how do you stretch dog kibble

[McCord6]

usually there is not enough left overs from dinner for another meal so i give it to the dogs mixed with their dry food. the neighbor also gives us scrap cow organs that neither of us eat for the dogs. also get unwanted deer parts from BIL. 1 big bag of dry feed last 2 month for my 2 dogs because of the deer and cow meat. i prefer pedigree but we changed it to a cheap brand due to really rough fiances but as soon as we r back on track, they r back on pedigree. i dont mind beneful or dog chow either. never will I go for science diet again.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I beg to differ...dogs are omnivores, as are most canines. Foxes eat berries, grasses, roots, corn, seeds, nuts, etc. As do wolves and coyotes. My dogs will eat their weight in apples, veggie scraps and dearly LOVE carrot pulp. They will gnaw corn right off the stalk and love sneaking in the hen house to lick laying mash out of the feeder.

Of course, if given a choice, dogs will choose meat first....but a variety in their diet is the best nutrition for canines. It's more natural and would be what they would be eating in the wild.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Messing with properly formulated diets can upset the ratio of very important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that effect the hormones and other chemical reactions needed for a healthy animal. Its the same if you give a chicken too much salt or the wrong vitamin D--they can become less able to tolerate stresses, have kidney failure, have thin shelled eggs, and so forth. Disease is literally dis--ease meaning the body is not at ease. Feeding poor quality proteins in lesser bio available foods can and will effect overall health for the worst. An example is excessive gas (as one poster mentioned) can be caused by intolerances (allergies) of specific foods. Its great they found a diet that the dog tolerates (no gas

!) but now a much better diet missing the offending food should be found of higher quality (bio available) or another dis-ease will eventually occur in that pet.

To "stretch" kibble it usually is best to at least keep a good ratio of protein and add some fibrous vegetables (preferably not too many carbs or at least use nutricious veggies/fruit or whole grains). Pumpkin was mentioned and that is good one, sweet potatoes, eggs, cranberries, peas, (some carbs), grated carrots, small amounts of whole grains. Keep the protein level the same as the the package (40% of entire meal, etc.)

Hopefully this economy will improve enough for all of us to see the upswing and ease our budgets.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
I have had this discussion with my vet,most only know what they have been taught,and that is not always correct..even premium dog food has actually very little meat in it,,may have meat by-products or meat meal,which is the parts people wont eat..and I am not saying give meat only,,there needs to be a ratio of 80% meat,10% edible bones and 10% organs,,doesnt need to be every day can be done over the month or a couple months..carnivores are designed by nature to eat lots of protien,I dont think wolves would still be around if it hurt their kidneys.in the meat is natural fat, and I think meat in general is only around 17% protien,give or take for whatever animal it is,actually a lot less then the high protien kibbles.

By products are typically not good quality protein and unfortunately in many commercial diets (organ meats are OK). They can also vary lot to lot in commercial diets. High quality (very bio available) proteins and good fats are indeed what a dog needs. Commercial diets such as EVO and other non grain diets are now highly recommended over the glutens, corn, by products in lesser quality diets. My dog are in exceptional condition--muscle tone, mental acuity, athletic and have gorgeous costs and eat EVO and mostly non grain treats.

 

[Kansaseq]

I feed primarily Iams or Purina One, but will 'stretch' it with Pedigree or Diamond if I'm particularly broke. I prefer not to do it, but sometimes it's necessary.

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Last year I slaughtered over several hundred ducks, and expect to increase production next year. Many of my customers, along with myself for personal consumption, are requesting that they only want to have the breast, legs and thighs. The remaining carcass that is left I chop up with a cleaver and feed it to my dog. Lately I've been running the chopped pieces through a meat grinder and feeding it to my dog raw. It is sometimes mixed with Diamond Naturals kibble.

This really lowered the cost of my food bill for my six month old Great Pyrenees puppy. Furthermore, she needs the extra calories because the winters are harsh here in the Michigan UP. She is a Livestock Guardian Dog, and lives 24/7 outside with my ducks.

Maybe I'll start selling the ground up carcasses too.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
If it was Science Diet you compared Pedigree to I should let you know that is not a particularly good food. Both rate fairly low in independent studies by laboratories (http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/). Mostly non grain diets without controversial preservatives such as EVO, Artemis, Blue Wilderness, Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Wellness Core, Horizon Legacy, and Petecurian Go Natural Grain Free Endurance are rated at the very top (if that's what you wish to feed your dogs). Other diets (including Pedigree) have the percentage of at least the protein, fat, fiber and moisture on the package but they do not tell you how bio available these ingredients are or sometimes even which ingredient adds what vitamin (cheap and poorly utilized?) or what really is the non specifically named "animal fat." Corn can be considered in the protein percentage but it is just not as useful for a dog's system. It is sad they fool the public into thinking it is great food when indeed it is only rated by AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient that it can allow your dog to be able to function in all life stages --it does not guarantee the quality of that life stage. Pretty sneaky of them isn't it?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

The first ingredient in Pedigree is corn.

Our two get Purina One, and our foster dog gets Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.

 

[Melissakins]

I'm copying this from a lady on the dog board I help mod - great info on dog food.

I tend to get lots of questions about dogfoods, so I thought I’d post some basics for reading and understanding ingredients lists. There is good information out there on this topic, but there are a few tips that everyone should know that are easy to follow.

Some companies are more forthright than others in listing their ingredients, so knowing some of the basics will help you get through the list without being bamboozled or confused.

Generally, you want to read through the ingredients carefully until you get to the first fat/oil listed. Ingredients listed before this make up the bulk of the food, and those listed after are included in much smaller amounts for flavoring, preservative value, to provide trace minerals, etc. There are some key things to look for among those top ingredients.

First, dogs are carnivores, so the meat is by far the most important ingredient in your dog’s food. You want to see specific animals rather than generic terms listed as the sources of protein (chicken/lamb/bison not animal/meat /poultry). ‘Meal’ form is preferred, because it means it is weighed after the moisture has already been removed. You want to avoid foods with ‘byproduct’ listed in the ingredients, because this pretty much means anything left after all the stuff that is fit for human consumption has been removed.

Let me clarify . . .
chicken meal = excellent
chicken = good
poultry = bad, because it is unidentifiable
chicken byproduct = crap
poultry byproduct = unidentifiable crap
poultry byproduct meal = unidentifiable crap in concentrated form

Second, if your food contains grain (most does), you want to check for both the type and form of the grain. Rice is generally the most digestible grain. Oats and barley are also OK. Corn is the least digestible. Other than corn, wheat is the grain most likely to cause problems because many dogs are allergic. So, generally rice is best, but not all rice is the same. Like your mother told you, brown rice is healthier than white rice. ‘Ground’ or ‘meal’ form is fine, but stay away from other forms of processing because any nutritional value is lost. A common ingredient is ‘brewer’s rice’ which simply means ‘the crap left over from the brewery after we’ve gotten anything worthwhile out of that rice.’ Stay away from that.

Third, anything that sounds mysterious on your list of ingredients is probably something the manufacturer doesn’t want you to know about. For example, stay away from foods with ‘animal fat’ or ‘animal digest’ these are unidentifiable ingredients and often contain rendered animals, which can be diseased animals, animals that died before slaughter, roadkill, and euthanized pets from animal shelters. Eeeeewww!

Finally, anything that sounds like it isn’t good for your dog probably isn’t good for your dog. Stay away from ‘lard’ or sweeteners (often used for flavoring). Stay away from foods with lots of grains listed among the first ingredients or several variations of the same grain listed early in the list (for example, ground rice, brewer’s rice, and rice flour’ . . . can you say "filler’’). Also stay away from menadione (a vitamin supplement that may cause health problems).

I hope this helps. For a far more thorough and authoritative explanation, I suggest you visit http://dogfoodproject.com/ This post is really intended for those who don’t have the time or inclination to sift through all the content on that site. It is definitely worth a read if you do have the time.

 

[Melissakins]

I have another Newfoundland now - got him two weeks ago, almost three weeks ago. Couple weeks before that, had one in to the vet with an upset tummy. Discovered through trial and error after shots and pills for colitis that he was allergic to (drum roll please)














Chicken.

So, we went from EVO which they didn't need to eat a lot of as it's grain free (all the nutrients are absorbed) to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream which all four dogs are eating and are doing wonderfully on. Again, grain free so less food to feed, smaller/less amount of poops.