I am new to the HK but my dogs are scarfing it down. costs an arm and leg, but it’s supposedly worth it b/c it’s so much healthier for them. It is a raw-dehydrated meal that you rehydrate with water. It’s got no bad grains and it’s human grade ingredients. If you are a user or you used to be, let me know what you think.
** this thread is about Honest Kitchen. Not other dog foods. I am happy you like what you feed, but in this thread, lets stick to this food.* thanks.
Which one do you feed? It doesn’t look anymore expensive than other ultra-premium brands, if this part of their website is correct:
“10 lbs box, $84, makes 43 lbs of fresh food”
I pay … I don’t know … $70, for 28 lbs of EVO?
I’m still on the lookout for a replacement for the EVO, should the P&G purchase cause issues with the food, so I’d be curious to hear about this one.
I tried it for both my cats and dog. I loved the fact that it’s made in one factory, where they have good quality controls in place. My cats loved it, my dog, not so much. I ended up stopping because it was too time consuming. But I don’t have anything bad to say about the company or the products.
I used it briefly at my husband’s insistence for our three dogs. We have a Great Dane, Boxer and Doberman. It was EXTREMELY cost prohibitive and once I told DH what we were spending on dog food every month he encouraged me to switch back! Great food, great concept but as much as I love my dogs and try to do well by them it is WAY out of my budget. Perhaps if I had smaller dogs that did not eat so much I could swing it…but not with my big dogs!
I loved the concept of it, my dog didn’t like it. She picked out the banana pieces and looked very insulted. LOL. I can’t remember which on it is, but there is one that has just the veggies grains fruits and you add your own meat, and that one is much less expensive than the others. My friend that feeds raw uses that and loves it. It’s great food, I think its even human grade, says they test it!
My dog only likes the one that I add meat to, and so do I. It’s called Preference.
The other formulas have too little meat for my liking, and I felt they were too expensive.
Also, if you have a small dog, I hope you like picking up Golden Retriever sized poops in your back yard because this stuff has some fiber! I can only imagine Golden Retriever poops become horse sized poops.
It’s not bad stuff, but I am not using it anymore either.
i am using the Zeal, which is the fish and the most costly. I have one allergy dog who can not have chicken or beef. I have another dog with a sensitive tummy. the Zeal seemed to be the best stuff for all 3 of my dogs. They will eat whatever i put in front of them, and they love the HK, but they would have to eat it or starve if they started getting picky. i don’t allow my dogs to get picky. I won’t do a raw diet, b/c it’s to messy and time consuming, and this is so much easier. I think for now i can afford to give them half HK and half kibble at each meal. 3 small dogs, but it’s expensive stuff. I hate to say that b/c i believe you can’t put a price on good health, and if my allergy dog gets very much improved on it, i’ll def make sure she got only HK and be glad to pay for it. But yeah, my wallet is not happy.
I am feeding HK to one of my dogs. Our rescue got a donation of HK dehydrated food, and interesting, no one wanted it so I took it. My very large dog absolutely loves it, and because it know it is very expensive to buy, I have been mixing it with his regular food to make it last longer. My puppy also loves the HK, and I occasionally top dress her puppy food with it as a treat.
but it’s supposedly worth it b/c it’s so much healthier for them.
I don’t believe it is any healthier than one of the top-of-the-line low carb kibbles, and possibly may be less healthier. Look at the ingredients and the nutritional profile- ideally you want the (dry) percentage of protein to be well over 30%, and in most of their products the protein is quite low. Keen and Force, for example, are at only 21% protein; Zeal, the new fish one, does look pretty good at 35% protein, but the fat content is VERY low- if you decide to feed that one, I would suggest adding extra oil (fish body oil and/or olive oil).
I would be concerned about using Preference- it only has a 1.5% calcium level as provided, and if you feed it mixed one to one with meat you aren’t going to end up with enough calcium.
These diets don’t resemble in any way a typical balanced raw diet. Look at the pre-made Nature’s variety raw diet as an example of what a good raw diet should contain. On a dry matter basis they have 40% protein and 35% fat.
What they DO resemble is regular kibble. Just not processed into lumps.
One of my dogs needs lower protein b/c of his urine pH and that is just fine. i don’t like my dogs getting too much protein, it can cause aggression in some dogs.
I have gone by the opinions of Dogfood advisor, and the Whole Dog Journal, as well as opinions of My vet and Dr Karen Becker who promotes a totally raw diet. All of these give HK 2 thumbs up.
i don’t like my dogs getting too much protein, it can cause aggression in some dogs.
riiiight.
So despite the fact that numerous scientific studies exist showing that dogs NEED a diet with at least 30% protein in it to remain in optimal health (especially as they get older), you’re going with this old myth?
[QUOTE=wendy;5621158]
riiiight.
So despite the fact that numerous scientific studies exist showing that dogs NEED a diet with at least 30% protein in it to remain in optimal health (especially as they get older), you’re going with this old myth?[/QUOTE]
i’ve seen it with my own eyes, and you are not exactly credible.
According to research by Dr. Nicholas Dodman at Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000, fear-aggressive behavior was significantly reduced in dogs fed a low (17%) protein diet when compared to medium (25%) and high (32%) protein diets. The same study concluded that dietary protein had no effect on dominant-aggressive dogs.This study confirmed numerous earlier studies linking high protein levels with different types of aggression. The speculation is that high protein levels in the food provide an over-abundance of amino acids, essentially crowding out the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is essential for seratonin production, which has a calming and stabilizing effect on canine behavior._
Haven’t EVER heard that protein causes aggression. My dogs are on 42% protein and are the opposite of aggressive.
Think I’ll skip this food. The protein and calorie count were iffy for me anyway, but the calcium issues put it into the no column. There are far better options out there.
[QUOTE=Nezzy;5620779]
i am using the Zeal, which is the fish and the most costly. I have one allergy dog who can not have chicken or beef. I have another dog with a sensitive tummy. the Zeal seemed to be the best stuff for all 3 of my dogs. They will eat whatever i put in front of them, and they love the HK, but they would have to eat it or starve if they started getting picky. i don’t allow my dogs to get picky. I won’t do a raw diet, b/c it’s to messy and time consuming, and this is so much easier. I think for now i can afford to give them half HK and half kibble at each meal. 3 small dogs, but it’s expensive stuff. I hate to say that b/c i believe you can’t put a price on good health, and if my allergy dog gets very much improved on it, i’ll def make sure she got only HK and be glad to pay for it. But yeah, my wallet is not happy.[/QUOTE]
If you’re on their mailing list they will send out deals and coupons once a month. I still get them, and I remember long after stopping their food they still sent me a free sample of their Ice Pups 
And I know you didn’t request recommendations but for another high quality food to cut the Zeal with, I’ve had great success on Orijen Six Fish, or its cheaper cousin Acana Pacifica.
According to research by Dr. Nicholas Dodman at Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000, fear-aggressive behavior was significantly reduced in dogs fed a low (17%) protein diet when compared to medium (25%) and high (32%) protein diets. The same study concluded that dietary protein had no effect on dominant-aggressive dogs._
these are dogs who are fearful. Already afraid. Not aggressive, extremely fearful. They are being TREATED by feeding a different diet. Protein didn’t CAUSE them to be this way- where does it say they became fearful after being fed a high-protein diet? They are probably fearful due to genetics and bad experiences. Note the actually aggressive dogs didn’t respond to the diet. If your dog isn’t already fear-aggressive then starving him of protein is ridiculous. And unhealthy. I note you didn’t post another study by Dodman where they concluded:
“Results of this study suggest that a reduction in dietary protein content is not generally useful in the treatment of behavior problems in dogs”
If you like I will dig up the endless number of studies demonstrating dogs need 30% or higher protein to be healthy. Especially older dogs.
See this report of a puppy almost crippled by malnutrition? it doesn’t give the brand name but I suspect the diet that crippled the puppy is Honest Kitchen’s Preference plus ground beef:
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2009 Apr 15;234(8):1041-8.
Diffuse osteopenia and myelopathy in a puppy fed a diet composed of an organic premix and raw ground beef.
Taylor MB, Geiger DA, Saker KE, Larson MM.
SourceBanfield, The Pet Hospital, Christiansburg, VA 24060, USA.
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION: An 8-month-old Shetland Sheepdog was evaluated because of the sudden onset of signs of neck pain, collapse, and inability to rise. A cursory diet history indicated that the dog had been fed a raw meat-based diet.
CLINICAL FINDINGS: Initial evaluation of the dog revealed small physical stature, thin body condition, and signs of cranial cervical myelopathy. Radiographically, diffuse osteopenia of all skeletal regions was identified; polyostotic deformities associated with fracture remodeling were observed in weight-bearing bones, along with an apparent floating dental arcade. Hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia were detected via serum biochemical analyses. The dog’s diet was imbalanced in macronutrients and macrominerals.
TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: The dog received supportive care and treatment of medical complications; neurologic abnormalities improved rapidly without intervention. Dietary changes were implemented during hospitalization, and a long-term feeding regimen was established. Following discharge from the hospital, exercise restriction was continued at home. Serial follow-up evaluations, including quantitative bone density measurements, revealed that dietary changes were effective. After 7 months, the dog was clinically normal.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In the dog of this report, vitamin D-dependent rickets type I and suspected nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism developed following intake of a nutritionally incomplete and unbalanced diet. The raw meat-based, home-prepared diet fed to the dog was not feed-trial tested for any life stage by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, and its gross nutrient imbalance induced severe metabolic, orthopedic, and neurologic abnormalities. Inadvertent malnutrition can be avoided through proper diet assessment and by matching nutrient profiles with patients’ nutritional needs.
Whoa. Interesting article, Wendy. I feel badly for the owners, who probably thought they were doing the best thing for their dog.
[QUOTE=KateKat;5621634]
If you’re on their mailing list they will send out deals and coupons once a month. I still get them, and I remember long after stopping their food they still sent me a free sample of their Ice Pups
And I know you didn’t request recommendations but for another high quality food to cut the Zeal with, I’ve had great success on Orijen Six Fish, or its cheaper cousin Acana Pacifica.[/QUOTE]
I have used Orijen, it’s a good food, but my vet needed me to switch my male to a lower protein.
Needed? Why? Kidney issues?
[QUOTE=Simkie;5621961]
Needed? Why? Kidney issues?[/QUOTE]
High pH of his urine and crystals in his urine. he just got over a UTI and altho he is not prone to them, the high pH is something we need to keep an eye on.
The Crystals were gone by the time he finished his treatment, so this is just precautionary.
I have 2 real picky dogs. My 14 yo std poodle has some major liver issues, and pretty much stopped eating. Tried HK but she she didn’t like it. I have fed Orijen 6 Fish, and agree, kibble wise, it’s one of the best out there. But, the only thing I can get my old poodle and picky min. dachshund to eat is NV Instinct Raw diet. And, only the medallions. (I did mention that they were picky, right?) There is very little stool with the raw diet, and it’s as close to an “all natural” diet that exists.
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