Switching Foods Question

Oh, ok. Yeah, I am definitely watching her weight to make sure it stays on the lower end.

I feed a raw diet, dogs eating raw food have very few allergy issues, they grow at a more natural pace and most do wonderful on it. I add "honest kitchen" to the raw food, that is dehydrated fruits and veggies, I also add "missing link" which gives them all the vitamins and minerals they need. I also make my own treats, I use beef heart, kidney, prok heart kidney and heart and sometimes boneless chicken breast. I use no commercial food or put any chemicals on them, I use a tic click instead of frontline and have never found a flea or tic on them. Dogs do not eat cereal, you need to feed meat and raw is the way to go

Thank you for your response. I have looked into raw, but I can't make myself feed it lol. I have found a food that I am feeding them and it is made fresh. It contains no preservatives or other chemicals regular dry food contains. So far I feel pretty good about it.

good luck with your new food. If you ever change your mind give me a shout and I'll help you make a raw diet that you can live with. Again good luck

Forget looking for a food with glucosimine.  It is nothing more than a marketing gimmic.  There is not enough glucosimine in ANY dog food to have an medicinal effect.  The dog food someone recommended is garbage.  Any dog food sold at Walmart is among the worst of the worst.  This particular food is over 50% carbs.  Carnivores have no nutritional need for carbs let alone them being half the diet.

It really concerns me when I see a college student with a large breed dog that they can't afford to properly feed or pay vet bills for.  Too bad for the dog.  People need to plan ahead when they consider getting a dog.  It costs a lot of money to raise one properly and If you don't have it, you shouldn't be getting a dog. Hopefully you have parents who can help you with the costs involved. BTW: Cheap foods pretty much mean higher vet bills because of the low quality of the food.

Wow the poster has moved away from the less expensive foods - no need to jump on your high horse and admonish them for not doing what you think is right. There are excellent foods out there, raw isn't the only way. Just because one can't afford to feed raw doesn't meant they can't afford a dog.

Actually, my parents don't pay anything to me. I work 2 jobs and take very good care of my animals. The only extra vet cost my Saint Bernard has cost me is when I had to have her ear infection cleaned up, which was brought on by the previous owners. All of her health issues stemmed from her not being properly cared for her first 2 years of life. I rescued her about 3 months before she turned 2, so I am just trying to fix this issues and give her a comfortable life. I did tons of research on giant breeds, especially Saints, for awhile before I was even offered the opportunity to rescue her. I had no way of knowing she was allergic to chicken because of that one incident. I have chosen to feed Acana, which is not cheap, but it is cheaper in the long run than feeding a lower quality food and having to feed double the amount. I didn't fully realize that when I first posted, but I did more research and came to that conclusion later on. And in my opinion even if someone feeds their dog Ol' Roy, at least it is getting fed and not starving to death on the streets. Have a Merry Christmas!

GermanShepherdmom: Thanks!

kpwlee

There are excellent foods out there, raw isn't the only way.

 I think you need to go back and re-read my post.  No where in it did I suggest this poster feed a raw diet although it would solve all the problems his dog is now having.

kpwlee

Just because one can't afford to feed raw doesn't meant they can't afford a dog.

The original post a some subsquent posts by the OP indicated that he/she was searching for a sutable food.  One of the main criteria was cost.  Another criteria was it must contain glucosamine because he/she couldn't afford to buy bottles of it to supplement with seperately.  There were many places in this thread where concern about cost were expressed.  Now what happens when the dog gets a $500 or $1,000 vet bill?  What happens if some other expense not related to the dog all of a sudden befalls this student?  As long as life bounces along perfectly with no hic-ups, then all is OK but there will be serious financial problems when a hic-up happens and they always do.  Thats why people living on the edge financially should think twice or three times before aquiring a dog with expensive upkeep even in the best of times.

gmcbogger38

And in my opinion even if someone feeds their dog Ol' Roy, at least it is getting fed and not starving to death on the streets. Have a Merry Christmas!

 I disagree.  The person feeding Ol' Roy is keeping the dog from living with someone who can afford and has the knowledge to feed him a much better diet.

Merry Christmas to you. Hope everything works out good for you.  What part of Georgia are you in?  I'm in Villa Rica which is on I-20, west of Atlanta by about 40 or 50 miles.  I have a Great Dane and 2 cats. :)

East of Atlanta about 40 mins to an hour. I have 3 dogs and 1 rabbit. And i don't feed my rabbit the cheap Petsmart food. He eats Purina rabbit food :). Reason cost is so important right now is rising gas prices. I drive a long ways to school and it has hurt me the most just the past few months. I will be moving closer to school within the next few months, so I will save a lot of money just in gas. If any serious medical condition of that significant price range ever came up, I would do everything I could to pay for it. That is also why I keep them healthy and was looking for a really good diet, that way chances of serious medical issues popping up would be much lower in chances. That's also why I posted on here because I was looking for different opinions on food and I definitely received that. No harm done here. Everyone has different opinions about things and I respect yours. But I honestly do care a great deal for my animals, even for a college student.