Looking for a reasonably priced meat based dog food

[anoki]

Honestly, go and read the dog food analysis website that mininik posted. It not only tells you what is in the food, but why certain ingredients are good or bad.

Also, there is no need to feed a large breed food to a large breed dog. That is all marketing. Go into a dog food store and pick up a bag of some tiny breed food and compare it to the large breed food from the same company....what is the difference?

Some of those 'more expensive' or perhaps only better marketed feeds really aren't that good. Just because you see them advertised EVERYWHERE does not mean they are a good quality food.

My sister feeds her Rotti Canidae, and she looks amazing!

I breed & show my cardigan corgis. Moxie has been on Nature's Variety (an all life stage dog food) since she was 4 months old (so for 3 years now), was on Nature's Variety all through her pregnancy (as well as high quality canned foods - Canidae & Merrick's - to keep her interested in food), and the pups were all brought up on Nature's Variety. None of them suffered, and it sure didn't hurt either the size of the litter (10 pups) NOR the size of the puppies!!

I have had numerous people comment on my dogs' coats at dog shows. I put NO supplements on their food whatsoever.

~kathryn

 

[Equuisize]

['LittleRibbie' ----

Equuisize...your dog looks just like my little Quahog !! I mean they could be twins!! He looks all American Shepherd!!

Oh NOOOOOO! LOL LOL I told him he always had a twin somewhere.......

I don't know whether to congratulate you or feel sorry for you LOL LOL

Just joking! He's a great boy. Loyal, loving, obedient and as a plus loves

ponies. He's our constant companion, no matter where we are, there he is.

He goes everyplace with us.........they are magnificient dogs!

 

[Cathy_H]

B.A.R.F. is best and often cheapest. While possibly time consuming initially, once incorporated into your lifestyle it becomes much less so.

Ok I've figured out that B.A.R.F. means cooking for your dog -now tell me what each letter means please.

Since I cook dinner every day and have for almost 39 years I am not going to start cooking for the dog too - sorry Big Girl but I do not love cooking!

What about putting allowable leftovers in a freezer container until I get enough to cook up a treat - especially in the winter time or since I am not going to do it on a regular basis don't bother? Sounds like a recipe for an upset stomach. yes or no?

 

[chandab]

Ok I've figured out that B.A.R.F. means cooking for your dog -now tell me what each letter means please.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought (read) that BARF stood for Bone and Raw Foods.

 

[mininik]

There is also the prey model raw diet.

 

[HGFarm]

I use Natural Balance and Canidae. I make sure the foods I feed dont contain rendered stuff with 'those' ingredients that we know are in there!!

A great book is 'Food Pets Die For' by Ann Martin. It's a real eye opener!!!! It took her 7 years to get the book together and is about 10 years old now, but will certainly make you realize what you feed your animals that we didnt know and WHY they may be having so many health problems... Lots of great recipes in there too!

 

[Carriage]

Well my original response disappeared into the unknown.

Barf means bones and raw flesh. Not cooking meat and the like is kinda the centerpiece for the diet.

K' lets say for dinner tonight you are going to fix chicken, brown rice and peas. Here is how easy this can be. Take a piece of UNCOOKED chicken, bones, skin and all and throw it into the dogs dish. Once the brown rice is done throw in a healthy dollop of that as well. after the peas are ready, throw some of them in there as well. Put in some hot water and let sit for a bit. Stir it up and put down. It truly can be this easy and we used to feed our dogs this way before dog"food" was invented. Of course this was also before epidemic proportions of canid disease

While we have examined a simplified but adequate meal it really is not the big deal, time-wise, many folk imagine. The fun comes in saving money and quickly building a better diet than you will ever find in a bag or can. And the host of results is always what makes it worth it.

All manner of vegetable were pretty serious business with our crew. I remember one time catching Kam coming out of the garden dragging half an uprooted zucchini plant. He was either saying "you don't see this" or "all I wanted was the zucchini and the rest wouldn't let go".

His favorite summertime treat was a cucumber out of the fridge. He would take it out side and eat the whole thing. This is why we had to fence our garden.

There are many variations on the theme. Do the best you can with time and budget.

Bb

Canine Carriages

 

[Sterling]

For those of you that feed the BARF diet, have you ever had any problems with salmonella?

 

[anoki]

A great book is 'Food Pets Die For' by Ann Martin. It's a real eye opener!!!! It took her 7 years to get the book together and is about 10 years old now, but will certainly make you realize what you feed your animals that we didnt know and WHY they may be having so many health problems... Lots of great recipes in there too!

I know of a book that was put out just this year....only available in Canada so far at least as far as I know. But if you're interested, pm me

It is called Making Sense of Pet Nutrition by Charles White

~kathryn

 

[streaker]

Lee's adult 75 pound german shepherd is now costing more per month to feed than a horse. We are currently feeding PMI Exclusive..... Now that cold weather is here she is eating even more.......... You folks with big dogs, have you found a reasonably priced meat based dog food that is working well for your dog? Could be the meat based foods are all expensive!

Thanks.

I use Proplan chicken and rice dog food adult for my dogs and they look and do great with it..... plus if you buy it at petco and Join the 200lb club you get a discount and if you send the weight circles in they give you checks for either dog food or to your vet .... I have spent as little as $19.00 a bag..... My dogs do great on it.

Frank

 

[mininik]

For those of you that feed the BARF diet, have you ever had any problems with salmonella?

No more so than feeding kibble.

 

[luckymeacres]

Has anyone had any experience with Rachael Ray Nutrish

Here are the stats

Crude Protein 26%

Crude Fat 15%

Crude Fiber 4%

Moisture 12%

Linoleic Acid 1.5%

Calcium 1.1%

Phosphorus 0.9%

Selenium .02mg/kg

Vitamiin E 225 IU/kg

Ascobic Acid 7mg/kg

Linolenic Acid 0.1%

I have always fed Bil Jac, but the price has nearly doubled, and I just need to find someway to cut cost here and there.

Beef is the first ingredient, and it is not suppose to have any fillers. Plus all the proceeds Rachael Ray makes off the dog food goes to charity for dog rescue.

 

[Carriage]

Agreed, but the reason why should be expressed. This type of salmonella tends to be a surface bacteria, not deep tissue. The digestive acids of carnivores is VERY strong compared to ours and herbivores. In general these stronger acids are more than adequate in dealing with salmonella and a host of pathogens that would cause us severe problems. Couple this with a very short digestive tract in the GSD and you are looking at a near non problem as it relates to salmonella.

If still concerned, you can bathe raw meat products in a lemon juice and water bath to kill this surface bacteria. If you are practicing proper food handling and storage procedures and have procured your meat products from a vendor doing the same, it really should not be a problem.

Also dogs can be and are hardened to salmonella poisoning as in fish all the time in fishing communities.

After 25 years at this I honestly can't recall any problems along this line. At the time of my first stab at barf diets, I remember being more concerned about the raw chicken bone. I didn't need to be but old (and incomplete) training sometimes doesn't die easy.

I have tried to use the words raw and uncooked when talking of meat and bones during this thread on purpose. Do not feed cooked bones to dogs especially chicken bones.

Raw = good, cooked = BAD

Canine nutrition is an unpaid passion of mine. Actually, that's not true, the dividends it pays is priceless.

Bb

Canine Carriages

 

[Sterling]

Agreed, but the reason why should be expressed. This type of salmonella tends to be a surface bacteria, not deep tissue. The digestive acids of carnivores is VERY strong compared to ours and herbivores. In general these stronger acids are more than adequate in dealing with salmonella and a host of pathogens that would cause us severe problems. Couple this with a very short digestive tract in the GSD and you are looking at a near non problem as it relates to salmonella.
If still concerned, you can bathe raw meat products in a lemon juice and water bath to kill this surface bacteria. If you are practicing proper food handling and storage procedures and have procured your meat products from a vendor doing the same, it really should not be a problem.

Also dogs can be and are hardened to salmonella poisoning as in fish all the time in fishing communities.

After 25 years at this I honestly can't recall any problems along this line. At the time of my first stab at barf diets, I remember being more concerned about the raw chicken bone. I didn't need to be but old (and incomplete) training sometimes doesn't die easy.

I have tried to use the words raw and uncooked when talking of meat and bones during this thread on purpose. Do not feed cooked bones to dogs especially chicken bones.

Raw = good, cooked = BAD

Canine nutrition is an unpaid passion of mine. Actually, that's not true, the dividends it pays is priceless.

Bb

Canine Carriages

Thank you for this in depth information. It actually answered my next question which was about the bones. And since we're on the subject...I have given my dogs those big beef soup type of bones they give at the grocery store. (Marrow bones?) Someone told me to heat it in the oven or boil it for about 20 minutes before giving it to my dog. Either way raw, or somewhat cooked to "kill bacteria" which was told to me.....can the little bone chips that come off of it harm their intestines?

 

[Carriage]

Thank you for this in depth information. It actually answered my next question which was about the bones. And since we're on the subject...I have given my dogs those big beef soup type of bones they give at the grocery store. (Marrow bones?) Someone told me to heat it in the oven or boil it for about 20 minutes before giving it to my dog. Either way raw, or somewhat cooked to "kill bacteria" which was told to me.....can the little bone chips that come off of it harm their intestines?

I would try not to give cooked bones of any kind to a dog.

There is a chemical change that goes on within the bone that changes the structure when cooked. In a raw state bones tend to crumble. When cooked they tend to splinter. It is the splintering that can become a danger from front to back or in to out. Even hard shank bones (my preference) crumble and do not splinter.

The bones you describe I have gotten myself over the years and I have never done any kind of preparation prior to giving to the dogs. Again the dogs gut acids are more than capable of dealing with the bacteria. What is a danger for us is of no consequence to a dog in general.

Now at times, and this was true of my GSD, big knuckle bones would give Kam the runs but it was not because of bacteria, rather too much of a good thing fat and marrow wise. So we would put a new bone down for a while and the police it up and put in the fridge for tomorrow.

Problem solved.

If still concerned, use a lemon water bath as described to kill the surface bacteria.

Guess I should have started another thread. Didn't mean to derail this one.

Sorry,

Bb

Canine Carriages

 

[ChrystalPaths]

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/ A new food I have tried for my Kasha, 85 pounds of doberchild 18 mos old and has immune troubles..demodectic mange when highly stressed. We just had her spayed a while ago and wouldn't you after I had her cured it came back. I feed this and 2 pounds of raw venison to her each day and it makes a world of difference for her, she blooms!

 

[MiniMaid]

im not sure if it is met based but we use eagle and dick van patten for are 140 lb great pyronese.

ETA**Im not sure but i think it cost like 40$ a bag