Good Stuff

Glacier and Roscoe have been on a raw diet for just over two weeks now. Mr. K and I decided to go with a pre-made  food for now as getting the ingredients for a raw diet may prove difficult as of right now. The food we selected, after many hours of research, was Natural Instincts and let me tell you, we, the dogs included, are very happy with the food.
As most of my readers know, Roscoe has a few allergies and commercial kibbles often make the allergies flare up. We had found a wet food, Nature Diet, that seemed to work for a while, but his stomach seemed to disagree with it after a while as well. His ears would become stinky and overly waxy after a few weeks, which would require the use of an ear cleaner. Both dogs' "deposits" were small, but the consistency wasn't quite right. So, I went on the hunt for a high quality, raw, pre-made food. Natural Instincts has a "Working dog" line, which we feed the boys, not only because it has more vitamins, but also because, for some reason, it is cheaper than the other Natural Instincts Options. I also like it because there is a variety of proteins to pick from and so the boys may get chicken one day, turkey another and beef yet another. The shipping was incredibly fast and the food arrived still frozen in little coolers. Their customer service is also quite satisfactory as I emailed at one point, wondering where our order was, and they phoned me back within a few hours of me sending the email. Yes, the food is a bit more expensive than what we were originally feeding Glacier and Roscoe, but I calculated it and they are eating 1100 grams of food less a day. That is huge. That means, that they are metabolizing the food better and actually using what is put into their systems.
Their coats are thicker and shinier, ears are clean, no paw chewing, poop is itty-bitty and their stinky doggie breath isn't nearly as bad. And, the boys love it! I mean, they are Labs and would probably love anything I put in front of them-Glacier has eaten velcro-but they are so excited for their meals now, I can hardly contain them.
At first, I thought they were starving and that I wasn't feeding them enough. The quantity of food I was feeding them had dropped drastically and I was concerned that they were not getting enough food. So, to experiment, I doubled their portions one day and they still acted crazy when it was meal time. It wasn't that they weren't getting enough, it was that they loved it so much.
Both boys know when it's close to meal time, as I am sure all dog owners can relate to. Roscoe starts prancing about and if I'm not fast enough, he will start talking to me. Ever since we made the food switch, he prances even more vigorously, even to the point where he runs around the living room like a mad man and talks even more vehemently. Glacier will move around, plunking into a sit and then moving to a new spot. He knows he has to sit for his food and perhaps he thinks that if he sits adamantly, then I'll feed him faster. This is at supper time. The mornings are a whole different story.
In the mornings, both boys start tap dancing next to my side of the bed and thrusting their cold noses under the covers. Glacier is tall enough to get his head on the bed without putting his paws up. If I am unresponsive, and Mr. K isn't in bed, Roscoe will leap on to the bed and start stamping on me and snuffing my face. If I move at all, indicating to him that his antics are working, then he starts hitting me with his front paws. The instant I throw back the covers, Roscoe has launched himself off the bed and lands in front of  the bedroom door, where he resumes his tap dancing. I can't get the door open fast enough for the two of them. They both hold their "sit, stay" while they wait for me to dish it out, but they are quivering with anticipation.
Basically, we, all of us, are very satisfied with the food we have chosen. The dogs love its taste and the humans are happy with the results. I think we may have found a winner this time around; let's just hope it stays that way.
*Note: the opinions expressed here are mine and I have not received any kind of endorsement from Natural Instincts for my review; although, that would be nice*. :)