Feeding for Ultimate Health...

[buidelwolf]

When he was a puppy, I fed my dog Royal Canin (German Shepherd puppy/junior). He kept diarrhea and redness/itch in the groin. According to my vet, he was possibly sensitive to grain or other ingredients in the kibble.

After an examination of the kibble ingredients i discovered that there are very much "meat substitutes" and various fillers in it, but very little meat (as with almost all kibble brands). The abundantly present cereals for example are a cheap source of protein but of different quality than animal protein.

I decided to start feeding him a complete & balanced raw meat brand when he was about 10 months. Almost immediately an incredible result. Diarrhea gone (immediatley), very little poo, redness/itch in the groin disappeared within a week, he got a beautiful coat, chalk white teeth... I combine it with chicken necks, salmon carcasses (with a thick layer of meat between the bones), raw eggs, smashed green beans / tomato, green tripe, sometimes kitchen scraps and sheep ribs.

Every time it's a feast for him, he's just doing fantastic on it. Costs nor any effort neither much money. "Suum cuique", but for me this is feeding for ultimate health.

I wish I had the time, energy, and refrigerator/freezer space to feed raw. I know better than to think I'm that ambitious, and that knowledgeable, to feed a balanced, nutritious diet. I feed our dog Natural Balance grain free kibble, and mix two different types together to give him more protein sources. Usually I'll do duck and lamb or venison, so there's a white and a red meat. He also gets Natural Balance meat roll, which I love, because it has all sorts of organ meats in it.

I think eventually I'll switch him over to EVO, though, because I like the ingredients better, Natural Balance isn't quite so "balanced" as they'd like you to believe.

But, yeah, if I thought I could manage it, I think raw is definitely the best way to go. That way you know exactly what your dog is eating. I don't even cook that well for MYSELF though!!

[yukidomari]

Originally Posted by Vicky

I think eventually I'll switch him over to EVO, though, because I like the ingredients better, Natural Balance isn't quite so "balanced" as they'd like you to believe.

Just a heads up but Natura, EVO's parent company, just got brought out by Proctor and Gamble, parent company of IAMs.

Not sure how long the quality is going to last under them.. and dog food manufacturers are not obligated to reflect ingredient changes for 6 months.

I found it odd that the Natural Balance rolls have sugar as an ingredient (or corn syrup, something like that) in it. For that reason we never fed it when we used to do kibble (we were on Orijen/Ziwipeak/Honest Kitchen), even as a treat.

[tupacs2legs]

hi

i find my csv does best with a raw meaty bones diet and fish4dogs kibble (not in the same meal)
layla.

Originally Posted by yukidomari

Just a heads up but Natura, EVO's parent company, just got brought out by Proctor and Gamble, parent company of IAMs.

Not sure how long the quality is going to last under them.. and dog food manufacturers are not obligated to reflect ingredient changes for 6 months.

I found it odd that the Natural Balance rolls have sugar as an ingredient (or corn syrup, something like that) in it. For that reason we never fed it when we used to do kibble (we were on Orijen/Ziwipeak/Honest Kitchen), even as a treat.

Well crap. I'm surprised that a company that's so concerned about quality would be bought out like that. I guess I'll have to keep an ear open to people talking about changes. That's one of the reasons I want to switch from Natural Balance, is ingredient changes. The foods I'm feeding have bumped up the potato half of the ingredients, pushing the meat parts down a tad. Dogs don't need all that starch!

My cat's already ON EVO, I really hope they don't mess with it! If not, though, the awesome store where I get it has a great staff that keeps up to tabs on all this stuff, I'm sure they'll have a good alternative. I just hate going through the process of switching foods.


Oh, also, here's the ingredient list for the Lamb meat rolls that we feed Buddy:

Lamb, Lamb Hearts, Lamb Kidneys, Lamb Lungs, Whole Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Lamb Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid source of Vitamin C) Sucrose, Ground Whole Flaxseed, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Phosphates, Brewer's Yeast, Dried Kelp Meal, Lecithin, Natural Smoke Flavor, Glycerin, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin A Acetate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, ,Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Sodium Nitrite.

I see Sucrose in there, is that what you mean? Regardless, there's a noticeable difference in Buddy when we run out and he doesn't have it for awhile, so I'm pretty sure it's doing him good.

[Mikael]

Frozen Pig Filé in the Kennel Yard at X-mas


Hronec Taabernakkelin, Happy X-mas


Rasty z Molu Es, Happy X-mas

And Merry X-mas to ALL CsV and CsV owners

/ Mikael

[Silvester]

Hey Mikael , merry Christmas to you and to all other people here of course first of all !

My Csw "Zeus Lupus Ibericus" gets also nearly only raw food, sometimes whole animals like rabbits, hares or chicken - he likes that kind of food as much as the bones which i regularly get from a hunter who´s a friend of mine in a nearby village.

[Rona]

We are having a little Christmas controversy here...
Could somebody tell me if occassional giving bits of ham - not on regular basis, but remains of human meals, is really that harmful for our csvs? I know pork should not be given to dogs, but is close to being poisonous, like e.g. raisins, or just only unhealthy, like for humans?

[Mikael]

Originally Posted by Silvester

Hey Mikael , merry Christmas to you and to all other people here of course first of all !

My Csw "Zeus Lupus Ibericus" gets also nearly only raw food, sometimes whole animals like rabbits, hares or chicken - he likes that kind of food as much as the bones which i regularly get from a hunter who´s a friend of mine in a nearby village.

The photos look´s like 100% natural BARF

You must hawe very Happy Wolfdogs

Merry Christmas / Mikael