Raw food vs. kibble
We got Winnie two weeks ago and are trying to figure out what to feed her. There are so many options and then there are the two big camps of dry kibble vs raw food. we just aren't sure what to do. any ideas? comments? rants?
Thanks!
ps we are feeding her right now :D a dry kibble based on chicken and chicken meal
Thanks!
ps we are feeding her right now :D a dry kibble based on chicken and chicken meal
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Carol Braitman on
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This is hot topic right now. My sister is involved in Airedale rescue, and there is a big debate going on in their circle. One resource is the BARF ( no joke) diet. There is a website that explains the raw diet movement, and what to feed the dogs. it kindof makes sense to me, but sounds expensive ,and time consuming. I have just switched my dogs over to Blue Buffalo, a holistic dry food. It is made without fillers like corn, and wheat. So far , they really like it. It also has some fruit, like cranberries for urinary health. My Charlotte has had a couple urinary tract infections in the last year.
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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
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Hi Carol,
Lance has a urinary tract infection....just wondering how long it took to get rid of the infection. Lance was on antibiotics for 2 weeks went back for a check up today and said it didnt get any worse but it is still there so we are going to try a different medicine now for another two weeks.
How long did it take to get rid of Charlottes infections and how did you get rid of them?
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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There really is no one best way. Theories abound depending who you talk to. Do your research, perhaps find the yahoo list regarding feeding raw diet, learn as much as you can and make the choice that best fits your findings, lifestyle and pocketbook. I think "quality" food is the ticket here. Good luck....certainly not easy information to navigate and decide.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Davis on
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I have seen the raw food diet work wonders , and might try to do it with Brynn later in life . My first cat Morrissey was a Diabetic late in his life and i had to feed him raw food since all the cat food had so many grains in it back then . He lived 2 more happy and healthy years .His coat and behavior changed so much .He started to act as a kitten again at 12 years old .His coat was so shiny . It was a lot of work and did cost more but was well worth it to extend his life . Here in Portland there are many places that you can buy it instead of doing it your self . My friend did it with her cats as well and her over weight cat that couldn't even climb stairs lost weight and was so happy on the raw food .
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Permalink Reply by Charlie on
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Charlie will be on premium dry kibble, with an occassional raw meaty bone (for extra teeth cleaning), plus healthy treats of course. It's just a matter of convenience for me. If he were to become intolerant or unhealthy on kibble for some reason, I would probably put him on a cooked human food diet versus a raw diet. With a raw or cooked diet, I would be concerned that I wasn't getting all the needed nutrients for him in the correct proportions. There is a lot of published research on raw or cooked diets though, so I'm sure it's not too difficult to figure out.
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For sure ! I had to make a little concoction of vitamins and oils etc. into the meals. It was a lot of work .
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On the BARF (no joke) website, they sell little patties.
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Permalink Reply by winnie_the_dog on
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yes, there is a yuppy puppy type of store near me that sells about 5 brands of diffternt "patties" or "cubes" so I wouldn't be pre mixing. I guess if it is safe the question would only be price, but I just am unsure about the diet. if i stick with kibble what are some good brands for corgis?
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Any kibble with meat meal or meat (chicken, beef, turkey, etc) as the first ingredient, then grains (rice, oatmeal, barley,etc) or potatoes secondarily. I don't care much for corn as a filler, because it's not digestible, so corn doesn't really add much value to the diet.
Don't confuse "chicken meal" with "chicken by-products". In premium foods, "chicken meal" is whole fresh chicken and bones which have been ground and dried. "Chicken by-products" can be any part of the chicken, including guts, feathers, feet and beaks....you'll see it in the cheaper grocery store brands, not the premium foods.
There isn't one best food for every dog. You may find a great one right off the bat, or you may need to switch brands a few times. If your Corgi has nice coat, is alert, appropriately active, is not getting too fat or too skinny, and has healthy stools....then you've found a good food for your dog. As your Corgi goes through her life stages, you may want to change her food accordingly.
The manufacturers' websites give you ingredients/nutrition lists online. If you prefer, walk through one of the pet supply stores who stock premium foods and read the labels.
I'm about to switch Charlie from puppy to adult food. We'll be trying Canidae first. If he doesn't like it (or it doesn't agree with him) we've picked Innova, or Wellness Core as alternates.
Innova has a brand called "EVO" which claims to have the benefits of a raw diet. When Charlie gets into agility or flyball, I may put him on that. It has almost double the protein/fat content of most other foods, so I wouldn't give it to him unless he is burning the calories of an "athlete".
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I agree with you Charlie :) Corn is like candy . Bad , bad , bad .
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Talk about "candy" i.e. junk food. A lot of people feed Hill's Science Diet (sometimes Iams or Eukanuba) based on trusting the recommendation of their veterinarian. The Hill's formulas are full of corn (and lots of chemical preservatives).
Out of 8 years of training, vets do not receive much training on nutrition (one to two courses). The courses they do receive are often taught by veterinarians employeed by Hill's company! Hill's gives veterinarians lots of free samples to continue pushing the products, in addition to the normal profit made on every bag they sell through the practice.
If you read recommendations from specialists in pet nutrition (the folks who spend all their time studying foods) almost none will recommend the Hill's line.
My next door neighbors are both vet techs at the same clinic. They brought me a bag of Hill's Prescription Diet dog treats for Charlie. My neighbor said that Hill's comes in all the time and gives them stacks of "freebies" in addition to reordering stock. The first five ingredients in these treats: ground corn, wheat, soybean mill run 16.5%, powdered cellulose, natural flavor. Finally the sixth ingredient: poultry by-product (again, can be beaks claws, intestines, feathers). Sounds like candy (junk food) to me! And what in the heck is powerdered cellulose????? There are also artificial colorings and chemical preservatives I can't pronounce.
It does seem Hill's has had some pressure to offer a more natural food as they have recently introduced Science Diet Nature's Best, which looks like a much better food than their traditional line.
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Since I was curious about what powdered cellulose is, I looked it up:
powdered cellulose = sawdust :(
I ran across a website that reviews dog foods which is in a really nice format:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php
(The 6-star rated foods have too high levels of protein/fat for puppies. I'm choosing from the 5-star list to transition from puppy food to adult food. We'll move to 6-star probably in another 8 months to a year.)
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