Thread: What's- what with dog food

I dont use "dog food" I give mine BARF (biologically appropriate raw food) That way I know what they are getting as you dont know what they put in the dry kibble and or tinned stuff, and dont forget that lots of dogs died due to something that was accidently added to dog and cat food.
FDA: Dry Dog Food May be Contaminated with Toxin; U.K. Negotiates for Release of Captured Marines, Sailors; Bush Promises. (30-MAR-07) Finance Wire A look at recalled pet food brands - Pet health- msnbc.com
What’s Really in Pet Food

With that why would you trust anyone stuffing up and killing your pets.

I'm also not so keen on dry kibble for dogs (though IMO they're not as bad as dry cat foods are for cats!)

We've known for years that humans do better on a diet that includes lots of fresh food instead of processed and preserved food. I see no reason why dogs would be any different to humans in that respect.

I prefer to feed good quality wet food plus soft, raw meaty bones for dental hygiene. A raw/barf diet is also good IMO, if you have the motivation and time to do your research.

The one advantage of dry food (besides the convenience factor) is that it's generally better for your dog's teeth than those mushy wet commercial diets. Raw diets address the dental issue to at least some degree, but commercial wet diets do not. So if you do decide to feed wet food, do feed raw soft bones or brush your dog's teeth as well, or they'll probably get nasty tartar as they age.

If you do decide to feed commercial wet foods, with or without bones, watch out when choosing one as ingredients lists can be very deceptive. Most petfood manufacturers will list the ingredients by the weight they are when they are added. So even if the ingredients label states that the product is mostly meat with only a little grain or soy, most of the finished product (by volume) will probably grain or soy, as grains and soy (unlike meat) swell when water is added during manufacture. In other words, most of the chunks in that "meaty casserole" are actually textured vegetable protein. (That's the case in NZ anyway, I assume it's similar in Australia.)

If you really do want to feed dry kibble, there are definately better and worse brands of dry food, and hopefully someone who feeds dry can point you towards one of the better brands. I know lots of people who have dogs that do just fine on dry food, I just don't personally think it's ideal. Not sure which brands I'll recommend to clients who want to feed kibble when I finally graduate vet school - I'll have to do my research before then I guess!

I, too feed a BARF diet. Lots and lots of raw, meaty bones... but there are also many supplements that go with this. Combined with defrosting, mixing and planning, BARF is not "doable" for everyone (not to mention the bloody blood smell in the fridge).

Soooooo..... I also sometimes use small amounts of Ecopet roll and EaglePack Hollistic Large Breed Puppy kibble. This is the only kibble recommended by the breeder who supplied my pup, thus I stick with it. My older dogs- an Afghan Hound (almost 15 years) and another Dobe (2 years) who are not under the same contractual feeding conditions as the pup are thriving on EaglePack Hollistic varieties mixed with chicken frame mince, some supplements and some EcoPet.

There is a "Great Dane Lady" online who recommends the EaglePack as the only kibble for large breeds.... I think the main thing is the trace minerals and digestive aides found in the SuperPremium foods that make them better.

So, take that as you may, EaglePack seems no dearer than other "SuperPremium" kibbles and they do offer a buy 10 get the 11th free to help your wallet.

My advice? Take a looooong lunch break in the pet food store and read some labels!!


Hope that helps

there is pre mixed barf from pet city here in brisbane so that saved me heaps of time when I used to do it myself. and its frozen in packets so saves the blood smell in the fridge. And better to put the extras in, I feed my dogs twice a day the morning is the barf mince mix and then bones in the afternoon, saves a bloated dog with so much food in its stomach. But I went onto barf for health reason of my dogs I had 2 whippets that got pancreatitis and then switched to barf diet and with the new dog he is ridiculously healthy the vet said, which is good for me and my vet bills unless he hurts himself.

I feed my dogs Barf, bought or homemade including organs and a variety of raw meaty bones. I do give the younger ones Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy as well while they still growing or if I need to put some weight on them. I also give them goats milk not just the babies but the adults enjoy it too. Any supps can include cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, sardines, fish oil, evening primrose oil, omega blend oil, flaxseed oil, glucosamine, ester c, Vets all Natural Health Booster and the Joint Support for the arthritic ones.

I am pretty concerned about the crap that goes in to dog food but after more than5 yrs on raw food I decided to have a little trust in the EP puppy food while they are growing - but they don't have much it is not the whole feed but a small portion mixed in the barf.

Forgot to mention- pre-packaged BARF is also available in Vic (and other states), you just need to find a supplier. Locally, I have a vet who can supply.

I simply found that the number of "slices" or portions required for a growing Dobermann (or any other large breed pup) was about three times the recommended on the pack, and added up to major expense! But, it is true, it saves time and defrosting, cleaning and enduring that smell

Yep - it is in Vic, has been for several yrs now - I am a distributor of Barf and am currently feeding 3 Rotties and a Pug on it. I don't suggest feeding the amount that it says on the packet, if you feed 1/2 the amount it says and the rest in RMB's it will save a lot of money. It also comes in 3 kg packs and 800g pkts and cat food as well.

Piper (4 yo) is around 45 kgs and she is on 1 serve (used to be in patties now in pouches) of barf and the rest in bones. Abby is 18 mths old, 41.2kg and Pink is 6 mths old and 32kgs both have about 1& 1/2 portion with RMB's and a small amount of EP large breed puppy added to that as well as the goats milk. Lizzy almost 2 yrs old and 7 kgs has a half serve and a chicken neck. I feed more while they are going through their main growth stage and thankfully Pink is not eating as much now as she was, she was eating 3 times what her mother does. I was also feeding her brother until a month ago and Abby has only been back home for a week - my food bill is generally bigger than what I would like.

I have just filled the freezer up today with 10 kgs of chicken frames and 12 kgs of chicken necks. I stuff the frames with necks and the left over necks are in containers. I also got lamb necks, lamb off cuts and beef brisket bones. Sometimes I stuff the frames with ox cheek or beef and make the barf go further that way.

I also feed the Vets all Natural some times too for a bit of variety. Then there are the supps that I mentioned earlier.

Lisa.

Hi Wilso,

The question of "where do you start and end" is an Interesting one because you start with experiment and keep using what works for your dogs.If you change make sure it's because your dogs need to,example being dry skin/coat,weight issues etc..

I feed both dryfood and raw meaty bones.They also get yoghurt,mince,cheese,egg,veg and household scraps inc cooking oil tipped in their bowls sometimes.I have one on fish oil and sprint oil.The others get vet's all natural while growing then that is cut out.Mine even eat left over fruit.Goats milk is added for the growing girls.

Hope this thread is helping.