Keely Mama, I do agree with your last post. Though there are some obvious bad foods, there are some very good ones also. I especially agree that we should consider quality of life and not just how many years a dog lives. Thanks for clarifying.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

You shouldn't have to put a long list of supplements in it. There is one company that offeres an all-in-one for homecooking and if you use human vitamins and minerals, you can likely get away with three.

If you built up slowly starting with meat and carbs, adding veggies, then oil, then supplements and this lasted for more than a week, that is confusing.:confused:

While I am in 100% agreement with doing homecooking the correct way, I have found that people make it sound easier than it is. It IS a lot more expensive. It IS more time consumer than kibble. And it IS stressful sometimes, especially if you are dealing with health issues. I have seen no research to suggest that dogs live longer on homecook than they do kibble.

That said, I do it because I am more comfortable with it and I only have one dog. It is just something I want to do for Ellie. :) Not that I like doing it but you know...

I think I had read what protocol you were using and I don't see how anyone uses it. It is a very confusing mess in my opinion. I'm sorry you had to go through that.:(

As far as boarding, Ellie eats what she eats and if they don't like it, she wouldn't be staying.;) I just have family watch her but if I had to board, I would make them refrigerate the food and give it or keep it frozen, thaw it and give it. If they don't want to, they don't want my money very bad. Of course I would be willing to pay a bit extra.

Hi there,
This is my first post on YT, but I have been consumed by the dog food debate lately and I felt compelled to give my opinion here. My Yorkie is 6 1/2 and extremely healthy. After having her on Iams for about 5 1/2 years I switched her food to Candidae which she did not like whatsoever. Then we tried Innova and, once again she wouldn't even go near it. The last "premium" food that we tried was Wellness and she was on it for the longest period of time. Once we switched her diet to a so-called premium food her hair thinned, ears became very dry and itchy, she began rubbing her head in the carpet and licking her paws--all signs of nutrient deficiency. After doing a lot of reading and comparing this movement toward all natural, "premium" dog food to the same trend in human food, I began to wonder if it is just that--a trend. Now, of course I am not saying that it is worse or bad to feed the holistic, all-natural, etc. diets but I really don't believe that all commercial dog foods are as bad as people say here.
I find it hard to believe that people don't shun any thing positive written about commercial dog foods because they want so much to believe that it is so bad for their dogs. You can still be close-minded when all you believe is what a company says is bad of commercial dog foods. Everybody is out to make money and I'm sure there are some brands who are only making this food because they are jumping on the health food craze that trickled down from human diets. I don't believe in extremes and there are a lot of opinions here that are so [I]extreme.[I]
Now I feed my dog Hill's Prescription Diet, by -gasp!- the makers of Science Diet and she loves it. She is very happy and back to her old self. There is no corn or wheat in this food and she has a sensitive stomach but no problems here. I give her home made food often, like broccoli, fruit, baked chicken. Like many others, I have had dogs for my whole life, and most of the people I know have had dogs their entire lives as well. They were fed commercial foods and lived long, healthy, happy lives. Astute dog owners know when their dogs are happy and feeling well.
One thing I believe in is genetics. If your dog is predisposed to a disease then no food will ultimately save her, just like us humans. I eat a balanced, nutritional diet and so does my dog. We are very happy!

Okay, midgemoo.. So, feeding a dog corn in the commercial food is just as good as feeding a dog a food with more meats in it?? Or feeding chicken as the first ingrediant in the commercial stuff is almost just as bad. Because once the chicken is cooked in the dog food. It should reeally be waaaaay fyrther down on the ingrediant list. 80% of that chicken is gone (Water and stuff)..

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex is used in almost ALL of those commercial food. And as I have stated before, it is linked to CANCER. This is not in quility food.

So, feeding your dog great food is just a trend huh? Its just a trend to want the best for our dogs? When this trend dies out i guess i will just tie my dog outside because the whole, keeping her in the house and letting her on my couch trend will also expire. To call , feeding your dog High quality food, a trend, totally cancels anything intelligent in your post, Im sorry, strong feelings towards it.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
I couldn't have said it any better. That's pretty much how I was trying to get my point across as well. Good for you! Great post!

I'm not saying that feeding your dog good food is a trend, because I don't believe I am feeding my dog bad food. I am saying that most of the brands promoted on YT are also companies who are marketing their dog food for a profit. I believe that the overwhelming support and emotion seen in others' posts mean that many of these companies have been successful.

If you eat 100% natural, organic food with no preservatives whatsoever then I can understand why you would feed your dog the same way. I seriously doubt that all of us Yorkie owners eat a diet like this. I grow fruits and vegetables and try my best to eat well but I also love to indulge. I'm not paranoid about every bite that I eat. I am just not worried about my dog. I am confident because she sees the vet regularly and I spend a great deal of time with her everyday. A good friend of mine is studying to be a vet right now, in fact she's about to graduate, and she has taken courses on nutrition in addition to doing independent research. She agrees with me, she has her dogs on the same food and she gets no kickbacks from the companies.:rolleyes:

Thank you! Also Keely_momma, I know about the moisture content and how you can be fooled by the amount of protein in a dog food, but the food I feed her has venison and venison meal...and like I said before, I always save meat for her when I cook for myself. Her food doesn't have Menadione Sodium Bisulfate in it, but there are so many things that cause cancer or purportedly cause cancer that you really can't avoid it in life. If I were worried, I wouldn't feed this to her. The healthiest person or dog in the world can get cancer, and the most unhealthy can live far longer. I try to stay aware but at the same time not get caught up in a craze.

Okay.

The main difference between commercial dog food and HIGH quikity dog food.

Commercial brands, like pedigree, iams and purina. Spend ther money on T.v commercials, billboards and other COMMERCIAL things.

HIGH quility food such as wellness, orijen etc. Spend money on the stuff that goes into food. They do not use the cheapest stuff they can get there grubby hands just so they have most of the money to promote the bad product.


The reason dogs prefer low quility food in regards to taste, is the same reason most people like the taste of a nice greasy hambuger from Mcdonalds.
They spray it with fat which makes the crap, taste good. Because the ingrediants themselves, cant do that. Not only is that very unhealthy for your dog, but just gross.

people know better now...maybe you should too?
 

midgemoo &
no3yshhc0la

i think it's fine you want to feed your dog whatever... (actually i don't think it's fine. i think it bad) it is unfortunate that you want to feed your dog lower quality dog food. i find it hard to believe that you say they are thriving on junk food, but maybe your dog is allergic to something in the premium food you tried? Yes, kids will love mcdonalds food and be happy with it if you feed that to them all the time. but that would still make you an awful parent if you did.

my problem with recommending crappy dog food is that people that don't know any better but are trying to do their best will read it and think that it's good to feed their babies commercial grade dog food.

yes, it is totally a freedom of choice what you feed your baby. but when i first had a rescue cat, i fed him crappy commercial food, because it was recommended to me by a pet shop owner. i also fed milu bad doggie food because it was recommended to me by her breeder. i am angry that they misled me into thinking those were quality foods for my babies. i think that if people haven't done research and they don't actually know what's good for the animals, they shouldn't recommend it to others!

people used to think that you spank the dog and rub it's nose in it's 'accident' to teach them not to have accidents. people used to think that you teach your doggie by punishing them for doing bad things. but most of us know better now, and are working with our babies through positive reinforcements.

the trend you are talking about is called learning, discovering, and growing. people now know a lot more about doggies then they used to.

I really dislike how certain people post about this stuff. I understand people are going to get defensive because this's such a strong popular topic, but people don't need to get snippy with one another, saying people's posts arn't "intelligent" I'm sorry but some people just need to get over the fact that everyone is different. You cannot change everyone's mind about dog food. I'm sure everyone has heard a million times how bad this food or that food is because it has ingredients that can cause cancer in it, they've only been known to, it doesn't mean that just because your dog eats that food that they're going to automatically get it no matter what. I really love this site, but I'm so very close to leaving it. I read on another thread that one member quit this site because she was yelled at by other members because of a decision that she made for her dog. That's just really sad.

Well obviously any dog can get cancer. But WHY greater the risk by feeding things that cause cancer? Or greater the risk of liver failure by feeding foods sprayed with fat? When you could get a food that deosnt do that, and LOWER the risk.

Just because spaying a dog doesnt tottally mean that my dog wont get cancer, Doesnt mean i am not going to spay because the dog can still get cancer. I do it to LOWER the risk (BY almost 80%). of course, and to prevent a litter of puppies being born and taking the place of dogs on death row in animal shletrs;)

The way I see it is, the only "kickbacks" that a vet gets for selling these foods is the profit they make and they could make that same profit from "holistic" foods if they wanted to. Vets do get free dog food from these companies while they're in vet school though and some of them just continue feeding it because that's what was recommended to them. As for as nutritional classes in vet school, there may be some good ones but most of them are spnsored or taught by pet food companies, so they are a bit biased.

I lean toward the more "natural" foods but they definitely have a lot of flaws that are hard to explain away. There is one type of Science Diet that I would consider feeding if I had more dogs. It is in their more natural line but far from the perfect food.

That said, I dont think an itchy dog rubbing itself means a nutritional deficiency. It could've been an allergy. My Yorkie used to be on Science Diet. She threw up every week or two and some of her hair was rough. She also always had a dry nose. It didn't work for her but as far as vitamins and minerals go, I wouldn't say that Science Diet is deficient.

Well for starters, I feed my dog Solid Gold thank you very much so don't go accusing me of feeding a lower grade dog food. I'm simply standing up for what others believe in. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and what I'm upset about is how rude people get towards others just because of the type of food they feed their dog. Whether there's junk in the food or not, dogs can still live a long healthy life on ANY dog food. Some will be like that and some probably won't. It's life. Even if people don't know much about dog food, that doesn't mean they shouldn't recommend it to people. They can simply just give their opinion to them for their own expierence. There's nothing wrong with that.

VERY VERY VERY VERY good post!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::D

it's ok to share your experience if they are only harmful to yourself. but if it is going to be harmful to others, than it's really bad.

people used to think smoking is fine. but they know better now. if you saw someone recommending smoking to a child or a company trying to push their harmful product to an unknowing public. would you not say something? or would you think that's fine too?

See no one gets the point...at all. Everyone responds to me with such a negative attitude. A low grade food doesn't mean that it's harmful to all dogs. Some dogs it might not agree with them, but others it may work better. There's people out there that have tried the high grade dog food and have had bad results with it and have had great results with a lower grade dog food.

I can't stand some of the things people say on here. I'm likely leaving. I hardly ever get responses to some of the threads I post. It's a shame that this site can actually chase people off of it because of the way they post.

Goodness...I think The Great Dog Food Debate will soon rank up there with hot buttons like Religion and Politics :D

I think a debate is just that a debate..No one wants to run anyone off and no one should run off simply based on a post by a stranger. Everyone has opinions , I for one love to hear them all :D

Being a newbie all the many different points of view helped me make my decisions . Some I agree with some I don't but I have to say I was glad to read them all. It helps to make decision making much easier when you are given all sides of an issue.

So whatever food you do decide on , there is no need to feel bad about it, but on the other hand you can't really expect people who feel so strongly about a issue not to post their counter point.

Do some people post more strongly than others ...yes , but like I said it's a hot button issue so it tends to take it up a bit...Religion , Politics , Dog food the three most hot topics around :)

i am not responding to you in a negative tone. i just feel strongly about the topic at hand.

honestly, just take yourself out of the equation. it's not about you. people aren't talking about how much they hate you or anything like that! people are not talking about you at all. people are just concerned and want the best for their doggies.

i can only speak for myself. but yes, i do speak my mind on this forum, and yes i can sound harsh at times. but i am never talking about the owner. i am talking about the doggies, and what's best for them.

i enjoy all the different opinions on here. if we all agreed on the same things, how boring would that be, and how can we ever learn if we all felt ths same way about everything?

diversity is a good thing. discussion is a good thing. differences is a great thing.

try to read the posts as they are, and don't get so personally involved in it and think that people are attacking you. i know that i sound mean or harsh or bitchy or whatever at times, but i am only trying to do what's best for doggies.

i will share with you what happened to me when i met a YT member at a yorkie event. that person said to me "YOU ARE YORKIEPUPPIE!?!?!:eek:YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH!!!" and then gave me a hug with a big smile on her face. i laughed too. we are all just animal lovers trying to do the best for our furbabies.

Thank you very much for a hurtful response, sarcasim or not. Thanks for chasing me off the site.

Thank you for your input, but that is not what I am trying to get at whatsoever by saying that there are a few "know-it-all's" on this site. I think that everyone should feel comfortable asking questions without feeling like they are going to be attacked. Giving an opinion is one thing, but imposing your opinion on others is definitely another. It is wonderful that many people feel very strongly about various topics around the forum, but I feel that some members could just tone it down a notch ;)

haha. that's funny! thanks for lightening up the mood. i was sure doing an awful job of it! LOL :p

i think it's great that people feel strongly about issues. but that's just a personal preference i guess. i really hate it when people either don't have an opinion or don't care about anything that's going on.

so this site is really my cup of tea! lol :D people sure do have opinions here and they are not shy about voicing them, and i just love it! lol:D

I dont think im a no it all. But i do think that i know more about this stuff then most normal, everyday people:D:p

I agree with the majority of your post about the bickering going on...and I just joined in December! :(

:eek::eek::eek:!!!!! Wow, that was completely uncalled for! I believe in feeding your dog high quality food such as orijen, wellness, acana, etc. But honestly...was that post really necessary? Come on...

this site is for your yorkie!
 

no one can chase you off this site, and that's the beauty of it.
you can decide to leave if you want.

but personally, i got on this site because i wanted to learn how to better care for my yorkie. so why would i ever leave? i would leave if i don't feel like i want to take better care of my doggie anymore, and that learning is not important to me anymore.

like i said, it's not about you. it's about what you can learn to provide a better life for your babies. but if you joined this site not having the intention to learn what's best for your yorkie, but just joined for yourself because you wanted to chit-chat, then yea, i can see why you would consider leaving.

BUT, her post was no better. It was just a little less blunt. I didnt mean it! But coming to a food thrwad and whining aboout the rest of YT, is also uncalled for.

In hopes to keep things civil, im going to stop bickering with people and focus on the importtant issue at hand. I dont want this thread to be closed because if a new member joins and it is closed it cannot be bumped up and maybe they wont see it and see whats wrong with feeding LOW quality food.

Admin and Moderators, this thread is getting a little out of hand.

I think that the original poster, carmengamble, midgemoo, and no3yshhc0la all had great posts and opinions. For the most part, they got very rude, opinionated responses back. This seems to be the trend now-a-days. With the economy as bad as it is and people losing jobs right and left, the last thing that we need a lecture on is what dog food to buy, especially if, at the moment, you cant afford the "top of the line, best dog food on Earth" types of dog food. I think that people need to buy the best food they can afford but not to the point of loosing your home or car. Not every dog food is the best dog food for every dog. Some dogs do great on lower quality dogs food and others do great on the high dollar dog foods. None of these dog foods can predict age or healthiness in a dog. The same can be said about human foods. We are all genetically different. Well, thats my two cents!!:)