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I a very large dog - he’s big as a bear! - and eats about 2 pounds of raw meat a day. His diet consists mainly of ground chicken, turkey and lamb (the highest fat content available - usually15 to 20 % - as dogs are carnivores and burn animal fat for energy the same way we burn carbohydrates); which I supplement with a small amount of raw vegetables to simulate what would be in the stomach contents of a rabbit or other small animal eaten in the wild. In addition, I mix in are some powdered kelp and alfalfa, a half of an avocado, a banana; some flax seed oil and cod liver oil, a tablespoon of apple vinegar; and some vitamin supplements. Once or twice a week, I mix in a raw egg (including the shell) into his bowl of food. For snacks, he eats raw turkey or chicken necks, bones and all. (Bones should never be cooked for it makes them brittle, which can be dangerous when ingested.) It costs about $10.00 dollars per day to feed him; but he is very healthy and has not suffered from the diet-related maladies associated with the grain-based dog foods produced for the commercial market. There are several books out on the raw or natural diet, which provide the recipe for proper nutrition for your dog.
if you up the bone content and feed green tripe once in a while you can avoid all those veg/fruit ad supliments...
add fish once a week (sardines work great) and no need for fishoil tabs.
honestly seeing wild animals eat, most don't eat the stomch or intesitnal contents in anything mre than absolute trace amounts...It all gets squished and squeezed out like a playdugh factory lol.
Vegetables (and fruit) are a good source of minerals; however, you should grind them up finely to release the nutrients. (If you give your dog a piece of carrot, it is gulped down, and passed out the same without any nutritional benefit.) Grinding the vegetable matter substitutes for mastication, releasing the nutrients for digestion.
I NEVER feed my dog commercial food. In fact, I almost never feed him anything I would not eat myself. He gets a varied diet of homemade food and table scraps that include lots of greens (spinach, kale) and berries. Also salmon oil and bone meal for calcium.
Sad that people think they can only feed their pets "dog food." It's all propaganda, you know.
I looked at the ingredients closer earlier when I fed him and there is NO CHICKEN in it, but chicken meal and chicken fat. But the bag does says how Yorkshire Terriers are picky eater and this food is for the picky and finicky.
I looked at the ingredients closer earlier when I fed him and there is NO CHICKEN in it, but chicken meal and chicken fat. But the bag does says how Yorkshire Terriers are picky eater and this food is for the picky and finicky.
Picky? Probably because it tastes like garbage. Real food is best. With a small dog like that, you can easily make his meals homemade and even freeze in advance. Lots of recipes out there. Look for them!
Picky? Probably because it tastes like garbage. Real food is best. With a small dog like that, you can easily make his meals homemade and even freeze in advance. Lots of recipes out there. Look for them!
He's been picky since a pup. If I had to cook for him, there would be no meat in his diet. I am a vegetarian and WILL NOT cook any meat here~! I know I buy dog food that is meat, but it is stored on a porch where he eats.
I dunno, my GSD mix is a picky eater and has odd habits. She loves carrots except if they show up in her dish, she takes them out, puts them on the floor then eats them after she's eaten whatever's in her dish. And she will not eat them if they're cooked. How's that for picky?
I just switched from commercial medium priced dog food to home cooking due to food issues - my GSD mix has sensitivity - she itches from some ingredient but I'm unsure what, and doesn't care for many commercial dog foods especially canned varieties. Can't say I blame her there seems most are junk. She was very particular about kibble also, I let her choose her own, took her to the store and let her poke the bags, the one she went back to most often I tried. It was um, Nurtro? I think, blue bag, it was mostly lamb.
Our other dog, a chocolate lab, will eat just about anything, he doesn't care for bananas or rice but if I mix rice with chicken or other meat he'll eat it. I've been using chicken as the basis of their diet with brown rice, potatoes, carrots (which I find on the floor but will give them until the stock runs out, LOL), apples, and squash. I also supplement it with brewers yeast tablets and will try different things depending on their responses. I keep a diary of what I feed and chart their responses - nothing too complex just a record of what I cooked and a general note of their health/activity especially if their behavior has changed - always a key indicator if there's something emergent.
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