Hi, has ayone had problems feeding autarky summer diet to their dogs, two of mine thrive on it, but have one dog that seems to produce to much bile on occasions and can bring up yellow bile . also his other can come out yellow and loose also on occasions..  There seems to be dozens of herbs in the food and did read rosmary can cause over production of bile..and now looking for an alternaive food to feed  him.

I have had no problems with it, even though one of mine used to throw up bile some mornings, which is why I tried Autarky in the first place as it has many of the digestive calming herbs.  Like all things maybe ti just doesn't suit that particular dog. :D, Hope that is of some help.  Oh Tula no longer gets these biloous sick epeisodes, but I also switched to feeding ih the morning rahter than evening.

I did try it and 1 thing I did find is my bitches red colour went very deep and all the dogs seemed to itch more
so back to raw for them and the colour changed back.
I was talking to someone else and they mentioned there dogs colour changed too.

I feed Autarky to mine very successfully.  My L & W spaniel does change colour but that's more to do with sunlight than diet I am sure.  He's got really sensitive digestion but we don't get any problems from Autarky.

I started to feed my lab on Autarky by recommendation from a friend.  Unfortunately it didn't seem to suit her...she lost coat condition and became coprophagic.  I now have her on Skinners Field and Trial Maintenance and she's doing very well it.  However my friend's dog still thrives on Autarky.

I used it and had terrible problems with the 'trots' with my dog.  Autarky were very good and I sent them a sample of the food for analasis and they gave me a refund.  He was on the food for about 5 weeks in all.

We have had all our German Pointers on it for ages now and they all look pretty good and no extra waste. We also reared our last litter on it quite successfully although I guess its like anything.........what suits one does not necessarily suit all :)

Hi Briar,
  Just wondering what 'coprophagic' means?  My dog was on Autarky for a couple of months, and lost loads of coat, and also started itching (legs), though of course we can't be 100% sure it was the food!  Funny though he's been okay since changing diet, and his coat has all grown back within weeks.  My vet said ideally I should try Autarky again, that way if the coat loss starts again, we could be pretty sure it was a reaction to something in that food, but I don't want to risk it!
  Hilda

Thanks all..its interesting stuff.. i think i will change him to another brand, though it only happens sometimes..  another without the wheat fillers my only concern is he can be active at times and wonder if   non wheat feeds give as much carbs and energy to a active dog.

I would not worry about carbs etc.  My dogs are raw fed and have NO grains whatsoever; they seem to do all right and they are pretty active :D  Raw fed dogs get their energy from fats, if you feed commercial foods you can get the same carbohydrate if you want it from rice which is probably the safest cereal for most dogs or potato.

http://www.waltham.com/index.html?content=http%3A//www.waltham.com/dogs/clinical_nutrition/dietary_sensitivity.html

The above link goes into Waltham pet food and under balanced diet you will find the following: !

There is no known dietary requirement for carbohydrates in dogs, which means that the dog can live well on a carbohydrate-free diet. Carbohydrates are, however, an excellent source of calories and thus an important ingredient in most dog foods.

Sunbeams,
Coprophagic(sp?)is when a dog eats its own or others poo's Sometimes it is just a yucky habit or it could be that certain vitamins are missing from their food and they try and find it elsewhere,my dogs have the foul habit of eating duck poo,but for them it is just a habit,my vet says it is a form of roughage for them :o

Hi Dogluver,
  Now you mention it, I do remember I've heard that before!  Well, the only type we have problems with are the rabbits ones!  My dog doesn't see the agility equipment where we go - he just thinks it's a field full of help-yourself treats!
  Hilda

thanks all.. and thanks for  the  link thome..i might just try him  on the barf diet.. the dog in question is fine with steak mince and digests this ok.. i have tried meaty bones and he never eats them all up.. Would human grade steak mince be ok as his staple diet, fed with veg and fruit with calcium supplements added, he is about 32lbs  .. i have a feelng chicken wings wouldn't agree with him but could give them a try..thanks for your time.  

I would strongly advise anyone thinking about moving on to raw feeding to make sure that they read up on it adequately first so that you can ensure that you are feeding a diet which includes all the necessary ingredients for health.

Some books easily available and in order of accessibility would be Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kmythy Schulze, The Barf diet by Ian Billingshurst, Give your Dog a Bone by IB and Raw MEaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale.  IB also does a good book for brood bitches and puppies called Grow your pups with bones.

Also think about joining a discussion group such as Britbarf where you can ask all sorts of questions.

What do you class as meaty bones?  The correct definition of a meaty bone is a chicken wing, drumstick, thigh, carcass etc etc. Long bones and knuckle bones are merely recreational and should NOT be consumed!  Not sure why you think that chicken wings should not agree with him :D  Some dogs look at them and are not sure what to do with them at first and need a few days of hunger for them to realise it IS food, whilst others scarf them down immediately without chewing :D   Most people find that the level of interest in food by their pets is multiplied ten fold :D

You really should not feed meat without bones as meat is calcium deficient; bone is a far more bio available and natural source than any calcium supplements.  If you feed mince then you are denying the dog "chewing and tearing" and you should provide meat from a variety of sources eg lamb, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, venison, rabbit etc in order to minimise developing a food intlerance.

Hope this helsp.

Easier alternative to BARF - NatureDiet. I used to feed Ruby Autarky and her skin was terrible on it (although our previous dog thrived on it before it became "new and improved"). Switched her onto NatureDiet and she's in the best nick ever - he skin has cleared up, she's gained her missing weight and she poos miles less than on dry food (more digestable means less waste). Its a complete food with no additives, and is purely chicken, rice, bone powder, seaweed extract and carrots - cooked in the packet to keep in "goodness" without preservatives. http://www.nature-diet.co.uk  :D
Sound like I work for them *lmao*

Nature diet is, along with Burns what i recommend as the least harmful of the commercial diets.  As I feed no grains it is not something that I can use.