Why Do You Feed What You Do?

[haven]

Originally because it was recommended that I feed raw in order to help in reducing Loki's anxiety issues (which it did, a LOT). Changes that I have made since then have been a result of a lot of research into what I believe is best for them and observing what they thrive on.

[Malamum]

I feed RAW because it means I can control exactly what my dogs are eating. They only get fresh food that is fit for human consumption.

Commercial pet food in large quantities worries me.

[JulesP]

I feed raw and a good quality kibble to hedge my bets I guess. I have fed totally raw over the years but find the mix works well for me and the dogs. I go by how the dogs look and act to see whether I am feeding correctly and don't tend to get swayed by stuff I read on here.

[~Anne~]

I should have done a poll!

Oh well.

Just interested to see how many do or don't take their advice from the vet, or their breeder, or pet shops, etc etc.

I take bits of advice from everywhere... even the latest threads on prey feeding.

[Pixie's mum]

Our dog had lots of health issues - constant hot spots and rashes etc. We fed her Hill's premium food from the day we got her , which was recommended by the vet. With so many health issues with advice (not from our vet who is against BARF diets) she now gets fed on completely on a BARF diet. No more health issues and she has looked fantastic since we changed her food at 6 mths. She is now 15 mths and does not look like the same dog. Read Dr Ian Billinghurst if you are interested in BARF - it makes sense - we couldn't be healthy on tinned and packaged food either.

[Leema]

I feed raw because I think it makes sense for carnivores to eat dead animals.

[PooMother]

We feed acombination of Eagle Pack Holisitc (different varities to vary on a daily basis) also feed raw which includes lamp flaps, chicken ppieces, beef, offal, vegie and fruit mix, yoghurt, eggs, sardines etc. Of course not all at once, I feed dry in the morning (half what is reccommended) and the other mix at night.

Have done this based on breeders reccommendation, reading the BARF books and info supplied on DOLS :-) and research I keep the dry because I am not yet confident in my abilities to completely go raw.

[Greytmate]

I started looking into pet food and eventually settled on Advance large breed puppy partly because it is Australian owned.

Advance is owned by Mars, not an Australian company.

[KitKat]

I tried feeding Barf by the book...dogs lost condition. Tried certain kibbles...dogs lost condition. Tried other kibbles dogs...were in good condition. Tried just meaty bones...dogs were in good condition.

Currently feed whatever i get from work - Euk, Hills, Iams, Proplan and the dogs get this as dinner perhaps a couple of times a week, otherwise it's stuffed into treat balls. Dogs get bones = chicken feet/pieces/frames/wings/legs/whole, lamb necks/flaps/offcuts, beef pieces, turkey necks/tails/wings/legs, fish whole, roo tails, etc as their main meals most nights. No vegies, no specific offal, very rarely do i add vitamins or oils etc - dogs are shiney and well coated (if they get muddy etc a quick brush gets them into top nic again quickly) have no doggy smell, teeth are clean so is breath - dogs are healthy.

How i decided this? trial and error - i gave everything ago and didn't keep with what didn't work - i also stick with that there is no one thing that is perfect for all dogs. Comes down to the dog and owner as to what works - what i do works for me and mine, but i accept that it may not suit others.

I also do part time work in a pet supply store and never push one brand over another unless there is something specific they are after and i know a brand does better in it then the others etc. I'll explain the details of each brand/type and let the person decide for themselves. If people state to me they wish to feed Raw/Barf i'll recommend they Google and get the books to do it correctly.

[Clyde]

we feed our young man Eukanuba thats what the breeder recommended, we seem to have no problem with it.

for dinner he gets chicken mince with calcium carbonate

I would cut out the extra calcium if I were you. An old Rotti of mine had bone problems from me giving her too much calcium as a pup before I knew better . Your pup is getting the chicken and the balance in the Eukanuba so no need to add calcium which can do more harm than good if they get too much.

Edited February 24, 2008 by Clyde

[tay0n]

Tess.

I would recommend Nature's Gift. I know for a fact that the Science Diet & Eukanuba give big kick backs to the Vets / Pet Stores that sell their products and if you look at the ingredients you'll see it's mainly cereals. At least with the Nature's Gift stuff it's made in Oz and owned in Australia and they use real meat and no fillers.

Some people believe in cooking food or preparing just raw meet etc for their dogs but sometimes that doesn't give all the vitamins / nutrients that they need. I reckon give Nature's Gift a go. The best thing for me is that it actually looks quite nice when it goes in and when it comes out it's a lot better than I've experienced on others!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Tess32]

Thanks Tayon, but not looking for diet tips, I'm very happy with them on a raw diet. I'm just interested in how and why people choose what they do

[rose of tralee]

What made you choose to feed the diet you are currently feeding your dog?

When I was a pup on a cattle property in the 50s, the dogs and cats were fed raw beef parts, raw milk, fresh eggs and did well. Dry food came into the picture later but fresh meat and bones were still fed as well.

After 10 years OS, my OH and I came home in 1992. We took on a couple of mature girls with stinky mouths and mild tartar: I cooked for them and fed brisket bones, mouths cleaned up quickly and their health was good.

January 2007, had a quality surfing morning which started in another section of dogzonline, meandered past a particular raw breeder and finished with the raw yahoo groups. A lightbulb day if you like, which highlighted the connection between dog digestive tracts and diet, and bones ain't bones.

So, with some constraints for breed (dal), the current two dropped all grain/ dry food and much of the vege and I had the fun of exploring fresh raw prey sources. I wasn't thinking there'd be significant improvement in the geriatric 13 yo but her daily flooding incontinence eased to occasional small leaks. In her last winter, she resumed asking for the door to be opened for pee trips out and clearly was holding a normal volume.

These two are/ were different in their appetites. Old girl quite the pestering gutz, eat anything type. Noticeable that she was more satisfied with this regime.

I go away a lot and can easily freeze a month's worth of individual meals for the son to thaw one or two at a time in the fridge.

Mouth health underpins good health and I choose dog driven cleaning over professional.

[laffi]

I feed 50% RMB and 50% dry food.

I train a lot (obedience, agility, flyball) and I find that healthy, high quality dry food is the best solution. My dogs were on RC (didn't do well on it), then on Innova Large puppy (the golden retriever puppy) and Evo (australian shepherd). They did really well on the last two but I hated buying them from PP

Now they both are on Orijen and the leftovers of Evo. They both love it and look amazing. I like using grain fee dry foods (like Evo, Orijen or Artemis).

The RMBs they get daily are: turkey or lamb necks, chicken frames, necks and wings.

Their teeth are very clean, their coats are shiny and they have great appetite for life.

[hopenfox]

I feed a raw prey model diet.

Having various food allergies and intolerances myself, I was very aware of how detrimental processed food was for people, so I was never comfortable feeding processed food to my dogs. If whole natural (preferably raw) foods are best for our health, then logically they would be better for dogs too. To me processed dog food is like 'nutrient bars' are for people - it'll keep you alive but isn't ideal to live on.

I was feeding a part raw, part dry diet to my dogs till I discovered Hope, my Koolie appeared to be allergic to grains and processed food. I moved all the dogs over to a BARF type diet and Hope's itching disappeared almost overnight. The dogs did well on BARF, but I still wasn't happy with all the veggie processing, and after heaps of (ongoing) research, I moved them all to prey model and have never looked back...It's just so logical, I can't believe it took my so long!

[poodlefan]

I feed a raw diet because I believe it to be the best I can provide for my dogs.

I'm sure every DOLer feeds the diet they feed for the same reason.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

MANY moons ago we fed dog roll and tinned

We decided 8 years ago to try a kibble, firstly Eukanuba and Science Diet. The litter which we had that year wouldnt touch either and we were introduced to Nutro which they gobbled. This lead us to do more research into various kibbles and their ingredients.

We have fed Nutro since as the basis of their diets (and have weaned subsequent litters onto Nutro) but also feed Ziwipeak, chicken wings, sardines and the occasional leftovers from casseroles.

We have one bitch who has trouble maintaining weight even on Nutro's Adult Performance so she is on this and satin balls.

[SueM]

I feed Nutro Light it works well for my wee porker the only thing that he can lose a bit of weight on, also he gets four legs every third night for a bit of variety..