Dog Food. Anyone have their's on a "Raw Diet"?
 

Anyone here have their dog on a raw diet? I've read enough to know I don't know anything. What do you guy's feed your best friends?

Thanks.

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My poor old girl is 11 and in congestive heart failure :Oh crap She can only eat boiled hamburger with white rice mixed in. Apparently this mixture is healthy for the dog, enough to sustain her, and very easy on a dog's stomach. She use to have blood in her stool, that's gone now.

She was fed, along with my previous dogs who lived quite long, a raw egg, plain cooked fish, plain cooked chicken breast, and some red meat every now and again. I never bought dog food for any of my pets.

I should add the reason why I never buy dog food. My uncle works at what use to be Alpo, now Nestle/Purina. He's seen dog food made from random animal parts for over 20 years and won't buy it for his dogs even at their discounted rate. They throw everything into that stuff, maggots are rampant, rotten meat, etc.

Not sure how that would work, giving him nothing but raw chickens and steaks.

I give my dogs dog food like a normal person.

My dogs eat a fish and potato blend that's good for their coat and not too terribly expensive. Never had any health issues and my 10 year old Rottweiler still plays like a puppy.

Dogs have strong stomachs and can eat almost anything. I really think the whole "raw food" thing is a bit of a crazy and not really necessary.

Now if your dog develops allergies to specific proteins, and that's not uncommon either, it's a different story.

Do you ever give them raw meat?

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No I never have.

I mean don't get me wrong, it's not going to hurt them. If you feel like you want to go through the added expense and effort to feed your dogs a raw diet, by all means go for it. I can't see it doing any harm what-so-ever. If your dog is healthy and happy on its existing food, then there's probably no real reason to change it.

One thing you want to be on a look out for is allergies. Dogs of all ages can develop them. If your dog is scratching or biting at its self a lot, developing problems in its ears or has "hot spots", which are sores on the skin that weep liquid, then you need to re-evaluate its diet. You should note that these things can be symptoms of other things too, like fleas, but if you have a good flea control regimen that shouldn't be an issue.

I do give Buddy raw chicken legs and soup bones. He loves them


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...thday_6785.jpg

Birthday present.

I know. I tend to feed my dog the way my parents fed dogs when I was a kid. A good brand of dry with the occasional meat/fish/chicken scraps thrown in with it. But that doesn't mean it's right.

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Evo is a great line of dog food. Like somebody said, as long as meats are the first ingredient in the dog food, it's decent.

The EVO bags I used to get were 80 bucks or so. A tad expensive but I think it's worth it to feed them a high quality food.

Raw diet is also very good. Ive seen dogs switched to the raw diet and their bodies change, for the better. You also find there is hardly as much waste (poop)

Edit--Ive heard good things about some type called Timberwolf or something also. Those two were highly touted and miles above the rest from what i recall

We tried for a while, when we juiced a lot. Our dog got all his fiber from our vegetable waste. It didn't last long and switch him to a diet of dry dog food and cooked meats.

I don't suggest a true raw diet for a dog.

I read a very similar article to what you just posted and it made me feel guilty and sort of selfish in that I am very conscious of what I myself eat. That's what prompted this thread.

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I don't really give him too much in the way of cooked [people] food. I will let him do bones, but not if it has a weird sauce on it. He loves when I give him raw meats but has zero interest in fruits and veggies . . . although I seem to recall he did like my grilled zucchini. He goes to the vet regularly and they always commend his health and consistent weight.

Iams is his daily/usual food.

Oh another thing I forgot to mention is that you can often tell when a dog is "itchy all over" as a result of food allergies is they will tend to not scratch all over, but instead they will lick their front paws constantly. That's because they're right in front of them. Silly but true.

cooked chicken bones are very bad for dogs - they splinter and can piece bowels

dogs love meat - nothing wrong with giving your dog raw meat

chocolate is poison to dogs - it can kill them

i feed my dogs a good nutritional dry food every day and meat for a treat once a week

My dog's 15 and I'm just trying to do anything that will help her keep her health. What concerns me is her weight and how short and fragile her legs are. She's a 60 lb mutt/hound.

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Ask your Vet, but if she's overweight you can certainly switch her to a quality weight maintenance blend. :2 cents:

Weight problems are common, we all want to spoil our dogs. You should be able to feel a dogs spine, if you can't it's over weight. Not that this might pertain to you, but it's a good judge for others to start with.

I give mine Bil Jac. Chicken based mostly. Actually on the bag it says "10 pounds of chicken in every 15 lb bag".

Just remember to stay away from Science Diet, Eukanuba or any of that Hill's crap. Grocery store dog food like Purina is a no brainer. Stay the hell away from it.

Generally, if you've seen an ad for a dog food brand on TV, stay away from it. The smaller companies have better ingredients, and aren't at the point of diluting their formula down to whatever can make them the most money.

That's just my theory, but it makes sense if you think about it. Hill's is like the Exxon of dog food. They're so big, there's no way they could possibly give a fuck.

My father-in-law just lost his 9 year old Bichon, who constantly had every dog ailment there was -- and the most unhealthy looking dumps I've ever seen from a dog. When I told him he should stop using Science Diet when he gets his next dog, he said "Toby did just fine on it".

I didn't say anything, but the Toby under-lived his projected lifespan by a few years.

cool that your dog has lived to be 15 man - mines 8

imo you want to feed your dog anything that keeps it in good health. if your dog is older it doesnt need massive amounts of food or bones which could hinder dogestion and cause hassles for the dog

veges are good but dogs dont want em raw - cook veges like potatoe carrot and broc and mix it all up with rice. make in bulk. if you want you can put some lean mince in their too.

lol ...... I knew you would have a Mad Max dog :thumbsup Beautiful !

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Evo is what got my dog looking like this :D

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...4_105695_n.jpg haha

I've read some nasty things about Hills. Do you know if that also includes Hills Prescription food available from Vets only? This is why I'm starting to not trust my Vet.

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Evo and a doggie weight bench. lol Wow!

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Mixture of meat and bones we buy from the butcher, boil them first. Packet dog food from the vet and tinned dog food. Plus scraps we leave.

He's putting on weight and power at an extreme rate, saw Reggie's video of me with him recently and the change in a few months is amazing.

The closer your dog is to the pure breed, a wolf, the stronger his gut is and ability to eat nearly anything. Old meat, maggots and other things that would make us sick or worse they will consume with little problem.

That's what a real dog is built for.

Toys dogs and extremely modified breeds of dogs have lost the ability to consume anything but refined food.

A few months ago.

http://paulmarkham.com/temp/rajah1.jpg

A few days a go

http://paulmarkham.com/temp/italy04.jpg

I'm a vegetarian so my chihuahuas get to eat lots of fruit. I still feed them regular dog food though to make sure they get a balanced nutritional profile.

Great muscling and tone. Nice job!

I make mine eat its own poo...

I eat it too...

I like poo...

i'm surprised elli hasn't replied here, she's a walking encyclopedia on this stuff.

i feed my dog raw food. i use http://www.primalpetfoods.com and also raw turkey necks, chicken wings, etc. for treats he gets raw baby carrots.


dogs = wolves, not people, and have different nutritional requirements than us.

wolves eat raw food they just killed. the 1st thing they would eat is the organ meat so make sure that is a part of any raw food diet. next, the actual meat and 3rd are the bones/tendons, etc. which provide many of the nutrient s dogs need and also satiate their need to chew etc. dogs/wolves have never naturally eaten cooked rice (or any complex carbs such as rice, potatoes, etc.

The vet put my dog on a mandatory diet of cooked hamburger meat and white rice. She was having stomach issues that caused bleeding. Now that's all been cleared up. It may not be natural, but worked for her. Apparently, it's very easy on the stomach and the digestion process.

Of course, it's probably not a good idea to feed this to a healthy dog as their main diet.

sorry, wasn't my intent to challenge how you (or anyone) raise your dog. just my line of reasoning on what to feed mine. i'm glad this diet worked for you and your buddy!:thumbsup

Oh, no need to apologize, I didn't think you were referring to me in your statement or challenge the way I raise my dog. My reply wasn't to challenge your statement, just adding to the conversation :)

my dogs are eating all left overs from our food, so they dont get raw food

do you give your dog glucosamine/chondrotin? my guy has bad legs and i give him these as treats 2x a day and they do wonders. it takes a few weeks or so to kick in.

http://www.amazon.com/Osteo-Pet-Gluc...uct/B001QNC896

You have to be careful if you are going that route with regards to raw.. Yes, it is natural for them to be digesting meats raw, obviously their ancestors weren't cooking up food by the fires 1000's of years ago.. However, if they haven't been eating raw food since birth it will take some time for them to build up immunities and it will take time for their stomaches to adjust to it. Basically anytime you change a dogs diet drastically it will cause problems so no matter what you are changing up ease into it.

My advice is to go with higher grade foods instead. You have to go to specialty stores to get them (pet smart doesn't have good foods usually) and they will cost a bit more, but the best part is they wont need to eat NEAR as much of it because it is so nutrient rich and calorie dense. If your dog has allergy problems most good names have options, as fish, or venison or chicken etc.. so you may have to get a few tester bags to find out for sure. About 2 and a half 3 cups a day keeps our Labs strong and fit, any more than that and they gain weight and look unhealthy so that is a good gauge right there.

Beware of the HUNGER FACE! Most dogs will eat themselves to near death, especially labs... Just because they look hungry doesn't mean the are so in a sense you have to train yourself for that ;)

Short list of good foods in the US here. remember to ease them in, mix it in with what you are feeding them now and increase if they don't have reactions to it.

Innova Evo, Orijen, Canine Caviar, Canidae



oh careful with the bones. dogs love them of course, but if you give them to them too often it wears away their teeth completely.. they need those for life remember so try to find alternatives for the day to day, we do rawhides instead, but even those only occasionally.