Dog food? Do you feed your dog raw food?

Question

Having posted a question on Iams dog food and being horrified at the findings. I have looked at the top six foods but they only seem to be sold in America? I wonder if i fed my dog what I eat, only raw, would this be enough vitamins and minerals for him. Anyone have any ideas on how to cut out all this expensive c**p dog food?

Answer 1

i use to have a rottie an fed him tripe, it bulks your dog up and had it delivered an froze it

Answer 2

I would not feed raw

http://www.holisticpethealth.co.uk/barf....

The above is a UK vets opinion

There are good foods in the UK one being James Wellbeloved another being Burns and I have heard that Arden Grange is another good food.

You can feed home made diets but I would cook the food, meat alone is not sufficient you need to add 1 third meat or fish to 1 third vegetables and 1 third brown rice, mix in a little seaweed for the mineral content.

Answer 3

Planning on do this. Here are some helpful links and yes only raw will provide your dog with enough vitamins and minerals without having to supplement

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfe...

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RawCh...

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

Answer 4

I would never feed raw food, I have researched this extensively and have found that raw food is not the best food for dogs. Some vets have studied nutrition one in particular is John Burns who has manufactured his own food, he will also advise you how to make a home made diet. Take a look at his websites.

http://www.johnburns.co.uk/

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/

Answer 5

I would not feed raw, I live in the UK and I feed James Wellbeloved which is a good food, with no c**p ingredients.  

Answer 6

Raw feeding is a very healthy and appropriate way to feed dogs.  However, they should really eat only raw meaty bones, raw organs, and if you like a very small amount of raw vegetables.  They do not need any bread/pasta/potatoes/rice, or fruit, or dairy.

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

Answer 7

You can buy raw food from here http://www.landywoods.co.uk/

You feed Meaty cartilage bones 60%

Muscle meat 20 %

Offal (liver, kidney) 10%

Mix Veg 2/3 times a week

If you give me your email i can send you alot of information on this. I feed my dogs a raw diet and they are more healthy then on any pet food.

I used this website as a guidline and liked the way they fed there dog from 10 weeks. Then i contacted them and they guided me through feeding my dog correctly.  

http://www.roccosworld.net/  

Answer 8

Well, when I asked my vet about the raw diet, both he and the pet nurse were strongly against it.  Their stance was that in most cases the dogs are missing vital nutrients for them.  If you want to go raw, you need to educate yourself thoroughly in dog nutrition.  You can't simply assume that they can eat what you eat.

Answer 9

I am a raw foodist too but I would never consider feeding my dog or cats raw food. You have to think about it, dogs and cats are carnivores, they are meant to eat meat. I can certainly understand not wanting to give them cooked food but they need certain things that they can not get from an all raw diet that you and I eat. Just do some research and try to find the best food that you can for the time being until you find a better one or one that you really approve of.  

Answer 10

I feed my dogs prey model raw. My dogs currently include a 2 year old belgian malinois, a labrador, and 5 15 week old pups.

This diet cosists of feeding rmb's, offal, organs etc. While its not as simple as throwing a chicken in a bowl everyday, its not that complicated once you get started.

My pups have been getting a raw diet since they were 6 weeks old. They love it. Some breeders wean their pups right onto a raw diet.

They get, game hens, chicken breast, chicken thighs, drumsticks, beef and chicken liver, beef heart, beef skirts, catfish, ground turkey, pork ribs, pork roast, beef cheeck, I buy what's on sale, and in bulk when I can.

I feed them 2% of their expected adult weight daily, so each pup gets about 1.5lbs of food divided into 3 daily meals.

There's a bit more to than what I described it here, but all in all, its pretty simple, and is only as expensive as you make it.

Yahoo has some rawfeeding groups, there's also a group called "rawdogs" on Livejournal, this thread on Dogster http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_D... has lots of information about raw feeding. All 3 places are glad to help new raw feeders get started.

Let's also dispel some myths about rawfeeding with this link http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html

Some books on the topic include

Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale, and Australian vet.

Works Wonders also by Tom Lonsdale

The BARF Diet by Dr. Ian Billinghurst

Food Pets Die For by Ann Martin (the feeding info isn't great, but the look at the pet food industry is)

Also keep in mind that vets are a good source for medical information, a poor choice for nutrition information. In the many years it takes to become a vet they receive little if any nutrition information. What they are offered is elective and taught by major pet food companies such as Hill's the makers of Science Diet. (an icky overpriced food)

And for anyone who says the pet food companies have done extensive research on nutrtion for our pets. Sure they have. But what they concentrated on was how to feed the animals c**p ingredients at the lowest cost without them tipping over right away. If they'd the pets best interest mind the foods wouldn't loaded with things such as corn and soy, which our carnivore pets can't digest. Good nutrition studies eh?

Answer 11

I've been feeding home-made, which includes raw meat, based on the recipes in Dr. Pitcairn's book "Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats".  It has lots of recipes (easy to make) and includes all the additives and minerals animals need as well as what each one does.   This book also has chapters on all kinds of health problems like allergies, dental problems, skin problems, stomach problems, dozens of others.

I really recommend this book for anyone interested in feeding their dog themselves rather than feeding commercial dog food.  My dogs have been thriving on the home-made diet and it's really not expensive.

Answer 12

Like Lavender,tripe is "the" food,specially if you can get it direct from a slaughterhouse,but it can be bought in frozen packs,depends where you live.Sprinkle a spoonful of vitamin on 3 times a week.(vitalin)

Answer 13

I would never feed raw