Adding Protein To Your Dog's Diet (clean, vet, costs, bones)
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As we all know dogs require protein. And no you can't get it from regular store bought dry food. But the good dry food is very very expensive. I have found a really inexpensive way to add protein to our dog's diet. We mix this stuff in with a mixture of good dry food (Tractor Supply has an affordable one 4 something ) and regular store bought dry to save costs
raw egg
cottage cheese
canned fish. Take a trip to Walmart, you can get a can of tuna for .70. Even better you can get a dog sized can of mackerel for ,74. That's right, for less than the price of a can of dog food you can get a can of mackerel. It's way better for them, canned dog food has the majority of the nutrients boiled out of them, and the dogs love it.
Chicken livers: raw is best
Sure you can feed them burger etc but again that gets expensive, especially if you have 2 big dogs as we do. Everything on the list above costs less than a dollar and obviously the cottage cheese will work for several meals.
My husband watches the sales, and buys the MaxPacks of chicken. I boil up the chicken, add mixed veggies and pumpkin and it lasts a week. My dog "helps" me in the kitchen, and gets to drink some of the broth after it's cooled.
Well canned meats, particularly fish, are PACKED with tons of salt and you pay a premium for no salt.
Mmmm quality kibble with antibiotic free chicken vs salt infused, antibiotic laden cheap quarters. Sometimes it is not that easy.
Meat is high in phosphorus low in calcium - without the bones in the right ratio you throw of the Ca:P ratio
Pumpkin is good for added fiber in small quantities; helps regulate stool. Not sure of much nutritive value other than that.
As I understand a 26lb bag of premium dog food is probably about 100lbs of meat so that could figure in.
You still feed the undesirable stuff with the cheaper foods.
Don't get me wrong; I think the best way to go would be a raw natural diet in its entirety but am not a big fan of adding lots of other protein sources to a deficient kibble.
One supplement I do make is marrow soup. Take an organic free range chicken, cook it down in a crock pot. We get the white meat, dogs get the dark meat, then break the big bones and simmer over night. Very nutritious broth you can freeze and put on food.
Remember...with the really good dry food, you don't have to feed them as much (because it's more nutrition dense - fewer fillers and crap). So it's not like you have to give them the same amount of food you were giving them when you gave them crappy dry food.
Frankly, I'd just go with a quality dry and not have to spend time mucking around with adding or not adding or whatever.
Imagine...we feed our 55 pound dog just 2 cups of food a day. Vet says she's amazingly muscular, healthy, and at an appropriate weight.
Well canned meats, particularly fish, are PACKED with tons of salt and you pay a premium for no salt.
Mmmm quality kibble with antibiotic free chicken vs salt infused, antibiotic laden cheap quarters. Sometimes it is not that easy.
Meat is high in phosphorus low in calcium - without the bones in the right ratio you throw of the Ca:P ratio
Pumpkin is good for added fiber in small quantities; helps regulate stool. Not sure of much nutritive value other than that.
As I understand a 26lb bag of premium dog food is probably about 100lbs of meat so that could figure in.
You still feed the undesirable stuff with the cheaper foods.
Don't get me wrong; I think the best way to go would be a raw natural diet in its entirety but am not a big fan of adding lots of other protein sources to a deficient kibble.
One supplement I do make is marrow soup. Take an organic free range chicken, cook it down in a crock pot. We get the white meat, dogs get the dark meat, then break the big bones and simmer over night. Very nutritious broth you can freeze and put on food.
GREAT POST, and I agree completely. We fed raw to our last two dogs for over ten years, and if you can get the variety they need, it is the way to go. Unfortunately, when we moved from Chicago to KC, I had a devil of a time finding affordable ingredients that weren't chicken. I eventually started homecooking boiled chicken, oatmeal, veg and supplements, and that worked fine for a few years. But it was so much work for two large dogs, so I told my husband that once Jimmy and Hallie were gone and we got another dog, we would feed a good kibble. So that is what we're doing, and as expensive as the kibble is (Blue Buffalo), it is significantly cheaper than the homecooked or raw I was feeding before.
But y'know, since I have always felt I needed to fiddle with the dogs' food, and I do miss cooking for a dog somewhat, I still cook up a load of sweet potatoes every week and add some into her food every day. I can't help myself. I tell my husband I am adding more love!
RAW Eggs is NOT the way to get extra protien! Raw Eggs block Boitin a mineral dogs Need Lack of Biotin can cause medical problems & Death! COOK those Eggs STOP feeding RAW!
Too much protien over long term can cause Kidny Failure! So unles your dog works & works Hard 24/7 365 STOP over ding the Protien. Hunting dogs NEED extra Protien starting a few weeks Before Hunting Season but Lowering it After hunting season is over Depending on the work load.
Normal Every day Pets Wont need all that Extra Protien! So everything on the OP list should be Treats Once in awhile!
RAW Eggs is NOT the way to get extra protien! Raw Eggs block Boitin a mineral dogs Need Lack of Biotin can cause medical problems & Death! COOK those Eggs STOP feeding RAW!
Too much protien over long term can cause Kidny Failure! So unles your dog works & works Hard 24/7 365 STOP over ding the Protien. Hunting dogs NEED extra Protien starting a few weeks Before Hunting Season but Lowering it After hunting season is over Depending on the work load.
Normal Every day Pets Wont need all that Extra Protien! So everything on the OP list should be Treats Once in awhile!
RAW Chicken Liver or any Liver is the Worst you can feed your dogs.... Liver is Full of Toxins! Cooked & as Treat is fine! Is Chicken Liver Bad for Dogs? | eHow.com
Katie, with respect, you are totally wrong here -- AGAIN. Raw liver is great for dogs and actually supports liver function. I fed it for many years, once a week, and the dogs not only loved it, they thrived on it. Raw organ meats, liver especially, are part of a balanced raw food diet.
As for the eggs, you are just wrong. The white plus the yolk are balanced, and there is no biotin blocking. Read the "important 2009 Update section of this link: Important Update on Eating Raw Eggs 2/9/05
Feed your dogs what you like, but please postmore reliable information about what not to feed them. Raw liver and raw eggs are perfectly suitable for dogs -- just as they have been perfectly suitable for wolves for thousands of years. And also remember that "toxins" is a relative term. Any animal that can clean its butt with its own tongue is clearly designed by Nature to withstand toxins that might kill humans.
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Here we go again...
