# Nature's Variety Feeding Guide... is it wrong? RAW



## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

According to the rule of thumb, 3% of body weight, my dog would need almost twice as many nuggets than the NV website. They say 10.8 oz a day! Is this because of the other ingredients in their food? Such as eggs, fruits and veggies?


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## 4lilmunchkins (Feb 14, 2009)

Yeah, I don't think the 3% rule can really apply there...
I always say, it's not an exact science...you'll really be able to tell yourself.
For instance, when mine were strictly on NV, they ALL ate 2 medallions a day. My dogs range from 2-5 pounds so that doesn't seem right and according to their calculators they would have me feeding my smaller ones less.
However, my two smaller ones have gained a little weight from eating the 2 medallions a day, which they really needed to and my 4 and 5 pounders have maintained their weight. An easy way to tell is by your dogs energy levels and by running your hands down your dogs body and feeling where his ribs are. If your dog is starting to "loose" his waist line you should cut down on the medallions etc. I wouldn't be too worried about feeding the exact guideline NV has, I used it more as a guide when I was feeding NV and not a "rule" of exactly how much or how little I needed to feed...hope this helps you some...


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

I know some people feeding it, they feed above (more then) what the guideline says. Some are feeding twice as much to maintain weight. You will just have to try it yourself and find out (if you wish to use it).


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## Meghan&Pedro (Nov 6, 2006)

3% is more a guideline for large breed dogs.

Small breed dogs usually eat more in the 5-6% due to higher metabolic rates.

My large dog would eat about 3% if she was strictly on whole food.

My two small breed dogs, who are on whole food, eat about 4-6%, depending on the time of the year and how much activity we're doing because of the weather.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

PureMutt said:


> According to the rule of thumb, 3% of body weight, my dog would need almost twice as many nuggets than the NV website. They say 10.8 oz a day! Is this because of the other ingredients in their food? Such as eggs, fruits and veggies?


I wouldn't call NV raw - it's more like fresh hydrated kibble. So I would go with the websites suggestion for how much to give.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

Anything not cooked is raw. They're meat is not cooked. Therefor it's raw. Just because it's not model prey doesn't meant it's not raw.

I guess it's not really offensive, just kinda upsets me.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Why is it offensive? BoxMeIn never said anything about it being inferior or low-quality... just that it wasn't raw.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

rosemaryninja said:


> Why is it offensive? BoxMeIn never said anything about it being inferior or low-quality... just that it wasn't raw.


Exactly. Thank you. 

PureMutt, I think NV is very good product if you don't want to go the homemade route. And since you are using it, you want to go with _their_ suggested amounts, not the suggested amounts of feeding a homemade diet since it's not the same thing. That's all I was getting at...


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Beryl said:


> Nature's Variety is indeed raw. It is pre-prepared raw and comparing it to kibble or any other processed food is *inaccurate* but not offensive -- at least not to me.


Inaccurate, maybe. (I don't really know anything about NV.) But certainly not offensive.


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## Westhighlander (Sep 28, 2007)

http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw

Medallions and patties are on the lower left of this picture. Maybe not your idea of Raw but it is raw. If you don't think it is take a bite yourself.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

Westhighlander said:


> http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw
> 
> Medallions and patties are on the lower left of this picture. Maybe not your idea of Raw but it is raw. If you don't think it is take a bite yourself.


That's exactly what I was thinking, if it ain't raw, eat it. lol.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

PureMutt said:


> That's exactly what I was thinking, if it ain't raw, eat it. lol.


Um, kibble's not raw... but I wouldn't eat it.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

I think you misunderstood my comment. If Nature's Variety isn't raw, try eating it and tell us what you think.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Sorry, I've missed your logic again. Why would eating something convince me that it's raw?


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

If something's not cooked then it's raw. NV is a premade raw diet, because it's not cooked.

Also, the feeding instructions on ANY dog food are simply a guideline. Only you can determine how much your individual dog actually needs. I'm feeding NV kibble, and feed less than the guideline states. If I fed how much they wanted me to feed, my dogs would be morbidly obese lmao.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

Cheetah said:


> If something's not cooked then it's raw. NV is a premade raw diet, because it's not cooked.
> 
> Also, the feeding instructions on ANY dog food are simply a guideline. Only you can determine how much your individual dog actually needs. I'm feeding NV kibble, and feed less than the guideline states. If I fed how much they wanted me to feed, my dogs would be morbidly obese lmao.


lol. Thanks, I appreciate the input. It just seems that 11 nuggets a day is so little! I'm also adding in some Sojos dog food mix for additional nutrients. She seems to like it. It's the grain free Europa kind. I'm also gonna see if she likes the oatmeal mix, to help with her coat.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

PureMutt - perhaps my statement was inaccurate - but NV is not the same as feeding a home prepared raw diet, so you should go with what NV suggests for the feeding amount...and THAT is all I was trying to get at. Not that it was bad or to offend you...

And no, I will not eat it.


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## Trainer (Feb 18, 2009)

NV is basically a raw kibble. I wouldn't feed my animals anything I wouldn't eat myself(except maybe some organs). 

Edited to add - But it is far superior to cooked kibble.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

From what I'm reading on the web site, it is 95% ground raw meat & bones - the remaing 5% is veggies, fruits, & other stuff like herbs, I saw some flax seed.
Personally, I prefer to feed my dogs meat & RMBs only, I don't think the fruits & veggies are needed, but neither do I think a small amt would hurt anything. 
We've had a couple of inquiries about NV raw here in our store, & we've put a freezer in & will hopefully start stocking with NV in the next few weeks - I'm waiting for the rep to call me back now. 
I'd rather feed whole raw meat & RMBs, but I don't think it would hurt if I ocassionally had to dip into the NV for my own dogs.


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## Trainer (Feb 18, 2009)

I'm like you. To feed some occasionally wouldn't hurt and might just help for variety of protein sources. I wouldn't recommend feeding it exclusively unless someone is presently feeding kibble and the only way they would feed raw is to start with the premade stuff.


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## cjac&mac (Feb 12, 2007)

BoxMeIn21 said:


> I wouldn't call NV raw - it's more like fresh hydrated kibble. So I would go with the websites suggestion for how much to give.


What? I'm curious to know exactly what you mean.



Trainer said:


> NV is basically a raw kibble. I wouldn't feed my animals anything I wouldn't eat myself(except maybe some organs).
> 
> Edited to add - But it is far superior to cooked kibble.





DJsMom said:


> From what I'm reading on the web site, it is 95% ground raw meat & bones - the remaing 5% is veggies, fruits, & other stuff like herbs, I saw some flax seed.
> Personally, I prefer to feed my dogs meat & RMBs only, I don't think the fruits & veggies are needed, but neither do I think a small amt would hurt anything.
> We've had a couple of inquiries about NV raw here in our store, & we've put a freezer in & will hopefully start stocking with NV in the next few weeks - I'm waiting for the rep to call me back now.
> I'd rather feed whole raw meat & RMBs, but I don't think it would hurt if I ocassionally had to dip into the NV for my own dogs.


Veggies are not cooked therefor they're raw. Meat is not cooked therefor it's raw, bones are not cooke, but ground in the patties, chubs, or medallions, therefor it's raw. 

Kibble is cooked.

I think it's rather simple.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

The word 'kibble' just means 'ground', similar to the word 'meal', though 'meal' refers to dry goods. Like 'Beef kibble' would basically be ground beef. It's not something that has any bearing on quality of the product, unless you believe that simply running a steak through a meat grinder somehow ruins it's nutritional value.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

cjac&mac said:


> Veggies are not cooked therefor they're raw. Meat is not cooked therefor it's raw, bones are not cooke, but ground in the patties, chubs, or medallions, therefor it's raw.
> 
> Kibble is cooked.
> 
> I think it's rather simple.


And that's exactly what I said - 95% of NV raw is raw meat & ground bones, the other 5% is veggies, fruits & others.


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## cjac&mac (Feb 12, 2007)

Pai said:


> The word 'kibble' just means 'ground', similar to the word 'meal', though 'meal' refers to dry goods. Like 'Beef kibble' would basically be ground beef. It's not something that has any bearing on quality of the product, unless you believe that simply running a steak through a meat grinder somehow ruins it's nutritional value.


Where did you find this definition? Kibble is slang for dry dog food. Ground meat is ground meat.



DJsMom said:


> And that's exactly what I said - 95% of NV raw is raw meat & ground bones, the other 5% is veggies, fruits & others.


Sorry, DJsMom, i didn't mean to quote you on that. I meant to show you as an example.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

cjac&mac said:


> Where did you find this definition? Kibble is slang for dry dog food. Ground meat is ground meat.


Google is amazing that way: Free Online Dictionary

Dry kibble is called 'kibble' because it's made of ground up stuff squished into a shape.


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## cjac&mac (Feb 12, 2007)

Pai said:


> Google is amazing that way: Free Online Dictionary
> 
> Dry kibble is called 'kibble' because it's made of ground up stuff squished into a shape.


The site you directed me to, does not say in any way shape or form that it is possible that kibble could be used to describe raw food.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

cjac&mac said:


> The site you directed me to, does not say that it is possible that 'kibble' could be used to describe raw food.


I wasn't trying to say that. 

I was responding to the part of the discussion where people were calling the NV raw medallions 'kibble' as a derogatory term. I was pointing out that the word 'kibble' isn't a reference to quality, it's a reference to a _process_, and questioning a food's quality because it's ground raw patties instead of whole chunks of raw meat/veggies doesn't actually make a lot of sense (at least to me).


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

Pai said:


> I wasn't trying to say that.
> 
> I was responding to the part of the discussion where people were calling the NV raw medallions 'kibble' as a derogatory term. I was pointing out that the word 'kibble' isn't a reference to quality, it's a reference to a _process_, and questioning a food's quality because it's ground raw patties instead of whole chunks of raw meat/veggies doesn't actually make a lot of sense (at least to me).


Where did anyone say that NV was kibble in a derogatory sense? I said it was like raw kibble, because, well it is...it may be fresh raw meat and other raw fruits and veggies - but it's still a processed product, just like kibble, but raw. The quality is ten times better than it's cooked counterpart because I am under the opinion that NV makes a superior product. But at the same time I think you defeat one of the main purposes of feeding a raw diet when you go the pre-packaged route - knowing exactly what goes in that bowl. JMHO...


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## BestFriends (Mar 4, 2009)

Their feeding guide is the best! I use it when feeding my dog and cat a home cooked diet. They are in excellent shape, not overweight, not underweight, perfect! It is a great guide to how much you should feed your pet. Again, I highly recomend it.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

BoxMeIn21 said:


> But at the same time I think you defeat one of the main purposes of feeding a raw diet when you go the pre-packaged route - knowing exactly what goes in that bowl. JMHO...


I guess I also think the pre-packed raw dog food diets may also be lacking the teeth cleaning quality that comes with RMBs. As far as I know, NV raw is lacking RMBs, right? As far as I can see anyway, what bone there is, is ground, which just don't help clean the teeth. 
For me, teeth cleaning is 1 major reason for feeding raw.

Pure Mutt, how's it going? Have you started feeding the NV raw yet, or still researching?


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

I've decided to stick with kibble and canned. I'm feeding EVO Red Meat Small Bites.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

DJsMom said:


> I guess I also think the pre-packed raw dog food diets may also be lacking the teeth cleaning quality that comes with RMBs. As far as I know, NV raw is lacking RMBs, right? As far as I can see anyway, what bone there is, is ground, which just don't help clean the teeth.
> For me, teeth cleaning is 1 major reason for feeding raw.


Yes, indeed. That's another benefit you lose out on by feeding pre-package or even kibble for that matter. It's also PRICEY. 



PureMutt said:


> I've decided to stick with kibble and canned. I'm feeding EVO Red Meat Small Bites.


Evo is good stuff.


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