Is anyone here feeding their dog EXCLUSIVELY ...

RinaRina · ‎03-13-2010

HOME-MADE dog food? Are you adding supplements? If so, which ones? Are there certain ingredients that you put in every meal?

Thanks.

"The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become."

Jtdmum · ‎03-17-2010

I make home made treats, not dinners. Vet told me to leave him on rx based food. Versus what you make for your pet and put in, look into what you must leave out. Dogs and onions, bad. Same with garlic, it will lyse their cells, cause an anemic reaction. Too much dairy (including cheese) can cause kidney and bladder stones. They are carnivores, check your vet to see what they suggest.

JLLH358 · ‎03-10-2010

We have been feeding raw for about 2-3 years now and will NEVER return to processed food unless it's to switch an animal over slowly from that to a raw diet. Re: what to add, I would use Dr. Karen Becker's wonderful book "Healthy Food for Dogs and Cats" as a guide. She is very meticulous in what she suggests and why and when... Get the latest edition (available on the mercola site or on Amazon, and probably other places as well.) I would be wary of asking a conventional vet for their opinion on a diet for the simple reason that most have no real background in nutrition, other than the one course they got in vet school which used materials form the big pet food industry -- hardly an objective source of knowledge! Karen Becker is a holistic vet and her book is our "go to" source. You can cook the boneless recipes in her book, or feed raw. Raw is best since any processing will destroy some nutrients and introduce carcinogens into the food, but her book can be used for both. Read the book carefully, though, because a little, incomplete knowledge in the make-up of a diet can be disastrous for your animal. If fear or time are factors, there are commercial companies which have done the balancing for you: Bravo, K9 Naturals, Primal, Honest Kitchen, etc... Most of these deal in raw foods, but some freeze-dry it and it can be reconstituted or fed as is. Bottom line: make sure the source of your information is knowledgeable and has the requisite background to give you good info.!

I highly recommend Karen Becker's newsletter (free). You can also google any of her articles on a good diet on the main page....

healthypets.mercola.com

Happy Reading!!

ETA: Again, it cannot be repeated enough: If you want to cook the meals, they CANNOT have bone ground up in them or added to them beforehand! Cooked bones are dangerous.