Dog nutrition - what is BEST for you and your dog?

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by yorkiepuppie

well, the reason i started this thread is because i am hoping that i will be able to learn the pros and cons of each diet. and be able to make a decision on my dogs' diet that i can feel confident about.

i know what kind of a diet is healthiest for "people". i mean, i have a pretty good idea of it. not that i choose to follow what i know is healthy, but at least i KNOW WHAT IT SHOULD consist of.

are there good books on canine nutrition you recommend? something that's not biased and based on studies?

i just haven't read anything that makes me feel like i get a good understanding of what a dog's diet should consist of. i think i just need to read more about it in general. i just have been frustrated with a lot of the info i had read, i just feel like i don't really trust it since like i mentioned, i feel that most are kind of biased.

thank you so much for your support and input, i have learned a lot form your posts. i started brushing milu's teeth because of your post! (the one you talked about flossing ellie may's teeth)

milu finally let me see her back teeth yesterday, i wasn't able to get the tooth brush in there, but i was able to use a Q-tip to open her lips wider so i can see the back teeth. she has some plaque? or tarter? (not sure which) in the back, and using a Q-tip to clean it doesn't seem like enough...but it's a start.

I use "Small Animal Clinical Nutrition"...the fourth edition. It's the "bible" of veterinary nutrition, but it is not pro raw, so I'm not sure it would be much help from that standpoint. Yes, studies are cited in parts of the book. While I don't agree with their approach that dog food is best when available, etc., I do generally agree that most of the info in the book is correct and they are the people I am most willing to listen to on the topic b/c they are the experts.

For anybody else reading this though, I should mention that it's a veterinary textbook and not an easy, one day, do ABC and you're done type of read.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by yorkiepuppie

wow, thank you for the info. very helpful. i think part of the reason people might be a little intimidated with the prey model diet is just not knowing enough about it. just like before i started feeding pre-made raw, i thought it was going to be totally disgusting, but after i tried it out, it really was a lot better than i imagined.

prey-model sounds like a good way to go, but i don't feel like i know enough about how to do it correctly, and it feels a little overwhelming. i don't know how to prepare it.

another question regarding prey-model: what if your dogs do not like to eat raw food? what would you do? would you try to force them to eat it? my dogs do not enjoy eating the pre-made raw, and they get pretty skinny when i feed them raw because they both run away from the food when it's time to eat. how would you handle that situation if your dogs acted like that? i thought about locking them in the bathroom(because it's a small room and there is nothing else for them to do in there) and not letting them out till they eat their food, but they just cry and i really dont' want food to be a punishment to them... i guess that's why i put one of the things as consideration is if your dogs enjoy eating the food.

Well, I mean, if your dog won't eat raw than it won't eat raw and it's not the best diet for you. However, they will usually come around after a little bit of tough love. I would try sprinkling some parmesan cheese or something (almost anything would work, really) on top to make it appetizing. A lot of dogs that are fed kibble their entire lives don't understand what to do with this raw piece of meat you're trying to feed them. If you're comfortable with it and are determined to try raw, then withhold food for a meal or two to see if they're just being picky. Obviously if you have a tiny dog this could cause some health problems so act with discretion. Luckily, I've never had this problem so I can't tell you which methods work and which don't.

PMR can be intimidating at first but once you do the research and especially once you start, it's not bad at all. I don't even think twice about meal times anymore. If you're really interested I can point you to some other threads with some good reading material.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I use "Small Animal Clinical Nutrition"...the fourth edition. It's the "bible" of veterinary nutrition, but it is not pro raw, so I'm not sure it would be much help from that standpoint. Yes, studies are cited in parts of the book. While I don't agree with their approach that dog food is best when available, etc., I do generally agree that most of the info in the book is correct and they are the people I am most willing to listen to on the topic b/c they are the experts.

For anybody else reading this though, I should mention that it's a veterinary textbook and not an easy, one day, do ABC and you're done type of read.

Does this book have specific clinical studies done over home cooked diets for dogs? Or do you happen to have any links saved or anything? I'm really interested in reading the results. I'm an advocate for home prepared food, cooked or not so I'd love to learn more.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by PrincessDiana

Does this book have specific clinical studies done over home cooked diets for dogs? Or do you happen to have any links saved or anything? I'm really interested in reading the results. I'm an advocate for home prepared food, cooked or not so I'd love to learn more.

I don't think so. There are studies referenced in the book, but I'm not thinking they had anything to do with homecooked or raw. There are tons of case studies throughout about homecooked and raw gone bad. Very interesting read...

I'm really not aware of any home prepared diet studies just because it costs so much to do one and if a company were to spend money on it, they wouldn't have any product to sell after...

[mileydog]

Geez you guys cook so healthy for your dogs. What do you cook for yourself? I can't imagine how healthy you must eat for yourself?

Do you guys ever eat at McDonalds. I imagine not.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by mileydog

Geez you guys cook so healthy for your dogs. What do you cook for yourself? I can't imagine how healthy you must eat for yourself?

Do you guys ever eat at McDonalds. I imagine not.

Coke and chocolate, and if I'm really ambitious, a Lean Cuisine.

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by mileydog

Geez you guys cook so healthy for your dogs. What do you cook for yourself? I can't imagine how healthy you must eat for yourself?

Do you guys ever eat at McDonalds. I imagine not.

i actually eat a pretty darn bad diet myself (had pizza and ice coffee for breakfast this morning-isn't that disgusting!!!!!), and i don't really cook for me or my fiance much, but for my dogs, it's a different story. i will do anything for them!

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Coke and chocolate, and if I'm really ambitious, a Lean Cuisine.

lol!!!!! we are so bad!

[mileydog]

Parents everywhere seem to feed their kids pizza, cheeseburgers, sodas all the time...and then we have people on YT that cook all natural foods including crushed blueberries, boiled chickens, eggs, etc...i mean cmon if you are feeding your kids Fast Food...the dogs can simply eat some Pedigree kibbles...right?

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by mileydog

Parents everywhere seem to feed their kids pizza, cheeseburgers, sodas all the time...and then we have people on YT that cook all natural foods including crushed blueberries, boiled chickens, eggs, etc...i mean cmon if you are feeding your kids Fast Food...the dogs can simply eat some Pedigree kibbles...right?

well, i certainly hope i don't feed my kids those things when i have skin kids. i don't want to feed my dogs pedigree kibble either. i want them to live a healthy life, and i think by providing them quality food will help.

[yorkiepuppie]

once the kids are grown, they can make unhealthy eating choices if that's what they want to do, but while they are young, i think it's the parent's responsibility to make sure they eat healthy.(i think this is very important!)

luckily, my dogs will never grow up to make bad eating habits like me. so i will continue to try to feed them something they like that is healthy.

[mileydog]

I agree that quality food will help and I am a firm believer that diet is a key driver to living a healthy lifestyle. My problem is that although most people understand that diet is important but they cannot commit to follow a strict diet. Many times I see soccor mom's buying Mcdonalds and Taco Bell for their skin kids but they are also telling me how they are home cooking for their dogs. It just seems so odd that they don't provide the same quality of foods for both the fur babies and the skin kids. I mean to go through the extra effort to cook for the dogs and then to buy Taco Bell for the 10 year old kids makes no sense.

[Ellie May]

Jimmy John's!!!
They use alfalfa sprouts. Very nutritious. lol
And I can't forget their big pickles and Jimmy chips. Cucumbers and potatoes...

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by mileydog

I agree that quality food will help and I am a firm believer that diet is a key driver to living a healthy lifestyle. My problem is that although most people understand that diet is important but they cannot commit to follow a strict diet. Many times I see soccor mom's buying Mcdonalds and Taco Bell for their skin kids but they are also telling me how they are home cooking for their dogs. It just seems so odd that they don't provide the same quality of foods for both the fur babies and the skin kids. I mean to go through the extra effort to cook for the dogs and then to buy Taco Bell for the 10 year old kids makes no sense.

i think maybe part of it is that children can talk back and tell you that your cooking sucks and pester you about buying them food from taco bell or mcdonalds while dogs cannot and will not do that. most dogs will happily eat what you have prepared for them. i don't have children, i don't know how difficult or easy it is to get children to eat healthy.

[yorkiepuppie]

i also want to say that junk food is very cheap in america, so if we calculate the REAL cost of junk food by adding in health care costs because eating this type of garbage diet makes people sick. anyways, basically, if taco bell and mcdonalds are the most expensive things people can eat, then parent's will not be feeding it to their children or themselves.