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Most of what I cook includes stuff she shouldn't have, such as lots of onions, higher levels of sodium than what a dog should have, hot chile peppers, eggs (she has high cholesterol) and dairy/corn/wheat products (she's violently allergic). I am NOT changing my eating habits to suit my dog.
She won't eat vegetables of any kind, unless they come out of a stew or soup and taste like the meat they cooked with. She won't eat fruit.
So she gets Avoderm and Wellness. That stuff she eats with no hesitation, and I don't have to worry about vomiting, diarrhea and coat/skin problems. It ain't cheap, but oh well. It's also very convenient.
Admittedly, this is the first dog I've ever had that has so many problems with various types of food, but that's who I adopted and I love her.
I'd rather my dog eat natural, real human food than bagged kibble that's been so processed that the expiration date is 5 years from now! Let's be realistic, even the premium kibbles are heavily processed to meet import requirements (think Orijen, Acana, Ziwi Peak) and to have a longer shelf life. But, it's convenient and most people don't cook for their human kids (or themselves for that matter), never mind pets! I think when we're told to not feed human foods it means food products. Most humans don't eat food, but rather products made to look and taste like foods. Nothing wrong with giving your dog fresh, real food on a regular basis!
So how do you come up with dog rations? Do you know of any websites that have guidelines for feeding a non-processed diet? I could be moving towards your camp, I just need to be aware of the possible negative consequences.
Love the line about humans not eating food....so true! I recently read "In Defense of Food", which may have triggered my reconsidering commercial dog food. Commercial dog food has really improved over the years, and if I don't change how I feed my dog, at least I'm comfortable with the quality and formulation of several of the available brands.
My dogs get dog food and table scraps. I was talking to my dear old dad and he said when he was growing up everyone's dogs ate what was left over from each meal and the dogs all seemed to be fine. He thinks the dog food business is a big money maker that isn't even necessary. I figure if I feed them both dog food and table scraps it'll cover their nutritional needs.
There is a book entitled "Rez Dogs Eat Beans" by Gordon Johnson.....(Pala Reservation) It is a collection of short essays about daily life on the Reservation......and the title piece is about the half wild dogs that have the run of the place.......and if someone burned or dried out their beans.....they threw them out to the Dawgs.
Now I have been to Pala many times and seen those poor pitiful dogs....begging for scraps and hanging out at the casino back door hoping for some scraps.....they didnt look at all happy or well....near subsistence existance......but poverty is part of rez life.
When I was growing up ..... we fed the dog left overs from the table ..... but now I prefer using a kibble with a little canned dog food and hot water and occassionally.....some table scraps. They seem to be doing well. They dont care for the best dry foods...... so its Science Diet with some Nutro mixed in.)
My dogs growing up on the farm ate scraps in addition to dog food, always. Never any ill health or nutritional issues. They were outside dogs, though, so begging at the table for scraps was never an behavior that got started or reinforced. I'm sparing with the people food for my indoor, city dog today only because I don't want to reinforce the begging behavior he came to us with after God knows how long of begging successfully at his foster's house and beyond. I don't worry about the nutritional value, because eating people food in addition to dog food always worked for my dogs growing up, just fine.
I don't worry about the nutritional value, because eating people food in addition to dog food always worked for my dogs growing up, just fine.
I think one of the arguments that could be had with that statement is that (depending on your age TabulaRasa... ) the nutritional value of the food YOU ate growing up was/is very different to the value of food you are, perhaps, eating today.
Also, people ate differently years ago. People cooked from scratch, foods were fresher and less processed (for the sake of argument, let's go back 30 or so years) the emphasis was on "meat + three veg", etc. etc. I think the "scraps" were different.
I think some of the difficulty would be that, effectively, a healthy human diet does not, by definition, mean a healthy/nutritionally complete canine diet of and by itself. Dogs require more fat, higher protein levels, etc. etc. than we do. I can see where good wholesome ingredients that are going on the human table have a good supplementary value, but would not be nutritionally complete of and by themselves.
So how do you come up with dog rations? Do you know of any websites that have guidelines for feeding a non-processed diet? I could be moving towards your camp, I just need to be aware of the possible negative consequences.
Love the line about humans not eating food....so true! I recently read "In Defense of Food", which may have triggered my reconsidering commercial dog food. Commercial dog food has really improved over the years, and if I don't change how I feed my dog, at least I'm comfortable with the quality and formulation of several of the available brands.
Companies like the Honest Kitchen make deyhydrated food and supplements you can add on top of the food to cook. If you're cooking exclusively for your dog, you'll want a formula like Preference, which does not contain meat. I know people that cook or feed raw, and add prefrence to their dog's diet to get the right balance of nutrients.
As far as the amount to feed, I guess that's something you'd have to determine based on the weight of your dog.
And yes, I read, "In Defense of Food" a couple of years ago and think every human should be forced to read that book! There is no reason as to why dogs have all these issues these days. Allergies, skin issues, things we never saw in the past are present in such high numbers! And yet everyone turns to medicine and doesn't even consider diet changes. Same with human kids. They are like walking defects these days, fueled by the processed food they are fed on a daily basis. I think you're on to something and when you come up with some great recipes, you should start a blog so that others can learn as well!
I think one of the arguments that could be had with that statement is that (depending on your age TabulaRasa... ) the nutritional value of the food YOU ate growing up was/is very different to the value of food you are, perhaps, eating today.
I'm 33, and I cook the same way my mom did, with whole foods. Home cooking, home grown farm food. The few table scraps my dog today eats are pretty much the same as the ones my dogs growing up did, only they ate them a lot more frequently. Generally, we eat well, and when our dog eats bits of our food, he's eating well, too. I was raised to cook, versus simply heat stuff up. When my dog gets table scraps, they're fresh veggies and whole grains, not Lean Cuisines and frozen pizza and Chef Boyardee, 'cause we don't eat that stuff (okay, my SO, left to his own devices, would probably eat frozen pizza quite often, but he's outta luck, he's stuck with me and my "Look! I got kale at the farmer's market to go with the pot roast! Oh, and here's some butternut squash!" ways. I cook like a 1950s farm wife, because I learned to cook from 1950s farm wives (my grandmas) and a 1970s farm wife (my mom) who learned to cook from 1950s farm wives.
Unfortunately, I think you're an exception these days rather than the rule. LOL - you know how many times I get stopped in the supermarket because of a butternut squash (or spaghetti squash, that one really throws them!) or chard or leeks or something and someone will say to me, "What, exactly, do you do with THAT?!"
I buy fresh meat for the dogs as an "as well as" that gets added to their kibble. It merely detours past the dinner table straight to their bowls.
One thing I've always thought would be interesting to do, but think it's probably impossible, is to compare an ingredients list/nutritional analysis from, for example, Purina Dog Chow (the dog food I remember my mother feed our dog when I was a kid) circa the mid-70's or so. It would be interesting to see if, when, and how much it's changed.
Hubby made pancakes this AM. Can't make Bisquick, Angel doesn't like it. No blueberries, Angel doesn't like them.
She only eats Aunt J. Can't buy butter flavor syrup, Angel doesn't like that.
Any meat is fine with Angel.
Never frozen fish. Only breading, not batter.
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so its Science Diet with some Nutro mixed in.)
) the nutritional value of the food YOU ate growing up was/is very different to the value of food you are, perhaps, eating today.
