Homemade Dog Foods

what are your opinions on raw diet homemade food premium kibble and low quality kibble. eg. Prey model, cooked meat and veggies, taste of the wild, purina. which is best for a dog and why?

*best answer receives minimum of 11 points*

1) Are you allergic to cats? If so, how do you treat your allergy so you can live with your cat?

2) What diet does your cat eat? Homemade, kibble, can, raw? What brand and what flavor? (links would be helpful)

3) Do you prefer cats or dogs and why?

4) Is your cat pedigreed (purebred) or a mixed breed (domestic shorthair)? If the cat is pedigreed which breed is it?

5) Do you use cat trees?

6) From where did you get your cat?

7) Are you aware of the dangers of byproducts and chemicals in most commercial foods, including but not limited to: Eukanuba, Iams, Science Diet, Purina, and Nutro?

How old is your cat?

9) What activity do you enjoy doing most with your cat?

~~~

Thank you.
I WANT a cat but my dad hates them because a feral one scratched one when he was a kid. Grr. AND I’m slightly allergic, and I suggested meds to help those when I asked my dad for a cat, and he said, "No, if you’re allergic to cats it means God is telling you you’re not meant to have one." GRR.

Nice answers, everyone!

Do your cats wear collars?
Oreo does, Little doesn’t.
What brand of food do you feed?
Right now, NutriSource, switching to Nutro Natural Choice.
Where are you located?
In Michigan.
Is the cat section your usual section?
No, the dogs section is.
Do your cats wear their I.D. tags?
Oreo does, Little doesn’t.
How do you feel about my answer for anyone who wants to know good things to feed their cats? Here it is:
Wellness
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
Chicken Soup
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssou…
Solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
Felidae
http://www.felidae.com/
Any Natura Brand
http://www.naturapet.com/

Please never use any food from Purina, because they are all crap, and you would never want to feed a pet that you loved the Purina brand. Here is thier website:
http://www.purina.com/

Never use Science Diet, either. That is a very crappy brand. If your dog is ever sick, the vet will recommend Science Diet Prescription Diet. Don’t get it, because it is actually very bad for your pet. Here is their website:
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/home.hj…

HOMEMADE/RAW FOOD FOOD IS GOOD:
http://www.pet-grub.com/
http://www.barfworld.com/
You can also take my dog survey:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081008130015AAWgRJX

What answer do you get a lot of Best Answers with? I get a lot with this answer:

Wellness
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
Chicken Soup
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssou…
Solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
Canidae
http://www.canidae.com/
Any Natura Brand
http://www.naturapet.com/

Please never use any food from Purina, because they are all crap, and you would never want to feed a pet that you loved the Purina brand. Here is a website partly on Purina:
http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_I…

Never use Science Diet, either. That is a very crappy brand. If your dog is ever sick, the vet will recommend Science Diet. Their Rx diets are Ok for some dogs who need them, but don’t get the regular Science Diet. Here is a website partly on Science Diet:
http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_I…

HOMEMADE/RAW FOOD FOOD IS GOOD:
http://www.pet-grub.com/
http://www.barfworld.com

I feed the raw diet. It is the best you can feed most dogs. I suggest you look into it. Good luck with your dog!!!

What answer do you get a lot of BA with?

LEGIT:
Is the dog section your normal section?

Do your dogs have I.D. tags on their collars?
Yes.
Do your dogs wear their lisences?
Yes.
Where are you located?
In Michigan.
Are your dogs caged at night?
No.
Do you think most dogs eat good quality food?
No.
Is the dogs section your usual section?
Yes.
How do you feel about my answer for anyone who wants to know good things to feed their dog? Here it is:
Wellness
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
Chicken Soup
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssou…
Solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
Canidae
http://www.canidae.com/
Any Natura Brand
http://www.naturapet.com/

Please never use any food from Purina, because they are all crap, and you would never want to feed a pet that you loved the Purina brand. Here is thier website:
http://www.purina.com/

Never use Science Diet, either. That is a very crappy brand. If your dog is ever sick, the vet will recommend Science Diet Prescription Diet. Don’t get it, because it is actually very bad for your pet. Here is their website:
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/home.hj…

HOMEMADE/RAW FOOD FOOD IS GOOD:
http://www.pet-grub.com/
http://www.barfworld.com/
You can also take my cat survey:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081008130205AAyt9ub&r=w
Yes, I do have experience with feeding ALL of Purina’s products and also ALL of Science Diet’s products. When I was dumb a few years ago and believed my vet/T.V.

Ok, first let me offer some quick information on my dog:

Large mix – 90 lbs.
1 1/2 yr.
Extremely allergic to fleas; recurring yeast infections.

He’s been on Canidae for the past 6 months, and the whole time he’s had pretty loose stools, and he’s relatively skinny. Can anyone offer any advice on what types of ingredients I should be increasing/decreasing, or a dog food brand that might suit him?

Please note: Feeding raw/homemade right now isn’t an option, and I can’t afford the SUPER expensive brands like Innova. I’ve also seen quite a few vets, and they cant offer more advice than "Feed Purina/Science Diet!", which I’m relatively sure aren’t the right foods to feed.
Because the first ingrediant in most of both Purina and Science Diet varieties is corn gluten meal, etc. Which will make his yeast infections worse.. One of the vets to reccomend those brands is the same one who tried to put him on antibiotics for the yeast infection.. Which will also make it worse.They havent said too much about the loose stools, because they arent complete diarrhea, but they’re more frequent than a completely healthy dog, and definately not as firm. He hasn’t been ‘tested’ for food allergies, but none of the vets I went to suspected it.
Haven’t checked the stools recently, but I’ll do that.. Right now I give him Frontline Plus for the fleas; what’s Vectra? He doesn’t get any shots or anything, though, and trust me, I’ve gone everywhere trying to find a vet I can meet half way with on their "beliefs" or "treatment plans", whatever you want to call it. Haven’t found the right one yet.

Hi all. I’ve been trying to find which is a good overall puppy/dog food. I adopted a Beagle mix 6 months ago when he was only a month old. The owner was feeding him Purina which I wasnt happy about. I absolutely don’t want corn in his diet.

I then purchased a bag of Californa Natural Chicken and rice. My pup got bored with it after a week and would hardly touch it anymore. I then learned it only has 1 protein source and is mainly for dogs with allergies. I then went with Taste of The Wild which is grain free and reasonably priced. He tired of this food as well. Even when I mix in Wellness, Evo, or Evangers canned food! Its been about 3 days that he’s eating very little. I put half a cup mixed with wet food in the AM and half a cup in the PM mixed with homemade chicken soup. He hasnt been touching the AM meal and only eats a small amount at the PM meal. Theres so much conflicting info on whether to feed things like Buffalo, Bison, Venison, etc and to save those protein sources if he develops allergies. The ToTW formula has all exotic meats. I think I’m going to go with a chicken/turkey diet as he loves that when theres leftovers.

Now I know grain free is supposedly the way to go but I’m thinking it might be too rich for my guy. Afterall, he’s not a workhorse. I also see all these grain free foods replace grains with potatoes. My pups stomach seems to be a bit hard/bloated, he vomits once a month, sometimes vile sometimes the food he just ate, and his stools always seem to be on the soft side.

I’m thinking about trying Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul. I’m thinking maybe the rice will actually help with his tummy and firm up his stools? It’s very cheap and seems to have fantastic ingrediants. I was also considering trying Evo small bites but the fat/protein is so high for my mildly active dog. Same goes for Orijen. I had a sample bag of Wellness core which he devoured and it also has a more reasonable fat/protein content. I appreciate the micro-organisms in it as well.

So I’m going to go with Chicken Soup or Wellness Core. Core says its for 1+ year old dogs though. Again, this confuses me as other grain free diets like Orijen and Taste of the Wild are ALS or have a puppy formula that exceeds those of Wellness! I guess I’m just curious if grain free is really that important and right for less active dogs? Every vet I talked to said boiled chicken and rice is the best thing for upset tummies, so wouldnt brown rice be a good thing for a dogs diet? I just want him to enjoy his food and have firm stools! I wasted SO much money on these top brand foods that he doesnt like–even when topping it with expensive canned meats!

Because of some ”money problems” maybe i’ll switch from eagle pack holistic to Purina Tonus.
I’d like to know what are the ingredients of this dog food(and if the first is meat),if u have any experience on feeding that to your dogs…

(i think i ‘ll make a combination of Tonus+homemade food…)

Thank u and i wish a happy new year to all!
Cheers from Greece!!!
I know there is dogfoodanalysis…but there is no review for Purina Tonus…
i haven’t bought the bag yet…i wanted to know first what are the ingredients…I ‘ll check it when i’ll go to buy…
i still want to know if you had good or bad experience on this food… )

Ok, so im a HUGE endorser of holistic natural human grade dog food and would never feed my dog anything from Petsmart/Petco like Iams, Science Diet, Purina, etc. But my little Jack Russell Chihuahua is picky and tends to stay away from the dry food. I feed her wet in the morning, either canned or homemade, and dry the rest of the day. Shell eat the wet right away, but leave the dry, so my vet said to leave it out and let her pick at it. Ive tried Innova, Wellness, and a couple other dry, but she has to be starving to eat it. Right now I have Orijen in the bowl and shes eaten a couple pieces, but I want her to eat consistently. And since she eats it throughout the day, I cant wet it or put gravy on it because it will go bad. What can I do? The only two dry she hasnt tried are Canidae and Merrick… are they appealing to your dogs? Or do you have any other suggestions as to how to get her to eat dry. Ive heard about adding yogurt but her food already has probiotics in it… I dont know..

My lovely pomeranian is on Purina right now. But I’m thinking of making homemade food, and I know I should switch slowly.

Here are a few things I’m planning to use, and tell me what you think (and any references are helpful as well!)

Oatmeal/brown rice for carbs (scarcely!)
Peas/Carrots (he loves hard carrots)
Eggs, maybe some almonds, cheddar cheese (again, sparingly)
Some kind of fruit?
And the main ingredients:
Chicken, hamburger, steak (all with no added spices or anything)

Any food "poisonous" to the dog? Any more food I can add?

Thanks a lot! I love my Mickey, so I’m trying to prolong him!

Also, I will add that poms are vulnerable to early blindness, collasped trachea, and arthritis. Anything to help with those?