Raw dog food

[chicago]

Anyone feeding their dogs raw food or the biologically appropriate raw foods diet??
Can't help bit think that the kibble, dry foods might have contributed to my dogs early demise from cancer.
Were getting a new pup in the end of feb.
And was considering this!!

Hoping someone here might have first hand experience they can lend any and all info on!!!

Thanks,

Keith

 

[koop]

I have a buddy that does this with his great dane because of skin allergies. Seems like a pain in the ass that I wouldn't do unless it was medically necessary.

I don't know that you can blame cancer on dog food. I just had to put down a dog last month for cancer also. Cancer of the mouth. She was a border collie about 7 yo. She ate the same as our other dog who is about 14 and healthy.

We keep a bowl full of Iams and feed them whatever we're eating for dinner. Having steak, throw another on for the dogs sort of deal.

Sorry about your dog. It sucks.

 

[3jvj]

There's some high quality kibble food out there. Unless you were feeding him absolute garbage (and I doubt you were), I don't think it's likely.
You should post up in the animal section and see what other people are using.
I've heard of the natural food diet being good for animals with wrecked a G.I. (like rescued greyhounds), but I'm not sold on it for the average dog.


I don't think your food choice would have anything to do with the cancer.

 

[fsusteve]

every week my wife boils a chicken and then shreds it and uses the stock to make rice with, we mix it up and put it in seven tupperware containers and serve that warm with one cup of kibble. I've heard different opinions on this but our vet approves of it and the dog is very strong and healthy.

 

[chicago]

every week my wife boils a chicken and then shreds it and uses the stock to make rice with, we mix it up and put it in seven tupperware containers and serve that warm with one cup of kibble. I've heard different opinions on this but our vet approves of it and the dog is very strong and healthy.

How old is your dog?
Why did you opt to feed that way?

Btw, no. We fed gunner eukenuba natural his whole life. Not top notch, but a good, reputable brand for sure.

 

[Sno bored]

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings

Reveiws of dog foods, wet, dry, and raw. When I first got my dog a few years ago I was feeding him a highly advertised dog food, after reading up I switched food.

 

[chicago]

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings

Reveiws of dog foods, wet, dry, and raw. When I first got my dog a few years ago I was feeding him a highly advertised dog food, after reading up I switched food.

That's a great link brother!!
Thanks!

 

[lowenbrau]

Mine have been on Mountain Dog Food since they were pups. (it is just big blocks of ground up turkey, bone and all as well as fruit and veggies, all frozen into a big block) Kodi will be ten years old soon and seems to be thriving on it. Personally I prefer the raw food simply for the ease of cleaning up the back yard. Small dry white turds just like the coyote and wolf crap you see in the back country.

 

[tcb]

I don't do raw due to the hassle of buying/storing/cleaning up/etc.. but I do feed my dogs "biologically appropriate" food. Orajens. It's pricey as hell, but I don't eat corn/wheat products, neither should my animals.

 

[fsusteve]

How old is your dog?
Why did you opt to feed that way?

Btw, no. We fed gunner eukenuba natural his whole life. Not top notch, but a good, reputable brand for sure.

3 year old boxer, we got him at 3months and he had kennel cough and was under weight. Vet suggested the rice/chicken mix with kibble to help him gain weight and he's continued on it, I'm only talking about a cup per day.

 

[3jvj]

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings

Reveiws of dog foods, wet, dry, and raw. When I first got my dog a few years ago I was feeding him a highly advertised dog food, after reading up I switched food.

Thanks for the link. We just bred my gsd last week, and the wife and I have been questioning her food. It was nice to have a chart to verify what we've been using.

 

[chicago]

Thanks for the responses gents.
I swung by our vets yesterday...He knew us and our Gunner since he was a pup. Took care of him his whole life, so he KNOWS how neurotic we are when it comes to our dog...
Asked him his take on the "BARF" diet. He said, he didnt have a problem w/ it, BUT its very time consuming and if NOT done correctly and all nutrients are not balanced then you can be in for a whole world of other issues (GI, bone and connective tissue in particular).
I expressed my concern that maybe it was the food (eukenuba) that could have caused his cancer, he squelched that immediately and basically looked at me as if I had a THIRD EYE or something. Basically, he just kinda chalked it up to "s*** happens".
What he DID recommend is getting on a high quality dog food and sticking w/ it. As mentioned above....no wal mart food, but some good dry kibble (iams, science diet etc.)
We had to put gunner down at 7, which IMO is way TOO YOUNG. Granted he was a bull mastiff and they only have a life expectancy of 8-12 years anyway, but he was doing GREAT and I cant help but feel we got gyped!!!
I may be a little more amped up because of that reason, cuz I wanna do what ever I can to prevent that if I CAN. His loss just KILLED ME!

SO thanks for entertaining my OCD on this. We get our new boy "wrigley" in the End of Feb. CAN NOT WAIT!! Gotta get back in puppy training mode again. Its been a while! He's gonna be a BIG BOY. Dad is 135 lbs, LEAN and mom weighed in at 140 prior to c section. Looking at the pics, the lil guy were strongly considering is a MOOSE!

He's gonna be my Co pilot in the 40!

 

[patride71]

We feed our dogs a raw diet.
It does take some research and it is a lot of work. I have an extra freezer full of their raw meat. I usually have to spend about 2 hours doing prep on it every month.
They love it, their coats are great, weight is great and poop is not a bunch of mush.
We do feed them kibble for one meal as well.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Raw food is great, we found you have to cycle it, frozen, then some thawing for next day, and some thawed for today. We had a separate beer fridge for dog food. Completely healthy for your dogs, and they stay naturally nice and lean. Lowenbrau is right, lot less crap to pick up too!
Brand name dog foods are not the best out there, read the ingrediants and make your own decisions.
IMO the biggest brands are not the highest quality. Cancer doesnt' care what you eat, people or dogs, really sorry about yours. Been there before, scary and sad.

 

[patride71]

Raw food is great, we found you have to cycle it, frozen, then some thawing for next day, and some thawed for today. We had a separate beer fridge for dog food.

Sounds like my house! Our beer fridge is in the garage.
The freezer is packed with raw meat and there is a "thawing" shelf in the fridge.
We cycle between chicken frames, turkey necks and pork necks. They have a "muscle meat" with one of those each night, which consists either chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, cow heart, sardines, or ground beef. They also get a spoonful of tripe with dinner. Its a disgusting little dinner, but they love it.

 

[chicago]

We've actually decided to go w/ the Costco brand, after doing some research.
Consistently get 4 out of 5 star ratings from the dog food guides and there is no corn or crap like that in it.

We get our boy Thursday!!!!!

 

[Traveling62]

Have been feeding our dogs a raw diet since they were pups. Our Wiemeraner will be 14 this Spring and our lab is 12 years old and both act half their age. I'm a firm believer in a biologically appropriate diet and as mentioned, yard clean up is a breeze!

My sister in law is a professor at Penn State veterinary school she says most vets are pretty clueless about true proper nutrition and often rely on information provided by food manufacturers. An important point to remember is 'kibble' is highly processed food. A dog that eats a diet of up to 80% kibble has an increased risk of chronic diseases. Processed food has been linked to heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer in humans. Processed foods are fortified with vitamins and minerals to replace that which is lost during manufacturing. The replacements are typically synthetic vitamins with radically reduced absorption. Some dogs live long and healthy lives on kibble, but many don't. Some smokers die after twenty years of smoking and some smoke well into their 80's without issue. Smoking causes cancer; your dice.

I love my dogs and take my responsibility seriously. Until someone can prove to me that a manufactured food pellet made up of an amalgamation of dozens of ingredients compressed into a little brown nugget is better than real, single ingredient foods, I'm stickin' with what I'm doing.

Rant over.....