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Cabbage is a big gas-producer. It upsets tummies a lot on dogs. 
Like Unosmom said, THK does make some better foods you might want to check out... But if you can tolerate the gas and your dog doesn't seem uncomfortable in any way maybe its not the end of the world. 
Some breeds just tend to be gassy as well, Boxers being one of them.... Your username makes me wonder if that's the breed in question.


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Sorry, I should have included her breed. Her mom was a Husky, but that's all I know. I'm quite sure there is a lot in there besides Husky. She is 10 years old and weighs about 80 lbs. I previously have always had a Boxer, which is where the screen name comes from. 

Right now she is still eating the Keen. I picked that one basically because it uses turkey which I knew she could tolerate, and it isn't super expensive. I'm not sure I can afford some of the other varieties, but maybe I'll try a 4 lb box and just see how it goes. She has never been great about eating fish based food, so not sure about the Zeal. My main concern is that she is uncomfortable in some way, but honestly she seems better than she was on home cooked, and way better than she was on kibble.


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

flashyfawn said:


> Sorry, I should have included her breed. Her mom was a Husky, but that's all I know. I'm quite sure there is a lot in there besides Husky. She is 10 years old and weighs about 80 lbs. I previously have always had a Boxer, which is where the screen name comes from.
> 
> Right now she is still eating the Keen. I picked that one basically because it uses turkey which I knew she could tolerate, and it isn't super expensive. I'm not sure I can afford some of the other varieties, but maybe I'll try a 4 lb box and just see how it goes. She has never been great about eating fish based food, so not sure about the Zeal. My main concern is that she is uncomfortable in some way, but honestly she seems better than she was on home cooked, and way better than she was on kibble.


You might want to try Grandma Lucy's Pureformance freeze dried. They don't make a turkey formula, but they do make a lamb, chicken, and rabbit formula, all grain free. They're less expensive than Honest Kitchen and more food is in the bag with a higher calorie per cup also. A few seem to use it on husky breeds with success.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

You can also try Grandma Lucy's, it's more reasonably priced and comes in several grain free varieties including lamb, bison and pork


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## Foodie (Apr 25, 2010)

Are you feeding her the same amount in Kcal that you were previously? What was off in her blood work?

Tip: For accurate feeding of this food I recommend weighing out the portions instead of using measuring cups.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I've fed THK for years; probably always will. I would recommend trying Embark, Love or Zeal (very costly). IMO, those are of higher quality than the rest. Probiotics and digestive enzymes can probably help.


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## riddick4811 (Nov 2, 2011)

None of my dogs have ever done well on THK. I think it is a good company with great customer service. Plus the smell made me ill. I hate celery and the one formula really smells like celery and I couldn't stand it. Pongo ate the fish formula for a while and that one worked the best. I would rather smell fish than celery! 

I think if they used less veggies and more meat, the food would be better. The veggies are really not necessary IMO and are probably what is causing the gas.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

It has been a couple of years, but I used to feed THK Thrive formula. It is the only formula that I cared to try. It is lower carb than the others; uses quinoa and sweet potato for carbs and does not have cabbage (which is gas-producing).

It worked well for my golden who has a number of sensitivities. I weighed the product before mixing and often added some fresh meat to it. http://http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/thrive/


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I did home cooking for about a month before switching to raw. I used THK preference, I believe it was just the vitamin and mineral premix with some veg and fruit. Ruby was farting up a storm and pooping huge poos 3-5 times a day, way worse then when she was on kibble. I like TKH as a company, but the food didn't agree with her.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

Conceptually, dehydrated meal-type foods should be a good a option, but they are so beholden to formulating and marketing them as human food for dogs, the good ones probably won't come from the existing companies.

I suspect that if these foods where simmered for several minutes, they would be better tolerated. However, you can't market them as "convenience raw" foods anymore.


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Thanks for the GL suggestion, I am going to order a few samples to see if she likes it then go from there. Ever since she got sick the last time she can’t eat pork so that one is out, but I’m guessing the chicken will work and I will try a few others. Also I realized that I had a bit of the Verve left so she’s been eating that for the last few meals and has had no gas issues at all, so maybe it was the Keen and not THK in general. But I am definitely open to trying a different brand.

As far as kcals, the THK is a little higher than the Blue she was eating. She looks like she’s lost a few pounds since she’s been on it which is a good thing for her. She is hypothyroid and her weight has always been an issue so I’m a little worried about putting her on something that is a lot higher in calories. Also her mobility is limited because of really bad elbows and right now she has a torn CCL. She is on a lot of pain meds and gets around pretty well but can’t really exercise as we are doing conservative management for the knee.

As far as her blood work, the guess was that she had either pancreatitis or liver/kidney issues but the blood work didn’t really support that. A few but not all of her kidney numbers were quite high, white blood cells were a little high, and her albumin was low. She does have a history of UTIs but did not have one at that time. (Why yes, I AM at my vet’s office a lot! :smile: )

When I was cooking for her I did include veggies but I overcooked them and then mashed everything together. She had no issues digesting it, she just stopped eating it. I have no problem with simmering the THK before I feed it if that would help her digest it better. I am basically at the point where all I want is a food that she is able/willing to eat. She was never a picky eater when she was younger so this is fairly new.

THK Preference was the first one I tried and she liked it okay but it just seemed so. . .green, I don’t know, I felt like I was feeding her grass. I also have a horse who eats soaked alfalfa cubes and the Preference reminded me so much of my horse’s food that I just had issues feeding it to a dog. I was initially adding cooked meat to the Keen and Verve but then she started picking out the meat. Who knew it was possible to pick out tiny pieces of ground meat out of a bowl of THK, but apparently, it is. I ate meat from the same package so it was fine.

Thank you so much to everyone for the replies and ideas, they are very helpful. If I keep her on THK I will see how she does on either Embark or Thrive.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

My Dogs go bonkers over HK when I've mixed it w/ their dry food. 

With Harry's current food issues, I'm not sure if he still would... but I might grab some just to mix in.


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## thehonestkitchen (Jan 22, 2013)

Hi flashyfawn, I just joined the forum and noticed your post (full disclosure – I work for The Honest Kitchen with my Boxer mix, Blue). It's great to hear that your dog likes our food and that it has been helping her energy! It's amazing how diet changes (in pets and humans!) can impact health sometimes. Gas can occur when there’s a change in diet, especially when a dog is moved from a kibble diet to a more fresh diet. It can last from a couple days to a couple weeks as their gut flora adjusts to the new food. If it doesn’t subside in a few weeks, an ingredient like cabbage or grains might be the culprit. We carry an all-natural nutritional supplement called Perfect Form that can be mixed in with your dog's food and helps to combat gas and other digestive problems. It can be used occasionally or on a regular basis. It has done wonders with my own Boxer's sensitive stomach. 

I would be happy to send you a free jar to see if it helps with your pup's gas issues and it would be great if you could report back on how it worked for you. If you are interested, email your mailing address to me at [email protected]. I can also include a trial size of our Zeal to see if she's changed her mind about eating fish :smile:

As for the comments on veggies versus meat in our foods, we have a total of eight different recipes for dogs (one base mix and seven complete diets). Each one has a single protein source (meat or fish) and some recipes do have more meat (and higher total protein) than others. We also use a variety of different veggies and don’t use all the same produce in every formula so it’s usually easy to find at least one that your dog can easily tolerate. More than half our formulas are also grain-free or gluten-free. I am happy to send a sample to anyone who is interested in tasting a different recipe! Feel free to email me.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

thehonestkitchen said:


> Hi flashyfawn, I just joined the forum and noticed your post (full disclosure – I work for The Honest Kitchen with my Boxer mix, Blue). It's great to hear that your dog likes our food and that it has been helping her energy! It's amazing how diet changes (in pets and humans!) can impact health sometimes. Gas can occur when there’s a change in diet, especially when a dog is moved from a kibble diet to a more fresh diet. It can last from a couple days to a couple weeks as their gut flora adjusts to the new food. If it doesn’t subside in a few weeks, an ingredient like cabbage or grains might be the culprit. We carry an all-natural nutritional supplement called Perfect Form that can be mixed in with your dog's food and helps to combat gas and other digestive problems. It can be used occasionally or on a regular basis. It has done wonders with my own Boxer's sensitive stomach.
> 
> I would be happy to send you a free jar to see if it helps with your pup's gas issues and it would be great if you could report back on how it worked for you. If you are interested, email your mailing address to me at [email protected]. I can also include a trial size of our Zeal to see if she's changed her mind about eating fish :smile:
> 
> As for the comments on veggies versus meat in our foods, we have a total of eight different recipes for dogs (one base mix and seven complete diets). Each one has a single protein source (meat or fish) and some recipes do have more meat (and higher total protein) than others. We also use a variety of different veggies and don’t use all the same produce in every formula so it’s usually easy to find at least one that your dog can easily tolerate. More than half our formulas are also grain-free or gluten-free. I am happy to send a sample to anyone who is interested in tasting a different recipe! Feel free to email me.


Hi Kate, nice to see THK people here! I've fed your food for years, probably always will!


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## thehonestkitchen (Jan 22, 2013)

InkedMarie said:


> Hi Kate, nice to see THK people here! I've fed your food for years, probably always will!


Hi Marie! That's great to hear! What recipe have you found works best for your dogs? Looks like you have quite the mixed pack there.


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Hi Kate, Thanks for replying to my post and I will definitely take you up on that offer! I'll send an email now.

I did get some samples of Grandma Lucy's and my dog eats it but she's a little iffy and definitely prefers the THK. Right now I'm using both Keen and Verve and it seems to be just the Keen causing her stomach issues. Otherwise she is doing amazing, better than she has in a long time and it's great to see her so eager about eating.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

thehonestkitchen said:


> Hi Marie! That's great to hear! What recipe have you found works best for your dogs? Looks like you have quite the mixed pack there.


Boone does best on Zeal, Ginger on Love. Gem a hasn't had it yet. I love to make a thicker batch, stuff it in a Kong and freeze it!


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

I wanted to bump this thread back up so I give an update. A lot of times with threads like this there is no update and I always wonder what happened! 

Anyway, my dog continues to do VERY well on THK. I have been in contact with Kate from THK who very generously sent me a jar of Perfect Form along with several samples of Embark, Zeal, and Force. My dog refused the Zeal. She just does not like fish! She will eat sardines but no other fish related things at all. The Embark seemed to upset her stomach (I'm guessing that's what it was--it was the only new thing she had to eat that day and she needed several trips to the yard overnight.) In the past her stomach issues have gone from bad to worse in a hurry so I was a little nervous about feeding it to her again. We think she has issues with foods that are higher in fat. My other dog was happy to eat the remaining Zeal and Embark. I have not used the Force samples yet.

Her stomach issues actually got slightly better on their own but it was still an issue. The past few days she has been eating Keen with Perfect Form mixed in and her stomach gurgling is 100% gone. The gas is probably 95% gone and when she is gassy it is significantly less noticeable (um, not room-clearing.) She has no gas or any other issue when she eats Verve. So I'm very happy with that and I'm going to guess she is also. 

More importantly, she LOVES the food. She has been on THK for almost 3 months now, I think. Other than that one night, she has had no diarrhea, no vomiting, she is always happy to eat, she interacts more, she is just more herself. For several months before starting THK, she would have days every couple of weeks where she just didn't really want to eat or do much of anything. That has not happened at all since eating THK. Her coat looks amazing also, and I was happy with it before. 

I'm so glad I started her on THK and now also Perfect Form--I really think it has made a huge difference for her.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I'm a big fan of perfect form, always keep it handy since Indy has a sensitive stomach and even if he eats a little bit of people food, it can give him full blown diarrhea. I just add a little bit of the supplement to some canned food and it solves all tummy issues. Another time my old roommates dog ate a dead squirrel which upset her stomach, I added some PF to her next meal and few hours later, she was running around and playing again.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

I have never tried it but I'm glad your girl is doing well on it, and thanks for the update I too wonder sometimes what happens. I have looked at it a while ago you have to soak it don't you before you feed it.


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

I soak it for about 5 minutes. I was a little worried at first because my dog is a bit impatient when she knows food is on the way but it's been no problem.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Glad it's working well. Don't forget to save upc's for your free box nd a thicker batch in a Kong and frozen is a great treat!


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## flashyfawn (Mar 8, 2012)

Yep, definitely saving those upc's! I have enough for some treats but I'm going to hold out for a box of food.


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