Dog Food

[Miss Maggie]

I found this a very interesting read, and thought I would pass it along.
http://www.5stardog.com/dog-food.asp

We have tried different high quality commercial brands of dog food, but for most of the 25 years that we've owned dogs, have opted for homemade food for them. It's not hard to do, much more nutritional for them, breed specific and much cheaper in the long run.

Our pups have been on a high quality kibble for the last little while due to travelling with a handler at various dog shows in the US, however the pagentry days are behind us now and they are being weaned back to food I prepare for them. I say yeah to less 'poop' in the 'poop farm' :d

[FTA]

Pedigree for me or the one that you add water and it becomes gravy

[Di the fly]

Thanks Miss Maggie. Very Interesting article. I have a 5 year old Black Lab, part collie & I have fed her dog food for last few years. Do you have a recipe for people/dog food?

[BillD]

Interesting read. I wonder how much is fact, and how much is opinion. I did notice that one of the products they sell was made with chicken meal, that was supposed to be 100% human grade. I wonder what went into it. My Golden ate a turkey carcass one day, and suffered no ill effects, although there was a huge mess in the back yard, due to the sheer amount ingested. The vet I talked to, said it would have been better raw, as far as the bones went, but that the intestines were tough and shouldn't be a problem. I did feed her a bunch of rice to clean her out.

[reiver]

Corn is bad, definitely if found in the first three ingredients - very hard to digest.

Anything with dye in it I would avoid too.

Cooked bones are dangerous, very east to splinter and cause internal injuries.

[Miss Maggie]

I would recommend you check with your vet first, Di the fly, to make sure he can advise you regarding your breeds particular nutritional needs. Our breed has some predisposed conditions that require certain protein over others, such as lamb and chicken vs. beef.
With that said, I like to give them about 2-4 tblsps. of yogurt every week to help keep the good and bad bacteria in their system in check. It must be plain yogurt that contains active cultures, such as 'Astro BioBest with acidophilus & bifidum cultures'. This also increases calcium in their diet as dog require far more calcium than humans. Cottage cheese is also a good source of calcium and protein.

I am currently weaning them off their kibble, a Super Premium Lamb & Rice formula, Kirkland brand, and use a couple of tbsps. of homemade mixed with it over a couple of weeks so I don't upset their systems.

There are lots of recipes available on the web for homemade dog food, from my own recipes, I poach chicken meat (ground, breast or thighs), with carrots, garlic ( which is a natural flea repellent), fresh cranberries, barley and water. Another one is ground lamb. brown rice, peas and apple. Egg shells that have been cleaned and dried in the oven can be ground up to a powder to add an extra bit of calcium. I also use Omega 3 Fish oil capsules or in a pinch olive oil or vegetable oil in their meal to help with their skin and coat especially during the dry months in the winter. Lots of different combinations can be used, provided you use a basic equation for your particular breed. Here it is roughly 25% protein, 75% carbohydrate (grains and vegetables). It's always better to serve 2 meals per day as opposed to one to stop them gorging their food and possibly getting acid build up between meals.

We have tried lots of combinations, chicken, sweet potatoes, green beans, wheat germ...also tried a mackerel concoction that they were not a big fan of...salmon or tuna were more to their liking.

I am considering a vitamin/mineral supplement, but waiting for the time being until they are weaned off the kibble/homemade combination.

Hope this helps, but can't stress enough about letting your vet advise you first on your dogs overall health condition. Our vet although supportive, still tried to sell us on the 'All Natural' Premium brands they sell in their office, the same way he would like us to vaccinate our dogs yearly...it's a business to them and some things have to be taken with a grain of salt and personally researched.

Still learning and researching... even after 20+ years with dogs...;)

[Mouse]

We want strong, healthy puppies. :tooths:

[BillD]

Some interesting stuff in your last post Miss Maggie. It seems your proprtions are quite different from the article at the start of the post (reverse). Also, Kirkland brand being a Super Premium? I just started trying Kirkland (was using ProPlan sensitive formula), as it has Glucosamine and Condritin already in it. The ingredient list seemed good. However, after reading the article, the terms used to describe the ingredients on the bag are now questionable. Again, if the animal is healthy, the food must be right.

[reiver]

Again, if the animal is healthy, the food must be right.

I was talking to an old-timer a while back, he used to raise hounds. He'd feed the dogs "pig pellets" (manufactured pig food) that he'd buy at the Co-op. He claimed his dogs were the picture of health for all the years he bred them. Makes you wonder.

[Miss Maggie]

Yes they are BillD...our breed is prone to a condition that requires us to be extra vigilant regarding their protein intake...

Kirkland brand lamb and rice was as close to the proper proportions for our breed that we felt comfortable with, and we had to use a kibble because of a dog show schedule, even though I'm not allowed to send my food State site without hassle, it is listed as a 'Super Premium' although who really knows what all those terms mean anyway...;) it does contain Glucosamine and Chondroitin as well as all the other essential Omega's and such. I just prefer to make my own for a variety of reasons, I don't believe everything I read and know that lots of those issues have been addressed in the past years...one being cost, satisfaction, less bulk fillers mean less passing through, and with 3 dogs this is a biggie...:ggl: when it comes to the poop farm.

The heath of our pups is of paramount importance, having already gone through some rather nasty experiences years previously with vets and food and mixed messages for both..that's why I suggest getting on board with a good vet or practitioner for them. If I was to keep my 'kids' on kibble, for their breed and conditions, the one we used was great, even better than the recommended brand from my co breeder.

[Miss Maggie]

Funny you mention that. reiver...it's been said many, many times that my parents and grandparents dogs didn't have fancy kibble...they ate scrap and such from the farm and lived ripe old ages...makes you wonder ;)

[BillD]

Our first dog, when I was a boy, rarely got dog food, getting scraps and stuff from the table. However, with purebreed dogs, you have to be more careful as the line breeding has made them susceptsble to numerous ailments that the mixed breeds found on farms were not. A case of hybrid vigour, I suppose. It is very important that you look into the background of your prospective purebred purchase, to ensure you limit the possibilty of inherited problems. Due diligence can prevent heartache down the road. The breeder should be able to present medical proof of no genetic abnormalities in previuos generations. This is not a guarantee, that your dog will be immune to those breed specific ailments, but it reduces the likelyhood. Goldens, are prone to about 5 inheritable ailments. Hip Displaysia, is the most well known, but also, elbow displaysia, blood problems, heart problems, and eye problems. Our breeder had medical certificates showing the parents were clear of all those, and there had been no cases of hip displaysia for at least 5 generations. The dog is now 12 and shows no sign of any of these. The dog didn't cost any more to buy, from a concientious breeder than from a backyard breeder, who didn't really know what they were doing. We didn't find out till later, when I got a book on goldens from the library, that there were a couple of Hall fo Fame dogs in her background.
As far as pig pellets go, I would be surprised if there was much, if any difference, between them and dog food.

[Miss Maggie]

Absolutely correct regarding purebred dogs, BillD...2 of ours are Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers who have in the past been predisposed to kidney failure, a very high susceptibility to issues with barbiturates as well as PLE a protein losing disease...our first Wheaten had some of these issues which has prompted our vigilance, however the 2 we have currently come from a very long line of world champions, without issues so far for several generations, our youngest having gained her AKC championship last year in 3 weekends. The other in our family is a rescue mini dachshund that has his own special needs, back issues, tendency to be overweight, stubborn :ggl:

Mom always reiterated how the farm dogs, Heinz 57 brand, always got the scraps, fresh milk and such and lived to a ripe old age, could say it was the non purebred aspect, or the non hormones, non pesticides etc. etc...same could be said for a lot of the increase in ailments that we humans have these days...who's to know. Food for thought so to speak ;)

As you said before...if the animal is healthy, don't go looking for something else, I just don't feel settled on an industry that is so far very poorly regulated in terms of pet food, and for the 'hold' if you will, that most vets have over their 'human' dog owners. We have gone through our fair share of scam-my vets...now we travel a little over an hour to the country with 3 dogs in tow to our current vet. As we only see him once every 2 years for vaccinations, it's not too bad.

[ssadams]

9 or 10 years ago when i was in the flooring buissness, we put some tile in for Purina's site in Oakville. They had bags in piles for their own brand as well as other premium brands and they filled them from the same mixture.

[Miss Maggie]

I wouldn't be surprised, scott...have heard of this happening before ;)