I give both my labs a glucosamine chondroitin supp
[quote]TC wrote:
supabeast wrote:
Most dogs will get all they need from a holistic dog food like Solid Gold, Canidae, or Wellness. From there you can still add extra supplements for joint and skin problems.
That could be true, but those foods tend to have a lot of grain in them (presumably as filler), and it’s just not something they need.
Of course, not a lot of people are willing to make their own dog food like me, so the foods you mentioned are unquestionably the next best thing.
[/quote]
You can get super-premium brands that are grain-free, which is why we feed Evo; it’s marketed as a “lightly cooked alternative to a raw diet.”
Raw diets are the best, though, no question. When I worked at a vet’s, the dogs we saw who were on raw diets were far and away healthier in every aspect. Brighter eyes, thick shiny coats, calm energy, longer lives, less incidence of disease.
I’d like to start my 1.5yr old beagle on a RAW diet. I think he’d love that.
After reading you guys talk about the RAW diet, and then researching on the internet, I think I need to make some slow little changes to my dogs’ diets.
Thanks for the info
I can’t say with regard to dogs, having no experience there, but with my cats the difference and benefit from changing to a raw diet (raw meat, raw liver, and the Feline Future supplement product) was extremely obvious.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
I can’t say with regard to dogs, having no experience there, but with my cats the difference and benefit from changing to a raw diet (raw meat, raw liver, and the Feline Future supplement product) was extremely obvious.[/quote]
I just tried giving some tuna to my cat and it looked at me like I was crazy. But then he had just been gnawing on a bird out in the garden so maybe he wasn’t hungry
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
After reading you guys talk about the RAW diet, and then researching on the internet, I think I need to make some slow little changes to my dogs’ diets.
Thanks for the info
[/quote]
It’s really worth it. However–I don’t know how your vet views raw, but I know that the veterinarian I worked with privately supported raw diets but would not endorse or push owners toward a raw diet simply because of the associated risks. But I have never seen a case of a dog being affected by salmonella or anything else… for one thing I assume because the bacteria in a dog’s mouth and digestive tract is strong enough to handle much more than humans.
You can also cook the food, a home prepared and cooked diet is still hands down better than a commercial diet as long as the dog is getting all the nutrients they need.
When I first began researching feeding a raw diet, because Titus was vomiting all the time, I was most surprised to find out how different the macronutrient needs were for different breeds. I ultimately went with EVO Red Meat because it seemed like it matched his dietary needs, as mastiffs were bred to live on nearly a 100% red meat diet. While, say, lab owners reported sickness on such a high-pro diet, and chihuahuas were bred initially to live on a high-vegetable diet. I’d say this is a factor that is overlooked a lot when looking for the correct diet for individual dogs. It took him several months but he is in great health now with no food reactions.
I could ramble about this for quite a while, obviously. Missing Link, the supplement TC mentioned earlier, would probably be a good addition to any home-prepared diet as well.
sluicy- any input on dog food for a dane that is 6 yrs old, besides raw?
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
sluicy- any input on dog food for a dane that is 6 yrs old, besides raw?[/quote]
From what I have read (really not much) a diet of about 25% protein and 12% fat is best. No corn, or other fillers which produce gas as they are digested, since Danes are so prone to bloat. So you could make sure what you are feeding has about those macros, no corn.
Danes are pretty sensitive. I remember coming home one day and my aunt’s harlequin Dane Elvis had FLOODED the kitchen with orange vomit, there must have been gallons of it! I think he had gotten into the horses’ carrots.
I’d contact Dane breeders and mixed/homeopathic vets (most mainstream vets have not been educated in nutrition unless they chose to do so for themselves) and just spend a lot of time Googling, then try and find a food which fits their needed profile. That’s really what I had to do for Titus. Like I said researching the purpose and history of the breed is helpful.
My husband especially loves Danes and when we are ready for another dog I hope to surprise him with one. Great dogs, so elegant and comical at the same time.
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
Bill Roberts wrote:
I can’t say with regard to dogs, having no experience there, but with my cats the difference and benefit from changing to a raw diet (raw meat, raw liver, and the Feline Future supplement product) was extremely obvious.
I just tried giving some tuna to my cat and it looked at me like I was crazy. But then he had just been gnawing on a bird out in the garden so maybe he wasn’t hungry[/quote]
I’m not sure if you were meaning tuna as being related to a raw food diet for cats.
It’s entirely different, and of course the popular connection of “cats and tuna” has nothing to do with nature, as the Felis species in general (with I think one exception) do not, in nature, eat fish.
The type of diets I am referring to are raw meats plus raw liver in a given proportion, and then with a supplement to replace the missing intake from the skeletons of mice and the skin not being consumed. It also contains added taurine, perhaps other things, and some salmon oil. But basically it is designed to replicate the eating of whole mice.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
OctoberGirl wrote:
Bill Roberts wrote:
I can’t say with regard to dogs, having no experience there, but with my cats the difference and benefit from changing to a raw diet (raw meat, raw liver, and the Feline Future supplement product) was extremely obvious.
I just tried giving some tuna to my cat and it looked at me like I was crazy. But then he had just been gnawing on a bird out in the garden so maybe he wasn’t hungry
I’m not sure if you were meaning tuna as being related to a raw food diet for cats.
It’s entirely different, and of course the popular connection of “cats and tuna” has nothing to do with nature, as the Felis species in general (with I think one exception) does not, in nature, eat fish.
The type of diets I am referring to are raw meats plus raw liver in a given proportion, and then with a supplement to replace the missing intake from the skeletons of mice and the skin not being consumed. It also contains added taurine, perhaps other things, and some salmon oil. But basically it is designed to replicate the eating of whole mice.[/quote]
oh no!!! I had opened a can of tuna for my cat thinking it would be raw. Well the cat was smarter than me.
Right now, my monster just gets fish oil. I feed her Innova’s Evo dog food (red meat formula).
[quote]TC wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:
TC- how do you give them Superfood? I would just put it in the water, but don’t want to waste it.
mixing it with yogurt would help I guess, but any other ideas?
I make a gravy with a little water and add it to their food. They seem to like it very much.[/quote]
If I could ever part with some of my Superfood, I may have to try this. She loves chomping down on fish oil caps.