What do you feed your dogs?

[rabbitsfizz]

I feed meat and brown bread.

That's it- they get a supplement I make for the horses as well- flax +Boss ground down + other things, and they get a tiny amount- the small dog gets as much meat as the Dobes (she gets little bread though!!)

My dogs are all fit and active and ready to go.

Pedigree Puppy- well, if it suits you, Lisa I certainly would not tell you to change BUT I can tell the pups fed puppy food, and especially Pedigree, by the way they are running across the ceiling.

When I was breeding I had a discount card from Pedigree so fed it- I am CERTAIN it is one of the reasons I now have a hyperactive 10 year old bitch- her temperament problem was not helped either but lack of training at a crucial age was the reason it got out of hand so badly.

Science Diet- find out how much of that money your Vet is getting!!!

It's the only thing my dogs would not eat- and they eat horse cr*p!!

It is high priced rubbish IMO, and it is also dangerous.

On the advice of her Vet my friend fed her Persian indoor kittens ONLY on science diet.

By six months one needed a urethra bypass and the other was neurotic.

I could not persuade her to take them off it- she was terrified she would lose them and , well, I am not a Vet- but I did talk to the Vet who at least upped them onto Senior- which brought the neurotic one off the ceiling, -and the special one for cats with the urethra problem.

Incidentally I have fed cats dry food only and NEVER had a urethra problem yet- I think it is a poor diet that makes the problem, not the dry food.

I have read almost all the "breakdowns" on the labels- and I do think our labels have to be a little more accurate, by law, than yours- and I decided a long time ago I was not giving anything to my animals I would not be prepared to eat myself, if I had to!!

Lisa, I LOVE free choice, I think it is the best possible way to feed your dog.

It does not work for me but if I could get back to it, I would.

The only thing I would caution is that if you get a training problem, it is hard to reward and upsets the system when you take one dog out- you know all that I know, but as a dog trainer I will always encourage it for single pups, and, if possible, as the pups grows up as well.

Kibble is the only way to go for that plan though- I have had people tell me the kibble they are free feeding must be OK as their baby has not got sick yet and s/he was sharing it!!!

Pretty good teething rusks?? :lol:

 

[Jill]

Winston, my 8yo shih-tzu, is on prescription Hills Science Diet U/D.

My other shih-tzu's, my collie and my lab x chow eat a mix of Nutro Natural Choice and Bil Jac.

 

[anita]

American Pedigree is different

English is Pedigree Advance, several products and not cheap, as far I remember.

I have 5 Staffordshire Bullterrier between 7-14 years and they get Natures Recipe, dear meat. I soak in soup, broth ca 10 min. still crispy

Every day with a different taste: veggies, noodle, rice, sausage, different meat ect.

Anita

 

[Beccy]

We use dry food, and have tried different brands middle of the road and up, but would really like to consider alternatives. Jane I would love to know what type of meat yours get, and what proportions. Could you pm or email me?

There are several local butchers that sell "dog food" which appears to be coarsely ground scraps (looks like ground beef just not as finely ground) but there looks to be a lot of fat in it. With nine dogs it would have to be somewhat economical.

 

[Sonya]

Wow I really expected more people to feed Raw on here with how well everyone feeds there mini's

I know others who have done the raw food diet and it didn't fair well with their animals. My vet doesn't believe in it. He says that dogs digestive systems are not the same as they were when they basically fed themselves (raw meat) and he feels it's unhealthy. I do realize it works for some, but I will not feed it. I would personally be worried wether or not the dog is getting all the nutrition it needs.

Many dog foods (including mine) have things in them that I prefer it didn't, but so do many of the foods that I eat.

 

[littledonkeys.com]

Lets see I have 3 Shih Tzu's so they get Pedigree Indoor Dog Formula

 

[Conundrum]

QUOTE

Wow I really expected more people to feed Raw on here with how well everyone feeds there mini's

<<I agree with you!!>>

QUOTE I know others who have done the raw food diet and it didn't fair well with their animals. My vet doesn't believe in it. He says that dogs digestive systems are not the same as they were when they basically fed themselves (raw meat) and he feels it's unhealthy. I do realize it works for some, but I will not feed it. I would personally be worried wether or not the dog is getting all the nutrition it needs.

Sorry Sonya, but your vet is talking a load of tosh regarding dogs digestive systems.......we may have changed the phenotype very much and very easily over the years, but to change a physiological system in anything less than thousands of years is just not going to happen. Nope, your dogs guts are wolf guts, pure and simple, and they are designed to eat meat, raw meat and bones and offal...thats it. No matter wht kibble we feed, they are all grain based, hmm, lets look firstly at our dogs teeth...great big carnassial teeth for ripping and tearing...no flat molars for grinding and chewing grains etc. They also have tiny caecum, (the part of the small intestine that digests grain and cellulose) in animals designed to eat grain, the caecum is huge..another little clue as to what our dogs should be fed.

I have fed raw and bred raw for over fifteen years now and I would never ever go back to any form of kibble, I find them all offensive and generally filled with crap that I would not allow down my dogs throat. The majority of kibble fed dogs have some form of periodontal desease by the time they are a few months old...that is frightening, the breath of kibble fed dogs is not as sweet as raw fed dogs, I would rather be kissed any day by a naturally fed dog that from the mouth of a kibble fed dog with sugars and bacteria building up on the teeth.

I feed raw prey model, which involves feeding whole prey, not all at once obviously, especially in the case of large animals, but so that it balances over time, roughy 10% offal, the same with bone and the rest meaty meat, with fat and skin. Naturally fed dogs are healthy happy, are not vover the top hyper, do not have a tiny percent of the skin, ear, immune sytem etc infections that kibble fed dogs have. They do not need any additives as they get every thing a canine system needs in their natural diet. More and more breeders are going this way, we have been blinded by the pet food companies for ove fifty years now, and a lot of us are seeing the light.........including vets, read "Raw Meaty Bones" by Tom Lonsdale, or go to www.rawlearning.com

Today, my dogs had chickens....the Dobe had 1/2 of a chicken (he is only 14 weeks) my border terriers had a 1/4 each, the golden has a whole chicken as do the Sussex Spaniels......utter bliss to see the dogs ripping and tearing as nature intended and taking time to eat their meals, not inhaling it in seconds as with kibble. And all the while they are flossing their teeth and keeping them pearly white (including my ancient ones) with the sinews and enzymes from the meat. Every bite they take is helping to boost their immune system and to keep them well and healthy , naturally.

We do not feed the weight bearing bones of large animals, these can and frequently do slab fracture dogs teeth, causing untold pain and sometimes leading to absesses.

Go on...give your dogs a treat...........give 'em something raw!!

 

[Jill]

Well, for what it is worth, I agree with Sonya and my vet agrees with her vet.

My initial reaction to the "Wow, I expected more people to feed raw..." post was to be a little offended. I think my horses look fantastic and I do put a lot of thought into what they are fed.

However, anyone who knows I love my horses should just "see" how much I love my dogs and how far I will go to take good care of them. I do not feed them Bil Jac and Nutro Natural Choice out of ignorance, cheapness or laziness but because I feel that's what is best for them.

Something I am very aware of when it comes to feeding and conditioning horses is that there is more than one right way to get there, and further more, there is more than one GOOD way to get there. It's not any different with dogs. Just because someone feeds their dogs differently than you do does not mean they don't feed them as well (or maybe even better).

 

[Conundrum]

Something I am very aware of when it comes to feeding and conditioning horses is that there is more than one right way to get there, and further more, there is more than one GOOD way to get there. It's not any different with dogs. Just because someone feeds their dogs differently than you do does not mean they don't feed them as well (or maybe even better).

I merely stated a few facts in my post, and gave another take on feeding dogs, I obviously feel the way I feed and rear my dogs is the best way, otherwise I would not have been doing it and hopefully learning more and more about it as the years have gone on. But I won't poke anyone in the eye for not feeding raw, we all do what we have to and what we feel is best, or hopefully that is what we all do anyway.

I will always take an oppotunity to reach feeders who may be thinking about feeding their dogs the natural way, I know it is improving dog health. However, my sister also breeds and shows dogs, and she cooks her meat....each to his or her own, I will keep tying to convince her that she is cooking the goodness out of it...she tells me it smells good and the dogs love it........-grin-

Yours in natural health......

 

[mininik]

Soo what's your take on feeding raw and infectious diseases? salmonella? E. coli? I hope you don't let kids, any elderly or sick individuals go where those dogs eliminate because yes, there are studies showing that dogs fed raw DO shed salmonella and E.coli in their stool. I suppose you take possible contamination into heavy consideration yourself as you handle the meats in your home?

My best guess is that you're feeding your dogs raw domestic chicken, cow and cultivated veggies because... that's what wolves would eat if there were no wild rabbit, deer, birds, berries, etc.? Hmm, I wonder how a wolf's digestive system would handle all the steroids and CRAP in the systems of our mass produced feed lot animals? What about all of those pestisides? Interesting thought, no? Well, maybe you're feeding ORGANIC or free range raw meats and veggies. That must get spendy, no?

No, kibble is not the greatest solution or the only solution, but I don't believe raw is, either.

 

[Marty]

Tracey has had the worst skin problems of any dog I have ever seen in my life. It was going on for years and years and years and she was always so lean and skinny. If you didn't know better, you'd swear she was a mangy throw away. And she STANK.......had horrible body odor and the whole house stank from here no matter how many baths a week I gave her, the stink came from within.

I tried every food I could find and she still would itch herself till she bled. I always had to mix canned food with her dry to get her to eat the dry food.

And she would have to dump about 4 times a day. And fart. Oh man, it was bad........

I spent tons of money on her at the vets for this shot and that. Tests, tests, and more tests for allergies.

She has now been on Nature's Recipe Nutro for large dogs, the blue bag with glucosemine and chondroitin for healthy joints for nearly a year. I don't know if those supplements are worth a hill of beans because she is on other meds for her disk problems, but she doesn't stink anymore, her coat is healthy and she is FAT for once in her life and looks gorgeous. She will gobble this dry food down without any additives. And the only flatulating in this house is not coming from her!

Tracey. She's my baby girl.

:

 

[tinacvt]

I feed my dog purina pro plan as well as my cats. And I read many labels before deciding.

 

[chevycouple]

I didn't mean no harm by my statement. Thats all it was was a statement...my thought. Anyways I am lucky to live in a beef raising community and am able to get grass fed beef for a good price. I also have plenty of processing plants to choose from. I do my best to feed my family including dogs organic when ever possible. I even raise chickens for eatting and plan on raising beef after the new year so I don't have to eat that steroid food. I spend the extra money to by organic anything if available. But thats just me. I researched for many years before actually "jumping" into Raw feeding. Like someone stated everyone has a different right. And again I didn't mean any offence by my statement

I would recommend everyone do research on Raw before deciding against it just because your vet is. Make your own opinion

I chose it for my own reasons like everyone chooses

PS they don't poop as much and it gets cleaned up daily

 

[TangoMango]

I just couldnt do it. Touching raw meat makes me nauseous. I couldnt even imagine watching my dogs eat it.. Nooo thanks..

Im so bad about it, that my hamburgers have to be cooked really long, ANY hint of pink, and there goes the meal. I wont eat steak period. It there a phobia for that?

:

 

[Conundrum]

Soo what's your take on feeding raw and infectious diseases? salmonella? E. coli? I hope you don't let kids, any elderly or sick individuals go where those dogs eliminate because yes, there are studies showing that dogs fed raw DO shed salmonella and E.coli in their stool. I suppose you take possible contamination into heavy consideration yourself as you handle the meats in your home?
My best guess is that you're feeding your dogs raw domestic chicken, cow and cultivated veggies because... that's what wolves would eat if there were no wild rabbit, deer, birds, berries, etc.? Hmm, I wonder how a wolf's digestive system would handle all the steroids and CRAP in the systems of our mass produced feed lot animals? What about all of those pestisides? Interesting thought, no? Well, maybe you're feeding ORGANIC or free range raw meats and veggies. That must get spendy, no?

Lets take your points in order. 1: The stomach acid in a dog is industrial strengal, yes, dogs can get slamonella....but is extremely rare, no higher in raw fed dogs than in kibble fed. 2. My dogs stools are picked up every day, several times a day just like any other concieatious dog owner would do....and oh, btw, kibble fed dogs and cats and goodness me, humans also shed salmonella and E.Coli in their stools, also young adults can routinely carry these organisms in their bodys but as they are young and healthy, it does not affect them. There are many ways to scare ourselves about bacteria if we want, but why would we want to? 3: I take contamination into consideration in the same way as I do with my own and familly's food. But I also take into consideration the fact that I am giving my dogs what they are designed to eat, not some homogenised pap that the pet food industry has told me I should feed.

3. I feed human grade meat, whatever sort it is, I am lucky to be able to get fresh butchered chicken, beef, etc from an organic butcher, but I will also feed some from other sources, including the reduced counters at supermarkets, the fact that human grade meat is sometimes fed things like antibiotics etc is a down side that is made up for immeasurably by the fact that I know every bite of the food my dogs ingest "is" exactly what it looks like. Kibble is full of the most disgusting stuff you would ever like to see, including dead cats and dogs, and this is no urban myth, check it out, it happens in the states as well as, I am sure here in the uk. It has "fallen" animals from farms, with god knows what deseases. I like to know what goes through my animals systems, there is no way a kibble feeder can.

4. A "quality" bag of kibble here in the uk can cost up to £40 + a 15 kilo bag, I get 100 kilo of varous meats at a time for £50. I do not consider that expensive, I feed at present 10 dogs, and always rear my pups on raw, I think I have saved many pounds over the years. And certainly hundreds of pounds in vet bills.

Yours in health,

 

[Sonya]

I am not just taking my vet's word on the subject. I have a few friends who used this diet and I'm using their experiences as well to. One's great dane was so sick and throwing up all the time from it and she was following the recomended procedure for feeding this diet. She ended up taking her dog to MSU (which is one of the top vet colleges around)...they recomended not feeding the bones and raw food diet and put her dog on kible (not sure which one) and the dog had an almost complete recovery in a matter of days. But ended up having liver damage. The exact cause of the sickness was never found, but about two days after going off the BARF diet...the throwing up stopped. So it makes sense that the dog's diet obviously had something to do with it.

It may be doing well for some and that's great...keep on it, why fix something that isn't broke.

My one dog (lab) will not touch raw meat of any kind....if I am handling meat in the kitchen he wrinkles his nose and runs to the back of the house...he hates it for some reason. But when it's cooked, he's drooling like a faucet.

Sorry Sonya, but your vet is talking a load of tosh regarding dogs digestive systems.......we may have changed the phenotype very much and very easily over the years, but to change a physiological system in anything less than thousands of years is just not going to happen. Nope, your dogs guts are wolf guts, pure and simple, and they are designed to eat meat, raw meat and bones and offal...

not so much a physiological change, but we have weakened immune systems, etc...from all the overbreeding. Just as certain dogs are prone to hip dysplacia, etc..is from certain breeding.

including dead cats and dogs, and this is no urban myth, check it out

This was true years ago, but is no longer true. Wanted to add - even if was true...how is that any different than feeding beef/pork/chicken...it's all meat..and it's all dead...right????

I am certainly not debating the fact that kible has things in it that it shouldn't, but unless YOU are raising your own meat...there are things in there as well. For instance...even if you are raising your own chickens...what are you feeding them? If you are feeding a scratch or processed mash...you bet that has steriods in it, etc...unless you purchase organic scratch, feed or only let your chickens freerange...they are not organic. If there are any pecticides, etc...in the chickens free-range area...they are not organic. I'm very unlike to believe any label that says "organic" unless I've raised it myself.

To those who feed BARF and are doing well on it - that's great. But I don't think anyone will ever convince me to feed it.

I think everyone on this board feeds all their animals what they feel is the best...for me that's what my dogs are getting right now...

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I do not feed raw but have no problem with it so long as it is human grade meat- I would not feed my animals anything else.

There are a couple of kibble makers who guarantee all ingredients human grade but- WOW the price!!

I will not, CANNOT justify spending more on feeding my dogs than I do on myself- we all eat the same!!

MY dogs are happy and healthy- if your dogs are the same, Good Luck to you.

I feed myself and my dogs as cheaply as I possibly can, horses too, no "bagged" mixed feeds for them, I mix it all up myself, supplements included.

Mind you I ENJOY doing all this, nutrition fascinates me.

Just adding, back in the day when we were breeding Rough Collies we fed raw, straight form the local slaughterhouse- I fed the Family on Olga's horsemeat, when that was all there was in the fridge- slow cooked in red wine- they loved it, though I do admit I did not tell them what it was till AFTER the meal- they were OK with it though, just as they were OK with having Eric (the Goose) for Christmas lunch!!

I know, I know, horses are pets- sorry, but when you are trying to feed a family well, horses that are already dead are also for eating.

 

[Sonya]

I fed the Family on Olga's horsemeat, when that was all there was in the fridge- slow cooked in red wine- they loved it, though I do admit I did not tell them what it was till AFTER the meal- they were OK with it though, just as they were OK with having Eric (the Goose) for Christmas lunch!!I know, I know, horses are pets- sorry, but when you are trying to feed a family well, horses that are already dead are also for eating.

if it's already dead...might as well eat it! :lol: No sense in wasting it. I am almost positive that I've eaten cat before at a very authentic chinese restaraunt. I never ate there again. I must say whatever it was, it was tasty.

Now of course..I wouldn't chose to eat what I consider a pet, but I'm not starving either.

 

[capall beag]

I feed Purina One I believe, Lamb & Rice formula with yogurt added! Recently switched from Nutro all natural because it wasn't always available.

I think when it comes to feeding you dogs a good quality dry dog food is worth the extra money as any vet care & dental is a HUGE expense. Keeping them healthy is key!

However, marketing here is brilliant they can convince you that you are mean & cheap if you don't feed your dogs the highest price tag of food.

A healthy dog, is in good body condition with a shiny coat, bright clear eyes and eager to eat their chow!!

I have never had a sickly dog or a dog with allergies or had a dog with dental problems.

My old girl who passed away at 14 due to an awful accident, this year was in the best health! In fact, my vet couldn't believe how healthy and strong she was.

I do believe genetics play a huge role in all the 'special need' requirements for many dogs these days.

I only feed raw food as a treat and then it is always organic meat!

My other 3 dogs seems very eager to eat their chow at dinnertime

 

[Gena]

We love Nutro and also buy the puppy Nutro biscuits for a treat. Impressed with the ingredients and how well our dogs feel and look eating it too. Its a little more expensive than other brands but we feel its worth it. We will give small amounts of meat and eggs occasionally too.