Post by expatpumpkin on Jan 19, 2016 18:24:09 GMT -5
No, a dog's natural diet is grain-free.
I wouldn't advise that you do 100% home-cooked, though. There are some important vitamins/minerals that need to be added to their diet that aren't super easy to produce at home. Crushed egg-shells and calcium come to mind...
I give my dog fresh food (salmon, chicken, steak, egg, etc. all prepared without salt) but I feed him this on top of Orijen dry food. So he gets the benefits of fresh food, but also the specific vitamins/minerals from the highest-quality grain-free dry food.
Do dogs have to have grains? Â I'm thinking about making homemade dog food instead of paying through the nose for good quality food.
half the recipes call for rice and half say dogs don't need grains.
our 10lb Yorkie is currently on purina one chicken and rice.
Even the best food on the market isnot going to be expensive for a 10 lb yorkie. There are plenty of affordable, good quality foods on the market.
As a PP mentioned, there are essential nutrients added to even raw foods. It takes a very knowledgable and dedicated person to be able to create a well-balanced diet at home. We like Nature's Instinct Raw Lamb, Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucy's.
Some biologists say a canine diet may naturally include a small amount of grain--grain present in the stomach of their prey that is ingested when that organ is eaten. It doesn't normally make up any significant percentage, that's for sure.
My dog gets grain free food, mostly because my husband feeds her bread, cake, cookies, etc. and she gets grain products that way. No need to double up with her regular food.
Purina is not a good quality food. I'm less concerned about the fact that it contains grain and more concerned about the fact that the content is mostly fillers (corn, wheat, preservatives, etc.) instead of meat and vegetables.
As others have said, CostCo makes a high-quality grain free food that is inexpensive. I honestly think you're going to spend more making food for your dog than you do on Purina.
eta: Just saw your response about the Purina. I would just start to really slowly transition her to a new food with a chicken base (like 80 old/20 new for a few days, then 70/30, 60/40, etc.). You can do it faster if you feel like she's comfortable and not showing any issues with eating. Keep the protein the same for now and change it up later if you need to.
Some biologists say a canine diet may naturally include a small amount of grain--grain present in the stomach of their prey that is ingested when that organ is eaten. It doesn't normally make up any significant percentage, that's for sure.
My dog gets grain free food, mostly because my husband feeds her bread, cake, cookies, etc. and she gets grain products that way. No need to double up with her regular food.
That's a good point. But I'd still recommend a "grain-free" food as the manufacturers using grain aren't using a trace amount - they're using it as a cheap filler.
Post by juliachild on Jan 19, 2016 18:44:05 GMT -5
I feed my dogs Orijen. It's grain free. I've heard good things about Costco's grain free dog food. I would imagine it would be fairly cheap to feed a 10 pound dog. You also should consider that you'll be feeding the dog a smaller amount because it is higher protein and better quality.
I cooked for my older dog for a while after he was diagnosed with a kidney disease because all the low protein commercial foods are total garbage. But enough fresh food for a 75lb dog every week was an insane amount & he happily eats Hill's Science Diet garbage food now.
No, they don't need grains. I feed our monster Taste Of The Wild and she does great on it. I wouldn't make food for my dog (or cats) because it is just too difficult to get the nutrition balanced. Same with the Raw diet a lot of people swear by; it's just too hard to get the right balance, and you won't know your dog/cat is deficient in something until they have health problems.
Thanks! It's basically just sweet potato, beans, one Apple, chicken or pork, broccoli, etc. all slow cooked then chopped. I know this purina one isn't good food, but it's what she had while at the rescue so I don't want to change it until she's settled in.
Does this provide all of the nutrients they need? I cooked for Dexter when he was old and refused to eat dog food, and I had to include stuff like crushed egg shell and other supplements to get him all of his nutrients. Just giving him food wasn't enough.
Now I have this cookbook, which gives a lot of general nutrition information and a bunch of recipes that include various herbs and other ingredients that provide each meal with complete nutrition. I wish it been around when I was cooking for Dexter! There's also a recipe for a nutritional powder that you can sprinkle on the food instead of using fresh herbs etc. Or you can give your dog half and half dry food and cooked food, so he'll at least have some food that's for sure nutritionally balanced.
Also, when I cooked for Dexter, it was way more expensive than buying dog food. So compile a list of prices and run the numbers before you make a decision based on costs.
I wouldn't advise that you do 100% home-cooked, though. There are some important vitamins/minerals that need to be added to their diet that aren't super easy to produce at home. Crushed egg-shells and calcium come to mind...
I give my dog fresh food (salmon, chicken, steak, egg, etc. all prepared without salt) but I feed him this on top of Orijen dry food. So he gets the benefits of fresh food, but also the specific vitamins/minerals from the highest-quality grain-free dry food.
I wish I could like this more than once. If ramble about this, but just listen to pumpkin. You aren't going to meet their dietary needs from one internet recipe.
Does this provide all of the nutrients they need? I cooked for Dexter when he was old and refused to eat dog food, and I had to include stuff like crushed egg shell and other supplements to get him all of his nutrients. Just giving him food wasn't enough.
Now I have this cookbook, which gives a lot of general nutrition information and a bunch of recipes that include various herbs and other ingredients that provide each meal with complete nutrition. I wish it been around when I was cooking for Dexter! There's also a recipe for a nutritional powder that you can sprinkle on the food instead of using fresh herbs etc. Or you can give your dog half and half dry food and cooked food, so he'll at least have some food that's for sure nutritionally balanced.
Also, when I cooked for Dexter, it was way more expensive than buying dog food. So compile a list of prices and run the numbers before you make a decision based on costs.
I was going to add a vitamin and yogurt every morning to her food and switch up the meat and veggies . My other problem is that unless I order online it's a pain to find those dog foods here. I'm in a trifecta of empty. Petsmart is over 30 min away and there are lots of times I can't get out of the house because of my kids.
Amazon. Stella gets Wellness grain free and I order it from Amazon. She's too gassy on the regular stuff, lol.
I was going to add a vitamin and yogurt every morning to her food and switch up the meat and veggies . My other problem is that unless I order online it's a pain to find those dog foods here. I'm in a trifecta of empty. Petsmart is over 30 min away and there are lots of times I can't get out of the house because of my kids.
Unless you do research to ensure you're providing complete nutrition, it sounds like you're kind of just guessing, which has the potential to lead to big health problems years from now. I would say either research this really well and make sure you're providing complete nutrition, or order prepared food online. Amazon and Chewy.com both have great selections, and you can usually get free shipping.
I feed my 12 lb dog Orijen--it's one of the pricier foods, but at 1/2 cup a day a bag lasts a long time. Quality foods are more calorie-dense so your dog will eat less per day.
I'm guessing that making your own food won't end up being much cheaper than buying grain-free food, and you should be able to find good deals online.
Unless you do research to ensure you're providing complete nutrition, it sounds like you're kind of just guessing, which has the potential to lead to big health problems years from now. I would say either research this really well and make sure you're providing complete nutrition, or order prepared food online. Amazon and Chewy.com both have great selections, and you can usually get free shipping.
I'm not planning on just guessing. We only got her a week ago, so I'm trying to plan what to do next food wise. She's having some tummy tripod bra and I'm not sure if it's the stress of transition or the food.
Oh, that's good. I would check out the book I linked, for starters, and maybe a few others. I'm guessing "tripod bra" is an autocorrect for a tummy issues that I've probably heard of, but I have no idea what it's supposed to say, lol.
When we got Quincy, his rescue was feeding him Purina, and he had terrible diarrhea. We switched his food to Wellness, which helped a little, and gave him Wholistic Pet Digest-All Plus, which helped a lot. It contains digestive enzymes and probiotics. Maybe something like that would help. Good luck!
Post by dreamcrisp1 on Jan 19, 2016 20:49:10 GMT -5
I definitely recommend Amazon to get food delivered. The US site has MANY options of great brands. My dog was on Purina as well when I got him and I've switched him over to Merrick.
Does this provide all of the nutrients they need? I cooked for Dexter when he was old and refused to eat dog food, and I had to include stuff like crushed egg shell and other supplements to get him all of his nutrients. Just giving him food wasn't enough.
Now I have this cookbook, which gives a lot of general nutrition information and a bunch of recipes that include various herbs and other ingredients that provide each meal with complete nutrition. I wish it been around when I was cooking for Dexter! There's also a recipe for a nutritional powder that you can sprinkle on the food instead of using fresh herbs etc. Or you can give your dog half and half dry food and cooked food, so he'll at least have some food that's for sure nutritionally balanced.
Also, when I cooked for Dexter, it was way more expensive than buying dog food. So compile a list of prices and run the numbers before you make a decision based on costs.
I was going to add a vitamin and yogurt every morning to her food and switch up the meat and veggies . My other problem is that unless I order online it's a pain to find those dog foods here. I'm in a trifecta of empty. Petsmart is over 30 min away and there are lots of times I can't get out of the house because of my kids.
Chewy.com is really great for ordering pet food. I have an autoship so i dont even think about it, it just shows up at the door when I'm almost out.
Post by lattelady5 on Jan 19, 2016 21:20:52 GMT -5
Like others have said, feeding home cooked or raw is fine but a lot of work. I wouldn't do it unless I had to.
We feed taste of the wild and our dog is a yorkie mix. His food runs less than $15 a month and it's a good quality, grain free food.
I've ordered from chewy and wag before. Almost all of the pet sites have awesome first customer codes. My chewy code was $15 off 45 and free shipping. Just search for codes or give them a call. Our local farm store carries TOTW now so it makes things easier.