What do you feed your dog?

[hooligan]

Guitartists :
Yep, the poops dry out and just blow away in the wind...our yard was never so happy!

s6bee:
I have heard good things about AvoDerm but since they only make the veggie food in small bag, that would never work around here with 6 dogs!

Frosty:
The only pork you shouldn't feed is that of wild pigs...unless it has beed frozen for at least 3wks to kill the parasites.

 

[DuckyBoys]

I have been feeding Nutro for about 10 years now. Mostly because they were one of the first to add glucosamine for joint health in the large breed food.

Just my opinion here on dog nutrition - dogs are carnivores and not omnivores, no dogs would choose to eat plants for nutrition or tast for that matter, they don't have the intestinal tract to absorb most of the nutrients, it is very short.

I did undergraduate research in animal nutrition, specifically large animals so I'm pretty familiar with what it takes to absorb plant based nutrients, in fact I've taken more animal nutrition classes in my undergrad alone than almost any veterinarian out there. Dogs don't specifically need vegetables but it doesn't hurt to offer them. I'd be careful giving a plant based protein like soy for all their needs, even in humans it has its drawbacks. But, just my opinion and people should do what works for them and what they are comfortable with.

 

[tx_dane_mom]

Quote:
Then why do my dogs choose to steal the black berries off my black berry bush...and why does my male dane dig for apple cores out of my trash? One of my good friends also has several fruit trees in her yard and her danes eat all kinds of star fruit, pears, etc, etc.
Kristi

 

[greyfields]

I feed my dogs babies.

 

[thornberryvillage]

Diamond Lamb and Rice.

Bob

 

[Beekissed]

DuckyBoys:Just my opinion here on dog nutrition - dogs are carnivores and not omnivores, no dogs would choose to eat plants for nutrition or tast for that matter, they don't have the intestinal tract to absorb most of the nutrients, it is very short.

I beg to differ....my dogs gorge themselves on apple drops every year from my orchard and get pretty hyper from it all. Poop red for months. They also fight the hens for any vegetable scraps, simply love carrot pulp and apple pulp, will sit and gnaw on and consume broccoli, etc. They are well fed, so I can only assume they eat these things for taste. The pup even dug up my potatoes and ate them, ate any and all tomatoes I gave him and even ate the grapefruit I threw out. The older dog eats apples and carrots, but she is picky about other vegetables, seems to like tomatoes, though. The pup loves fruits and vegetables! Wolves, coyotes and foxes eat berries and apples, dig up certain roots to eat, etc. I don't think they are strictly carnivores at all.​

 

[Guitartists]

I think maybe it's conditioning more than nature...... My dog will gorge himself on chocolate and did just that last xmas when one of the boys left their stockings within his reach, thank goodness he's not allergic to chocolate. Certainly chocolate is not a food dogs need or should even have. I think domestic dog has aquired a taste for certain things that they do not need and sometimes shouldn't even have.

 

[Cara]

Quote:
I agree. My husband's dog ate rat poison once and he certainly didn't need to.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I'm not sure I can count on mine to eat what they should or need for health. We have to date eaten 2 CD cases, umpteen pairs of dirty underwear, their body weight in kitty poop, tree limbs, the PVC pipe drain for the air conditioner, 5000 stuffed toys, a couple of photographs, and enough kitty toys that the cat now only plays with unstuffed stuffed animal carcasses. Nothing is safe in our culinary quest for perfection.

Edited to add: My dogs are idiots. It is completely probable that smart dogs can and will eat a balanced diet.

 

[hooligan]

Quote:
Well yes, my dogs eat babies evey once in a while too...pit bulls you know. They GOTTA do that!

As for the carni-omni thing...you can find info on the net and books to prove BOTH sides of this. No one is entirely right I suppose but remember 99% of dog foods out there are not all meat...so that would make your dog an omnivore.

I also have dogs that will steal veggies from our house rabbits and all love fruit that gets dropped on the floor and if they don't like it...they let you know! We used to have a dog named Petey that would dig in the trash to get jalapeno and okra tops and eat nothing but those out of the ENTIRE trash bag (not fun cleaning up I tell ya). And Sinatra LOVES dehydrated sweet potatoes, so I bought a food dehydrator to make them

You will find some ppl that say if you feed a dog RAW they will turn on you and get aggressive. Anyone on here that has fed it can tell you different but the fact they they believe this will most likely not change.