[HairOfTheDog]

Thoughts on home-made dog food? I know this came up during the China recalls, and many of you have experiences to share.

[r9etb]

Thoughts on home-made dog food?

If you've got pit bulls, I'm sure your neighbors will do nicely.... ;-)

[BunnySlippers]

Ground beef sauteed in a pan.

Add garlic, diced onion, veggies [like carrots, peas, etc] and cooked rice [preferably brown rice].

[davidlachnicht]

At least if you make it yourself, you don’t have to worry that is was Made In China!

[gardengirl]

Don’t know about homemade dog food. Three rat/chi’s and one big yard mutt. The first three have been on Purina-now Red Flannel-since they were weaned-10,9, and 7. No problem with skin or coat/weight. Yard dog is @ a year old-beautiful.

There is something around here-the vets call it Carteret county crud. I have no idea what it is, but it causes severe itching and chewing. Often changing the dogfood to Purina helps, add some cod liver oil and vit e.

The dogs have a bad smell, like mange. Prednesone doesn’t help-benadryl will help with the itching but it won’t do anything about root cause. The dogs that get it seem to be the ones that spend a lot of time running ditches or in the water. I wonder if some of them are allergic to nutrias? I know nutrias can cause skin problems in humans-just a thought.

Doesn’t seem to be contagious, as I know people with multiple dogs. One out of five might have it. Changing the diet does something. Maybe something lacking in some of the dogfoods?

[Humal]

I have been feeding our two (now three) fox terriers raw food for years. It is the healthiest way to feed IMO. I was convinced of this, long before the China recalls, when a friend’s 12 year old fox terrier was having so many skin, allergy, digestive, and other problems. He was on his last legs. His diet was changed to raw, and places on his body that hadn’t grown hair in years started growing hair. His allergy & digestive problems were solved, and his over-all health improved greatly. He lived to be a few days over 16 years old.

Basically, what I do is feed 2/3 ground meat to 1/3 fruits and vegetables. To make the vegetables more easily digested for our 12 1/2 year old, I steam some of the vegetables (broccoli for instance). The rest I just grind, mix, and freeze in ice cube trays.

Some of my favorite sites for raw or BARF feeding are

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs

http://www.diamondpaws.com/health/barfadult

There are also already prepared raw foods.
http://www.bravorawdiet.com/products.html

http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=Raw-Food-Dogs

http://www.omaspride.com/index.htm

http://www.pawsforhealth.net/

http://www.stevesrealfood.com/

These lists are by no means all that there are. Do a search for BARF feeding for canines.

[ulm1]

Feeding Suggestions-Dry kibble
Dog Weight Puppy Adult Senior
3-10 lbs. 1/2 - 1cup 1/4 - 1/2cup 3/4 - 1 1/4 cups
10-20 lbs. 1 - 2 1/2cups 1/2 - 1 1/4 cups 1 1/4 - 2
20-50 lbs. 2 1/2 - 6 1/2c 1 1/4 - 3 1/4 c 2 - 3 1/4c
50-100 lbs.6 1/2 - 12 c 3 1/4 - 6 3 1/4 - 6c

[CJinVA]

We feed our Lab boneless skinless chicken breasts. I grill them outside once a week and store them in a plastic zipper bag. Cut them up into 1/2 inch chunks. We also feed her the thin sliced turkey breasts lunch meat.

[Eagle Eye]

I’d give you my first wife’s entire cook book but that would be inhumane for your dogs.

Sorry.

[KeyLargo]

[bert]

.....“Thoughts on home-made dog food?”......

Ive found the most difficult part is skinning the cat.

[4yearlurker]

Last week our little Willy (11 year old poodle mutt) was walking like he was drunk after having Mighty Dog Pork dog food in a can. For two days he would not stand and was breathing hard. We took him to the vet on the third day and he said his kidneys were shutting down and do not give him that dog food. He recommended Purina Senior dry dog food with boiled pasta. He told us that Willy needs protein. I threw all the left over dog food away and have been giving Willy vitamins and herbal pills from the vet on a diet of boiled chicken,ground beef,rice and pasta. He is now like a pup again. He is currently doing figure eights in the living room and barking so loud it hurts your ears!

Willys back in town!