Guest 2dogs4cats Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Does anyone feed Dr. Harvey's food? Daisy currently eats Science Diet ID canned, but would like either an alternative or maybe in addition. She doesn't do well on dry food. I wondered if Dr Harvey's is easily digested and balanced? I read some reviews that it's not a food you can feed all the time. Anyone use or tried it in the past? Any thoughts? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I've seen it in the stores...it is basically a bag of dehydrated grains and veggies. I think a lot of these "health" homemade food things are a bit of a gimmick, not because they are necessarily a bad food, just due to the fact that many are ridiculously expensive for what is in them, when you could go to the grocery store and buy the same things for a fraction of the price. Dr. Harvey's contains no meat, you have to buy your own on top of the price of the food. On the plus side, it is a complete food if you follow the mix recipe, so is easier if that is what you are looking for. It is much cheaper to make up your own mix but that involves more work and research so that is the trade-off (Dr. Harvey's reminds me of a Dr. Pitcairn recipe). If your dog has digestive problems (assuming so because of the ID food) they often do very well on home prepared food. But...I would start a lot simpler (1-3 ingredients) as the Dr. Harvey's has a LOT of ingredients, and gradually work up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2dogs4cats Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Well, she came to me on Science Diet ID, but the records had no clear reason why she was on it. So I switched her to a homemade diet to see if it would improve her glucose numbers (she's diabetic). It didn't and it was very time consuming, although she did fine on it. So I talked to my vet and she said it would be fine to switch to a regular commercial food. I tried Natural Balance which was a disaster. Her numbers skyrocketed with only replacing 1/3 of her food with kibble and she was throwing it up. So I went back to the ID. The ID is expensive and I just have never been a fan of Science Diet. I thought Harvey's would be like the homemade, but easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Sorry, didn't know that you already tried some of those options. If you don't mind paying the extra cost this food is a complete diet, and yes...easier to make! I have never tried it, but have just heard about it being in the homemade dogfood world They do have different formulas, an all veggie/no grain one, and a grain/veggie mix. It can't hurt to try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyaspet Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I use it for my dogs and they look and act unbelievable it really isn't that much more than a good kibble also their teeth look great. I also don't have to worry about any recalls and you know what your dog is eating. I have been using this for years and I don't see any downside to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brit1 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Re the Dr H do you use the Canine Health one or the Veg to Bowl? I think its a great company and have used CH and also some of his herbal vitamin mixes. Have also used the Sojo Original (their other mixes use veggies from China) I think with the dehydrated food you need to soak longer than they recommend, brit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beledi Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Well, she came to me on Science Diet ID, but the records had no clear reason why she was on it. So I switched her to a homemade diet to see if it would improve her glucose numbers (she's diabetic). It didn't and it was very time consuming, although she did fine on it. So I talked to my vet and she said it would be fine to switch to a regular commercial food. I tried Natural Balance which was a disaster. Her numbers skyrocketed with only replacing 1/3 of her food with kibble and she was throwing it up. So I went back to the ID. The ID is expensive and I just have never been a fan of Science Diet. I thought Harvey's would be like the homemade, but easier. I think Nutrisca is good for diabetic dogs. Nutrisca Dog Food The Bottom Line This may not just be a good dog food. But an important one, too. Nutrisca is a certified2 low glycemic product making it a serious candidate for feeding a diabetic dog. Quote "Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the day comes God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man." Persian Proverb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2dogs4cats Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) Well, she came to me on Science Diet ID, but the records had no clear reason why she was on it. So I switched her to a homemade diet to see if it would improve her glucose numbers (she's diabetic). It didn't and it was very time consuming, although she did fine on it. So I talked to my vet and she said it would be fine to switch to a regular commercial food. I tried Natural Balance which was a disaster. Her numbers skyrocketed with only replacing 1/3 of her food with kibble and she was throwing it up. So I went back to the ID. The ID is expensive and I just have never been a fan of Science Diet. I thought Harvey's would be like the homemade, but easier. I think Nutrisca is good for diabetic dogs. Nutrisca Dog Food The Bottom Line This may not just be a good dog food. But an important one, too. Nutrisca is a certified2 low glycemic product making it a serious candidate for feeding a diabetic dog. I never heard of it before, but looked at their website. It looks pretty good. Thanks! Edited October 25, 2012 by 2dogs4cats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyaspet Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Re the Dr H do you use the Canine Health one or the Veg to Bowl? I think its a great company and have used CH and also some of his herbal vitamin mixes. Have also used the Sojo Original (their other mixes use veggies from China) I think with the dehydrated food you need to soak longer than they recommend, brit I use Canine Health, Harvey's theory is that they need grains for energy and my girls are fine with the grains he uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatricksMom Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Sorry, didn't know that you already tried some of those options. If you don't mind paying the extra cost this food is a complete diet, and yes...easier to make! I have never tried it, but have just heard about it being in the homemade dogfood world They do have different formulas, an all veggie/no grain one, and a grain/veggie mix. It can't hurt to try! If cost is no issue, I'd give it a try. I home cooked the for three months, and it's a real nuisance making sure you balance everything out, plus you need to give supplements and make sure you properly calculate the calcium needed to offset the phosphorus in the meat. Quote Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2dogs4cats Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Sorry, didn't know that you already tried some of those options. If you don't mind paying the extra cost this food is a complete diet, and yes...easier to make! I have never tried it, but have just heard about it being in the homemade dogfood world They do have different formulas, an all veggie/no grain one, and a grain/veggie mix. It can't hurt to try! If cost is no issue, I'd give it a try. I home cooked the for three months, and it's a real nuisance making sure you balance everything out, plus you need to give supplements and make sure you properly calculate the calcium needed to offset the phosphorus in the meat. It's difficult to home cook and I felt I wasn't confident that she was getting all that she needed. It's also difficult though to "experiment" with different food because of her health issues, so I am very cautious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2dogs4cats Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Well, day one of incorporating Nutrisca and so far, so good! I only gave her half a cup along with the usual ID and no grumbly tummy or high glucose yet. My little fluffy even likes it too. Thanks beledi for suggesting it. I have never heard of it before, but I was able to get it at Pet Supplies Plus. May be one to try if you have digestive issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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