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Hi everyone I buy my pet mince from one of the butchers in my town its frozen but once thawed out it smells like vingar does that mean its off? Also I find this pet mince seems quite fatty, Shelley my female golden has gained the weight back she has lost. I still have a fair amount of this pet mince left I was thinking of using it up then feeding something else. Just wandering if feeding raw meaty bones for there morning meal everyday be too much for them? I was thinking of buying turkey wings,chicken wings,frames,legs, beef and lamb meaty bones. The only dogs that seem to have problems with fat food like this pet mince is Shelley,buddy and rascal.

When I was feeding human grade mince the dogs weight was easy to maintain but we all know human grade mince can be expensive. If anyone has any ideas of what raw food I can feed to my dogs whould be great?

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A lot of fat in the diet can cause issues with the pancreas (in some dogs).

Personally I would not touch most pet mince...

The raw meaty bones sound good - there are heaps of threads on DOL about diet, both raw and commercial foods.

I used to feed fresh food to my old stafford but since he left us, the new boys get raw bones, chook wings, turkey necks and Nutro kibble...

They seem to be thriving on it...

Good luck and remember if you change diets, do it slowly over a week or so, by mixing in a bit of the new diet with the old, so you don't upset their stomach...

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I buy chicken frames - they're quite cheap near me - about $2.50-3 per kg from a chicken manufacturer's factory outlet. I'm not a fan of mince since there's no bones to crunch and keep my dog occupied :laugh:

The butchers said to me this pet mince is chicken frames grounded up with what ever other left overs they had be it lamb,beef,pork etc. 3 of my dogs love bones the other one isn't to fussed with them.

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A lot of fat in the diet can cause issues with the pancreas (in some dogs).

Personally I would not touch most pet mince...

The raw meaty bones sound good - there are heaps of threads on DOL about diet, both raw and commercial foods.

I used to feed fresh food to my old stafford but since he left us, the new boys get raw bones, chook wings, turkey necks and Nutro kibble...

They seem to be thriving on it...

Good luck and remember if you change diets, do it slowly over a week or so, by mixing in a bit of the new diet with the old, so you don't upset their stomach...

My dogs are use to eatting turkey,chicken,beef and lamb there not use to liver,kidney,hearts etc. I just plan on feeding them a raw meal in the morning then at night they will get black hawk kibble.

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MtS feed whatever you like.. but halve the quantity ;)

Thats the problem if I feed Shelley and Rascal any less I won't be able to live with them lol, As it is there both acting like there straving. Shelley has began to snatch at the sight of food,she trys to steal other dogs food. Rascal has turned to trying to eat cat poo and cat food which we have solved by putting a baby gate up. Shelley is lucky to get 1 cup of food a day, Rascal only gets about 55 grams of food a day.

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I second the grated vegies, I use it as a filler for my male cocker spaniel for his meals. I do a vegie mix of carrots, pumpkin, zucchini and apple in the food processer, and it gets added to his meals each night. When we notice the weight increasing, his dry food and other meat when given is halved and up the vegies. We also add it to my girl's meals but not as much as Monte's. If they act starving and try to snatch food, feed separately.

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How much exercise do they get?

Cause of the heat here not much as its still to warm to walk even at 9pm on some nights. But when they do get exercise its normally for 40 to 60 minutes at a time. Shelley is very hard dog to exercise as she doesn't run much won't fetch toys much at all, If it were a live duck then Shelley will happliy chase it all day but we all know that can't be done. Even with swimming Shelley won't go in deep and exercise she prefers to dunk her her head under the water. I take Shelley,Missy and Rascal to the oval I let them offlead, Shelley will only run around for 5 minutes then wants to lay down, Rascal quite happy runs to each tree to pee on them and Missy being a whippet loves to run and she does, Missy is the only one that will chase a toy and bring it back the most, Shelley will only fetch 3-4 times then gives up. Shelley has always been a lazy dog even as puppy. Yes she was very destructive like to chew things up and dig holes but when it came to exercise she was lazy.

Shelley does chase Missy around the yard throughout the day if its not hot and Missy ends up wearing Shelley out before she is tired, Missy can and will run all day long and loves to exercise. Shelley is that lazy sometimes she won't even run after you if you run. I reckon Shelley has problems with her hips as she never sits properly always sits on the hips, She never runs like a normal dog does she always kicks her back legs out to the side when she runs.

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If you don't want to cut food back, then the only option is to increase exercise..

Do you have a clam shell pool? I find even if it is hot, my loons will run around but tend to dunk themselves in the pool to cool off and keep playing. I find they run around more when there is water in the pool, than if it has been emptied and I forget to fill it again.

You could also try frozen chicken stock in an ice cube tray (not many calories and it takes ages to get through). This also works with the boys kongs. I fill them with some of their daily kibble and top it up with cottage cheese and then freeze it overnight...

These are food items so have to be taken into account for daily calories but as it takes them so long to eat, it keeps them busy and they don't seem as hungry....

I agree with cutting back on the mince and adding in grated veg to bulk it out... It is another easy way to reduce calorie intake.

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Have you thought about a dry diet with a few extras, bones etc. This way if dry was thier main meal it would be easier to regulate how much and who gets what etc. A premium kibble might be the answer, I know it is hard with 4 dogs to get it right for all of them. It took me sometime as I have one who is a finicky eater but we finally figured out what is best for all of them and they are thriving.

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Ignoring the food/bones for the moment, if you think Shelley may have a hip problem, I'd be getting xrays done - I'm sure someone can suggest a good place to get them done that won't cost you the earth. Atleast if you know she has a problem you can manage it with supplements or other means.... IF she doesn't have a problem, x-rays showing this will put your mind at rest. A friend had to have the balls of the hips of his dog removed when he was 5 years old, couldn't afford a total reconstruction, and couldn't PTS. Dog was still going strong at about 10 or so, but went downhill soon after that.

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Another thing you could try with Shelley is if she's snatching for food, maybe give her healthy treats throughout the day too. Zeus will eat raw carrots and loves crunching on them (and lettuce but that's another story) and even things like apple pieces. Make her work for them though.

But you need to be strong and just say no to her whining for more food. My cat got very vocal and whiney when I halved her food -- seriously to the point you'd think she was dying -- but I was able to ignore it. It took a little longer to convince the family to ignore it and after adding white rice as a filler, she's down to her ideal weight and is no where near as vocal.

I'll admit it IS hard to ignore but you're trying to do a good thing by her and she'll thank you for it later.

As for her not chasing toys, try and find ones she will chase. Zeus won't touch any kind of balls (e.g. soccer, basketballs, tennis balls, cricket balls) but he loves a good squeaky! There's an awesome duck from Pet Barn made by Cuddles (there's a yellow one and a green/grey feathery one) and when you squeak them they sound like actual ducks. Maybe the sound of these toys will encourage her to go after them as they sound far more realistic than most squeaky toys -- and Zeus goes absolutely ballistic over them!!!

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MtS - isn't this about the third thread now in which you've posted about your dog being overweight and asking what/ how much to feed??

You have been given a heap of advice previously but don't seem to follow it.

Your dogs are overweight because you overfeed them - you are solely in control of that factor. If they carry on then address that behaviour and don't stand for it. They've clearly learnt that if they carry on then you'll give more food.

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MtS - isn't this about the third thread now in which you've posted about your dog being overweight and asking what/ how much to feed??

You have been given a heap of advice previously but don't seem to follow it.

Your dogs are overweight because you overfeed them - you are solely in control of that factor. If they carry on then address that behaviour and don't stand for it. They've clearly learnt that if they carry on then you'll give more food.

I found the reason why Shelley and Rascal has put back on the weight they lost its this pet mince. It just looks like I have 2 dogs that can't tolerate high fat foods. I even asked the vets today when I took Missy in to get her sitches taken out, They said if I feed my dogs any less they will not be getting enough nutrience. They reccomend I stop feeding the pet mince and either feed human mince or raw meaty bones or just spilt the kibble in 2 meals.

TLC There getting feed a premium kibble unless black hawk isn't considered premium. Missy my whippet is so much easier to maintain weightwise.

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MtS - isn't this about the third thread now in which you've posted about your dog being overweight and asking what/ how much to feed??

You have been given a heap of advice previously but don't seem to follow it.

Your dogs are overweight because you overfeed them - you are solely in control of that factor. If they carry on then address that behaviour and don't stand for it. They've clearly learnt that if they carry on then you'll give more food.

I found the reason why Shelley and Rascal has put back on the weight they lost its this pet mince. It just looks like I have 2 dogs that can't tolerate high fat foods. I even asked the vets today when I took Missy in to get her sitches taken out, They said if I feed my dogs any less they will not be getting enough nutrience. They reccomend I stop feeding the pet mince and either feed human mince or raw meaty bones or just spilt the kibble in 2 meals.

TLC There getting feed a premium kibble unless black hawk isn't considered premium. Missy my whippet is so much easier to maintain weightwise.

Pet mince can be quite fatty, it's mainly chicken carcasses without the meat, so you're getting a lot of fat from the marrow in the bones, and a lot of suppliers will throw in the skin as well, so that ups the fat level even more. If the two dogs are putting on weight from it, don't feed it. Rascal is an older dog isn't he? So he won't be burning off fat very quickly. I'd be checking Shelley's hips .. if she's not interested in playing and seems a bit slow for her age, then arthritis or hip dysplasia may be something that needs to be looked into.

Bottom line, feed lower fat foods, if needed add vegies to bulk up the meals as others have advised. Does it state on the bag what the fat content is of the Black Hawke dry? I use the Nutro Lite dry for our oldies here.

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