dog food

[VoodooJoint]

i was just on chazhound, which seems to have lots of caring dog owners on it. they all say nutro isnt too good.

I think Nutro being good or bad depends on what type of dog you own. I will agree that Nutro isn't the best food on the market and if you can go with one of the others on the list , like Wysong, you probably should.

I went with Nutro because of my Great Danes. One was extremely picky (despite all of the extras in his food) and my female is allergic to a lot of stuff. Nutro was recommended to me by some Great Dane owners/rescuers. They all liked it for their Danes...but that doesn’t mean it will be as good for dogs of a less "impressive" stature.

Nutro was the food that made a differance with my dogs. They liked the taste and the alleric reactions stoped.
By all means go with one of the other foods. I have no loyalty to Nutro. I’m just glad that you now know how to tell a decent dog food from the crap. Glad if I could help and hope you found the info helpful.

 

[VoodooJoint]

Why in the world are you feeding your dog raw meat and animal products?! In the U.S we treat our food animals horribly and most live in factory farm situations. Up to 30% of chickens in this country will be infected with samonella and your dog could end up with samonella poisoning. When our dog was a puppy he was very sick, and our vet said to feed him some plain cooked chicken and rice. My mom took the chicken out too soon and our dog ended up getting samonella poisoning and almost died. Avoid raw meat and animal products unless you are 100% sure its not contaminated.

I suggest you read more about the RAW (BARF) diet for dogs. http://www.barfworld.com/html/learn_more/evolutionary.shtml

A natural immunity is built up by exposure to E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and a myriad of other bacteria and protozoa. An immunity that is found in wild Dogs. Wild carnivores and Omnivores regularly eat raw meat and carrion. No one is cooking their food for them.

In my opinion a natural immunity is far better then having to rush a dog into the vet because it got sick when it was fed undercooked chicken, something it snuck out of the trash or the dead squirrel it managed to get a taste of.

Once again I can’t understand why this idea is meeting such resistance!? If you are on this board you are most likely supplementing your Guinea Pigs (and rabbits if I guess correctly from your name) with hay, veggies and other"natural foods" when a diet solely of pellets is supposed to be dietarily sufficient and balanced.

Obviously you have learned that it in fact is not the case and that supplements are required to insure a healthy and happy G.P./Rabbit. Why doesn’t a dog deserve the same type of treatment and consideration?

If you want to keep feeding your dog plain kibble and fool yourself into believing the packaging that it "meets the AAFCO requirements of a balanced diet" so is therefore all your pet needs or wants, then go right ahead. I will continue with the diet I have fed my dogs for over 8 years now...none have ever gotten Salmonella, other bacterial illnesses or any illness that was caused by their diet.

 

[bunnyluv17]

I never said that my dog only eats dry kibble. He gets lots of people food including cooked eggs, cooked chicken and other meats, rice, veggies, fruit, etc...

Dogs are ancient cousins of wolves, but they have been domesticated for many thousands of years and are no longer wild. Although wolves and dogs have many things in common, they also have significant differences. The majority of wolves do not live as long as dogs, and the occasional wolf will die of Salmonella or another food-related illness in the wild. Wolves would probably be much healthier if they ate cooked meat. The meat found in stores in pumped full of antibiotics, hormones, drugs, pathogens, Does this sound natural to you? Feeding raw meat is like Russian Roulette, it is not worth the risk. Some dogs experience severe diarrhea, vomiting, and bone fragments stuck in colon after eating raw meat. Natural is not always healthier.

I'm not saying that dogs should not get any supplements, I'm saying that cooked animal products are safer and healthier.

 

[AngelsCavies]

I found out that dog food from feed stores are better than the store dog foods. They are just as good as Iams, Eukaneba, and 2 others you said Voodoo. Also Voodoojoint I want to thank you for getting Thresa closing the stupid thread. Thresa thank you too. I was fed up with GPG talking about that.

 

[DocDolittle]

Yes, I agreeAngelCavies... and I might have lost my head just a teensy bit there, lol. We get our dog semi-expensive food from our local feed store called Wysong. It's vet-recommended and very good for the dogs.

 

[AngelsCavies]

cool we are going out there this weekend coming up. We have a quite large order to pick up. I got 3 50lbs bags of piggie food, 1 50lbs bag of bunny food, 2 40lbs bag of dog food, 3 bales of dry killn pine, 1 20lbs of eukaneba food for my in laws dog. Thats about 350lbs put in the staion wagon. we always buy bulk so we can just go back in 3 or 4 months. Saves time and trip.

 

[mncavylover]

what do all of you feed your dogs/puppies??? Mncavylover? Others with dogs?

For one, don't use Iams. Look on PETA for more info.

Also, see http://www.iamscruelty.com/res.asp for a list of companies that don't test on animals.


Also, you can use vegetarian/vegan foods for cats and dogs. See http://www.peta.org/factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=34.

 

[DocDolittle]

Yay! Wysong's on that list!

 

[RubyPiggie2]

Ah! After reading this thread, I feel horrible!
We feed our dog Science Diet, and we just got this new "wet food", Purina Mighty Dog, Premium Entrees. Are the ingradients OK, because The ingredients are : water sufficient for processing, beef, chicken, turkey, poultrey liver, meat by-products, wheat gluten, salt, tricalcium phosphate, guar gum, caramel color, sodium tripolyphosphate, natural flavors, sodium carbonate, potassium chloride, iron oxide, ferrous sulfate, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, zinc oxide, copper proteinate, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide, biotin, riboflavin supplement, sodium selenite.
Are these OK? We're giving her veggies and fruits occasionally, and I'm going to convince my mom to start giving Misty raw meats...

 

[DocDolittle]

I would be careful about some of those animal by-products. Is there no chance of you being able to chose off of that list, because I know that those are all fine foods. I'll try to look it up a little more.

 

[DocDolittle]

That's so sad about Iams, what a cruel thing to do! I need to go give my dog a hug... It's people like those that make me think this world is no good anymore.

 

[VoodooJoint]

I found out that dog food from feed stores are better than the store dog foods. They are just as good as Iams, Eukaneba, and 2 others you said Voodoo. Also Voodoojoint I want to thank you for getting Thresa closing the stupid thread. Thresa thank you too. I was fed up with GPG talking about that.

I won't bother reminding people about IAMS as I see others have already done it (thanx)

You are welcome about the thread. I can't take any credit though. I think Teresa would have shut it down without my post...I just wanted to nudge her a bit. I was about to get really mean and cause a lot of people to get mad at me.

 

[VoodooJoint]

Ah! After reading this thread, I feel horrible!
We feed our dog Science Diet, and we just got this new "wet food", Purina Mighty Dog, Premium Entrees. Are the ingradients OK, because The ingredients are : water sufficient for processing, beef, chicken, turkey, poultrey liver, meat by-products, .....Are these OK? We're giving her veggies and fruits occasionally, and I'm going to convince my mom to start giving Misty raw meats...

As DocDolittle pointed out be wary of meat by-products. You may want to read this website http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm . It may help answer some questions about what is in some dog foods.

I used to have a link but can't find it. It may have been through PETA so a search there may turn something up. Anyway it was about how "meat by-products" means anything from cow and chicken to elephant, horse, monkey, snake, cat and even other dogs. Believe it or not some of the dogs and cats euthanized in this country go to rendering plants and get turned into dog food (euthanasia serum and all). Normal farm animals that end up in dog food are often diseased (cancer, tumors, URI, etc), didn't pass USDA inspection for human consumption or it's the parts of the animal that humans won't eat.

Pretty nasty stuff. To get high quality that is good for your pet you have to pay more.

 

[jwedenrock]

Not to annoy anyone; however, there are a variety of good foods you can get a petstores for your dog. It will depend on your dogs age and activity level. Also, the protein count in your dog food may need to change depending on the weather. I feed my dogs more protein in winter. I have show dogs--collies. All of my dogs are fed ProPlan Chicken and Rice with about a tablespoon of plain yogurt, tablespoon of canned dog meat. Mix with moist warm water and feed.

Even the most experienced vets and scientist can disagree what is best for your animal. And not all breeds or animals respond the same way to a particular food. Make an educated choice and try it for at least three months. If you notice that your dog's skin or coat is dry, then you might need to make a change. One of the worst things you can do it change your dog's food too often.

Just a little info. If you are still unsure, speak to your vet for more information or a recommendation.

 

[DocDolittle]

It's not exactly what your dog needs that I'm talking about, but what is in the food and where the food comes from. Iams and other such commercially sold foods sometimes have animal intestines, skins, tumors, etc. as Voodoojoint said, and many also test on animals. Yes, there are different foods that are labeled with age groups, protein count, trypes, etc. etc., but that doesn't mean it's entirely good for the dog.

 

[mncavylover]

Yes, I agree there is some discrepancy between what people say they need. I was simply offereing a way to use a food that was vegan/vegetarian, and/or one that doesn't test on animals, two things I strongly believe in.

 

[Miss Piggy]

If I bought say a huge piece of chuck beef for my dog and wanted to keep it in the fridge for a few days, is it ok to just barely cook the surface of the meat to destroy any possible bacteria/toxins and still serve it completely raw inside to my dogs?

Also, what's wrong with having intestines and other odd bits in food? I'm vietnamese so it's quite normal to eat the uterus of a lamb, ovaries, brains, eyeballs or other food parts that most people would not eat and I'm completely healthy. In fact people in cambodia live off just the organs of animals in some villages and they're still alive. Is it because it will be served raw that it is bad? Or should it be definitely cooked if fed to your animals?

 

[AngelsCavies]

that is grosse and I would never give my dog scrap food. everyonce in a blue moon i mix abit of spagetti sauce in with her dry food other than that just dog food and dog cookies.

 

[VoodooJoint]

If I bought say a huge piece of chuck beef for my dog and wanted to keep it in the fridge for a few days, is it ok to just barely cook the surface of the meat to destroy any possible bacteria/toxins and still serve it completely raw inside to my dogs?

You can, but the live enzymes may be destroyed by the heat ( and not all of the bacteria will be unless it is cooked through). The point to feeding raw foods is to provide the animal with the enzymes it needs for a healthy gut and body. Also, the longer you keep the meat around the bigger the chance of it getting ill from the meat. If your dog has never had raw meat before then you should feed it only the freshest meats at first to build up it’s natural immunity. Once this immunity is in place (about a month) then you can start buying in bigger quantities and keeping the meat for a week in the fridge.

Also, what's wrong with having intestines and other odd bits in food? I'm vietnamese so it's quite normal to eat the uterus of a lamb, ovaries, brains, eyeballs or other food parts that most people would not eat and I'm completely healthy. In fact people in cambodia live off just the organs of animals in some villages and they're still alive. Is it because it will be served raw that it is bad? Or should it be definitely cooked if fed to your animals?

There is nothing wrong with the intestines and other body parts. Just like there is nothing wrong with the food being made out of elephant, dog, cat, rat, werewolf, human, or chupacabra meat. After all protein is protein, right?

The problem is that cheaper dog foods use diseased, sick, and rejected meats in their foods. The euthanized dogs and cats in the food cause a problem because euthanasia solution does not break down in the cooking (rendering) process.

Imagine that with every scoop of cheap dog food you are feeding your dog a small dose of death and disease. It seems that eventually that “poisoning” would build up and have consequences.