Food For Thought

sandra_slayton

Don't know if it is accurate or not, but I have read that dogs can actually pick up the scent of sesame seeds when driving by a McDonalds. 

I would say that is highly inaccurate.  You can't discount the smell of Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles and Onions....oh, I forget two All Beef Patties.

 Although I cannot say that I recommend you feed mashed potatoes.

cc431

Not necessary for my situation but I think a good idea for you folks (get over that hump; nutritional gap). 

Luvntzus

And dogs DO know what they're missing. The smell "people" food, see you eating it etc. IMO it's really depriving them by only feeding them kibble for their entire lives.

Seriously excellent point Tamara! So many pet owners say their dogs cant crave real food if they've never had it

Charlie in the end your dog is still getting a dry,processed diet,which just can not compare to real food no matter how good it is proposed to be. 

Edie

Charlie in the end your dog is still getting a dry,processed diet,which just can not compare to real food no matter how good it is proposed to be. 

No argument here.   Is that suppose to make me feel bad?  If I fed strictly toasted cereal based products like most all kibbles then I would be concerned, but I don't.  I know my dogs are getting everything the need out of a scoop of food (except of course for the excess fiber and carbs).

cc431

I know my dogs are getting everything the need out of a scoop of food (except of course for the excess fiber and carbs).

I agree our dogs need some fresh foods, every day. I cook a little chicken they get every day, mix in their kibble, sometimes sardines, and other fresh foods. If I make salmon, I always save a little for their food. I always tell my Hubby meal time is their exciting time, they should be enthusiastic about their meals, and not get only the same processed foods day in, day out. I think it is also much healthier to give them real meats and veggies added in, it is a healthier balance when feeding processed.

dyan

And dogs DO know what they're missing. The smell "people" food, see you eating it etc. IMO it's really depriving them by only feeding them kibble for their entire lives.

Dogs don't know what they are missing.  They want people food...but they want their own food as well. If we were sitting eating a bowl of dog food, they would probably want it just as much. But we don't sit eating a bowl of dog food so we don't know if they act the same as when we are sitting with steak or a bowl of ice cream. 

Seriously...my dog drools just as much when I am putting her Eagle Pack from a bag into the container I keep about one weeks worth of kibble in,,,as she does when we are eating and she thinks she is getting something.

I add meat to Bubblegums kibble,,,but honestly I don't really think she needs it...I believe her food is completely balanced and nutritious. I do it though because  I want her to have some fresh food and because I am hoping that by adding real food that it will help ward off bloat.

I agree.  I do a lot of rotating and adding fresh foods (cooked, raw, premixes) and my dogs still act the same when I am preparing their bowls.  Dancing, barking, and being all kinds of excited.  They have to do their down/stay as I put their bowls in front of them.  When I release them, they dig in with as much gusto every time, whether it's plain kibble, kibble with canned, canned only, cooked, raw, premixes, etc.  They are always excited.

Luvntzus

cc431

I know my dogs are getting everything the need out of a scoop of food (except of course for the excess fiber and carbs).

The point isn't whether your dogs are getting everything they need nutritionally. But I have no doubt that dogs would prefer to have a fully balanced diet that includes some meat and real food, not eating only processed cereal or granules.

 I'm sure they would prefer Surf & Turf everyday.  They will just have to settle for the very best in dog food instead, the poor things.  I do think it is necessary if anyone feeds a kibble (other than Abady Kibble) to add the extra meat or poultry.  Industry kibble is not very good food, it is very high fiber and carb and not very healthy IMO.  It matters more to me they get everything they need from a nutrition standpoint rather than what they would 'prefer'.  BTW, don't mean to be rude but just being honest in regards to what I know about most commercial kibbles.  If I could rephrase, instead of saying 'necessary' I would say would be a very wise decision or in one's best interest to supplement vitamins or meat/poultry.

I am with Dyan.  When i was giving them "real food' with supper, but plain kibble for breakfast, they were just as excieted over breakfast as they were supper.  Just picking up their bowls sends them dancing.  I do add a spoon of apple sauce and a spoon of yogurt every morning now, but they are no more excited over it than they were when it was nothing but kibble.

 And my Hunter took his own sweet time about eating no matter if it was just his dry or if had had fresh baked fish or stewed chicken added.  Putting in real food didn't make him eat any faster, leaving it out didn't make him eat any slower. 

 And more food for thought.  Last night at my son's birthday party was a lady who just lost her husky/lab mix in Aug.Someone had given my son's dog a chip with dip and she and another guest started talkinga bout not giving dogs food like that.  Anyway, she said her Misty Dawn would have been 18 in Dec.  She had had her since the day she was born.  And she had been on Science Diet all her life.  I told her it was known as Science Death here, and she laughed at that and said it kept her dog alive and healthy for almost 18 years so there was no death about it as far as she was concerned.  I told her i had given kayCee the SE r/d for weight loss and the SD k/d to Buck for kidney infection and both worked as they should.  The other lady said her cat had been on the SD cat food for renal failure and she had the cat several months longer than it had been expected to live.

My dogs were hellions on *cooked* meat. They were hellions on kibble. They acted like they were starving. If you don't believe that they were *terrible* before, you can ask anyone who knew Emma as a puppy. We were practicing a stand for exam, today, and the vet tech who used to treat her was a little nervous to approach without me standing next to her. She was BAD. Behaved perfectly, today, though, and has for just about a year.

They may not know what they're missing, but they're certainly missing something when all they get is processed food. I can't tell you what it is. I'm not a scientist. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a veterinarian. I'm just a dog nerd. I'm a dog groomer, and a dog trainer (though I do not train professionally). I see a tremendous difference in dogs who are fed fresh foods and dogs who are not.

 Any human doctor is going to encourage a human with health problems to eat fresh veggies. Eat fresh meat. Don't eat salted, chemical laden, preserved, packaged food. Why is it not the same for our dogs?
 

jennie_c_d

 Any human doctor is going to encourage a human with health problems to eat fresh veggies. Eat fresh meat. Don't eat salted, chemical laden, preserved, packaged food. Why is it not the same for our dogs? 

Do they assert that in school, what's is good for the human body must be good for the dogs body as well?  I'm sure they do!    String beans are good for you, just like your carrots and peas, therefore it is great food for dogs as well!  I don't buy into that industry rhetoric.  My dogs do not need fresh vegetables and fruits as part of their regular diet and believe it or not manage to remain very healthy!  I don't believe dogs are allergic to chicken protein or meat proteins like they want you to believe.  Dogs are allergic and suffer problems from inappropriate nutrition IMO, and that stems from too much grain (fiber) and a buffet of veggies and fruits....next think you know another hot spot and off to the vet.  NO THANK YOU.

That's not what I meant, Charlie. We are omnivores. They are carnivores. Obviously, the food would be different. I was talking about the fresh, unprocessed part. My dogs do like some veggies. The Dachshund, in particular, likes anything that moves slower than she does. That doesn't make me think that they *need* a ton of veggies. A few, yes. A ton, no.

And my dogs don't get hot spots. Gross.

BTW, the *only* thing anybody can have an allergic reaction to is protein. Everything contains protein, so everything is a potential allergen. Hot spots are *not* an allergic reaction. Hives are. Itchy skin is not. Allergic reactions are fairly quickly occurring, and an immune response. Food sensitivities are fairly common. Actual allergies? Not so much. You don't see a lot of dogs breaking out in hives, or turning blue from food. 

cc431

  I don't believe dogs are allergic to chicken protein or meat proteins like they want you to believe.  Dogs are allergic and suffer problems from inappropriate nutrition IMO, and that stems from too much grain (fiber) and a buffet of veggies and fruits....next think you know another hot spot and off to the vet.  NO THANK YOU.

   Charlie; Dogs can be and are allergic to meat protein as they can be to grains and even some supplements; I proved Jessie was allergic to chicken with an elimination diet. It has nothing to do with poor nutrition; they inherit allergies from their parents just like we do.