This Honest Kitchen pet food may not have been such a great idea. Both dogs and Boots are constantly begging for food. They seem to love it!
Last week I started giving it to Boots. Since I had plenty of the kibble he had been eating, I’m not just adding a few pieces of that to his Honest Kitchen food. He loves the new food and seems to be doing fine with it.
This morning I started Oscar and Rita on the new food. I’m mixing about 1/4 Honest Kitchen dehydrated (which I rehydrated last night) and 3/4 of their old food.
Most mornings I’m up early and I sit and have my quiet time for at least half an hour, sometimes 45 minutes, before I take them out and feed them. They both know the routine and keep sleeping til we’re ready to go out. This morning, it was going to start raining so I took them out as soon as I got up and then fed them. I’m afraid that started a new routine. Both of them have been hitting their bowls and standing by the food bowls waiting for more food all day.
Rita eats three small meals and Oscar has two smaller meals. Oscar was so hungry <G> that I went ahead and gave him a bit more food about mid-day, which is probably another change to the routine. He’ll expect three meals per day now. It was at least an hour earlier this morning when he ate and I didn’t want him to be hungry.
I think Oscar had been tired of his puppy food that he’s been eating for 8 months now. I would put it in his bowl in the morning with a spoonful of pumpkin. He’d gobble the pumpkin down, eat the food that had a little pumpkin on it and then let the rest of the food sit most of the day. He’d go back and get a bite every now and then but by evening, it was all gone. Then I’d only give him a little more since he had just finished eating what he got for the morning. He doesn’t look like he’s missing any meals so I wasn’t too concerned about it but now, with the new food, even the puppy food is gone in a flash.
I’m going to keep on with the 1/4 new food to 3/4 old food routine for a week and make sure there are no tummy issues, then do 1/2 and 1/2 mix next week, then 3/4 new to 1/4 old the third week. The recommendation is to do this for a few days, not a few weeks, but Oscar and Boots have plenty of their food left. Rita probably has enough to get her through three weeks too but if not, we’ll go ahead and switch her to the new food.
I mixed up the new dog food last night. It’s easy to mix up . . just add water. I think it said not to mix up more than 2 or 3 days worth and keep it in the fridge. That’s easy enough to do – a lot easier than making it all myself. I’ll keep you posted on how this goes.
Cilla Hould Tyler says
I use hot tap water, wait 3 minutes then serve. I think you will like Honest Kitchen….their coats and general health. I know nothing about feeding it to cats however. Not with this Long Dog Crew. Glad your crew enjoys it.
Deb says
We feed the Honest Kitchen to our terrier for her dinner – she sleeps through the night. We give her the amount required. We boil water for the Honest Kitchen portion – we don’t make that ahead, but fresh each night & let it sit about 2-3 minutes to allow the food to rehydrate & to cool down a little. We add either a little of the vegetable mix or the protein mix to the HK. I cut up beef stew into finer pieces and cook in a pan & that gets put into mini snack bags (enough for 2 meals in each bag), same thing with turkey & tuna (from the can, but packed in water). The vegetable mix I make in a huge cooker pan with lid. I cook up 2 cups of brown rice, water, some beef broth (no salt in it), peas & carrots, green beans & I also buy fresh squash and/or zucchini and shred that. About half of that goes into a freezer bag for the next time I make her veggie meal. I also add black beans (1/3 can, the rest into the freezer) & grate up some sweet potato. She LOVES the veggie mix with some of the protein added. Her coat is wonderful, her teeth are good (she’s 9) and she runs like a greyhound. Yes, she would do well on just the protein & veggie mix (which she loves) but by adding the Honest Kitchen we know she’s got everything she needs. We also add a small amount of taurine, which is critical for their heart as so many foods don’t have that added anymore. Morning meals are the veggie & protein & her brewers yeast pill cut into smaller pieces (which she thinks is a treat).
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I’m trying to get away from making the dogs’ food so I’m hping to stick with the Honest Kitchen and not add much else but sounds like gourmet pet food at your house. 🙂
Ginny says
I mix it right before serving leaving it a little mushy. I just wait for it to cool down, Karlin loves it so much he would eat more than I give.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Oscar, Rita and Boots are begging for more. I know it isn’t that they’re hungry because for Oscar and Boots, after a few minutes of them whining, I’ve given them dry food and they both walk away from the bowl. If they were hungry, they would eat that. They love the Honest Kitchen food. I don’t mix it up right before serving because Rita and Boots eat three times a day. Boots has tummy issues and gets small amounts at a time. Oscar eats twice a day. I’d be mixing food all day so I do it a couple of days ahead and keep it in the fridge.
Rebecca says
The dry food comment made me laugh. It’s like kids begging for dessert (except this has food value) and being offered carrots!