If Feeding Super Premium Why Add Raw?

[laffi]

Sorry I have a silly question. :D

If you are feeding your dog super premium (like Nutro or Eagle Pack) why do you add mince or anything else for that matter? These foods are supposed to be balanced with exactly the right amount of proteins, fats, carbs etc. Don't you worry you are breaking this balance by adding stuff?

[flycow]

Sorry I have a silly question. :D

If you are feeding your dog super premium (like Nutro or Eagle Pack) why do you add mince or anything else for that matter? These foods are supposed to be balanced with exactly the right amount of proteins, fats, carbs etc. Don't you worry you are breaking this balance by adding stuff?

because I don't believe commercial foods have the best grade of ingredients

Also to add flavours so that it taste different every so often

Some ingredients in dry are in too small an amount and I like to give more, eg. Omega3/6.

if any dog needs to lose some weight the dry food is cut and veggies added to give some bulk.

etc etc. many many reasons.

[Jean26]

Just for a bit of variety i guess.

I mix in Sardines, Tuna, Raw Egg, good quality mince with kibble. (Royal Canin) I also give him chicken wings as well. Kaiser loves them.

Mya gets the same, but with adult food. She's a fussy one despite being half lab!! She wont scoff down food. I have to soak her kibble and mix it with either mince or dog roll like Tuckertime. She likes sardines and eggs tho. Oh, and a chicken frame for brekkie.

[Kavik]

I like to add bones - helps to clean teeth and they love them! And some variety - eggs and sometimes sardines.

[4 Paws]

I feed Nutro and still give some kind of bone,either chicken carcass,brisket bone etc.I guess for a bit of variety and the teeth cleaning with the bones.

I also like to add a few sardines a couple of times a week for extra oils as gsd are prone to skin complaints

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

flycow

I hope you can substantiate your argument? :D

"because I don't believe commercial foods have the best grade of ingredients".

Are you referring to a particular product, or commercial foods as a whole?.

Would appreciate some enlightment on your statement ;)

[Sagittarian]

Once upon a time I was a petfood employee for a particular company that indoctrinated us all with the chant... you shall only feed the dry food, anything else destroys the balance.

Okay, perhaps a bit of an exaggeration lol. However, the idea was that if the food was complete and balanced, then there was no need to add anything to it.

With some products I think this is close to true. Particularly with special needs pets. I do believe though (based upon a year or two's experience with my own dogs and a little knowledge of nutrition) that adding extras does not create a detrimental situation. For example, at present we feed Nutro, Euk to one (shock horror), sometimes Dick van Patten's Natural Balance, and sometimes Eagle Pack Holistic. As well, we feed some Ziwipeak, add some Vet's All Natural Omega Blend or similar, as well as Joint Formula or Health Booster. Occasionally, some fresh meat, also pig's ears, sometimes a big bone, veges, sardines, fruit and so on.

For us it is about knowing our own dogs and balancing their diet according to their needs. When a petfood is based upon human grade products (and there are a few out there, contact them about walking through their factories - it makes for an informative visit), then I believe I'm heading in the right direction. The old thing of feeding as if in the wild does not necessarily include human grade - or perfect ingredients!

I have so far experienced nothing wrong with adding some extras to an otherwise quality food.

JMO

:D

[flycow]

flycow

I hope you can substantiate your argument? :D

"because I don't believe commercial foods have the best grade of ingredients".

Are you referring to a particular product, or commercial foods as a whole?.

Would appreciate some enlightment on your statement ;)

Don't need to, it's a personal reason in answer to OP's question.

[niki schaef]

i used to mix things in with kibble (now only raw) because i thought it would be nicer! i mean personally i don't think plain kibble day in day out is very interesting

[Poodle wrangler]

I must be a , but for the life of me cannot understand how dry food that keeps fresh in the bag for many months can be the best food for your dog? Fed exclusively, doesn't that mean no bones?

Raw bones help keep my dog's teeth in good condition. I really saw the difference in my older dog when he didn't have any for a few weeks.

I'm hedging bets and doing about 50:50 kibble to raw. I'd do more raw if I didn't hate handling meat and had more freezer space.

If your dog is thriving on what he's eating, keep up whatever you're doing .

[Sonovagun]

I like my girls to have variety, I do the same thing with my horses and my cat, dry feed in the morning wet feed at night. I don't feed the recommended amounts insteed I adjust the quantities as required to keep them looking great!

[MrsD]

Sorry I have a silly question.

If you are feeding your dog super premium (like Nutro or Eagle Pack) why do you add mince or anything else for that matter? These foods are supposed to be balanced with exactly the right amount of proteins, fats, carbs etc. Don't you worry you are breaking this balance by adding stuff?

The thing that makes me laugh is people saying how great their dry food is as it has improved their dogs coat so much - and then they tell you that they feed sardines & eggs & oils & tuna & every other thing under the sun you can imagine.

Of course its the dry food that's improved the dogs coat .

Can't really help you with your question though, I feed only dry food with the occasional bone for their teeth .

[malsam]

I agree with the poster...yes, adding anything extra to the commercial food will offset the nutritional ratios. Because most commercial food will have a standard formula for the general dog. So unless u know what nutritional value in both the commercial and fresh food u are feeding, its even more difficult then feeding just either 1.

Most people get away un-noticed because commercial food has a minimal nutritional value there. No commercial food can cater to individual breed let alone individual dog. Hence at the end of the day your commercial food can be just barely crossing the requirement. And adding some extras just makes it slightly more.

The other thinking of course would be that u are slowly adding burden to the system in your dog. And it took longer 4 the human owner to find out.

[Arcana]

Though I feed Baci a super premium food I like to add raw to keep life interesting. I get bored of eating the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner and in the wild dogs would have a range of different things to eat depending on the season. Variety is a good thing I think.

[Norskgra]

I feed mine Nutro and a bit of Ziwipeak on top. Two or three times a week they have bones( chicken frames, turkey necks etc.) instead of their dry. Once a week I will add a tin of sardines to their dry.

I like to give them a variety because I know I would get bored eating the same thing for every meal.

[Ashka]

Who the heck still believes the major pet food companies:

The last 12+ weeks of pet food recalls in the US, South Africa, Germany, NZ et al proved that the pet food labels mean nothing and the cheapest possible ingredients are used. Poisoned imported grain fractions from China are just the start. The bottom line & shareholders are far more important than your pet.

Euk, Nutro, Iams, Royal Canin, Science Diet were included in the recalls.

http://itchmo.com/

It's not that difficult to set up a spreadsheet and make up your own dog's food.

There's heaps of info out there.

Yahoo groups: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

[Gomez the Norfolk]

Ashka, totally agree with you, to a point...

While I will not buy any of the formulations of the brands that have been recalled, I continue to trust Eagle Pack Holistic, they have their own plants and use top quality ingredients -

The brands you have listed above are not know for being the best amongst the dry foods anyway...

There are many discussions regarding the recalls in the forums if you do a search you will find many threads with lots of good information.

[Flaves]

I had been brought up with the 'dog food' only attitude to dry food. that is what my parents dogs got as well as my dogs until i got the three i have now.

I woul dnot feed my kids processed food all day every day./

i will not do that to my dogs.

I know that super premium food does not have to be added to.

However, i CHOOSE to give my dogs EPH or Nutro, raw mince and yoghurt daily, they have chicken frames for breakky, bones, pigs ears, sardines, tuna, eggs adn vegies also.

Not daily but through out the week.

Their coats were fantastic when they were just on the dry, now they are on a combination of raw and dry they look even better.

Besides my dogs vaccinations and desexing they do not go to the vet unless their is something wrong. Nothing has been wrong except kc when a foster bought it into our house.

I bel;eive it is a personal preferance as to what you feed your animals. However i think reading and gaining knowledge from others experiences helps you to make informed decisions that can better your dogs life and nutrition.

JMO

[curlyking]

Sorry I have a silly question.

If you are feeding your dog super premium (like Nutro or Eagle Pack) why do you add mince or anything else for that matter? These foods are supposed to be balanced with exactly the right amount of proteins, fats, carbs etc. Don't you worry you are breaking this balance by adding stuff?

I work the opposite way. If you are feeding a good raw diet why add kibble?

[Bokezu]

I use premium kibble as a back up, like to give the dogs a raw diet, but its very handy to have the kibble if you haven't got time or are running low, dogs don't really like it that much, out of all of them they like Eagle Pack the best.