Lil Miss LeiLani Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Hi Everyone, I have just bought IAMS for zorro and as of this morning have started to gradually include this in with his SuperCoat. This is what we feed him for breakfast & dinner (2 meals/day). Dry Biscuits topped with Natural Balance (?? - green tin from woolies) - about 2 tbspn for flavour & moisture. He gets the same for dinner also. Sometimes I will add some grated carrot or zucchini and steamed rice/pasta to it. I've been reading about how a natural diet is great for dogs - so I'm thinking about doing that from now on. A few times a week he will also get chicken necks/wings or bones to chew on whilst we are at work. So... my question is.... if I add vegies & meats/necks to his meal - how much of the kibble do I put ?? He'll be on just over 2 cups per day of the IAMS for his weight. Hope that all makes sense !!! Thanks in advance ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I personally never look at the recommended dosage (OK I do look once to have a vague idea of what the recommended dosage is but I never follow it). I get the best feedback from my dogs after a week or two. If they are loosing weight I add more if they are putting on I decrease the amount of food I feed. It's usually quite a bit less than a recommended dosage anyway. I think adding chicken necks, wings, frames, marrow bones, sardines is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Mal Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) You really shouldn't be feeding both at the same time. Kibble is complete so adding raw will do very little for his diet. If you intend on changing over to raw completely, great, but I really don't see the point in feeding both !! Why not feed either kibble or raw ? If you feel raw is best, why not feed it all the time without the kibble ? I have fed both raw and kibble separately for long periods of time and see the differences in both. However, kibble digests at a different rate to raw food, so some dogs suffer terrible digestive problems when fed both together as one can hold the other back and cause blockages etc. It can cause various problems, so your better off sticking to one or the other. Also with the carrot you really want to be blending it, as grating it doesn't really break down the cells walls, so feeding it is a waste of time and does not offer any nutritional value to the dog. hope this helps Edited July 19, 2007 by Red Mal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Yep, I'm also wondering why you'd feed both diets...why not just stick to one or the other? Iams is a poor quality food IMO - if you want to feed processed, perhaps aim for a better quality food such as Eagle Pack or Nutro etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 You really shouldn't be feeding both at the same time. Kibble is complete so adding raw will do very little for his diet. Adding raw bones will keep his teeth nice and shiny, that's one thing kibble doesn't do. I agree with not feeding raw and kibble at the same meal, though, since they are digested differently. Also agree with processing the carrot instead of grating it, so he can get the nutrients out. I personally wouldn't give my dog edible bones to eat while I was away, I always supervise these in case of choking. He gets kongs or big recreational bones (too big to swallow) if I'm out. But perhaps I'm just paranoid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Miss LeiLani Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 Thanks for helping to open up my eyes !!! We went with the IAMS cos its better than the supermarket ones, yet as we are on a tight budget it is not as expensive as Eagle Pack. If I was to feed him a complete raw diet - what would be a typical meal ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Thanks for helping to open up my eyes !!!We went with the IAMS cos its better than the supermarket ones, yet as we are on a tight budget it is not as expensive as Eagle Pack. If I was to feed him a complete raw diet - what would be a typical meal ? It depends. My greyhound has, as one example: a turkey wing portion, half a lamb's heart, a BIG scoop of yoghurt, a scoop of veg pulp. My staffy x has, as one example: two chicken necks and a wing, two small pieces of lamb's heart, a scoop of veg pulp. My mini foxie x has, as one example: a chicken neck, a sliver of lamb's heart, a scoop of veg pulp equal to about one teaspoon. The aim is to offer a wide variety of raw foods so that over time, the diet offers a nutritionally balanced formula. So some meals are smaller than others. Some meals don't include offal. Only some meals have vegetable matter. Some meals include minced meat as well as bones. Some meals include canned fishes. I also have supplements for specific needs: the greyhound is getting glucosamine and cod liver oil for example, b/c she has a slipped disc in her neck. Every so often, the other dogs will get cod liver oil to improve their skin and coat condition (usually in the colder parts of the year when the skin dries out somewhat). In your position, I read as much as I could get my hands on...from reputable sources. I experimented with various things until I found what worked for my dogs. And I keep an open mind as to what constitutes a 'good raw diet' and change ingredients around to suit the dogs' needs. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) Thanks for helping to open up my eyes !!!We went with the IAMS cos its better than the supermarket ones, yet as we are on a tight budget it is not as expensive as Eagle Pack. If I was to feed him a complete raw diet - what would be a typical meal ? Not sure about the raw diet as I don't use it but this is what I feed my husky. One cup of IAMS in the morning - I usually add to the cup two chicken wings/some chicken necks and that's it for the day. I started him on IAMS whilst the other animals were on optimum. I have since switched the other two over to Royal canin and I have been considering changing Mish over to RC but I'm in no hurry as he does well on his current diet. He had his yearly check up a month ago and was 100% healthy so I'm happy. Sometimes we mix mince with vegies and pasta and feed it to the animals as a treat with their dried food but we don't do it that often. Edited July 19, 2007 by husky87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Miss LeiLani Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 So you are happy with IAMS ??? We've only just started mixing it with supercoat at the moment, so should be fully on to IAMS in a few days time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) You really shouldn't be feeding both at the same time. Yep, I agree as well. It's not good to feed raw and dry food in the same time. I do think that adding bones is very good for their teeth though. Edited to add: A few months ago I asked a question on this forum: If Feeding Super Premium Why Add Raw? http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?...=102619&hl= I got a lot of interesting answers Edited July 19, 2007 by laffi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Two meals out of three, my dogs get some kind of raw meaty bones. More often than not it's chicken but they also get beef, lamb and pork. The third meal is a home made "BARF mix" consisting of beef mince, offal, eggs, yoghurt, flaxseed oil, nutitional and joint supplements and a range of vegetable pulp. I do not feed cereals of any kind. The one exception is when I feed 4 Legs if I travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) Apart from the digestive problems that may or may not occur by feeding raw and processed foods combined, it really defeats the purpose of trying to feed your dog a healthy alternative when you still feed it heavily processed food. Processed dogfood, regardless of brand is a real lucky dip. Manufacturers source the ingredients from all over the world including China. Hills has just gone through the big recall because of contamination in one of their ingredients. Really, how can you tell by looking at these pellets exactly what they have in them????????????? When you feed raw/all natural food you at least have some control over exactly what your best friend is eating. This subject has been discussed ad infinitum here and still the vast majority of dog owners don't feel confident to feed a natural/raw diet to their dogs. Perhaps it is also because of our busy lifestyles or because many still believe in the advertising that says the only way to guarantee that your dog is healthy is to feed 'our brand of dogfood'????????? Either way, the only way you are going to convince yourself that your dog will do better (and it WILL) on a raw/all natural diet is to try it!! But, hey, don't take my word for it - the proof is in the poos!!! (amongst other things!) Edited July 19, 2007 by STITCH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) So you are happy with IAMS ???We've only just started mixing it with supercoat at the moment, so should be fully on to IAMS in a few days time. Yes I am happy with IAMS - but that is because my dog is doing well on it if that makes sense. IMO it is much better than what I was feeding him before (optimum). ETA: The dogs also get a meaty bone each most nights (usually a beef bone) so they have something to chew on instead of just chicken. Edited July 19, 2007 by husky87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Miss LeiLani Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 Thanks everyone !! It is much more easier at the moment to feed kibble as we have a house full of people here for the wedding so trying to think of what to make for him as well as so many other meals at the same time would be a bit crazy ! It is much easier to give the dry food rather than putting together different foods etc - but I will prob change my mind when our life gets back to normal after the wedding and when everyone else has gone home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylie Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Kristal In terms of feeding a Border Collie raw this is what mine get regularly 1 or 2 meaty chicken carcasses per meal 4 or 5 chicken thighs 4 or 5 chicken drumsticks a meaty lamb flap 2 meaty lamb shanks a pigs head raw pigs trotters a raw egg occassionally 2 - 3 lambs hearts a meaty piece of beef cheek 3-4 beef rib pieces The occassional tin of salmon or sardines. Mine also occassionally get dry food and then get fed Bonnie Working dog. No colouring added. They are all at good healthy weights and some are a bit porky but there teeth are good and there stools are great and easy to pick up. This is a RAW diet not a BARF diet though on the whole. Good Luck in your decision Feeding raw is not as hard as many people think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) I presume that amount is for a BC puppy wylie. Either that or your chicken drumsticks are midget sized. Ness is lucky if she gets 1 of those a day and then maybe 1/4 cup of dry food in the evening. Edited July 19, 2007 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Mal Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 You really shouldn't be feeding both at the same time. Kibble is complete so adding raw will do very little for his diet. Adding raw bones will keep his teeth nice and shiny, that's one thing kibble doesn't do. Absolutely, I forgot to add that ;) I was thinking more along the lines of adding raw to kibble wont help Nutritionally. But yes, many people forget that when feeding kibble your dog is likely to suffer tooth decay and plaque galore, which leads to peridontal disease, which trust me, is painful for the dog and expensive for the owner ;) When feeding raw you have to remember to include a variety and veggies and oils etc. Don't overdo on supplements unless you know what you are doing with them and avoid any calcium or cod liver oil supplements. You have to get it in balance and get the ratio of raw to veggies roughly right. You will find that once you start looking into it, you will start looking into the values of everything, i.e protein etc. Each meat has different protein values etc, so certain meats aren't right for every dog, mine for instance don't have beef as it contains the wrong type of protein for them. Do some research into it first, as so many people feed it and get it terribly wrong, then wonder why their dog is not thriving on it. Look up Dr Ian Billinghurst and Tom Lonsdale. Both are based on the same goal although a little diferent in theory. Also remember you must have, time, adequate equipment (for chopping and/or blending ;) ), a strong stomache, a love of flies :rolleyes: , and the willingness to accept the loss of your fridge/freezer space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylie Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Ness that is what my active males eat. And when they are hungry they will eat 3 chicken carcasses. The carcasses i get have liver heart and other bits in them so they get there offal as well. Red Mal a raw diet would only have added salmon oil under Lonsdale none of the additives or vegetables on his version of a raw diet. When you add vegies and other supplements you are creating a BARF diet which is what Billinghurst preaches. On the whole I feed RAW not BARF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Mal Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Wylie, they both advocate the BARF diet which means 'Biologically Appropriate Raw Food' :rolleyes: Yes Tom only adds oils etc, but if you ever researched into canine nutrition the natural way, ie what wild dogs and wolves eat, you will see that they do in fact eat and NEED a small proportion of veg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Ah ok fair enough wylie - I guess I just have a slightly less active female :rolleyes: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now