We are in the process of switching dog foods and would like any feedback on these two brands. I know there are some differences...Honest Kitchen dehydrates their food and Grandma Lucy's freeze dries their food. I talked to the people at Grandma Lucy's and they say that actually helps the food retain most of its nutrition. The part that concerns me about Honest Kitchen is that they get their ingredients from all over the world....including Asia. Grandma Lucy's ingredients all come from the US. If you've had any experiences with these two brands (good or bad) I would be really appreciative if you could share them. Thanks.
Honest Kitchen vs. Grandma Lucy's???
rambo
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I know they weren't. But what he was insinuating was that ingredients in food don't cause problems, lack of nutrients does... when obviously diet plays a HUGE role in most prevalent problems in dogs nowadays.. arthritis, cancers etc. Over vax does also, as can bad genetics. But to say diet can't be blamed for that is ludicrous.
You are entirely wrong. Everyone knows that canine diabetes is a problem right? A huge problem, right? Neutered and spayed dogs are at least 3 times as likely to get diabetes as intact dogs. Fact. Neutered males are 5 times as likely to get bone cancer and 3 times as likely to get
hemangiosarcoma. Bad coat has more to do with when or if a dog has been spayed or neutered than anything. Over vaccination is linked to more medical problems than I care to mention.
A dog should eat a quality diet, of course, but many many problems are caused by stupid
owners not Purina.
Don't think that giving a dog a bunch of silly expensive foods and supplements will help these
problems.
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I am quite aware that speutering, especially early, can cause many problems especially in larger breeds. I am electing to not spay my dog for these reasons :smile:
BUT... Canine diabetes can also be caused by taxing the pancreas... done by feeding crappy dog foods high in carbs. Dogs just aren't supposed to do digest carbs. They are not built for it.
There have been MANY people here switching from a low or moderate quality food to a high quality or raw... and have seen great improvement in their dogs.
I'm not a giant fan of the foods in the OP (sorry, just don't consider a processed food to be "raw") but I do think the lower the carbs the better. A diet that encourages the use of fresh meats (HK does I believe in some of their formulas recommend cooked or raw ground meats) is better in my book.
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What you say may be true or may not be. I would like to investigate it further. Where do your numbers come from?
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I'd just like to add that my show dog (that are, believe it or not "heavily trained"), a bluetick coonhound, eats raw, not crap food, and gets compliments wherever he goes. I do not believe for a second that he would look as stunning as he does if he were on a crap food. So... I own a performance dog who does not get fed crap food and I know I am not the only one on this forum who does.
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Yeah I found that comment strange. The ONLY performance dogs I know who are fed what I consider crappy kibble (Euk, Purina, etc) are some show dogs. I also know show dogs who are fed Orijen, Acana, Go, Fromm 4Star, and even raw. I know a couple who get Honest Kitchen too. The flyball dogs I know are fed a mix between high quality kibble (mostly Go) and raw. Nearly every single agility dog in my group is fed raw and my own performance dog is fed a mix between raw and kibble (I get my food for free, so it's what is affordable for me right now). My other dog who is just a pet gets all raw. Most of the sled dogs I know are fed a raw diet as well...
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I show chihuahuas and am basically accosted ringside for 'the secret' of what I'm feeding, or how my dog is so white with no tear stains, or why my little red bitch 'simply glows'...judges comment on their clean teeth, clear eyes, and bright coats, without fail.
I feed PMR to my show chihuahuas and pups are weaned directly onto PMR/Stella & Chewy's/THK/Ziwipeak (so that their new owners have options as far as what to feed).
Feeding PMR absolutely DOES make a difference in how a dog looks and even in it's build, believe it or not chihuahuas ARE supposed to have muscle and mine do unlike many of the purina pudgies running around the ring with dull coats and runny eyes.
We win a lot of the time purely because my dogs look better ha-ha.
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I used THK as my "gateway drug" to raw, and I have to say I still think it's a much better alternative to kibble but damn expensive! I did mix ins though, raw chicken chopped up, beef or lamb or pork chopped up, etc. even traveling you can get relatively small packets of ground meat (I know some don't like to feed this) to mix in.Yup! My dog not only goes into the ring, but she also lure courses.... and she gets PMR. This HK/GL stuff though seems like it could be a stand in while we are traveling. Frozen chunks of meat are not easy to transport!
Lure Coursing
![Image]()
For someone just not sure they can do raw, or they are worried about vitamins, balancing, etc. I feel like THK is a good way to slowly learn raw while having the extra confidence of an already balanced meal. Lots of the hardcore people here just shake their heads but I say they need to chill!
We usually bring the freeze dried stella & chewy pucks or Ziwipeak on trips, but throw in chicken wings here or there.
My two sled dog mutts train in bitesports and eat prey model raw. And let me tell you, this breed type... their bodies do not like processed crap at all. They seem to be much more sensitive to it than other breed types.... my hunch is that is because most mushers/breeders continued to feed raw through kibble development and popularity. They were bred to have whole salmon and other frozen animal parts tossed to them.... not eat overpriced doggie McDonalds.
There is actually an excerpt from Lonsdale's book that cites a study done in sled dogs where the high carb/fiber content in premium kibble actually caused the dogs to bleed from the anus during races. I found that interesting. He then goes on to say that a dog who isn't a performance dog wouldn't be exhibiting those same signs laying ont he couch all day, but that doesn't mean its not still bad...
I tried a box of THK Force. My dog in my avatar was having constipation issues on Acana Grasslands. It fixed the poo issue, but she lost so much muscle, gained fat, and her coat frankly looked like shit. It was greasy and disgusting. I finally stopped and said to myself, wtf am I doing? She would not graze on alfalfa in the pasture, she would catch mice! So I changed to prey model raw. The detox she went through was disgusting and a fantastic illustration of just what nasty crap we put into our animals (and our own bodies with human food!) in the form of unnatural processed foodstuffs. Her coat was never rough, but its so soft now everyone thinks she's a puppy (she is almost 5). She was always muscular and I've never successfully reached her limit athletically, but her mind and drive to work are clearer, stronger, and calmer now and she has filled out with more and much stronger muscle than she's ever had before. And she was already in much better shape than most dogs we see at training (who eat kibble still).
Travel? We go to my mom's every weekend... I stick a cooler in the car with their food. Real tough! Lol.
There is actually an excerpt from Lonsdale's book that cites a study done in sled dogs where the high carb/fiber content in premium kibble actually caused the dogs to bleed from the anus during races. I found that interesting. He then goes on to say that a dog who isn't a performance dog wouldn't be exhibiting those same signs laying ont he couch all day, but that doesn't mean its not still bad...
I tried a box of THK Force. My dog in my avatar was having constipation issues on Acana Grasslands. It fixed the poo issue, but she lost so much muscle, gained fat, and her coat frankly looked like shit. It was greasy and disgusting. I finally stopped and said to myself, wtf am I doing? She would not graze on alfalfa in the pasture, she would catch mice! So I changed to prey model raw. The detox she went through was disgusting and a fantastic illustration of just what nasty crap we put into our animals (and our own bodies with human food!) in the form of unnatural processed foodstuffs. Her coat was never rough, but its so soft now everyone thinks she's a puppy (she is almost 5). She was always muscular and I've never successfully reached her limit athletically, but her mind and drive to work are clearer, stronger, and calmer now and she has filled out with more and much stronger muscle than she's ever had before. And she was already in much better shape than most dogs we see at training (who eat kibble still).
Travel? We go to my mom's every weekend... I stick a cooler in the car with their food. Real tough! Lol.
Regarding post #71: I'm glad that you've found what seems to be working best for your dog. One small note about THK Force that didn't work. I've never tried that one because of the lower protein %, but I have used THK Thrive in the past with success. It has higher protein but no alfalfa, fruits, potato or flax seed. It's the one formula out of all The Honest Kitchen formulas that I'd recommend to someone.
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