What do you feed your dog?

[Chickending]

I have a really high energy dog and I have to feed him two smaller meals twice a day, once in the am and then in the evening. He works best with that. I combine dry food, Purina One Lamb and rice formula and then canned dog food, Pedigree. He will eat 1/2 can of dog food at each meal and 1 cup of dry mixed in with his 1/2 a can at each meal. He is really hard to keep weight on as he has the metabolism of a gazelle. So this way seems to keep him the healthiest with just enough weight on. I watch it though if he seems to strart to drop weight I will increase or decrease accordingly.

 

[homecatmom]

I have a small dog (about 9#) She gets Nutro mini chunks twice a day. She gets NO TABLE FOOD!! My husband say dog food is for dogs and table food is for people.

 

[Aun <HIS><]

I have an English Setter and a Black Lab. I feed each of them about 3# of raw meat every day, and a cup of a mix of raw fruits, rice, vegetables and garlic, and a few tablespoons of plain yogurt.

I used to feed them dry kibble, one of the expensive brands. No matter what I did, my Setter didn't gain enough weight and the Lab gained too much weight. When I free fed, the Lab gained, when I control fed, the Setter didn't gain enough. The Setter developed a skin problem that didn't respond to any treatment. As I researched skin conditions, I stumbled on information about commercial dogfood that made me sick to my stomach... ie. dogfoods contain rancid oils, diseased animals, and euthenized cats and dogs with the collars not even removed.

When I started feeding raw meat, and rice/veg/fruit, everything turned around! Their coats are shiny and beautiful, the skin is perfect, the weight is perfect, the teeth are shiny white, a complete transformation.

It is expensive. And our money is really tight. But I just can't make myself feed them commercial again. I just think since I took on a commitment and responsibility for them, I have no choice but to do right for them. Kinda like having kids. Kids are expensive, feeding them healthy foods is expensive, but that's what I signed on for when I decided to have them.

To tell you the truth, I wish I didn't know any better. Feeding kibble was so much cheaper. But seeing the difference in their health makes me feel like a better mom, and they are happier and so much more fit.

 

[Standard Hen]

I feed a brand named Merrick which is out of Texas. I ffed the dry with a little water mixed in as it makes gravy.
Looks good enough to put in a bowl, add milk and eat myself. I have two small dogs now so what it cost is not bad. They eat twice a day.

 

[texasgirl]

Mostly a Raw Meaty Bones diet but sometimes she gets Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

my older dog gets pedigree dry mixed with either canned pedigree or canned Iams, usually about 1/3 of a can and hes free feeds the dry...I say free feed.. its there if he wants it but he dont eat it without canned food in it.. we have a new puppy and he gets Iams dry only until hes housebroke.. but recently we have caught them trading out food bowls.. We have decided since the older dog likes the Iams dry with nothing on it thats what he will get next time.. I used to feed Nutro but where I live I would have to drive over an hour to get to a store that carries it... I liked Nutro best, I could seel an amazing difference their coat.. what I read is if you want to know how much actual meat is in your dog food read how far down on the ingredients list the meat comes.. then you will know.. like if chicken is the 7th item down you know theres not alot in there..

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

My dog gets dry iams with one dog bone on top twice a day. He doesn't always eat it all depending on what the weather is like. When he gets bored of the food, my mom will buy that dog dressing stuff that looks like gravy. When she pours that on, he licks it right up! Iams is by far the best pet food we have ever fed any of our animals. We have even found it to be better than the expensive science diet.

 

[nccatnip]

Aun <HIS>< :

I have an English Setter and a Black Lab. I feed each of them about 3# of raw meat every day, and a cup of a mix of raw fruits, rice, vegetables and garlic, and a few tablespoons of plain yogurt.

I used to feed them dry kibble, one of the expensive brands. No matter what I did, my Setter didn't gain enough weight and the Lab gained too much weight. When I free fed, the Lab gained, when I control fed, the Setter didn't gain enough. The Setter developed a skin problem that didn't respond to any treatment. As I researched skin conditions, I stumbled on information about commercial dogfood that made me sick to my stomach... ie. dogfoods contain rancid oils, diseased animals, and euthenized cats and dogs with the collars not even removed.

When I started feeding raw meat, and rice/veg/fruit, everything turned around! Their coats are shiny and beautiful, the skin is perfect, the weight is perfect, the teeth are shiny white, a complete transformation.

It is expensive. And our money is really tight. But I just can't make myself feed them commercial again. I just think since I took on a commitment and responsibility for them, I have no choice but to do right for them. Kinda like having kids. Kids are expensive, feeding them healthy foods is expensive, but that's what I signed on for when I decided to have them.

To tell you the truth, I wish I didn't know any better. Feeding kibble was so much cheaper. But seeing the difference in their health makes me feel like a better mom, and they are happier and so much more fit.

I agree with you that this diet has made a world of difference in my dogs, especially their teeth. The only difference I have from you is I have found it is much cheaper for me than dry. My friend and I found a chicken processing plant that sells us 80lbs of either backs or necks for $16. If we go on Friday's they will usually give us any extra as they do not freeze anything. One day they gave us 160lbs of thighs and drumsticks free. I just load up on ziplock bags, pack a meals worth and freeze. I also have a raw food company that frequents the dog shows and I get tripe, ground beef and chicken for about $1 a pound, ground rabbit is pretty pricy but the kids love it. Now I am waiting for hunting season as my hunting friends will give me venison.
Oh yeah..............they get lots of banty eggs and homemade yougurt along with veggies​

 

[texasgirl]

I'm a HUGE proponent of raw diets but I disagree with carnivores being fed vegetables and fruits. And there is no reason for it to be expensive. I feed beef, pork, chicken, turkey, emu, deer, rabbit and anything else I can get my hands on and I never spend more than $1/lb on anything...thats much less than most "high quality" kibbles.

 

[Betsy]

I feed my dog Canidae dog food along with table scraps. His health has really improved since he started eating the Canidae. Someday I'd love to feed my pets a raw diet, but until I can find an affordable way to do it, Canidae and table scraps will have to do!