Feeding Dogs!

[Canadian Wind]

I need to interject that a lot of raw diets are based on wolves' dietary needs. Feeding strictly animal products is not necessary with domestic dogs. Over millennia of living with and being genetically manipulated by humans, including what they eat, they have developed the ability to digest carbs and it is now genetically a part of them.

That being said, kibble is definitely not a good source of nutrition. It is highly processed (even the high quality ones) and you don't want to know what goes into the low and mid level ones.

In case you were curious:

Spoiler: Yucky info

Inedible (to humans) scraps from animal processing plants; deceased (and often diseased) zoo animals; euthanized pets (!!!); among other things, and lets not forget that a lot of proteins come from shady operations overseas and are adulterated with inorganic materials like plastics.

Even lower quality canned foods can contain these. Don't be afraid to give your canine companion high quality carbs so long as it's not the bulk of their diet.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/raw-feeding-for-dogs-using-barf.79493/

Here is an article I wrote on raw feeding for those interested

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks for this.

I've never tried a raw diet because I can't really afford it. My dog does get some raw eggs, chicken feet, and meat scraps when I have them though.

I wanted to share something interesting though. Pretty much the only kibble my dog can tolerate is Purina Dog Chow or the Tractor Supply knockoff of it (Retriever). He has also done alright on Diamond and Sportmix, but he does best on Dog Chow. I know this isn't considered a high quality food, but anything else I give him gives him horrible gas or diarrhea. If I buy anything with more protein and less carbs, his stomach acts up. And yes, I do change food gradually and let him have time to adjust.

So, how could this be? Why does my dog do better with high carb feed when dogs are meant to eat higher protein?

In case you ask: My dog is a 6-8 year old pit mix (we think boxer and St. Bernard) with an unknown background. The shelter just told us he seemed to have been a street dog for a long time before they found him.

Dog Chow had been great for my pack too. After spending years with a dog with chronic gastroenteritis I found she could eat Dog Chow without problems. It's one of the only foods where a lifetime study was done on dogs eating it.

I've fed all kinds of foods, and mine do best on Dog Chow. Dogs evolved as scavengers. Humans would not have given dogs meat, and if they did on occasion the meat would not have a high fat content. Dogs ate scraps and waste until Dog food was manufactured. That's why dogs love chicken poop so much.

I say don't knock Dog Chow until you try it. My dogs are thriving on it and no longer have any digestive upset. My oldest dog is a12 year old boxer. I'm a convert now.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Dog Chow had been great for my pack too. After spending years with a dog with chronic gastroenteritis I found she could eat Dog Chow without problems. It's one of the only foods where a lifetime study was done on dogs eating it.

I've fed all kinds of foods, and mine do best on Dog Chow. Dogs evolved as scavengers. Humans would not have given dogs meat, and if they did on occasion the meat would not have a high fat content. Dogs ate scraps and waste until Dog food was manufactured. That's why dogs love chicken poop so much.

I say don't knock Dog Chow until you try it. My dogs are thriving on it and no longer have any digestive upset. My oldest dog is a12 year old boxer. I'm a convert now.

EXACTLY!!!! They’re not designed to eat all this extremely high protein, high fat crud so many eat nowadays. It’s why so many end up with pancreatitis and other issues. I used to feed every boutique food in the book pretty much with both my last dog and Brew and snubbed the big 5 and especially Purina. Now I LOVE Purina. Brew has always done best on it as well as liked it the best. He never really ate the boutique foods with enthusiasm and I was constantly switching his food. No matter what brand, he would eat it at first then snub it. With Purina, he eats consistently and reliably every day now and he looks great too. We’ve fed both Purina One and Dog Chow as well as Puppy Chow. No difference between One and Chow for us. He looks and acts the same. We love both foods. I even fed my cat and chickens Purina.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

EXACTLY!!!! They’re not designed to eat all this extremely high protein, high fat crud so many eat nowadays. It’s why so many end up with pancreatitis and other issues. I used to feed every boutique food in the book pretty much with both my last dog and Brew and snubbed the big 5 and especially Purina. Now I LOVE Purina. Brew has always done best on it as well as liked it the best. He never really ate the boutique foods with enthusiasm and I was constantly switching his food. No matter what brand, he would eat it at first then snub it. With Purina, he eats consistently and reliably every day now and he looks great too. We’ve fed both Purina One and Dog Chow as well as Puppy Chow. No difference between One and Chow for us. He looks and acts the same. We love both foods. I even fed my cat and chickens Purina.

We all need to find what works best for our dogs, and for us. I respect others decisions about what they wish to feed. There are lots of options out there. Fed is best.

Dog Food marketing had done a good job of confusing people, and making them feel guilty for whatever choice they make. If there was one perfect diet than there would be one perfect food.

 

[ShrekDawg]

We all need to find what works best for our dogs, and for us. I respect others decisions about what they wish to feed. There are lots of options out there. Fed is best.

Dog Food marketing had done a good job of confusing people, and making them feel guilty for whatever choice they make. If there was one perfect diet than there would be one perfect food.

Hmmm good point.

 

[Squawkers]

We all need to find what works best for our dogs, and for us. I respect others decisions about what they wish to feed. There are lots of options out there. Fed is best.

Dog Food marketing had done a good job of confusing people, and making them feel guilty for whatever choice they make. If there was one perfect diet than there would be one perfect food.

Yes! Everyone’s situation is different. My sister feeds one of her dogs raw and the other kibble, because that is what is best for her dogs.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I need to interject that a lot of raw diets are based on wolves' dietary needs. Feeding strictly animal products is not necessary with domestic dogs. Over millennia of living with and being genetically manipulated by humans, including what they eat, they have developed the ability to digest carbs and it is now genetically a part of them.

That being said, kibble is definitely not a good source of nutrition. It is highly processed (even the high quality ones) and you don't want to know what goes into the low and mid level ones.

In case you were curious:

Spoiler: Yucky info

Inedible (to humans) scraps from animal processing plants; deceased (and often diseased) zoo animals; euthanized pets (!!!); among other things, and lets not forget that a lot of proteins come from shady operations overseas and are adulterated with inorganic materials like plastics.

Even lower quality canned foods can contain these. Don't be afraid to give your canine companion high quality carbs so long as it's not the bulk of their diet.

Those "yucky" ingredients don't bother me (except plastics, but those are in a lot of human grade foods too and are hard to avoid). Eating the whole animal ("inedible to humans" parts) is natural for pretty much all animals. If my dog killed an animal he wanted to eat, he wouldn't sit there and pick it apart and only eat the muscle meat. There is a lot of nutrition in eating other parts of the body that might seem gross to humans.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Dog Chow had been great for my pack too. After spending years with a dog with chronic gastroenteritis I found she could eat Dog Chow without problems. It's one of the only foods where a lifetime study was done on dogs eating it.

I've fed all kinds of foods, and mine do best on Dog Chow. Dogs evolved as scavengers. Humans would not have given dogs meat, and if they did on occasion the meat would not have a high fat content. Dogs ate scraps and waste until Dog food was manufactured. That's why dogs love chicken poop so much.

I say don't knock Dog Chow until you try it. My dogs are thriving on it and no longer have any digestive upset. My oldest dog is a12 year old boxer. I'm a convert now.

Yeah, I'm the same. Years ago I got guilted into buying grain free and all these "premium" foods, but they didn't work for my dog. Dog Chow works for my dog.

People seem to want to make dogs eat as if they were wolves, but they are domesticated and I think have changed a lot. Their dietary needs may differ now.

 

[Squawkers]

Those "yucky" ingredients don't bother me (except plastics, but those are in a lot of human grade foods too and are hard to avoid). Eating the whole animal ("inedible to humans" parts) is natural for pretty much all animals. If my dog killed an animal he wanted to eat, he wouldn't sit there and pick it apart and only eat the muscle meat. There is a lot of nutrition in eating other parts of the body that might seem gross to humans.

The though of eating euthanized pets does not bother you? You know what that means right? They have been killed with a drug. A drug that is most definitely still in their body. A drug that is kept under lock and key at a vet clinic because of how dangerous it is.