What's new
  • Please note members who been with us for more than 10 years have been upgraded to "Veteran" status and will receive exclusive benefits. If you wish to find out more about this or support IcMag and get same benefits, check this thread here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

What do you feed your dog?

Trichgnomes

Member
I have been thinking about this after hanging out in Organic Soil for a while, where it seems a lot of people have dogs. A lot of folks there are pretty tricked out with their soil recipes, take pride in DIY and rarely if ever step foot inside a grow store. What about your dog(s)? How do you grow him/her/them?. I just think it would be ironic to scoff at a premade soilless mix while your little furry friend is chomping down on some IAMS or some shit. I definitely liken my dog's diet to a soil recipe, as I am trying to promote the beneficial indigenous microflora that resides in his (and all of ours) G.I tract.


I myself have a 10 month old APBT. I changed his diet to one that is emulative of the 'prey' diet a few months ago. It mimics the diet in which dogs have naturally evolved to have. If you think about it, the commercial dog food industry has not been around for very long. Long enough for the dogs digestive system to adapt to it? Not quite. In fact it's just the opposite. Painstakingly similar to the results of humans eating poorly grown foods that are depleted of necessary minerals, there is a plethora of diseases showing up in dogs that simply were not around before. Dogs were not getting cancer and epilepsy 100 years ago.
So back to the diet. The diet that I feed is not for everyone, as it took some research, is a bit more time consuming than the old fill the bowl with kibble routine, and ingredients have to be sourced consciously. I did not start this thread to rag on the way anyone feeds his/her dog, I simply want to share with the community what I have learned/applied. However if anyone is experiencing chronic health issues with his/her dog, I urge you to try this before continuing treatment with your conventional vet that gives no results.

Ok here is what my dog has been eating since September, and aside from a minor ear infection, he has been full of energy and love. I was about to type this all out but luckily found it after a quick search:
http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/health/nutritionarticle13.htm
Wendy Volhard’s Natural Diet
50-pound dog



Days 1-6 Breakfast
3 Grain mix (dry/oz)
2 Molasses (t) ( Gotta feed the Lacto B and such!)
2 Safflower Oil (t)
200 Vitamin E (IU)
200 Vitamin C (mg)
50 Vit. B Complex (mg)
1.25 Egg, small, 4 x a week (local*, raw, including shell)
1/3 Yogurt or Kefir (C) ( I have been doing yogurt, but have been thinking about making some kefir)

Days 1-6 Dinner
12 Meat (oz) - days 1-5 (local*, raw)
2.5 Liver (oz) - days 1-5( " ")
14 Cottage Cheese (oz) - day 6
200 Vitamin C (mg)
1 Cod Liver Oil (t)
1 Apple Cider Vinegar (T)
1/2 Kelp (t)
1 Brewers Yeast (t)
1.5 Garlic Capsule (325 mg)
2.5 Bone Meal (T)
2 Wheat Germ (t)
3 Wheat Bran (T)
2 Dry Herbs (t)
2 Fruit (T) on alternate days


Day 7 Breakfast
2 Grain Mix (dry/oz)
200 Vitamin C (mg)
50 Vit. B Complex (mg)
2/3 Yogurt or Kefir (C)
4 Honey (t)

Day 7 Dinner - 1/2 day fast (It helps gives his organs a rest, as in the wild, wolves don't eat a meal every day).

* local in this case, for the eggs refers to within 5 miles, and the beef/liver varies from 2 miles to 15 or so. It is always grass fed, sometimes organically certified, unless from a source we know is using organic biological practices.


If anyone is interested in more information, I recommend Wendy Volhard's book entitled Holistic Guide for a Health Dog.
 

Sam the Caveman

Good'n Greasy
Veteran
I have been reading about dog/cat foods on and off for a few months now, and whole heartedly agree with you about how "big business" pet foods are horrible for your pets health.

I looked at the BARF diet, and all the reviewers said their pets health problems disappeared and their dogs mental/physical health had dramatically improved. The BARF diet is great, but not very convienent.

If you look hard enough, you can find pre-made foods that don't have grain based fillers and that also contain ingredients that are natural in a cat/dog diet. They do cost more than your average 50lb bag of IAMS, but I think it is worth it for the health of your pets.

I just switched my cat's food from Nutro brand to Avoderm, and she has a lot less shedding and hardly any dander. I used to have to give her a bath every 2 weeks because she was covered in dander and itching like crazy, not anymore. She is much more mentally allert now too. Avoderm doesn't cost anymore than Nutro either. I have found a healthier food than avoderm and will get that when the avo runs out, its called, believe it or not "Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul", yeah, lame, I know, but it is very healthy.
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
Dog Food Analysis is a good place to start for researching.

Here's the gist of a PM to the thread parent on how I feed our hunting and pet dogs.......
I've been breeding dogs (almost exclusively the sporting breeds - Labs, Retreivers, Pointers, Setters, etc.) for almost 40 years and I have all of our dogs (4 not counting this litter of 6 puppies) are on BARF diets (bones and raw foods. It can also mean biologically appropriate raw foods). In addition to that I cook up quinoa, millet, amaranth, brown rice, lentils and mix with the ground up raw poultry, beef and pork. I add cooked carrots, cooked yams, apples, bananas and this is their basic diet.

The puppies stay in my office next to my desk. The 'mom' is really attached to me. She goes everywhere I do and sits in the passenger seat to look out the window. If I stop and get something to eat I always get a child's portion to give her, i.e. she and I are very bonded and she's completely okay with me picking up the puppies to check for runny noses, eyes or any ear problems.

I begin handling the puppies from Day 2 forward to make sure that they're well 'imprinted' to accept human touch and to make them comfortable with human voices.

I was taught this by a woman over 40 years ago when I bought my first dog - an Irish Setter. This woman had a way with canines that I've never seen before - nothing short of amazing.

I'll send you some more photos of the other puppies. All of them have been adopted and when they hit 10 weeks and I've given them all of their puppy shots they'll be out to their new homes.

I'm a real prick with prospective buyers. I don't need the money. I don't run a puppy mill. What I do have every other year or so is to offer a beautiful litter of champion level Labs.

Fun hobby!!
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
I have been feeding dogs RAW for years!
My current pup is 4 months old, built like a brick shit house and the Vet says she is healthy as shit!
Missing Link Puppy Health is a great product my pups are fed raw with this supplement from day 1.

http://www.missinglinkproducts.com/productsproductoverview19-18/MissingLinkPuppyHealth
dwarfganja

I'm a huge promoter of BARF diets for both canines as well as felines.

I have a male Lab that suffers from epilepsy and when I moved him from commercial dog food to the BARF regimen his seizures dropped by 80% in both frequency as well as intensity.

His medication dosage dropped by the same ratio.

HTH

CC
 

Panda

New member
we give my dog 1 big scoop of iams weight control, a can of alpo wet dog food and left over meat and cheese, lots and lots of cheese, on a good day she may have 2 or 3 slices before dinner which has some more mixed in, and on some days where there is eggs for breakfast she will have a plate of those in the morning, otherwise she begs for food all day and then eats at night after her walk.

we like to call the lumps all over her, that the vet said are fatty deposits, cheese burgers
 

opt1c

Active member
Veteran
Flint River Ranch for win! frrco

The best and made in USA too so no chinese imported doggy death snacks.
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
Flint River Ranch for win! frrco

The best and made in USA too so no chinese imported doggy death snacks.
opt1c

Flint River Ranch is available at a couple of 'holistic pet food stores' up in Portland. It's a FANTASTIC product, IMHO

CC
 

GrnMtnGrwr

Active member
Veteran
Hey trichgnomes, great thread, thanks! I had always wondered about this, never would've heard about the BARF thing if I hadn't checked it out, looks like a good place to start. I don't have a dog yet, but I may get one soon. I do have a cat though, I'll definitely learn some things from this thread. :respect:

The cat I do have gets California Naturals and Innova canned cat food, definitely much closer to the real diet than any Walmart shit.
 
G

Ganja D

If anyone is looking for a great brand, especially for dogs with finicky stomachs try Timberwolf Organics. Check out their web site,a lot of great info. It could also supplement a raw diet. They have a few grain free products for dogs with allergies or food sensitivities. It's a bit pricey but if your dog is family it's worth it.
Clackamas Coot, your dog may be even more spoiled then mine. Do you breed labs?

 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
If anyone is looking for a great brand, especially for dogs with finicky stomachs try Timberwolf Organics. Check out their web site,a lot of great info. It could also supplement a raw diet. They have a few grain free products for dogs with allergies or food sensitivities. It's a bit pricey but if your dog is family it's worth it.
Clackamas Coot, your dog may be even more spoiled then mine. Do you breed labs?

Ganga D

I also love the products from Timberwolf Organics - a couple of shops up in Portland offer this product line.

RE: Breeding Labs

I do breed and train hunting Labs and offer, on occasion, fully trained bird dogs. I've been a member of Ducks Unlimited for almost 40 years. I personally hand-train all of my hunting dogs as I'm located on the Pacific Flyway as it were.

My all-time favorite hunting dog is the mother of our last breeding. She, Pisher-Dawg, is the BEST dog I've ever owned. She's my buddy and goes everywhere with me. And yeah - she's spoiled like nobody's business.

I love her to pieces. I trust her and she trusts me through all of life's drama/karma.

Yep ol' Pisher-Dawgz is a great pet as well as a fantastic hunting dog and I love her to pieces.

CC
 

sackoweed

I took anger management already!!!! FUCK!!!
Veteran
Some interesting articles.. What a coinckydink i found this thread my APBT is a gassy lil shit.. And honestly its friggn like poison... lmfao.. So i was starting to google stuff as i found this thread.. thanx for sharing i will keep on doing my search as well.. peace..

sackO
 

Clackamas Coot

Active member
Veteran
Ganja D

In the world of breeding high-quality dogs it's important (IMHO) to study the canine brain.

It's a known fact that puppies which are human-imprinted at an early stage make for the best pets and/or working dogs within their breed's standards controlled by the AKC.

For example I keep my litter next to my desk because I want them familiar with human voice and human structure as it relates to learning to follow training processes.

For example - I get up every morning @ 4:30 AM and get the 2 hunting dogs out of the kennels as well as the 2 pet dogs ready for their morning walk. We usually do a 1 hour walk and when we get home the kennel dogs (i.e. hunting dogs) are placed back into the kennels and the pet dogs are brought into the house for petting, affection and feeding.

In the morning I generally feed them their morning breakfast of organic brown rice, organic eggs, home-made bacon and a dose of Tilllamook Cheddar Cheese from the Oregon Coast.

With our new litter I let them out and let them down to the living quarters of our home. They get the 'real deal' as far as breakfast. I love watching the puppies pull and tug on my pant legs in anticipation of breakfast treats.

Later in the morning I take the pet dogs and the puppies out to our 'farm' and let them run around and do their 'dog thing' as I feel that letting dogs being dogs is an important component to creating a good pet for others.

I'm close enough to the mother dog that she allows me to do anything I want to do with her puppies. Each day I take a different puppy and carry that puppy around in my arms and talk with them - again trying to get them 'imprinted' with human touch and human voice input.

When a puppy leaves our home I always have the proverbial 'tear in my eye' as I hope/wish that the new owners will love these dogs as much as I do.

Breeding a dog and creating puppies is far more than trying to make a dollar. Humans and canines have a long, long history and I feel that it's important to continue this paradigm.

It's a fact - dogs are man's best friend. Bar none.


CC
 

Khyber13

Member
Re:Russia

Re:Russia

Anyway ~ What I was Saying....

Sarah cuz of the Color Pink & the War Tactics of Israel (The Leaf Shape)

Lynn w/ the Color White.

Thats what those 2 have G13 x Widow along with Russia. You know why Russia has it now 2.
 

Trichgnomes

Member
Sweet. I'm glad this thread got going. CC, do you feed either, yogurt, kefir, EM, or some type of probiotics as well? I looked at the BARF diet (specifically speaking of the one one coined as such by Dr. Billinghurst (sp). But I felt that Volhard's approach was unique from his, in that it accounted for sources of vitamins/minerals that would be found in parts of animals other than just bones and organ/muscle meat, such as partially digested food in the stomachs of herbivores (which seems to be what you are doing as well, CC, with the rice/quinoa regime).

I also give my dog raw milk when I don't have any yogurt, sourced a couple miles away, (pastured raised, treated with love).
 

dwarfganja

Member
Just a thought.

Have you ever considered changing to feeding RAW?

You may find it easier and your dog will LOVE you even more...if thats possible haha!!

we give my dog 1 big scoop of iams weight control, a can of alpo wet dog food and left over meat and cheese, lots and lots of cheese, on a good day she may have 2 or 3 slices before dinner which has some more mixed in, and on some days where there is eggs for breakfast she will have a plate of those in the morning, otherwise she begs for food all day and then eats at night after her walk.

we like to call the lumps all over her, that the vet said are fatty deposits, cheese burgers
 
Top