What do you feed your dog?

[steppinRazor]

My dog got very sick for quite a few days. The ones from China, which is what most stores carry, are treated with arsenic, nickel and other bad things. My vet told me many dogs die from them and he recommends never giving dogs rawhide bones. Even if they are treated properly they can block up the dogs intestines if they are prone to swallowing large objects. They can die without surgery to remove the blockage......

If the dog vomits bile you can assume the rawhide was treated with arsenic....

for real?? god damnit i just bought a bunch of those shits today.. hmmm
just read the lable 'product of thailand' and theres a warning on it too..
what the FUCK!! guess im bout to throw this crap away..

thanks for the heads up on the arsenic - i cant believe thats legal to sell such a product.

 

[PetFlora]

I agree with most your points, however, I feed my dog yogurt every day. Yogurt, is indeed a dairy product, however a dairy product is not necessarily yogurt, dig? yogurt and kefir are both very good for dogs, because they are loaded with beneficial bacteria and yeasts, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, B. bifidum, etc. SCOBYs (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) often have as many as 15 different species living in the consortium.
The reason for feeding any mammal a food that has been cultured is to try to bring to a balance the ratios of naturally occurring microbes. I guess that one could still say it is "cleaning out" but it is a bit more complex than that. Plants (those grown without human interference, that is, or with the help of humans using biological methods) need microbial assistance to "digest" complex mineral compounds; it is not all that different for humans/dogs/horses/ etc.
And the few times I have fed milk, it has been raw, i.e. not pasteurized or homogenized, which naturally contains probiotics when the conditions are ideal/optimal.

Not true. Commercial dairy is toxic in many ways- growth hormones, antibiotics, pasteurization and homogenization destroy the good things that are in raw milk, but the fact is milk is NOT a part of their "NATURAL" diet. And that's what I meant by natural.

What is "natural" is eating soil-based probiotic organisms (SBOs). When you see your dog eat grass, look closely and you will see them pulling at the grass. SBOs thrive at the base of the roots, they intuitively know they need them. Our SBO formula is "NATURAL" to their dietary needs.

 

[Trichgnomes]

Not true. Commercial dairy is toxic in many ways- growth hormones, antibiotics, pasteurization and homogenization destroy the good things that are in raw milk, but the fact is milk is NOT a part of their "NATURAL" diet. And that's what I meant by natural.

That's cool. I wasn't talking about the commercial dairy industry, I get my dairy from people I know, but whatever, to each his/her own. I didn't start this thread to sell a product, nor do I expect others to do so.

 

[Flying Goat]

When we first got together, my SO's mastiff/lab was about 20 lbs. overweight, with a dull coat, itchy skin & bad arthritis in his right knee (only 5 years old).

After 3 months of country living, eating fresh meat (& some offal), good quality kibbles, & fresh warm goats' milk, he is now down to his fighting weight, has a beautiful shiny coat, no itches, & best of all - his sore knee has healed itself!

I chalk it up to the probiotics in the fresh goats' milk... Awesome stuff!

My stepdaughter is raising some baby squirrels on it now...

 

[Trichgnomes]

After 3 months of country living, eating fresh meat (& some offal), good quality kibbles, & fresh warm goats' milk, he is now down to his fighting weight, has a beautiful shiny coat, no itches, & best of all - his sore knee has healed itself!

I chalk it up to the probiotics in the fresh goats' milk... Awesome stuff!

Flying Goat, that is fantastic to hear!

Just found this, thought I would share.

The Great Milk Debate

Should dogs and cats eat dairy products? Some pet nutritionists say milk and dairy products are perfect foods, while others blame them for every canine and feline disorder from ear infections to cancer.
The truth lies somewhere in between. Raw, unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk straight from healthy, organically raised, grass-fed cows or goats is an excellent food for dogs and cats. Unfortunately, America's supermarkets stopped selling raw, whole milk long ago. Some states allow raw milk to be sold for pet use, and some allow consumers to buy raw milk directly from dairy farms. Health food stores can sometimes recommend suppliers, as can A Campaign for Real Milk.
The most familiar cultured dairy products in North America are yogurt and kefir, which are sold in health food stores and supermarkets. However, most commercially prepared yogurt and kefir contain questionable ingredients, such as nonfat dry milk powder, and their beneficial bacteria decline during shipment and storage. Freshly prepared yogurt and kefir provide both beneficial bacteria and the lactic acid they thrive on, protecting the system against pathogens and infection while improving digestion.
Yogurt requires carefully controlled heat for its fermentation, but thanks to the many electric yogurt makers sold in kitchen supply and department stores, it is easy to make at home. For dogs and cats, freshly prepared yogurt that has fermented for 24 hours is most digestible, for prolonged fermentation is needed to break down the lactose in milk.20 Kefir ferments at room temperature and requires no special equipment. Starters for both yogurt and kefir are widely available. Once fermented, a small amount of yogurt or kefir from a previous batch is added to fresh milk, and the bacteria grow.
Centuries ago, Scandinavian farmers discovered that milk clabbered faster when their cows ate butterwort, a European herb. Piima culture from Finland is derived from the milk of butterwort-fed cows; it contains five strains of beneficial bacteria and is easy for pets to digest. Piima starter can be used to make piima milk, cream, butter, buttermilk, cream cheese, and whey, any of which can be added to a pet's dinner. When introducing dairy products, feed them once a week to be sure your dog or cat tolerates them well; then use as often as desired.

http://www.westonaprice.org/Trends-in-Home-Prepared-Diets-for-Pets.html

 

[moth]

Boiled chicken , cottage cheese and beneful is the only thing these animals will eat. Unless they see U putting somthing in your mouth, they want it too.

 

[GorillaGrower]

i Honestly just feed my apbt beneful because he just seems to love it.. altho he finds a way to supplement his diet with free range organic deer carcasses he finds!!

last week i woke up and hopped out of bed to and saw my pit looking up at me with these big proud eyes.. He was chomping on a full deer head in my bedroom! hair, ears, eyeballs the whole deal.. man pitbulls and dog doors are just a trouble waiting to happen!

thanks for the recipes im actually thinking of switching at some point to a homeade dog food.

 

[Trichgnomes]

last week i woke up and hopped out of bed to and saw my pit looking up at me with these big proud eyes.. He was chomping on a full deer head in my bedroom! hair, ears, eyeballs the whole deal.. man pitbulls and dog doors are just a trouble waiting to happen!

That is ridiculous, man. But hilarious too. I definitely live in deer country, and just let my dog outside whenever he wants to, but never really thought of that as a possibility He's still kind of a pup, so maybe deer is a little out of his league at this point. But I do catch him playing with dead mice outside on occasion.

 

[Kaneh]

Interesting thread, been thinking about this subject lately. We got 11 week old puppy in the house. F1-hybrid, offcourse!

I've been mixing "Holistic" dry food with stuff we eat ourselves: rice, millet, cottage cheese, piimä, youghurt and if the (vegetarian) food our family is eaten seems ok to dog, we give some.
We also give bones, pig tails and ears (local) so he has something to chew. (rather than our furniture!

 

[ArcticBlast]

Royal Canin

ArcticBlast

 

[Classic Seeds]

i feed my dogs canidae its the only dog food in america made with usda human grade food sourses and all real meats no soya corn or any of the other cheap filler they count as protien and no meat biproducts its 25 % real meat after the pet food scare im glad i did ,because 2 of my neigbors lost their dogs to that china shit in the food and it is only 36 dollars for a 40 lb sack and i have 2 large dogs and one has addison desease and needs a high protien diet and i was having to boil chicken and give him other costly foods till i found this great stuff shiny coats no bad breath happy health amigos and no worrys about any foriegn food s in it with ddt or what ever

 

[beejaybug]

my dog is on dry food right now, but i live on a property with a huge back yard, and he has brought back tons of squirrels, and other animals so im not worried with giving him meat just yet. To mix it up, i sometimes put bananna for him in the morning, and add a couple bites of veggies during the night feeding. he lovesss veggies, its really cute!

 

[rocky5]

my dog eats better than me,steak, pork,pasta,sausages,eggs and all meat fats.
not sure what and when as the wife does the feeding but i know its the best.
he just turns his nose up at dog food all kinds,when we were trying him on
dog food he just starved himself.
the wife gets free cuts off the butcher now and again but apart from that it is the
best meat he eats.

 

[schwagg]

I was thinking the same thing!

Natural as a "supplement" to Raw feeding would be:
Feed other organs: Heart,liver etc.
Also fish....the whole Fish great for dogs!

i really wish i could find the article i read but it was about pacific northwest salmon. there was something in it that can kill dogs.

other than that, my pit gets handfed chunks of raw meat twice a day. i leave kibble out but he never touches it. i love the raw diets but man, the marrow bones make the pup rip ass!

 

[Greenmopho]

My dogs are on a raw diet...I'm sure cannagirl will explain...but they have never been better!

 

[cannagirl]

Yup those two beauties up there ^^ are my babies! They are on a raw diet that was balanced by a K-9 nutritionist. Their diet consists of 80% RMB(raw meat bone) 10% muscle meat and 10% offal with at least half being liver. Their diet is balanced over a week's time so I am able to mix it up for them and give them a variety. I usually just try to pick up a few different things on sale at the market, although it would be cheaper for us to buy in bulk, we dont have the freezer space.

Since we switched them to raw and stopped vaccinating, only titer testing, their coats have been flawless and other than the occasional roll in poo, bathes are a rarity at our house. We also dont ever have dental cleanings done on them because the raw bones they chew on daily keep they teeth sparkling white, and it keeps the bad doggy breath away!

All my four legged animals will be on a raw diet suited to their needs for the rest of my life. The only commercial food that I would give to the dogs is evo, but thats only when we go on 2+ day pack hikes this summer.

 

[the_red_bull]

I'm trying to get rid of him. Why would I feed him?

 

[cannagirl]

i really wish i could find the article i read but it was about pacific northwest salmon. there was something in it that can kill dogs.

other than that, my pit gets handfed chunks of raw meat twice a day. i leave kibble out but he never touches it. i love the raw diets but man, the marrow bones make the pup rip ass!

Feeding raw and kibble at the same time is dangerous. The kibble digests at a different rate than raw food and can cause bloat, a life threatening and usually deadly occurrence in a dogs stomach.

as far as the NW Pac Salmon, its the mercury levels in the fish that can be toxic for dogs and humans alike.

 

[Trichgnomes]

Hmm. I've never heard that raw/kibble mix is dangerous, but it does make sense.

Dogs, as oppose to humans have a very short tract digestive system. A dog on a diet like mine or fellow raw-feeder cannagirl completely digest his/her meal in approx four hours.

A dog that is fed kibble takes about 16 hours to digest his/her food. Think about dogs that free feed constantly. Their organs are working like work-horses round' the clock, 24/7. For this reason, even when feeding raw it is recommend to fast, for at least a half day once a week.

If one is emulating a prey-type diet, fasting is not so crazy. Do you think predators have a successful hunt every day of their life?

 

[cannagirl]

I fast them about every 7-10 days, I always get the "Im hungry" whine but usually the day before and after a fast day, is a gorge day.