Pet Lovers

[eddyandme]

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@eddyandme wrote:

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@spent2much wrote:

I'm just wondering... have any of you tried feeding your dog (cooked) real food?  Now, I'm not trying to start an argument here; I'm just wondering.  I buy chopped beef or turkey (3 lbs. or so) on sale.  To that I add quinoa and veggies - usually spinach or broccoli - and I might add in some red pepper and carrots.  So it's about 1/3 meat, 1/3 quinoa and 1/3 veggies.  I cook in bulk and freeze in 32 oz. containers.

I know some "special" dog foods are quite pricey and I honestly don't think this costs me much more, if at all.  A few years ago I started reading about how kibble is really unhealthy for dogs and I felt motivated to cook for our Golden.  I do, however, add a bit of kibble to stretch the food.  I buy one of the few kibbles recommended at truth about pet food dot com.

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Me too!  Just last week I switched from the white tuna to the dark canned.  Think he likes it better!  I also buy hamburger in bulk and freeze it.  Then cook it up with pasta sauce, usually adding peppers to it.  Last week we (we often eat the same) had kielbasa with sauteed cabbage and carrots.  Often bur the in-store baked turkey breast sandwich meat when on sale.  His fave veg is brussel sprouts!  I also think @spent2much  that eating same foods is binding - maybe I'm weird though. And, of course, kibble is added to his meals.

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Meant I buy the in-store... and is bonding, not binding!

[pupwhipped]

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@NickNack wrote:

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@pupwhipped wrote:

@NickNack, the only thing I will say is to be careful. My elderly dog over the last couple of years of his life had terrible issues. Hydrolized protein dog food by Royal Canin worked the best for him for the longest amount of time. I remember trying to switch to a single, novel protein (rabbit I think) and it did not go well at all. It was very frustrating but at least the first 12 or so years of his life he could eat anything and everything...and did. Hope you can find something for Ava that will work and be less expensive, too. Tummy troubles are no fun!  

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@pupwhipped   Ava loves the Z/D prescription diet.  The new diet came around supper time, and I mixed a little bit with her regular diet.  She ate it all but took a long time to finish it.  I hope she starts liking it better.  

If I can't switch her over to this I will go back to the prescription diet and probably won't try again.  I think this is the second time I've tried to get her off the prescription food.

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Yes, @NickNack, I know the struggle well. Our cairn terrier had bad gastro problems for the last 2+ years of his life. Tried sooooo many different combos of this, that, and the other. I baked chicken for him constantly and added that into his food but the balancing act continued to gradually get harder and harder. And any time he got sick I blamed myself for some teeny tiny alteration in his diet I might have made.  Never had a "real" diagnosis although we spent thousands of dollars on all kinds of tests including two ultrasounds and a liver biopsy. Anyway, I'm rambling, but I will just say if you can afford the prescription diet as is, it might be better to leave well enough alone. And most of all, we as pet parents don't need to beat ourselves up so much when all we are trying to do is the very best for our dogs. It is hard.

Best to you and sweet Ava.           

[NickNack]

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@pupwhipped wrote:

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@NickNack wrote:

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@pupwhipped wrote:

@NickNack, the only thing I will say is to be careful. My elderly dog over the last couple of years of his life had terrible issues. Hydrolized protein dog food by Royal Canin worked the best for him for the longest amount of time. I remember trying to switch to a single, novel protein (rabbit I think) and it did not go well at all. It was very frustrating but at least the first 12 or so years of his life he could eat anything and everything...and did. Hope you can find something for Ava that will work and be less expensive, too. Tummy troubles are no fun!  

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@pupwhipped   Ava loves the Z/D prescription diet.  The new diet came around supper time, and I mixed a little bit with her regular diet.  She ate it all but took a long time to finish it.  I hope she starts liking it better.  

If I can't switch her over to this I will go back to the prescription diet and probably won't try again.  I think this is the second time I've tried to get her off the prescription food.

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Yes, @NickNack, I know the struggle well. Our cairn terrier had bad gastro problems for the last 2+ years of his life. Tried sooooo many different combos of this, that, and the other. I baked chicken for him constantly and added that into his food but the balancing act continued to gradually get harder and harder. And any time he got sick I blamed myself for some teeny tiny alteration in his diet I might have made.  Never had a "real" diagnosis although we spent thousands of dollars on all kinds of tests including two ultrasounds and a liver biopsy. Anyway, I'm rambling, but I will just say if you can afford the prescription diet as is, it might be better to leave well enough alone. And most of all, we as pet parents don't need to beat ourselves up so much when all we are trying to do is the very best for our dogs. It is hard.

Best to you and sweet Ava.           

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@pupwhipped   I gave up on the Natural Balance L.I.D. diet.  I tried the duck and also the salmon.  She didn't like either one, even though I mixed it in with the Z/D hydrolyzed diet very slowly. She didn't eat at all one night, so I threw away the Natural Balance and am giving her the Z/D again.  I don't think I'll try to switch her again.

I ordered a new bag of Z/D from Chewy this morning.