GSD's 4EVER

I like the way your butcher does things.

If it were me, I'd steer clear of anything labelled "pet grade" and only go for human grade. I've never heard of puppy mince. Can you give me more info please ?

After bones just got left around the back yard, I had to throw them out when the flies were too much to cope with. As Mish got older & started to "shit bullets", I switched to frozen chicken carcasses. All my lot have lovely, clean, white teeth. Even Mish's are in pretty good nick for an old girl. They're only a wee bit of a very light yellow colour just at the gum line.

Awww, Mummy's little helper.

A dog's version of licking out the mixing bowl & beaters when your Mum made a cake.

If I forget to defrost, I feed them tinned tuna, grated carrot, eggs and cheese. Just mix it all up and serve, they love it! Yum !!

I LOVE markets. We shop at the Vic Market every Sat for meat, fish, grains, vegies & of course I get my offal there. Supermarkets are sooo expensive. You get better quality at a market as well because they buy the beasts themselves & do it all on the spot. And no foam trays or cling wrap.

Well done !! Have you noticed the difference in the monthly budget ??

Clever puppy !!

There are a lot more people on this thread that have more knowledge than me, but if it were me, I'd cut out the dry food completely. I feed my dogs a natural diet, no commercial food. If she doesn't want the dry, don't give it to her. From what you've written, your pup has a great variety of foods, all of which have been discussed here. Spirit is my youngest dog. When I got her from the breeder at 8 weeks, I detoxed her on chicken & rice for 3 to 4 days & then she went straight on to a natural diet. When I got Tara, I tried sticking to the breeder's diet which included weet bix, kibble, puppy porridge etc, but all she wanted was Mish's natural food, so I transitioned her to natural within 4 weeks. I'd say you're doing a terrific job.

If you're cutting the orange in half & chucking the whole thing in there ... I got nuttin'. If you're doing it by "hand", I've got a Breville Vegetable & Citrus Duo. Cheap as .. it's basically all motor with a casing. When the motor blows, I'll just piff it & get a new one. :D Aww, "Neats". I aim to please.

Get yourself a Food Saver "Neats". Vac sealed & into the freezer in a flat pack for easy stacking.

I also feed wild rabbbit and venison, which I hope helps. And sometimes fresh or tinned fish - but they aren't that keen on fish really. I have spoilt fussy dogs My last GSD was a real "Princess" about not eating the raw fish, so I poach it just enough to break it up, let it cool & serve up, water & all. :D

I've been tracking along in my dog's diet as you've described (with a bit of variations) for well over 10 years now. I give them fish once a week, but have not given the extra Omega 3 oils. I take these capsules myself, so now have included this with my girls' food, starting from breakfast this morning. A lot to read through, but a great thread for those of us who really want to do the right thing by our fur kids.

I give Mish (nearly 12) Psyllium Husks to assist with extra fibre, so you might want to check it out as an alternative to All-Bran.

You are very correct. I have been working with offal for over 10 years now & I only buy human grade quality.

for the support. I now have rabbit treats on the product menu. ;) Depending on the demand, I'm also thinking of working on supplying goat, venison, kangaroo etc. Let me know if you'd be interested in treats from this type of meat.

A beat up old Breville. They're all pretty much the same though. There must be a part missing in mine... ;) My poor old thing is glued & taped together. So long as the motor keeps going, I'm not going to buy a new one.

A beat up old Breville. They're all pretty much the same though.

Hi GSD, before i start adding vegetables to their daily diet, is there any vegies that they cannot eat? According to my dogs' naturopath ... and I quote from her natural diet sheet that she gave me .... "Most vegetables are suitable especially carrot, broccoli, alfalfa & other sprouts, snow peas, zucchini, brussel sprout, cauliflower, pumpkin, celery, parsley, dandelion leaf, squash, asparagus, watercress, mints & many more ...... Raw onion, radish, garlic, tomato, potato, eggplant, cucumber, lettuce & peppers are less easy for the carnivores to digest and are best avoided in intestinal or systemic inflammatory conditions. I've followed her nutritional advice for 10 years now & my dogs are in tip top condition. Mish was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in April 2008. They gave her 6 months as it's a particularly aggressive cancer. Mish will turn 12 in December, she's still with me & she still "runs the show" at home. Tara & Spirit know she's the "boss" ... if she were sick & dying, they wouldn't bow down to her.

For me ... raw "MissL". I just roughly chop the vegies just enough to get them into the food processor .... just a few seconds on the "pulse" setting & I'm ready to serve up in their bowls with their raw meat. ;)

Bummer. If you're ever in Melbourne, Australia. I'll be happy to show you around

I live 15 minutes from the CBD & there is a fantastic market 5 minutes from the centre of town. We go every Saturday, take the 2 young dogs for socialisation & get all our meat, fish, chicken, grains, vegies etc for the week. It's a great morning out as well just to have some "down time", have a bite to eat & a coffee. Lots of people want to pat my dogs & ask questions, so having my girls there is good PR for the GSD breed as well.

Totally agree with you. My 3 are so cheap to feed the natural way. And cleaning up is a breeze if the pigeons haven't already done the job for me. They like to peck out all the grains, so they are usually waiting on the fence line for when the girls have finished eating etc & are inside.