Calienta
6th March 2008, 12:26 PM
For those of you who are interested in feeding your dogs the best foods in order for them to be as healthy as possible.
Regardless of what your vet may tell you, the food they sell is SHIT. Vets don't take much in the way of nutrition training in University. What they do learn is taught by the nutrionists at the petfood companies who end up sponsoring the vets afterwards. Kind of a you rub my back I'll rub yours scenario.
DRY KIBBLE AND WET CANNED FOODS
Rule of thumb. If you can find it in a grocery store, it usually isn't any good.
BAD: Purina, IAMS, Eukanuba, Nutro, Hill's Science Diet, Diamond ... to name a few of the most well-known brands.
WHY?: Just look at the price. They are too inexpensive to contain good quality meat, and not much meat either, at that. So they put in inexpensive fillers such as gluten or wheat to buff up the food but keep the price down. Why would you feed your dog wheat? Do you think a wolf would go raiding the farmer's field to eat it? No. So why would your dog like it any better?
GOOD: California Natural, Innova EVO, Canidae, Orijen.
WHY?: More expensive than the other brands, they have a much higher quality of meat in their product and less-to-no fillers at all. They also don't pay an arm and a leg for expensive advertising, fancy packaging, or the right to be stocked in every grocery store in the country. Therefore, the quality goes way up but the price, in comparison, hardly does. Only small health or boutique pet stores sell these brands.
You will also save a bundle in vet bills. Bonus!
Here is a great site that allows you to pore through the ingredients and get a rating of how good (or bad) your food is. I just tested EaglePack and they've gone down due to having meal instead of a proper meat, two rice ingredients in their top 5, and corn. Poo.
http://www.k9cuisine.com/RateYourDogFood.aspx
RAW FOOD
Kibble and canned foods were designed only about 30 years ago to provide ease for pet owners. What did dogs eat before then? What do wolves eat in the wild? Well, wolves and dogs are omnivores. They kill animals and then chew their bones, eat the meat and whatever was in the stomach.
Wolves don't get arthritis, allergies, cancer, etc. So why do our dogs get so many diseases? Nutrition plays a major part in a dog's health. There are NO studies out there that show that a dog's Gastro intestinal (GI) tract is any different from that of a wolf. So why should we feed them any differently?
Things to note: There are studies out there that will argue against raw food. Because studies are incredibly easy to manipulate (ie: the company funding the study wants a specific outcome, most of the time that outcome will be found) I put more credit on the experiences of breeders and regular owners.
Also, you must be VERY careful when feeding raw. Raw food can contain salmonella, and while dogs are immune to this, humans are not. Always wash your hands after handling the food, and clean the food bowl/countertops thoroughly.
PRE-PACKAGED: Nature's Variety, Oma's Pride, ZiwiPeak, Mountain Dog Food, Pets4Life and Healthy Paws, to name a few, are all manufacturers of frozen, raw dog food. These contain human-grade meats such as chicken, venison, beef, lamb, rabbit, etc. They also contain bones, eggs and veggies -very important sources of calcium and vitamins. The great thing about these products is you don't need to worry about what you're feeding and if you're getting the correct amounts. Each patty/medallion is composed of specific ingredients and is formulated to provide everything your dog needs.
MAKING YOUR OWN: This is a very time-consuming but cheaper and BETTER alternative to buying pre-packaged raw foods. Most things that we eat, dogs can eat. If you can stomach preparing it yourself, I would suggest to do it this way. You have the benefit of knowing exactly what is going into the food, it can be changed around depending on what your dog likes/dislikes, and it's a good way of getting rid of meat or veggies that will expire in a day or two!
Go to your butcher and see what he offers in bulk for discount. Chicken and turkey necks, backs (yes, raw bones are fine for dogs, they do not break like cooked bones), venison during hunting season, livers, hearts, anything a wolf would chow down on is okay for your pet.
Go to the grocery store and get whatever fish and vegetables are on sale. Also pick up eggs, yogurt (with probiotics), sprouts, etc. There are people out there who will say a dog/wolf doesn't need veggies, that he is in fact a carnivore. Yes, it's true a wolf won't go pick a carrot out of the ground to eat it. But he will eat an entire rabbit, and that rabbit ate a carrot a few hours before so the wolf is now eating it too. My only advice here is that you should try to base your feeding on what would a wolf be eating in the wild?
There are plenty of sites out there, I would suggest you do your own research as I am NOT an expert on this subject, although I have done hours and hours of reading into nutrition, as I want my dogs to be the healthiest possible. But if you decide to go raw, please do your own research and come to your own opinions.
Regardless of what your vet may tell you, the food they sell is SHIT. Vets don't take much in the way of nutrition training in University. What they do learn is taught by the nutrionists at the petfood companies who end up sponsoring the vets afterwards. Kind of a you rub my back I'll rub yours scenario.
DRY KIBBLE AND WET CANNED FOODS
Rule of thumb. If you can find it in a grocery store, it usually isn't any good.
BAD: Purina, IAMS, Eukanuba, Nutro, Hill's Science Diet, Diamond ... to name a few of the most well-known brands.
WHY?: Just look at the price. They are too inexpensive to contain good quality meat, and not much meat either, at that. So they put in inexpensive fillers such as gluten or wheat to buff up the food but keep the price down. Why would you feed your dog wheat? Do you think a wolf would go raiding the farmer's field to eat it? No. So why would your dog like it any better?
GOOD: California Natural, Innova EVO, Canidae, Orijen.
WHY?: More expensive than the other brands, they have a much higher quality of meat in their product and less-to-no fillers at all. They also don't pay an arm and a leg for expensive advertising, fancy packaging, or the right to be stocked in every grocery store in the country. Therefore, the quality goes way up but the price, in comparison, hardly does. Only small health or boutique pet stores sell these brands.
You will also save a bundle in vet bills. Bonus!
Here is a great site that allows you to pore through the ingredients and get a rating of how good (or bad) your food is. I just tested EaglePack and they've gone down due to having meal instead of a proper meat, two rice ingredients in their top 5, and corn. Poo.
http://www.k9cuisine.com/RateYourDogFood.aspx
RAW FOOD
Kibble and canned foods were designed only about 30 years ago to provide ease for pet owners. What did dogs eat before then? What do wolves eat in the wild? Well, wolves and dogs are omnivores. They kill animals and then chew their bones, eat the meat and whatever was in the stomach.
Wolves don't get arthritis, allergies, cancer, etc. So why do our dogs get so many diseases? Nutrition plays a major part in a dog's health. There are NO studies out there that show that a dog's Gastro intestinal (GI) tract is any different from that of a wolf. So why should we feed them any differently?
Things to note: There are studies out there that will argue against raw food. Because studies are incredibly easy to manipulate (ie: the company funding the study wants a specific outcome, most of the time that outcome will be found) I put more credit on the experiences of breeders and regular owners.
Also, you must be VERY careful when feeding raw. Raw food can contain salmonella, and while dogs are immune to this, humans are not. Always wash your hands after handling the food, and clean the food bowl/countertops thoroughly.
PRE-PACKAGED: Nature's Variety, Oma's Pride, ZiwiPeak, Mountain Dog Food, Pets4Life and Healthy Paws, to name a few, are all manufacturers of frozen, raw dog food. These contain human-grade meats such as chicken, venison, beef, lamb, rabbit, etc. They also contain bones, eggs and veggies -very important sources of calcium and vitamins. The great thing about these products is you don't need to worry about what you're feeding and if you're getting the correct amounts. Each patty/medallion is composed of specific ingredients and is formulated to provide everything your dog needs.
MAKING YOUR OWN: This is a very time-consuming but cheaper and BETTER alternative to buying pre-packaged raw foods. Most things that we eat, dogs can eat. If you can stomach preparing it yourself, I would suggest to do it this way. You have the benefit of knowing exactly what is going into the food, it can be changed around depending on what your dog likes/dislikes, and it's a good way of getting rid of meat or veggies that will expire in a day or two!
Go to your butcher and see what he offers in bulk for discount. Chicken and turkey necks, backs (yes, raw bones are fine for dogs, they do not break like cooked bones), venison during hunting season, livers, hearts, anything a wolf would chow down on is okay for your pet.
Go to the grocery store and get whatever fish and vegetables are on sale. Also pick up eggs, yogurt (with probiotics), sprouts, etc. There are people out there who will say a dog/wolf doesn't need veggies, that he is in fact a carnivore. Yes, it's true a wolf won't go pick a carrot out of the ground to eat it. But he will eat an entire rabbit, and that rabbit ate a carrot a few hours before so the wolf is now eating it too. My only advice here is that you should try to base your feeding on what would a wolf be eating in the wild?
There are plenty of sites out there, I would suggest you do your own research as I am NOT an expert on this subject, although I have done hours and hours of reading into nutrition, as I want my dogs to be the healthiest possible. But if you decide to go raw, please do your own research and come to your own opinions.