I was initially hesitant to try this raw chicken diet, but it cost a little bit less than some other brands so i gave it a try--bad idea. While my 1 year old yorkie ate the food on the first feeding, it did not take long for it to come out...everywhere. My poor dog was throwing up for almost an hour after feeding. My vet informed me that this is "normal" when switching from kibble to raw, so I gave the food another shot mixed with kibble--she would not even eat it, she ate the kibble around the raw. I gave my left over chicken to my neighbors dog who eats and has been eating raw for years and it constipated the poor dog. I don't know if it was a bad batch or what but I have learned my lesson. Depending on where you buy your dog food, it is so much more worth it to spend a little more and buy a raw diet from the smaller manufacuters like Stella and Chewy's or PawNaturaw--they answer your questions personally and seem to care more about your dog than their bottom line.

my blood hounds are thriving on this food, really helped the allergies

This food is an excellent alternative to raw meaty bones. My dog did very well on this. Very small and compact stools, beautiful shiny coat. The only con was the price.

As with their kibble diets, Nature's Variety doesn't disappoint. The primary reason I did not give this food a 5 rating is because of the complexity of their recipes: why such a huge list of different ingredients e.g.: why do they need to include 4 sources of eggs (chicken, duck, pheasant, and quail)?! On a secondary note, it really bugs me that a company like Nature's Variety feels the need to source their rabbit from China. Having said that, I do use some of their formulas (certainly not the rabbit variety) as part of Bacchus' rotation diet with great success.

One of my dogs refused to eat the medallions at all. They eat one of the nest dry and I tried ZiwiPeak freeze dried and they both love it. Very expensive but not bad when combined with dry.

I love this food... and unlike other prepackaged raw diets, this is 100% complete.. no need to supplement it.

I love it! Switched my dog over a few years ago because i was told dogs absorb raw meat better than canned food/kibble. He loves it! And best of all, my dog was "obese" according to the vet and after a year of being on this diet, he has lost 25% (was 10.4 lbs and now 7.8lbs) of his weight. The vet said he could lose another pound and i'm sure he can as long as he stays on this diet. TRY IT!

I've seen puppies get excited over human food but when I fed my Westie and Papillon the raw medalians, I couldn't belive how much they loved it! I asked the vet about the raw diet and he wouldn't comment. I am going to continue feeding them the raw even though I have to drive a long way to get it, it's worth it!!

I have fed my dog every super premium food out there and I have to say I am most pleased with Nature's Variety raw. I do believe that there is no better food you can feed your dog (& cat) than raw. Raw food is what our dogs/cats would eat in the wild & thrive on. My dog is healthy, has the most beautiful coat, fresh breath, pearly white teeth, excellent muscle tone & great energy! I feed my pup the Rabbit, Chicken and Beef raw formulas. I add a little bit of organic chicken stock because I mix in a powdered supplement and he eats his meal with gusto! I know others may disagree me but if you haven't already made the switch over to raw ...... DO IT! You will not believe the difference it makes in your dog. I will never go back to dry kibble or canned food again ...

Wonderful food!  I give them nv freeze dried raw lamb formula.  It is meant to be fed intermittently so I also feed them an ulta premium grain free kibble also but seperately.  When I get into the nv bag to feed them they whine in anticipation.  They absolutely LOVE it.  All I have to do is add warm water to the medallions and they soften up and are ready.  It is made with lamb meal which includes the bone which is extremely good for them because it has a lot of nutritional value.  My overweight dog as already lost a pound and a half in the last month since we switched them from royal canin dachshund formula.  Their coats are soft and shiny.  I was told that along with more protein in their diet they would have way too much energy, but I can honestly say that is not the case at all!  I have also been told that a high protein diet will cause kidney disease and that is not true so far as I know.  I have done much research and have found that kidney disease has been linked to dogs being fed a low quality protein source vs. a high quality grain free food.   Great stuff :)

We all know that feeding anything packaged is sub-standard to feeding something alive and/or raw. (I don't feed live, just making a point) But sometimes (when you are broke or can't get to Whole Foods) you need an alternative. This is my #1 alternative to the raw meat I feed. I love the 8oz patties, they feed my dog and cat (Chi) for one day. It also helps because when I feed raw meats, my pets are getting too much bone so it balances it back out. FYI no more than roughly 10-20% raw meaty bone, the rest MEAT.

This is the only raw I feed my puppy! He loves it and thrives on it!

Both of my dogs are eat NV medallions and have been on this diet for 6 years and do incredibly well. Our senior dog is 11 and has never had to have her teeth cleaned, never been sick a day and is on no medications. I swear by this diet for my dogs, after starting them on raw, we saw a huge change in our pets energy levels, temperment (less barky) and coat. Both my husband and I are vegetarian, so not feeding our dogs raw meat would be ideal for us, but because I have seen first hand the great improvement and health benefits of this diet we choose that for our little guys. Our vet does not support the raw diet, frankly if everyone fed their dogs raw diet many vets would be out of business. I will mention that at first our dogs were not so interested and turned their noses up they wanted the old junk back, who doesn't like good ole junk food over health food, but now they love it. I will also say that you need to follow instructions and DO NOT mix dry kibble with raw, dry kibble digests slower and mixed it can cause digestion problems. I can't speak for everyones pet, but if you are interested you should give it try and see how much your pet changes. Good Luck and Good Health to your pet.

I just switched my dog a month ago because he was diagnosed with mast cancer and he has taken to it. Many told me to progressively switch him from kibble to raw, but he's a hearty eater and was able to switch no problem. We have been told the low/no carb diet will stem cancer growth.

My dog declined on this food.  Who wants to eat raw ground up organ meat and who knows in what condition?  She is only 4 years old, took her to a Veterinary Internist because her behavior dramatically changed.  He took her off of the Raw diet.  Who decided dogs should eat a mostly raw meat diet?  We don't eat what prehistoric men ate.

I bought my puppy the Nature's Variety Raw chicken because I was so impressed with the incredients on the label. This gave him Gastroenteritis - Diarrehea and blood in his feces. Poor thing :( I feel awful for having put my best friend through this. My vet said this food was just a hype and recommended W/D Canine. We'll see how Gunther reacts.

We just adopted a rescue dog (Japanese Chin/Terrier mix) and she was on Nature's Variety Prairie kibble and canned mixed at the shelter. We've slowly replaced the canned food with the medallions and she just loves them. Our plan is to feed her a half kibble diet (NV Prairie) and half NV medallions. The frozen medallions couldn't be easier (even better than those cans!) and she anxiously awaits each meal.

My dog loves this food. And I love the ingredients (95% meat, organ, and bone). It's a win-win! Great food. Also very convenient and easy feed the correct amount since it is already divided into 1 oz portions.

My dog took one bite and spit it out, the other would eat some and then throw it back up. I guess not for every dog!

Both my dog and cat love it and do great on it.

Raw is the way to go! Nature's Variety makes a great raw food formula that works for both cat and dogs alike. (there's natural taurine for cats). The consept of raw is that it is what your dog/cat would eat in the wild had we not domesticated them. It is what there bodys are designed to eat. Nature's Variety is just amazing! Try IT 

This is going to be the same Update I wrote for Honest Kitchen as I am feeding both of these foods to my girls. 

***Update 5/20/07, My girls are officially off of Kibble....YEAH!!! Ok. first I started with just NV Prairie Kibble, then I mixed in NV raw meddalians, then I mixed in Honest Kitchen Preference. I then took out the Raw Meddalians and was feeding them a mix of HK Embark with NV Instinct. Now, they are back on the medallians and HK Embark and they have never looked better! I give them the medallians in the morning as I let them defrost in my fridge overnight, and then I give them a nice warm bowl of Embark for dinner. My girls are in heaven!!! Every meal they look forward to the different tastes that they get from the two differen types of food. (Since Embark is Turkey based, I give them Rabbit, Lamb, Venison, or Beef in raw. That way they get a different taste for breakfast and dinner) In addition, about twice a week I give them a raw bone (also by Nature's Variety) for breakfeast instead of the raw food and they couldn't be happier. The bone helps to floss their teeth too! I am extremely pleased with the results as their coats look much brighter and I do not have to clean up as nearly as many poops as I did when they were even on Instinct kibble! Raw is the way to go!!

I used this product for about 6 mths on my Sheltie before he passed away. While he did ok on it I grew concerned as his color began to wash out and skin was not as healthy. Upon thinking about it I realized the copper level and a couple other minerals in this food were not at the levels I would like them and my vet and I concured that it may have been contributing to his color pailing (as well as not really helping with his thyroid issue.)  When I put him back on EP Senior Select his color again bloomed and his thyroid was managed without as much medication.  I like the raw products for supplementing and adding to a kibble base but at this point I am not as confidant in prepared raw for feeding on it's own.  I feel maybe as more years pass and these diets are tweeked more and more finely tuned I may feel more confidant however at this point I feel if someone wants to feed raw they are better off nutritionally and financially making it themselves with good research.  The product gets a three though, I did not hate it and Joey did enjoy the patties. They were easy to handle and not offensive to my human sense of smell. Easy to store and thaw.  I would just feed an additional vitamin/mineral supplement if this is to be used as a sole diet source.

New Zealand Venison is my puppies favourite :)

I tried to put my dog on this diet but he just would not eat it.  I tried cooking it a little bit to entice him but he would only take a bite or two.  The one time he did eat it all (uncooked) he threw up about 5 minutes after...