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I like this, Dog Food Advisor, as a source of information.

And this site includes current Recall information on the lower left side of links, in an area called Latest Articles. Which includes all sorts of dog food news.

 

Currently we are using NutriSource. American sourced and produced, high quality, moderately priced, and the kids like it. Along with our raw and people food (gasp!!) :)

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I think checking recalls is VERY IMPORTANT!!! Good info Starghoti!!! There are alot that are recalled....I have switched to Flint River Ranch brand dog foods...IT'S NEVER BEEN RECALLED! The website is www.frrco.com You can order it online or by phone and it comes right to your door!!! Love that since I'm at least 45 minutes from a good pet store.

I feed a raw diet to Chhaya and Koda with a small amount of the Flint River Ranch dog food. This way if I am away or don't have the raw food ready then they can eat the dry dog food a meal or so without upsetting their stomachs.

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  • 1 year later...

Thoughts - get a meat grinder, leave the meat raw (except pork), skin and fat on and bones in. Why take out all that calcium and marrow. not sure about all the spices. organ meats good. take care on the meat source (antibiotics, hormones, etc). don't know about the yams as a staple - interesting idea for a fixed girl dog.

 

As for carcinogens - been eating grilled meat with all the lovely dioxins for my whole live and I'm not dead yehhhhhpfft.

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?? Why grind the meat/bone??

Unless your dog has no teeth. Mine chew bone just fine. I should post a video :)

They LOVE chewing chicken and turkey thigh bones! The lips pull back and their eyes go half shut and they are in that primal head-space... And it is great for their teeth too!

 

I feed my guys raw pork on occasion. Just watch out for 'enhanced' meats -aka soaked in a salt/chemical solution to 'improve flavor and tenderness.. Sigh. Keep the sodium below 80mg per serving (read pkging) and it will be fine. :)

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We feed a home made dog food that is oats base with ground meat, salmon oil, yogert and a few other things. It's ground to get the mix right and to pace wear on the teeth. We supplement with lovely marrow filled soup bones or beef short ribs or lamb shanks (although both shepherds are at that cut off point due to age - the teeth need softer bones when they get older and Waki doesn't have the jaw strength - he takes the cracked shank from Shiva) or chicken parts. Sometimes we can get buffalo or sheep parts or organs from the local farmers. We do bones at least once a week for clean teeth but it's ground for every day.

 

I don't know if trichinellosis survives the dog's more acidic stomach or not so I don't chance it.

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ohhh ok. I'm trying to come up with a nice balanced "mix" for everyday eating. I'm unsure to go with the oats route or the potato non grain route for the base of this "kibble". I am thinking of using no grain as the base of this homemade kibble and making whole wheat rye or wheat germ "crispies" as a goody three times a week or something. I want to use this homemade stuff as an everyday thing paired with a raw something. And of course supplementing with weekly bones and or antlers to clean teeth and supply calcium.

Sherab do you cook, dehydrate, or leave raw your homemade kibble?

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Dimsun629 we grind the meat weekly and put 2 tubs in the freezer and one in the frig. It's raw. We have the oats in the pantry and mix it up before the meal. The oats need a little soak time. It's a good rhythm and we rarely run out. I do keep some canned and a small bag of kibble for a pinch. If someone has an upset stomach (usually Shiva during the spring melt) we will cook the meat. Sometimes we cook a leg of lamb and use that as the meat mix. With organ meat it depends on what it is. If it's a mix that's pre-ground from the local farm then I cook it first (otherwise it has given Shiva the runs). Since many people won't eat organ meat, it's also a good value. http://www.tendergrassfedmeat.com/2010/08/11/the-benefits-of-organ-meats/ Shiva has the most sensitive stomach of our three. If it's heart or liver I may cut it into strips and mix it in the bowl. If it's small (like the bag inside a roasting chicken) I just give it to them directly. I also like to make a gravy out of drippings from our food (lamb, chicken, goose) and put that in. Too much sudden fat can cause the vapors or worse so take care with that. I like to up the fat once a week in the winter when coats can dry out. We don't know anyone that hunts but that could be a great source of goodies. Game meat is very lean so I would factor that in if using bulk quantities. We once got sheep spine at the farmer's market. They loved it. We are careful with sources of beef - grass fed makes better fat soluble goodies than grain and we try to avoid anything that may have had hormones and antibiotics. We lived on a block with a school teacher who was campaigning against using downed cattle in dog food (this was during the mad cow outbreak 10 years back) so I avoid beef and go for lamb or other flavors for the canned and kibble I keep stocked. Salt is also a good add in the summer. Scott keeps a bunch of different salts on hand for cooking so I take a pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt or what ever. Keeps Waki from drinking may sea salt bath. Sometimes we use a broth to soak the oats and sometimes just water. They like fish skin. If either of us fished, I'd give them the heads and tails, but we don't fish.

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Sounds like a great meal plan. I'm loving the organ meat and grinding meat. I think my local butcher can do this for me as I don't have a meat grinder. Thank you for the info. :D

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I am sorry for changing the current conversation here but what is everyone's thought about salmonella since we are talking about raw. My wife is not quite on board yet with the raw diet. She had run into our vet a week or two ago and asked about feeding raw eggs. The vet said not to due to salmonella. So tonight I tried Chaska with his first chicken leg and she doesn't understand why I want to feed him raw as she is worried about it. She is worried about him licking on the girls after eating raw and such. I have told her of the benefits of him eating raw. Better for their teeth, breathe, and overall wellness.

 

So were any of you apprehensive about starting the raw diet due to this as well? I am not sure what Chaska thought of the leg. He ate the kibble and just moved the leg to get the rest of the dry food. I end up cutting the meat off the bone and he slowly ate a piece then left the room. He end up coming back and eating the rest. I tried giving him the bone but he kept wanting to take it out to the living room and laying it on the carpet so he could gnaw on it there. I kept putting it back in his bowl. I could tell he wanted it but told him he had to stay in the laundry room where we feed him. He keeps looking to make sure it is still in the bowl but won't go get it now.

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Let's see, tonight Waki picked up a dead fish (and put it back down when I asked) so, no. We are not a family of delicate constitution. I survived growing up in the '70s. I've eaten plenty of raw eggs since my mother was fond of making deserts and I always got to lick the bowl. Everyone drank out of the communal pop bottle back then (friends, family). We ate rare burgers and drank from streams. When I was 3 I ate a pretend sand breakfast for real. Over the years our dogs have done worse with road kill, poop, dead rodents, dead birds and live turtle tipping. Plus Waki feeds himself all day (bugs, snakes, frogs, mice). It was a savage and glorious childhood.

Edited by Sherab
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I am sorry for changing the current conversation here but what is everyone's thought about salmonella since we are talking about raw. My wife is not quite on board yet with the raw diet. She had run into our vet a week or two ago and asked about feeding raw eggs. The vet said not to due to salmonella. So tonight I tried Chaska with his first chicken leg and she doesn't understand why I want to feed him raw as she is worried about it. She is worried about him licking on the girls after eating raw and such. I have told her of the benefits of him eating raw. Better for their teeth, breathe, and overall wellness.

 

So were any of you apprehensive about starting the raw diet due to this as well? I am not sure what Chaska thought of the leg. He ate the kibble and just moved the leg to get the rest of the dry food. I end up cutting the meat off the bone and he slowly ate a piece then left the room. He end up coming back and eating the rest. I tried giving him the bone but he kept wanting to take it out to the living room and laying it on the carpet so he could gnaw on it there. I kept putting it back in his bowl. I could tell he wanted it but told him he had to stay in the laundry room where we feed him. He keeps looking to make sure it is still in the bowl but won't go get it now.

 

Apprehensive? You bet. So, we've only gone part way. Raw chicken, turkey, etc, is a significant part of our dogs diet. We started by just adding a raw chicken leg and cutting back a caloric equivalent on the kibble. (We have been using the brand Instinct. Instinct has a range of products based on the raw concept.) Our dogs love it.

 

And, their coats are nicer, they seem to scratch less, their poops are smaller and almost never soft or runny, They do not lack for energy!!

 

We really don't want to think about and make a list of the specific things, materials etc. that these dogs put their bodies, noses, mouths, tongues on, in under, around or through during the day. Otherwise, we might never pet them, hug them, nuzzle them.

 

I know it's anecdotal, but.... Joan and I have noticed that since we've had the dogs we've been less sick. Part of it is that we just feel uplifted having our dogs.

 

Part of it is that, one way they help us is by exposing us to more of our environment. Including building up immunity. Joan mentioned the other day that Wicca came inside, found her and when Joan bent down, Wicca gave her the biggest kiss!! It was obviously such a precious moment for them, I didn't have the heart to tell Joan what I saw Wicca just eating outside.

 

Just our opinion.... our dogs have made us healthier -- by a long shot.

 

We currently are taking care of Rocco. So, each of the three AI Dogs goes about things differently. Little Wicca is a huntress -- she grabs her chicken leg, starts on one end and rolls her eyes back, bites of slices from one end right down the length of it.

 

Rocco isn't used to getting raw, so he spends quite a lot of time looking at it. A few barks, then he lays down. He kind of eviscerates it; exposes bone then chews pieces off the bone.

 

Draco is weirder. He immediately runs and buries his. He then slinks around watching Wicca & Rocco eat theirs. If he gets the opportunity, he will jump-sneak in and take theirs. We don't let him but he's done it. When he does, he eats theirs greedily. When he doesn't, he waits, then goes and gets his, brings it and typically lays half way between Rocco & Wicca. (It feels like he's bragging or showing off that he has something they don't. But, it could be that he no longer feels his food source is threatened)

 

We strictly monitor the giving of the bones. We wouldn't even attempt it indoors. The dogs have their own thresholds of accepting dirt in the house; we draw the line and don't want raw body parts being dragged around inside the house!!

 

We absolutely trust our dogs. The other day I lay down very close to Wicca's mouth while she was chomping down a leg. I can tell that no matter what I did with her chicken leg, she wouldn't protect it from me. I could take it anytime anyway. Draco's the same.

 

But, we don't leave them alone when we give them raw legs or thighs or bones. They can and have gone all doggy on me and done a quick round or two before I could get to them. And, so, Just Because, I wouldn't leave dogs, kids & bones alone.

 

Even though we haven't gone completely raw for the dogs, once we got started it seems easier to us. It was daunting just getting started.

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Thanks alot Gib! You always have a way with words. I am going to try and keep on track with the raw diet. I think I am going to have my wife set down and read the threads that are on here about this subject. Then we will see what her prospective is then after she reads what I have been. Sometimes it is just easier for someone to read it than to try and explain it to them in words.

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Must agree with Gib. While our three aren't careful about what they dig for or eat (ugh) we don't do the raw eggs. Our vet would not recommend it. We get our eggs from our neighbor who has a hugh chicken farm. We do some raw but NEVER leave the kids alone with any kind of raw bones. Our oldest, who is the best trained, could go doggy over bones and is very protective about 'his' stuff. He can usually do a low roll growl and the girls will back away. I would definitely NEVER leave the dogs with bones and kids -- ever. Chief will wait to eat until the girls are done and kinda flaunt himself and his dinner in front of them. If they have a marrow bone he, too, will wait until the girls are done and then dare them to think about taking his. For these reasons, we don't leave them alone. Larry can and does take and give food, me NO! But it's something you have to decide for yourself. I agree, Gib, it's very daunting to get started. When we got our first AID, many ions ago, Willie had had salmonella poisoning at the ranch. He was very sick and originally was supposed to go to Europe but Kim couldn't ship because of the illness so we took him when he was well and he turned out to be a magnificent animal. Larry had taken him to the Good Morning America show to showcase the breed for Kim. The animal psychologist was smitten with Willie and Willie was smitten with the cat that was on the show! Not so good.

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Was researching dogfoodadvisor.com and found some treats I recently started to use as the "good" stuff for treats and rewards. They are freeze dried and from Orijen and have variety. Michi loves these treats and I wanted to recommend them. (they are alittle pricey tho)

I, too agree with Gib and judyk. I like to be watching no matter what Michi is eating. I sometimes cook eggs for a nice breakfast for Michi. For Chaska, why not a homemade kibble. It sounds like it would be a nice compromise for now at least. And would be better than IAMS. It's newest food received a bad rating.

 

judyk, I have heard that Dusty was featured in a National Geographic program about man's first dog. Would you know anything about finding more information about that?

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Dimsum, I think maybe looking into some homemade food is a good idea. I have been wanting to switch to Canidae but have not done so yet and I can only get it by mail order since no one sells it around here.

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Ahh ok, so something like petfooddirect.com or something? Homemade is something that I think I really want to get into not only because it's more healthy but for the cost. I've tried ALOT of different foods all rating high on the scale but Michi seems most happy and healthy with what I make from scratch for her.

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Dusty was Willie's sister. She had th most striking eyes. It looked like there was nothing in her eyeball sockets, looked like Orphan Annie's dog in the cartoon. Let me ask Zlarry about the National Geographic tape. He's in PA right now and will be home later in the week. I'll get back to you!

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