Homemade dogfood

[shivvy]

I am considering giving my dog a natural and homemade diet. There is quite a bit of info on it on the internet but I wondered if anyone else did this and what their experiences were?
Thanks

[figure]

Growing up there were always dogs at home. They ate the same foods I did, what ever was cooked for the family, and never made a fuss or became ill or looked unhealthy.

I'm sure your dog will be fine eating home made meals.

[lankeela]

Too much like hard work, very difficult to get the balance right and expensive if making only small quantities. I use a complete dry food that a company has spent �����s perfecting, and add a little bit of meat, either raw or tinned or scraps if I have any left, buy the additions are more for my benefit than theirs, they eat the dry food perfectly ok. However if you are prepared to put in the time and money then good luck to you. Natural diets certainly don't seem to do any harm provided you can get the mix right. I just get p*ssed off when some people try to convince others that this is the only correct way to feed a dog, and that anything else is bordering on cruelty.

[kita1]

Agree with Lankeela - its too much time and trouble to get the right balance and avoid foods that are poison to dogs (eg raisens, onions, chocolate etc).

What is a natural diet anyhow? For a dog that would involve eating a whole rabbit, chicken etc. When I say whole I mean just that! So many people feed raw chicken wings etc. and say the bones are OK - what they fail to realise is that in a truely 'natural' diet the dog would eat the feathers or fur of the animal (never seen a fox/wild dog pluck or skin his 'catch'), this is impossible to digest and so wraps around the bones of the animal and protects the stomach/intestine from any sharp edges caused by splintered bones. So unless you are going to give your dog a whole unplucked or unskinned carcass you run the danger of having a dog with a perforated gut.

Also when you feed a raw diet you have to make doubly sure you worm the dog regularly which to me means putting unnecessary chemicals into the dog which is rather defeating the object!

[andrea81]

Just be careful you wont be making a rod for your own back as a dog we used to own was fed on our own food for a while after she had an op and couldn't eat properly. When we decided to get her back on own food she refused to eat and was actually starving! We had to feed her chicken in the end and it carried on until she died a rip old age of 16!

[fredpuli47]

Not a pleasant occupation. Messy,product no better than a good commercial dog food, and may be worse, smelly, time consuming.....what other reasons would you like?:) My late mother used to boil sheep's heads for her poodles. Well, that sort of thing is fine, if you have the equipment and, in that case, can stand the sickly smell and the sight of eyeless heads looking at you from the pot, but in general what's the point?

[Snappy]

What a load of rubbish! I feed raw/natural, costs me about �20 per month, if that! I get a freezer full of bones for as little as �1, buy reduced veg from asda on a night time, make a chicken and rice dish, 12 portions, costing bout 47p per portion.

Its better to have big cook days and freezing rather than day to day.

The point is...not putting crap into your dogs, seeing their faces light up when they smell the food and seeing how excited they are, having them come and thank you when they've finished!

If you want help with a natural diet try herehttp://www.dogclub.co.uk/forum/ for correct advice from a nutritionist! :-)

[kita1]

Before anyone feeds bones (even large ones) to their dog they should read this:

http://www.collienet.com/health%20topics/bones %20and%20dogs.htm

[Snappy]

I'll take the risk of that, rather that than smelly farts, bad coat and skin, ear problems, obesity, bad teeth, hyperactive behaviour, allergies, and countless other health problems my dogs don't suffer from, for the sake of one bone going wrong! If that did happen, at least id know my dog lived a far happier healthier life than the vast majority of other dogs! Your dog could break a leg out running tomorrow, are you going to stop it running for the rest of its life?

Rolls eyes!

[shivvy]

Goodness, I didn't think that so many people would be so strongly opposed to the idea.
There aren't many commercial dog foods that I can find which entirely satisfy me of what the exact contents are.
My rescue pup is approx 8 months old and really doesn't like the complete dry food but loves carrots and raw meat etc.
I would be more than happy to do a big batch once a month and then freeze it. The best of the shop-bought food costs a clean fortune so I couldn't imagine that making my own would be any more expensive.
Snappy - is there a specific part of that website that I should go to for recipe info/advise or do I need to enter a queation onto it?

[kita1]

If you are set on a raw food diet try this link:

http://www.belamba.co.uk/barf/index.html

I still say that you should feed bones with caution though - like I said in the wild animals eat the whole carcass INCLUDING fur and feathers which wrap round any sharp edged bones.

[lankeela]

Well Snappy, you certainly didn't let me down. I knew there would be one of you out there trying to convince the rest of the world that this is the only way to feed. I almost wondered if this was a set up question to give you the opportunity to spout your almost cult like mantra because this has certainly happened on other groups I am on.

I have five dogs, one 15kg bag of food lasts six weeks and costs approximately �35. It is one of the best quality foods, so go figure!

[shivvy]

I really can't decide which is best.
When I first got her at 6 months, I had her on tinned food but this was because she was very scrawny and I just wanted something soft and easy for her to eat. However I know that tinned food isn't great (when she was on it she hardly ever drank water because there was so mmuch water content in the tinned food) so I have really tried to get her on to good dry meal but she just doesn't like it. I would be the first to say that 'if she is hungry enough, she will eat it', and I have been quite firm (even though it is hard) and have only left the dish down for 10 minutes etc but is choosing to go without rather than eat it.
I understand all the concerns about the danger of bones and I really haven't made my mind up about what to try next - that is why I was thinking of making her food myself.

Also, I had bought shop-sold treats to use when training her but she was only moderatly interested in them so I made little liver treats to give her and she absolutely loves them. I found that they aren't difficult or awkward to make so that is when I thought that I could do something similar with her main food.
I am finding it interesting to find people with such different opinions on this subject - although I still can't decide which is best unfortunately.

[kita1]

If she is refusing to eat the food make sure she is not getting food from elsewhere. You mentioned treats etc. that is one source of food - if you give her lots of treats then she is not going to want her dinner! A bit like kids really. You already feel sorry for her because you say that she was a skinny rescue, make sure she is not pulling on your heart strings by refusing to eat (therefore she gets more attention!).

As long as she is not totally refusing ALL food I would not be too concerned. If you are worried have a chat with the vet or vet nurse they will be able to weigh her and make sure she is the correct weight for her size and breed.

As regards type of food I still think a good quality dried (soaked) feed is best.

Snappy said "smelly farts, bad coat and skin, ear problems, obesity, bad teeth, hyperactive behaviour, allergies, and countless other health problems my dogs don't suffer from" - all my dogs over the years have been fed on commercial dog food (mostly dried) and have never had any of the above (indeed have rarely visited the vet), my present dog is aged 12 and a half and the average lifespan of the breed is 11 so I must be doing something right!. Dogs are obese because they are fed too much and don't have enough exercise, hyperactive behaviour - again not enough exercise/training, bad coat and skin - can be caused by food allergies, eg allergy to beef etc.

I am certain Lankeela's dogs could not be winning in the show ring if they suffered any of the above either!

[shivvy]

Kita1 - I am not overly concerned about her not eating her dry meal yet because I know that she is getting some nutrition from the training treats (liver, flour, milk and egg). However I can tell that she is very hungry all the time and her training treats will lessen over the next while which is why I am researching alternatives.
I get a little peeved when people suggest that my heartstrings are being pulled because she is a rescue dog. I have heard similar comments about rescue dogs made on a few different posts however my heartstrings are being pulled because she clearly doesn't want to eat the dry complete meal that so many people recommend.
Clearly you, lankeela and Snappy don't agree (to say the least!) but to be honest I am suprised at how strongly the opinions are being expressed. lankeela mentions Snappys "cult like mantra". I don't know whether this should make me reconsider Snappy or lankeelas opinions!

I am still unsure but I will continue to seek as many opinions as I can. I suppose I still think that 'real' food ie meat and veg must be better than dry food (with the cautiousness about bones) but opinions on this thread don't seem to reflect that. Perhaps this is more to do with the hassle involved?

[kita1]

I did not mean it as a bad thing that you feel a bit sorry for her because she is a rescue or that your heartstrings were being pulled - we all feel a bit that way with our pets, I opened a tin of sardines for the cat last night even though he had dried biscuits and canned meat down already!!! My OH says that my dog gets better fed than him!

Don't take this in a bad way either - have you had her checked over by a vet since you got her? Some breeds can suffer allergies to certain foods that stop them putting on weight (some are allergic to beef, some to chicken, some dogs cannot digest fat). Have you wormed her since you got her?

It could be she is just plain stubborn and willing to hold out for what she considers to be 'better' food. Some dogs refuse to feed out of a bowl and insist on being hand fed!

There is lots of information on the internet about feeding dogs - some good and some bad. You just have to find a regime that suits you and your dog. Everyone has their own opinions and do what they think is best. What works for one is not necessarily right for another.

I have in the past used 'free feeding' where I left dried food down all the time and just let my dogs (2 GSD's & 1 BSD) eat when they wanted, what they wanted. As a result I never knew the amount each dog ate, as long as they were healthy and happy (which they were) then that suited me at the time.

Basically I would say find a food that both you and your dog are happy with and forget what other people 'advise' you to do - if you think your dog is underweight check her out with the vet.

Don't worry - I have never heard of a healthy dog starving itself to death.

[Snappy]

Look in the stickies section shivvy, there's a LOT in there. Judge for yourself. ;-)