# Stella & Chewys



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I wouldn't try and feed the freeze dried to a standard as their diet. The frozen patties make more sense. You'd feed 2.5-3 of the frozen patties.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Stella & Chewy's - Feeding Guide

The freeze dried comes out to 13.5 patties per day!
Even though the bag costs more, frozen would work out much cheaper at 2.25 large patties a day!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Not to mention, even if you tried to soak it in water, it's probably healthiest to feed the moisture inclusive frozen raw when it's a long term diet.

My ~50 lb. dog eats 2.5-3 patties daily (1.5-2 lbs) of the frozen.


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## Aubrey (May 18, 2013)

Feeding the freezedried as an exclusive diet would be very costly. Depending on energy level, you're looking at anywhere from 12 to 26!

I use them for treats mainly, but I do occasionally use them as a mix in instead of the usual canned/cottage cheese/coconut oil rotation.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

CharismaticMillie said:


> Not to mention, even if you tried to soak it in water, it's probably healthiest to feed the moisture inclusive frozen raw when it's a long term diet.
> 
> My ~50 lb. dog eats 2.5-3 patties daily (1.5-2 lbs) of the frozen.


My girls eat the freeze dried crunchy because they look at me like I have lost my mind if I offer them raw - raw lol!
But they also eat Ziwi Peak air dried, and fresh food as well.

In case anybody is interested, S&C freeze dried makes for smaller then normal poop and Ziwi makes for larger then normal!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Ya know, if you really don't want to deal with the frozen raw, you might want to try the ZiWi Peak air dried - it looks crazy expensive, BUT, the portion size is much, much smaller then for kibble, so it a dog his size would only get 8.8 oz per day - which work out to about $7.00 per day if you buy the 11 pound bags (a bag would last 20 days). And that's about the same as the Stella and Chewy's frozen would cost you.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I'm not a fan of dehydrated or freeze dried diets fed exclusively without added moisture because it is difficult on their kidneys. Tiger didnt drink enough water to make up for the lack of moisture in such a high protein/meat content food such as ZiwiPeak. His urine was quite a bit over concentrated. 

High protein is a good thing in my opinion, but without adequate moisture is when it can be hard on the kidneys.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

CharismaticMillie said:


> I'm not a fan of dehydrated or freeze dried diets fed exclusively without added moisture because it is difficult on their kidneys. Tiger didnt drink enough water to make up for the lack of moisture in such a high protein/meat content food such as ZiwiPeak. His urine was quite a bit over concentrated.
> 
> High protein is a good thing in my opinion, but without adequate moisture is when it can be hard on the kidneys.


I guess that depends upon the dog - some will make up for the water, some won't - you have to watch and see what they do.

Anyhow, my old ladies eat at most 50% dog food - they also eat fresh cooked food.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I wonder if you soak the ZiWi in the fridge for a few hours if it would rehydrate?


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I would think just adding some water to it as you do kibble would be sufficient.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Where do you purchase the Stella and chewys. I am thinking about switching to it but would get the frozen. I would have to buy it online and I don't know how it would be shipped if it needs to be frozen. 


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Do you have a local pet boutique that sells any type of frozen prepared raw? If they don't carry Stella & Chewy's, they will likely order it for you.

Ordering frozen raw online would be way too expensive. It's already pretty ridiculously priced without having to pay for the special shipping that is involved with raw foods. :/ Though, S&C around here is more reasonably priced than some of the other brands.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

CharismaticMillie said:


> Do you have a local pet boutique that sells any type of frozen prepared raw? If they don't carry Stella & Chewy's, they will likely order it for you.
> 
> Ordering frozen raw online would be way too expensive. It's already pretty ridiculously priced without having to pay for the special shipping that is involved with raw foods. :/ Though, S&C around here is more reasonably priced than some of the other brands.


All I have in my area are petsmart, Petco, and feed stores. 
I went to the Stella and Chewy's website and searched for places near my zip code and found a few that they say sell it (mostly feed stores), I'm not sure if its just freeze dried or frozen because they don't say on the website. I will call around tomorrow or Monday and see if I can get it. You are right about the shipping be way too expensive for the frozen I found one place that would ship it but the shipping estimate was way high! More than the food! 
The frozen is pretty reasonable on pricing. My Tpoos would only get .5 of the large patties each. The frozen raw food at petco is ridiculous! It is like 30 bucks for a tiny bag and they would need 3-4 medallions each. I much rather go with stella and chewys if I can get it, especially since its so highly recommended! 


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## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> All I have in my area are petsmart, Petco, and feed stores.
> 
> The frozen is pretty reasonable on pricing. My Tpoos would only get .5 of the large patties each. The frozen raw food at petco is ridiculous! It is like 30 bucks for a tiny bag and they would need 3-4 medallions each. I much rather go with stella and chewys if I can get it, especially since its so highly recommended!
> 
> ...


I feed Kennedy the raw food at Petco- since I work there I get a discount on it. But it only ends up being 1/2 cup a day for him of the "kibble" like raw food.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Suddenly said:


> Does anyone know how many freeze dried patties you would give to 55lb Standard? Does anyone have Spoo that eats this brand and about what the monthly cost is? Insight would be great.
> Thanks again,
> Suddenly
> 
> ...



I think you have to look at the package and see the amount they recommend after hydrated. Wow. For a dog you size you will go broke!!!!

See the chart: Stella & Chewy's - Feeding Guide


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Jamie Hein said:


> I feed Kennedy the raw food at Petco- since I work there I get a discount on it. But it only ends up being 1/2 cup a day for him of the "kibble" like raw food.


I got a tiny bag of the kibble like raw to try out, and they went through it in one day! Granted I have to feed three dogs two which are puppies and eat a lot more so I just don't think I could keep up with the cost of either the petco brand (Instinct I think its called) or stella and chewys. I did the math and it would be $60 a month to feed stella and chewys. I think I am just going to get a good quality no grain kibble for now and wait until I get more of an income to do the raw food. Right now any money I get is going to Killa's surgery fund . 
That would be nice to get a discount at petco though . I know when I was at petsmart I got 15% discount and that helped a lot with food expenses. 


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## Minnie (Apr 25, 2011)

We feed Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw exclusively but have a 4 pound toy - so just a weeeee bit cheaper - LOL We rehydrate this as recommended with water.

In addition to keep her blood sugar regular as advise by our vet we also leave a small portion (to keep it fresh) of grain free Origen in her bowl.

I travel frequently so this diet works very well for us but the expense for a Spoo would be insanely high!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I give one freezdried patty crumbled up on top of breakfast to Jazz about 3-4 times a week and he eats every bite of his breakfast. The other dogs get a half a patty at breakfast a couple times a week. Jazz would take 14 patties a day if that's all I fed. At about a dollar a patty that isn't going to happen, but he sure loves them. I also use them in little chunks as high value bait and training rewards. I wouldn't try to feed them exclusively because of the cost, but if you had one toy poodle I could see doing it.


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## Ciscley (Jul 16, 2013)

*Buy the grain free kibble in Spoo not Toy sizes*

*PoodleCrazy* - One recommendation is to get one of the air tight food storage containers so you can buy the normal sized bags of your chosen kibble and keep it fresh for as long as it takes with the little ones. It's almost always significantly cheaper in larger amounts, but will go bad quickly if stored in just the bag or tupperware. Then use the cost difference (post-surgery fund) to do a home made topper or to supplement with the pre-made raw.

A single 14.5oz can of salmon should give your whole brood their recommended fish oil allowance (as a whole food source) for at least a full week. And if you eat meat yourself, once that can is ground up, it looks like the creamiest deli tuna salad ever. Seriously. It tempted my vegan stomach the first time I made it for Danno.

And honestly, IMO, that's one of the easiest ways to start to give quality extras to your dogs - to just think about what you are cooking for yourself to eat that you can easily convert for them by either leaving out spices or cooking it less or grinding it, etc.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I cooked a whole chicken the other day without spices. I ate some for dinner and put the rest in the refrigerator for the dogs.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Minnie said:


> We feed Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw exclusively but have a 4 pound toy - so just a weeeee bit cheaper - LOL We rehydrate this as recommended with water.
> 
> In addition to keep her blood sugar regular as advise by our vet we also leave a small portion (to keep it fresh) of grain free Origen in her bowl.
> 
> I travel frequently so this diet works very well for us but the expense for a Spoo would be insanely high!


I have never tried rehydrating it - how long do you need to soak it for?
I have a feeling that they won't like it, but it is worth a shot to tempt my little hot house flowers to eat!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

When I've rehydrated the dehydrated patties I soak in warm water.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

CharismaticMillie said:


> When I've rehydrated the dehydrated patties I soak in warm water.


Thanks but how long do they have to soak before feeding?


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Ciscley said:


> *PoodleCrazy* - One recommendation is to get one of the air tight food storage containers so you can buy the normal sized bags of your chosen kibble and keep it fresh for as long as it takes with the little ones. It's almost always significantly cheaper in larger amounts, but will go bad quickly if stored in just the bag or tupperware. Then use the cost difference (post-surgery fund) to do a home made topper or to supplement with the pre-made raw.
> 
> A single 14.5oz can of salmon should give your whole brood their recommended fish oil allowance (as a whole food source) for at least a full week. And if you eat meat yourself, once that can is ground up, it looks like the creamiest deli tuna salad ever. Seriously. It tempted my vegan stomach the first time I made it for Danno.
> 
> And honestly, IMO, that's one of the easiest ways to start to give quality extras to your dogs - to just think about what you are cooking for yourself to eat that you can easily convert for them by either leaving out spices or cooking it less or grinding it, etc.


Thank you that is a great idea! I have never gotten big bags worrying about freshness and stuff. I never though about an airtight container keeping it fresh even though that is what I put their food in already (total blonde moment I guess,lol jk) 
Salmon? Ill have to try that too. Will sardines and tuna work also? Or is it not as nutritious. I have actually been able to get Branna to eat sardines once, never tried salmon though. 
I think they will love he idea of being able to eat what mommy eats. Lol


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Thanks but how long do they have to soak before feeding?


Until it feels squishy? I used these as a bridge from kibble to raw a few years back. I just poked at it until it felt rehydrated.


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## Minnie (Apr 25, 2011)

Tiny Poodles said:


> I have never tried rehydrating it - how long do you need to soak it for?
> I have a feeling that they won't like it, but it is worth a shot to tempt my little hot house flowers to eat!


I crumble up the patty and then add just enough to moisten and stir it together and feed immediately. Not a liquid but just soft. Bella loves this and she is a toughie - does the happy dance every morning and night


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

outwest said:


> I cooked a whole chicken the other day without spices. I ate some for dinner and put the rest in the refrigerator for the dogs.


I buy frozen cooked chicken breast just for the poodles LOL (just microwave it for 1 minute and let the training begin!)

Hubby thinks that's a bit too much

I said: People will think I'm a crazy dog-lady?
He said: YOU ARE a crazy dog-lady!!!!


Hahahaha 


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Lou said:


> I said: People will think I'm a crazy dog-lady?
> He said: YOU ARE a crazy dog-lady!!!


Join the club...


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Lou said:


> I buy frozen cooked chicken breast just for the poodles LOL (just microwave it for 1 minute and let the training begin!)
> 
> Hubby thinks that's a bit too much
> 
> ...


You may be a crazy poodle lady, but i might just be the queen of the crazy poodle ladies - just tonight bought a fresh roast chicken, organic roast beef, organic cheddar cheese, organic provolone cheese and five jars of baby food for under 10 total pounds of poodle. And tomorrow 150 bucks worth of treats arrive... Not to mention the Stella and Chewys and the ziwi peak - 75 percent of which winds up getting thrown away... Oh do I long for the days of putting down a bowl and the dog eats....


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## Ciscley (Jul 16, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Salmon? Ill have to try that too. Will sardines and tuna work also?


Salmon, sardines and mackerel were the ones recommended online when I heard about it. They have the whole fish pressure cooked in the cans (get the type in water, preferably with no salt added). So when you grind it up, they are getting the bones and skin and everything. 

Don't know if they sell the tuna that way. It was like 98 cents for a large can around here. Had to search for it though. I've also cooked them an inexpensive roast type cut of meat before - threw it in the crock pot with brown rice, carrots and twice as much water as normal for rice. I don't like rice in the dog food, but think it's okay to add what I buy for myself, so long as it's overcooked and then we still grind it up.

My non-veggie sister was over and thought I had cooked the "stew" for her. She said add some garlic and salt/pepper and she'd eat it for dinner with the dogs. :rofl:


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