What do your dogs eat?
 

I have two little rescue dogs who've been brightening my life for awhile now. Last night, I had an extra boiled egg, so peeled and cut it up and added it to their dry food. I've never given them boiled eggs before so was a little curious how the dogs would like them. Well, Raffi scarfed it all down right away. Ty sniffed it over then carefully picked up each piece, ate the yolk, and spit the white out on the floor. He finished off all the yolk and left all the whites in a ring around the dish--which Raffi then cleaned up.
They always find a way to make me laugh! :rofl:

You'll never need a vacuum cleaner again! Woof and Merry Christmas.

Food

Whatever humans eat, dogs will eat. And more.

What's good for them? That's another question. People forget how small most dogs are compared to humans. Four or five extra biscuits per day equals another feeding. No wonder so many dogs are even fatter than their owners.

My Rottweiler eats oranges, apples and pears....dry dog food, canned dog food....the rest of my breakfast of bacon and eggs....half of my ham or turkey sandwich for lunch and I always make it a point to bring a doggie bag if ever I eat out in a restaurant with friends. Special treat is beef jerky from the deli.

The base food is Iams kibble. If there are leftovers they also get those. They aren't much for fruit but scarf up vegetables.

When I had dogs we used to do separate meals for them, consisting of rice and cow lungs that we got from a slaughterhouse nearby.
Sometimes we gave them leftovers when we knew they like it.
About fruit, not so much but sometimes we geve them vegetables. Also they eat grass by their own iniciative to clean the digestive system.
BTW, give them grapes, one by one, put them on the floor ans let them eat.
You'll probably laugh...;)

Grapes and raisins can be toxic for dogs ,FYI.

Our little dog eats Origen kibble as her “dog food”. She eats many other things as well especially vegetables. She loves lettuce and green beans. She also likes potatoes, raw or cooked though they are not really good for dogs. Peanut butter is a favorite snack, occasionally given. She likes yogurt and ice cream if we allow her to have ice cream, another not so great snack. Bananas were very popular for awhile, now she isn’t interested in them but will enjoy apple slices. And cheese!

She is a silly little Cockapoo and wants whatever we are having, always. She doesn’t understand when we tell her it’s not Pootie food.

Didn't knew about that. But they never had any problems.

its not worth the chance. Grape and Raisin Poisoning in Dogs | petMD | petMD
out last dog got high end canned and raw food when she started having problems and it kept her going longer then she could have. so our new dogged high endure food and fruit and veggies. helloes bananas apples most fruit cauliflower is his favorite broccoli squash and lots of others. they are his snacks and it helps keep the weight off.

Ty likes frozen green beans, but won't touch them once they thaw out.
Raisins, grapes and also chocolate are bad for dogs--not that the dogs won't eat them if they can get to them. My dad, when in his eighties, maintained his habit of hiding Hershey bars in his workshop, where the kids (all grown and no longer living with him and all on low sugar diets) wouldn't find them--until his standard poodle started finding and eating them.

The main food for the dogs is various flavors of Rachel Ray's brand of dry dog food. I have no idea how great it is for them but this is the only dog food I have found that does not give the American Eskimo stomach issues. We have tried nearly everything else. The raw food diet would be out because feeding the Eskie meat makes the Eskie violently ill.

We give our dogs Greenies for their dental health and the Eskie has no issues with them (Only the actual Greenies, though, as the other brands of dental bones made the Eskie sick). We also get the dogs Bark Box, a subscription box that has treats and toys. The Eskie has not had any issues with the treats even though at fourteen, the Eskie is done fetching or shredding so the toys go to the Malti-poo and my daughter's Westie.

Chocolate. While I know it is terrible for some dogs, thirteen and a half years ago, I had no idea it could cause issues and the Eskie really loves it. So, the Eskie and Malti-poo get a little chocolate if I have some. It is one of the few people foods or dog treats that doesn't make the Eskie ill.

The dogs also like peanut butter but forget trying to hide a pill in it. They eat the peanut butter and spit out the pill.

The Malti-poo is a picky eater but she rarely ever gets sick on any food. She willingly eats the Rachel Ray food which makes life easy. She also likes the Bark Box treats (unless they are sausage or pepperoni flavored) and loves the Greenies.

Currently, while my daughter is doing a residency, she and her Westie are staying with us. Her Westie needs a wheat-free diet. Fortunately, the treats in Bark Box are safe and Greenies makes treats without wheat and, though she eats a special dog good (that makes the Eskie ill), I have been buying the Rachel Ray food without wheat just in case the Westie gets into it.

Lastly, the kids and spouse love to feed the dogs at the table (which usually makes the Eskie ill).

So, that is what we give our dogs. I think they have a pretty good life, food-wise. Love-wise is another matter. The Eskie loves my youngest daughter more than anyone in the world and she is usually away at college. So, the Eskie is feeling rather abused. Nothing I do can make up for this terrible tragedy. Only my youngest, walking through the door, brings sheer joy to the Eskie. :|

Hiding pills is a whole 'nuther issue! My late great Bailey girl had that all figured out--peanut butter, cream cheese, hamburger, hot dogs, lard, commercial "pill pockets", she could always somehow sort out the pill and spit it out. I finally gave up and just pushed them down her throat with a treat for a chaser. She didn't really seem to mind that too much, and it was easier for me.

My vet is seriously old school, and he says that while it is indeed poisonous, a bit of chocolate is good for an older dog's heart. The same could be said for most medicine.

I think at our Eskie's age, it would just be cruel to deprive her. She deserves the little perks in life as she is really a great dog.

Pills. I do the same (shove it down their throats and then give them a treat). They must be able to smell them even with the 'disguise.' Thankfully, except for the rare time or two the dogs have gotten injured or ill, it is only once a month (heartworm).

I have two dogs, both Dobermans, a female who is ten and a male who is nine. When the male was a youngster, he would get regular digestive upsets, and we worked a long time to find food that worked for him. I actually ended up making my own home-made dog food for about a year. Fortunately, he kind of outgrew the digestive issues and I didn't have to do the home-made anymore. I would have done it forever if I had to, but it was very time-consuming, and fixing and storing home-made food for two large dogs took up a lot of space in the freezer!

I now use dry food as a base, and have for many years, but I use lots of different toppings and add-ins. My female has a chronic heart condition and takes several pills both morning and night. She's not too bad about taking pills, but I do have to at least put it in something tasty. So in the morning, I usually add a couple spoonsful of either yogurt, cottage cheese, or even sour cream (their favorite!) and just press the pills into that soft stuff.

For the evening meal, I supplement the dry by splitting a can of wet food between them, or I may top it off with The Honest Kitchen (a dehydrated food that you make by adding water). Again, the moist stuff makes the pills palatable for her.

I tend to try to give a variety of add-ins and toppings on a regular basis. They get a variety of good stuff in moderation (what some would call people food but which I like to call just good food), like vegetables, fruits, cheese, certain leftovers from our meals, scrambled eggs, sardines or mackerel (watch the salt content).

My feeling is I'd hate to think of eating the same exact thing every day of my life, so I'm not going to subject my dogs to that either. Plus, I feel like I'm hedging my bets nutritionally, since I don't trust any commercial dog food manufacturer to provide every micronutrient my dogs may need over their entire lifetime.

It's been mentioned already, but I think it's worth repeating. Certain foods like grapes, raisins, chocolate, onions, and others can be poisonous to dogs. It's easy to find out which ones on an Internet search. Also be sure they don't ever get a hold of any gum or other substance with the artificial sweetener Xylitol. That stuff is very toxic to dogs.

For the past 5 years, I have been feeding them dry food in the morning and wet canned food at night. I really do not understand how this can be good for them. Recently, I have started feeding them meat and scrambled eggs in the morning, and the canned food at night. I am trying to transition them back to the "BARF" diet I had them on when they were puppies. My economic condition has gone down-hill since I first got them. In the past, I would cook hamburger, liver, and any cheap meat I could get, add shredded carrots, and other vegetables, and add some brown rice and crock pot it, and then divide it in bags and freeze it. I used to add a powdered bone meal made for this purpose to it as well. Then I would thaw a baggie of the "mush" overnight in the refrigerator, and use it for the day.

My cat has a sensitive stomach, and ends up vomiting dry food up. I have started her on only raw meat, and she is able to digest that better. My thought is that dogs are omnivores, so they can take some carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables, but cats are obligate carnivores and only should eat meat. So why am I trying to make them eat dry kibble which is mainly starch fillers? I don't know. It also (believe it or not) is cheaper to feed them real meat.

My brother's cat is overweight due to eating lots of carbohydrates in dry catfood. I think feeding him (the cat) a meat only diet would also be good and get the weight off.

Both cats love raw meat and eat it gladly.

Raw meat diets also keep the animals from having tarter build up on the teeth, and give them a lot more "good fat" that is needed for health.

I am on a ketogenic diet myself, and am in very good health.

Obie and Loki eat better than I do I think. I put about 1/2 cup Salmon formula kibble from Zignature in each dish, add warm water to make 'juice', then add 1/2 tsp raw unprocessed LOCAL wildflower honey (this has literally elimated any allergies that Loki has had, especially in the fall) then I add fish oil (from a gel cap that I puncture with a pin), a big spoonful of wet food which is ONLY meat and water for processing. No weird unnecessary ingredients. THEN I add either raw liver or beef or pork in, cutting it up to match the size of the kibble.

It sounds like a ton of food, but for each dog, they get about a cup and 3/4 in their dishes. They eat once a day, and then at night when I get home from work I'll give them another little blob of the 'just meat' soft food, and this is really because Loki is on pain meds, and he'll gobble this up (really more like vacuum it up) never knowing the wiser. He has to have meds 2x"s a day, so this works well.
I realize this sounds like quite a job to make this up each morning, but really it takes me 5 minutes, and while I'm making it, I've got one spinning in circles (Loki) and the other jumping up and down (Obie) in anticipation!

I'd give my Italian greyhound a whole raw chicken wing and she would crunch and crunch till the bones were broken to fine sherds, without breaking the skin of the wing, and then gulp it down whole. It was scary to watch and I was sure I had killed the dog, but she ate it without any negative results.

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!

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...

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.

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.

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! :)

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.

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:lol:
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

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.

For our first dogs, we tried many of the better quality dog foods, and they threw up. When that happened we gave them some rice and chicken. Finally we ditched the dog food altogether and just gave them hamburger, rice and chicken, with table leftovers like bits of salmon. They were so much better! But that's not a complete diet. With our current dog, now two, I am feeding raw, and using a recipe based on the raw diet I found in a book. It is mostly 90% lean hamburger, liver, spinach, and several additives (bone meal, omega 3 oil, Vitamin C and a few others). Our dog is only about 15 pounds so we can feed her this way for between $1 and $2 dollars a day, making the food mix ourselves. Occasionally she will get a dog treat and she also gets Bully Sticks. No bones, therefore the bonemeal is essential. We have really tied ourselves to the mast regarding not giving her any human treats and not ever feeding her from the table or any place except her designated dish in her designated spot. But it took all the mistakes we made with our first two dogs to get us to this point.

Isn't it fun to be a slave to your dog, ha just kidding. I think we have all learned allot and never will we learn it all.

bought new vacuum recently!
My 2 year old and 4 year old also love vacuuming with it.

??

Thought this was about dog food??

It's off topic, and strange for a first post in an orchid forum. I'm also doubting if this is a legit post also because the flag used is Antigua and Barbuda, but the IP address is based in Pakistan...

My dogs are not very choosy about food. I have 3 dogs which I have taken from a shelter and I think that they simply appreciate what they have. What is funny, one of the dogs loves apples but he don't get much of them! However, it is an amazing snack!

Good job at rescueing!!! I have two rescues and have been a rescue foster mom for 10 years now! I feed and really like American journey grain-free dog food made by chewy.com! Great source of dog stuff if you haven't heard of chewy! I am pretty careful about reading ingredient lists and ensuring the ingredients are healthy and in good proportions....too often you will see the same food broken into three or four items listed in the first 10 or so ingredients...example: brown rice, rice,
Rice meal, rice bran. American Journey grain-free has a great ingredient list, great price and dog food advisors even gives them an A or A+. My dogs are super picky and they have really liked it!

I also constantly swap the flavor or protein source they are eating. Many believe that feeding the same protein source constantly can make it more likely for the dog to develop allergies so I will basically do a bag of dog food of one flavor and then slowly transition them to the next flavor just like if your changing food.

Depending on the breed, energy level, and exercise level, I also will add a raw egg or two (depending on dog) to their food once a day. Small dogs probably would only need half an egg. I have always heard start with a smaller amount and work up because like any dietary change, it can cause diarrhea. But I just crack it and whisk it with a fork to coat the kibbles. If you are buying high quality eggs then you can even add the shell too but if your just using normal eggs it's best to avoid the shell.

That goes for the more active dogs though that do a good amount of exercise (frequent running, swimming, playing), and the dogs in need of putting on some weight! I also will ad t in if I know we are going to have some frigid weather for a while and the dogs are going to be out in it. My two rescues are now getting a little older and less active so they don't get it regularly anymore besides for cold weather. I could probably give them one every other day or so but I've noticed that this semi-regular schedule makes it harder on them. They become pickier and try refusing to eat on the days with no egg so if they don't need it daily I try to do a max of once a week or less! Definitely always add it for holidays and birthdays though to give them something special! Along with anything else I have around that's healthy for them!

My biggest thing about sharing human food with them is either to just put it in their bowl OR if your handing it to them, don't give them anything when they are staring you down expecting something. All the dogs
In my house have figured it out pretty quickly that mom will give you something, but staring won't make it happen. Basically as soon as they go lay down and really start to doze off or just focus completely on something else I will then go give them a bite or call them over for something. It doesn't take long for them to figure it out and then they go and do it every time trusting that I'll let them know if I have scraps!

---------- Post added at 05:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:44 PM ----------

And Camille! Way to go on being a sleuth!!!

Hello Emma,
I'm glad to hear you have rescue dogs too. I've been watching the Westminister Dog show, but I don't see a breed that looks better to me than the two little imps that share my home now.
I boiled their eggs because I have heard that raw egg whites may not be good for dogs. Sounds like you haven't had any problems with that, but you might want to look into it.
It's surprising to me how much interest there's been in this thread, it's fun to see it active again.
:waving

I'm another one who enjoys providing a variety of quality foods for my dogs. I like being their chef! I've been feeding eggs occasionally all their lives, although my habit is to cook them. Here is a link to an excellent article that explains -- and mostly dismisses -- any concerns about raw eggs. The raw whites alone probably should be avoided, though, unless given only occasionally.

Is it Safe to Feed Dogs Raw Eggs? | PetHelpful

Emma, I volunteer with a rescue group, too. I do home visits with the applicants. Thank you for being a foster mom. That is definitely one of the most important jobs in rescue. :)

Very nice Mountaineer!!! And yes! Good article! It's one of many I read before making the decision! Such a big discussion between raw food, not raw food, only parts of raw food, this definitely a topic you just have to come to your own opinion on with research because there are just SO many differing opinions and poiints of view! Definitely a good article to start with though!

And Mountaineer!!!! Good for you!!! I absolutely adore fostering. I really specialize in working with/fostering the dogs that have been abused or experienced some type of trauma and are struggling as a result. I just love seeing them improve and go home with people that adore them. Some only take a week or two others, like my second rescue, have gone years and we still are not fully there, but no matter what, we always have that day where the fear leaves, at least in the my house, and they just become a happy dog again!

Ilove it! However, what you do is SUPER important, considering its directly related to choosing an applicant....and nothing would make my job worse and probably make me quit what I do, if I didn't really know the people screening the applicants and really trust them to be honest and blunt with people and each other.... and not just send dogs home with whoever just to get them adopted but are dedicated to sending them home with the RIGHT home!

---------- Post added at 07:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------

Oh and Arizona Jeanie! It's SO true, my two are about as cute as can be in their own ways but definitely easier to train then any purebred puppy I've experienced! I swear it's like they have seen the bad in the world and as a result, are far more grateful and happy with what they've now got!

Like commented above, the choice between feeding raw be not feeding raw or only part raw is a big one! And really one everybody has to come to decide on for themselves but I personally have had zero issues with any dog I've fed egg to. The article Mountaineer attached is great, there are many more but that's definitely a good starting point!

Dogs aren't like us and yes they have been domesticated but, their bodies are still made to digest raw food like they would in the wild. true, feeding a cooked egg may lose many health benefits BUT it still has many nutrients too. If I'm scrambling or cooking eggs I normally will pull some aside before I season them and throw them in the pups food. The forever problem, they pick the pieces out and then if you have picky eaters like mine can be, leave the kibbles!

The beauty of raw egg is that you can coat the kibbles and make their more balanced diet of kibbles something delicious. My dogs know exactly when I grab their bowls and pull out the eggs.

---------- Post added at 07:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:04 AM ----------

Oh and Arizona Jeanie! It's SO true, my two are about as cute as can be in their own ways but definitely easier to train then any purebred puppy I've experienced! I swear it's like they have seen the bad in the world and as a result, are far more grateful and happy with what they've now got!

Like commented above, the choice between feeding raw be not feeding raw or only part raw is a big one! And really one everybody has to come to decide on for themselves but I personally have had zero issues with any dog I've fed egg to. The article Mountaineer attached is great, there are many more but that's definitely a good starting point!

Dogs aren't like us and yes they have been domesticated but, their bodies are still made to digest raw food like they would in the wild. true, feeding a cooked egg may lose many health benefits BUT it still has many nutrients too. If I'm scrambling or cooking eggs I normally will pull some aside before I season them and throw them in the pups food. The forever problem, they pick the pieces out and then if you have picky eaters like mine can be, leave the kibbles!

The beauty of raw egg is that you can coat the kibbles and make their more balanced diet of kibbles something delicious. My dogs know exactly when I grab their bowls and pull out the eggs.

Basically, research the topic and do whatever YOU feek comfortable with afterwards! Whatever you choose will still be beneficial! Now if you really wants food item from heaven for special meals/days/treats. Get a natural balance food roll! Every dog I've met and given it to goes nuts. All time favorite in our house! Even compared to other food rolls! I get the big one, slice it and freeze what I'm not going to use immediately!