Is this kind of food okay for my dog?

Question

I have a 3 yr old Shiba Inu....we just got him about a week ago. I bought Mighty Dog cans for him to eat & Companion Dry Food...where he came from before he moved in with us, they didn't have him on a food schedule, and all they really fed him was Table food. I mean anything..not just the meats...

Tomorrow for dinner I am going to cook him up so hamburger meat & white rice and mix it in with about a quarter of the can of the dog food. I was also gonna mix in pieces of hot dogs, and ham & cheese. Everyday day I was gonna keep adding more dog food, and less table food.

Is what I am doing okay? Is the meat, rice, hot dogs, & ham okay for him...or at least better than other kinds of table food?

And is weening him off okay to do?

He hasn't pooped for 3 days, until tonite..and hasn't really ate at all.

I understand he is adjusting to his new enviroment, and new people...and he isn't used to being on a schedule and being walked 3x a day, so is that he could just be stressed?

Answer 1

Please stay away from dog foods that are in the grocery store. If i were you i stay away from
Iams
Pedigree,
Mighty dog,
litte Caesar's,
Purina,
Science Diet,
Nutro,
Friskies
Alpo
Ol'roy
and basically any food containing by-products, wheat or corn. They serve no nutritional value to your dog .Those foods will make your dog poop more making you need to feed more because your dog will never feel satisfied. Corn is a filler and very hard to digest. Wheat can cause food allergies. By=products are all the left over from an animal that is unidentifiable. By-product are also Chicken feet, Gizzards, Intestines, heart, kindey's, lungs, brain, ground up bone, etc.

The foods that are good are...
Wellness
Eagle Pack Holistic Select
Azmira
Canidae
Innova
Merrick
California Natural

It's okay to feed some table scraps but only in moderation. Most table scraps are high in fat and will cause your dog to pick up extra weight. If you're going to add table scraps. Feed a lean meat like turkey or chicken. Try not to feed cheese as dogs are lactose and tolerant and will cause diarrhea. Don't feed hot dogs they are very fattening.

Answer 2

If you're going to cook for him, I would suggest some chopped, boiled chicken, mixed with some of your rice. Get some green beans, peas, and carrots, and puree those. Mix it in the approximate ratio of 1 cup chicken to 1/2 cup rice and 1/2 cup vegetables. Get a good dog vitamin and add a tablet of that. Buy a good dry food, and mix a bit of that in, add some warm water.

If you're going to feed him commercial food, stay away from the grocery store brands. The dog food analysis site that someone else posted has some good information, as does this one: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ Rigt now, I'm leaning toward Timberwolf Organics Wild and Natural for my dogs.

If you're going to give him hot dogs, buy the all chicken variety, and use them basically as appetizers, don't make them a significant part of his caloric intake. Ditto for the cheese - that should only be a treat. I would forego the ham entirely.

It will probably take a while to get him acclimatized to the new routine. Yes, being put into a strange environmetn, with strange people, smells and sounds can be very stressful to a dog.

I love Shibas, they're sort of small versions of Akitas, which I have. They do share some of the traits of Akitas, such as being very dominant, and rather independent, plus being protective. However, they're a lot more active. They're high powered dogs, so learn everything you can about the breed, about training, and so forth. Great dogs, but you can't be a casual owner, you have to be really engaged with them.

Good luck with your pup, and I hope you get him on track soon.

Answer 3

The new environment will take some getting used to for him. You want to stay away from the canned food though. Dry food is best for dogs, it keeps their teeth and gums healthy and also is good for their digestive process. Quit the canned food, especially mighty dog, thats junk food. You should be feeding him higher quality, ie: Purina One, Science Diet, Nutro, something like that. If you really want to give him wet food, mix it in with the dry, and only give 1/4 can per meal. Don't start mixing in cheese and the like, or he's eventually gonna have diarrhea all over your house. Hamburger meat and white rice is fine, and just add a little more dog food every day. Dogs don't like a variety, and their digestive systems don't work as ours do. So basically, feed him twice a day: between 7-9 am and again 5-7 pm. Proper feeding for him would be about 1 1/4 cups dry with 1/4 can wet 2 times daily, once you have him weened. Right now, make the meat and rice, and just throw in 1/4 cup of dog food, do that twice a day and work your way up, slowly eliminating the meat and rice. And if you need more advice, write me.

Answer 4

Gosh, he's been on a horrible diet. Cut the table scraps and nix the Mighty Dog. Buy a quality dog food. I feed Eagle Pack. You can mix in a little canned salmon .... yep, the kind you buy for yourself. It's okay to leave in the bones (it's not like chicken bones, which dogs should NOT eat!). Since he's three years old, he really only needs to eat once a day. Decide when you're going to feed him, and let that be meal time EVERY DAY. He'll adjust to the new schedule soon enough.

Now since he hasn't been eating, if your hamburger/rice mixture enticed him to nibble, you can mix that with the high quality dry dog food you purchase, cutting back on that each day and increasing the amount of canned salmon you add to the dry.

Getting your dog on a set feeding schedule, with a quality food, will help your dog develop a regular potty schedule, and you'll see a huge improvement in his coat. :-)

Answer 5

The hamburger and rice,and some chicken breast,would be fine,but I would leave out the hot dogs,ham ,and cheese.They are too salty and fatty ,and they are also too flavorful,and the dog would probably just pick them out and leave the dog food.Just gradually mix in the dog food,like you're planning to,and stick to your guns.When the dog is hungry,it will eat,and missing a few meals won't kill it. Good luck!

Edit: I have never heard of Companion dog food.I feed my dogs Diamond Naturals and Chicken Soup brands and have recently begun to add some Castor and Pollux Ultra Mix ( these are dry foods) I also feed Bil-Jac frozen and some canned.I don't think Mighty Dog is that bad,my little dog eats it and he's 15 years old!

Answer 6

well, its a very extremely important thing to keep a dog on a sturdy schedule. They need a basis for their life. keep doing wat ur doing rite now. They way how u are adjust to new food by mixing it up and increasing more dog food everyday is great. But i do encourage u to buy a few cookbooks for ur dogs so that u can cook his meals instead of buying dog food. By cooking him his food, u will know what is inside the food and might even allow him to live a bit longer without going to the vets office as often. What will really help is to spend lots of time with him, but at the same time setting your foot down to show him that u are the natural pack leader. This will allow u to have a much better life with him; both for u and him.

Answer 7

working at a vet clinic and at a school that has a veterinary teaching hospital, they both reccomended Science Diet foods.. and that is what i feed my dogs and they do very very well on it.
the hamburger meat is ok if its BOILED, and the white rice is just fine, we feed rice and boiled hamburger to dogs that are having digestive problems, it is a good bland diet to help get their systems back on track.. but is not a good long-term meal. I would stay away from the ham and cheese, I'm not sure about the hot dogs though.

Answer 8

Skip the hot dogs and cheese.

Mighty Dog is awful food. So is Companion.

Nothing you get at a grocery store is good food.

Find a holistic petstore that sells Innova Evo, Wellness, Artemis, Merrick, Canidae, etc.

If you absolutely must, go to Petsmart and buy Nutro Max- it's not as good as the holistic foods, but it's better than anything from the supermarket.

Answer 9

What you are doing is great..but you might want to replace the hamburger with chicken breast boiled..less grease and really quite good for them. This can also be used for them if they get sick and vomit too. The chicken and white rice isn't as heavy on their stomachs. Have fed it to my dogs a time or too. You might want to feed him Pedigree dog food also. I am a firm believer in that brand of food. All 3 of my dogs have been on it since I got them as puppies and they are extremely healthy. My oldest has been to the vet 4 times in her 11 years and they have just been since she got older and it was for arthritis and not any kind of sickness.

Good Luck with your dog!

Answer 10

I would suggest that you put your dog on a diet of high quality dog food. Table scraps and human food do not really insure that he is get 100% of the nutrients,vitamins,and proteins that a dog needs. My vet told me to feed my Cocker Spaniel high quality dog food. This would be dog food that shows the first ingredients as a meat,not a byproduct. He also told me to make sure that it did not contain corn byproducts as this is just filler. I have been feeding my dog Diamond Naturals. There are many good brands out there. Check with your vet or at a pet store for their recommendation. You should not feed your dog the food you can buy at a grocery store as it is not high quality.