Food For Thought

Ok, this is amusing. *** is censored on a dog forum. LOL!!!

I was actually referring to the fact that she is a female dog. 

Thanks for listening and sorry if i offended anyone,

JM

jmarquar

I am just saying food is only one of several things that could or could not effect you and your dog having a long healthy relationship

That's true! But if you can do something to improve it, why not?   It's all about educating yourself and then finding what works best for you and your dog. If you're happy with your dog food and your dog is happy and healthy, that's all that really matters.

Welcome to the boards :) 

Thank you Cita, and that is a beautiful papillion, my mom and dad have one just like her!

Glenda, when you just feed raw, the calcium/phosphorous ratio is basically bone to meat, right? So how do you balance it out if you feed kibble and raw? I'd been trying to get the meat/bone ratio right with the raw but I didn't think about the same ratio in the food and if I have to feed more meat as opposed to bone if my kibble has high calcium and whatnot. If it helps, I just bought a bag of barking at the moon. I still have the bag, but looking at the ratios on the bag, I still wouldn't know what to do.

We raised Graet Danes for 30 years, and have Boxers and Dachshunds, now. 6 Dane Champions, 1 Boxer CH. and all of our danes were 10 to 11 years old when we lost them with one old gir going to 14. ALL HAVE BEEN FED PEDIGREE ! From Puppy, throughut their life

Most just seem to be hung up on the food the vet sells, I have nothing but praise. Besides while others were loosing their dogs with Chinese import fillers, in the "Top Brand Foods". Ours were fine and healthy .

Now there is  some food for thought.

I'm getting in on this a little late. I have fed my Shelties Purina One since it came out. My oldest, Chelsea, will turn 17 yrs. in January. Until she got older, Chelsea never had any medical problems, had a great coat, no allergies, lots of energy, etc.I, too, believe strongly in genetics. My only problem has been keeping their teeth clean, but then, it's my fault for forgetting to brush their teeth daily. 

Glenda, when you just feed raw, the calcium/phosphorous ratio is basically bone to meat, right? So how do you balance it out if you feed kibble and raw?

  k_dawg, I'm not sure if this is what you're asking but when I add boneless meat to Jessie's kibble I add calcium at the rate of 250mg for every 3 a half ounces of meat. That's the amount of calcium Monica Segal says to add;     http://www.monicasegal.com/.  You can use calcium citrate or calcium carbonate; they are available at health stores. I use a food scale to know the weight of the meat.

And what's with the influx of new posters on this thread,or perhaps one new poster   who feed pedigree,science diet etc. Something seems amiss here?

   I think it's good to have members who don't feed the "super premium" brands give their input; makes the nutrition threads less one-sided and more interesting.
 

Sandra,

Can you tell me the name of the stuff you are putting in the water?  Do you have to change the water every day?

I know this sounds lame but we have 9 maltese and somedays the bowls dont get washed everyday.  I am picky about it but realisticly they are washed every two or three days and the other blue stuff my vet gave me had to be changed everyday?

Also , I know a lady who has finished (championed) over 150 of her own dogs.and feeds pedigree, no tearstains with it at all, dogs look extremely healthy and she says they all do well.   I was tempted but still feeding Canidae and fighting tear stains daily! 

k dawg, this is why I don't just feed raw....because I flat don't know how to get everything right.  My guys get raw once or twice a week.  We used to have a member who fed ONLY raw and had an awesome website.  I've not seen her around in ages,but it's rawdogranch.com I believe.  You can get some great info there.

I wouldn't even attempt to argue with folks who think that they are getting fantastics results with any food.  I have already documented my experience with Pedigree and what it did to one of my fosters.  Tyler is too leggy, full grown, not as well muscled as the other dogs.  As a four month old pup my vet told me that it was too bad we couldn't prove his parentage since he was absolutely  show quality.  She herselfs shows periodically and she does know quality animals.

The rescue was able to confirm parentage and I've seen the pedigrees on both the parents and many are names that folks would know as Champions.  I've seen the pictures of many of these dogs and not ONE has the leginess that Tyler does.  Is it possible that he was just pet quality?  Sure it is.  But, given my vets statements when he was young, and given the "family tree", I believe that improper nutrition at a crucial point of his development has a lot to do with his appearance as an adult.

I don't think that anyone can say for absolute certain what should or shouldn't be in a dog food as far as some of the stuff like blueberries, cranberries, etc.  And corn, imho, isn't horrible, unless it is used to replace the protein that should be coming from meat.  Gosh, I used some corn in one of the pots of homecooked yesterday....my dogs enjoy corn...although what they get from me is a far cry from what they get in a bag of kibble.  I can say, unequivicably that I will NEVER feed or recommend Pedigree.  And that's from my own experience and is my opinion.

I know I am getting in on this topic rather late, but I just wanted to say a few things about dog food.

First off each dog is an individual just like people some people can eat junk all there lives and be fine, others don't do so well that is where the genetics come into play. It's how the dog is made up.

To tell if the food that you are feeding your dog is good for YOUR dog is by the amount and frequency of the stool of your dog. If your dog poops alot then the food you are feeding them is not the best one for them. This will tell you how well your dog is using the food you feed. Also if the dogs poop is not firm, and usually soft to running or hard as a brick is another indicator if the food is right for your dog.

Another area to tell how your dog is doing on there food is by the condition of there coat, if it is shiny and good condition for your breed, then the food is doing what it should. But if your dogs coat is brittle, flat, dull, flaky, etc., you may want to change his food to a more meat based food.

I hope this helps.

Unfortunately, folks who have always fed what many of us consider a poor quality food do not KNOW that what their dog is depositing is a large amount or poor quality.  They often do not know that the coat is brittle, flat, dull, flaky, etc, because this is the way it has always looked.

I do agree that some dogs can do well on lesser quality foods, but I'm not sure if they can do well for a long and healthy lifetime.

Almost everything posted on the net about dog food appears to be anecdotal. ..that means an individual case or one person's experience and conclusions from that case or experience.   I feed a weimaraner, a cairn terrier and a Lhasa Apso mix Pedigree and other dog foods and have not had any problems.  I change dog foods regularly because I believe that feeding the same formula to animals or people over a long period of time is not healthy.  I'm not recommending my practice to you, just saying that is what I do.  I grew up overseas moving from country to country and seeing dogs eat all sorts of different foods and mixes of foods depending on the country ....and surviving and sometimes thriving on it.  There are too many unknown variables for readers to reliably identify and predict what effects Pedigree has on dogs.  The industry does studies but a study financed by the company that makes Pedigree would be questionable.  Look for independent studies.  You might also question the breeding of animals that are so dependent on one particular formula of food that they cannot thirve on run of the mill food...that's a long way downhill from the successful, opportunistic cur living on the leftovers of humans for millenia.