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I have 19 month old Rottweiler mix that came to me as a rescue. (rott-boxer, I presume) When I first brought her home she was a ravenous eater who was used to literally INHALING her food so the other dogs she fostered with wouldn't steal it from her. The first few months I had her on a rotation diet of various high quality grain-free kibbles and would mix in various things from high quality canned to salmon or tuna or pumpkin. I also had the luxury of being able to mix in the various supplements into her meals without her noticing.. Sigh, those really were the easy days.
At some point during this time I read about the benefits of a raw diet, and although I'm a vegetarian of 15 years I wanted to try it for my dog. Unfortunately it gave her diarrhea and she stopped eating it completely, so I gave up. Even cooked meat upsets her tummy (which I now know that I can slow cook meat at a low temperature in a covered glass container to help keep the loss of important nutrients and enzymes through cooking to a minimum)
Unfortunately after treating her for worms, which definitely was the cause of her slight frame and ravenous appetite, and a bout with coccidia she lost her appetite completely. I was at my wits end trying to feed her and tried everything and anything without much luck.
After trying out everything I could think of and then some, I managed to somewhat find a solution. If I took one of her treat toys, coated the bottom with peanut or raw almond butter, put in the kibble (and some of the supplements I used to give her, although not all) and then coated the food in peanut butter she would eat. If I partially hand fed her I could get her to eat a cup of food or more, and I could increase that amount by mixing kibbles in with our training treats while out on our walks.
Although I was happy to at least have a dog who was eating again (at least once every few days, which actually is probably closer to how dogs would eat in the wild) I was not happy feeding the SAME kibble and the SAME peanut or raw almond butter every day. I found a bag of Vital Essentials Beef Patties on sale at a local family owned shop and decided that the $6 investment was worth it to see if she would eat it.
I started feeding it to her by crumbling up some and mixing in with her peanut butter every night. (I figured a little raw was better than no raw at all, plus adding the extra caloric content wasn't bad either) Finally one day I took out a patty and held it out to her nose to see if she was interested and of course it was a no go. Then I got creative and smoothed some raw almond butter on top, and as soon as she smelled it her eyes got huge and she wolfed it down. I was ecstatic FINALLY!!!! I can feed my dog raw and know that she is enjoying some of the benefits of a healthy raw diet; without having to worry about the diarrhea that always undoubtedly came.
She will still occasionally turn her nose up at it, and it's not the ONLY food I feed her But it's the one I definitely feel the best about feeding! Since her appetite and diet changed her BM's tend to be loose more often than not. Even after adding a probiotic (in pill form, since I can no longer sprinkle supplements into her food) to her diet I didn't notice much of an improvement until she started eating Vital Essentials! Now her bm's are as they should be very small (for her size) and can be picked up without leaving any on the grass but isn't so hard that she has a hard time getting it out.
She now will typically eat it twice a day, although she will turn her nose up at it after 1 large patty or 2-3 small ones. For a dog of her size that simply wouldn't be enough food for her, and I believe in a variety diet anyway to emulate how they would eat in the wild.
I love the fact that I know it is filling, which I really appreciate when I'm working and I know she's sitting at home waiting. I hate to think of her sitting there hungry, but many times would come home and find her belly gurgling as she devoured kibble out of my hand out of pure hunger.
The only concerns or issues I have with the food is as follows -
1) When I first bought the mini beef patties on sale I was perplexed by the packaging I couldn't figure out if they were supposed to be reconstituted with water or served dry as is, and even the store clerk wasn't sure. Maybe some added instructions on the bag that they can be served "as is" would eliminate potential confusion.
(I also couldn't picture my dog eating the patties because even for her they just seemed too thick and large Of course all I had to do was break them up for her after coating the pieces with pb!)
2 Definitely not widely available locally. The store I originally found it in ONLY had that one bag (although still listed as a purveyor on the Vital Essentials website) and has never restocked. Of course I can and do order through Amazon but it would be nice to be able to purchase locally as well.
3) Price Of course price is going to be a concern for everyone in this economy, but I can't IMAGINE trying to feed this as her primary food. For smaller dogs I'm sure it's not nearly as bad the mini-patties come in a bag that's around $25 with free shipping. (with prime) Unfortunately for larger dogs that may require 8 or more patties a day that bag won't last very long.... And prime shipping isn't available for the larger patties.
The other option is to order to large patties but a roll of those would still only last 1-2 weeks and can cost as the Origen Regional Red kibbles she tolerates that will last a month or more!
4) Sizing It would be really nice if they made a LARGER bag of Beef mini-patties available on Amazon I've noticed some of their other varieties will come in 14 and 16 oz. bags, but I've only found beef in the 14 oz. Even better if it would come in a 20 oz. bag and was priced in between the large patties and the 12 oz. bag of mini-patties
5) Some type of frequent buyer program would be nice! (Especially considering there are other freeze dried patties out there to try!)
That said, I noticed that one of the companies I buy from through Amazon for the larger patties changed their pricing so the shipping is now built into the price and they offer a 5% discount if you buy two packages and 10% if you purchase even more I usually only buy one at a time because of the cost but since they are offering the discount I figured heck, why not?
Still, I'd like to see something from the manufacturer directly, or even just an occasional coupon from their website here or there.
Overall these are all MINOR issues just wanted to point them out for people who may be considering this food. My dog LOVES their beef rolls and so do I. I love the fact that she eats it, sometimes twice daily! This is a dog that routinely sticks her nose up at steak or chicken or lamb but absolutely LOVES to chow down on grass.
I love the fact that it's raw, AAFCO approved meaning it's a balanced raw diet, and that the company has such stringent methodologies of ensuring safe, nutritious food for your dog. I definitely recommend this food to at least give it a shot and see if your dog will like it hopefully the company sends samples if you contact them.
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