Satin Balls: Raw, Updated & Revised Version by SFRAW

Satin Balls are a high fat/high calorie food additive/meatballs mixture that will put weight on and improve the skin/coat and muscle condition for dogs that have a problem maintaining weight. They are frequently used to give an added boost of nutrition/nutrients to:

• lactating/whelping dogs & puppies failing to thrive
• working/show dogs
• undernourished/malnourished dogs
• recovering from illness or injury that resulted in weight loss, muscle atophy/wasting, changes in coat condition
• elders/seniors that have a hard time keeping weight on
• rescued dogs arriving in poor condition
  

HISTORY OF SATIN BALLS

In 1996, a wonderful discussion list called Wellpet was born. Many of us early online adopters involved with raw feeding, holistic health & Natural Rearing were a part of the WellPet community; it was a great group of people the provided a wealth of knowledge through generous and kind sharing of useful information and enlightened discoveries.

One of the members, Diana Carreon, R.N.,C., developed a recipe she called Satin Balls to put weight on her own dogs and help support her dogs nutritionally in competition, breeding, and showing. You can find her original version here.

Satin Balls quickly “went viral” (though we didn’t really use this term yet back then!), and became incredibly popular among serious dog enthusiasts, groomers/trainers and holistic veterinarians. Since the original recipe was posted, there have been a lot of different versions developed by different people. Betty Lewis developed a version that was especially popular with a lot of the Great Dane people, for example. My own last version was done in 2003 – I called them Healthy Green Satin Balls.

TYPICAL RESULTS: RESCUE DOGS RECOVER WITH SATIN BALLS

Below are images of two rescued brothers, Houston and Dallas, rescued by Chain of Hope KC, as documented on their website: Their volunteers made lots and lots of Satin Balls to feed the rescued pups and they both experienced dramatic improvements in their health within a very short period of time. While other factors were involved in their journey to health (change in their environment; receiving loving foster and veterinary care for their ailments), this is the typical story of dramatic improvements for dogs put on a regime that includes Satin Balls.

Chain of Hope KC rescued dog, Dallas, AFTER Satin Balls.

Chain of Hope KC rescued dog, Houston, AFTER Satin Balls.

Chain of Hope KC rescued dog, Houston, before Satin Balls.

Chain of Hope KC rescued dog, Dallas, before Satin Balls.

Chain of Hope KC rescued dog, Houston, before Satin Balls.

SFRAW’S UPDATED & GREATLY IMPROVED VERSION OF SATIN BALLS

My newly updated SFRAW version is *grain-free* and packed with super nutrition – the latest version is way more awesome! The ingredients are as follows:

• Truly pastured regular fat ground beef
• Truly pastured ground pork
• Truly pastured egg yolks
• Great Lakes pastured beef gelatin
• Certified organic blackstrap molasses
• Certified organic spirulina
• Certified organic kelp
• Certified organic dulse
• Certified organic nettle leaf
• Certified organic carob powder
• Certified organic Nutiva red palm oil
• Certified organic & 100% grass-finished whole fat yogurt
• Certified organic sweet potato puree (cooked)
• NOW brand bone meal powder
• Certified organic rosehips powder

SUGGESTED USE AND FEEDING OF SFRAW SATIN BALLS

The ca:ph ratio has been properly balanced so you can feed these Satin Balls as stand alone meals safely (for periods of time, if needed). Or, simply add Satin Balls as a supplement to any balanced diet (without concern over tipping the nutritional balance of your menu/meals).

We made them into 3-4 oz. flattened balls that you can feed as is, or easily cut into smaller sizes to feed in a few days.

The ingredients are 100% raw, so keep in freezer and defrost as needed. Once defrosted, feed within 2-3 days.

We have them packaged with 4, 5 or 6 Satin Balls per bag; member price is $2.oo for each Satin Ball.

CONCLUSION

If you struggle to keep weight on your dog, or with achieving a gleaming healthy coat & strong nails, for any dog under your care, try Satin Balls!  This supplement will put weight on quickly; you should notice an improvement in their body composition in just a few days. Dogs on our Satin Ball supplement will enjoy gleaming beautiful coats; less shedding; stronger, healthier nails; improved joint and muscle condition, as well.

Satin Balls are an excellent high calorie/high fat whole food supplement for any hard working or breeding dogs, or dogs that have experienced undernourishment/malnourished for any reason (stress, poor diet, rescue or lactating) and need to get weight and improved body condition.

PRECAUTIONS AND WARNINGS: NOT RIGHT FOR EVERY DOG! Satin Balls are not suitable for dogs currently in renal failure, on a ketogenic diet for seizures, inflammation or cancer, prone to pancreatitis, yeast overgrowth or with allergies to any of the ingredients used.

Recipe To DIY: Below please find a public recipe that I put together and first shared in 2005 (updated in 2010). This is the version that I share freely.  Note: the actual SFRAW Satin Balls formulation is a coveted secret (of course, the ingredient list is shared in full, because it is so important to know what you’re actually feeding!) but the actual recipe, as is true of all my special recipes, is kept locked away in my office, shared only with trusted staff — they’ve been sworn to secrecy!

SFRAW Healthy Satin Balls: Public Version

In a small bowl:

• 1-2 cups warm filtered water
  • Optional: add a splash of raw organic apple cider vinegar
• 1/4-1/2 cup properly prepared resistant starch of choice: raw green bananas (mashed), gluten-free green lentils or oat berries (rinsed, soaked overnight & sprouted, ideally — the ground/mortar & pestled into fine mush), cooked potato, plantains or yams, (peeled, cooked/steamed, mashed, cooled in refrigerator 24 hours). Alternatively, you can use a few other options (not as ideal for various reasons): peeled, cooked, cooled, mashed sweet potato or soaked, sprouted, cooked, then ground organic rice.

In a large bowl:

• 1 lb. ground organic turkey dark meat or pork (must be previously frozen for safety)
• 2 lbs ground organic beef (75-80% lean)
• 2~3 tsp. minced organic garlic
• 2 organic eggs, with shells
• 2 pkg. or TBS unflavored gelatin (we use and recommend Great Lakes brand)
• 2-3 tbsp. organic unsulfered blackstrap molasses, raw local unfiltered honey or organic carob powderSupplements:
• 2-2.5 Tbs. SFRAW Healthy Powder with Bone Meal
• ¼ cup coconut oilCombine ingredients in first bowl and let soak while preparing second bowl. Combine ingredients in second bowl and knead until well blended. Drain excess water from 1st bowl and add to 2nd bowl, blend again. Form meat mixture into meatballs (size appropriate for your dog) and place on cookie sheet to freeze. Once hardened, place in freezer bags until needed. Thaw to room temperature before serving or feed frozen, if you wish.