Ok, I'm going for it

[areese]

I don't want to do raw for various reasons, but I am not comfortable with commercial dog food, at least not at this time. I had been feeding them rice and mackeral or salmon anyway cuz of Laika's itchy/yellow poo problem (which of course turned out to be cuz she was eating CAT FOOD). I got a meat grinder on ebay and made my first batch of food today (liver, carrot, a few beans, brown rice, salmon oil) I have ordered some organic bone meal for calcium/phosphorus. I get so confused about what the proportions of carbs/protein/fat...there is just a ton of conflicting information out there. I've seen everything from 25% protein to 75%. But I'm going to mix it up anyway....different protein sources and amounts, different veggies, varying startch (used oatmeal and rice so far) not sure on what fat source I should use as I do supplement with fish oil anyway...Anybody know what is an appropriate way to add some fats to the food??
Grinder works really well and I think it will be good for feeding some veggies-they seem to get digested better-when I've added g. beans to their food I see they seem to come out whole quite often. ew.

[Courtney]

There is a pretty good book called "Switching To Raw" by Sue Johannson that is very easy to follow, for the kind of feeding you are trying to do....I have a copy I will never use again - would you like me to send it your way?

http://www.switchingtoraw.com/

I'm going to Buda in like an hour so won't get a chance to drop it in the mail until Monday - but would be happy to do so! PM me your address if so!!

[areese]

There is a pretty good book called "Switching To Raw" by Sue Johannson that is very easy to follow, for the kind of feeding you are trying to do....I have a copy I will never use again - would you like me to send it your way?

http://www.switchingtoraw.com/

I'm going to Buda in like an hour so won't get a chance to drop it in the mail until Monday - but would be happy to do so! PM me your address if so!!

I AM cooking the meat though...unless it is the canned fish. Would the book still apply??? I have tried to take in so much info my head spins at time so an easy to follow one would be awesome...

[Courtney]

By the way to answer your questions - if you just grind up whole cuts of stuff - like a whole chunk o' chicken with the skin on, some pork with some fat in it - that should be a good proportion of fat.

I also will say, beware of liver for it causes much loose poo!

Good luck with the switch!! Keep us updated!

[Courtney]

Oh....um....if you're cooking the food, then no, I don't think so....cooking greatly changes the nutrient profile of the food so I don't think it would still apply. I'm afraid I do not know anything about homemade cooked diets for dogs. Are you following a guide, or a book?

[areese]

Oh....um....if you're cooking the food, then no, I don't think so....cooking greatly changes the nutrient profile of the food so I don't think it would still apply. I'm afraid I do not know anything about homemade cooked diets for dogs. Are you following a guide, or a book?

Just internet information right now. There's a yahoo group for home-made dog food I check out... I printed out a ton of info. I should just buy a book...
There is such a lot of info out there...not really conflicting but it varies so greatly...
I'm not opposed to feeding some raw meat...just don't want to do raw hard-core... I'd still like to read the book...

[catstamm]

Good for you Amy... I'm considering an alternative also.
I do think medallions (which are raw, not to go off topic) are a complete balanced diet... but, I'm not positive.
If anyone knows the answer to that please let me know....I'm also going to research it a little....
If this recall gets anymore outta control....I'm going to take that route....
I may need to take a trip to the health food store...
this is where I get my food ...the owner is awesome and owns 3 rescue doxies!!!
http://pointlomapetpantry.home.att.net/

[Courtney]

Amy, I would still be more than happy to send you the book! Just PM or email me your address

I obviously come from the raw feeding point of view, but here is some info I just found on cooked diets...

http://rawfed.com/myths/cookedfood.html

[areese]

Good for you Amy... I'm considering an alternative also.
I do think medallions (which are raw, not to go off topic) are a complete balanced diet... but, I'm not positive.
If anyone knows the answer to that please let me know....I'm also going to research it a little....
If this recall gets anymore outta control....I'm going to take that route....
I may need to take a trip to the health food store...
this is where I get my food ...the owner is awesome and owns 3 rescue doxies!!!
http://pointlomapetpantry.home.att.net/

I'd have to mail order the medallions...there is only one pet store around here (this is a FEED store sorta place to live...that and wal-mart :))
I hate having to depend on that not to mention the cost.
I can see me grinding and freezing raw food actually....jsut not giving them a carcass or something and actually, with Salsa's size and the way she gulps, I would worry a lot about choking (seems to be a problem with them) and there is no way she can chomp up a bone anyway...
I know someone with 8 chis who always told me she feeds raw but on further questioning, it is the medallions.
I want to make my OWN medallions!

[catstamm]

I just talked to my nutriton guy for 35 mins..... DON"T LAUGH Courtney....
He wants me to come in and check out the new raw whole diet....
He said they have pulled the chicken soup and the entire line of natural balance....

[oceangirls]

Whole Dog Journal is doing a three-part (I think) series right now on developing raw and home-cooked diets for dogs...

[Rae]

...
He said they have pulled the chicken soup and the entire line of natural balance....


WHAT? More info please on Chicken Soup. That's what Duchie eats - tell me more.

[Jen]

I do think medallions (which are raw, not to go off topic) are a complete balanced diet... but, I'm not positive.


Yes, I believe that the Nature's Variety medallions are well balanced with veggies, nutrients etc. Tasha has been on them for at least 6 months (had to force the change on DH) and loves them, has a shiny coat and tons of energy. Sometimes too much....

[Frzframe]

I just talked to my nutriton guy for 35 mins..... DON"T LAUGH Courtney....
He wants me to come in and check out the new raw whole diet....
He said they have pulled the chicken soup and the entire line of natural balance....

Not the entire line has been pulled of NB (not on their site yet any way). This is what the site says:


Breaking Voluntary Recall News: Thursday, April 26th, 2007
Our canned food manufacturer, American Nutrition, from Ogden Utah, just informed us that they are recalling all canned products made in their plant that contain rice protein concentrate. American Nutrition continued by telling us that they added this ingredient to four of our canned products without our knowledge or consent. The four products involved are:

Chicken Formula Canned Dog Food 13 oz
Lamb Formula Canned Dog Food 13 oz
Beef Formula Canned Dog Food 13 oz
Ocean Fish Formula Canned Cat Food 3 oz & 6 oz

There have been no illnesses reported related to feeding these formulas, however, to comply with the American Nutrition recall of the four products, we are pulling all dates and batches of these four formulas. We also ask that our customers return unused product for a full credit to their store.

To make sure that this does not happen in the future, we are demanding from each of our co-manufacturers daily production record of all of our formulas before they are shipped to us and written certification of NO rice protein or any deviation of our formulas. We have reviewed all of our other products and determined that they are free of rice protein concentrate and that all of our other product labels are accurate.

Products NOT involved in the recall are:

DRY DOG & CAT FOOD FORMULAS:
Ultra Premium Formula Dry Dog Food
Reduced Calorie Formula Dry Dog Food
Ultra Premium Formula Dry Cat Food
Reduced Calorie Formula Dry Cat Food
Sweet Potato & Fish Dry Dog Food
Potato & Duck Formula Dry Dog Food
Organic Formula Dry Dog Food
Vegetarian Formula Dry Dog Food

DOG TREATS
Roll-A-Rounds Dog Treats
Sweet Potato & Fish Formula Treats
Potato & Duck Formula Treats
Crunch-E-Bones TreatsDOG FOOD ROLLS
Turkey Formula Dog Food Rolls
Beef Formula Dog Food Rolls
Lamb Formula Dog Food Rolls

CANNED DOG AND CAT FOODS
Liver Formula canned dog food
Duck and Potato Formula canned dog food
Sweet Potato & Fish canned dog food
Eatables Irish Stew canned dog food
Eatables Hobo Chili canned dog food
Eatables Southern Style Dumplin’s with Gravy
Eatables Chinese Take-Out W/Sauce
Ultra Formula canned cat food
Turkey & Giblets Formula canned cat food
Venison & Green Pea canned cat food
Chicken &Liver Pate Formula canned cat food
Tuna w/ Shrimp Formula canned cat food
Salmon Formula canned cat food
Indoor Cat Formula canned cat food

FROZEN DOG FOOD FORMULAS
Lamb Formula Frozen Loaf
Beef Formula Frozen Loaf
Chicken Formula Frozen Loaf
Raw Chicken Formula
Raw Beef Formula


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4/26/07: We Have Recalled the Following Products:
Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Formula
Venison and Brown Rice Canned Dog Food
Venison & Brown Rice Formula Dog Treats
Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Formula
Chicken Formula Canned Dog Food
Lamb Formula Canned Dog Food
Beef Formula Canned Dog Food
Ocean Fish Formula Canned Cat Food




So I going to switch back since my gang isn't doing well on CS.

[lotsadox]

I've fed the NV medallions for years with really good luck. I believe that they are a balanced diet and my dog thrive on them!

[catstamm]

What I meant was the guy that owns the Pet Pantry here in san diego chose to pull the entire line of NB....
Rae Patt posted the update on chicken soup....

[Frzframe]

What I meant was the guy that owns the Pet Pantry here in san diego chose to pull the entire line of NB....
Rae Patt posted the update on chicken soup....

Oh, okay I gotcha!

[LexieLuvr]

Medallions, at least, are looking better and better! So is home-cooked and/or raw!!! This entire situation is so sickening - not to mention, sickening pets! :sosad: :shocked:

[LexieLuvr]

Whole Dog Journal is doing a three-part (I think) series right now on developing raw and home-cooked diets for dogs...
What great timing! I've got to get me a copy of that!!!

[areese]

What great timing! I've got to get me a copy of that!!!

I surely would love to read that also...wonder how we can get it??

[Patt]

WHAT? More info please on Chicken Soup. That's what Duchie eats - tell me more.

I put the FDA update on Chicken Soup (I believe it was puppy and cat food) in The News Scoop.

I get the FDA updates almost daily, I will post them in The News Scoop.

[Patt]

I surely would love to read that also...wonder how we can get it??

Here's their address

The Whole Dog Journal
P.O. Box 420032
Palm Coast, FL 32142-0032

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/

I would write and ask for the journals containing homemade diets.

[Patt]

I am still going to feed Innova, Wellness and Hill's RX (when needed).

[JuneyTrixie]

The history of dog food is fairly recent and really was started for commercial reasons. Here are some sites of interest:

http://b-naturals.com/Aug2005.php

http://www.sojos.com/historyofpetfood.html

http://www.4loveofdog.com/nutrition.htm

Some of these sites kind of repeat the same stories, but with a little bit of difference.