Food Pet Die For

ORIGINAL: chewbecca

I understand what you mean. I have a good 10 lbs. of timberwolf organics kibble left and I am not going to waste because it IS a decent kibble, but I don't want to feed Ella kibble of ANY kind. I think about how it does absolutely NOTHING good for their teeth (cleaning wise) and it makes me cringe.
It's hard to remain quiet about something you really believe in. But when we go off on people about what they feed their dogs, I think we not only come off as preachy, but also a bit snobby.
I just try to nicely tell people that I feed Ella raw and then I try to nicely tell them the benefits of it and not put dog food down.
Then if they continue to say that they think it's gross to feed raw, I just shrug my shoulders and tell them that I believe that I'm doing it for her health and it's how I choose to feed my dog.

It is hard, but I really try. The vet who convinced me to take Penny off commercial food was really tolerant about what people chose to feed their dogs. He was never judgemental and was very gentle about intoducing these ideas to me. I'm very grateful that he didn't say something like "Your dog is getting sick because you're feeding her rubbish" which is pretty much exactly what was going on. [] Incidentally, it wasn't a good kibble, despite the price. There's a lot to be said for not being pushy. Sometimes it just slips right out with me. [:'(]

Sandra have you read the book?You may change your tune on dog food afterward.Every pet owner who feeds commercial food should read this book.

 
No, I have not read it and not sure I would believe it anyway.  I could read the book Hitler published, but wouldn't believe it.  I know for sure many articles, books, etc are published that are totally biased in one direction and a lot of what is written is total BS, just what the author thinks, believes, has heard, has read that was published by someone who read something that was published by someone who read something that was published by someone who decided such and such was the truth.

Just for the record about tartar build up, Hunter and KayCee were littermates.  By the time kayCee was a year old she needed her teeth cleaned.  Hunter died at 4 years, and 3 days short of 2 months.  His teeth were as white the day he died as the day they came in.  They both at the very same food.  I have never had a problem with tarter on my teeth.  Two of my brothes have to get tetth scaled and cleaned twice a year.  Many times it is more to do with your chemistry than with what you eat.

sandra, just for the record sugar and carb's are a leading cause of dental problems and plaque build up.  There are some people and dogs that are more predisposed to dental problems of course...but, take a person who eat hamburg's with sugary ketchup, coffee with sugar, pop, fast food, fries, unheathy cereals opposed to a person who eats fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats, fish, yogurt etc the person who eats healthy foods is going to have much better teeth, less or no plaque than the person who eats unheathy foods occasionally or often.
 
I used to be a junk food eater when I was younger.  I always had laque build up, a few cavities...then I started eating healthy...I have no more plaque, brush less often and now have perfect dental appointments.  My mouth is healthy as is my body, I feel better etc.  I know personally how it feels from going from a semi junk food diet to a natural healthy diet.  I try to do the same for my dogs, thus the reason I do research and look at the ingredients in the food I feed and try to feed as many raw meals as possible. 
 
Which btw you do too sandra because you mention all the time you feed fresh home prepared meals.  Your dogs are not living solely on purina.   

When we were growing up all 5 of us kids ate the same food, I still had no tartar and 2 of my brothers had a lot , my sister and other brother only had a small amount.  We all drank coffie with sugar and milk from a very early age, drank several glass of sweet tea at night, and Mom had desserts almost every night.  Also, we ate a ton of home ice cream with pure cream from our cows milk and a lot sugar.  So I have to agree with our dentist, our chemistry was playing more of a part in our tarter and plaque than what we were eating as we were all eating identical yet our mouths were so different.

Quite true. Genetics varies among siblings. My younger brother has green eyes and is 1/2 in  shorter than I am. I weigh 240 and he weighs about 170 (my brother, the bean pole.) The sugar in regular soda creates an acid that eats away at my tooth enamel. So, I drink diet sodas. Others I have known can drink regular sodas without a problem.
 
I also think you have been alive just long enough to know how to feed family and pets. []

ORIGINAL: belleandcodysmom
I think that's a pretty crazy statement.

 

[size=2]Common sense would tell anyone

[/size]
 
Although I agree with what you are saying, you might consider the possibility that you would find your audience a bit more receptive if you were to tone down the adversarial nature of your comments just a tad.

Although I agree with what you are saying, you might consider the possibility that you would find your audience a bit more receptive if you were to tone down the adversarial nature of your comments just a tad.

 
LOL! You know it's bad when "the jerk" is telling you to tone it down... []

ORIGINAL: chelsea_b
LOL! You know it's bad when "the jerk" is telling you to tone it down... []

 
LMAO.  Good point.  Wasn't you who, appropriately, christened me with that nickname?

LMAO. Good point. Wasn't you who, appropriately, christened me with that nickname?

 
Why yes, I believe it was. But I can't believe I'm the only one who ever called you that... [sm=lame.gif]

ORIGINAL: chelsea_b
Why yes, I believe it was. But I can't believe I'm the only one who ever called you that... [sm=lame.gif]

 
LOL.  I thought it was you.  I don't remember the circumstances but I am certain I deserved it.  []
 
And no, you aren't the first to call me a jerk.  Once a subordinate employee actually called me a jerk.  Can you believe that?  He wasn't an employee 10 minutes later though.  []

ron2, yes genetics has a huge impact on the life span of our dogs.  For example our Newfoundland "Cassie" comes from very short lived lines.  None of the Newf's living past 8 years in her entire line.  That is quite normal for a Newfoundland as they do not have as long a life span as Golden Retrievers and other breeds of dogs, except some other large sized dogs...Also, The more inbreeding done in a line then the shorter the life span becomes.[]
 
So, for Cassie to be going on 12 in a short lived line is quite remarkable.  She looks wonderful, has no arthritis even though she went through Cruciate ligament surgery when she was 5.  She has wonderful white teeth, her breath and coat are free from bad odors.  She did suffer from allergies when she lived with the breeder.  Now she is allergy free and has not had a skin problem since she was about 4.  Her line all suffered from problems such as kidney disease, liver shut down, immune problems where their immune system just shut down.  All those dogs were fed Eukanuba faithfully...some that went to pet homes were fed Purina...some seemed fine up until the day their immune systems started shutting down.
 
A person can feed whatever they want to their dogs, and if it works for them thats wonderful.  I guess I just tend to be a little more excited about healthy foods and holistic methods as I have seen in our dogs the health and vitality that comes from healthy eating.  We have fed Cassie in a preventative manner, to prevent her from getting the same disorders her littermates and line did.  I do the same for myself, diabetes runs in my family so I eat to prevent myself from getting diabetes.  I love that old saying "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food".  It is so true, you can eat your way to good health...and you can do the same for your dog.[]  It's only common sense.
 
 

He wasn't an employee 10 minutes later though.

 
Now that's surprising. LOL

I refuse to believe any of the stuff people say about pet foods. We REALLy dont know where the stuff comes from, and if you look hard enough you can find an article that supports your statement, just like I can find one that goes against it.

All dogs are different, even from the same litter. One of Laika's littermates eats Alpo [:'(] and he has got such a gorgeous coat/skin/eyes/teeth. That dog is so beautiful and sound that he could put a well show dog to shame. Laika on the other hand is eating Kirkland (was eating One) and we have a hard time with her coat, and she has a weakend immune system.

My sister and I are very much alike (as much as I hate to admit). When I was a kid I ate candy like crazy, much like my sister does now. The only difference is that I have never had a cavity in all my life, while at 10 years old my sister has about 6.

ORIGINAL: LizzieCollie

I refuse to believe any of the stuff people say about pet foods. We REALLy dont know where the stuff comes from, and if you look hard enough you can find an article that supports your statement, just like I can find one that goes against it.

There are some people I believe above others. When the Federal Highway Administration says a traditional method of disposing of roadkill is to render it into domestic animal feed, I'll believe them, because who would know about their disposal methods better than them?