Advice Please

[GSDhandler]

i want to change my pups diet from a commercial to home based diet. i will still be keeping her on hills science diet biscuits but want to eliminate the tinned food as i hate the smell of the stuff and i know that most of it is empty calories any way. i use it to "flavour" the biscuits as well as beef it out, cause though she may have reached her energy requirement she is still very hungry.

i know that carrot and pumpkin are good veg to use. what others can be added? as well as ratios eg 1 part carrot to 2 pumpkin or whatever? what do you use.

and yes, ill still be giving her the odd bone occasionally too.

ETA to add science diet is one of the only dry foods that doesn't upset her gut, so cant really change that.

Edited August 14, 2008 by GSDhandler

[~Anne~]

You can use almost all vege types. Veges should be processed though to break down the cellulose walls apparently as a digs digestive system can not nautrally do this.

Always ensure the main proportion of the diet is meat or meat by-products though.

[InspectorRex]

Our Collies have bloomed since on a home based diet of 75% raw chicken mince( ie mnced up chicken frames etc) and 25% vegies( pureed carrots, celery, parsley, alfafa and a bit of garlic) plus they each have a chicken carcass each day and once a week have a nice meaty bone to chew on.

It took me a lot of convincing that this was the way to go but since they have been on it there has not been one bout of sloopy poops etc.

It is heaps cheaper to feed- costs me around $12 per week to feed two adult Collies and it is not much mucking around- one day I buy the vegies and chop them up and put through blender and into the fridge and the nect day I buy the chicken mince and make up 10-12 containers to go into the freezer.

[Guest Tess32]

The main diet really needs to be meat/meat based products, vegetables are good and I give them, but it's the meat that counts.

Would you consider changing over to a fully raw diet and see how she goes on that without the science diet?

[laffi]

I agree with what was posted before.

Rather than worry about the carrot to pumpkin ratio I would rather research the meat to bone ratios, as well as how much offal you should be adding.

It varies a little depending on which diet you follow (BARF vs prey model for example) so it's good to read about it all.

[Bully]

There was a thread on raw diet not long ago Is This An Ok Diet For My Puppy? This might help

[persephone]

Dogs are designed to utilise meat and bone to produce energy and growth.

Vegetable matter is a very small component , and cereals aren't needed at all.

Raw meat, bones, some fish and eggs, a small amount of pureed mixed veg.... and you are on the way !

[Nekhbet]

if you want a working sheppy I'll give you the recipe that I feed my workers

Royal Canin Large/Giant Breed Adult

Chicken Maryland/broiler chooks

Lamb flaps

beef bones

muscle them up nicely and it can be hard to keep shepherds weight up as they grow. I switch them over to full BARF diets and their weight plummets when working so I use it as a fat stripping diet. I've had 5 different breed dogs on this diet and it has worked nicely.

I never use tinned food at all, If I need something like that then make a slop from meat offcuts and a packet of Coles mixed veges for when the weather is cold. boil it up together to make a soup and boil some of the liquid down and let it cool slightly. Should keep in the fridge for a week.

Edited August 14, 2008 by Nekhbet

[GSDhandler]

cheers

[PandaGirl]

There was a thread on raw diet not long ago Is This An Ok Diet For My Puppy? This might help

Since switching my puppy over to a raw diet I've seen some major changes in her health. Her coat is shiny, her poos are less offensive, and her gums are pink! I totally reccomend it.

[Jey]

I'd pop down to your library and borrow one of Billinghurts's books if possible. 'The BARF Diet' is easy to understand, you could read it in one night if you wanted to.