Which brand of food do you use

[Kobie]

Hi,

I would like to know witch brand food each of you feed your dogs.

I started first with Royal Canin, but I had the idea they were not too happy on this brand. There skin was not what I liked, meaning not shinny.

Now I feed my dogs Eukanuba, and I'm quit happy with the result. The only thing I don't like on this brand is that the color of the weim skin is changing into light brown reflections...

I tried once BIO MILL (Swiss premium food) on one of my dogs, because he wouldn't eat that much, and I have to say he liked it very much. He is eating now very well and he is glimming all over

This are my experiences, what about yours ??

[marjolein]

Mine were on kibble too, but they had some problems with this food. First of all, it could be very hard to get them to eat, especially when they're hormonal. Secondly, their coats weren't what they should be, but I only found out after changing to BARF.
I started off with the BARF and they did very well on it. Since it was a bit difficult to get the meaty bones, I decided to add Nature Diet as well. And this is absolutely fantastic. The dogs love this, even better than their bones.
A couple of weeks ago I found something which is better than ND I think. It's raw meaty bones from cows and sheep, organs, and chicken necks. They also add veggies (another veggie every month) and some rice.
Since this is cheaper than ND and closer to BARF (and easier to get hold of), they're completely on this food since 2 weeks now. It's called Carnibest btw.

[Sylvia]

We give our dogs the same as Marjolein.
Because my opinion is that a dog is a rawfood eater.
We sometimes. mostly in the weekends, make things ourselves.
Then we go to the store to get vegetables, bones with still some meat on it and intestines.

[daniela]

Out of interest, how do you feed a natural diet to your dogs? I.e. Do you give them chicken wings (or whatever food it maybe) in a closed off area so they don’t take it off to their bed etc? Or do you give the food to them in a bowl, which then begs the question, do they then tend to nip off and take the chicken wings with them anyway?

I spent some time recently with some friends who feed their dogs a natural diet and I noticed that because of the ‘nature’ of the food and the fact that it couldn’t really be eaten from a bowl, when fed, the dogs almost reverted back to basics, and became very guarded over their food and most of the owners’ time was spent being meal monitor.

I am not saying that this is the norm but am curious to learn how you go about feeding them a natural diet.

[Irena]

daniela said:

Out of interest, how do you feed a natural diet to your dogs? I.e. Do you give them chicken wings (or whatever food it maybe) in a closed off area so they don’t take it off to their bed etc? Or do you give the food to them in a bowl, which then begs the question, do they then tend to nip off and take the chicken wings with them anyway?

Heee heee, good question, but nope, Audry doesn't try to take it to bed with her anymore. She tried at first, as a puppy, but I always sent her down to the floor or to her crate again, and she just doesn't jump on my (aka her) bed anymore. If she lies down with her bone on a blanket on the floor, I just put it in the washer afterwards (if it is really messy). Chicken wings etc. don't take a long time to chew at all, but with large bones with lots of meat on them she just lies on the floor and enjoys it for a few hours.
Audry had never been protective over her food until recently, I think either it is because she is growing up, or because my old dog growls at her to tell her off and she learned that from her. Of course she would always allow me to take away anything she is eating, but she does growl at my other dog sometimes, and it hasn't been a problem so far - I think they are just warning each other and not really ready to bite seriously.

Along with raw meat and bones she has a LOT of other stuff, including cooked meat (beef or chicken scraps, and ooops, forgot beef or chicken liver) with rice or pasta or buckwheat. She loves brown bread (rye etc.). Cottage cheese. Yogurt. Scrambled eggs. Raw eggs (with shell). Tinned sardines. Vegetables, sometimes (just to snack on a carrot, apple, cauliflower, banana etc). Also kibble sometimes, when we win a sachet at a show, LOL. ;D (Just so she won't forget what it's like, when we have to travel etc.) So back to Kobie's original question (sorry to upset your topic!!), dry food is whatever we win - Hills and Purina mostly, I think.

[marjolein]

I always feed them outside, otherwise it would be a mess in my house I think, LOL!!!

[Weims]

I have recently changed mine onto Autarky which is a brand of dried food. It is all natural stuff in it and it has added herbs for internal and external health. It is high in chicken and doesnt have any preservatives, colours or additives in it. It is premium food for working dogs and is higher in oils and only 22% protein.

I think my dogs are doing well on it and what comes out the other end is good......lol

Lynn

[Sylvia]

marjolein said:

I always feed them outside, otherwise it would be a mess in my house I think, LOL!!!

Here the same.
If we give penses (I don't know what the right word is? ) the smell is hanging in the house for hours.
Or throats.. the blood is laying everywhere then.
The dogs never eat out of the bowl.. They directly get it out. Why eating from a plate if the floor is a much bigger plate ;D

[Alkemist]

I used to feed a cheaper brand of food, but my old dog has a torsion and I decided to change (plus I was hearing lots of good things from people who fed their dogs raw).

So now my dogs have chicken wings for breakfast (I feed these straight from the freezer btw). They get dried food - a lamb and rice food from a local petshop, their own brand (because I don't feel I can keep a good stock of supplies for all of the dogs).

They also get any scraps we have, and raw eggs (they don't eat the shells). They also have sardines in tomato puree, bananas, carrots, pigs trotters, and any other things that we can get hold of for them (or that they steal ). They tend not to do too well on liver.

I too noticed that when I took my dogs off the highly coloured foods, their coats got lighter.

And mine are also fed outside, and they get their dried food in their bowls, and their chicken wings they catch and put on the floor. They do try and bring it in, and they do try and pinch each others chicken.

Nina

[Kobie]

Marjolein, I don't know 'KIBBLE' ! Is this a brand of food ??

I personal don't like raw meet or a diet of it !!
You can get easely too much endosperm on your dog, witch is not healthy on long period

The dry brands I feed my sweeties is very ballanced for a dog and if you coock every day for your dog, he still can have shortages from sertain substances one day.

I always feed 'Lamb and Rice' and have very good results on it. Once and a while they get rice and spagetti through their meal. Sometimes even fresh soup.

BIO MILL is a 100 % natural brand, with very good results on dogs who doesn't like to eat or for dogs with health problems.
Bio Mill professional Lamb and Rice is a biologic Swiss premium food

Commercial brands are maybe more expensive than other cheaper brands, but I think it's worthed to see your dog living a very healthy live

[marjolein]

Kibble is droge brokken Kobie.

[Kobie]

haha,

Ik moest al 2 maal nadenken wat je hier bedoelde !! Verwachte Engels, en verstond het niet direct!

Ok Marjolein, thanks !!
I do agree not all dry feed is good ! There is a hug difference between brands !!

I found mine though !

[marjolein]

kobie said:

The dry brands I feed my sweeties is very ballanced for a dog and if you coock every day for your dog, he still can have shortages from sertain substances one day.

Well, I have to disagree with you on this one. I know a lot of dogs thrive on kibble, but a lot don't. That's because of all the colourings, preservatives and conservatives. If your dog does well on kibble, keep it that way I'd say.
It is easier to feed and easier to get hold of after all.
I didn't really like the idea of BARF in the beginning either, but now I think it's the best thing you can provide your dog.
As long as you make sure you balance it properly, they don't get shortages of any kind. To check this, I did a complete blood check on my dogs when they were on BARF for a couple of months. Everything was ok.
And I assume you were talking about endoparasites??? As long as you deep freeze the BARF, you will kill most of the parasites in it (if they're in it).
And to get rid of those they do get (from their food but more likely from the game I'm training with or their mates in the park), you can and have to deworm them, just like any other dog.
I'm not trying to change your mind or something, but I'm just trying to change your opinion on this.

[Kobie]

I'm always very strikt on feeding regimes. Different brands I would never feed my dogs.

I'm talking about too many endosperm from the meat (same as in some brands)!
This is not well for your dogs health, meaning over several years, not over several months !

I know a dog was original a meat eater, but the pet is already so evolve since centuries, he is nothing like the ancient dog he used to be !!

Only a few vets will tell you to feed your dog raw meet, others will prefer kibble.

I have also good experiences with buttermilk and goatmilk

Main goal is like you said, the one your dog is doing the best on ....

[Irena]

The argument of raw vs kibble is REALLY one of the ones that have never been resolved and probably never will! It's like trying to convert a Christian into Buddhism. ;D

Personally, I like to think "whatever works best for you and your dog", and I wouldn't like to be told nasty things about what I feed my dog, and I wouldn't want to say nasty things about what someone else feeds their dog (just to prove that they are "wrong").

Since Kobie started this about brands of food, meaning dry food (kibble), maybe we BARF'ers better step out and let the kibble feeders discuss this subject at peace? ;D

[Sylvia]

admin said:

The argument of raw vs kibble is REALLY one of the ones that have never been resolved and probably never will! It's like trying to convert a Christian into Buddhism. ;D

You are right about this.
We feed now raw for about 2 years.
You can try to start over the discussion over and over again, but people first have to believe in it before you can make your point.

The only thing I can say.... Wolves also don't go to the store the get their kibble there. And the dog as we know now has almost no difference with the wolf in that.
Another thing... Kibble is something from the last years. And dogs live for centuries already. What did they get years ago

[marjolein]

sylvia said:

The only thing I can say.... Wolves also don't go to the store the get their kibble there.

LOL

[Kobie]

you are right, it's not possible to discus this !

I only say in kibble food all the feeding substance for our dogs is in the right doses processed !

Each his preference ...


PS. you can not compare a wolf to a pet .....

[Sylvia]

kobie said:

PS. you can not compare a wolf to a pet .....

Well in their behaviour maybe not.
But inside nothing changed.
So they still are the same meat-eater

[daniela]

Ok, I have another question.....LOL

When feeding a 'natural' diet to young puppies how do you evaluate what they are getting in terms of protein, calcium et al?

I mean, is there no danger of over supplementing a young puppy or is there a way to really evaluate the goodness they get?

I would love to know what you all think, I have always wondered about this.

Thanks