So, I have always fed kibble to my previous dog. Medium to high quality. With some wet food here and there.

With the previous five australian shepherds/aussie mixes, they had all kinds of health and none of them lived past 10 years old.

After my Sunny Day passed, I said no more dogs, but, I just couldn't stay away. So I started looking for my new fur baby. Then I found Ahyoka.

But, before I got Ahyoka, I was looking at why my sweet Sunny Day got so sick. She had allergies, tummy problems, yeast infection and what took her, diabetes. She lived half her life of 10 years with diabetes.

You see, my dad growing up had an Australian Shepherd and he lived to be 20 years old. My mom/uncle had an Australian Shepherd/English Shepherd mix that live to be 18 years old. Both were fed table scraps, raw meat, eggs and the like.

So, with this in mind I started to investigate a more natural solution to feed my new pup.

I came to a more natural, less processed, species appropriate diet was the way to go.

So, I studied up, looked at the information and took into account the issues of a raw/lightly home-cooked diet and decided that was the way to go.

So, with that knowledge ( and still learning ) I picked up my new fur baby, Ahyoka.

As a pup, I fed her some puppy kibble, but I also give her a little bit of raw food, I then slowly took away the puppy kibble and added home-cooked food. She thrived and grew. I noticed that her coat looked beautiful, no bad breath, no dog smells and her poop was smaller then other dogs of the past. No tummy problems and she had even more energy then other pups of the past.

Her veterinarian always comments about her health and beautiful looks. Ahyoka's checkups are always great. I have seen that this was at least for me, Ahyoka and Sequoyah ( he came 3 years later, will be 2 years old March 28th ) was the best decision for us.

The cost? About the same as premium, high quality kibble. Yes, it's more time consuming and more planning, but I enjoy it as an outreach of love.

I don't worry that every meal is balanced. I go for balanced over time. They are mostly fed 2 meals a day, but sometimes it's just one. I have a few recipes for the homemade cooked food and I change things up here and there.

So, do you raw fed? Do you home-cook? What are your sources?

ARman

Question:
Do you raw feed?

Choices:
Yes
No
Are you crazy?
Thinking about it
Ewwww

 

That is great. We do small amounts of quality dry food coupled with frozen vegies that my wife cooks. Every year we harvest and butcher our own venison. We clean the carcus and all the scraps get cooked and frozen and the dogs are fed with those things most of the year.

Several years ago we had a GSD and in the last year she was with us we transitioned her to a raw meat diet completely. Huge change. Coat improved, shedding slowed. Energy up. And her poop! It nearly disappeared on its own after just a few days and it didn’t really stink. We honestly were able to stop picking it up. At that time I had a friend who worked at a meat counter of a local
Sprouts. Anything raw and unseasoned that was waste (because of dates) they would throw in a box in the freezer. Sometimes they’d give it to me for free, sometimes they’d charge me $10, but it was a huge box. That dog loved the raw chicken quarters the most.

Currently we have a pair of cats. We feed them raw only, but I suspect at least one of them supplements at a neighbors house. For them I grind up chicken legs, chicken breast, beef liver, beef kidney, and then raw egg yolk. I’ll put some water in my Vitamix and throw in taurine, lysine, vit b, vit e, and fish oil. The. Just stir it all up and put in contains from the dollar store for freezing. They adore it and they have similar responses. When we got them they were on kibble and had the nasty smelling cat poop. On this food the smell has mostly gone away, volume has greatly reduced. There is much less waste being ejected. Their fur is just about the softest I’ve ever felt on a cat.

It took a couple tries to find a suitable grinder but now we are all set. The metal grinder attachment for the mixer was ok quality but the motor wasn’t up to the chicken legs. An expensive and super heavy Vevor brand was also crap. My Vitamix did an ok job but was ungodly levels of loud… plus slow. Now I have an STX 1800w grinder. Much smaller and lighter than the Vevor but it chews right through the chicken legs. Especially large legs have to have some of the meat trimmed off to fit but the smaller ones go straight in. Only takes a few minutes to grind 10lbs of legs.

Well, I guess my answer is yes and no. As a base, we feed high end kibble. It’s then mixed with a pre-prepared raw patty made by a company called Tuckers. It’s raw, but bought frozen and ready to thaw and feed. Supposed to be high quality stuff. We buy food from a specialty dog & cat outfit here, very holistic type products. I also add some powdered supplements to each meal. I think it’s awesome that you’re taking the time to actually make their food! I looked into it, I even sourced a meat grinder.. I just don’t have the time.

Me, yes and no, too. They regularly get people food scraps along with carrots, green beans, etc but their base diet is kibble from Nutro. I always have Stella and chewy on hand (raw diet) to mix in to their food, but it’s not daily and it’s not the base. All honesty, it IS extra work for me, and I just haven’t been able to make time to be careful with all the raw food - i’d like to hear more about the recipes because that’s always been my goal in the past- to go raw.

We feed varying species of raw meat from Texas Tripe and freeze dried raw food from Dr. Marty. At first I was against the cost and administrative burden of feeding raw but I've come around to understanding it's best for our dogs. What she spends in dog food saves us in Vet bills. Our labs are trim, active, free of skin conditions and other maladies. They still shed, but about half as much as what we're used to as long-time lab owners. The poop in the yard is a lot less as well.

Mrs. 'Hook takes care of measuring out portions for about a week's worth of food (both dry and wet), so all I need to do is empty out the sandwich bag of measured Dr. Marty pellets into the dishes and add warmed water to hydrate the food. She measures the raw food into portions placed in glass leftover dishes with lids, so all I have to do is cut it in half with a spatula and scoop it into their bowls. Mrs. 'Hook is always careful with the raw meat and deals with the countertop cleaning requirements after all the measuring. She also deals with washing the empty glass dishes and lids, the ordering of both foods, and meeting the Texas Tripe truck at the designated delivery spot every other week. The Dr. Marty food is shipped directly to our door, and it's cheaper per package than what you see in the stores.

One of the things I had to get used to was just how little the portions are compared to standard dry dog food. When we first started this I was certain Mrs. 'Hook was starving our dogs. But when you're feeding such high protein food without fillers they'll only get fat if you ignore the feeding chart. When she feeds she also adds a mix of powdered vitamins and minerals. I don't ask what all that is and don't want to know what she's paying for it. All I know is our dogs are very healthy.

So this works for us, mainly because Mrs. 'Hook pays for it and does about 90% of the admin requirements to make it work. She's happy, the dogs are happy, and therefore I am happy.

I answered yes but the mainstay is a high quality kibble. I raise quail so I'll throw the pup a bird or two on butcher day and he's always stealing eggs from the shed.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Currently we have a pair of cats. We feed them raw only, but I suspect at least one of them supplements at a neighbors house.

Thumper, I noticed this in your post - it’s obvious you love animals, please don’t let your cats outside.

They absolutely devastate local wildlife, which has massive knock on effects. We are sportsmen and women here, care of the outdoors is #1.

I've had Sophie since she was 14 weeks old and she will be 13 in August. I used to give her a combination of wet and dry Purina dog food but for the last 5 years have mostly replaced the wet with whatever meat is on sale. Generally chicken thighs or pork can be had for $1.50-$2.50 a pound which is the same as can dog food. I do cook it for her though, rare.

She also gets any meat table scraps and whenever I make an egg I make one for her too. She has always been an erratic eater, sometimes not interested in food...... even the egg. But after eating some grass to settle her GI she starts eating again. This has always occurred about every 4-5 days ever since a pup.
She's in pretty good shape for a 12.5 year old dog, not overweight at all. She has free roam outside but is never far from the house or me if I'm out. Thankfully no "dog odor" either.

My MIL used to breed Australian Cattle Dogs
She would give them raw chicken [thighs I think], bones & all.
Apparently dogs can eat raw chicken bones, but cooked they'll splinter & can perforate digestive parts.

Our dog [Border/Dalmatian mix, we think] gets the occasional raw chicken scraps, but it's not the norm.

^^^^^^ I have never met a vet (including three of them in my immediate family) who recommends feeding dogs chicken bones...cooked or not. I've been advised to avoid giving my dogs any bones. Doggie surgery is expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
^^^^^^ I have never met a vet (including three of them in my immediate family) who recommends feeding dogs chicken bones...cooked or not. I've been advised to avoid giving my dogs any bones. Doggie surgery is expensive.

I thought it odd, too & don't give ours any bones.

I live in a rural county, but there are wealth people here in high end neighborhoods, one of the wealthiest countries in the country. Anyways, there are a lot of small/medium family farms and they raise all the high end, pasture rased, grass feed, none gmo ect. ect., there are beef, bison, goat, lamb/sheep, Heritage pork,there are a few farms that have Farmers Markets, and there is one in town.

So, I'm always on the lookout for bargains and deals. Plus wild game. I have a few people save me things like deer hearts, liver, kidney, spleen tongue and the legs ( bone broth )

Plus when I'm buying food for myself, I'll find bargains and sales.

My main source of raw is Commercial pre ground beef mixture, and a Herring/Beef mix,with sometimes venison and bison. The company is Midwest Legacy Beef. I have used them since Ahyoka was a puppy, so 4+ years. Very happy with the quality and price. They offer raw freeze-dried too.

I have talked to the owner several times and he seems to be a good guy that really wants to know what the customer wants and thinks.

I mentioned to him that I have a couple of YouTube channels of my dogs, and he offered me a discount code to give out. If interested I can post.

As for the stuff I do myself, I have a second hand meat grounder, I don't know the brand, it has no markings. It can't do anything but the smallest bones. So I'm looking to upgrade.

I'm also looking for another freezer, as I have outgrown my 10 cu.ft. one

I try to switch proteins on both the raw and home-cooked diet, plus they get fresh veggies and fruits in their bowls often. They get raw Goats Milk ( sometimes) mostly dehydrated from The Honest Kitchen dehydrated Goats Milk. I give them kefir, but that's gotten expensive so I'm thinking of making my own.

A friend has ducks and chickens and I get eggs from them, funny the duck eggs are free, but I pay ( a small amount ) for the chicken eggs. As they sell them, but the ducks are pets, and funny enough, most people don't want them ( though they cost more, probably why ).

If more interest in the raw mixture I do, and/or the home-cooked recipe I'll post. If interest with the Midwest Legacy Beef products, I'll post the link and code. I DO make a small amount of money, but with the code you'll receive 5% off your order.

I have found that I make the cooked recipes in a Instant Pot and that greatly helps. It last me a month as it's a supplemental part of the raw diet. It would last a week plus for a 50 pound dog, if it was their only meals. Of course if adding to kibble or other foods, that would change things.

I'm always looking for more information, and pointers, so I would like to hear about yours!


ARman

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
^^^^^^ I have never met a vet (including three of them in my immediate family) who recommends feeding dogs chicken bones...cooked or not. I've been advised to avoid giving my dogs any bones. Doggie surgery is expensive.

Not feeding the bones is missing a huge part of the nutrient benefit. Raw bone was never an easier for our GSD. She loved crunching them down. And the cats eat the ground up chicken legs without issue too.

We feed our GSP raw beef & lamb along with some organ meat a few times per week. He's thriving on it.
We tried food from a company called We Feed Raw to start. Other than the cost, it was good. Then something changed and the meat had an odd smell and our dog wouldn't eat it. The company had great customer service, but had the same issue with replacement orders so started making our own.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
Well, I guess my answer is yes and no. As a base, we feed high end kibble. It’s then mixed with a pre-prepared raw patty made by a company called Tuckers. It’s raw, but bought frozen and ready to thaw and feed.

This is what we do. The base is Farmina kibble topped with Tucker's. In the past we also used Northwest Naturals and Steve's as our raw toppers.


.

We have had large breed Dogs for years. I watched all of them eventually die of Cancer at a age too young.All were fed expensive, top of the line Dog food.
After several years of not having Dogs my wife came upon two med. sized dogs that had been abandoned in the woods. One looks like a Jack Russel and the other a small Rotty. Both are about 1 year old or less.

I swore I would not get sucked back into the dog food racket again so I looked for other choices for there diet.
I came up with Costco dry food that will always be available to them but the main food is fresh Liver and Beef Kidneys, they get a good helping once a day along with 1/2 a sweet potato that's cooked. They love it.
They have great coats, plenty of energy, and are thriving on this diet. I fill in with appropriate table scraps.

I buy the Beef liver and Beef kidneys at Wild Fork for a very reasonable price. Wild Fork will deliver or I can go to there store and buy it. The Dogs get 3/4 Liver and 1/4 Kidney. The food is not raw but VERY rare, almost raw.

The dogs end up eating what we eat but we don't eat healthy either. That said, my wife does make sure we don't give them the fatty parts of any meat.

We stopped giving them kibble because we usually just let them eat as they want by putting some in their dog bowl. They never did eat it at one sitting. But we stopped because they were getting overweight.

When we feed them our food, usually breakfast, they chow it down. Lately, I've been mixing in some kibble because it's been sitting there. So I want to use it up.

They've been holding steady at 15.9 and 11.7 pounds.

They'll be 11 this June.

My dog gets high quality (performance, low or no grain) kibble with 2 fresh, raw eggs each day. In addition... "balanced" de-skinned, and declawed chicken feet every couple of weeks and boiled rabbit carcasses (bits we don't eat or can) every couple of weeks. Salmon and halibut on occasion, though always cooked. Be careful about raw fish. Especially salmon.

He seems healthy enough.

I would consider raw rabbit. One of the primary purposes for our rabbitry is if ever we can't afford or source quality kibble.

We don't do raw, which I do believe is the best option, but I can't convince the wife.

But, we have home cooked for about ten years. Our Norfolk Terrier Riley made it to 19, our Maltese Max made it to 18, and our Finny is celebrating his 16th birthday today. I do believe their diet extended their lives.

Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals cook book by Lew Olson is a great source of diets.