What diet is better for my dogs?

Question

My beagles pretty much eat commercial pet food and ive heard a bout a rawfood diet that is supposed to be better for your dog. Is this true?

By feeding raw meat, does this change my dogs behaviour? aggressiveness?

Answer 1

I guess no one really knows the answer but this is what I think- how can preservatives and beaks and 4D meat be good for my dogs? If you see meat by products or chicken by products, then it's not really meat- commercial dog food has way too much preservatives, salt and other additives to be good for our dogs. A ;ayer of fat is put around each kibble to make it tasty for the dog.

When someone wrote 'Human food should not be fed to dogs', I think it should have been clarified, I agree that chocolates etc should not be fed to dogs but raw chicken, mince etc is human food and I see no problem with given dogs that. It's a personal decision that each person has to make for themselves. After reading on information and speaking to vets and other dog owners, this is what I am doing- though of course you might decide to do something else and there is no right or wrong answer- the only thing I can say is that friends who's pets have lived till 20 human years feed human food- like mince etc. Of course food is only 1 factor to a dog's life span but it is an important factor.

I try to cook for my dogs- you can buy a cook book for dogs etc but one vet said to aim for 1/3 carbohydrates (rice, pasta etc), 1/3 meat and 1/3 veggies. I have found that 1/3 veggies is too much and substitute with more meat but what you do depends on you and your dog. I try to add variety so lamb, chicken, beef etc and I sometimes add fish oil to their mix.

For me- I can see that there is a clear market for the pet food industry which is millions and millions of dollars and we have almost been brainwashed into believing that the commercial bag of dog food is enough for our canine friend but how come we humans don't just eat kibbles for our whole lives? I see no real difference to distinguish humans and dogs after all, say a human and a dog had hypothyroidism, both human and dog would be on same medication.

So I usually give my dog, the mix of meat, veggies and rice/pasta - if you decide to feed this, make sure you know what dogs can and can't eat for example they can't have onion.

Then ideally in a week, I substitute 2-3 meal with a raw meaty bone (which will give then the calcium), 1 day I will add fish oil to their food and another day I will give them some fish. I think healthy eating is the key and no doubt the pet food companies have done a good job in making us believe that commercial dog food is good, You might ask yourself, well if commercial dog food isn't good- then why does my vet recommend it? The vets have gone to Uni with ppl lecturing from pet food companies- so with all due respect, the vets might not have thought about the fresh food alternative.

Good luck

Answer 2

For the last 5 years I've fed my dogs and cats a raw/natural diet! Even my fish are fed live and frozen foods appropriate to their needs. Flake foods are rarely given!
All are extremely healthy and fish losses through disease are rare.
My 15 year old cat is a very lively animal who 10 years ago was diagnosed with Kidney Disease! He'd been on a dry diet which was then changed to a mixture of wet and dry feeding but he still needed regular medication. After 5 years on natural food he no longer has any and he's fitter than he's ever been.
I cant understand why people think it's so wrong anyway! After all what do people think dogs and cats were fed on before Pet food was widely available? My grandfather owned and bred GSD's He couldn't feed them dog food as it wasn't easily available and he never trusted 'tinned food' which was extremely expensive then! I remember one who lived till age 20! A very great age for a Shepherd when you consider that the average life expectancy for the breed is 12 years!
It is more work than feeding commercial foods but having seen the benefits to my own and other animals Including my own Vets dogs,(ooops that's supposed to be a secret) I dont think I'll ever go back to commercial foods. I've never seen it make a dog 'aggressive' if anything most of the dogs I know are more relaxed and have less behaviour problems.
At least I know what my animals ARE eating! It's real fresh meat and not the rubbish the manufacturers call 'animal derivatives' and there's no additives to worry about or cereals like corn!
I think though that there are some really good foods being produced now and each owner should do what is right for them and their own animals.

Answer 3

I feel a high quality commercial diet is better than a poorly planned raw one. I personally don't know too much about the raw food diet, but I do feel that if well done, it can be great for the dogs. However, it will require a lot of research, food safety practices (for your dog and your family), and a little time to gather the ingredients and prepare a balanced diet with it. The biggest argument is that dogs are no longer wild and raw meat could have bacteria and stuff. A valid argument, considering we don't kill the deer ourselves, drag it to our den, and eat it immediately with our cubs do we? That's why food safety practices are very important.

I give my girls Timberwolf Organics dry kibble. Occaisionally, I'll give them a little leftover cooked food from my dinner table. They also get a spoonful of yogurt in the morning.

I don't know why people think people food is bad for dogs. The only problem with people food is the way it's sometimes prepared (hey, it's not even always good for us is it?) or people don't give the dogs the right balance of protein, grain, and vitamins/minerals.

Answer 4

I feed a high grade commercial food. I have used raw on occasion. Gave it a few months. In MY experience I saw puppies who were given green tripe have neurological problems and strange stomach (potty) problems. I would not give it to a dog under 6 months. I had also fed it to one of my rotts, at 18 months, supplementing 3 lbs a day, he x-rayed "no problems" at 13 months before showing him, when he was re done at 24 he failed. No bad hips in his lines as far as we knew, all known were OFA good or better. I think it was the high mineral content and fast weight gain that blew him out.
I do know people who feed a BALANCED raw diet exclusively and they have had a few issues with bacteria, but overall the dogs seem healthy. Raw takes alot of "work" and is pretty expensive, at least in my area.

Personally, I stick with the dry stuff, but occasionally I give raw bones and "leftovers" like meat fat trimmings, the turkey giblets pretty soon...etc

Answer 5

If you are feeding raw...you really need to know what you are doing. I don't think feeding raw is necessarily better. Commercial dog food is well balanced and designed for our dog...but make sure you are buying a good quality food with good ingredients. These days, it's more than meat and grains that are being added to the better food. Fruits and veg's are now being added to dog food which can also give dogs some nutrition meat can't give. Also, avoid foods with corn.
I also doubt feeding raw would make him more aggressive.

Answer 6

Yes, a raw food diet really is hands down better for your dog!!! Dogs evolved over millions of years, and only in the past few decades that they have been forced to eat kibble have they had bad joints, bad teeth, and huge rates of cancer. Dogs on a proper raw food diet have healthier teeth and gums, better behavior, smaller and less smelly poops, better, healthier, shinier coats, and I could go on and on but you get the idea. My sister feeds raw, and people cannot believe the change in her dog since she has switched. There are some excellent online resources to get informed on the subject, and places you can have all of your questions answered. I'm including a bunch of websites to get you started. I also recommend a raw feeding email list here on yahoo, where friendly experienced raw feeders are always happy to answer questions when you're new to raw feeding and trying to figure it out. Good luck!

Answer 7

I've never fed raw exclusively, so I have no personal knowledge base on this to which I think that dogs do better on. There are a few answerers on here that feed raw diet. I'm going to star your question so hopefully it will be seen and answered by someone with experience.

If you want to do some research on raw, there are some links here to raw-feeding websites:
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/431875

No, a raw diet will not make your pet aggressive. Your dog doesn't make the connection that the meat in it's bowl came from something alive. To them, it's just food that they get from their humans, just like the dog food was.
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Answer 8

Science diet and any other dog food that comes from a grocery store or Wal-Mart is crap. You need to go to a pet shop, or a Petsmart, or Petco, and get some dog food. And when choosing dog food make sure the first ingredient listed is Chicken, or some other kind of meat.

Answer 9

With all the food recalls,who knows what is REALLY best?All I know,is I have 14 dogs,and they ae all totally healthy eating a commercial DRY dog food.To me,RAW means unsafe,cooked things are best...and dry food is best to keep your dogs teeth and coat healthy.Tests have been run to ensure they contain everything needed to keep your pet safe and healthy.

Answer 10

I am not an expert on the raw diet, I will star your q so hopefully someone who feeds raw will see it. It is a great diet that works for many dogs, unfortunatly mine didn't do well on it so I feed Canidae. When you feed a high quality kibble you can feed less because it has less fillers and more real food. If you decide to feed raw, great for you! If not, please go to www.dogfoodanalysis.com and pick a 4 star or better food to feed your dog.