What do your dogs eat?

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by greenpassion

then add 1/2 tsp raw unprocessed LOCAL wildflower honey (this has literally elimated any allergies that Loki has had, especially in the fall)

I have heard of doing this, giving raw, locally sourced honey as a treatment for dogs who have pollen allergies. I've never had a dog with allergies, but it's something I will definitely try if it every comes up in the future.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

I have heard of doing this, giving raw, locally sourced honey as a treatment for dogs who have pollen allergies. I've never had a dog with allergies, but it's something I will definitely try if it every comes up in the future.

Seriously. It has made a huge difference with Loki. He would chew all the hair off of his feet and legs beginning around October every year, and I would have to put him on steroids to keep him comfortable. It's been 2 years now, using the honey, and no chewing his feet!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Trixie eats Natures Logic or some other very expensive dry food then I mix either cooked chicken, liver or I might mix in some brown rice. Every once in a while I put a raw egg yolk never raw white in bowls for all. My other three get raw meat, bones and organs. This morning Richter and Marlo got the thigh part of a chicken quarter and the Turtle got the leg. They all love water melon and will not leave me alone when I'm cutting one up.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

Trixie eats Natures Logic or some other very expensive dry food then I mix either cooked chicken, liver or I might mix in some brown rice. Every once in a while I put a raw egg yolk never raw white in bowls for all. My other three get raw meat, bones and organs. This morning Richter and Marlo got the thigh part of a chicken quarter and the Turtle got the leg. They all love water melon and will not leave me alone when I'm cutting one up.

That sounds really good! I was giving Obie and Loki raw beef rib bones to chew for fun. I read on line that dogs can have RAW bones with no problem, but not cooked. I was really happy that I was able to give them that treat, but when Loki was x-rayed a few weeks ago, the vet found little pieces of bone in his intestines. She said dogs should not be given any bones at all because of this. Loki in particular is a bone lover, and will settle down with one until it's nearly gone. I wonder if larger dogs are better able to handle bones than small dogs...

[No-Pro-mwa]

Vets can freak out about raw feeding. They do sell dog food you know. I'm lucky as both of my vets are more ranch girls so they don't freak out about things like that.

Bones can be different, beef is much more dense so with smaller dogs maybe not so good. You go with small more softer bones like pork or chicken with them. So far I have never had a problem with raw bones only cooked. I try never to feed cooked bones. I say try as of course the Turtle has gotten into the garbage before. So I now throw them in the barrel and burn them.

[Leafmite]

The only bones our dogs have are Dingo bones (the rawhide chew treat). We tried a steak bone once but there was little to no interest. I think our dogs are both just too lazy.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

Vets can freak out about raw feeding. They do sell dog food you know. I'm lucky as both of my vets are more ranch girls so they don't freak out about things like that.

Bones can be different, beef is much more dense so with smaller dogs maybe not so good. You go with small more softer bones like pork or chicken with them. So far I have never had a problem with raw bones only cooked. I try never to feed cooked bones. I say try as of course the Turtle has gotten into the garbage before. So I now throw them in the barrel and burn them.

I really want to give them real bones, so I'll try raw pork instead. I used to give them the dingo bones, but Loki got fat on them! Even one a day!

[Mountaineer370]

I know quite a few people who feed their dogs a raw diet, or some would call it BARF (biologically appropriate raw food). I've learned a lot from them and was seriously considering it many years ago when one of my dogs was having digestive issues. I decided against it for several reasons, most of them logistical, like where to store all of that food (I have no space for an extra freezer).

You do have to make sure all the nutritional needs of your dog are met. Calcium is something often overlooked when people decide to feed their dogs raw meat but give only meat and no bone. (If you are feeding a balanced commercial kibble, topping it with a bit of raw meat is not going to throw off the calcium balance.) Some people feed a ground meat/bone mixture which would eliminate the choking hazard.

There are lots of resources on the web for putting together an appropriate raw diet, but as with anything on the web, careful research and due diligence are needed.

Here is a link to one site that gives common sense advice (IMO) on the feeding of bones:

Bones Can Kill Your Dog So Find Out Which Ones Are Safe

On the subject of those so-called dental bones that they recommend in the last part of the article. I can't even give those to my dogs. I have one dog who is a gulper, and he would just swallow it whole, or at best, bite it into a couple large pieces if it's on the larger side.

[SaraJean]

We had tried the raw diet with both of our mastiffs, Loretta and Doolittle, for about 4 months but realized that, financially, there was no way we could keep up with 400 pounds of dog
We switched over to Costco’s Kirkland brand dog food and were very happy with it. No weird reactions (both were sensitive to corn) and stayed fit at a perfect weight. In their later years I would soften the food with some homemade beef or chicken salt-free bone broth that had some puréed meat and veggies added in. We never gave them rawhides or any thing else because the greedy s.o.b’s would just swallow them whole and I really didn’t want to deal with that vet bill, lol

They also loved raw turkey necks, I would buy the “family” packs at least once a week. Oh, and of course, the occasional hot dog fresh off the grill. They would not touch a previously cooked or cold hot dog and were funny as hell trying to wolf down a hot, crunchy dog. Such snobs..
Both lived well past what we expected. Loretta was 12 when she passed and up untill a few months before, you wouldn’t have been able to tell her advanced age (edit: in this pic she is 11 and Doolittle is 9.5 years old). She slept a little more but her joints were still good. Doolittle was 10 and 1/2 passed, he wasn’t quite the same after she died but he still lived to be a ripe old age.
Still miss em both

[No-Pro-mwa]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

I know quite a few people who feed their dogs a raw diet, or some would call it BARF (biologically appropriate raw food). I've learned a lot from them and was seriously considering it many years ago when one of my dogs was having digestive issues. I decided against it for several reasons, most of them logistical, like where to store all of that food (I have no space for an extra freezer).

You do have to make sure all the nutritional needs of your dog are met. Calcium is something often overlooked when people decide to feed their dogs raw meat but give only meat and no bone. (If you are feeding a balanced commercial kibble, topping it with a bit of raw meat is not going to throw off the calcium balance.) Some people feed a ground meat/bone mixture which would eliminate the choking hazard.

There are lots of resources on the web for putting together an appropriate raw diet, but as with anything on the web, careful research and due diligence are needed.

Here is a link to one site that gives common sense advice (IMO) on the feeding of bones:

Bones Can Kill Your Dog So Find Out Which Ones Are Safe

On the subject of those so-called dental bones that they recommend in the last part of the article. I can't even give those to my dogs. I have one dog who is a gulper, and he would just swallow it whole, or at best, bite it into a couple large pieces if it's on the larger side.

I first started with the BARF diet but now feed PMR, pray model raw. That means raw meat, bones and organs only. But mine also like to eat my bird seed, not suppose to be on the menu. BARF also uses veggies which was kind of nice as I could use up allot of extra zucchini. But the Turtle, I always use the in front of Turtle because she is the dog, at least in her mind. But I digress. She has such bad ears after all of my studying decided not to take the chance of her being allergic to any of the veggies.

The PMR diet is suppose to work out at something like 80% meat 10% bone and 10% organs. It is actually cheaper for me than the dog food I feed because it is like $2.60 a pound and if I work at it and can get enough heart and tongue which I can get for free and all the chicken and pork I feed I get for under $2.00 a pound. So it's cheaper than the dog food. But it is much more work and yes you have to have enough freezer space. And that I have no trouble with. I have allot of freezer space. When dear hubby's grandmother passed, rest her sole, we got her big chest freezer that's my dog freezer.

Sarajean what cute dogs. I would still be missing them also.