Oh! Oh my! Mine, mine, mine!
What's Logan got?
Hey! I want some! Move out of the way. No fair. They're not sharing!!!
Rogue finds a greater treasure. The whole fryers in the bottom of the fridge. But it seems to be protected by some impenetrable force field. Dang!
I promised folks at the party yesterday and others in emails that I'd write about what I feed. Might be easier to write about what I don't. I don't feed them anything that is toxic to dogs.
Not enough? Ok. I know folks who feed all sorts of ways. Kibble, cheap and "premium." I know people who feed raw and only raw and nothing else. I feed kibble, the premium kind but I switch brands around. If there's a reaction, like Kayla's noxious emissions when she eats Evo, we find something else. Read labels, learn what works for your dog and your budget.
I also give them cooked meat of all kinds but usually ground turkey, veggies, a little fruit, rice, potatoes, ground flaxseed, dairy in the form of cheese, cottage cheese or yogurt. I mix in a vitamin supplement. Sometimes they get sardines. Once a week they get a beef bone to gnaw on and some organ meats. I don't measure anything but the vitamin supplements.
What this does is provides variety. A variety of foods stimulates the immune system and thereby reduces the incidence of allergies. That's my theory anyway and so far it's been successful. The key is to watch the dogs. Are they maintaining a healthy weight? How does their coat look as a general rule? Eyes, mucous membranes? Are they constantly dealing with infections?
Some folks do raw. There are a wide variations in how this is interpreted. I did it for a while and got nervous about how meats are processed but Carolyn says hers are doing fine. Do some research and try it out if you're interested. You may really love what it does for your dog.
Their favorite food in the world? Chicken. I roast mine and they love it. Winco 88¢/lb. for whole fryers. If you cook the chicken don't feed them the bones. They splinter. Raw bones, however, are fine and they love them and the bones love them back in keeping their teeth scraped clean.
Readers with opinions?!! Comment away. Please. Mine is not by a long shot the final authority. I do what works for me. Period. And it will probably change as time goes on and I learn more.
My puppy buyers: Whatever you choose to feed your puppy if it's of good quality they should transition fine. There will be the stress of a new environment that's more likely to have an impact on digestion than the food itself but even that should settle down after a day or so. Please contact me if you have any concerns about your puppy when they are with you. As long as I have breath in my body I am here as a resource. If I don't know the answer my collective dog-loving friends will help me find out.
Now I think someone mentioned an annual cardigan party in the Pacific NW? I think that deserves some attention.
Posts
12 comments:
I've posted a little bit about this on my blog, but I switched to raw mainly because Groovy had horrible digestive problems, I tried every kibble on the block and nothing worked. For the first two months on raw, his eyes were constanly running, his butt was constantly running, but I was forewarned that this would happen and then by the third month, presto chango, he has had no health issues since.
I feed, chicken backs, chicken wings, pork necks, veggie mush, tripe, chicken livers and beef hpp.
They have shiny coats and white teeth and I'm very happy with the switch! (sorry for the long post)
I've fed raw for the past four years. Ground turkey, chicken backs, drumsticks, and necks, duck necks, lamb ribs, mackeral, meaty beef or buffalo bones, green tripe, buffalo heart . . . I supplement with Missing Link Plus, Vitamin C, Zinc for the boy, and apple cider vinegar. The dogs carry gorgeous coat, have shiny eyes, are never sick. Then there's the tiny, relatively un-smelly poops, shiny clean teeth, pleasant breath -- and the dogs smell good as well.
My vet, who is not a fan of raw-feeding, just says he can't argue with what he sees when my kids come in for an annual health check. I'd never go back to kibble!
Thanks for posting this Le'o. I couldn't agree with you more. The key is to feed what works for your dog--in my case I feed kibble and am very happy with each of my dog's coats, weight, energy-levels and health. Rugby and Zoey get "premium" brands (I too switch them around on occasion) and Riley, for the past 7+ years has been eating a vegan-based prescription food (he has a life-threatening food allergy and this is the only food he is allowed to eat).
Most people would scoff at a dog doing well after eating nothing but vitamin-supplemented soybean food for over 7 years, but I am happy to say he's never been healthier. He's 10 years old anw and has never had his teeth cleaned (he gets nylabones to chew on) and his eyes and coat are as shiny as any other dogs I've seen.
So, just as you said, feed what works for your dog!
We are total raw feeders since 1997...anyone need any help...let me know! I love for the same reasons as Penni pointed out and would NEVER go back to kibble. I have dogs come in for training who are on kibble and I just hate dealing with them. I do have a grainless kibble that I have one Pap client on that doesn't do the smelly crap as much, but it really isn't the best for him.
I've fed raw for a bit over two years. The diet consists mostly of chicken backs though right now I also have a freezer full of ground mutton and sheep bones.
I add cottage cheese, missing link, and this time of year fresh fruits and vegetables. When fresh vegetables are not available I use frozen mixed vegetables or green beans. I don't thaw them as the dogs really like them as veggie-popsicles or little ice cubes.
We have some issues with the beef industry and we eat little of that meat ourselves.
I do sometimes supplement with grain-free kibble, currently "Taste of the Wild" salmon. Evo gave them really bad gas. I tell them it's "breakfast cereal" and they regard it as good junk-food.
Feeding raw really changes their attitude about food! And they now know that other animals are edible. Little carnivores . . .
Reading all your comments has been good for me ... I face a bit of an issue as far as feeding raw ... I'm a vegetarian. Not that my animals are ... the cats get premium food and canned food, never really thought about feeding them raw. Understand the reasons for feeding raw, better coat, less allergies, cleaner teeth, better digestion, probably a better dog/cat all around. Just never thought I'd be having meat in my fridge again. Don't think I could cook it ... I really do need some guidance here. Oh, Remy is my puppy! Know too that if I'm feeding the puppy raw the cats are going to want in that action too ... guidance please!
Good post L'eo. Sounds like you have a good feeding plan. We must do what is good for our situation and our dogs.
I cannot feed raw. Grosses out the husband and since he is the main bread winner we do not upset him when feeding 9 dogs. Plus I worry about proper proportions and having a nutrient deficiency.
I feed a premium kibble. I had fed Purina One but recently switched to Eukanuba. We have noticed my blacks are an even shinier blue-black and the only thing different is the kibble.
I also rotate protein sources. Since this kibble is chicken based, I feed Evangers canned foods and mix the proteins fed.
http://www.evangersdogfood.com/dog/superpremium.html
Once a week they get raw chicken legs for a meal and once a week I add plain yogurt instead of canned for a meal. The only supplements I feed at Vitamin C and Fresh Factors. This seems to be working well for the New York Cardigan Clan.
We've done raw, modified raw and just kibble.
Raw was getting seriously expensive, and the running around from place to place to get bargains wasn't making it feasible.
We've done ProPlan, Nutro and Orijen.
We like the results with the Orijen the best. ProPlan was causing me to clean up the yard 2-3 times a day. Nutro is going to get into some serious problems with the number of animals getting sick off of it. Google it on the web and you'll be amazed.
Currently its Orijen, frozen green beans, (soon to be fresh from the garden) yougurt, sardines and vitamins from: http://www.holisticpetcenter.com/vitamins.htm and a vitamin C supplement from http://www.belfield.com/megac500.php
Almost forgot... I was feeding four times the amount of ProPlan as Orijen and my dogs still looked like stick figures. So many breeders swear by ProPlan but my experience has been terrible with it.
What sort of supplements do you feed your pups?
Seriously? Raw? Totally raw chicken legs, for a puppy?
What sort of beef bone do you give them--left over from your steak dinner or a large joint that you get from the butcher?
At 3 months old I tried my Cardi on sardines and she wouldn't touch them or the kibble they touched!
Thank you!
I forgot to add in my post that the dogs love fruit -- last night we shared bing cherries, they like oranges, bananas (we don't do grapes), and both dogs are pigging out on fallen green apples (Chase only after he juggles tham and bowls with them). I swear by Mossing Link Plus as my primary supplement.
Sardines are pretty salty, canned mackeral is also a bit salty, but I dump the can in a colander and rinse it before I add it to the food.
Your dogs will learn to love raw chicken wings and necks, as they grow you can switch them to chicken backs. There is a natural farm store near me and I buy backs for $.85/pound. I buy several pounds at a time, divide it into bags that are a meals worth for two dogs, and then throw it in the dog freezer (yep, I have a smallish chest freezer for the dogs).
Each of us must decide how much trouble and money it's worth. I've mentioned it before, but if someone in your family -- or you have a friend -- that hunts, ask them to have the "trim" ground and packaged for you when they have their meat processed. It is absolutely the BEST because it has no added hormones or vaccinations. That meat should be free.
Sorry it's so long Le'o!
Mine get kibble, and whatever, like ground sheep, turkey necks and tails, eggs. They think these are a fine supplement to their fresh caught food; grey diggers. Carolyn is right, little carnivores!
Post a Comment