We are currently feeding our 7 month old lab IAMS puppy for large breed, and it's working out fine. But, I know some of you cook food instead of buying food. What do you feed your dogs?
we feed eagle pack dog food. We have for over a year now and our dogs love it! http://www.eaglepack.com/
Dog food review website, gives Iams large breed puppy a 1 (out of possible 6) star review -- http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php/product/1770/sort/2/cat/all/page/2
Some interesting reading for those who feed their dogs commercial pet food and what those ingredients - the ones we humans don't see in the ingredients in "people food" are, and where they come from. Keep in mind that until the mid 1930's "dog food" wasn't freely available to the masses. Real food, is NOT "People Food" - it's just simply FOOD - that's why they didn't name stores things like 'Lowe's People Foods' or 'People Food Lion' :lol: Also, keep in mind that DVM's, just like MD's spend very little of their studies on animal nutrition, unless they decide to specialize in it. Proof of this is in spite of their owners buying the so called 'light' or 'reduced calorie' dog foods, there are just as many overweight dogs walking around who eat nothing but dog food, as there are overweight humans who eat 'light' labeled foods. http://www.preciouspets.org/truth.htm http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html My motto: Feed Real food, to your Real dog!
I started Shelby (avatar) out with Puppy Chow and then went to Pedigree and haven't changed much. If I have a q-pon and can get IAMS cheap ($8 off - so it costs $2 for a big bag) I'll buy it and mix that in with her Pedigree food. I've always given her dry food she's had table scraps from *grandma & grandaddy* since she was little. She doesn't get crap from the table, but chicken and rice or some steak or venison (little teeny weeny pieces) as a treat mixed in with her food. The past 2 years since we've known she has cancer, she's gotten away with MORE chicken, venison, her own version of veinson jerky, steak, ribs etc.... I know she's not going to be around forever (she better) and that's why we are more lenient now with what we give her. I also don't want to upset her stomach so we are kinda limited as to what we give her. btw, Shelby will be 17 on July 2nd!
It's so easy to read over a list of ingredients and think, sure, that looks cool. BUT take a moment to look a bit closer. . .Here is that Iams ingredient list from up above in a previous post discected just a bit: * First Ten Ingredients o Chicken Corn Meal Ground Whole Grain Sorghum Chicken By-Product Meal Poultry by-product meal is a high-protein commodity used as a major component in some pet foods. It is made from grinding clean, rendered parts of poultry carcasses and can contain bones, offal and undeveloped eggs, but only contains feathers that are unavoidable in the processing of the poultry parts.[1] Poultry by-product meal quality and composition can change from one batch to another. Chicken by-product meal, like poultry by-product, is made of "dry, ground, rendered clean parts of the chicken carcass" according to AAFCO and may contain the same ingredients as poultry-by product. Chicken by-product can vary in quality from batch to batch. Chicken by-product costs less than chicken muscle meat and lacks the digestibility of chicken muscle meat.SOURCE- Wikipedia Ground Whole Grain Barley Fish Meal (source of fish oil)Fish meal, or fishmeal, is a commercial product made from both whole fish and the bones and offal** from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by rendering pressing the whole fish or fish trimmings to remove the fish oil. **Offal is the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs, but includes most internal organs other than muscles or bones. Depending on the cultural context, offal may be considered as waste material that is thrown away, or as delicacies that command a high price. Offal not used directly for human or animal food is often processed in a rendering plant, producing material that is used for animal feed, fertilizer, or fuel. The major use of fish meal is as a high-protein supplement in aquaculture feed. The main producing countries in 2004 were Peru, Chile, China, Thailand, USA, Japan and Denmark. World-wide production is about 6.3 million tons annually. SOURCE: Wikipedia Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed) Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid) Natural Chicken Flavor Dried Egg Product Remaining Ingredients o Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Flax Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine**DL-methionine is sometimes added as an ingredient to pet foods. Methionine, cysteine, and soy protein heated in a small amount of water creates a meat-like aroma SOURCE:Wikipedia. Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide** Manganous oxide is made by the reduction of manganous dioxide (MnO2) by carbon, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or hydrocarbons at temperatures between 400° and 800° C (750° and 1,450° F). Manganese is readily assimilated by plants in this form, so that MnO is used as a fertilizer supplement in manganese-deficient regions. SOURCE: Encyclopædia Britannica Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate** **Cobalt(II) carbonate also known as spherocobaltite is a mineral with chemical formula CoCO3. It is the carbonate salt of cobalt. It forms red trigonal crystals with specific gravity 4.13 which decompose on melting. It is insoluble in either cold or hot water but soluble in acids. It is used in pottery glazes and may be found in pottery supply stores. SOURCE Wikipedia Note: I could not find any place on the internet where this chemical is added to any food fit for human consumption and while it is listed as an ingrediant in a number of pet foods on the market, there is no mention of what it is there for - used in glaze for pottery? Sure, why not, just feed it to a dog! :roll: Guaranteed Analysis o Protein (min) 26% Fat (min) 14% Fibre (max) 5% Moisture (max) 10% Just some food additives for thought:idea:
I use California Natural. Considering all foods, it has the least ingredients. All meat is Grade A organic hormone/chemical free. California Natural They also have a pet food comparison chart with explanation. Comparison Wizard I think the largest bag runs around $40. If you go to Carolina Discount Pet Supply in Cary, you buy 12 and get one free.
Right now we feed them Iams Minichunks but when we finish doing some remodeling in our house I am going to try doing real food.
I admire the thought, but I barely have time to cook our own meals..........when do you have time to cook for dogs? I'm not being sarcastic, I really want to know! Because I am still thinking of getting a pooch.
We feed Nutro Large Breed and then supplement it with fresh chicken(not cooked ) and beef. We will probably go strictly raw over the summer
In the morning, I am, typically, out the door by 5:30am, sometimes earlier, but I usually get in somewhere between 8 and 9am, so when I get in I boil some water and make a pot of oatmeal (Quick Oats) while it is cooling off (I serve it warm, but NOT hot) I take a shower, return calls, check messages, etc. Oatmeal is quite good for dogs and more and more, you see pet food companies offering foods with “Oatmeal” in its name. http://www.petstyle.com/dog/health_well_article.aspx?id=5416§ion=Feeding amp Nutrition If I am rushed, or it’s really warm outside, I’ll serve them Cheerios, with a dollop of PLAIN yogurt. On days when I have a bit more leisure time, or on weekends when DH is off, one of us will usually prepare breakfast for the ‘family’ – meaning us and the dogs – Breakfast on those days is scrambled eggs, sometimes cheddar cheese omelets. Along with their eggs, they have a slice of whole wheat toast. While it is not nutritionally a plus, we sometimes crumble one piece of turkey bacon for each of the larger dogs and a half piece for the little guy – it has to be healthier than those ‘beggin’ strips’ with all of those artificial colors and flavorings. http://incredibleegg.org/eggs_for_pets.html As far as dinner is concerned, they eat a lot of chicken. Personally, I am not fond of dark meat, so I don’t buy it. Between Lowes and Food Lion, one of them usually has a good sale on chicken breasts. If it’s on the bone and has skin, I roast it in the oven, then de-skin and bone it, then cut or shred it up. If it is skinless/boneless, then I wrap it in foil, leave a tiny vent in the top and pop it in the oven – I save the stock for chicken soup. If we are BBQ-ing for ourselves, I’ll BBQ chicken breasts with the bone/skin and keep the kitchen cool. I usually make three days worth at a time, so other than veggie/grain prep, I don’t have a lot to do in order to get their dinner ready. If ground chicken, or turkey is on sale, I’ll make them chicken burgers, which I fry (in coated pan without oil/butter) or grill (be careful to cook over med flame so it doesn’t get all dried out.) They also get LEAN ground beef, but usually when it can be grilled outside to get rid of any excess fat. They also eat a fair amount of Bison/buffalo – I much prefer to serve this over ordinary cow beef. Their veggies are usually green beans, carrots, yams, broccoli, or califlour – fresh whenever possible, frozen is second choice, for green beans and carrots, canned-low sodium and well drained is a last resort because the canning process removes a lot of the nutrients in the green beans and carrots. I chop all of the veggies into small pieces after steaming them. Those new microwave steaming bags work great! I also feed them asparagus when it is inexpensive. When yams/sweet potatoes are in season, I wrap them in foil and bake or put on grill – then mash them up with the skins on them. I usually make enough for three days at a time. For grain/starch – they get brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and occasionally red skinned potatoes. Again, I usually make enough for a few days at a time. The little guy is highly allergic to meat – venison, lamb, ostrich, we’ve tried it all – so he eats boiled shrimp, tilapia, salmon, and occasionally a Morning Star Farms, or Dr. P’s Veggie Burgers – he only weighs 11 lbs, so three shrimp, or a half of a burger is his serving, along with whatever veggies and grains the others are having. I get the shrimp already cooked and frozen and thaw them as needed. A tad of fresh garlic gets mixed in with their dinner each night during flea/tick season and a couple of times a week during the other months, along with a sprinkle of brewer’s yeast – just like you would sprinkle your food lightly with salt. They all LOVE split pea soup – I make it in the winter months about once a week in the crock pot. Because on the vegetarian guy, I use veggie broth, rather than chicken broth in the preparation, toss in some baby carrots and cook – important to remember - NO ONION – it is toxic to dogs. Because of the oven and grill prep for most of the food, and preparing a few days worth at a time, we’re not talking about a whole lot of effort. We’ve done this for 10 years now and it is quite routine. None of the boys are on any meds, none – even the two older ones have any signs of arthritis, and none have ever had their teeth cleaned, or have doggie breath. Blood work always comes back right where levels should be, with no abnormalities. We have no problems with stomach upset of any kind with them changing from one meat to another two or three times a week. I've done the commercial dog food route with prior dogs. I've lost beloved pets to diseases before their time on Earth should have been complete. After reading a lot of material and talking with many people who've gone the real food route, I decided that for me, I would rather spend the extra $ and that bit of extra time on their food, rather than on vet trips and medical expenses. This is my personal choice of feeding, I am not dissing any of you who feed your dogs commercial foods. My posts on this thread and others is simply to share info I have gathered to allow you to make an informed decision when it comes to your pets dietary needs.
I have the advantage of only working part-time; of course, that also makes me poor. But maybe my children will appreciate the extra time one day. Probably not. But I think dogs are worth any hardship and I think the kids do as well most of the time. I don't think you would regret it at all if you get the right breed or mix! There was a guide mentioned on one of these threads once.
I also cook a few days worth at a time for my babies. They eat brown rice or whole grain pasta, sweet potatoes, chicken (roasted or ground burgers), lean ground beef, green beans, asparagus, shrimp, and lots of other things I'm forgetting! Of course, this is not all at one time! I also lightly sprinkle with garlic. There's never any left in the bowl. I learned a lot after I lost my baby, Elvis, to cancer. I'm not sure if his food is what caused it but I wouldn't doubt it. We prepare many of our meals using our Pampered Chef rice cooker, our pampered chef and tupperware veggie steamers, and wrapping potatoes in napkins and microwaving.
I have had dogs all my life and they all live long, healthy lives, (15+) and they have all gotten nothing but dry dog food. Gazillions of dogs, for gazillions of years, have eaten canned/dry dog food.
Remember the days when we fed dogs "dog food" ... or even just table scraps and bones? Before we really started reading all of the labels and had to be concerned about chemicals and poisons and preservatives and quality ... Bailey (mini-aussie) gets a brand called Canidae. Willow (white shepherd) gets Hill's Prescription Z/D Ultra. Cinder (kitty cat) gets Iams Weight Control/Hairball (tho I may switch her to something else eventually ... just havent researched and tried yet).
Yup, and I also remember not seeing dogs and cats that were as young as 5 or 6 years old die of renal failure, or cancer. Companies try to short cut, to get more bang for their buck - they buy ingredients where they can obtain them the cheapest (remember the food recall because of the melamine by product in CHINA that was in the wheat that KILLED hundreds of animals?) Ooops, sorry - it was over 4 thousand that died :-( Companies also want to make food look and smell more appealing, thus more additives, they want longer shelf life so stores can buy by the truckload and warehouse that product for a year or more. Sorry, but if I won't eat it, my dog sure as heck isn't going to. Their lives are too short to begin with. Commercial dog food hasn't been around much longer than television, I've seen great changes in television technology, but very little has changed when it comes to pet food, except maybe cutting corners to make more $.
