Honest Kitchen experience?

[Roscoesmommy]

Has anyone used Honest Kitchen? I was looking into their grain-free recipies to try for Roscoe. The two grain free recepies are "Embark" and "Force." They say that "Force" is for adults (Roscoe will be 6 months on the 28th of this month) and the Embark is an all life stages, but I was wondering if the protein amounts are too high in either of these for Roscoe. Here is where they list the amounts of protein, etc.
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/food_comparison.shtml

Does anyone have any experiences, good or bad, with this product or company?

 

[JulieM]

The Embark is on the higher end of protein at 29%, but only 16% fat so I wouldn't consider it 'too high'. I've fed Force on occasion over the past several years and my dogs have loved it and were fine with it; I tried Verve but that didn't work so well, I'm sure because of the grains (they're raw-fed normally). I've been satisfied with the product and the company.

 

[Kerry Jane]

I have used Embark from time to time with my puppy (she is 4 months old). Embark is the only variety that is suitable for puppies (or a 6 month old).

I liked the company and the product and have been happy with it. I don't feed it all of the time - I feed a raw diet, so have mostly used this when travelling.

 

[nswain]

We feed Grumpy HK Preference, the veggie - fruit formula, and add our own meat. She LOVES it and is doing great on it. Since there's no meat in the Preference, you can pretty much adjust the fat & protein to any level by changing the ratio of meat-to-Preference you feed. I also wouldn't think you'd have to worry as much about a higher protein food with the HK products, since it's not a kibble.
It's not cheap (especially since I'm buying her organic meats to add to it, ) but we have way more than made up the cost by not having to take her to the vet constantly.

 

[Roscoesmommy]

We feed Grumpy HK Preference, the veggie - fruit formula, and add our own meat. She LOVES it and is doing great on it. Since there's no meat in the Preference, you can pretty much adjust the fat & protein to any level by changing the ratio of meat-to-Preference you feed. I also wouldn't think you'd have to worry as much about a higher protein food with the HK products, since it's not a kibble.
It's not cheap (especially since I'm buying her organic meats to add to it, ) but we have way more than made up the cost by not having to take her to the vet constantly.

So do you have to add meat to their other recipies, or just the Preference? If I decided to go with the Embark, I was wondering if I would have to add my own meat to it?

 

[tesster]

Mine dislike Embark passionately. They both refused to eat after day 3 of Embark. They were both raw fed at the time, so that could have been the main issue with their snubbing. I'd never thought of that until JulieM mentioned it in this thread.

They like Force slightly, but only slightly, better.

At close to $70 for the hydrated equivalent of 30 lbs, save your money and buy real raw.

 

[nswain]

You don't have to add meat to any of the other HK formulas, Preference is the only one with no meat.
We tried a couple of the other formulas and Grumpy was not a big fan... of course I have no idea if she actually likes the taste of Preference, I think she just loves the fresh meat and doesn't notice the green stuff mixed in with it!

 

[Roscoesmommy]

At close to $70 for the hydrated equivalent of 30 lbs, save your money and buy real raw.

I would love to do real raw, but am not confident enough in my abilities to make a good balanced diet for Roscoe (and his soon coming sister). I dont even know what half the stuff is that people feed, when they feed raw :D

 

[tesster]

I use Bravo pre-packaged raw blends and supplement with raw meaty bones, etc. It's too easy, and a little cheaper.

Try a small bag of the honest kitchen. If they don't like it, it will be obvious before you run out.

 

[JulieM]

At close to $70 for the hydrated equivalent of 30 lbs, save your money and buy real raw.

Just a quick correction, it actually hydrates to 43 lbs. So, $1.16 - $1.70 per lb., which really is comparable to the high-end kibbles, and way cheaper than most prepared raw.