Dogs Dinner?

[Dolly6410]

it's hard because we don't actually know anything about how she was bought up or treated, we were told she was like part of the family but the state she came in i think differently. so any change would of been good for her, she a golden retriever though so quite a big dog.

Also like i said before, every vet has a different opinion, we see about 3 different vets at our surgery and one of our goldies has a deformed hip and they all think differently about what we should be doing, nightmare.

 

[tanfastic]

it's hard because we don't actually know anything about how she was bought up or treated, we were told she was like part of the family but the state she came in i think differently. so any change would of been good for her, she a golden retriever though so quite a big dog.

Also like i said before, every vet has a different opinion, we see about 3 different vets at our surgery and one of our goldies has a deformed hip and they all think differently about what we should be doing, nightmare.

Remember that vets get good incentives from dog food companies to recommend their products so you will get different vets recommending different things. Some swear by Chappie other say it is rubbish and James Wellbeloved is the best. Personally I believe good natural home cooked food is the very best, no preservatives, no additives, no manky rubbish. I know a lot of dogs that do well on Chappie and it is relativley inexpensive, my boy was ill on it so I quickly changed him to James Wellbeloved and then on to freshly prepared home cooked. He sometimes has dried food ( trying Wainwrights now) but I try to always get British Brands as we have more stringent rules over here. ( or so I am led to believe) I don't buy anything made in the USA or the East where dog food is concerned. Products from the far east could end up containing Dog for all I know since the dog meat industry is still thriving over there and there must be a load of " meat by product" available.

 

[Dolly6410]

Remember that vets get good incentives from dog food companies to recommend their products so you will get different vets recommending different things. Some swear by Chappie other say it is rubbish and James Wellbeloved is the best. Personally I believe good natural home cooked food is the very best, no preservatives, no additives, no manky rubbish. I know a lot of dogs that do well on Chappie and it is relativley inexpensive, my boy was ill on it so I quickly changed him to James Wellbeloved and then on to freshly prepared home cooked. He sometimes has dried food ( trying Wainwrights now) but I try to always get British Brands as we have more stringent rules over here. ( or so I am led to believe) I don't buy anything made in the USA or the East where dog food is concerned. Products from the far east could end up containing Dog for all I know since the dog meat industry is still thriving over there and there must be a load of " meat by product" available.

very true, chappies is ok for us at the moment, all the poops seem to get on with it well, but golly gosh it stinks!!! like fish... urghhh, but our adopted dog has put on weight with it (she was horribly skinny before) and our other 2 have actually lost weight (the vet was trying to send them to doggy fat club :lol also all their poo looks normal now x

 

[JemmaB]

Ive just had a Chihuahua and am feeling it Wainwrights. I went around Pets at Home and looked which ones had more actually meat in them and it was on offer at £33 for 15kg. Oscar seems to love it!
Oh and if we have beef or lamb dinner I also cut a small chunk before I cook it and mix this in his dry food too x

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

 

[tanfastic]

Thanks for all the PM's. I will send the e-mails today when I get back from the hospital. Sorry for making you wait but at least you will have some light reading material for the week end. LOL

 

[ballyboo]

We feed our girls bob and lush, nothing but the best for my babies
They do free samples if anyone is interested?
http://www.bobandlush.com/

 

[dandelionpoppy]

Our 1 year old Mini-Schnauzer has suffered 2 awful bouts of pancreatitis. She was never given treats/ our food, nor stole food, although the vet obviously didn't believe us.In fact she never had much appetite.

The vet put her on Royal Canin (by the way, they do different types) and then suggested she went onto Chappie. I was surprised but she has thrived on it. I now have a healthy dog, fingers crossed.

Can only speak from our experience. An interesting thread!

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

I looked into BARF when my Alfie, Dogue De Bordeaux, was a puppy but didnt go ahead with it as I was overwhelmed by it - feeding out of a bag or tin is easier . Sadly he passed away in October last year from cancer in his stomach at 3 years old, but as/when we get another I will be definitely going down the BARF root.

There a huge amount of preservatives that goes into dry dog food & there is also a huge increase of cancer in dogs fed cheap food/meats (as in humans too). We try to eat as healthy as we can as a family so I will do the same for my next addition too

This is sad to hear Helen. Barf does look like the best option, if I moved I'd look into it again x

Good Luck when you get your new dog.
P x

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

My babies eat rice chicken and veg they love it. They bounced of the wall before we changed their diet, literally! Their fur is so much thicker. Sophie's had a bald spot on her nose since we got her (we have to put sun cream on her in summer) and it went after a few weeks and she has hair on her belly now too. Hardly any poop as they're absorbing all the nutrients instead of pooping out all the filler (like ash!!) it's not even that hard work just make in bulk but oh my god!!! Never go back. Is this similar to barf? Oh and they have a splash of cod liver oil (I think) once a day some sort of oil anyway.... Xxx they're jack russells just to point out... In case anyone wants to know xx

BARF is a diet of 70% uncooked meaty bones (chicken thighs, breast etc ) and around 30% fruit/veg/organs (heart, liver etc)
All raw! Oh and No grains at all.

Glad your dogs are doing better on a more natural diet

P x

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

Sorry I have no views but I feed my dog royal canin, the one for neutered dogs because since being neutered he has the tendency to put on weight. My vet advised I use royal canin, should I maybe use something else? Reading through this thread he does poo alot!

Lolly, it's a complex issue with lots of choices. I would look into it further. Royal Canin Schnauzer we fed to Toto, I would say he didn't really love it plus I found out by reasearching it that really, it's a large company who cleverly markets there products. They use cheap materials and bulking agents to further there profits.
We decided the more natural the better.

Dogs are more susceptible to weight gain post neutering but with a natural healthy diet and exercise there should be no need for neutered dog food, again I just think clever marketing.

Good Luck with your wee friend

P x

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

We have superdog, royal canine or James well beloved. My westie is riddled with allergies and I fear he may have been from a dog farm (I got him from battersea at 3yrs old). So he has always had bad skin problems, but now he's 11 he's got a no tolerance for nearly all food. One big crumb and were down the vets days later with eye and ear infections, bad stomach and itchy skin. Nightmare! Very common in many westies too. To top it off he's allergic to steroids so treatment is months long rather than a injection or a week Max of pills.
I'm still struggling to find the right food but it has to be completely hypoallergenic and only salmon or lamb. Its costing quite abit!

Bless the wee soul, this must be very difficult for you. Have you tried a Gluten free diet on him? Could he be gluten intolerant? There are a few grain free options out there, perhaps very slowly try BARF, may even save you a few pennies?

P x

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

I have some very informative reports on Dog Foods, Dog Food recalls and also nutritional requirements, recipes etc. If any one is interested, PM me. I cant post on here as I would be breaking copyright, but it is very interesting and also sickening when you know what actually goes in to the dried and canned foods. Chicken or meat byproducts? Yuck.
Pulps, Bone meal, chemicals etc. If fresh and pure might be great but they are almosr NEVER fresh, mostly the green rotting swill in the bottom of the slaughterhouse pits sold off to dog food manufacturers to add "Flavour and protein"

Home cooked is the best or Raw meaty bones, both quite expensive if you have large dogs but it has been proven for dogs to live much much longer and healthier lives.

I urge you to make a change if you can, I know a lot of vets recommend feeds and I am sure they are trying to help but a lot of them also recommend feeds because the reps from the feed companies offer really good incentives for them to to just that. Dont trust anyone but yourself, If you would not be happy feeding your children sub standard food why feed your pets sub standard. They rely on us 100% for their health and well being. We owe them the best we can afford or do for them.

Tanfastic, my eyes have been opened greatly by what I thought were premium brands. It's a bit of a disgrace. Sadly in this day and age deceit seems ever more popular.

O x

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

Our 1 year old Mini-Schnauzer has suffered 2 awful bouts of pancreatitis. She was never given treats/ our food, nor stole food, although the vet obviously didn't believe us.In fact she never had much appetite.

The vet put her on Royal Canin (by the way, they do different types) and then suggested she went onto Chappie. I was surprised but she has thrived on it. I now have a healthy dog, fingers crossed.

Can only speak from our experience. An interesting thread!

Dandelionpoppy I'm pleased your mini is doing much better.

Pancreatitis and schnawzers unfortunately are never to far apart. I do know that some dogs are prone regardless of what they eat (in the genes).

To minimise the chances for Toto, not being able to do BARF, I wanted something, low in fat (8% -11%),and on the lower side of the protein scale (20%-22%). (Ideal for schnauzers).
P x

 

[Debs001]

I am starting to introduce my dogs to the BARF diet today as their skin has flared up again, I will take a before pic and let you know how I get on in about a month with an after pic (my dogs fur is patchy, red, sore rashy belly, constant scratching), tried so many hypoallergenic, non wheat, non maize foods, etc, so I'll keep you posted

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

I am starting to introduce my dogs to the BARF diet today as their skin has flared up again, I will take a before pic and let you know how I get on in about a month with an after pic (my dogs fur is patchy, red, sore rashy belly, constant scratching), tried so many hypoallergenic, non wheat, non maize foods, etc, so I'll keep you posted

Brilliant, can't wait to hear how you get on x

 

[Debs001]

Lol, so far not so good, two of them don't know what to do with raw chicken wings, just sniffing it but not touching it (sods law its the ones with skin problems!) the other one ate it like a dream (after I cut it into three pieces), got minced chicken on the way so hopefully they'll eat that

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

Lol, so far not so good, two of them don't know what to do with raw chicken wings, just sniffing it but not touching it (sods law its the ones with skin problems!) the other one ate it like a dream (after I cut it into three pieces), got minced chicken on the way so hopefully they'll eat that

Oh I think I've heard this before. Some dogs don't know what to do, so.... You start with skinless, boneless thigh say! They should figure it out from there x

 

[tanfastic]

Why not mix half cooked meat in with raw, don't give cooked bones though as they shatter. Hand feed at first as necessary, let them belive that these are spectacular treats. My boys would not touch raw food to start, now they mug me for it. LOL

 

[nicky666]

Hi.


You should try They love it raw chicken. I have had a very poorly fog and she is doing so well on it.


Nicky.

 

[Debs001]

I tried mixing but theyre licking all around the raw chicken! The one is playing with it trying to eat it but he has a little chew then spits it out, the other is ignoring it! I think I'll chop it up a bit finer, big babies 😞 they had a mouse the other day that was caught in a trap and they just licked it, need to show them some wolf movies I think!