# Home made dog food



## Kristy_07 (Mar 14, 2010)

Hey, 
On top of the herps, I've also got two big dogs - a mastiff (Kaiser, 3yrs, 55kgs), and Lexi (wolfhound, 6mths, 30kgs). These guys eat heaps, so I started making my own food for them at home to help with costs. I thought I'd just throw you a quick recipe in case any one else is in the same boat. Also great for fussy eaters, dog with allergies or skin conditions, and it's a fair bit cheaper in the long run, too! 

5kg x brown rice
6 heaped tbsp x beef/chicken stock powder
1kg x pet mince/turkey mince/fish (according to price, taste, and not too fatty)
1kg x frozen green beans
1kg x frozen mixed veg (carrots, corn, etc)
8 x raw eggs
500g x unsalted peanut butter
1L x sour cream
2-3 big globs of molasses

Boil up rice, mince & veggies, mix everything together, and then I portion into 600g containers and freeze. Each dog gets 1 container plus the same in biscuits every day. YUMMMMMM!!!

Obviously you can make smaller batches if you want, but it definitely makes for cheaper and better quality food than just supermarket bikkies, can food, and dog logs. Eggs, the oils in peanut butter, and molasses is great for their coats, and most dogs don't get enough green stuff from bikkies (hence why they eat grass). Enjoy, puppies!


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## schizmz (Mar 14, 2010)

copied.. and pasted.. thanksKristy.. my bull arabs have quite an appetite,i will def try this out. 8)


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 14, 2010)

I bet they'll love it, schizmz  .....I wonder if my irish wolfhound puppy could eat more than your 2 arabs?  she's currently sitting outside in the rain, eating a piece of old wood she found in the garden... *sigh*


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## schizmz (Mar 14, 2010)

prob..their greedy lil girls..lol


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## ShaunMorelia (Mar 15, 2010)

Just a quick question, Can dog's digest corn?
I thought they couldn't...


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

I haven't checked recently, Word  But if not, it goes straight through them, but I found the mixed veg better than just giving them carrots, so this is what my dogs get. This is just an outline, feel free to mix it up.


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## Lewy (Mar 15, 2010)

Yer we don't use normal dog food that stuff is poison!!! So Sue and I go to the the fruit shop and buy all the cheap veggies and come home and blend it all every think you can think of nearly Carrot, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, spinage, apple, squash, tinny bit of ginger, I have probably forgotten some stuff there.. We started doing this after one dog we had died from cancer at the age of 3. The other one I still have had a terrible skin allergy. But since this diet mixed with mince that has all gone! They also get fresh chicken a few times a week normally wings or Maryland's 

The thing with a dog is it is natural for them to eat the gut contents of a animal first. Now our dogs are so healthy, always have a good healthy poo and there coats couldn't be shiner

Like I said at the top shop bought Pet food is poison!!

Just one more thing Rice is not very good for dogs. But most likely a hell of a lot better than shop poison and any veggies they eat should not be cooked at all

Lewy


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## jase_ale (Mar 15, 2010)

Sounds like a good recipe, but i'm not 100% sure about the peanut butter i was told nut aren't good for dogs. 

I might try it my irish wolfhound has an intestine problem and can only eat wet food, gets a little bit expensive. And my partners staffy thinks she needs wet food to.lol.

thanks


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

Hey, Lewy, I'm with you, except that I'm pretty sure brown rice is okay for them. White rice has too much starch and clogs them up, but brown's okay. Molasses is great for coat and skin conditions, too.


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

Hey, Jase, it would be great wet food for your wolfhound - my wolfie is only 6mths but she loves this food and needs heaps because she's growing so much! Guys, this is just what I give my dogs, if don't want to give them a particular ingredient, then don't put it in  But, Jase, my dogs did really well with some extra healthy oil in their diet, which comes from the peanut butter. I hear you can substitute for avocado as well, or a few globs of light oil mixed in.


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## Lewy (Mar 15, 2010)

Kristy_07 said:


> Hey, Lewy, I'm with you, except that I'm pretty sure brown rice is okay for them. White rice has too much starch and clogs them up, but brown's okay. Molasses is great for coat and skin conditions, too.


 

Yer your probably right about the brown rice.. We get a few things like Kelp Liquid and put a few squirts in every few days and also have 1L of Omega 3&6 plus 9 oil for dogs and add a few drops of that too

Lewy


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

yeah, that sounds healthier for them than the peanut butter


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## JoceyFisch (Mar 15, 2010)

I'm def going to try this.. although I know my staffy too well and she has this amazing talent to eat EVERYTHING in her bowl except veggies.. she manages to eat around every pea, corn and carrot!


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## porkosta (Mar 15, 2010)

Cool thanks for that.
Just wondering how long a batch of that would last? I have a staffy and am interested in trying this.
How long do you let it defrost before feeding?
Looks like I need spare freezer to store all the dog food.


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

I'm going to Vietnam for a year in a couple of months, but my boyfriend is staying here to look after the dogs, herps, and his kid  So I bought a chest freezer just for animal food! Which is why I make up such big batches of it, and separate into large take-away containers for their daily amount. The recipe I gave you would last my big dogs probably 2-3 weeks when I'm mixing it in with dry food. I just take a couple of bricks out in the morn and leave them in the sink, and they're defrosted (or at least mostly) when I get home from work. In summer, I sometimes give it to them frozen for a treat to cool them down (I'm in qld).

I should mention that I think this is a pretty high-calourie diet, so if your dog's a bit of a couch potato, watch their intake


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## porkosta (Mar 15, 2010)

Excellent. thanks for that.


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## Lewy (Mar 15, 2010)

JoceyFisch said:


> I'm def going to try this.. although I know my staffy too well and she has this amazing talent to eat EVERYTHING in her bowl except veggies.. she manages to eat around every pea, corn and carrot!


 
That's why we bought a food processor and just blend it all up them freeze it in Chinese click clacks 



porkosta said:


> Cool thanks for that.
> Just wondering how long a batch of that would last? I have a staffy and am interested in trying this.
> How long do you let it defrost before feeding?
> Looks like I need spare freezer to store all the dog food.


 

Well we make enough to last about 4 weeks and just get it all out in the morning and its ready to be eaten by 4


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## blackthorn (Mar 15, 2010)

My dogs are eating very expensive dry food, so I'm trying to lessen the cost by making them food for half their meals. I make a mix of rice, pasta and oats, and a mix of pet mince(chicken or roo) with vegies(broccoli, zucchini, peas, corn, carrot). The pasta mix is about 3kg pasta with 3 cups of rice and some oats(don't remember how much I put in). The mince mix is 5kg mince with 1 head broccoli, a few cups each of frozen peas/corn, about 4/5 carrots and a couple of zucchinis.

They get a bit of each of those mixes in their bowl with a raw egg on top as well as half a can of sardines each(about 3 sardines each). Keeps their coats very glossy. Sometimes I might also give them diced raw ox heart/kidney on top. I think is works out to about $2-3 a meal give or take, which is about half what the dry food is costing me.


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks, Blackthorn. It's good to hear your different ratios with the mince/carbs. And the sardines are a great idea! I'm gonna see if my dogs will eat them (they probably will, occasionally I use fish instead of mince) - and the oils, once again, are probably healthier than peanut butter  Thanks again


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## Ozzie Python (Mar 15, 2010)

nice bull arabs schizmz, my girl is an absolute guts too.

i boil up some rice, hearts and veges to put with my dogs dry food. They dont get it all the time but go nuts when they smell it.


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## Vixen (Mar 15, 2010)

If you're going to feed a homemade diet, you should go BARF and follow their guidelines. Raw feeding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia So many success stories from using this method, from less doggy odor, better breath, firmer stools, disappearance of allergies etc and general being a lot healthier. I will be switching mine to the prey model when he's abit older.

The wiki is just a general overview, there are HEAPS of sites with more details into what to feed etc. They need more than mince to stay healthy, they need bones and offal aswell.


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## amy5189 (Mar 15, 2010)

home made food like this is excellent when fed with other things. a good quality dry food is completely nutritionally balanced and very good for your dog. feeding raw meaty bones is also a good thing. anything raw, no cooked bones as they can splinter and harm your dog.
our dogs get a tin of sardines every few days for the oil. it helps my kelpie as she gets lumps on her skin if she doesn't eat them. also give your dog a whole raw egg, shell and all. good calcium. and they love it. my puppy helps herself to the eggs from the chickens! lol. but if your dog isn't interested, crush it all up and they'll love it.
but yes, don't just think that you can feed your dog minced and boiled rice and veges. dogs can't digest most vegetable matter, it is of no nutritional value to them. so make sure you're mixing it up.


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## Mousie (Mar 15, 2010)

You beat me to it VixenBabe. As my other half Lewy sort of said earlier BARF is the only way we feed our dogs now. We took a while to get right into it and it was during these early stages we realised just how much of a difference this feeding method made. Only now do we see the beautiful healthy end result but in the beginning we noticed every time we slipped up and went back to commercial food of any sort (even the big$$ stuff) we would end up with two hyperactive and dogs chewing up and destroying everything they could find, digging holes everywhere and chasing anything that moved. Feed a period of BARF style food and they would settle down again. It took a few of these obvious changes before my Lewy bought me a big juicer and now we juice and reconstitute veges every monthish and buy hamburger mince from Big Gun Underwood ($2.99/kg - super bargin!). 

Feeding dogs a rice based diet is not the best. Better than commercial dog food which is full of ethoxyquin, euthanised pets, the cow down the road they tried to save with every drug in the vet's bag but could not, still wrapped out of date meat trays from supermarkets and the rancid used oil drum from the back of takeaway stores that gives it the irresistable flavour. 

An extract from the wiki link Vixenbabe sent:
_dogs lack the necessary enzymes to digest grains and plant material and claims that grains cooked at high temperature can cause starch, proteins and fats to become "__denatured__ or toxic in variable degrees." The poorly digested grain is said to support toxin-producing bacteria in the lower bowel which may eventually lead to "poisons pass[ing] through the bowel wall into blood circulation" creating "further problems" in other organs_

It is because of this that BARFers juice the veges. Grains are just totally unnecessary and difficult for dogs to digest.

A link to the BARF website:
What is Barf?


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## JasonL (Mar 15, 2010)

lol @ this thread.... go to all that effort for your dogs whilst sucking down a ciggy then nip down to maccas for a feed....
Nah, I agree with you on the fresh is best thing (of course) just wonding how many of you treat yourselves as good?


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks for your input, girls. Of course, there is more than one way to skin a cat (or feed a dog, as it were), and I have found this recipe to be a good staple food for my two large dogs, as well as cutting down costs by mixing with good quality dry food, on top of a couple of big marrow bones, tripe, liver, heart, and usually a whole chicken carcass each, as well. I, personally, would not choose to feed my dogs a raw diet, mainly due to cost and increased risk of zoonotic disease. I definitely could not be able to afford 6-10kgs or so in meat a day just for the dogs!  

I found when I don't feed my dogs extra greens and roughage in their diet, they go looking for it by eating a lot of grass and plant matter from the garden. I also read that the oldest dog in the world (well, at one stage, anyway) was a pup living in the UK that was 27 and had lived on a totally vegan diet his whole life!


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## ShaunMorelia (Mar 15, 2010)

Kristy_07 said:


> I haven't checked recently, Word  But if not, it goes straight through them, but I found the mixed veg better than just giving them carrots, so this is what my dogs get. This is just an outline, feel free to mix it up.


 I wasn't saying that your recipe is rubbish  I was just curious about the corn.
My fiance is keen to start "cooking" our pup's food as she rekons its crap for the pup.

We have a Labrador X Boxer. She'll eat anything and punches everything.....


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## Choco (Mar 15, 2010)

I feed BARF to my Bull Arab/Mastiffs and swear by it. Can those who make their own feed give a rough price/kg of your mix?
Kangaroo mince is best to use if you can find it. Better protein levels and less fat, it's also a better fat(I think). I buy a pre made Kangaroo BARF by canine country Canine Country - B.A.R.F Diets. $3.75/kg plus some dry food. Has all the fruit, veg and oils in it.

Mousie,
Just a thought but you may have found the extra activity from your dogs was because the commercial food you fed may have had higher energy levels than your food. So if you fed the same amount your dogs had a lot more energy to expell. It's not as simple as a dog of X size needs X weight of food. Dog foods have all different levels and amounts need to be adjusted accordingly. Example is pig hunters obviously use high protein and high fat foods for their working dogs. These obviously provide the energy requirements for their dogs, however when not working they cut the food right back so the energy fed matches the need. Similarly if your home BARF has less energy than the commercial food you used yet they were fed the same amount that would explain the hypo activity. Just a possibility but hope that helps

Cheers,
Allan

P.S. Photos of my boys.


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

I think this is a great thread! It's great to hear everyone's different ways of how their animals are best cared for, even if the opinions are different (and passionately so  ). But the important thing is - WE ARE ALL PASSIONATELY CARING FOR OUR ANIMALS!!!    which excites me no end, because too often you see people filling up their shopping trolley with the cheapest dry food, and chum cans on special, and I can't stand it! Whatever recipe you use for your dog food, at least we have all done our research and put it the effort for our furry critters 

I wouldn't mind giving the BARF theory a go, but with moving to vietnam in a couple of months, now isn't the time. Maybe when I get back, though, as it does sound interesting. But I noticed the wikipedia link also included a note down the bottom saying the America's Vet Association (or something similar) disagreed with the scientific benefits of BARF... I'd want to know more before I committed to the cost.

Jason - no maccas, or ciggies for me  I've cut most meat and preservatives out of my diet recently, and feel great for it, and I run with the dogs about 4 times a week  But thanks for asking


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks for that link, Choco. I'm going to check this out - might be a much easier option than making food for the next year while I'm away. Cheers


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## blackthorn (Mar 15, 2010)

Rough prices for things that I put in my mixes:
5kg mince : $8.14 ($1.62/kg)
Pasta: $1.18/kg
Rice: $1.75/kg
Frozen peas: $1.99
Frozen corn: $2.99
Fresh vegies vary in price
Just did a rough total on the 2 mixes I do(the amounts above is not what I use, just price/kg) and it works out to about $14, which would make about 8kg worth of food(approx). So roughly $1.75/kg it costs me to make. Extra cost would be added onto each meal from sardines, eggs and occassional raw meat.

Cost of the dry food I use is $6.30/kg - $7.25/kg depending where I buy it from. So it works out a lot cheaper for me to cook food. I feed the expensive dry food as well because I'm sure the cooked meals I give them aren't complete with everything they need.


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## Mousie (Mar 15, 2010)

Hi Choco. I prob didn't explain the behaviour all that well. Its not so much an increase in energy (believe me they have ooodles of energy on our BARF diet!!). Its the destructive activities they pursue only after being fed commercial dog food with all its preservatives and artificial crap. Just some kids with ADHD settle when fed a balanced and more natural diet. Thanks for your concern. Good to see people concerned about my babies


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## imalizard (Mar 15, 2010)

This thread is great! Ive always wanted to get my dog and cat off of the commercial crap and this has helped me. My dog has been bringing his dog food up lately and never looks happy with his food.

I just cracked an egg in a bowl and my cat was lapping it up! I really didn't think he would eat it 

My dogs ate a plate full of whole mixed veggies, 2 eggs, a bit of mince and a chop. I'm glad my dog eats his veggies but he has never been keen on cauliflower for some reason. He does get a mixed diet as he usually gets the leftover food we don't eat, (My mum is always cooking too many veggies and mash).

Any recipes for cats?

Thanks, Daniel


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## JasonL (Mar 15, 2010)

My dog loves fruit, he steals apples out of the house, though he much prefers stone fruit....


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## imalizard (Mar 15, 2010)

That reminded me of something Jason. Does any one de core apples when you feed them to your dogs? I have never removed the core them but recently I was told by a friend that the cores are toxic to dogs. My dog isnt dead from eating apples that dont have their core removed and he eats a fair few apples


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## Kitah (Mar 15, 2010)

Just as a note in regard to making 'home made' diets for cats- cats are obligate carnivores, and a vital essential amino acid for cats is Taurine- If they DO NOT get sufficient taurine in their diets (less common now, as its added to all commercial cat foods) they end up with things such as dilated cardiomyopathy, where the deficiency actually causes the heart to dilate, and eventually leads to the cats death.


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## imalizard (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks, Shadow! Taurine can be found in animals can't it?

I think your post is great because some people try and make their cats vegetarians and wonder why they have health problems.


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## AMY22 (Mar 15, 2010)

imalizard said:


> Thanks, Shadow! Taurine can be found in animals can't it?


 
Yes, taurine is really only found in animal tissue. Cats cannot create their own taurine hence the reason they are obligate carnivours. Dogs only require 10 essential amino acids, cats require 11 (taurine). So dogs can cope with being vegetarians better than cats. Having said that if I had a dog I wouldn't make it vegetarian, even though I'm a veg myself.

With commercial foods, it IS true that the supermarket brands are basically crap. Premium brand foods (Royal Canin, Hills, Advance, etc.) are all great quality foods. I studied pet nutrition and had to delve into the technicality of different foods, ingredients, the companies themselves, and I actually found it all rather fascinating and now have product manuals for some of the premium brand companies. 

There is a big difference in the quality and ingredients of cheap supermarket brands and premium foods. Supermarket brands tend to be left over offal, etc. that isn't fit for human consumption so it's made into pet food, premium brands on the other hand are a human grade food. The types of ingredients are different (including all the grains (which no they don't need) and water that tend to be packed into the cheap food that are really just there to take up the space of ingredients), and premium foods are very specific with HOW MUCH goes in. If you look at the ingredients and compare, cheaper foods might say the food may contain this or this or this, whereas premium foods will have exact amounts. You will also find that the main ingredient of premium foods is chicken meal, as it is a denser source of protiene.

Because the ingredients are so exact your dog or cat doesn't need to eat as much premium food to get all it's dietary requirements as it would on cheap food.

Premium foods are more expensive upfront and I think that's what puts people off. They look at the bag and think it's a waste of money. But the pricing of these foods is done as cost per day, not cost per bag. 

I'm a Royal Canin girl myself, I don't have any doggies or kitties but if I did I know what I'd be feeding them. 

P.S. rice is fine, a lot of premium foods do have rice in their ingredients, and in some products it will be the main ingredient.


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

It must be time for some photos...



















Lexi (the wolfie) and Kaiser (the mastiff)...

They look so........ hungry!


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## Kitah (Mar 15, 2010)

I agree with Amy22; I've done a bit of nutrition studies for vet, and its all really quite interesting, and damn pet food companies can be bloody sneaky! 

There are so many ways to distinguish crappy supermarket brands, and the genuine premium brands (e.g. Hills Science Diet, Royal Canin, Advance- Personally, I do NOT consider brands like Iams to be a genuine 'premium' brand, for certain reasons; namely that they don't run feeding trials). Heres a bit of a tip for trying to find some genuine premium brands; 

There's 'groups' I suppose you could call them that aid in a kind of classification of pet foods. The lowest would be the ones that don't reference AAFCO anywhere- these companies can virtually chuck whatever they want into the pet food. Then you get companies that will say "formulated to meet AAFCO requirements"- these foods have the theoretical quantities of the different nutrients animals require, but they are only CALCULATED and not actually tested. Say for example a cat needs "X" amount of calcium in its diet; a cheaper company can just use the cheapest substance/formulation that provides "X" amount of calcium, and then claim it meets AAFCO standards- which is true, it does, but not all of this calcium may actually be absorbable by your beloved pet. The best level/group is when they say something like "Nutritionally complete based on AAFCO feeding trial." These brands have conducted feeding trials to establish/prove that "X" amount of calcium is actually ABSORBED by the pet, if that makes sense. Royal Canin, Hills Science Diet and Advance have all conducted feeding trials, whilst brands like Whiskas, Iams etc have not. Different sized animals, different breeds, animals at different life stages (e.g. puppy/kitten, young adult, adult, elderly, lactating/pregnant etc) etc have different requirements for protein, energy, fats and other nutrients (calcium, magnesium etc)- there is an important balance between these nutrients and if the quantities are stuffed up, then your pet may get ill. Many cheaper brands don't factor for these, either 

Personally, my cats are both on the Hills Science Diet- Oral formula 

Anyway I apologize for taking things off track from the home made diets. I just thought I'd try to give a tip to those who are still using commercial foods and are trying to figure out which ones are good.


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## JasonL (Mar 15, 2010)

imalizard said:


> That reminded me of something Jason. Does any one de core apples when you feed them to your dogs? I have never removed the core them but recently I was told by a friend that the cores are toxic to dogs. My dog isnt dead from eating apples that dont have their core removed and he eats a fair few apples



Apple seeds (as do many fruit seeds / stones) contain cyanide, in extreme cases of a small dog eating alot of apple seeds, yes it could cause problems, a large bodied animal get digest a small amount without to much issues though.... So yes, technically they are toxic in the true sence of the word, not just to dogs, but everything including us, but issues arising from eating them would be rare... I let my dog eat them, he is sart enough to eat around the stones in peaches though , I really don't feed him peaches but he manages to steal a few every year...


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## AMY22 (Mar 15, 2010)

xshadowx said:


> I agree with Amy22; I've done a bit of nutrition studies for vet, and its all really quite interesting, and damn pet food companies can be bloody sneaky!
> 
> There are so many ways to distinguish crappy supermarket brands, and the genuine premium brands (e.g. Hills Science Diet, Royal Canin, Advance- Personally, I do NOT consider brands like Iams to be a genuine 'premium' brand, for certain reasons; namely that they don't run feeding trials). Heres a bit of a tip for trying to find some genuine premium brands;
> 
> ...


 
Ha don't get me started! Pet food was something that was just so intruiging to me, that and animal behaviour. I could lecture all day on pet food...

There are so many things that people would find suprising (for example that Advance is owned by Mars, the same people who make such dodge foods as Mars Bars, Pedigree and Dolmio sauces, and Hills is owned by Colgate/Palmolive).

And with the different requirements, there is such a huge range in premium foods that you just don't get with cheap stuff. Different ages, sizes, activity levels, diseases, even foods made just for specific breeds.

There are basically 3 levels of pet foods- your really crap stuff that is only ever sold in supermarkets, but never in a petshop or vet, then your moderately good stuff that is sold in the supermarket and in petshops, but not at the vet, then your really good stuff that is never sold at the supermarket but is in petshops and vets. That's a good way to know the quality you're really getting. 
Another thing is that the top premium foods don't advertise on tv, etc. because they want to spend the money they earn on making the food even better. Although a few weeks ago I saw an ad for Hills in a magazine! :O *gasp!*I was suprised, nobody else cared though...


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## Macmilliam (Mar 15, 2010)

that would be useful............. sob i dont have a dog


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## Choco (Mar 15, 2010)

AMY 22 and xshadowx:
As it seems we all still feed some dry food, Can you comment of any experiences on the dry foods in stock feeds shops (some are also in pet shops). A lot of working dogs get fed on these and their owners seem to swear by these in regards to dog health, coat, hardiness, etc. Brands I talk about are Supercoat, Bonnie, Cobber, Dog Pro, etc. Dog Pro apparently were contracted to make the food for one of the top quality brands but, once the contract expired, decided to market it themselves seeing the company they made it for were now charging so much for it.

Cheers,
Allan


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## Opalsdad (Mar 15, 2010)

My Bull arabs are gutses, They get a mixed diet with some dry bits every night along with various other fresh meats, Sardines and dog sausage ocassionly. They are quite healthy. I put peanut butter in there Kong toys and it does them no harm (they love it). They will also eat fruit like apples, Mandarins,Bananas and grapes and they have never been sick? They have healthy coats and no skin problems or infections. Variety is a good thing but I must admit that they get Macca's Pancakes and syrup every Sat morning..lol Spoilt buggers


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 15, 2010)

I love rolling up to Macca's with the dogs in the back of the ute, and telling the drive-through girl to throw a couple of quarter pounders in the back


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## AMY22 (Mar 15, 2010)

Choco said:


> AMY 22 and xshadowx:
> As it seems we all still feed some dry food, Can you comment of any experiences on the dry foods in stock feeds shops (some are also in pet shops). A lot of working dogs get fed on these and their owners seem to swear by these in regards to dog health, coat, hardiness, etc. Brands I talk about are Supercoat, Bonnie, Cobber, Dog Pro, etc. Dog Pro apparently were contracted to make the food for one of the top quality brands but, once the contract expired, decided to market it themselves seeing the company they made it for were now charging so much for it.
> 
> Cheers,
> Allan


 
Hmm, I'm sure I 100% understand, are you talking specifically about these brands, or on dry food in general? I don't know about these brands other than Supercoat (they in the middle of the quality range of pet foods).

If you are talking about dry food in general, or if it helps your question at all, dry foods tend to be better than canned food for animals that are more active. Canned foods can be up to 70-80% water so aren't really great nutrients wise in comparison to dry food. If you have an animal that is overweight wet food is better as it fills the animal up but doesn't have as much FOOD in it (if that makes sense) so they burn of weight better without eating too many calories, etc..
You'll also find that a lot of premium brands will have a huge range of dry foods but not as many canned foods.

Working dogs burn off a lot more energy than an indoor or less active animal so require more in their diet to keep up with the energy they burn, therefore dry food is the way to go. 
Dry food has a lot of benifits- it's better for dental health, the animal tends to have to take a little longer to eat than if it's canned, the ingredients are denser and there is less water.
As I said earlier the better quality foods tend to use chicken and chicken meal as a main ingredient as it's a denser source of protein, and in dry foods they can pack more nutrients in than wet foods. Working dogs burn of more energy, so dry is the best option for giving them all the requirements they need.
There are foods made specifically for active dogs which cater for their energy levels, if you fed a regular food they'd have to eat more to keep up, otherwise they would lack a lot of what they need.

Hopefully that answers some aspect of your question?


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## Kitah (Mar 15, 2010)

Pretty much what Amy22 said  some people argue that all biscuit diets (I know you said you're feeding biscuits in addition to other presumably moist foods) can be bad for the animals gastrointestinal system because they're not adapted to consuming such dry products. I don't really agree with this, provided the animals have access to heaps of fresh water- the animals natural homeostasis mechanisms kick in to maintain the correct hydration levels. If you provided a type of food that swelled in the gut/when moisture was added, that would be a different story as it would cause an obstruction. 

I don't have any experience with the dog foods you mentioned, as I tend to focus more on cat foods at the moment as they're more relevant to me for the time being. As Amy said, dry foods/biscuits are more concentrated, so often better suited to active or energy demanding dogs (e.g. pregnant/lactating, working dogs)- if you use a type of food with very high water content, often the animals cannot eat enough to consume sufficient energy to maintain them (i.e. their stomach can only fit so much in it a day). I think Amy explained it pretty well, so won't expand on it further 

From what I briefly looked up about the foods you mentioned, none of them have conducted feeding trials for the feeds, but Cobber and supercoat at least meet the AAFCO nutritional profiles. This doesn't guarantee the dogs will actually absorb the precise quantities of nutrients they require, but it should be relatively close, and if your feeding other food types as well I don't think you'd run into too many issues. If you can, perhaps ask your veterinarian if/when you next go up, as to which working dog formulation they recommend. Believe it or not, they do sometimes have at least a general idea of nutrition


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 16, 2010)

I have found supercoat to be a good medium quality food, particularly for working dogs - I feed my dogs have supercoat and half home recipe, and it seems to be a good mix. I also found out that Julius dog food, which is sold at Aldi, is made by Supercoat, but is a little cheaper again.


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## captive_fairy (Mar 16, 2010)

Thanks for that, Ill give it a go...do you find it affects the dogs weight though? I have an overweight ridgeback (who absolutely loves her food, she inhales it, im not sure if she even tastes it), so Ive had her on light food but it doesnt seem to do anything anyway...I've also got a staffy x retriever


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## whiteyluvsrum (Mar 16, 2010)

Raw meat, bones & veges for my boof heads


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## Kristy_07 (Mar 16, 2010)

hi captive fairy, i would take some stuff out of the recipe at the start of the thread for an overweight dog, like the peanut butter and sour cream  maybe switch for some sardines minus the oil. super coat has a light biscuit range, and i've seen food bowls online that are segmented=harder for the dog to eat from=slows down their eating.


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## LullabyLizard (Mar 16, 2010)

I have a rotti x german shep and a whippet, their 7 months old  The Whippet (Minka) loves stone fruit! Clover (rotti x german shep) loves pasta and rice. We feed them prodominantly on supercoat for pups, with a raw egg once a week and a cows' leg bone every month. The dogs get the pasta ect when we have leftovers. They had a nice meal of bolognese last nght!

They both have the best coats ever, and when we went to the vets to get them desexed, they passed their heath check with flying colours


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## Vixen (Mar 16, 2010)

LullabyLizard said:


> I have a rotti x german shep and a whippet, their 7 months old  The Whippet (Minka) loves stone fruit! Clover (rotti x german shep) loves pasta and rice. We feed them prodominantly on supercoat for pups, with a raw egg once a week and a cows' leg bone every month. The dogs get the pasta ect when we have leftovers. They had a nice meal of bolognese last nght!
> 
> They both have the best coats ever, and when we went to the vets to get them desexed, they passed their heath check with flying colours



I would get your rottix off the supercoat. I've heard numerous complaints from breeders of large breed dogs who have been feeding their young pups that, and noticed abnormal growth spurts which are NOT a good thing, too much protein.

I even got a warning from the breeder of my German Shorthaired Pointer not to touch the stuff. I generally avoid foods labelled for 'puppies' as more often than not they do contain too much protein, especially for larger breeds.

The only dry dog food I will ever touch is from the brands Artemis and Eagle Pack, excellent excellent stuff but expensive.


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## JasonL (Mar 16, 2010)

I feed mostly meaty bones with 2 handfuls of "Bonnie" brand dry food, Sometimes I will get roo mince, chicken wings ect, I just vary it around as much as I can and avoid feeding the same food all the time.... no way in hell would I pay $100 plus for a bag of dry food though...


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## Vixen (Mar 16, 2010)

Haha he's gorgeous.


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## Lewy (Mar 16, 2010)

We do not feed any commercial dog food to our dogs what so every and I just don't know why anyone would.. NONE of it is good!!

Ever since we put our dogs on this all natural home made food we have not needed to take our dogs to the vet not once in now a little over 3 years!! If it wasn't for shop bought pet food vets would be nearly out of business IMO 

Its not only cheaper to feed this way and not only healthier to feed this way but also stops having to pay ridicules vet fees too

Our dogs never get sick always poo well never constipated and hardly fart any more.. There skin and fur is always shiny and we have never seen them happier

Lewy


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## LullabyLizard (Mar 16, 2010)

VixenBabe said:


> I would get your rottix off the supercoat. I've heard numerous complaints from breeders of large breed dogs who have been feeding their young pups that, and noticed abnormal growth spurts which are NOT a good thing, too much protein.
> 
> I even got a warning from the breeder of my German Shorthaired Pointer not to touch the stuff. I generally avoid foods labelled for 'puppies' as more often than not they do contain too much protein, especially for larger breeds.
> 
> The only dry dog food I will ever touch is from the brands Artemis and Eagle Pack, excellent excellent stuff but expensive.



Thanks for the info, but when she was little, we got the expensive puppy food, designed for large breed dogs (the vet said we should use it). Now, since she isn't growing as much, we can use supercoat. Clover is the average size and weight, and in great health


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## scout (Mar 16, 2010)

I noticed some people are 'throwing" things in that can be toxic to dogs, onion, chocolate, grapes,avocado, cauliflower, corn can all be toxic to dogs. While occassionally they may be fine, is it worth the risk? Mine get a mix of mince, turkey or chicken necks, tinned mackeral or sardines and a good dry food. I think if you mixed varieties you cant go wrong. Just have to make sure you have suitable ingredients


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## captive_fairy (Mar 16, 2010)

Kristy_07 said:


> hi captive fairy, i would take some stuff out of the recipe at the start of the thread for an overweight dog, like the peanut butter and sour cream  maybe switch for some sardines minus the oil. super coat has a light biscuit range, and i've seen food bowls online that are segmented=harder for the dog to eat from=slows down their eating.


 Thanks for that...The bowl sounds like a good idea, but I reckon my ridgey would try to eat through a bowl if it slowed her from getting food...shes like a vaccuum


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## Aiigaru (Mar 16, 2010)

My dog is predominantly fed My Dog canned food (the only canned food that ive noticed to have actual good pieces of meat and vegies in it). he also gets eggs, sardines, some greek yoghurt, etc. he doesnt eat things like chicken necks and whatnot, but loves brisket bones on hot days (i freeze them the night before =D).

He is a very healthy dog. has sufficient energy, isnt destructive, has no allergies or skin disorders, nice stools, etc. I know what i'll be feeding him and any future dogs i have on ;D


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## Tinky (Mar 17, 2010)

*Snack's*

I use Weetbix to 'bond' my home made dog food.

Love the input on this site. Have gone away from making my own dog food. Will start up again today.

Any recopies for biscuits and treats.


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## Choco (Mar 17, 2010)

Thanks Amy and Shadow. Sort of answered it but was more wondering if you had any knowledge/or studied those specific brands hence have some feedback of the quality of them.

Cheers,
Allan


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## AMY22 (Mar 17, 2010)

Choco said:


> Thanks Amy and Shadow. Sort of answered it but was more wondering if you had any knowledge/or studied those specific brands hence have some feedback of the quality of them.
> 
> Cheers,
> Allan


 
Oh sorry no, I really only have knowledge on supermaket brands and premiums (royal canin, iams, eukanuba, hills, advance). 
Have you looked at the websites for the brands you want info on? Although having said that they can be a bit misleading... I could take a look for you, being the kind and generous person that I am.


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