Is it worth it? Dog food of course.....
 

I am new to this site, thank you. I don't know anything about dog nutrition, and would love some feedback. I attend dog trade shows, and see so much hype about dog food, I wanted to know what you feed yours and what you do and don't recommend. Jaz just started on Blue Buffalo, but its a bit expensive, and I wanted to see if it was worth it.
Please, some feedback from those of you with healthy older dogs as to what you feed. I was recommend making my own from chicken and rice.
Jaz and I thank you for the communication

One thing to keep in mind about the pet food industry is that it is considered "self regulating" meaning there is no one watching what they are doing. There are no regulations concerning their advertizing or just how honest they are about what they put on the label.

The FDA groups pet food in the same category as "feeds." There are some very appalling things that the FDA has approved for use as pet food so take all those claims with a large grain of salt. It takes some time and study to get to the bottom of what is actually in that bag or can of food.

I do believe that it is worth it to buy the best food you can possibly get for your pet but finding what food is actually the best is a tricky task. Most big name companies are some of the worst offenders as far as using low grade ingredients and then adding a ton of synthetic vitamins in order to make it meet the nutritional requirements. You won't find the details of how they manufacture their food on any label or even the website of these companies.

If you are interested in some really well investigated articles on the pet food industry Truth About Pet Food is a very good site to read. Susan Thixton has been investigating the pet food industry for many years now while trying to get them to raise the standards but it is a multimillion dollar industry and a difficult task to get the info out.
Truth about Pet Food

If you home cook food you have to get a recipe from a vet nutritionist and use a supplement like balance it.

I don't think anyone suggested home cooking now did they?
Is there some law that has been enacted stating that you have to get a recipe from a vet nutritionist? I don't remember hearing about that legislation.

She said she was thinking of making her own food. With the recipe from a vet nutritionist and a supplement you are not meeting there nutritional needs and doing a lot of harm to them. I read an article maybe a year ago about things people where doing to there pets that where actually hurting them and it said home cooking with out the proper balance is one of them.

dog
 

I like Wellness dog food. High quality and my dogs have good solid poops. Try it and I mix it with Wellness Chicken Stew. I use the Super 5 mix Complete Health.

Yes, the OP did. And no, there is no law. Owners do have the right to feed unbalanced diets. I do hope they are prepared to treat bone, blood, heart, and eye problems, etc. though.

Do you go to a physician to get recipes to cook for yourself or your family? Do you really think that dog nutrition requires a degree and special consultations in order to prepare a balance meal for a pet? Does it really take more preparation to feed a pet than a human? Maybe that is what you want to do but it not a rule to enforce on others.

Many people here do home cooking for their dogs without costly consultations and have found that their dog's health improves while doing so.

Yes, people have the right to feed their pets whatever they feel is best. I personally don't think that highly processed foods with synthetic vitamins added in order to meet the minimum nutritional requirement is a healthy choice for my pets. Many people feel that feeding fresh meats and vegetables is a better choice. That does not mean that I or others are feeding unbalance meals to our pets.

I don't tell people how to feed their pets and I would never tell you or anyone else that they must go to a nutritionist before preparing food for yourself or your family. We give suggestions and discuss options.

By the way, I feed my dog a commercial raw brand of food with occasional homemade meals. I did a lot of research before deciding for myself what was the best way to feed her. I feel I know a lot about the subject but I would not tell others that they must do what I do or insult others because they do not agree with me.

This is actually not a bad idea. What with the growing waistlines in the US, this sounds like a fantastic idea. I work with 3 and 4 year olds. I never in my life expected to see the BMIs I'm seeing for such young children. And their teeth! So many roted teeth in these young children from all the sugary foods and drinks these kids ingest daily. Our meal plans are consulted with a registered dietician. Their lunches are the only balanced meal these kids eat. :(

Back to the OP. When it comes to dog food, I try my best to treat Kaji's meals the same as I do my own. Everything I eat I try to get with simple ingredients. For example if I buy ice cream, it can't have complicated sciency words. I try to do the same for Kaji. If I'm feeding him duck flavored kibble, duck better be one of the ingredients, and not duck meal. Etc. it's not an exact science, but I try my best to feed him good food. I would go to a vet nitritionist but I doubt I could afford that.

Key word is: BALANCED...home cooked meals are NOT balanced, chicken & rice is DEF not balanced. Vet nutritionists are recommended so they can formulate a balanced diet w/the right supplements.

What?s in a Balanced Dog Food? | petMD

Know What the Best Homemade Diet for Your Pet Is

another good read w/vid: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites...isastrous.aspx

:thumbup: People need to be aware that they can cause more harm than good by feeding an unbalanced diet.

:thumbup: Meant to quote your post too for thumbs up. It's the worst thing someone can do for their pet unintentionally, give a home cooked unbalanced meal.

Nobody said you had to go to a vet nutritionist but you have to use a recipe made by one and you have to use a supplement or the meal is not balanced and you could make your dog sick by not feeding balanced meals. If you have a dog with any health issues and want to home cook that is when you need to get a consult.

Nobody is enforcing a rule on anybody else. Some of you will continue to feed fresh meat and vegetables while others of us will feed highly processed food with synthetic vitamins or homecooked meals that have been balanced by experts. Obviously each owner can make their own choice.

I didn't say a consultation was required.
Research is fine, but yes, I do believe having credentials is important. Veterinary nutritionists are not just veterinarians. And BTW this is part of what I'm going to school for, so again I do believe there is more to it than a couple hundred hours of reading.

I'd love to homecook for my dogs, but am so afraid of it not being balanced. The only thing holding me back from using Balance It supplements is that it's too carb heavy. My guys are doing well on premade raw dog food, so we'll stick to that for now.
Just thought I'd post this in regards to gracielove's question about whether or not it takes special preparations to feed a human than a pet.
The Best and Worst Pet Foods

By balanced I mean food that contains all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients your dog or cat needs.
This isn't something you can guess at – it should be guaranteed through testing.
Nutritional balance is vitally important because deficiencies will develop much faster in your dog or cat than they will in you. A poorly nourished puppy or kitten can end up with obvious signs of skeletal problems and organ degeneration before she's six months old.
An older animal can develop life-threatening organ degeneration, among many other not-so-obvious symptoms, over a one to three year period of eating an unbalanced, nutrient-deficient diet.

Balanceit is not carb heavy. Their carnivore blends balance out an entire meat diet. One of my dogs eats a high meat-based protein diet with a decent amount of fat. I think some people here just don't understand what a consult involves for a medical issue. I just don't understand the chip on the shoulder about this. Why be defensive about what one feeds? It's your dog - feed what you want. I still am going to tell people what I think is correct.

Dogs have much more specific nutritional requirements than humans. An unbalanced diet usually will make a dog sick fairly quickly. Long term effects can be devastating. There are always exceptions, but I'm not willing to test it on my dogs.

If my vet was concerned about my dog eating plain chicken and rice for a couple of weeks, I take him seriously.

Commercial kibble has been recalled and pulled from the shelves for making dogs very ill or killing them with unbalanced nutrients. Manufacturers spend lots of time and money, and ideally do feeding trials, for a reason.

Edit to add: yes, I would only trust a vet nutritionist to advise me on home cooking.

Oops Balance It does have the all meat diet...4got about that! If you go to their site (balance it.com), you can generate free recipes for a healthy dog. They even give you the option of using human supplements for some recipes.

I also think every individual has the right to feed what they want to their pets...As long as it's balanced.

Aren't all commercial dog foods, whether kibble, wet, raw or freeze dried, made with supplements that would be the equivalent of BalanceIt?

Often "chelated minerals", usually from China.

I don't think anyone here tells anyone that they must feed a certain diet, other than a balanced diet. It's not any different than telling people not to feed toxic foods. Not intended as insulting. It's a safety and health issue.

Re-reading what I wrote and now see how ridiculous it sounds.

I meant to say that some dog food manufacturers are better than others about making sure that the nutritional balance is just right: safe for our dogs. This is why some people here are vocal advocates of companies who have a vet nutritionist on staff or central to the development process, and who do feeding trials.

If you want to home cook then there are great pet nutrition books out there, I would do a bit of research on a carnivorous diet as you certainly don't want to be feeding too much plant protein over meat protein. I would recommend using Quinoa instead of rice. Also cooking does remove some of the essential enzymes needed so be sure you are supplementing it.
There is a wonderful food supplement out there called Feedsentials that I would recommend.
I feed my boys raw, consisting of ground meat (rabbit, lamb, duck, turkey, pork) bones and organs, as well as very meaty bones, such as pork ribs and brisket, lamb chops and flank, beef brisket, whole rabbit and smelts (fish). The key is to rotate your proteins and ensure your dog is getting a good balance as there are different minerals and vitamins in the meats that they need.

I too chose the raw route after a lot of consultation with many raw feeding breeders and dog owners, discussions with my holistic and very experienced vet and a heck of a lot of research on my end.

I've managed to encourage many friends to come to the dark side and feed raw, much to their delight they see great improvements in their animals within a matter of weeks. It's not for everyone but I advocate it whenever I can.

This thread isn't bad at all. Recommending that Robyn reads it. "The importance of a balanced diet.":thumbup:

Feeding Jaz
 

Thank you all for the information. If I make my own food, how much and often do I feed her? She is about 2 lbs now

I feed a premade raw diet - by either Primal, Natures Variety, or a few others. I used to homecook and before that I fed kibble.

As far as what to feed, what is your long term goal...do you want to feed kibble, raw, or homecooked?

If interested in homecooking, just keep in mind that like us, dogs have RDAs (recommended daily allowances) that should be taken into consideration if you want a healthy kiddo. There are nutritionists (non-vet) and vet nutritionists who can provide custom recipes. One option is BalanceIT, which may have already been mentioned.

Here is a link to some homecooking formulations (by Dr. Terifaj, whom I greatly respect): Homecooked Diet by Dr. Paula Terifaj

One from Nature's Farmacy: http://www.naturesfarmacy.com/downlo...endly_Diet.pdf

And a little online mini-book regarding homecooking and recipes: A Quick Introduction To Natural Homemade Dog Food and Natural Homemade Cat Food

Some people like Dr. Pitcairn's dog, but I'm not the biggest fan...but it's an option you may want to look over: Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health...

Puppies should be fed 6-10% of their body weight and adult dogs 2-3% of their body weight