Grand Dog Essentials - Information and Tips to Feeding Your Dog a Raw Food Diet

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this question in a Facebook Raw Feeding group:  “Any experience with struvite crystals in dogs and feeding raw?  My vet thinks the raw caused the crystals although he’s been eating the same food for 5 years, I began feeding open farm kibble and bam — crystals. He would like my dog on the Urinary...

      I am very excited to introduce our first ever Grand Dogs of 2024 photo contest and calendar!  The first portion of the contest is complete!  You all submitted FANTASTIC photos of your pups on social media and through email using the hashtag #granddogs2024 .  Now it's time to vote on the final 12 photos!  Continue reading for a...

  In the blog before this one, I shared my raw fed senior dog's gut health test results from Doggy Biome.  We are continuing on with a two part series sharing the other two test results. We tested two other dogs, Archie and Kaiti.  Archie is kibble fed and Kaiti is fed a raw diet, particularly our Turkey Raw Pet...

    We have an exciting new product in the Grand Dog shop!  This product is unlike any other products we have.  This product provides you with tools to assess your dogs gut environment and knowledge to help get to the root of many chronic issues dogs experience. We believe this will be a valuable tool for you in monitoring...

    Earlier this year, I decided to test Doozer, our 10 year old Golden doodle, to see where his Essential Vitamin levels were at.  Initially, the intent was to test his Vitamin D levels, but found this test on Dr. Judy Morgan's website and thought, why do just one?  I was happy with the results!  Continue reading to see what...

    I took Philly, our Berne-doodle, to the vet this past January for her routine check up. They told me what I already knew - Philly needs to lose a couple of pounds. Unlike our Golden-doodle, Doozer, Philly seems to fluctuate with her weight ever since she had a litter of puppies.  She has a different body structure than...

    "There are two numbers you need to know about protein, its amount (the only number on the pet food label) and the quality (a number never on the pet food label)." Excerpt from the Dogs Naturally magazine article "The Top 10 Overlooked Diet Rules" by Dr. Richard Patton Kibble companies are falling short on nutrition for your dogs.  They have...

Pumpkin.  The golden ingredient for dogs.  It seems that this is the vegetable that just keeps on working for our pups.  If you aren't familiar, here are just a number of benefits that pumpkin provides your dogs:  PUMPKIN BENEFITS FOR DOGS Vitamins & Minerals - pumpkin is a great source of vitamins and minerals.  It contains Vitamins A, E, & C...

  All animals on the planet are biologically wired to eat a specific way.  Carnivores eat meat.  Omnivores eat plants and meat.  Herbivores eat plants.  Now some may argue about what category some animals fall under.  Some say that dogs should only eat meat and others believe that dogs and wolves can and should eat a little plant matter.  But...

    In July of 2020, Diesel's mom reached out to me looking for some help.  Her dog was recently diagnosed with papilloma virus and was looking for natural dog supplement options that might speed up her dog's healing alongside the vet recommendations.   What is canine oral papillomas? "Papillomas are benign, sometimes multiple, tumors caused by viruses. They are commonly known...

This is a hot topic in the dog food world. To mix or not to mix kibble and raw dog food. At Grand Dog Essentials, we believe the raw dog food diet is the best option for our furry family members.  Nothing can compare to the natural nutrients that come from a fresh food diet. With that being said, there...

    Kanti was one of twelve in a litter from Ace Aus Der Karpatenvorland (Sire) and Fresca Vom Emmanuel (Dame), born in Sylvan Lake on May 28, 2011 and registered with the Canadian Kennel Club as a purebred. She was the inspiration and the face of Grand Dog Essentials.  She was also our Gentle Giant and Greg’s shadow.   Kanti...

A very popular question I see in our inbox and many raw feeding Facebook groups is:  my dog has stopped eating their raw dog food, why???!!!   This blog post is a work in progress.  There are so many reasons for food refusal and as we gather more data and information from our #granddograwpack about their dog's experience, we add to...

    A question we are asked frequently is: how long does our raw dog food last in the fridge?  The answer to this question depends on how you thaw your dogs food.  Below we will answer the above question along with an outline on how to thaw and store your raw dog food. From your doorstep to your freezer!...

  Research is consistently showing the importance of a healthy gut and how it directly affects a dog's overall health. Creating a healthy gut environment is the foundation of your dog's immune system.  Poor gut health is connected to many of the ailments affecting dogs today: obesity, allergies, premature aging, yeast infections, chronic digestive issues.  Feeding a fresh food raw dog...

    Itchy skin, ear infections, irritated paws.  The symptoms of a yeast infection and food allergies can be similar, so how can you tell the difference?  And what actions can you take to provide relief to your furry family members? What are allergies? Allergy symptoms arise when your dog has repeated and prolonged exposure to a trigger or allergen. ...

    I'm sure when you got your dog(s), the last thing you thought would be part of your duties is to check your dog's doody.  We do it because we love our pups and the truth is, your dog's poop can tell you a lot about what's going on inside. Our job as their family is to determine what is...

Below is an email I received from one of our community members, Stephanie.  I have been working with Stephanie for about a year now.  First with her dog Bailey and now with her dog Diesel.  Stephanie has graciously documented Diesel's journey to raw dog food and gave me permission us to share the story with the #granddograwpack . Enjoy! Amanda...