My girls, Solitare and Black Jack.
Posted on 10/02/2007 6:51:50 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
We've finally had it with itchy dogs. I think it's their food. We've tried several brands though, dogs still itchy. I don't think they have fleas. They're all on Advantage and we don't see any evidence of fleas.
Add to that all the issues with recalled products from China, and we're ready to try making dog food at home.
We'd like recipes that you've used, along with portion advice. We're currently feeding our two 80-90 pound dogs a cup of dry kibble twice daily and our 45 pound beagle a half a cup of dry kibble twice daily.
My initial thoughts were to use ground beef and rice but I'm not sure on the percentages. If that went well and the itching stopped, then we'd start adding ingredients like vegetables, one ingredient at a time.
We'd like to make it up in big batches and freeze portion sized amounts we can take out each day. That seems more doable than making it up daily.
“IMO subjecting a dog to a vegetarian diet would be animal abuse.”
Try having a dog who’s allergic to animal stuff.
Then see what’s abuse.
bookmarked
Use the dental kongs...Smear a tiny bit of peanut butter or some cream cheese...
They will chew for hours..
When I use kibbles...I put a raw egg over it...They have very glossy coats...
My girls, Solitare and Black Jack.
“Bump for later,” is my guess.
Phew! I was afraid what kind of reply it might be to my post!
LOL ...
“big flipping lie”
“buy for less”
“butt-flogging lame”
“beeyootiful FReepin lass/lad”
“be flamin (ya) later”
“beer fights liquor”
Somewhere I’ve read that grains are the largest group of causative agents for a whole list of health problems in dogs’ food. In the “high quality” brands, they emphasize how little grain they contain. Dogs are essentially carnivores; some argue omnivores. I’ve heard of dogs going strictly vegetarian, but I think that’s more for the owner than the dog. They certainly need meat.
When I read your post and what happened to your dog, two thoughts crossed my mind. The stomach contents were too rich for your dog, and/or the contents were tainted with something. Wild animals get all kinds of things dogs’ systems are not used to dealing with. Hope there were no permanent adverse effects.
I always supposed that was because animals hunt when they're hungry & the soft underbelly is the easiest/ fastest part of the animal to get at.
Willys back in town!
My dogs love FROZEN green beans. Good healthy treat.
“Dogs are essentially carnivores; some argue omnivores. I’ve heard of dogs going strictly vegetarian, but I think that’s more for the owner than the dog. They certainly need meat.”
You’re correct they are really carnivores, but they will eat other things.
I don’t HAVE the luxury of giving my dog ANYthing containing “meat” (i.e., any animal product). It’s NOT for my vanity, but to save the dog from extra problems caused by her allergies to animal protein. Not all of us who have dogs on vegetarian are doing it for “selfish” reasons.
I’d certainly rather be able to give Tara rawhide, any old treats on the shelf, or any old dog food or table scraps. It’s alot easier, believe me.
I’m just lucky I have a dog who was seemingly built for allergies - she loves to eat just about anything, and has no problem with her strictly vegetarian diet. Which is required for her health, not for my vanity. I am no vegetarian, that’s for sure!
Interesting. I’ve never heard of a dog being allergic to meat. In the wild, it would have probably never survived. In some HOUSEHOLDS, it probably wouldn’t have survived. How did you identify animal protein as the culprit?
Another thing is that dogs instinctively bury excess food. Entrails decompose very rapidly and won’t last long at all in ‘storage’.
We have a dermatological vet nearby, whom I know about because of my sister’s problems with her last German Shepherd.
He started by assuming food allergy, because it’s cheaper and easier to find than airborne. Started her on vegetarian food for several months, probably along with some antihistamines (to help relieve her and us, finally). She got better, so he tried venison & potatoe. After a month she started itchiness again, so gave up and assumed vegetarian and started concentrating on airborne allergens since she kept itching. She then got the expensive allergy testing. I think some half of the 64 allergens showed positive. So she’s been working with various antihistamines, and the allegedly best of all, “Atopica” (extremely expensive, when you have to use St-Bernard dosage EVERY DAY for a med that’s supposed to scale back to 1 every 3 weeks!), since. Sometimes cortisones to relieve when really bad.
She gets shots and baths by me every week.
You’re right, she wouldn’t survive. The infections would get her.
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