[ShanniBella]

Hi Everyone. I am looking to see if anyone uses or used this supplement before in home cooking recipes? I know alot of people on here are into raw but I am starting off with home cooked until I can figure out the source of my dogs allergies. I have her on turkey and white rice supplemented with ester-C, probiotics and enzymes, and vitamin E. She is doing well on this diet but it lacks all the other nutritional requirements she needs. I have researched and researched supplements for home cooked diets but I would like an "all in one " supplement with everything she needs and this BalanceIt seems to have it all with no protein based ingredients thus being beef or chicken. I also will be adding some other carbs and protein sources down the road but right now I want to stick to the one protein source and one
carbohydrate source and add new things gradually. I like everything about this supplement but it doesn't give you the breakdown of how much your individual dog would need without consulting your vet which I will do. Any info/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks to

Website is www.BalanceIt.com

 

[Jack Monzon]

I'm curious about this too. My allergy vet put me in touch with an animal nutritionist whose home-cooked diets require you use this supplement. I never used her or the supplement, but hopefully others here have some experience with it and can weigh in.

FYI: I think this is a direct link to the supplements, right? https://oldbalanceit.com/_clients3/supplements.php

 

[Caty M]

If you are dealing with allergies, go prey model raw, the ultimate low ingredient diet.. don't need supplements, it's way easier and doesn't have anything unnecessary like rice.

 

[ShanniBella]

I'm curious about this too. My allergy vet put me in touch with an animal nutritionist whose home-cooked diets require you use this supplement. I never used her or the supplement, but hopefully others here have some experience with it and can weigh in.

FYI: I think this is a direct link to the supplements, right? https://oldbalanceit.com/_clients3/supplements.php

Thanks for the response. I am assuming you home cook or were considering it at one point? What have you done to help your dog and what kind of symptoms have you dealt with? I have never dealt with allergies in dogs since owning them for over 30 years. It's been alot of trial and error on finding the right food. I have been reading alot on home cooking for your dog and I have read that it has helped many dogs with food allergies.

 

[ShanniBella]

If you are dealing with allergies, go prey model raw, the ultimate low ingredient diet.. don't need supplements, it's way easier and doesn't have anything unnecessary like rice.

Thanks! Do you have any links on the prey model raw? I have heard that people who feed raw diets also have to supplement? I am open to the whole raw idea but I am just not ready to go down that road. I am going to take the home cooking approach first. She has never had turkey as a protein source and she is doing well on it along with the white rice.

 

[Jack Monzon]

Thanks for the response. I am assuming you home cook or were considering it at one point? What have you done to help your dog and what kind of symptoms have you dealt with? I have never dealt with allergies in dogs since owning them for over 30 years. It's been alot of trial and error on finding the right food. I have been reading alot on home cooking for your dog and I have read that it has helped many dogs with food allergies.

My dog has allergies, and the allergy vet gave me the name of a nutritionist in case I wanted to go the home-cooked route.

My dog's allergies are seasonal. I haven't fed home-cooked or raw. My dog's symptoms are itching and licking from mid-June until mid-November. I fed my dog the same diet from September 2010 until the present. He didn't have any symptoms from mid-November until late June.

Seasonal allergies have nothing to do with diet, so it can be frustrating switching from diet to diet with no change. Does your dog itch year-round? Are you sure your dog's allergies are food-related? It's a pain to do an elimination diet, but worth it, in my opinion.

 

[AgileDogs]

Yes! It's doing very well for my dogs

I just ran across this post, it's an old question, too bad I didn't see it sooner.

Anyway, I've been using Balance IT with the recipes on the site for almost a year now and I've never used anything this good.

I've been 'in dogs' for going on 40 years now, keeping my dogs in good condition and preserving their health is the most important thing to me, they are like my kids. I've always gotten good results from feeding a quality kibble but these last few years, I've not been able to find a kibble that is up to snuff. I got tired of trying brand after brand and stumbled across Balance IT by accident. I didn't want to go out on a limb, so I just purchased one of the recipes off the site that can be used with human supplements. The dog did so well that I ordered a bottle of the stuff and started feeding all of my dogs with it. I am just amazed at how well they are doing. Most of my pack are middle aged so having them in best possible health is a big deal. I compete in agility and so require a really high standard as far as joint health, muscle tone, etc. Making it myself takes more time and effort, but it's SO worth it! I like that you can pull up a nutrient analysis for every recipe they've got and know exactly what you are feeding, down to the last amino acid or calorie. I never felt peace of mind with homemade but feel good about this because it does balance.

A couple of 'tips' if you decide to try it out:

-Be accurate! Use the recipe generator on the website and follow it exactly. I bought a kitchen scale and weigh everything out.
-Be truthful. The generator will ask for some basic stats on each dog. Make up recipes for each dog as per it's requirements.
-Personally, I like basic and simple. The recipe options have a lot of variety, I guess for people who want to make treats or whatever but personally I stay away from weird ingredients. I stick to simple things like Chicken, Salmon, Beef or Lamb for protein and use either rice or oatmeal. These are so simple and clean, just mixing it up I was thinking this has just got to be better for them. All I can say is I am one picky mom when it comes to my dogs and this is the best thing I've come across in almost 40 years. I do like the credentials of the company, these guys are UC Davis educated Veterinary Nutritionists, they know what they are doing. I say give it a try, I think you will be happy with it. If I can brag, my dogs have done very well in competitiion, one even made finals at a USDAA national. I'm just sayin' - I am not just some flakey person, I am very serious about my dogs and I think this is a very good company.

 

[bett]

if you are home cooking there are many supplements that need to be added . in addition, if the dog has an issue, (mine has liver issues) then there are diffeernt supplements that need to be added. it's not all that difficult but it does take reading up and figuring it out i use, as one of my guides "Raw 7 Natural Nutrition for Dogs" but there are other books out there as well.

 

[Jack Monzon]

if you are home cooking there are many supplements that need to be added . in addition, if the dog has an issue, (mine has liver issues) then there are diffeernt supplements that need to be added. it's not all that difficult but it does take reading up and figuring it out i use, as one of my guides "Raw 7 Natural Nutrition for Dogs" but there are other books out there as well.

The purpose of Balance It -- along with a diet that's formulated to complement it -- is so you don't have to supplement with a ton. And yes, this only applies to 100% healthy dogs. For dogs with issues, there are different requirements.

 

[bett]

The purpose of Balance It -- along with a diet that's formulated to complement it -- is so you don't have to supplement with a ton. And yes, this only applies to 100% healthy dogs. For dogs with issues, there are different requirements.

i also tried cooking for vangie, who always has a high eosinophil count, showing an allergy to something, and that something i may never discover. i gave up the home cooking, shy of looking for kangaroos in long island. needless to say, nick being a butcher and having access to fish as well, i cooked and cooked, and she scratched, and licked all the while.
so, she's back on a gf kibble, now fromm but one never knows.

 

[Lennie]

The Balance-It website has some issues. I think Balance-It has good intentions and a good premise for responsible home cooking. But...here's my experience: I have a puppy. I had to get a vet referral for recipes that involved a "growing dog" and I got locked out of the recipes 2 weeks in -- because apparently the recipes I'd been offered were not accurate. Customer Service suggested that I had "mistakenly" looked at adult dog recipes "at some point" and it had altered my puppy recipes whenever I looked at them. It didn't make sense. That said, I had already bought $70 worth of their Carnivore supplements so I did what they asked. Which meant: I had to ask my vet for another referral, then wait for approval and get "new" recipes, which were fairly different. After 2 vet visits for diarrhea, it turns out these "appropriate" recipes contained too much of the supplement and too much of their suggested Omega 3, Nordic Naturals. The adult dog food recipes are probably fine but tread carefully with specialized meals. They have a LOT of kinks to work out. But overall, I think supplements are important for homemade diets. So don't completely disregard the plan. Just use common sense and don't take any attitude from Customer Service.