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Dog food
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08-09-2016 11:22pm#1
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I'm pretty sure it's tk123 that has separate freezers for her frozen dog food. Do be wary that if you get into making up your own mixes that tripe, sprat etc can taint any human food in the freezer.
There's something disconcerting about fishy-smelling vanilla ice cream. Didn't stop me eating the ice cream mind you...
Yeah it's me
I went from 1 drawer in house freezer -> under counter freezer -> shed with upright freezer and the under counter freezer..and have an undercounter fridge inside too (more because the house one is too small lol). I've always DIY'd though and have only every gotten chubbs from CK/Nutriment as a novelty a few times or when they were on offer but too expensive for me and the varieties are too limited because I don't feed chicken.
I wouldn't spend any more than €40-50 a month MAX feeding my two - I don't even think it's that much! I must work it out at some stage.
Slaneypetfoods.ie is our favourite supplier btw!0 -
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I have two freezers too, one is called "Lara's freezer" after the first dog I put on the raw diet, 6 years ago
I also buy from Slaney Foods, I just find them better to deal with. I also buy meat going cheap in Lidl.
I'm kinda with Knine, I go with how the dog looks... For instance, Cocker5 is feeding her fella 500g per day based on his weight. I'm going to take a flying stab in the dark and say that my large GSD is probably 2.5-3 times heavier than Cocker5's Cody. But if I fed her 2.5-3 times more than Cody gets, she would be trailing her belly along the floor!
She's 40kg and as chilled out as they come. She doesn't burn it off as quickly as a live wire Cocker would... She gets 800g per day!
So it's important to go with what your dog's waistline says!0 -
She's 40kg and as chilled out as they come. She doesn't burn it off as quickly as a live wire Cocker would... She gets 800g per day!
So it's important to go with what your dog's waistline says!
Thank goodness you said that - I nearly choked when I saw Cocker5's getting 500g/day. I was worried I was starving mine for a minute!
My big one would be approx 2x weight of a cocker and she's probably getting around 600g/day. She is phenomenally lazy mind you.
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That's why I said it was a guide One of mine gets 350 and the other 400 to allow for their treats - we do some training on our walks so they'd get treats then, when I go to work they get something and again in the evening before bed 0
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I have two freezers too, one is called "Lara's freezer" after the first dog I put on the raw diet, 6 years ago
I also buy from Slaney Foods, I just find them better to deal with. I also buy meat going cheap in Lidl.
I'm kinda with Knine, I go with how the dog looks... For instance, Cocker5 is feeding her fella 500g per day based on his weight. I'm going to take a flying stab in the dark and say that my large GSD is probably 2.5-3 times heavier than Cocker5's Cody. But if I fed her 2.5-3 times more than Cody gets, she would be trailing her belly along the floor!
She's 40kg and as chilled out as they come. She doesn't burn it off as quickly as a live wire Cocker would... She gets 800g per day!
So it's important to go with what your dog's waistline says!
Just to add i base my 500g per day on the calculator above however as DBB has stated different dogs different feeding needs - Cody (11.5) does around 30Km plus per week in walks - so it does depends on exercise levels etc
But def go RAW once you switch over you'll never look back - IMO0 -
That's why I said it was a guide One of mine gets 350 and the other 400 to allow for their treats - we do some training on our walks so they'd get treats then, when I go to work they get something and again in the evening before bed
Ah, I'm only messing - I'm fairly happy with the condition of my two. T'was a shock to see the difference though! And mine would cover a good bit more distance than Cocker5 quoted every week - I'd imagine they're just far more sedentary in the house. :pac:
Incidentally, are you dehydrating meat for treats? I've been taking some of my food allocation out on walks and (while it's made a phenomenal improvement to re-call training), it's probably not too feasible to keep carrying bags of fresh meat in my pockets when winter comes in and I'm wearing a less-easily washed rain jacket instead of a hoodie. :rolleyes:0 -
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Ah, I'm only messing - I'm fairly happy with the condition of my two. T'was a shock to see the difference though! And mine would cover a good bit more distance than Cocker5 quoted every week - I'd imagine they're just far more sedentary in the house. :pac:
Incidentally, are you dehydrating meat for treats? I've been taking some of my food allocation out on walks and (while it's made a phenomenal improvement to re-call training), it's probably not too feasible to keep carrying bags of fresh meat in my pockets when winter comes in and I'm wearing a less-easily washed rain jacket instead of a hoodie. :rolleyes:
Haha yes I am! I figured out that I wasn't dehydrating for long enough so the results were ok but not great. I just fill the dehydrator and leave it overnight now - all the dogs go crazy for the treats. Even my friend's dog with kidney failure is asking for them and they can't get her to eat much at all (before anyone gives out about protein levels etc - the vets want to her to eat anything she'll take at all to stop her from deteriorating
). I have her a bag of "turkey cake" yesterday evening and 1/4 of it was gobbled up 0 -
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Defo not obese, but can you feel their ribs? It's hard to tell from pics so you're aiming for feeling their ribs but not seeing them.
I know that my terrier leans towards the heavier side and you can barely feel his ribs (irrespective of exercise and acting like he's constantly starving) while the GSD-ish is picky about her food and if she is feeling sensitive will only eat when we hold her bowl. So I tend to go by feel and just adjust with a bit more food when I feel they're too light and a bit less when I feel they're too heavy. When they're still hungry, carrots are great for keeping them quiet.
My first comment was deleted by my useless internet so I wanted to add that the jacker x collie is just gorgeous. I'd say it's a handful and then some but it's an amazing mix. x0 -
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The one I've heard is the 'rule of thumb'. Hold out your hand palm-up. If their ribs feel like the base of your fingers (you can feel them but you have to push a bit to feel them under the fat) then they have too much fat over their ribs. Then turn your hand over, still held flat. The backs of your knuckles is what the ribs should feel like. Then make a fist- the ribs should never stick out/feel like your knuckles when you make a fist. You should see a dog's ribs when it runs. They should have an obvious waist. For me, if people who have very overweight dogs tell me I need to feed my dog more, I reckon I'm all right.
If they are doing well on the RC, then go with the RC. If you'd like something cheaper, and no problem with that, then get small bags of different foods* and try them out. See what suits your dogs, listen to your dogs over the likes of me on the internet.
People say x diet is best and y diet is great (and they very likely are, for that person's dog) but at the end of the day, IF the diets are nutritionally adequate (and most should be- they're all the same minimum nutrition requirements) then go with what the dog seems to do well on. I've had two sensitive dogs for the last decade, and I've never noticed a broad-spectrum difference between how they do on dog foods based on meat content, or based on expense. One of them is usually on 70 euro a bag stuff and one is on Lidl dog food, not because I love one more, but because that's what they do well on. With both of them I was chasing after what people were recommending- homecooked (tried raw on both of them and it did not agree but they still get a duck neck intermittently), overpriced brands etc. Your dog will tell you what to feed them. Ask the vet's advice on their condition.
People will tell you premium foods are healthier because the dog produces smaller poos- (a) depends on the dog (i.e. some dogs are more prone to constipation) and (b) that is usually as a result of a higher fat content, and while fat is not as bad as people make it out to be, I wouldn't consider a bag of chips to be healthier for me than a baked potato *because* it's higher in fat.
Joint supplements are unlikely to harm but the evidence is against them working.
*Edited to add: some pet shops, garden centres etc, and some dog food companies, provide tiny sample bags of kibble. I see Red Mills samples (their Engage line, which I like) in some garden centres. You might be able to find something they like or test foods that way to see if they give the dog runny poo.0 -
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Ah Lexie
It's not meant to be such a downer, and when you're breaking your butt trying to do your best, nobody should try to make you feel bad about it. That's just wrong.
So. I've been in your shoes. I've had gravely ill dogs, including a dog who was badly injured after being knocked down, and just like you, I ended up inadvertently teaching her that certain rules must be abided by (by me) at meal times. She wouldn't eat for the rest of her life, unless I hand-fed her. Me, and me only.
What can you do? You've a sick dog that needs food to get better? So, don't feel alone in that respect, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.
What's wrong with feeding fresh, cooked food? Nothing. It's fantastic for them.
According to some of the purists, it's not as good as the raw diet, but nobody need tell me that it's much worse than raw, nutritionally...how the hell could it be, unless you're boiling the bejayzus out of it for hours?!
Raw feeding doesn't have much science behind it (probably because there isn't huge commercial interest in it to fund research?), but one thing there is some research behind is what dogs like to eat, what tastes they prefer. And what comes top of the list? Fresh, cooked food!
When I was dealing with a very sick dog with liver cancer, both of the vets she was seeing advised putting her on a raw diet... that's what started me on the road. But she didn't much like it. So, one of the vets, a very popular and well-known vet and real raw-feeding specialist, said one line to me that changed everything...
"Make her a nice chicken stew!"
So I did, and she loved it, and if it wasn't as nutritious as raw, it wasn't far off... and what point is a nutritious raw diet when they won't bloody eat it?! It was also hugely more nourishing than a dry diet.
So, you want to make your pooches a fresh, cooked diet? Go right ahead. Yummy. I'm assuming they'll eat better and take a lot of pressure off you as a consequence? You might even be able to mix some dry food through it until it's slushy if you want to shut your vet up 0 -
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There isn't, as far as I can see, any one 'best' diet. Find what they do well on and matter a damn if someone else tells you you're a 'bad owner.' From the sounds of it you're very caring- send those people to me and I'll roar at them.
I feed my girlie Royal Canin or Naturo or Engage (again not saying these are the bestest foods ever), went into a pet food shop and they were killed trying to tell me that grains were bad for her and she should be eating an all chicken all beef diet. She tolerates grains, she gets the runs from either chicken or beef. I also have had people giving out to me because she's not obese (seriously, the given reason was that an elderly lab should be fat). People will always give out to you for something, that doesn't mean they'll be right. If the dogs do well on RC, feed RC.
If they've always been hard to convince to eat, and get underweight very easily (I've put dog condition sites at the end of this post), you might have to keep going with your approach. Some dogs just aren't that interested in food and are very hard to put weight on.
BUT if it's the case that they've got into the habit of demanding cooked or warm food, they were fine before, then you might be able to also get them out of the habit. No harm in putting down a bowl of nuts, taking it up again after 15 minutes, and then going on with your day. Try again for the evening meal, if they don't eat it, they don't eat it. Two days of this and they might decide that it's not so bad to eat without you cheering them on. You could shut them in the room with it, go off and do something else, come back in 15 minutes, and just remove the food without a word. Does it feel a bit mean? Absolutely. But it's not going to do them harm to not eat much for a couple of days, barring conditions like diabetes.
I think it is worth giving it a go for a couple of days, because if my dog is being minded by a friend, in the vet, if they get lost etc. I'd rather know that they can eat without trouble- but it's entirely your decision, I'm just putting this forward because you said you want to get them out of the habit. This is a suggestion, not a command!
If cooking isn't your bag you could approach DBB's suggestion from the other end. You're adding water to their kibble anyway and cooking it. You could always get some cheap offal (better IMO than muscle meat), chop it small, cook it in water, and put it over the kibble.
http://www.k9station.com/articles/fat.htm Lots of pictures of dogs and body condition
http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=7572 Pictures of collies, specifically, of different sizes and shapes and coats, but at appropriate weights.0 -
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