# bridging the gap



## Ryan Hassell (Nov 29, 2007)

I feed my mal Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon and was hoping i could get some recommendations for things to supplement into the diet in order to bridge the gap between feed kibble and a raw diet.

Here's the analysis and ingredient list for Barking at the Moon:
Crude Protein, min 41%
Crude Fat, min 20% 
Crude Fiber, max 4%
Moisture, max 10%

465 kcal / cup 

Salmon Meal | Beef | Potatoes | Potato Protein | Canola Oil | Tomato Pomace | Natural Flavor | Salmon Oil | Choline Chloride | Taurine | Dried Chicory Root | Parsley Flakes | Pumpkin Meal | Almond Oil | Sesame Oil | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Thyme | Blueberries | Cranberries | Carrots | Broccoli | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Ferrous Sulfate | Zinc Sulfate | Copper Sulfate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Manganese Proteinate | Manganous Oxide | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Manganese Sulfate | Sodium Selenite | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid

Also, if this food doesn't seem too great could you recommend an alternative? Thanks


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Ryan Hassell said:


> Do you mean how to add fresh foods, or how to alternate between raw and kibble? Or what, exactly?
> 
> Do you give fish oil and Vitamin E?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Ryan Hassell said:
> 
> 
> > Do you mean how to add fresh foods, or how to alternate between raw and kibble? Or what, exactly?
> ...


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

I know the 'ocean fish meal' that's contained in their other foods is from wild caught fish, but I'm not sure about the salmon. I've sent them an e-mail.


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## Ryan Hassell (Nov 29, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Ryan Hassell said:
> 
> 
> > Do you mean how to add fresh foods, or how to alternate between raw and kibble? Or what, exactly?
> ...


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## Ryan Hassell (Nov 29, 2007)

oh, and no i do not give any fish oil or vit E...so any info you could give me on that subject would be very helpful. thanks


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Well, my own opinion is that adding fresh food to a kibble diet is a good thing.

Starting with fish oil:

I use 1 gram (1000 mg.) per ten pounds of dog weight. I use molecularly distilled pharmaceutical quality Nordic Naturals because I share the fish oil with the dogs and it has no taste/odor.

If it's just for the dog(s), I still would stick with either wild salmon oil or other low-mercury oil (anchovy, sardine, etc.) or I would get distilled. (I would not buy any fish oil that the fish source was not clearly stated.)

Because the dog's system uses E in processing oil supplements (E protects delicate PUFAs), I also give E-caps.

I use 100-200 IU a day for a small dog and 200-400 IU for a big one.

I think that after choosing the best diet you can, long-chain Omega 3s (plus E) is probably the next most important diet decision.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Then, after that, I think that variety is paramount. Variety is the only chance of touching most of the nutritional bases. No one food can do it.

So here is what some people do, and you could choose any:

They buy two "recipes" (like poultry and fish, or chicken and buffalo) and alternate.

They gave a few meals a week of raw (not mixing raw and kibble in one meal, IMO).

They add things like plain, no-sugar, LIVE-CULTURE yogurt.

They give green tripe.

They give leftover unseasoned meat from dinner (no cooked bones, of course).

(The "no-people-food" thing makes no sense unless it means no begging from the table, no leftover cooked bones and fat, no salty/sauced stuff. JMO. Food is food.)

They give an egg with its shell sometimes. (You would include the yolk, which makes up for the biotin-binding problem of plain raw whites.)

They give some meals of canned food, many of which are a step up in quality from kibble. The no-grain, 95% meat canned foods are cooked, of course, but pretty good food, IMO.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Here is my correspondence with Solid Gold:

Dane wrote:
> Thank you for your inquiry,
> The salmon is wild caught, we do not use farmed fish. 
> It is human grade when purchased, but because it is 
> processed in a pet food facility, it becomes a feed grade 
> product. 
> Best regards,
> Solid Gold
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kristen Cabe 
> Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 11:17 AM
> To: Dane
> Subject: Source of the fish meal in Barking @ the Moon
>
> I was wondering where the salmon meal (and also the salmon > oil) comes from. Is it wild caught? Farm raised? Is it 
> human grade or feed grade?
>
> Kristen
>​


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Good answer!


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