Thread: Dry food and other diets....

I have mentioned in the other thread what my dogs eat. But as far as dry food goes they have free access to coprice working dog formula. I find this is the best of the "cheap" brands.....I buy it by the pellet and save a couple of dollars a bag.

With the pups and pregnant/lactating bitches the dry food I use is Bonny puppy, again about the best of the "cheaper" brands as far as I have found. Again on the other thread I have put the natural diet i also have for the pups.

Delkerabo what is the Great Barko like compared to the other brands and is it expensive? How do you find the Bonney working dog?.....this would be my next choice.

Cheers

Steve

Hi

I used to feed Eagle Pack Holistic and EP Performance which were good (although expensive) premium dry food. I have now changed to Royal Canin 4800 (20kg) which is better and you get more for your money (although it’s also not cheap). I also give a tin of sardines occasionally, and my Mal will pick her own apples from the tree whenever she feels like it. The problem here is that she doesn’t allow them to grow much if I don’t keep an eye on her, and they’re quite tart when they’re small!

I tried the Barf diet with the GSD. He took to it quite well at first, but unfortunately developed an allergy (skin) which was put down to beef, so we discontinued it and went back to dry food. I now feed both dogs dry food for convenience, also the RC I’m feeding gives them everything the Barf diet gives with added vitamins etc, and they are thriving on it.

Peter

Originally Posted by Midol

100% raw meats & bones. Nothing else at all. Except the random things the huskies steal but Montu doesn't steal food (as he can't.)

Hi Midol

Do I understand you correctly in saying your dogs are on 100% red meat diet?

If so how do you supliment other dietry needs that can only be found in vegitation?

I personally do not agree with feeding dogs a 100% meat diet. They need the nutrients and vitamins that cannot be found in meat alone. I also believe that too high a protien diet is not good for dogs. We need balance.

Also I tend to believe that diets based on meat only can make a dog overly hyper.

Some studies, have shown that very high red meat protien diets can lead to aggressive behaviour in some dogs, mainly dogs that are given little exercise. As there is no outlet for the high levels protien being delivered to the body.

I am no expert on diet.. but I personally would never recommend 100% red meat diets.

Originally Posted by Mark Singer

Hi Midol

Do I understand you correctly in saying your dogs are on 100% red meat diet?

If so how do you supliment other dietry needs that can only be found in vegitation?

I personally do not agree with feeding dogs a 100% meat diet. They need the nutrients and vitamins that cannot be found in meat alone. I also believe that too high a protien diet is not good for dogs. We need balance.

Also I tend to believe that diets based on meat only can make a dog overly hyper.

Some studies, have shown that very high red meat protien diets can lead to aggressive behaviour in some dogs, mainly dogs that are given little exercise. As there is no outlet for the high levels protien being delivered to the body.

I am no expert on diet.. but I personally would never recommend 100% red meat diets.

In the Huskies, yes.

Montu does have some veges, just because he is growing & I've never seen anything concrete either way so better to be safe than sorry with a growing pup.

Wolves didn't eat the stomach contents of their prey so I've never fed them any veges. Vet assures me they are perfectly healthy and if anything their coats improved. I know dogs aren't wolves, but afaik their "insides" haven't changed much.

I do use chicken & fish as well. I spose they would get some vegetables from my food scraps (carrot, pumpkin and lettuce.)

Bulldogman, I saw an advertisement in an ANKC publication,so I thought we'd try it. It's a 22 kg bag found in most stockfeeds and in Petstock,it costs around $29.95 My dogs didn't like the other food they make which is the Uncle Albers with more fat and Protein in it.

The Great Barko however they absolutely love. I change dry foods a couple of times in the year,I always go back to Bonnie working. I give them a change just for the change.I always fast them once a week to.GB is like a home made treat and it is quite soft to chew would be great for young puppies too,I like it much better then the others thus far but Bonnie working is still my preferred because I've not used this one long enough yet to know if it's better.

Bonnie working has always been good for the dogs I have now,in the past it gave one of mine the runs.Together with the bones I have no problems whatsoever.

Originally Posted by Midol

Wolves didn't eat the stomach contents of their prey so I've never fed them any veges.

My research/information has told me that wolves do in fact eat the contents of its prey's stomach. This was often taken back to pups and regurgitated. Likewise when the young pups start to eat the kill, they usually eat the stomach contents and soft organs such as the liver, kidney, etc.

As well as the green feed in the stomach, the enzymes in the gut can have benifits for the dog and pups. Wolves and other wild dogs are also known to eat a variety of ground yams, nuts, seeds and grasses were ever they find them in their environment.

I believe all food mixtures should contain a large percentage of greens and veggies as well as the meat. Bones are very important for teeth and gum health and the protien and calcium they supply are important but veggies and greens are also a very important part of the diet to ensure it is balanced.

Cheers Steve

Originally Posted by Bulldogman

My research/information has told me that wolves do in fact eat the contents of its prey's stomach. This was often taken back to pups and regurgitated. Likewise when the young pups start to eat the kill, they usually eat the stomach contents and soft organs such as the liver, kidney, etc.

As well as the green feed in the stomach, the enzymes in the gut can have benifits for the dog and pups. Wolves and other wild dogs are also known to eat a variety of ground yams, nuts, seeds and grasses were ever they find them in their environment.

I believe all food mixtures should contain a large percentage of greens and veggies as well as the meat. Bones are very important for teeth and gum health and the protien and calcium they supply are important but veggies and greens are also a very important part of the diet to ensure it is balanced.

Cheers Steve

This is taken from a site I had bookmarked. I do own the book in question, but couldn't be bothered finding the right page and copying it out

Wolves do NOT eat the stomach contents of their prey. Only if the prey is small enough (like the size of a rabbit) will they eat the stomach contents, which just happen to get consumed along with the entire animal. Otherwise, wolves will shake out the stomach contents of their large herbivorous prey before sometimes eating the stomach wall. The following quotations are taken from L. David Mech's 2003 book Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Mech (and the others who contributed to this book) is considered the world's leading wolf biologist, and this book is a compilation of 350 collective years of research, experiments, and careful field observations. These quotes are taken from chapter 4, The Wolf as a Carnivore.
"Wolves usually tear into the body cavity of large prey and...consume the larger internal organs, such as lungs, heart, and liver. The large rumen [, which is one of the main stomach chambers in large ruminant herbivores,]...is usually punctured during removal and its contents spilled. The vegetation in the intestinal tract is of no interest to the wolves, but the stomach lining and intestinal wall are consumed, and their contents further strewn about the kill site." (pg.123, emphasis added)

"To grow and maintain their own bodies, wolves need to ingest all the major parts of their herbivorous prey, except the plants in the digestive system." (pg.124, emphasis added).

Myths About Raw: Do wolves eat stomach contents of prey?

Link to book:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Behavior-Conservation-David-Mech/dp/0226516970/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227899670&sr= 8-1]Amazon.com: Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation: L. David Mech, Luigi Boitani: Books[/ame]

If you do a quick google you'll find the scientists who had input in this book are all well respected in the field.

But like I said, I do feed some veges. I just realised I also feed apple and banana as I include it in the ice blocks. I do not do this for their nutritional requirements though - just to keep them entertained.