I refuse to feed my furbutts dog food!!!!!

[Cerise]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I homecook. Have been for 3 years now. I find it time consuming, inconvenient, expensive, nerve-racking, and frustrating. But hey, that's me.

LOL! That is the way I feel about the other chores ... like cleaning the dishes and doing laundry I hate them! LOLOL!!! I do them both fussing all they way through.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Cerise

LOL! That is the way I feel about the other chores ... like cleaning the dishes and doing laundry I hate them! LOLOL!!! I do them both fussing all they way through.

I hate having to travel with the stuff, change it when she isn't doing well, measure out ingredients to balance the recipe, thaw, etc., etc., etc. Grrrr

[Cerise]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I hate having to travel with the stuff, change it when she isn't doing well, measure out ingredients to balance the recipe, thaw, etc., etc., etc. Grrrr

We haven't traveled far yet But we will in June and that will be a challaenge.

[ArmaniMan]

To the OP: have you considered this food: Natural Dog Food | The Honest Kitchen

I have gone back and forth on whether to do homecooking or just use the honest kitchen... I have gotten samples and used them before and my dogs liked them. You can also add other things to them to make them more "fresh" if you want.

It really isnt that difficult to feed... more time consuming than kibble but not too difficult.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by KristenDanielle

I bought Natural Balance Organic dog food in the roll and Zoey was not impressed at all! She gave me the 'How dare you try to feed me that crap, if you eat it first then maybe I'll try it' face. I'm going to the pet store today and I'm going to take a peek in there. Zoey eats dry food from her vet by the way and she only eats it when she is picky or if the other dogs eat it because she is selfish lol!

I hate it when they do this! We spend countless hours reading about the foods we buy, comparing ingredients, checking for fillers and on and on. Junk food just tastes so much better doesn't it? I settled on a food and Kaji did too. He loves the chicken formula, and thought I'd give lamb a try for variety. He game me that same look Zoey gave you. I put half chicken half lamb and he gave me the stink eye! He then picked out all the lamb kibbles, threw them on the floor and only ate the chicken. After that I understood chicken good, lamb no so much. Sometimes I think I should just home cook, he wold like that better, but then I think how do I know I'm giving him appropriate amounts of everything? I would home cook if under the supervision of a doggy nutritionist, otherwise I'd be scared. I like the food he's on now, less eye gunk, his coat is nice, his poops are good, no fillers and junk, and most importantly, HE'LL EAT IT! Maybe I shouldn't mess with a good thing?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I just want to remind everybody that while homecooking is okay, it has to be done correctly. Most or all of the recipes on YT are unbalanced and they are not okay to feed regularly. The recipes in the homecooking sticky could be used as treats. Very few, if any, are appropriate for everyday feeding (and some aren't even appropriate for one time feeding). An unbalanced diet can lead to some extremely serious health problems over time. If ratios are unbalanced and/or there are too many or too few vitamins and minerals, heart, blood, and bone problems can develop along with a whole list of other things. If a recipe does not meet AAFCO (or possibly NRC) guidelines for your dog's lifestage, then it should not be used.

It's everyone's right to feed what they want to feed, but it does not make these recipes right. The first thing that could be looked at is, does the recipe have a guaranteed analysis? There is much more that goes into it, but if it doesn't have a GA, then you don't even know how much protein and fat your pupster is getting!

Completely agree.

[KristenDanielle]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

To the OP: have you considered this food: Natural Dog Food | The Honest Kitchen

I have gone back and forth on whether to do homecooking or just use the honest kitchen... I have gotten samples and used them before and my dogs liked them. You can also add other things to them to make them more "fresh" if you want.

It really isnt that difficult to feed... more time consuming than kibble but not too difficult.

I am thinking about homecooking, for me, it seems to be the best way. I looked up the honest kitchen and they are a little pricey, I would spend the money if my kids liked it though, but just to try it it doesn't seem worth it. I'm going to look too see if I can get free samples somewhere. Thanks for the tip!

[KristenDanielle]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

I hate it when they do this! We spend countless hours reading about the foods we buy, comparing ingredients, checking for fillers and on and on. Junk food just tastes so much better doesn't it? I settled on a food and Kaji did too. He loves the chicken formula, and thought I'd give lamb a try for variety. He game me that same look Zoey gave you. I put half chicken half lamb and he gave me the stink eye! He then picked out all the lamb kibbles, threw them on the floor and only ate the chicken. After that I understood chicken good, lamb no so much. Sometimes I think I should just home cook, he wold like that better, but then I think how do I know I'm giving him appropriate amounts of everything? I would home cook if under the supervision of a doggy nutritionist, otherwise I'd be scared. I like the food he's on now, less eye gunk, his coat is nice, his poops are good, no fillers and junk, and most importantly, HE'LL EAT IT! Maybe I shouldn't mess with a good thing?

What are you giving your baby? Maybe my picky eaters will like it too?!?

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by KristenDanielle

What are you giving your baby? Maybe my picky eaters will like it too?!?

I feed Lotus. It's made and distributed here in So Cal. It hasn't made it out to anywhere else yet.

[MauiGirl]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I just want to remind everybody that while homecooking is okay, it has to be done correctly. Most or all of the recipes on YT are unbalanced and they are not okay to feed regularly. The recipes in the homecooking sticky could be used as treats. Very few, if any, are appropriate for everyday feeding (and some aren't even appropriate for one time feeding). An unbalanced diet can lead to some extremely serious health problems over time. If ratios are unbalanced and/or there are too many or too few vitamins and minerals, heart, blood, and bone problems can develop along with a whole list of other things. If a recipe does not meet AAFCO (or possibly NRC) guidelines for your dog's lifestage, then it should not be used.

It's everyone's right to feed what they want to feed, but it does not make these recipes right. The first thing that could be looked at is, does the recipe have a guaranteed analysis? There is much more that goes into it, but if it doesn't have a GA, then you don't even know how much protein and fat your pupster is getting!

Excellent post Crystal! This should be added as a sticky on the Diet section.

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by KristenDanielle

I agree that if my pup is hungry enough she will eat anything. I am sorry that I do not pick my words carefully but I wasn't saying the dog food was crap, my dog just doesn't like it. I aim to please my furbaby even if it drives me nuts lol. I am sorry that what I said turned into an argument. Zoey has human eyes so she looks as if she has emotions, as crazy as that sounds, she acts more human than actual humans do.

No worries and what I wrote wasnt directly aimed at you and Im sorry if it seemed that way, I know that I qouted what you said and that was only becasue Ive have been told numerous times what I was feeding my dogs was garbage. Not everyone on this forum feeds the same foods and we are all doing what we feel is right for our pets and for someone to tell you other wise, is rude..
I hope you can find a food that works for pup..

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by DamSweet

Sorry to “butt in” on this thread, but this food thing has really hit home and has been an eye opener….I think that as a new Yorkie owner (I always had big dogs that just ate everything) I am trying too hard. I read everything I could on dog food and sent for the all the samples and bought anything I couldn't get samples of (gets a little expensive). Bridget came to me eating Proplan, and ate it very well – then her habits changed (probably the “treats” she was given gave her a new taste that she liked). My vet thought it was a good food to feed her, so I didn't worry until I read that it wasn't. When she started turning up her nose at her kibble, I took it as my cue to change her food to something better (which from what I understand almost anything is better) ….that is when I started on this venture of finding her the “right and best” food. Problem is – she turns her nose up at everything…or so I thought. People who have found a good food are so excited about it that when a post reads that their dogs “gobble it right up”, or “get excited” when they are fed, makes me think that Bridget is not liking it if she’s not reacting the same, not realizing that dogs like people have different eating habits. My vet told me to just leave it down….she’ll eat it. I got nervous that she wasn’t eating it as quickly as I thought she should and tried something different. I think that WV Yorkies, Archie and Hugz4all4 are saying is absolutely right – I think I’ve made Bridget picky. Do I think that she may get bored may need a little variety every once and a while – absolutely – but I think when I need to give her a little variety, I should maybe switch her wet food between 2 different flavors – rather than 8 totally different foods – heck – she wants to eat the cat food every day, and that never changes. AND she will eat and and all that I’ve tried if hand fed. So after having a “duh” moment – I’m seeing I am creating a spoiled girl…..good intentions but no so good outcome. Since she has no health issues or allergies to date - I need to decide on one good food and stick with it.

Thanks WV Yorkies,Archie, and Hugz4all4 for the eye opener. I was so worried about not being a “good mom” that I think I was confusing her....when my skin kids refused to eat what was on the table, I certainly didn't run over to the stove and cook them a whole new meal.
(Sorry again if I’ve stepped where I shouldn’t have – but I really wanted to comment on WV Yorkies,Archie, and Hugz4all4’s posts).

your welcome and Im glad that what I posted has helped out. I have been down this road for so long that it has actually stressed me out.. and stressing out over what I was feeding my dogs is ridicolous (sp?) and the hubby was getting a tad bit upset over the money I was spending week after week on dog food that was just stacking up in the corner cause my dogs wouldnt or couldnt eat it. I was on my last food trial (life's abundance) before I was headed back to SD, which my dogs ate and did great on. Anyways, find something your dog will eat, does well on and who cares what anyone else says about it.. ..

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by Cerise

The Op didn't say that this food was crap! She said her baby looked at it like it was crap. BIG difference.

But I don't mind stating the fact that most commercial dog foods are crap. There are some quality ones out there but lets be realistic. The bad ones (the crap) have been the norm for most of the pet food marketing for many years and it took horrible events to bring about some change, but still people shouldn't be fooled by all the change that is claimed, because too many bad companies make some of what people consider to be superior foods Big businesses are sneaky!

But there are companies that do make quality pet food.

So it's really about convenience.

Homecooking pet owners have figured out that the convenience is not worth the expense of not knowing exactly what their furbabies are eating. We fit the preparation into our busy schedules and find it rewarding. It's not hard and it just takes approximately 2 hours out of one month (depending on how many meal choices you want ) and that's NOT an inconvenience to us.

IMO each pet owner has to make their own choice for what works for them. But I will say this...if you are finding that your Yorkie baby is not liking kibble or having problems with eating and you are getting frustrated...consider researching homecooking! Changing to it WILL NOT make your baby a spoiled brat and IMO those who think so are just not well informed of the benefits.

and this post was my exact point... I dont care that you feel that what I feed my dogs is crap... my dogs like eating thier crap, they are doing very well on it and are in the best shape/health they have been in awhile..
Im glad that homecooking is working for you.. however I feel that its not the right thing for my pets.. but I wouldnt tell you that what your feeding your dog crap, thats its wrong or that its not healthy...

[KristenDanielle]

Originally Posted by hugz4all4

No worries and what I wrote wasnt directly aimed at you and Im sorry if it seemed that way, I know that I qouted what you said and that was only becasue Ive have been told numerous times what I was feeding my dogs was garbage. Not everyone on this forum feeds the same foods and we are all doing what we feel is right for our pets and for someone to tell you other wise, is rude..
I hope you can find a food that works for pup..

I understand that 100% but I was just saying that my dog didn't like it. I didn't know everyone was going to fight over it lol .

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I just want to remind everybody that while homecooking is okay, it has to be done correctly. Most or all of the recipes on YT are unbalanced and they are not okay to feed regularly. The recipes in the homecooking sticky could be used as treats. Very few, if any, are appropriate for everyday feeding (and some aren't even appropriate for one time feeding). An unbalanced diet can lead to some extremely serious health problems over time. If ratios are unbalanced and/or there are too many or too few vitamins and minerals, heart, blood, and bone problems can develop along with a whole list of other things. If a recipe does not meet AAFCO (or possibly NRC) guidelines for your dog's lifestage, then it should not be used.

It's everyone's right to feed what they want to feed, but it does not make these recipes right. The first thing that could be looked at is, does the recipe have a guaranteed analysis? There is much more that goes into it, but if it doesn't have a GA, then you don't even know how much protein and fat your pupster is getting!

Great post!!